The Thunderhead Alliance Weather Report



Volume 2, Issue 6                                                                                                  June 28, 2006




In This Issue:





GUIDE TO COMPLETE STREETS CAMPAIGNS PUBLISHED ON-LINE

The newly updated, second edition of the Thunderhead Alliance Guide to Complete Streets Campaigns is now available through all on-line booksellers. This Guide is written for leaders of Thunderhead member organizations as an important tool for Thunderhead’s National Complete the Streets Campaign. But anyone interested in securing a complete streets policy for their state or community will relish the Guide’s deep analysis of current complete streets policies and step-by-step campaign development process. Elected and appointed officials, community leaders and concerned citizens will be ready to take part in current campaigns or launch their own campaign after reading the Guide.

Complete streets policies require all roads to offer safe access for all users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and bus riders of all ages and abilities can safely move along and across a complete street. Thunderhead’s National Complete the Streets Campaign sets a goal of winning complete streets policies in all 50 states by 2008 in time to influence a federal complete streets policy as part of the federal transportation law. Thunderhead is offering their national campaign as part of the National Complete Streets Coalition, an impressive group of diverse national organizations representing seniors, engineers, planners, transit users and the disabled community, all committed to the principles of complete streets.

The Thunderhead Alliance Guide to Complete Streets Campaigns was made possible by generous support from Planet Bike and the National Bicycle Dealers Association. To find out more about Thunderhead’s National Complete the Streets Campaign, please visit http://www.thunderheadalliance.org/completestreets.htm.

TRAFFIC JUSTICE INSTITUTE PRIOR TO PROWALK/PROBIKE

The National Center for Bicycling and Walking (NCBW), presenters of the biennial ProWalk/ProBike (PW/PB) conference series, are igniting a critical new branch of our movement: Traffic Justice! Leaders of Thunderhead organizations have unofficially done battle in this realm for years, demanding that traffic carnage is avoidable when officials describe roadways as places where “these things happen.”
 
Now, with NCBW’s firm commitment to this national campaign, we will have a place to go for the most powerful comebacks as well as resources for nipping this bloodshed-friendly mindset in the bud. It all starts with:
 
The Traffic Justice Institute, September 5th, 11am - 5pm at the Hilton Madison Monona Terrace, 9 East Wilson Street, Madison, just prior to the start of PW/PB.
 
The folks at NCBW scheduled this gathering to allow our members time enough to ride from the Thunderhead Retreat to take part. They are inviting leaders of Thunderhead member organizations to this first gathering of the Institute because they need your expertise and experience. This is where the campaign will take shape and if we’re in the room, our vivid picture of this struggle at the state and local level will give it the tone necessary to derail this disturbing trend.
 
Please sign up for the Traffic Justice Institute when you register for PW/PB through the conference registration form: https://center.uoregon.edu/conferences/NCBW/2006/registration/reg_general.php. (The $75 fee helps to cover the venue, materials and lunch costs.)
 
If you do not plan to attend PW/PB, so long as you are a leader of a Thunderhead member organization, they will make an acceptance, but you must send this special request to me first for approval.
 
Find more info on the Traffic Justice Institute here: http://www.bikewalk.org/conference/tji.html.






SUE’S EUROPEAN BICYCLE ADVOCACY ADVENTURE

European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) AGM, Klaipeda, Lithuania: Since the Thunderhead Alliance is an associate member of ECF, I am invited to attend and take part in this annual three day gathering of leaders of European bicycle advocacy organizations. The meeting is filled with intense discussions of their top issues and allows me to make lasting, valuable connections with these colleagues across the pond. Top issues addressed this year:
  • bikes on trains
  • fighting helmet laws
  • bicycle tourism routes
  • bikeway networks
The Lithuanian advocates have been hard at work since winning back their country in 1991. Amazing bike paths slice through vast Soviet wasteland where neighborhoods once stood. And the network of paths through their national parks shows an astounding investment for bicycle tourism. But they’ve got a lot of work to do as the massive Soviet roads in the cities are all but unrideable and they showed us places where new developers have ripped out the existing paths.

Norway: I spent three days with Reidar Olsen, the Treasurer of ECF and President of the national Norwegian organization SLF that is based in Oslo. We were joined each day by other enthusiastic SLF leaders. A few highlights:
  • Oslo City Bikes – uses affordable, annual membership cards and free cards for tourists that you can get at any tourist center. This “closed” system allows tight management and, of course, much better bikes than the old Danish “open” system that used only a returnable coin. The system costs are covered by advertisements at the stations and on the bikes. I’ve got photos if you’d like to see.
  • Path policy campaign – to overturn the current policy that gives the right of way to cars that cross bike paths. Amazingly, bikes have the same rights as cars in all other instances!





MEMBER NEWS: POLISHED B.R.A.S.S. - NEW ORGANIZATION IMMEDIATELY SHINES

[We've moved this month's Member News theme: Courting large individual donors, to next month to accommodate this exciting news about an up and coming new organization for our movement.]

