Local Teams Call on New City Leaders to Act on Road Safety
SVBC’s local teams kicked off the new year campaigning for safer streets and bicycle facilities, urging newly elected city leaders to address the spike in traffic violence in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
On average 113 people across both counties lose their lives each year, and more than 8,000 suffer injury, due to traffic violence. That’s one death and 65 injuries every three days, a wholly unacceptable figure.
SVBC’s local teams have taken direct action in the past to demand change, but to effectively advocate for safer communities, it is also vital to build relationships with newly elected leaders and begin proactive engagement. Rather than mobilize in response to traffic deaths or a poorly designed project, advocates can be a crucial piece of the community engagement process.
In December, SVBC held a workshop with its local teams to do just that, drafting a welcome letter to newly elected leaders that quantified the traffic violence endemic and offered resources to help new leaders navigate the most important active transportation policy issues in their respective cities, including leaning on the teams for input and expertise.
During the workshop, seasoned advocates shared their experiences engaging with city and county leaders. They offered several strategies such as attending swearing-in ceremonies, community events, and inviting new leaders to local team meetings and team social rides.
In this blog, we wanted to share additional strategies and update you on the local teams’ relationship-building efforts thus far in 2023.
In the north San Mateo County area, encompassing a cluster of cities from Daly City to Burlingame, only two council members in Millbrae were newly elected. Surprisingly, the area has many long-standing incumbents.
The NSMC Local Team penned a letter to newly elected Millbrae Council Members Maurice Goodman and Angelina Cahalan.
You can read their letter here.
Palo Alto’s city council has several new faces with the election of council members Ed Lauing, Julie Lythcott-Haims, and Vicki Veenker.
The team sent their welcome letter to the newly elected leaders, as well as thank you letters to the incumbents promoting active transportation. You can read their welcome letter here.
Additionally, a small group of local team leaders attended the city council’s swearing-in ceremonies to congratulate them on their election and begin building relationships with the new members.
The city council welcomed three new members with the election of Linda Snell, Richard Mehlinger, and Murali Srinivasan.
The latter was the closest race in recent memory and decided two months after ballots were cast.
You can read the team’s welcome letter here.
In addition, the local team held meetings with both council members Mehlinger and Srinivasan, as well as Mayor Larry Klein, to share priorities and provide recommendations on a swift implementation of active transportation and vision zero policies.
The largest city in the South Bay also had many new council members elected to office along with a new mayor and vice mayor.
Council members Rosemary Kamei, Bien Doan, Omar Torres, and Peter Ortiz will start their first terms in the beginning of 2023, and the local team wrote them a welcome letter. You can read the letter here.
The San Jose Local Team also advised SVBC staff on potential routes and outcomes for an “Infrastructure Privilege Ride,” showcasing the disparities between bicycle infrastructure in low-income and communities of color and more affluent communities to the majority of San Jose city council members and city staff.
Rather than do a welcome letter, the team went ahead and scheduled introduction meetings with newly elected council members Adam Loraine, Lisa Diaz Nash, and Robert Newsom Jr, as well as the incumbents.
The team chose to follow up with “Thank You” letters, expressing their gratitude and extending an offer to be a resource.
You can read one of their letters here.
Get Involved
Creating strong connections and communications can take months (and sometimes years) to build trust and credibility. This is just the beginning of the relationship building process between SVBC advocates and newly elected council members.
We hope to continue nurturing these new (and existing) relationships as we move forward with our campaigns and advocacy.
Do you have an interest in speaking with your elected representatives but are having trouble with access? We can help! Contact anthony@bikesiliconvalley.org to learn more about how you can provide the input your city and its leaders need!
