> So I pose this question to all Sustain Dane members: "What can WE do to > help the Susan Lampert-Smiths in our midst to "get it" about > sustainability - and to understand that highway expansions without end are > a prescription for a devastated, gridlocked planet?
My answer to this question is this is not a productive question. I don't believe the effort to help the Susan Lampert-Smiths in our midst to "get it" is going to pay off substantially. The reason is that autocentrism is inculcated into our kids early and often. By the time they are 16 most kids are already committed to living a lifestyle of maximizing their use of the automobile. I had a 7-year old relative who told me "you need a car", and was serious when my wife and I told him we decided to get rid of our car. It turns out he is already eager to drive - in fact his parents allow this kid (now 10) to steer their car as they drive within their gated community, where there is nothing to walk to. The real question isn't how we help the Susan Lampert-Smiths "get it". The question is how do we provide our young children with an environment to grow up in that empowers them to explore all their transportation options - and to ultimately become capable of making smart transportation choices as adults. And the hard part is finding a way to do this when most parents insist on driving or bussing their kids to school (and everywhere else), which in turn forces the schools to design themselves to be car-friendly, which in turn makes it less safe to walk or bike to school, which in turn convinces more parents they need to drive their kids to school... I believe the answer to this is to provide small walkable/bikable neighborhood schools, at least for kids through 9th grade. Unfortunately, the recent school budget cuts are prompting the district to do just the opposite: Consolidate and create larger, less walkable and bikable schools. So if you read this far, then you are probably committed enough to do something about this problem. The Board of education is holding a series of public hearings on the budget, including the plan to consolidate schools. The calendar is here: http://www.mmsd.org/web/boe/calendar.shtml And the dates of these meetings are: 4/16 5pm 4/17 6:30pm 4/18 4:30pm (Common Council/BOE Liason Committee) 4/19 6:30pm 4/23 5:00pm 4/24 6:30pm 4/26 6:30pm. 4/30 6:00pm. Please see the calendar for specifics on location and agenda. _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
