Why it is important to support adoption of the Platinum Biking Committee Report
Reason 1: It will make it more fun for everyone to bicycle in Madison In fully implemented, I believe the recommendations found in the Platinum Biking Committee Report will benefit current bicyclists, and prospective new riders, as well as provide some less direct, but more widespread plusses to all Madison residents. The most direct benefit of implementing the recommendations in the report will go to prospective new bicyclists who are not comfortable with the current bicycling infrastructure. Improving the infrastructure has a well-documented positive effect on bicycling levels. Increased levels of bicycling have been shown to improve the safety of all bicyclists as motorists become more aware of the existence of bicycles on the roads. Reason 2: Showing strong support for the report now will remind our elected officials and City Staff that supporting bicycling is important. There have been a lot of plans adopted by the City of Madison that never got implemented. Why? Because other things got prioritized. How do we keep this from happening to the Platinum Report? By showing up and e-mailing the council in large numbers. The most recent demonstration of how effective showing up in numbers can be is the police listening sessions held last year. The bottom line: It is hard to ignore a large crowd. Still need a reason to justify coming to the meeting? Reason 3: Try imagining this... It is 2020, and bicycling counts in Madison are around 25% of all trips. 75% of kids regularly bike or walk to school. The city is highly responsive to bicycling issues. Bike parking is conveniently located everywhere, and not snowed in during winter. A number of bike boulevards provide easy access to most of Madison. Businesses have started to realize that locating near bike boulevards can be profitable and the whole city has become much more human-scaled as a result. Also, it seems like dangerous encounters with other road users have declined. Then, the City council considers a resolution to tear up all the bike boulevards, reduce the amount of bike parking in town, degrade the rights of bicyclists on the road, and force businesses to cater primarily to customers who utilize motorized transportation. Would you feel motivated to speak out at that meeting in 2020 to defend your rights as a bicyclist? If so, then you should speak out at the meeting tomorrow because exactly the same future is at stake! Please come and show your support at the council meeting tomorrow night Tuesday, April 8, 2008 6:30 PM 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Room 201 (City-County Building) The Platinum Report is Agenda Item 99 at the council meeting. "Adopting the Platinum Biking City Planning Committee's report, "Making Madison the Best Place in the Country to Bicycle," and recommendations contained therein." The resolution can be viewed here: http://tinyurl.com/2yqkyt If you cannot make it in person, you can contact the council via-email at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 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! _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
