We all know that the squeaky wheel gets the grease but have you ever wanted to be that squeaky wheel to grease the skids to the future of a bikeable Bend? Mixed metaphors aside, our new Squeaky Wheel Club is now forming. Our objective is to have people tell stories about the travails and joys of biking in Bend to the City Council. If councilors hear about where you’d like to bike and can’t; or why your kids can’t bike or walk to school or a nearby park; or how you can’t cross a busy street to get someplace close to where you live; or how you’d love to bike to a restaurant but traffic makes that too uncomfortable, we think they’ll be more likely to fund improved bike infrastructure and safer crosswalks and intersections.
We’ll be having informal training sessions, both on-line and in-person to help you get ready to make a comment at a city council meeting. That will include writing and practicing your stories which can’t be longer than two minutes. We’ll have starter templates to spark ideas and let you “choose your own adventure.” Going to your first city council meeting can be intimidating so we’ll describe exactly what to expect and what you need to do. We’ll let you know when the city council is taking comments and we’ll join you at the meetings if you let us know when you’re planning to speak.Â