My experience at this year's League of American Bicyclists National Bike Summit in Washington DC can best be described as a true life “connect the dots” puzzle. When you begin a dot-to-dot puzzle, it is bunch of random data points, but as each dot is connected the “bigger picture” emerges.
In our case, the dots were the Senators and Congressional Representatives and the lines are formed with each visit by our 17 Ohio delegates. We prodded through the halls of 5 different buildings, visiting 20 offices while expressing our request, “please support bicycle and pedestrian funding because it creates vibrant communities and positive economic impact.” The layout of the offices is an illustration of the challenges of navigating the political process. We jumped through lots of hoops to “get in”. I personally removed my high-heeled shoes 5 times over the course of the day to get through the various metal detection systems. (Oh yes, the “price” of freedom.) Our delegation was geographically diverse and even the first timers were proactive in their research and stepped up to the challenge. We had representation from Dayton, Athens and 3 who covered the whole state. We had no constituents from the Cincinnati area, so that is a goal for next year.
My highpoint of the week was connecting the dots between the Columbus and Cleveland delegations. Last year there was only one delegate from the Cleveland area and technically, she had already moved to Portland, OR. So to have 5 engaged delegates from the NE Ohio region was a huge leap forward. We formed connections that will only grow stronger from here.
Our meetings ran the whole spectrum, we visited with some leaders who have been supportive in the past and we thanked them for their continued support. We also visited with leaders who were cold and distant and did not want to hear our message. However, they still gave us the cursory meeting and I have to believe at least a seed was planted. They know if they vote against bike-ped funding they are going to hear from “the bike pin people”. On a recent Outspoken Cyclist podcast, Rich Olken surmised that 1 phone call to congress is equivalent to 100 emails and 1 in person visit is like 100 phone calls. So think about the impact our 20 in person meetings had, the equivalent of 200,000 emails! Rich Olken started an informal Bike Lobby day, which has now evolved into today's Advocacy Day with over 800 participants from 49 states. As I write this, the House is scrambling to come up with a Transportation Bill which can get enough votes to pass. They have already pulled 2 off the floor which did not have enough votes. We will keep working toward transportation funding which recognizes that active transportation is part of America’s future - we can’t just move automobiles and expect to thrive as a Nation.
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