Keep in mind, too, that the AWB is working on merging with the League of
American Bicyclists and Bikes Belong [1]. I won't speak for them, but I
don't necessarily trust right now that from an organizational standpoint,
they (or the successor organization) will have the resources to cash checks
their goodwill would write.
I second Godwin's statement about the differing end goals; as community
shops, we work at a retail level that advocacy organizations -- or at
least, the ones I'm most familiar with -- don't. I think, too, that before
we can as a group of collectives start working with a national-level
agency, we need to share what works at our local levels. The Sacramento
Bicycle Kitchen is doing gangbusters community shop work, but we can't
easily contribute to a partnership with AWB. What we can do is work with
the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates and let the rest of the BCN know what
we did, how we did it, and hopefully what worked, what didn't, and why.
This sort of grassroots action plays directly to our strengths.
That said, I would love to see this discussion continued in Vancouver,
particularly if AWB/LAB/BB sends a squad to Bike!Bike! and makes it easier
for us to send representatives to ProWalk/ProBike.
--Ryan S.
--
Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen
http://sacbikekitchen.org/
1915 I Street, Midtown Sacramento
Open Tu 6-9p, We 6-9p, Th 6-9p, Fr 10a-2p (kids 6-8p), Sa 12-4p
On Wed, Mar 28, 2012 at 9:52 AM, Godwin !
goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
> This involves all of us, why not keep the discussion open for now?
>
> My first thoughts are that an alliance (with the alliance) would be of
> interest, however a partnership may be going too far. We have similar
> interests and possibly end goals, however I feel that our immediate goals
> are very different.
>
> The mission of the Bike Collective Network is to strengthen and encourage
> communication and resource sharing between existing and future community
> bike shops. Collectively we can improve a bigger wheel as opposed to
> re-inventing smaller ones.
>
> From what I have understood of the AWB is that the primary interest is
> advocacy in general while to me, the BCN exists to help people start up
> their own collectives and keep them going. While most of us are likely
> advocates and want to promote cycling (and walking I guess), that I feel
> comes second or is even a byproduct of what we do.
>
> I'm not sure where this would go in the end but we had some initial
> discussions at last year's Bike!Bike! concerning creating stronger ties
> between our organizations and possibly making the organization more
> formalized. There seemed to be some interest, however there was some
> backlash at the thought of a having a parent organization to encompass all
> of our organizations. The consensus seemed to be that this would not be of
> interest, however creating a third party organization to help with research
> and funding may be. Perhaps this is where such a partnership could take us.
>
> My other concern is that the AWB is a US/Canada wide project, while it's
> awesome to hear that we've been included up here, the BCN has been helping
> organizations world-wide. I'm not sure how such a partnership would effect
> these relationships.
>
> I really like that we're talking about this! Is there any chance that
> anyone from the AWB will be able to make it out to Vancouver this June? It
> would be a great opportunity to get this discussion going in person
> and gauge the feelings of the general community.
>
> .godwin
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:47:54 -0400
> From: Mike@PeoplePoweredMovement.org
> To: thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
> Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Partnership with the Alliance for Walking and
> Biking
>
>
> As Jonathan mentioned, we have been in discussions about establishing a
> partnership with the Bike Collective Network as part of a larger effort by
> the Alliance to work with Community Bike Shops. I encourage you to call or
> email me with your thoughts and ideas as we continue to determine how this
> partnership will look.
>
> Best,
>
> Mike Samuelson
>
*Member Services and Open Streets Coordinator*
> Alliance for Biking & Walking
>
> P.O. Box 65150
> Washington, DC 20035
>
> Phone: 202-449-9692 x 7
> Mike@PeoplePoweredMovement.org
>
>
> The Open Streets Project has just released the Open Streets Guide
http://openstreetsproject.org/blog/2012/02/21/open-streets-project-releases-best-practices-guide/!
> A great resource for anyone looking to further open streets in their
> community.
>
> From: Jonathan Morrison
jonathan@slcbikecollective.org
> Reply-To: The Think Tank
thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
> Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:43:32 -0600
> To: The Think Tank
thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
> Subject: [TheThinkTank] Partnership with the Alliance for Walking and
> Biking
>
> We have been working with the Alliance for Walking and Biking to establish
> a partnership that will help Community Bike Shops grow and achieve their
> goals, as well as help bridge the gaps in the bicycle advocacy community at
> large.
>
>
>
http://bikeportland.org/2012/03/26/community-bike-shops-are-changing-the-fac...
>
> We invite you to join in the conversation.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jonathan Morrison
> Executive Director
> Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective
> 2312 S. West Temple
> Salt Lake City, UT 84115
> w: 801-328-2453
> c: 801-688-0183
> f: 801-466-3856
> www.slcbikecollective.org
>
> The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling
> as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone
> of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Bicycle Collective provides
> refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on
> children and lower income households.
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