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Please define
community bike program
Jan
Anthony Siracusa wrote:
Hey All--
Was Bikes not Bombs the first community bike program established in the US?
Thanks, Anthony Siracusa Revolutions Community Bicycle Shop Memphis, TN
here's our path:
'96: free cycles forms to advance community cycling 2000: missoula institute for sustainable transportation forms to address safe and accessible cycling, clean air, equity, street design, etc.
2003: free cycles brought under mist umbrella
2007: works well; free cycles does the 'non-political' restore/teach bike stuff, mist does the 'in the trenches research, design and advocacy' work.
in essence, we have many overlapping circles of people doing related yet distinct work.
i think there is no magic formula, only organically growing circles of people and organization(s)
i also think we have reached a collective awareness of sustainability/bicycle issues that the same people working on 'non-political' community bike programs (these programs are actually very political and effective in a quiet way), can be very direct about the need for bicycle friendly infrastructures.
mist was able to help get a road diet in place last year, which made many people angry (and many people very happy). the 4-lane to 3-lane conversion is working great, for bikes, walkers, and even motor vehicles (slow and smooth car flow).
a new group just formed here, with different circles of people: the bike walk alliance for missoula.
here is why mist and free cycles are under one umbrella: the experiences, excitement, trials and errors of the community bike shop help inform mist as to what people desire and practice with regards to cycling; conversely, the research, design and collaboration of a larger sustainable transportation movement helps guide what projects to undertake with the mountains of bicycles and people energy that flow into the shop every day.
-bob giordano
-- Free Cycles Missoula (program of... Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation www.strans.org, mist@strans.org, 406.880.6834
Erik Ryberg said:
I am interested in this discussion too. Our group, BICAS, does not
explicitly do advocacy (though it depends what you mean by that -- we have robust programs for "disadvantaged youth" and so forth and maybe the folks doing that work would consider it advocacy) but I think we come pretty close, and of course individually we are all
advocacy-minded.
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