Your winners of the 2017 Bicyclists’ Choice Awards

We held our third annual Bicyclists’ Choice Awards event on Tuesday, February 28th at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health, and the celebration was a huge success! Our host Tom Sherwood of NBC4 Washington graced the stage with humor and wit, and the awards event brought together close to 150 excited and passionate bicyclists, advocates, WABA supporters, VIPs, and award winners to celebrate the amazing achievements made in 2016 to make bicycling better in our region. We want to thank Tom Sherwood for being a part of our event and making us laugh. Tom is a reporter for News4 specializing in politics and the DC government. He is the resident guest analyst each Friday on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi’s Political Hour. You can find Tom on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tomsherwood. Tom, we will snap a photo of you stopping at the stop sign at Hains Point East Potomac Park one of these days, just you wait.

Tom Sherwood of NBC4 Washington hosting the Bicyclists’ Choice Awards.

Thank you to everyone who came out to watch and support the awards show: the event could not have happened without you – your nominations, your votes and your interest in attending the event. The Bicyclists’ Choice Awards is an important opportunity for WABA to recognize the people and places in our region that make bicycling great, and we were so happy that many of you were a part of it. Continue reading to find out who won and to see photos from the event.

We are pleased to announce the nominees and winners of the publicly-chosen Bicyclists’ Choice Awards:

Nominees for the Best Improvement for Biking in 2016 in the District of Columbia:

Rehabilitation of Rock Creek Park Trail and Beach Drive underway
14th St NW bike lane connection through Columbia Heights with striping and green paint
Northern extension of the 15th St NW Protected Bike Lane from W St to Euclid St NW alongside Meridian Hill Park
Completion of the new Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens segment of the Anacostia River Trail

DDOT accepts the award on behalf of the entities who worked on building and completing the trail, which include the District Department of Transportation, National Capital Parks East of the National Park Service, the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commision, and the US Department of Transportation.

Winner: Completion of the new Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens segment of the Anacostia River Trail!

Nominees for the Best Improvement for Biking in 2016 in Maryland:

C&O Canal Towpath resurfacing near Great Falls
Safety improvements at Capital Crescent Trail crossing of Little Falls Parkway
New protected bike lane in White Flint on Nebel Street
Repaving of Sligo Creek Trail

Michael Riley, Director of Parks for Montgomery County, accepts the award.

Winner: Safety improvements at Capital Crescent Trail crossing of Little Falls Parkway!

Nominees for the Best Improvement for Biking in 2016 in Virginia:

Wilson Boulevard protected bike lane and improvements
Custis Trail and W&OD Trail maintenance and repaving
BikeArlington’s support and promotion of bicycling during Safetrack
Capital Bikeshare expansion in Fairfax County and to Tysons and Reston

Kevin Stalica, Park Manager at Arlington County, accepts the award.

Winner: Custis Trail and W&OD Trail maintenance and repaving!

Nominees for the Bike Friendliest Neighborhood or Business Improvement District in 2016:

Capitol Riverfront/Yards Park, DC
NoMa, DC
Crystal City, VA
Golden Triangle, DC

Bonnie Wright, Marketing & Communications Manager for the Capitol Riverfront BID, accepts the award on behalf of the BID.

Winner: Capitol Riverfront/Yards Park, DC!

Nominees for the Best Bike Shop in 2016:

The Bike Rack
BicycleSPACE
Proteus Bicycles
Bikenetic
Gearin’ Up Bicycles

Laurie Lemieux, co-owner of Proteus Bicycles, accepts the award.

Winner: Proteus Bicycles!

Nominees for the Best Social Ride in 2016:

The Tweed Ride
DC Bike Party
Kidical Mass
BicycleSPACE Cupcake Ramble
DC Bike Ride
Proteus Sunday Morning Coffee Ride

Laurie Lemieux, co-owner of Proteus Bicycles, accepts her second award of the night.

Winner: Proteus Sunday Morning Coffee Ride!

