“How to Overcome the Opposition and Win a Bike Lane” training recap
I helped bike activists from 7 states up their game yesterday. Fun times!
MAR 1, 2023
Yesterday I hosted an online training “How to Overcome the Opposition and Win a Bike Lane” which had activists tuning in from Alameda, CA; Ann Arbor, MI; Berkeley, CA; Houston, TX; Littleton, CO; Los Angeles, CA; Newington, NH; Richmond, VA; San Francisco, CA; and South Orange NJ. Attendee’s level of experience crossed the entire spectrum– some were people who run advocacy work for an existing bike organization and some were people who are just about to move to their new community and want to help make it a friendlier place to bike around. But they all want to make their communities places with greater mobility options, lower carbon emissions, and safer places to be.
The training started with a ~45-minute presentation and ended with a very interesting Q&A where folks talked about the specific obstacles and opportunities, they are facing in their efforts to bring safer biking to their communities. Questions and conversations hit on issues like:
How to use “candidate questionnaires” to shape the discussion during election season
How to work the “inside” and “outside” game in which activists collaborate with lawmakers on strategy, messaging and tactics
How to get started when you’re new in a community
In terms of the presentation itself, we took a look at how “the opposition” gets and uses its power; how to counter and fracture that; and some strategies for boxing the opposition in. And throughout the conversation, there was a strong emphasis on how there will always be opposition– the goal isn’t to eliminate it– the goal is to overcome & outmaneuver the opposition so that you get what you want.