When Ashley Sisk applied to join the League’s Active Mobility Leadership Lab, she was looking for new ways to build support for bicycling in Wichita Falls, Texas. As the first Bicycle Friendly Community Coordinator in the city’s Health Department, Sisk hoped the program would help Wichita Falls build a more coordinated, data-driven approach to improving bicycle safety and connectivity.
| ABOUT THE PROGRAM Active Mobility Leadership Lab The Active Mobility Leadership Lab is a 16-week training program, generously funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in support of their Active People, Healthy Nation℠ Initiative. Participants (local government agency staff in emerging and aspiring Bicycle Friendly Communities) form a working group, develop an Active Mobility Action Plan, and receive training, resources, and direct technical assistance from the League to implement it. |
A few weeks into the program, the work took on new urgency.
In early spring 2026, while Sisk and her fellow Leadership Lab participants were learning about community engagement and starting to build action plans, a father and daughter were killed while riding their bikes along the I-44 corridor that connects downtown Wichita Falls and Sheppard Air Force Base. Another bicyclist fatality followed just over two weeks later, amplifying concerns that residents already had about safety on local roads.
As community members began asking what could be done, the city’s new working group that emerged from the Leadership Lab became a place to channel concern into action. “People have been calling to see what the city is doing [to address these fatalities],” said Sisk. “The working group and the Bicycle Advisory Committee have been a great outlet for them to share their voice and get involved… We’re having stakeholders reach out and say, ‘We want to stop this. This isn’t right, we got to make our roadway safer.’”
As a Bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community since 2019, a designation that helps a community align with national standards as it works towards its bicycle infrastructure and programming goals, Wichita Falls already had a foundation for this work. Local champions, city staff, and organizations like the Wichita Falls Bicycling Club have already spent years building momentum to get more people riding bicycles safely in the community. Events like the Hotter’N Hell Hundred draw more than 10,000 riders each year, boosting bicycling as a more visible part of community life. Education programs like Cycle SMART and city investments in bicycle and pedestrian connections have also helped make active transportation a safer everyday option.
The pieces were there, but there was no formal process for consistently bringing partners together, aligning priorities, and turning ideas into action. Sisk and the local Leadership Lab working group she organized focused their action plan on this key challenge: creating a more coordinated approach to bicycle safety and planning in Wichita Falls.
Their plan calls for launching a pilot bicycle advisory committee through the Health District, with representation from across the community and a range of local government departments. The goal is for the committee to strengthen coordination among partners while laying the groundwork for a more formal advisory structure in the future.
Sisk says one of the best outcomes of the work so far is a promising new partnership with the local military base. “Honestly, it wouldn’t have happened without the working group,” says Sisk. “Sheppard Air Force Base is huge here. We train 60% of airmen in the U.S. and it’s a big part of our economy. Many service members are here short-term without their vehicles, and they are walking, they’re biking, and they’re riding public transportation. …I connected with someone from the base’s Office of Safety, which is a whole office that’s focused on the safety of airmen outside of the base. It’s been great.”
The committee is still taking shape, but the impact of the Active Mobility Leadership Lab is already visible. For example, both the City and County recently adopted Bike Month proclamations to show their commitment to improving conditions for bicyclists at the local and county levels. New partners like the Air Force Base and local business leaders are joining the conversation, more Wichita Falls residents are finding ways to get involved through public meetings, and local leaders are working together to meet growing public interest in health, safety, and active transportation options. For Sisk, that’s an important step toward ensuring bicycle safety remains a shared community priority long after her time in the Leadership Lab training program ends.
The League is looking forward to hosting a new round of Active Mobility Leadership Lab training next year. Keep an eye on the League’s blog and newsletter for announcements about the next Leadership Lab application period.
This project was made possible by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-PW-24-0080). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC. These efforts are part of the CDC’s Active People, Healthy NationSM Initiative that is working to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027.