Nominees for the Bike Friendliest Business in 2016:

District Taco
The Java Shack
Vigilante Coffee Company
Right Proper Brewing Company
Swing’s Coffee
Filter Coffeehouse

Winner: District Taco!

Nominees for the Biggest Bicycle Advocacy Win of 2016 in the District of Columbia:

The Downtown West Transportation Study on protected bike lanes on Pennsylvania Ave west of the White House
New York Ave Trail Concept Plan
Passage of the Bicycle Safety Amendment Act of 2016
Passage of the Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act (which fixes contributory negligence for vulnerable road users)

Accepting the award on behalf of the DC Council is Tony Goodman, Councilmember Grosso’s Chief of Staff.

Winner: Passage of the Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act!

Nominees for the Biggest Bicycle Advocacy Win of 2016 in Maryland:

Dedicated funding for bicycle infrastructure (a $9 million increase in bike/ped funding over next 6 years) in Montgomery County’s budget
Montgomery County commits to Vision Zero
Prince George’s County Trails Master Plan
Silver Spring Circle planning

Councilmember Hans Reimer accepts the award.

Winner: Dedicated funding for bicycle infrastructure in Montgomery County’s budget!

Nominees for the Biggest Bicycle Advocacy Win of 2016 in Virginia:

New Transportation Master Plan for Alexandria
Passage of the dooring bill that made dooring illegal in Virginia
Bikeshare expansion to Reston and Tysons in Fairfax County

Winner: Passage of the dooring bill that made dooring illegal in Virginia! Congratulations to all of the nominees and winners of the Bicyclists’ Choice Awards.

We are pleased to announce and honor the winners of the WABA Awards:

WABA Advocate of the Year Award: Chris Slatt, Chair of the Arlington County Transportation Commission and WABA’s Arlington Action Committee

Chris Slatt receives the Advocate of the Year Award for his dedication and hard work on the transportation commission and the Bike Friendly Ballston campaign.

Chris Slatt wins Advocate of the Year.

WABA Future Trails Award: Tara Morrison, Superintendent of National Capital Parks-East, National Park Service

Tara Morrison receives the Future Trails Award for championing the Rock Creek Park trail rehabilitation while superintendent of Rock Creek Park.

Tara Morrison wins the Future Trails Award.

WABA Biking for All Award: Jessie Webb, DC Department of Parks and Recreation

Jessie Webb receives the Biking for All Award because of how much he has gone above and beyond to promote bicycling in his community and for being such a positive internal advocate at DPR. Jessie started a youth bike club at the Benning Park Rec Center, sought out additional training as a bike educator and became a League Cycling Instructor, expanded his bike club program to adults, and trained additional DPR staff.

Jessie Webb wins the Biking for All Award.

WABA Protecting Bike Lanes Award: Patricia Shepard, Montgomery County Department of Transportation Engineer

Patricia Shephard receives the Protecting Bike Lanes Award for leading Montgomery County’s efforts on installing protected bike lanes in the County, including the Woodglen and Nebel Street protected bike lane projects.

Pat Shepard wins The Protecting Bike Lanes Award.

WABA Volunteer of the Year Award: Lesly Jones

Lesly Jones receives the Volunteer of the Year Award because year after year, she continues to help and support WABA and our mission to make bicycling better. Lesly is committed to positive bicycling and going above and beyond for WABA

WABA Community Organizer Award: Dustin Scott, Color of Cycling Organizer

Dustin Scott receives the Community Organizer Award for being a shining star within the bike community and organizing the local Color of Cycling rides. This award recognizes your tireless work to bring together people who bike and to build up, strengthen, and grow the DC bike community.

Dustin Scott wins Community Organizer of the year.

WABA Public Leadership Award: DC Councilmember Mary Cheh

Councilmember Mary Cheh receives the award for Public Leadership for championing contributory negligence and for her dedication and support of making bicycling better and safer in the District.

DC Councilmember Mary Cheh wins the Public Leadership Award.

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Annual Meeting