Cycling Advocacy Workshop

The Cyclists Union had a ‘Cycling Advocacy Workshop’ last Sunday, April 13th. While I could only stay for half of it, the workshop was jammed with good info and even better people. The workshop was a little slow going in the beginning but once in gear things went well. Note to Mez, cyclists are never on time! Especially on Sunday morning. The photo above shows how most of us feel on Sunday morns.

Sean Meagher from publicinterest.ca, he gave a lot of insight as to what motivates people to change their habits. Very informative and interesting. You should really check out their web site.

They managed to rope four Councillors in presenting. Joe Mihevc was by far the best. He described the best approach to getting access to Councillors and how to get them best to listen to your concerns. Gord Perks enhanced some of the info provided by Mihevc. Janet Davis was a late addition to the agenda. The Chair of the Cycling Advisory Committee(TCAC), Councillor Adrian ‘Absent’ Heaps was also present. He annoyed me so much that he will get a separate posting.

There was good energy in the crowd and many seem committed in seeing the Cyclists Union become very successful. Mez seemed somewhat down at the beginning of the workshop but became more energized by the crowd as the day progressed.

They also had two Executive Assistants from Councillors offices to explain the inner workings and how to best access them. I had to leave half way through their presentation, wish I could have stayed.

There was disappointment from TCAT’s Fred Sztabinski, also a citizen member of TCAC. He explained how people could access TCAC to bring attention to their concerns. Essentially it works like an ‘old boys club’, all based on who you know and how you know them. He explained, to be most successful, you first have to find a member of TCAC and run your concern by them first to see if they think you will get any support in having your concern heard. Biggest problem here is that the member’s of TCAC contact info is private. If you live outside of the downtown you will have little chance to interact with the TCAC members to find out who they are. Contrary to TCAC’s terms of reference, the Chair sees no value in having TCAC meet outside the downtown core. Sztabinski also went to point out how bureaucratic access to TCAC is. History has been clear, this type of approach leads to disenfranchisement with City Hall. It also leaves the most vunerable members of society out of the process.

Anyways, here are some photos from the workshop. Check out Mihevc using the Clinton Thumb.