BikeWalkNC

North Carolina’s advocate for safe cycling and walking

BikeWalkNC

2026 Summit Replay: Bridging the Gap: Progressing Local Need on State Roads

For communities working to make walking and biking safer, one of the biggest challenges is often the gap between local needs and the state transportation system. Many important bicycle and pedestrian connections are located on state-maintained roads, where local governments may have limited authority, limited resources, and few dedicated funding options to address those needs.

North Carolina has also historically placed limits on how bicycle and pedestrian projects are supported through the state transportation funding process. In 2013, the state categorically excluded bicycle and pedestrian plans from eligibility for certain state transportation funding, creating an additional challenge for communities trying to turn locally identified needs into funded projects.

In this session, Terry Lansdell explores how communities can navigate these limitations and continue advocating for improvements on state-maintained roads. The session looks beyond simply identifying a need and focuses on the relationships, communication, advocacy, and partnerships that can help move a project forward.

Terry discusses how local governments and advocates can work with elected officials and transportation decision-makers, better understand how transportation decisions are made, and identify opportunities to leverage available funding and partnerships. The session offers practical strategies for making the case for bicycle and pedestrian improvements, particularly when traditional funding pathways are limited.

For anyone working to advance walking and biking in their community, this session provides a closer look at how local advocates can bridge the gap between identifying a transportation need and finding a path toward implementation.

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2026 Summit Replay: Life After Cars

What would our communities look like if getting around did not always mean getting in a car?

At the 2026 NC BikeWalk Transportation Summit in Carolina Beach, we were joined by Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon, cohosts of The War on Cars podcast and co-authors of Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, for a conversation about transportation, cities, and the role cars play in shaping our communities.

Sarah Goodyear is a journalist and author who has covered cities and transportation for publications including Grist, CityLab, and Streetsblog. Doug Gordon is a TV producer, writer, and neighborhood safe streets advocate known online as Brooklyn Spoke. Together, they created The War on Cars in 2018 to explore the impact of cars on culture, society, and the planet, while highlighting the growing movement for safer, more people-focused transportation systems.

Their Summit conversation takes a closer look at what it means to build communities where people have more choices in how they get around. Rather than treating driving as the only practical option, Sarah and Doug explore how transportation, land use, street design, and community priorities can come together to create places where walking, biking, and transit are realistic options for more people.

The conversation also asks us to think beyond individual transportation choices and consider the systems and environments that shape those choices in the first place.

What would change if our communities were designed around access, connection, and freedom of movement rather than around the needs of cars?

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2026 Summit Replay: State and Local E-Bike / E-Moto Policy

As electric bikes and other electric devices become more common on our streets, communities are facing new questions about how to manage high-speed e-motos while preserving access to low-speed electric bicycles.

In this session from the 2026 NC BikeWalk Transportation Summit, Noah Miterko of PeopleForBikes discusses the growing policy challenges surrounding e-motos, high-speed electric motorcycles, and other fast, bike-shaped devices. He explores how communities can distinguish between different types of electric devices, develop appropriate policies, and create safer streets without unnecessarily limiting access to electric bicycles.

Noah Miterko is Senior Manager of State and Local Policy at PeopleForBikes, where he works with communities and policymakers on bicycle policy across the country.

Watch the recording and learn more about the policy questions communities are facing as electric mobility continues to evolve.

Thank you 2026 NC BikeWalk Transportation Summit Sponsors!

BikeWalk NC’s annual Transportation Summit brings together transportation professionals, health professionals, community advocates, and other stakeholders who are interested in advancing safe roads and healthier, more equitable communities for all road users in North Carolina.

We bring national, statewide, and local leaders to our state to learn, to discuss, and to connect with others, but none of our work would be possible without the help of our sponsors.

As we put the final touches on the 15th annual NC BikeWalk Transportation Summit taking place this week in Carolina Beach, we would like to use this newsletter to put a spotlight on our wonderful sponsors. Notice who they are, and thank them for their work to make our roads safer for all users!

Thank you to our GRANT SPONSOR, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP), which has helped support our Summit the last four years.

Thank you to our KEYNOTE SPONSORS: NCDOT has been a generous sponsor of our Summit every year and we value our collaborations with them. And we welcome WAYMO as a new sponsor!

Thank you TOURING SPONSORS! BikeLaw NC, Blue Ridge Bicycle Club, and Cape Fear Cyclists/Terry Benjey Foundation have all been longtime supporters whose friendships and partnerships we value, and we welcome back Rails to Trails Conservancy, and our hosts, the Town of Kure Beach and the Town of Carolina Beach.

Thank you to our Racing Sponsors! We are excited to have AAA and The Great Trails State supporting our work for safer streets, as well as returning sponsorships from engineering and planning firms Bolton & Menk, Kittelson & Associates, and Three Oaks Engineering. 

Thank you to our MOUNTAIN SPONSORS: Returning sponsor Bike Durham, and local sponsors Havana’s restaurant, and Pomegranate Books.

Thank you to our CRUISER SPONSORS: East Coast Greenway, Transit Study Hall, Salty Turtle Cycling Club, and Kimley-Horn. 

And last but certainly not least, thank you to our partners: Weekly Rides.com, Major Taylor Cycling Club, Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce, Island Women, and UNCW College of Health and Human Resources. Thank you all so much. 

BikeWalk NC Pre-Summit Webinar: If You Want to Win, You’ve Got to Fight: Inside / Outside 

Ideas are important, but how do they actually become safer streets, better policies, and lasting infrastructure improvements?

Join us for a special pre-summit webinar on September 16th, 2026, from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM with Carter Lavin, who will explore the power of the inside/outside strategy and how grassroots advocacy, community organizing, and institutional leadership can work together to move transportation change forward.

This session will highlight how progress often depends on coordinated efforts from both sides: community advocates building public support and momentum on the outside, and agency staff, elected officials, and organizational leaders advancing projects from within systems on the inside.

Through practical examples and real-world lessons, attendees will gain actionable insights on coalition building, strategy, and how to turn momentum into meaningful results.

This webinar is ideal for advocates, planners, public officials, public health leaders, and community organizers looking to strengthen their work ahead of the 2026 NC BikeWalk Transportation Summit.

register here

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