For one thing, there is now A Thing called the Denver Bicycle Lobby. This is a group of individuals who take time out of their day on a regular basis to engage in cycling advocacy. I've learned a lot about what bicycle advocacy entails since starting this blog, and I intend to outline some of those lessons in this post and others.
Spoiler alert: None of it is as fun as being on TV. Most of it IS more effective.
One of the most important things advocates do is attend public meetings. Public meetings happen all over the city with surprising frequency. They often occur at times that are inconvenient for families, there isn't always much advance notice, and they are packed with people who are more eager to speak than listen. Picture NextDoor IRL (in real life).
Public meetings are my personal nightmare—except that they are a critical component of effective change. They are intended to be an arena where stakeholders can both learn and teach. With mutual respect, neighbors can point out details that experts might have missed and collaborate on solutions that improve quality of life for everyone.
Without mutual respect, neighbors shout down public servants and each other while stubbornly resisting change they don't yet know they want (more on that in a later post).
As much as I loathe public meetings, I have seen some form of positive result from each and every one I've attended. Once, it was an idea for a red arrow in place of a standard red light at a dangerous intersection where right turns on red are deadly. Ideas like this might seem like insignificant minutia, but these ideas save lives and come from people who care. Just as importantly, these ideas are heard by people who have the expertise to implement them as effectively as possible. We need more people showing up at these meetings ready to listen, trust, and collaborate. If we all show up in good faith (no matter how difficult that may be), improvements happen.
It took me too long to realize that I can and should take my kids to public meetings. Fellow parents—hear me out! I've attended public meetings where no children were present, but temper tantrums erupted from half of the adults in the room that would put a threenager meltdown to shame. Don't worry about your kids disrupting the meeting! Their presence just might remind the adults to set a decent example.
Worried about depriving your kid of their childhood at in interminable public meeting? Pack a picnic! Bring a coloring book! A board game! Heck, bring your kids' friends along and call it a play date! Most importantly, only do what you can do. If it works for you to bring the kids for the first 15 minutes and then leave, your presence is still valuable. If you get the kids to bed and then draw straws with your spouse over who shows up late to the meeting, that's better than not showing up at all.
I strongly recommend attending your first public meeting with no agenda whatsoever. You'll see some familiar faces and lots of new ones. Get a feel for who likes to talk and who likes to listen, who is constructive and who isn't, who riles people up and who calms them down. Then comes the hardest part: be one of the calm, constructive listeners who keeps showing up. Your kids won't be the only ones taking cues from your example.
