This perception of neighborhoods being victimized by "outsider ped/bicycling special interests" that many ped/bike projects fall victim to will exist no matter how forcefully elected officials try to prevent us from engaging the democratic process. Denying local bicyclists a constructive role in this process helps nobody in the long run. What we need more than anything is to be sending the message that every ped/bicyclist has a right (or even an obligation) to engage the city to help make their transportation experience a safe and pleasant one. Without this we have broken a critical feedback loop that helps keep our elected officials and city agencies on the right track.
The optimal response to this pervasive anti-ped/bicyclist perception is pervasive pro-ped/bicyclist education. I would like to see more effort to highlight the benefits to _everyone_ of improved ped/bicycle facilities. Whether this message comes from "outsiders" or not becomes irrelevant if the average Madisonian can be made to realize the benefits they will derive from a project. To do this our elected officials and ped/bike advocates need to better landscape their message for the value system of the average Madisonian, not their own values. Few citizens really give a shit why I ride a bike or that I am doing my part to save the planet from a wide array of threats. They care more about things like the fact that the induced property tax burden per ped/bike commuter is much lower than other modes. Currently, people are mostly oblivious to this fact, or the fact that 68% of road costs in Wisconsin come from property taxes ($304/yr/household in Madison), not the gas tax. This is not a problem of sending the right people to do the advocating as much as it is a problem of sending the right message. So everyone, please start sending the right message! -----Original Message----- I made a very deliberate decision to keep this process in the neighborhood and not specifically alert bikies, Bike Fed, or any stealth Trek lobbyists. Not that I don't love you all, but I didn't want to create a perception of "outside bicyclists vs. neighbors," which some people claimed had contributed to the derailing of the project in the past. _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
