What We Do

To increase cycling and walking, and improve safety and sustainability, SBI delivers comprehensive services including planning and evaluation, good infrastructure designs, education, promotions, and coordination of all the interrelated elements of sustainable transportation systems:

Planning–SBI provides transportation planning that optimizes walking, cycling and sustainable transportation.

• Transportation planning synchronized with land use planning, business and community development, and the preservation of  landscapes and cultures.
• Planning assistance for incorporating cyclists and pedestrians (including people with disabilities) into transportation systems.
• Technical support for community organizations, businesses, and governments including data driven, objective analysis.

Design–SBI collaborates with engineers, designers, architects, and project management teams to produce safe, convenient and accessible travel environments.

• Interpretation of design options for context sensitive solutions, and assistance calibrating designs for the most balanced approach.
• Guidance for navigating design resources, and selecting best design applications for cyclists and pedestrians.
• Research, develop and deliver a design manual integrating user education with infrastructure designs.

Coordination–SBI coordinates the diverse elements of transportation to get the most people walking and cycling comfortably and safely.

• Education and infrastructure management to promote the best and safest uses of infrastructure for the greatest benefit to the traveling public.
• Work across sectors to foster broad collaboration for better walking and cycling, including governments, businesses, and community organizations.
• Work with partners to collect, manage, and report transportation data to measure performance, set standards and goals, and make improvements.

More on SBI’s professional services for creating more sustainable transportation systems…

Our first challenge is helping citizens recognize how transportation diversity is good for the country.  Walking and cycling connect us to and create new opportunities for healthy choices, affordable transportation, and they strengthen our communities.  SBI’s job is to lead, inspire confidence, and help people understand the changes we can make–from infrastructure investments to education that shifts our perceptions and beliefs–to move us forward together.

Planning–Accommodating walking and cycling begins with conceptualizing how they will be included.  If we fail in this stage of developing our transportation system, all the other phases of transportation systems–from design to operations, maintenance, enforcement and education–will also fail.  It is essential to frame transportation so that it includes clear, specific and thoughtful consideration for walking and bicycling.  SBI helps coordinate the range of elements that go into structuring planning efforts including land use planning, local contexts, connectivity to jobs and businesses, and adapting to people and how we travel.

Design–The built travel environment reflects our conceptions of how people travel.  Good designs provide choices of travel modes (freedom), guide safe interactions (security), and balance user interests (equality and democracy).  Road designs can deliver more values than we might expect, such as ecosystem services (water filtration in bioswales), renewable energy (imbedded solar panels), and friendlier, more creative communities by encouraging mutual responsibility and enjoyable social interactions.  Road designs are a prime area for our government to be more effective by expanding the value our transportation systems deliver.  We specialize in creating complete and balanced designs that maximize the return on investments, and lead our communities to where we really want to go.

Coordination–SBI supports and grows initiatives in sustainable transportation systems.   We deliver integrated services including management of infrastructure, transportation data, educational programming, and planning and development review.  Our nonprofit structure allows us to be flexible.  We are absolutely relentless at hammering down the boundaries created by social divides, academic disciplines, and institutional structures.  We believe in expanding the conversation by connecting people together to grow involvement, add perspective and strengthen the network interested in advancing society through transportation.  We unite interests around common goals, including human welfare, sustainability, and environmental conservation, as they pertain to transportation and our public roads.  We are collaborative, and excel at connecting great minds together to facilitate forward thinking and solutions oriented approaches on the leading edge of transportation innovation.

Education–We synthesize all the elements of transportation system research and development through our education programming to ensure the community and professionals have the best informed approaches.  We provide education to foster better walking and cycling at all different levels, and in a way that engages specific interests and goals of diverse audiences.  Our goal is to create a unified common body of knowledge and skills around walking and cycling, and to engage audiences with opportunities to practice our skills and gain experience in a safe, comfortable manner.  Our teaching is informed by our experiences walking and cycling.