WABA announces new Executive Director, Shane Farthing

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association has announced Shane Farthing as its new executive director, effective June 3.

He takes over from interim director Dorcas Adkins and former head Eric Gilliland, who is now executive director of the National Association of City Transportation Officials.

Since February, Farthing has served as director of the Office of Green Economy at the District Department of the Environment; he began in a different position at DDOE in March 2007. Before working at DDOE, Farthing served as a Capital City Fellow.

The new director’s priorities include improving outreach to communities that are or could be bicycling but are not sufficiently engaged with the rest of the city’s bike community. “WABA needs to reach outside its core demographics in order to serve all different types of cyclists [and] I intend to make WABA more active outside its core geographic areas of influence,” he said.

Farthing noted that it’s important to “limit the resources expended in preaching to the choir” and that cyclists in communities that have traditionally been less organized often have more to gain than cyclists already in bike-friendly environments.

Farthing is also interested in renewing the organization’s focus on law enforcement issues. Seeing that DDOT has made great strides in bicycling infrastructure, he believes that “the next major step for the District involves integrating cyclists in other ways, such as ensuring that safety laws are enforced and fairly applied.” In addition to changing the contributory negligence standard, Farthing would like to see consideration of “other laws that are more tailored to the realities of urban cycling.”

Finally, Farthing sees WABA playing a stronger role in the District’s development review and planning processes. While the organization has a strong relationship with DDOT, many decisions that affect bicycling are made by other city boards and agencies.

“Most major decisions that impact our transportation needs, our environment, or our allocation of public funds make public input a possibility,” he said. “And I think that my familiarity with those forums will enable WABA to be present and ensure that its members’ voices are heard when such decisions are to be made.”

Here are Farthing’s complete written responses to my interview questions:

Q: What attracted you to this position?

I moved to the District in 2002 to attend law school at GW, and that was the first time I was totally car-free. For the first year of so I was primarily a pedestrian, then I started adding more bike trips, and by the time I finished law school I was a dedicated, daily bicycle commuter. I think I have the sort of personality that is just naturally attracted to problem-solving, so the more I biked, the more I saw elements of the city experience that could use improvement from a cycling standpoint. So I started reading and learning about the policy issues that impact cycling. I had known about WABA for a while - mainly through its events - but in doing that reading and learning, I came to see its importance as an information center, an advocacy center, and an education center.

And over time, as I’ve continued to read and learn and think about bicycling, I’ve only become more convinced that full integration of cycling into the region’s (and nation’s) transportation priorities is a critical step to addressing some of the biggest problems we face. The bicycle is the tool that can change how places are planned and built, making them more human-friendly and more environmentally appropriate—not to mention making us healthier.

I wanted to lead WABA because I think WABA is pushing the Washington area toward that more human-friendly region that I want to see by getting people onto bikes and working to make cycling a safe, effective lifestyle choice. So the short answer is: I believe that cycling is important, and I think that WABA is important to effectively integrating cycling as a viable transportation option throughout the region.

Q: Your resume doesn’t include much experience in the bicycling or transportation worlds specifically. Do you anticipate much of a learning curve on these issues?

I certainly anticipate a learning curve on these and other issues. But I am not wholly new to these worlds. I’ve been a daily bicycle commuter and a recreational cyclist in the area for a number of years. So while I’ve not formally studied transportation design, I know good design from bad design from experience. And due to my personal interest, I have studied and read a great deal about transportation policy, bicycle law and safety, and the processes by which transportation policy is made and implemented.

Additionally, I have worked on a number of transportation projects—though generally on environmental and land use planning issues rather than the pure transportation issues. For example, I worked with DDOT to resolve several late-stage design issues on the [Metropolitan Branch Trail], made recommendations to the Office of Planning to create higher bicycle parking requirements near major trails, and was involved in the review of countless roadway projects through various planning and permitting exercises.

So I do believe that there will be a learning curve. But I think that with my existing background in these areas, the expertise already at WABA, and the many potential partners around the region who seem remarkably willing share their expertise, I hope I will be able to get up to speed quickly.

Q: Your background in law and nonprofits is particularly intriguing. What do you hope these skill sets can bring to WABA?

In any form of advocacy, I think that law is a key tool. It is law that provides the rules of the game, and one key goal of bicycle advocacy is a set of rules that are appropriate for cyclists and fairly applied. Having a clear knowledge of how laws are made, applied, and integrated into behavior informs strategic decision-making and provides another method, in addition to pure education and issue advocacy, to impact social behavior. Different situations call for different approaches, but I hope that the addition of legal advocacy to WABA’s toolkit will make the organization more effective in pursuing its mission.

