Ben Payment is an engineer in Huntsville, has been on the board of the Land Trust of North Alabama and particularly within the bicycle community a staunch volunteer with Huntsville Bicycle Advisory and Safety Committee (BASC) since 2016, and HUBS, the Huntsville Urban Bike Share Coop.

In October 2023, Payment participated in a session looking at a fatal accident in Huntsville. That session was organized by Strong Towns, a nonprofit focused on changing the way America looks at development, including making cities safer for everyone who lives in them, including pedestrians, and cyclists.

The accident involved Joshua Gurley, who was killed 4:41 p.m. June 7, 2021 while riding his bike, when he was struck by a car. Gurley, 37, was cycling across the seven lanes of University Drive, also known as U.S. 72, headed southbound toward Julia Street when he was hit by a westbound vehicle in the intersection. “The crash report states that Gurley failed to obey traffic signs or signals at the time of the collision. And that there was no evidence to support filing charges when the crash happened,” Strong Towns Action Team Coordinator Tony Harris, said during the session.