Quitting

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

About five years ago I joined my city's Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory
Group. About three years ago I was elected chair.

I think I am planning to officially resign at the upcoming meeting.
Without rehashing the gory details of local politics, I have decided
that working with the City is profoundly personally disempowering, and
it only contributes to feelings of general depression. Someone else
can take up the banner and fight the noble fight.

I plan to continue to participate in the planning process as it
affects pedestrian interests in my local neighborhood. Otherwise, I
think I am done.

Did Nelson quit? Did Churchill quit? Didn't he say something about
fighting them on the beaches, in the air, on the streets, never give up?
Every game has an edge somewhere. You seem like a fighter, but perhaps you
just haven't found the edge in the politics game that would make the whole
process fun and personally rewarding as opposed to frustrating and
depressing. Rationality and reasonableness only go so far. Once you get
someone to bend to your will by getting him by the short hairs, it's an
experience you won't want to drop.

Where will the cause of cycling be if the best of us can't face the
entrenched petrocracy?

In any event, good luck, whatever you decide to do!

--ag

"Andy Gee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I think I am planning to officially resign at the upcoming meeting.
Without rehashing the gory details of local politics, I have decided
that working with the City is profoundly personally disempowering, >>

Did Nelson quit? Did Churchill quit? Didn't he say something about
fighting them on the beaches, in the air, on the streets, never give up?
Every game has an edge somewhere. You seem like a fighter, but perhaps
you
just haven't found the edge in the politics game that would make the whole
process fun ...

Nelson and Churchill both looked for strategies that would lead to victory.

The strategy to [bicycle or other] advocacy is to find some ways in which
you, as an individual, can be effective and can enjoy and can be done within
the constraints of other things like family and work.

Claire, I can't say from this distance whether this is the best use of your
time or not. I do seem to think that in the past year there have been fewer
blow-by-blow descriptions of gourmet meals made for your husband/family and
more frustrating travails from the local political wars. Maybe, at this
time in your life, this isn't the type of hassle you need. On the other
hand, when you wrote about the parent-child tandem group (I'm going from
memory here), I sensed both frustration and elation that you were actually
getting real people to ride better.

Andy Gee said:

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

About five years ago I joined my city's Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory
Group. About three years ago I was elected chair.

I think I am planning to officially resign at the upcoming meeting.
Without rehashing the gory details of local politics, I have decided
that working with the City is profoundly personally disempowering, and
it only contributes to feelings of general depression. Someone else
can take up the banner and fight the noble fight.

I plan to continue to participate in the planning process as it
affects pedestrian interests in my local neighborhood. Otherwise, I
think I am done.

Quoted message said:

Did Nelson quit? Did Churchill quit?

WAS IT OVER WHEN THE GERMANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR?!

Bill Henry <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Andy Gee said:

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

About five years ago I joined my city's Bicycle-Pedestrian
Advisory Group. About three years ago I was elected chair.

I think I am planning to officially resign at the upcoming
meeting. Without rehashing the gory details of local politics, I
have decided that working with the City is profoundly personally
disempowering, and it only contributes to feelings of general
depression. Someone else can take up the banner and fight the
noble fight.

I plan to continue to participate in the planning process as it
affects pedestrian interests in my local neighborhood. Otherwise,
I think I am done.

Quoted message said:

Did Nelson quit? Did Churchill quit?

WAS IT OVER WHEN THE GERMANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR?!

Hell no!

Germans?

Forget it. He's rolling.

(/Animal House reference)

Claire - it's sad to see good people beaten down by politics. But, you
have to do what's right for you, too. You've put in your time, and tried
to do what you could. Now, it's time for someone else to take the reins
and give it their shot.

--
Eric Babula
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Claire Petersky said:

I think I am planning to officially resign at the upcoming meeting. Without
rehashing the gory details of local politics, I have decided that working
with the City is profoundly personally disempowering, and it only
contributes to feelings of general depression.

Life's short. Avoiding depressing situations is wise.

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

About five years ago I joined my city's Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Group.
About three years ago I was elected chair.

I think I am planning to officially resign at the upcoming meeting.
Without rehashing the gory details of local politics, I have decided that
working with the City is profoundly personally disempowering, and it only
contributes to feelings of general depression.

Not to cause you to dwell on it but:

What do you think it is about municipal government participation that is
disempowering?

Claire Petersky said:

About five years ago I joined my city's Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Group.
About three years ago I was elected chair.

although i do not know you or the Bike/Ped Advisory Group personally, i
tend agree with almost all of your ideas you have put forth. If i were
looking for a leader to represent me as a commuter/recreational cyclist,
i would be give unconditional support to you because whatever you come
up with makes sense and is definitely well thought out.

