3 Minutes with Stevens Point Common Council

Every once in a while, I go to the monthly Stevens Point Common Council meeting and use my allotted 3 minutes to talk about bicycle issues with our mayor, our alderpersons, city staff, and other attendees. Links to all these statements appear below.

Common Council members are responsible for approving plans, projects, and ordinances that affect the bicycling environment of our city. For this reason, it is important for them to be aware of the transportation challenges of Poky Pedalers, who comprise the vast majority of people who ride bicycles.

Poky Pedalers need safe, comfortable and convenient routes to use bicycles for transportation, whether that is for getting to work, for riding to the park, for picking up a few things at the grocery, or for bicycling with their families to the movies.

Although the bicycle transportation network in Stevens Point is good, many major gaps and deficiencies exist which dissuade Poky Pedalers from choosing bicycles more frequently for their transportation needs.

My regular addresses to the Common Council are intended to keep our civic leaders informed about bicycle activity in our city and on projects providing opportunities to increase that activity. These presentations will also highlight the health, social, and economic benefits of making Stevens Point a better place for bicycling.

By educating our elected officials and city staff about the importance of building quality bicycle infrastructure, they will be better informed to make good decisions regarding our transportation network to create an equitable balance among people who bicycle, people who walk, people who use transit, and people who drive.

Links to PPSP Statements to Stevens Point Common Council (most recent first)