How we started
In February 2006, during a trip to San Francisco, Mark E. Martin dropped in to the offices of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition to ask about how to create a bicycle and pedestrian advocacy group. The good people of SFBC contacted Thunderhead Alliance,
a national umbrella group for bicycle and pedestrian advocacy groups,
and, later that same day in a North Beach hardware story, Martin
received a call from Dave Snyder, then the outreach coordinator for
Thunderhead. Dave was already scheduled to fly to New Orleans in March
2006 to help jump start the New Orleans Metro Bicycle Coalition in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Why not stop in Baton Rouge first?
In
the following two weeks, Martin set up two public meetings for March
2006 to gauge interest in starting a bicycle and pedestrian advocacy
group in Baton Rouge. The first meeting took place on the campus of
Louisiana State University; nearly 25 people attended. The second
meeting took place in the gallery/meeting room of the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge;
10 people attended. By the end of both meetings it was clear that there
was support for bicycle and pedestrian advocacy in Baton Rouge.
In
April 2006 five people stepped up to form the first board of the Baton
Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets. Those founding board members were: Mark E. Martin (3-year term), Rick Moreland (3-year term), Lance Morgan (2-year term), Robert Peck (2-year term), and Jane Reiland (2-year term).
Led by Robert Peck, these board members successfully put together an
application for tax-exempt charitable (501 (c) 3) status from the
Internal Revenue Service, which we received June 2006.
In our first two years, we
- provided bicycle and pedestrian information at public events,
- staffed bike corrals at local festivals,
- helped organize and participated in the first Mayor's Family Bike Day,
- provided input through the Capital Region Planning Commission's Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee on local road projects,
- successfully
delivered letters of support and petitions to the Director of the
Department of Public Works regarding including bicycle and pedestrian
facilities on Brightside Lane, a Green Light Plan project,
- participated in public meetings affecting bicycling and walking facilities,
- took part in the dedication of the Mississippi River Levee Multi-use Path, and
- established regular monthly meetings, regular bicycle maintenance classes, and a web presence (www.brsafestreets.org).
At the close of their 2-year terms, Lance Morgan, Robert Peck, and Jane Reiland stepped down from the board. Those open positions have been filled by Hallie Dozier, Jeff Kearns, and Mark Upton.
So far in our third year we have built on our previous efforts by:
- working
with BREC to provide regular, League of American Bicyclists-certified
bicycle safety classes (we had our first classes in May of this year),
- working with BREC on their Capital Area Pathways Project,
- petitioning and meeting with DPW on their opposition to bike route signs (we have had a series of breakthroughs here),
- working on position papers to present to City-Parish planners on improving bicycle facilities in Baton Rouge,
- celebrating Bike to Work Day,
- organizing
three very successful themed rides on the trees, history, and
cemeteries of Baton Rouge with three more rides in the works for fall
2008,
- participating in the second
Mayor’s Family Bike Day and working with the Baton Rouge Police
Department - Mountain Bike Division on the third event tentatively
scheduled for October 2008,
- petitioning
the Mayor and the Metro Council for measures to improve bicycle safety
in the wake of yet another recent cyclist death on River Road,
- organizing a memorial ride for cyclists killed on local roads,
- meeting with LSU planners about bicycle facilities and safety on and around the LSU campus,
- helping to organize a public forum on transportation issues, and
- working on a comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian plan for the parish, among other projects.
If you haven't already done so, we encourage you to
- join our listserv at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BRAdvocatesforSafeStreets/, and
- attend
our meetings on the fourth Thursday of every month, 6.30pm – 7:30pm,
Carver Branch Library, 720 Terrace Ave., BR, LA 70802.
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