NEW ORLEANS – Recognizing bicycling as both transportation and an essential part of how people move and connect, Bike Easy expanded its operational capacity and regional influence in 2025, advancing education, fun, safety and advocacy initiatives across Greater New Orleans.
“2025 was a year of growth for Bike Easy,” said Executive Director Allene La Spina. “We grew our staff, our partnerships and our reach in order to continue making bicycling easy, safe and fun for everyone in Greater New Orleans.”
Recent reporting in The Atlantic has linked safe bicycling environments to improved health, stronger neighborhood connections and overall quality of life in cities.
In total, Bike Easy hosted 17 adult bicycle safety workshops, three Smart Biking trainings, four People Friendly Driving workshops, two community bike rides, two Adult Learn to Ride classes and one Bike Law legal clinic. It also more than doubled its capacity attending city, regional and state-level meetings, serving on advisory committees and representing the biking community.
Bike Easy also relocated into shared space with Bayou Bicycles to boost programming, outreach and daily operations.
From Daylight to Nightfall: Riding the City Safely
Bike Easy launched a Complete Streets bike tour with the Children and Youth Planning Board and introducing Biking After Dark workshops in partnership with the New Orleans Public Library.
“Our education work is about meeting people where they are and giving them the tools to feel confident and safe,” La Spina said. “That means building curriculum that works for kids, teens, adults and drivers alike.”
People Friendly Driving outreach also expanded during the year through new partnerships with nationwide driving schools and New Orleans Hop-On Hop-Off tour drivers, training both professional and everyday drivers on traffic laws, visibility, safe passing and best practices for sharing the road with people biking and walking.
“Teaching people how to bike safely also means teaching drivers how to share the road,” La Spina said. “Those conversations are just as important.”
Bike Rodeos, Ride Clubs and Youth on Wheels
Bike Easy hosted bike rodeos, bike safety workshops, after-school ride clubs and Youth Learn to Ride events throughout 2025, giving young riders hands-on opportunities to build skills and confidence in safe, supervised settings. Seven full-day teen multimodal trainings were conducted with ninth-grade classes at New Harmony High School, while after-school ride clubs were held at ReNEW Laurel Elementary and the Waldorf School.
These programs were delivered in partnership with schools, youth-serving organizations and cultural institutions, including ReNEW Laurel Elementary, New Harmony High School, Community Works of Louisiana, Life Transformation Youth Center, the Children and Youth Planning Board, BYOBikes, Boy Scouts of Southeast Louisiana, Youth Run NOLA, RUBARB, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission and the Lafitte Greenway.
The Not-So-Easy Bike Easy Scavenger Hunt returned in 2025 sponsored by Dirty Coast. The April event drew 59 participants across 14 teams and raised $1,794. “This event was about fun, community and reminding people that biking can be joyful,” La Spina said.
Outreach and Rider Visibility
Bike Easy conducted 22 outreach interventions in 2025 and hosted four bike light giveaway events, distributing 130 bike light sets to help riders stay visible. The organization also participated in health fairs, Earth Day events, neighborhood festivals, school programs and public safety initiatives.
“Our goal is visibility — not just for people on bikes, but for safety and respect on our streets,” La Spina said.
That message also extended online through Bike Easy’s Quick Tips social media series, which shared concise guidance on traffic safety, gear checks, biking etiquette and commuter best practices. “We want safety information to be accessible,” La Spina said. “Sometimes a small tip at the right moment can make a real difference.”
Bike Parking, Valet and Making Riders Welcome
Bike Easy expanded its Discount Bike Rack Program after receiving an Entergy New Orleans grant to provide free racks to up to seven local businesses. Installations were completed at the Algiers Ferry Terminal, the Regional Planning Commission and Bayou Bikes.
“Good bike parking sends a message that people on bikes are welcome,” La Spina said.
The organization’s Bicycle Valet Program supported 11 events with 25 total occurrences, parking 1,180 bicycles during the year. The program generated $6,400 in contract services revenue and $972.75 in donations.
From Remembrance to Action
Bike Easy partnered with Lake Lawn Cemetery to host its second Ride to Remember, with city officials and advocates honoring the people who lost their lives while biking in the region.
“We wanted to make this a safe space for healing,” La Spina said. “It’s about remembering lives lost while continuing to push for safer streets.”
That commitment to preventing future tragedies carried into Bike Easy’s advocacy work at the national level. In 2025, staff returned to the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C., representing Louisiana on Lobby Day and advocating for policies that support safer street design, better protections for people biking and stronger traffic safety accountability.
Those efforts were reinforced locally through Bike Easy’s Purple Way campaign which promotes safer, more visible biking routes and street design improvements to reduce conflicts between drivers and people biking.
“Showing up matters,” La Spina said. “If we’re not in the room, the needs of people who bike don’t get heard.”
Membership and Reach
Bike Easy closed the year with 53 sustaining members, 323 individual members and five business members. “Our members are the backbone of this work,” La Spina said. “They donate, volunteer, show up and keep us going.”
Bike Easy programming during the year extended across Orleans and Jefferson parishes, including New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, River Ridge, Waggaman, Marrero, Harvey, Terrytown, Chalmette, Meraux, Arabi and Belle Chasse.
“We couldn’t do any of this without our partners, members and supporters,” said La Spina. “They’re the reason we’re able to keep making progress year after year.”
