Event Purpose

On June 11, 1971, Governor Tom McCall signed Oregon’s Bicycle Bill on the steps of the Oregon Capitol, famously using the seat of a ten-speed bicycle as his signing table. The law required Oregon transportation agencies to accommodate bicycling and walking on new road projects and to spend at least one percent of state highway funds on walkways and bikeways. It was the first law of its kind in the United States and helped foreshadow the national Complete Streets movement.
Oregon Encyclopedia

This 55th anniversary event honors the people, policies, advocates, public agencies, businesses, and communities that helped turn Oregon into one of the nation’s leading bicycling states.

The event will bring together legislators, bicycle advocates, public agency leaders, community members, and bicycle industry representatives to celebrate the legacy of the Oregon Bike Bill and recommit to a transportation system that gives people safe, practical, and joyful ways to walk and bike.

Event Details

<div class="big-number">June 11</div>
<strong>Date</strong><br>
55th anniversary of the original signing
<div class="big-number">12:30</div>
<strong>Time</strong><br>
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
<div class="big-number">Capitol</div>
<strong>Location</strong><br>
Oregon Capitol Mall, in front of the Capitol
<div class="big-number">All</div>
<strong>Welcome</strong><br>
Legislators, advocates, businesses, families, and community members

Why the Oregon Bike Bill Matters

The Oregon Bike Bill changed the basic expectation for transportation planning: roads were not only for cars. They also needed to serve people walking and biking.

The law helped spur the construction of bicycle and pedestrian paths, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes across Oregon. It also created a legal and policy foundation that advocates later used to hold agencies accountable for providing bicycle and pedestrian access on new and rebuilt roads and bridges.
Oregon Encyclopedia

From One Bill to a Statewide Bicycling Culture

The Oregon Bike Bill did not create Oregon’s bicycling culture by itself. But it gave that culture a legal foundation. It helped make bicycling visible in public policy, transportation funding, infrastructure design, tourism, manufacturing, and civic identity.

Oregon’s legacy can be seen in several connected ways:

<h3>Policy</h3>
Oregon required bicycle and pedestrian accommodation decades before “Complete Streets” became a national policy framework.
<h3>Infrastructure</h3>
The bill helped normalize bike lanes, paths, sidewalks, and active transportation access as part of public road projects.
<h3>Tourism</h3>
Oregon became a national destination for bicycle travel, touring, scenic bikeways, and major organized rides.
<h3>Industry</h3>
Oregon became home to bicycle companies, trailer makers, apparel firms, custom builders, and cycling-focused retailers.

Oregon as a National Bicycling Leader

Oregon continues to rank among the nation’s most bike-friendly states. In the League of American Bicyclists’ 2024 Bicycle Friendly State rankings, Oregon ranked third nationally, behind Washington and Massachusetts.
BikePortland summary of League rankings

That ranking reflects the long arc of Oregon’s bicycling policy, advocacy, planning, and culture. The Bicycle Friendly State program evaluates states across categories such as infrastructure and funding, education and encouragement, traffic laws and practices, policies and programs, and evaluation and planning.
Washington State DOT summary of the League ranking framework

Bicycle Tourism and Events

Oregon’s bicycling identity extends far beyond commuting. Bicycle tourism and organized rides have become part of the state’s economy and culture.

Cycle Oregon began in 1988 with more than 1,000 riders traveling down the Oregon Coast. The organization describes its model as pairing major bicycling events with partnerships in communities across the state to support tourism and local economic development.
Cycle Oregon

Cycle Oregon has also awarded 387 grants totaling $3.25 million through its community and signature grant programs, supporting bicycle safety, education, resources, tourism, and infrastructure.
Cycle Oregon Impact

Travel Oregon also commissioned research on bicycle-related travel. A 2013 study estimated that Oregon had 1.2 million trips in 2012 that included bicycle recreation, with roughly $400 million in travel expenditures supporting 4,600 jobs and $102 million in earnings.
Headwaters Economics summary of Dean Runyan Associates study

The Bicycle Bill and Oregon’s Bike Economy

The Oregon Bike Bill helped create the conditions for a broader bicycling ecosystem. As bicycling became more visible and practical, Oregon also became fertile ground for bike-related businesses.

Burley Design — Eugene

Burley Design is one of the clearest examples of Oregon’s bike culture becoming an industry. Founded in Eugene in 1978, Burley became known for bicycle trailers and family biking products. Its child trailers helped define an entire product category connected to everyday and family bicycling.
Burley Design background

Bike Friday — Eugene

Bike Friday, also based in Eugene, was founded in 1992 and builds folding travel bicycles. The company describes itself as rooted in bicycle travel, custom design, and Eugene-based manufacturing. Its founders’ story is directly connected to a deep bicycle lifestyle and to earlier Oregon bicycle innovation, including Burley.
Bike Friday

Showers Pass — Portland

Showers Pass reflects another Oregon-specific bicycling need: riding in wet weather. The company began with the idea of making a cycling-specific rain jacket and later moved to Portland, where it built a reputation around gear for Pacific Northwest riders and bike commuters.
Showers Pass

A Revolution in Plain Sight

The Oregon Bike Bill’s legacy is not only the facilities built because of it. Its deeper legacy is cultural. It helped establish the idea that bicycling and walking belong in transportation policy, public budgets, road design, tourism strategy, and economic development.

Oregon’s bicycling prominence today—its national bike-friendly ranking, major rides, bicycle tourism economy, family biking culture, and homegrown bike businesses—can all be traced back to the same basic idea:

A transportation system should make room for people, not just vehicles.

Join Us

Please join legislators, advocates, industry leaders, public agency partners, and community members to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Oregon Bike Bill.

When: June 11, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Where: Oregon Capitol Mall, in front of the Oregon State Capitol
Why: To honor Oregon’s bicycling legacy and recommit to a safer, healthier, and more accessible transportation future.