attended a public works commision 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.