Spring at Bike Easy is in full swing and we want to make sure we make a space and time to talk and meet you where you are!
Last week I had the honor to serve as Louisiana’s State Coordinator for the 5th year in a row while attending the National Bike Summit. The League of American Cyclists hosts this event every year to create a space for advocates and bike enthusiasts from all around the nation to come together, learn how to be better advocates, exchange ideas, and lobby in Congress and Senate. This year we focused on the threat to Federal Funds that are currently funding important infrastructure work aimed to make our streets safer, and the Sarah Langenkamp Act aimed to make funds more accessible to rural communities that may not have access to matching funds, but have the need and want to improve accessibility in their area.
It was a strange time to be advocating for safer streets since we were having such a brutal week filled with deaths and injuries on our streets and neighboring Parish. It is always a shock to hear of people dying while walking and biking in our community, knowing so well these deaths are preventable whether by design, or simple behavior changes. It has been a challenging time for us in the organization to respond to all this, while continuing to show up for our work.
I originally intended to write to you when I came back from DC, but as I said, we’re in full swing with Spring events and activities. David kicked off Festival season with Bike Valet at Wednesday at the Square this week, Laura rode the N.O. East for a meeting around Bayou Sauvage, Lauren coordinated logistics for our Education events happening this weekend, and I had back to back meetings for so many projects it’s hard to count, but I will highlight the start of NOPDs Citizen Academy to better understand the ins and out of this Agency and how we can continue to work together.
I also tabled at March Madness yesterday and encourage you to come and visit next week from 3-6 so we can talk about the issues in our streets!
In the meantime, I want to share with you a list of upcoming events for you to come and see us.
For more details, click here for more details on our events. If you subscribe to the calendar, events should pop on your calendar!
Please take some time to write back and let me know how you are, and how you are feeling with the current state of our streets. It is important as a leader to understand where our community is to better drive our organization. In the meantime I encourage you to take on the following actions:
- Fill in our Biking during Mardi Gras Survey – Deadline March 28th
- Sign the League of American Bicyclists Petition requesting NO CUT on Federal Funding
- Volunteer for our Bike Valet Events
- Become a Bike Easy Member, and if you are already a member, consider making a one time donation for us to continue the work
- Attend NOPD’s Community Meeting – Bourbon Street Security Plan
- Join Critical Mass on Friday March 28th
Hope to see you at one of our upcoming events, and if you prefer to meet one on one, let’s make that happen!