Mark Martin, a Louisiana State University archivist and regular bicyclist in his hometown of Baton Rouge, was thunderstruck with the bike culture that surrounded him on a tourist trip earlier this year to San Francisco. There were bike lanes and bikers everywhere, bike murals, relatively respectful motorists, and, not coincidentally, a 5,000+ member Bicycle Coalition, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC).

Impressed with the group and its results, he decided to start an organization back home. SFBC staffer Jodie Medeiros directed him to the Thunderhead Alliance, who sent Dave Snyder to Baton Rouge in March to convene Baton Rouge’s first bicycle/pedestrian advocacy meeting. Flyers announcing a meeting on campus and one in Baton Rouge’s riverfront downtown attracted about 40 people, and Martin has been pulling together monthly meetings every since.

Since the spring, they’ve become B.R.A.S.S. - the Baton Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets. Their initial board of five includes three university types, one "rad bike mama," and a bicycle mechanic from a local bike shop. The three committees established at the initial meetings have gotten busy. Baton Rouge’s annual downtown "Fest for All" featured a B.R.A.S.S. bike parking corral and safety information, volunteers have vetted the bike routes shown on Baton Rouge’s first bike map and are now organizing to get those routes approved by the city council, an easy, but important, early victory! Their ‘structure’ committee is filing their application to the IRS to become a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Baton Rouge is ripe for bicycle advocacy. An influx of Katrina evacuees has added perhaps 40,000 new permanent residents and their attendant traffic jams, and public officials are searching for answers that B.R.A.S.S. is able to provide. Martin is taking full advantage of the moment: keeping the group’s momentum going while respecting the perspectives and priorities of its members. "Everyone has verbally expressed their support for this kind of thing,” Martin says. “We're not meeting the resistance I anticipated."

Thunderhead welcomes news items from our member organizations based on each month’s theme. Please send your suggested item (maximum 300 words) to: david@thunderheadalliance.org. We will publish the most inspiring story and list the web links of other contributors within that month’s theme. Next month's theme is: Courting large individual donors.





ORG TIP: THANKING YOUR MEMBERS AND DONORS = MORE MONEY!

 This may sound like a no-brainer, but you might be surprised how many organizations forget to do this. Sure - a letter is sent to the contributor's house thanking them for joining or donating, but does your organization stop with that? If this is largely all that your organization does when thanking members and/or donors for contributions, there's still more to do! Follow these three easy steps to helping your organization get more money:

1) Have someone actually sign each "Thank You" letter no matter what the donation amount. These days, we all get form letters, but ones that are hand-signed are rare. Use a different colored ink (preferably blue) so that it stands out. People like knowing that someone has taken the time to give them personal attention. They'll remember that when it's time to renew or contribute again.

2) If possible, have someone call the contributor and thank them. The Executive Director or Membership Director/Coordinator should call people that make large contributions. Form a group of volunteers to call everyone else. Many times, contributors will make a small donation to see if anyone is paying attention. After being personally thanked, the next time they give, it may be a significantly larger contribution.

3) Treat all contributors equally! Many organizations periodically publish a list of new members and contributors in their newsletters - both electronic and/or print. This helps to reinforce that the contributor has been recognized. Happy contributors are very likely to be repeat contributors!

CUT AND PASTE FOR YOUR NEWSLETTER: SHARE THE PATH

Summer is here and we hope all the paths in your area are seeing bicycling numbers increase! This month's cut-and-paste for your newsletter deals with path etiquette, as not all bicyclists (and your readers) ride exclusively on the road...
- - - - - - - - - -

Share the Path - Etiquette for All Users

Some of us ride paths to work. Some of us use paths to shop by bike. And sometimes we ride on paths just for fun. Here are some simple pointers to help you share our beautiful paths with others:

1) Use Open Paths Only - Paths and back country trails may be closed for a variety of reasons. Path users should respect closures and avoid trespassing on private land.

2) Leave No Trace - Be sensitive to the dirt beneath you. Recognize different types of soils and path construction if you're not riding on asphalt. Wet and muddy paths are more vulnerable to damage.

3) Always Yield Path - Yielding means to slow down, establish communication, be prepared to stop if necessary and then pass safely. Bikes yield to all other users.

4) Never Scare Animals - All animals are startled by an unannounced approach, a sudden movement, or a loud noise. This can be dangerous for you, others and the animals.

5) Plan Ahead - Know your equipment, your ability, and the area in which you are riding - prepare accordingly. If you are riding a back country trail, be self-sufficient at all times. Bring enough water and food. If you're riding with a group, bring a first aid kit and a cell phone.

6) Educate Others - Talk respectfully with other path users about proper path etiquette, especially new users. Offer to accompany new users out on the path.

7) Maintain Paths - Find a local path maintenance club by contacting city officials and land managers where you ride. Spend a day or more each season giving back to the paths you already enjoy.






This monthly Thunderhead Alliance Weather Report is for the leaders of our member organizations and our supporters. The Thunderhead Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the only coalition of state and local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations working in unison to break down the barriers to safe bicycling and walking in North American communities. Find more info at: www.thunderheadalliance.org.