When I say “bikes” or “transit” or “walking” the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials may not be the first organization that springs to mind. But each year they sponsor a “Faces of Transportation” photo contest and this year’s themes provide plenty of scope to capture pictures of active transportation.

Building the Future: The people who plan, design, build, and maintain the transportation network. What about capturing people doing trail maintenance, someone striping a bike lane or putting in a curb cut, or the kind of planning work that creates the map above of Spokane County bike/pedestrian projects?

Taking a Ride: Photos in this theme will emphasize the people who use the nation’s transportation network to discover new places, move to new locations and explore. Well, hey, riding a bike is all about discovering new places!

On the Road: The photos in this theme will emphasize the leisure and long-distance travel opportunities presented by the nation’s transportation network. How about the US Bicycle Route System and some bike touring pictures for this one?

Contest deadline for entries is July 31 so you have plenty of time. You do need to read the rules and get model releases to make sure you have a chance of winning one of their cash prizes.

How about it? The people who literally own the word “transportation” on the Web (transportation.org) should see images from the gifted photographers out there demonstrating that bikes are definitely part of the transportation system. And we’d love to have an album here and on the Bike Style Spokane Facebook page of your submissions, too!

Since I opened by making it sound as if AASHTO doesn’t carry about bikes, let me say that bikes and highways can go together, done well. In the Spokane area the Children of the Sun trail is being constructed as part of the north/south corridor with Department of Transportation dollars and they were a partner in the new complete street, Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, because it crosses a state highway.

Support your local bike-friendly transportation agency with some great photography and encouragement to keep up the good work, and come back to tell and show us what you entered!

Related Reading

• The Ultimate Bikespedition: Support the US Bicycle Route System
• Meet Spokane’s Newest Complete Street: Martin Luther King, Jr. Way
• Taking a Road Not Taken Before: 2010 video tour of the first section of the Children of the Sun Trail by Hank Greer
• Extending the Children of the Sun Trail: 2010 post on Shallow Cogitations blog with pictures, also by Hank Greer
• Children of the Sun Trail Video Tour: Featured on the SRTC blog with some helpful comments about the effects of construction on the trail
• Children of the Sun Trail: WSDOT info with map (PDF)

Your Turn

• What themes would you suggest for a Bike Style photo contest? Could be fun!