Six Things to Prepare for a Bike-Friendly 2018, #2: Be a Volunteer Activist
Changing the world takes action on all levels. We need the professional, focused advocacy that CalBike delivers—and we also need volunteer effort, and lots of it. In fact, CalBike at its best works to coordinate and amplify the passion and energy of thousands of volunteer activists for transportation justice, without whom we simply could not win.
Take Walt Seifert, for example. He decided he wanted to see California follow Idaho and Delaware in enacting the common sense reform of stop sign laws so that people on bikes have to yield but don’t have to come to a complete stop if nobody else is present at the intersection. He single-handedly secured the endorsement of more than 37 important organizations and the support of key legislators, making the impossible seem possible. We didn’t win this year but he laid a strong foundation for another try.
Now take yourself, for example. Don’t doubt that you can make a difference.
If you’re like Walt and like the political game, lobby your local legislator. To help budding and experienced transportation advocates from across the state get engaged, we’re coordinating Bike Advocacy Week to connect our members with their local Assemblymember or Senator during the Spring Recess when they are in their district. Join today so you can be sure not to miss that action.
If you’re more of a direct action type of person, consider this: build your own infrastructure. There’s no better example of DIY traffic safety work in California than the innovative “guerrilla urban planning” projects launched by the San Francisco Municipal Transformation Agency. From human-protected bike lanes to self-installed vertical posts, the SFMTrA has been making safety improvements in record speed for low costs since 2016.
Across our state, volunteers from all walks of life are getting engaged in local politics, learning, organizing their communities, and hitting the streets. Their work is our work—and we can’t wait to see what the passionate and dedicated volunteers that make up the foundation of the movement will create in 2018.
