We are a social media society now and it is normal and fast to get your message across by using Facebook and personal blogs or WebPages to help publicize your cause, such as cycling safety and people will produce UTube videos to give a personal plea touch. In this way a movement can fuel itself when people turn on their computer to see what’s going on for the day if you are into cycling then be on alert because there is a bill that is trying to be passed which will for sure change the future of cycling in a negative way. In an email I received earlier this week which was forwarded by a fellow cyclist from my club the Granite State Wheelmen I learned:
House leadership is pressing to eliminate bicycling and walking in the Transportation bill:
· Destroys Transportation Enhancements by making the program optional
· Repeals the Safe Routes to School program, reversing years of progress in creating safe ways for kids to walk and ride bicycles to school
· Allows states to build bridges without safe access for pedestrians and bicycles
· Eliminates bicycle and pedestrian coordinators in state DOTs
· Eliminates language that insures that rumble strips “do not adversely affect the safety or mobility of bicyclists, pedestrians or the disabled” (League of American Bicyclists, 2012).
On Facebook this morning I received two messages one from a local shop owner and another from the former President of the Granite State Wheelmen and they both expressed concern for the upcoming transportation bill and both fear that if it gets passed cycling will change forever.
Here is a UTube video featuring Andy Clarke who is the President of the League of American Bicyclists it will help show the plight of people who love to cycle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_fQ8L8DWtQ&feature=youtu.be
One of my friends had a link to Bicycle One Errand a Week blog and this is a great picture I wanted to share, look at the difference between cars, buses and cyclists, what do you think? It probably is not practical for people who live in big cities to travel by way of bike because travel can be dangerous and there may not be funding for safety in many areas of the country, bikes are people powered and do not cause any lasting environmental concerns that both cars and public transportation do, who pays for it?
Cyclists like to go out and have fun and safety is a big factor because motorists are being less careful and can be easily distracted if they are not paying attention, this can be a big cause for why there are so many cycling accidents. People for Bikes is another organization that is a part of the cycling awareness movement and on the January 31, I got an email from Tim Blumenthal who is the director of People for Bikes stating, “In an unprecedented, serious threat to the future of bicycling in America, on Thursday, February 2 the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation Committee will consider a bill that proposes to: eliminate all dedicated federal funding for bicycling projects and gut all of the programs and policies that help make bike riding practical and safe” (Blumenthal, 2012). The website is http://www.peopleforbikes.org/ and it is set up so people can sign a pledge, learn about cycling related issues and donate money to the cause if that is something they are interested in doing. The website features pictures of kids on their bikes, maps of different areas where people have pledged which can be done by clicking on a button putting your name and email address and writing a message about why you have taken the pledge. This is not a monetary requirement it just speaks to the fact that cycling is important and we can show our support by posting pictures of people having fun on their bikes.
The message can get sent out so quickly and I get emails from members of the Granite State Wheelmen and Bike Walk Alliance so I know about cycling news, for example we are going to be losing our bridge in Portsmouth and our club will have to change the route for our annual Seacoast Century event that is held at the end of September each year. Some people travel that way all the time but the bridge is so old they have to tear it and down and it will not be up and running until 2013, I was able to cross the bridge this summer which goes right into Maine for the last time. The bridge lifts so that the boats can go under it which is pretty unique because it was fashioned about 80 years ago so it is a historic site as well used by pedestrians and cyclists. There is even a website that is sent out among club members so that people can watch the bridge during this transition time here is the link being passed around and so on a smaller level people can send out emails very quickly on the latest news. I cannot tell you how many emails I have received about this project, it is sad that our bridge is going to come down when it still can be used by people who walk or cycle.
http://www.portsmouthwebcam.com/index.php/memorial-bridge/
In the past people had to rely on phones, newspapers, magazines or other public forums that might include meetings, conventions or advocacy in the form of a letter to the editor or in a cycling related magazines to spread awareness about cycling concerns. People did not always have access to computers, some people just do not like them and now we have social media that will quickly get the message out and the information is easily passed on to hundreds of readers over a very short period of time.
[Web log message]. (2012, February 1). Retrieved from http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bicycle-One-Errand-A-Week/108850732500175
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