2025 Quarter 4 Newsletter
Tennessee Bike Walk Summit
In November, Bike Walk Tennessee was proud to host the 2025 Tennessee Bike Walk Summit in Chattanooga! The event brought together cyclists and pedestrians, advocates, planners, engineers, and elected officials from across the state to share resources and best practices related to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, funding, education, outreach, and policy. We were thrilled to hear a keynote address from Jon Jon Wesolowski, “the happy urbanist”, and plenaries from the Tennessee Department of Transportation and Tennessee Department of Health. We were also able to offer a social bike ride and social walk to give attendees the opportunity to explore some of Chattanooga prior to the conference!
Thank you to everyone who joined us, and we hope you’ll consider participating in the Summit next year!
National Bike Summit
The League of American Bicyclists will host the 2026 National Bike Summit on March 24 through March 26 in Washington, D.C. The event brings together folks from across the country who are passionate about cycling, and features plenaries and sessions that provide useful information, as well as networking opportunities to facilitate connecting with fellow advocates. The Summit also features Advocacy Day, giving participants the opportunity to meet with members of Congress and their staff to advocate for priorities for bicyclists! This year, Bike Walk Tennessee’s Zoe Scott will serve as State Coordinator for Tennessee.
We hope you’ll join us in this opportunity to learn and connect with advocates and professionals advancing cycling safety across the country, and to advocate for improving biking in the nation!
Committees
Brentwood
Brentwood has been focusing heavily on e-bike safety education in conjunction with Williamson County. The prevalence of e-micromobility devices in city parks and sidewalks is creating a need for more attention to how we share space. On sidewalks and paved paths, Bike Walk Brentwood recommends a maximum speed of 15mph, 5mph when passing pedestrians, and helmets to be worn by everyone at all times.
Brentwood’s city commission is finalizing this month an update to its traffic calming policy for the installation of speed humps and speed tables, as prompted by Bike Walk Brentwood. This policy update is expected to result in a clearer, more consistent process for neighborhoods choosing whether traffic calming is right for them.
The Brentwood 2040 Plan process is scheduled to kick off in Q1 2026. We are diving into the existing 2030 Plan to identify priority areas of focus in this next update cycle. Stay tuned on this major city planning initiative.
Franklin
Bike Rodeo
We had a blast running our bike rodeo for a second year at City of Franklin Parks Family Day. Hosting the course on grass made it a little more challenging for the youngest riders to get rolling, but was also a more forgiving surface if they lost their balance. We counted more than 300 children coming by our tent, and loved getting them rolling past our traffic light, railroad track, tunnel, bubble machine, and speed bumps.
Holiday Rides
We had a great time at our holiday rides at the end of the year. In Westhaven, more than 30 people joined our 3 mile tour of Christmas lights and enjoyed snacks at the fire station (pictured). We also continued our partnership with FrankTown Open Hearts to promote Walking Wednesdays at the Festival of Lights. Hundreds of people, including folks with strollers, pets (and even a few bicycles) got to enjoy the lights while being outside on December 10.
Major Safety Grant
The City of Franklin was awarded an $8 million Safe Streets 4 All grant from the USDOT. The funding is to address safety and access concerns along a one-mile stretch of West Main Street, just outside of downtown. Most of this corridor has open ditch shoulders, but stays busy with numerous stores, restaurants, and government buildings. We explored the project and the importance of sidewalks in a social media video, and are eager to see this project get underway in the coming years.
Knoxville
Walk with Candidates
On October 21, Bike Walk Knoxville staff led a walk exploring the Park City area. We were joined by candidates Karyn Adams (District 1) and Denzel Grant (District 6) as well as several members of City of Knoxville staff representing Vision Zero, Engineering, Parks and Recreation - Greenways, and more. The walk also featured community leaders and advocates. Bike Walk Knoxville would like to thank everyone who came out to walk with us for sharing their expertise and listening to community concerns!
World Day of Remembrance
Bike Walk Knoxville would like to thank everyone who joined us to commemorate World Day of Remembrance in November. The event was a powerful opportunity to memorialize the lives lost to traffic violence in our community and call for action for safer streets. We would like to thank each of our speakers for sharing their stories of being personally impacted by a crash: City Councilman and father to Kylie, Andrew Roberto, advocate and mother to Ben, Kim Kredich, and Vision Zero Committee Chair and crash survivor Bryan Hill. We would also like to acknowledge City of Knoxville Vision Zero Coordinator Cody Gentry and Knoxville’s work to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries on our streets by 2040.
Everyone deserves safe mobility. By encouraging safe speeds through design and behavior, we can save lives on our roadways. Together, we can achieve Vision Zero.
Tour de Lights
Bike Walk Knoxville and Visit Knoxville were thrilled to host Tour de Lights in December! This annual event features a holiday market, costume contest, and a fun, free, family-friendly holiday bike ride! We are grateful to everyone who came out and shared in this unifying celebration, which engaged neighborhoods, local businesses, and the community, who gathered to bask in the festive atmosphere.
Support Our Work!
We rely on your donations to support all that we accomplish across Tennessee. We have a small staff and a grand vision. Help Tennessee realize the social, economic, health, and environmental benefits of bicycle and pedestrian friendly communities by supporting Bike Walk Tennessee. You can support our work by donating to Bike Walk Tennessee or directly to any of our regional subcommittees!
Brentwood || Chattanooga || Cleveland || Franklin || Knoxville