[*BCM*] What would you do?

[Pete Stidman]

Thanks for all the comments, feel free to keep posting as I am still watching.
 
One element I am very interested in is the disconnect between the decentralized, leaderless BCM and Mass Bike, which is hierarchical.  I dare say BCM's list of accomplishments would be shorter than mass bikes (even though I have participated myself and feel empowered by the experience).  
 
Anne's concerns, I think, are shared with others in the community.  I see the validity of many of them, but I also appreciate being able to take my bike on the T and realize the difficulty of running an advocacy organization (getting funding often takes up between a third and a half of all of any non-profits energy).  
 
What sort of visions do people have about a Boston advocacy or activist organization that works?  How would it be organized, how would it accomplish goals, etc.  Is there or should there be a leaderless alternative to MassBike?
 
One thing Tom neglected to mention is the fact that mass bike does help provide folks with the names and contact info for sending those letters.  Is this something more people want to do?  Do people have hope for this process?  I was just at a meeting full of city planners this morning and there seemed to be alot of support for transit oriented development, even from the mayor, and bikes share many of the same advantages.  It seems that with some pushing things could happen.  
 
We all have opinions about how bike facilities should be, but when critical mass and massbike arent getting things to change, what can a modern day bike activist do?   
 
-Pete
 


Anne Wolfe <goannego at yahoo.com> wrote:
I was rebuffed.  I turned up, with plenty of experience and enthusiasm, and was first underutilized, and then just generally blown off.  Which seemed amazing really as no one seemed to be doing anything that much.   So I channelled my fundraising expertise, intellect and enthusiasm elsewhere, where I have to say they've been greatly appreciated in this era of budget cuts.  I've spent two years raising a lot more money than I've earned each year for charity, and that's not as a professional fundraiser either, that's just putting my butt on the line and saying "if you sponsor me, I'll go do this, and this, and this."  
 
What would I like to see?
 - something that just doesn't sponsor legislation, but gets legislation passed.
- if they get legislation passed, they make sure it is funded.
 - something that is appealing broadly, and very hard, outside the biking community to promote biking issues.  Selling bike issues to the biking community is about as hard as selling snow to the eskimos, or even the greater Boston area this week.  I want to see local vendors installing bike racks in places where they can be seen (so as to deter/reduce theft), so as to encourage people to bike to their stores.  I want to see bike racks at the T with the same kind of safegards (there are bike racks at some T stations, but not many racks and not many stations which considering the restrictions of taking your bike on the T they ought to at least be helping people to bike TO the T.).  Hell, let the private companies sponsor the bike racks.
 - I want to see harder promotion to the non-biking masses about the benefits of biking to work, the store, the wherever.  Encourage companies to provide incentives, whether financial, showers, discounts whatever to people who bike to work at least twice a week.
 - I want to see promotion through the schools about biking to school by children, so as to encourage them from an early age, and encouraging the parents to accompany them.
- I want an organization that isn't going to consider throwing three social events a year to raise money for themselves as part of their accomplishments for the biking community.
 
Of course, that's just a quick 10 minute brainstorm.
Anne

turtle <turtle at zworg.com> wrote:
goannego at yahoo.com wrote about joining MassBIke,

> I did, I tried, I was strongly rebuffed, I left

You were rebuffed? How? By the staff (Tim, Dorie, Me)? Or was it by
one of the many volunteers? Did someone honestly say, "We don't want
YOU in MassBike"? Or did they maybe just disagree with one of your
ideas?

Also, I'm curious as to what kind of organization you'd like to see, if
MassBike is so disappointing to you. (Beyond the idea of promoting
siedpaths, which as I mentioned in another message, MassBike does not
promote due to their proven dangers.)

-Turtle

--
"One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we
seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must
pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means." - Martin Luther King Jr.
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