attended a public works commision meeting

[Irulan]

Be prepared to give a lot of your time! But it will be worth it. I'm involved in local cycle advocacy, and it's an incredible thing. There's definitely a learning curve too, as to how the wheels of gov't turn, where is the money going to come from, politics and all that fun stuff. Have fun!!

Only down side was lack of participation from some of the local clubs. Where were they?? I guess when I get involved, I will contact clubs to get their input, get inputs from beach cruisers types, and BMXers... I would like to see an all inclusive plan.

might as well resign yourself now to the fact that only 1 in 10 to 20 uses will volunteer to work on issues that are important to them. Be prepared to hear a lot of , "why don't you...." and "you should be....". It's not worth getting stressed out over why more people don't participate. Either they do, or they don't, and if you are lucky you'll get an occasional thank you. We have a saying in our organization, "put up or shut up". Rough I know, but if you don't want to participate in the process, or at least come to a meeting to find out why things are going the way they are, we aren't terribly interested in hearing what you have to say.

[smilingcat]

Hi Irulan,

Sad isn't it? People don't participate but are willing to froth at their mouth with their radio-active glowing orange breath and tell you off for not doing bizarro thing they wanted. Too bad I say. I get this a lot at my work. And engineers are the most un-reasonable bunch.

Yes I think it will be an interesting exercise in patience, self-control, and being diplomatic.

Right now I'm still very much excited. (its not that hard to get me excited :LOL: )
Smilingcat

[maillotpois]

Good for you for getting involved and trying to make things better.

[tulip]

Great, smilingcat! Bicycles traffic has alot more in common with car traffic than pedestrian traffic. That's a hard concept for some folks to understand.

There's good information on bicycle transit and planning out there. Start with the League of American Bicyclists. Also, a planning and design firm on the east coast does alot of bike planning and has a good website with lots of good resources and links. I think the name of the firm is Toole Design, it's in Maryland.

[Trek420]

Thank you smilingcat and all those who advocate both off road and on.

Keep us posted.

Support your local bike advocacy group. I feel besides volunteering and showing up at meetings the best thing we can do is be the good example.

Be the cyclist who obeys the traffic signals, stops at stop signs (we all do that, right? ) One of the things I often say to those who trash talk about us is "you haven't seen me do that, right?" And then explain that one of the important lessens of riding safely is whenever possible I don't drive my bike the same route I'd drive my car. Instead I think side streets, parallel roads, off roads.

So while we have the right to any road unless expressly forbidden some of the best riders are not where cars and drivers are.

It only takes a moment to check the action center at:

www.bikeleague.org/action/index.php

They'll have the link to just click, send a letter to the appropriate person regarding our burning needs .... to ride our bikes safely There, advocacy and you don't even have to log off and ride to a meeting.

[shootingstar]

Be prepared to give a lot of your time! But it will be worth it. I'm involved in local cycle advocacy, and it's an incredible thing. There's definitely a learning curve too, as to how the wheels of gov't turn, where is the money going to come from, politics and all that fun stuff. Have fun!!



might as well resign yourself now to the fact that only 1 in 10 to 20 uses will volunteer to work on issues that are important to them. Be prepared to hear a lot of , "why don't you...." and "you should be....". It's not worth getting stressed out over why more people don't participate. Either they do, or they don't, and if you are lucky you'll get an occasional thank you. We have a saying in our organization, "put up or shut up". Rough I know, but if you don't want to participate in the process, or at least come to a meeting to find out why things are going the way they are, we aren't terribly interested in hearing what you have to say.

Would tend to agree that it's useful to tell others, enourage them to participate but in the end, it is often a small group of dedicated cycling advocates who will attend meetings/respond with practical ideas for implementation.

It is useful to give a roadie perspective but the majority of the North Americans currently using cars as their only/main means of transportation will not be cycling with the skill, speed and confidence of a regular roadie. Instead to persuade people out of their cars and onto bikes more often is to map out safe, quieter road routes PLUS separated bike paths that are interconnected/parallel.

You will learn way more about your city / area at ground level than ever dreamt in your life.

[Irulan]

a word to those of you who just can't deal with meetings and being part of the process...something as simple as a few buck donated to your local organization can really make a difference. We understand that some people are too busy, too shy, or have their other causes. But a few bucks is something most of us can do if nothing else.

[gingerale]

What a great opportunity for you! Way to step up and get involved. Good luck with it all and keep us posted.

[smilingcat]

Its not finalized yet, but I may be speaking to the full city coucil next Tuesday night.

How fun is this???

smilingcat

[crazycanuck]

Coolio!

If you need any planning info, check out www.planning.org

Good luck!!

[Mr. Bloom]

Its not finalized yet, but I may be speaking to the full city coucil next Tuesday night.

How fun is this???

smilingcat

You're going to do great! I'm following this thread with great interest. I like the conciseness with which you explained the differences in needs that a roadie has and why the path can create more danger than help

[smilingcat]

Went to the city coucil meeting tonight.

I politely asked the council members to support the public works commision (PWC) on creating a master bike plan. PWC can't continue working on the idea if the council doesn't support it. So playing politics in behalf of PWC.

Just shocked that other speakers who came to address the coucil were soooooo poorly dressed. I atleast had enough sense to dress professionally with notes and speech written out. Some reminded me of Rosana-sana-dan from SNL. Sheesh

The new mayor was taking notice so I hope the bike path plan will continue on.

smilingcat

[OakLeaf]

a word to those of you who just can't deal with meetings and being part of the process...something as simple as a few buck donated to your local organization can really make a difference. We understand that some people are too busy, too shy, or have their other causes. But a few bucks is something most of us can do if nothing else.

Irulan, that made me feel a LOT better. I'm one who really can't deal with meetings (never mind I'm never in one place long enough to be part of any process, even things I'd really like to try). I'm often made to feel guilty about just throwing money at things I believe in. So thanks for the vote of confidence.