Comments on: League Welcomes New Equity Advisory Council

By: Eboni Hawkins Joins Bike League’s New Equity Advisory Council | Streetsblog Chicago

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:04:41 +0000

[...] league is shifting that effort into high gear with the creation of the national Equity Advisory Council, a panel of ten advocates and experts on promoting bicycling in diverse communities. The new team [...]

By: Don Burrell

Don Burrell — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:35:07 +0000

While I think the League’s Equity Advisory Council is a great idea, I hope there is some way to include the “invisible cyclists”, those usually low income, often other nationalities who bike for economic choice or necessity, and are not necessarily bicycle enthusiasts.

By: Bill Hoffman

Bill Hoffman — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:48:17 +0000

I don’t plan to prolong this debate, but I think Dani S. has missed the point. As John Brooking pointed out, equity as expressed in the League’s statement of 2-3 years ago is entirely different than this current (and misnamed) attempt at equity.

I have no objection if LAB wants to seek a more ethnically, racially, or socio-economically diverse membership. LAB has never discriminated against people who aren’t old white guys like me. Anyone who pays the dues can join.

What I object to is subverting the still very real issues of legal equity–such as discriminatory laws, unjustifiable court decisions against cyclists who exercise their legal rights, and discriminatory and uneven law enforcement against cyclists–with side issues such as this. LAB is too quick to jump on politically popular issues in an attempt to raise its profile instead of working harder at these generations-old issues that I mentioned above. Having been in LAB since 1971, I know all too well what those are.

If LAB wants a more diverse membership, maybe it should encourage us old white guys to leave, or in the case of members like myself who bought life memberships years ago, to buy them back. (By the way, that would include some of the current directors.) No way can LAB earn enough every year on my $250 life dues to cover the cost of servicing my membership until I die, something I don’t plan on doing anytime soon.

By: Adonia Lugo: How Do We Build a Coalition for Bicycle Justice? | New York Bicycling CoalitionNew York Bicycling Coalition

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 15:17:48 +0000

[...] inspired by her call to action, we couldn’t be more excited to have Lugo’s perspective on the League’s new Equity Advisory Council — and as a speaker at the National Women’s Bicycling [...]

By: Bikeleague.org Blog » Blog Archive » Adonia Lugo: How Do We Build a Coalition for Bicycle Justice?

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:00:39 +0000

[...] by her call to action, we couldn’t be more excited to have Lugo’s perspective on the League’s new Equity Advisory Council — and as a speaker at the National Women’s Bicycling [...]

By: Pedestrian Error

Pedestrian Error — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:02:34 +0000

Equity is not either between socioeconomic groups or between types of road users, it’s the elimination of all unfair and discriminatory policies. It’s a very positive step for bicycle advocacy organizations to be seeing themselves as more of a part of a bigger picture. We won’t make bicycling safer or more popular (as a mode of transportation or a sport) without addressing various overarching injustices within society and making sure as many voices as possible are heard. In no way is including disadvantaged or underrepresented voices a move away from working for all of us – including affluent straight white male road warriors – to have better conditions in which to ride our bicycles (which is just one part of a broader move towards overall sustainable transportation and land use policies).

By: Restaurant run down, cyclist collateral damage in Venice police chase; plus major Fat Tuesday linkage « BikingInLA

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:13:05 +0000

[...] on the brain. Bob Mionske offers advice on dealing with the door zone. The Bike League forms a new Equity Advisory Council to reach beyond the usual voices. A 72-year old Scottsdale AZ woman is killed by a 20-year old [...]

By: John Brooking

John Brooking — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 02:53:08 +0000

I am not shooting the effort down. I said repeatedly it was a very worthy initiative, and I wholeheartedly support the effort. What I’m criticizing is the name.

Here is the statement from the League’s own policy in 2007:

“Cyclists’ Equity Statement: Cyclists have the same right to fair and equitable treatment by the government as other road users. The basis for these rights is expressed through the six Es approach that the League supports.”

By all means, I applaud the formation of this council and its participants. It would have been so easy to find another name for it that would not conflict with and confuse the League’s prior meaning of the word. Why would they choose this name when “Equity” supposedly already meant something else?

By: Dani S.

Dani S. — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 02:41:34 +0000

Mr. Hoffman, it is people like you and Mr. Brooking who are holding this movement back. You continue to try to fight over the crumbs, at a time when across the country we have grown the pie. It’s time for a more expansive view of who rides bikes and to consider the needs of all of them. Not just the spandex warriors who have been doing it for themselves for years, but the moms who want to ride with their kids, the busboys who have no choice but to ride home from their late night shifts, and today’s teens and young adults who are choosing to forgo their driver’s licenses and buying cars because they see better ways to spend their time and their money than in traffic. This new effort by LAB should be applauded not shot down.

By: Bill Hoffman

Bill Hoffman — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 02:23:48 +0000

John Brooking is absolutely right. Equity at LAB just two or three years ago was the 6th “E”, to go along with Education, Enforcement, Encouragement, Engineering, and (I forgot what the fifth one was). This new twist on Equity deals only with political correctness. This is yet another reason why I have become so disillusioned with LAB after being a member for 42 years and a life member for 37, plus almost a dozen years on the Board on three different occasions. LAB has completely forgotten acting on behalf of the interests of its core membership.