Hello All,
My name is Brenna and I’m a member and volunteer with Bike Calgary. I have just taken the rather scary step of signing up to speak to the city council in favor of 5A infrastructure for the upcoming budget adjustment meeting on Monday, Nov 20th.
After attending the city hall advocacy training session on Thursday with the Calgary Climate Hub, I was inspired to tell my story and I want to share it here, with all of you.
I have been cycling to work almost every day since mid April, and every day I see dog walkers, joggers, bird watchers, fellow cyclists, and parents picking up their kids from school. I’ve started to recognize faces and it made me realize that I was developing a sense of community for the first time since moving to the city in 2016. I could see my neighbors’ faces and I learned that you start to care more about people when you can look them in the eyes. I could share a doleful expression about the weather with a neighbor and his kids, rather than just being an obscured blob behind a windshield. That is the power cycling has to build community in ways that we don’t even realize and may not even be intending, and that is what I want to highlight in my time speaking to Council.
There are a myriad of reasons why building walking and wheeling infrastructure is important and my story is just one of many. I hope it has inspired you to tell yours!
What is your story? Why do you use your bike for transportation? I need your help to tell the City Council to invest in our future! Our voices and our stories have power! Will you join me?
If you would like to join me and speak to the city council please use this link.
If you would like to write to your counselor, you can find them here.
If you choose to tell your story, inspire others and use the #YYCBike on social media.
All the best,
Brenna
nice work Bike Calgary on the 2024 budget.