I'd like to chime in here as well. It is important to not just speak in favor of the report, but to speak strongly about the importance of implementing the recommendations. A report or plan is only as good as the will to put it into action. We do NOT want this report to sit on a shelf. We want it to come alive with action.
Here are some talking points, if you need them. Use any or all: * The city has adopted The Natural Step to become a truly green city. Investing in, encouraging, and facilitating to the greatest extent possible green transportation is essential to the success of this endeavor. * Making bicycling a safe, easy, and "normal" choice is good for the family budgets of families struggling in this economy. * We have a commitment to make Madison a Fit City. Bicycling is a great way to get people active, but still too many people feel unsafe or intimidated. The recommendations in the report will address many of the obstacles to bicycling. * We need to plan for a post-oil, post-single occupancy vehicle world. This is one step in doing that. * A great bicycling city is attractive to companies looking to locate or grow here. CEOs and entrepreneurs want a place where THEY want to live. * Bicycling is good for the social fabric of the community. Eyes on the street. People being able to talk to each other, etc. * The investments required in the draft report are a tiny cost compared to the costs of facilitating and encouraging driving, which we all seem to happily pay. * Tell a story about how an improvement or a recommendation in the report has/would improve your life or those of others. Especially important to show that this can improve the business, environment, health, or other aspects of your neighborhood or the city. Anything else you might want to add! So far, I have gotten one email about the Platinum report. And there hasn't been a peep out of Bike Fed. Come on, folks. Where are all the those mouthy bike advocates I love? Please email ASAP. Make sure to include your address, so your alder knows you live in his/her district. You can also mention that you work, shop, go to school, or otherwise spend money in a part of town. Also make sure that the subject line is clear, like: adopt and implement Platinum Bike Report. Another email address you can use is: [EMAIL PROTECTED] That address goes automatically into our IN boxes instead of needing to be forwarded as an attachment. You can also include [EMAIL PROTECTED] Robbie On Fri, Apr 4, 2008 at 9:45 AM, Matt Logan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > It is very important that us bicyclists show > the City that this report has a high level of support from as many of us > as possible. The most effective way to do this is to show up and speak. > [snip] >Ideally, the BFW would > send (and still could) an action alert to Madison-area members about > supporting the Platinum Report at the Council Meeting, seeing as > implementation of the Platinum Report's recommendations would place a > Wisconsin city in the top tier of bicycling and could generate a lot of > good press. > _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