My nonprofit background, on the other hand, has more to do with managerial and operational capacity. In addition to maintaining advocacy efforts, the Executive Director’s job is to ensure that the organization itself remains strong, and my nonprofit experience will help me in working with the Board to set priorities, plan strategically, and ensure the fundamental health of the organization. From membership services and fundraising to budget planning and administration, there are certain core tasks that come with the nonprofit model. I firmly believe that the nonprofit model is a powerful tool, but like any tool it must be well maintained and used appropriately. I’ve already mentioned the advocacy and education that I believe constitute “appropriate use.” But keeping the tool well maintained is equally important. And my experience with nonprofits has shown me how to do just that.

Q: WABA and the District have made great strides over the past decade in becoming national leaders when it comes to bicycling advocacy and infrastructure. DC is a good city for cycling; what is needed to bring it to the next level?

I agree that the District is a great place for cycling. And I think it will only improve now that federal and local priorities ensure that cyclists are considered whenever transportation projects are being designed and funded. So while we must ensure that there is no backsliding, I do believe that we have crossed an important threshold on infrastructure design.

As I mentioned above, however, I believe that there is more than infrastructure involved in keeping cyclists safe. I think the next major step for the District involves integrating cyclists in other ways, such as ensuring that safety laws are enforced and fairly applied and ensuring that motorists know that cyclists have equal rights to the roads. I think that may also mean revisiting some laws and policies that may have been accepted in the past, such as the outdated contributory negligence standard, and perhaps considering other laws that are more tailored to the realities of urban cycling.

I think that currently the District is making great strides in making it physically possible for bikes to share the roads with cars, and certainly the District’s leadership should be praised for that. I would like to see the same strides made in the legal realm to ensure that cyclists are adequately protected by the legal structure while sharing the road. We don’t have the protection of the vehicle surrounding us, so we need the protection of properly tailored and properly enforced laws.

Q: What can WABA do to expand outreach to Latin American, African American and other minority populations that are too often outside of the “bike culture” mainstream?

This is one of the main issues I hope to focus on at WABA, and one that I raised in my very first discussion with members of the Board. I firmly believe that WABA needs to reach outside its core demographics in order to serve all different types of cyclists. I am a resident of Ward 5, and I know that my neighborhood is filled with cyclists outside the “bike culture mainstream,” and when I speak with them I find that few of them have heard of WABA or know of its offerings. So I intend to make WABA more active outside its core geographic areas of influence and intentionally hold events and outreach activities in places that the organization may not have gone previously.

I think the opportunities to meaningfully improve the position of cyclists in the region are greatest in areas that may have been less of a focal point previously, and I intend to devise a plan to identify new target areas and populations for strategic outreach.

While the “bike culture mainstream” is of fundamental importance to WABA and comprises our core supporters, as an organization with finite resources it’s important that our offerings reach those who need them and that we limit the resources expended in preaching to the choir.

In many ways, I think my fundamental goal is to significantly expand the definition of the “bike culture mainstream.” There are multiple elements to achieving that goal - but outreach to people who aren’t considered a part of it now is certainly a key first step.

Q: WABA covers more than just the District. What are the non-DC issues that are of specific interest to you that WABA should be involved with? (These can be either region-wide, state level or specific non-DC issues or projects.)

To be frank, I recognize that I will have the steepest learning curve on the non-DC issues. While I bike frequently in the surrounding jurisdictions, I cannot claim the same level of familiarity with the individual projects outside the District. But I look forward to reaching out to regional advocates to learn their priorities, understand their pressing issues, and take action.

Generally speaking, I am encouraged by the fact that many of our suburban neighbors are in the midst of significant planning sessions and redevelopment plans that provide the opportunity to convert some of our most car-dependent areas into truly multi-modal centers. Tyson’s Corner, White Flint, and Wheaton spring to mind as excellent examples.

Ideally, these planning and development processes will themselves look regionally and seek to improve opportunities for cycling not just within their own borders, but in a truly connective fashion so that we can build a truly first-class regional network where our centers of population and commerce can be functionally accessed by cyclists as easily as by drivers.

Q: What are some examples or scenarios where you would like to see WABA take a more prominent role in District development review and planning processes?

Having been part of the planning of numerous major projects on behalf of the District over the past few years, I recognize the importance that advocates can play in ensuring that their priorities are incorporated into projects. That’s not to suggest that the transportation agencies or other governmental actors around the table are not doing their part to advocate cycling. But they are expected to balance demands and make tradeoffs to meet the project’s constraints. I think that having advocates present to evaluate those tradeoffs before they become accepted assumptions can have a significant impact. Luckily, we have a system in which most major decisions that impact our transportation needs, our environment, or our allocation of public funds make public input a possibility. And I think that my familiarity with those forums will enable WABA to be present and ensure that its members’ voices are heard when such decisions are to be made.