It is sad that we'll be losing a leader like you, but we all understand
that 'personal life' is far more important and definitely you have done
your fair share of leadership. Good luck for your future and do continue
to give your insights to others in this group and to those who seek it.
You are not quitting, you are just moving onto better things in life 🙂
and now, making your own life better !!

now that you have more time to ride, any plans for the winter ??
training for some ride ?

cheers,
+ravi

You might want to wait, perhaps the tide is turning. What people wanted
to do last year when gasoline was at $1.50 changes at $3.00 or $4 or
$5... which is where we're headed. I'm betting more flexibility will
emerge.

The American Way is about to get interesting...

"Mike Kruger" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Nelson and Churchill both looked for strategies that would lead to
victory.

The strategy to [bicycle or other] advocacy is to find some ways in
which you, as an individual, can be effective and can enjoy and can be
done within the constraints of other things like family and work.

That's not _quite_ what I was thinking of. Without getting bogged down in
details from my own life, let's say that in my office we would "never show
our cards until the betting was over." That wasn't working anymore, so I
developed the idea of showing one card -- always the queen of spades.
That works, but it used to be considered "dirty pool." Now I want to look
at the other guy's cards, but that's considered "thug tactics."

In this case, here's what I was envisioning:

Councilmember Smith happens to have a cousin with a Cooper dealership. All
of a sudden, there's an article in the paper that Smith is stonewalling
vital bicycle resources because of his vested interest in selling cars.
Councilmember Jones happens to have a daughter-in-law who is a programmer
specializing in digital imaging. You have made a couple of connections in
some procurement office or something, and all of sudden Jones' daughter-in-
law has an opportunity to write some new software for those cameras that
take pictures of cars entering London. That's two votes already.
Councilmember Plantaganet is quite stuffy and hasn't had a, ahem, social
realtionship in quite some time. All of a sudden Plantaganet meets a quite
sharp-looking cyclist. Three votes. Now you've got your issue voted in.
keep doing that and pretty soon you're Lord Mayor.

That's how we play the game here, I can't imagine it's that different
anywhere else.

--ag

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

About five years ago I joined my city's Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Group.
About three years ago I was elected chair.

I think I am planning to officially resign at the upcoming meeting.
Without rehashing the gory details of local politics, I have decided that
working with the City is profoundly personally disempowering, and it only
contributes to feelings of general depression. Someone else can take up
the banner and fight the noble fight.

I plan to continue to participate in the planning process as it affects
pedestrian interests in my local neighborhood. Otherwise, I think I am
done.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Hey, Claire .. at least your city has a bicycle-pedestrian advisory group.
In my small urban jungle up here in the northeast part of the usa, the city
government just voted to allow businesses that border our one bicycle trail
to use the trail as a parking lot.

Can you believe that? It is an old railroad line. It goes from the heart
of the city into the country. The city does nothing to improve it, clean
it, pave it, or anything else. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that
there are burried cables under the right of way, the city would probably do
away with it.

When I pointed this out to one of the candidates for mayor, he looked
puzzled.

This is a city which just spent $27 million building a baseball park for a
minor league baseball team. Guess what, no one cares. The baseball team
isn't drawing very many fans. Soon, we will have a $27 million empty
stadium.

But, don't even ask about a bicycle trail. You will be accused of
communism.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Claire Petersky said:

About five years ago I joined my city's Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Group.
About three years ago I was elected chair.

I think I am planning to officially resign at the upcoming meeting. Without
rehashing the gory details of local politics, I have decided that working
with the City is profoundly personally disempowering, and it only
contributes to feelings of general depression. Someone else can take up the
banner and fight the noble fight.

I plan to continue to participate in the planning process as it affects
pedestrian interests in my local neighborhood. Otherwise, I think I am done.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Having been a BAG member in Portland (OR) when I lived there, I can
sympathize. Small cogs have a way of getting mashed in big machines.

Nader seems to think that you can do a lot more good from the outside
than being on the inside (and getting co-opted). I'm not sure.
One thing is clear -- if you have a career and a family, it's tough
to find time for civic commitments.

Even if later you decide to take some different action, it's probably
a good thing to -- at a minimum -- take some time off.

-frank
--

Claire,

I'm on the opposite side of the continent but you have my respects.

My parents and I - cycling family forever - served with "Citizens for Safe
Cycling" (CfSC) in Canada's capital for many years. We had some success and
some failure but it was fun while we did it.

In the end, it was time to pass on the torch and let someone else devote
time to it. Fighting the fight - even the *good* fight - is tiring.
Other people who would benefit from your efforts need to - and will - step
up to the plate.

This is not like "WWII". There is no clear line showing what we're fighting
against. Corporations make hushed deals in the shadows to undermine
activism. There's only so much of that you can take before throwing up your
hands.

If you become so disgusted with the process that you stop enjoying cycling,
nobody wins and you won't be able to do the job anyway.

Enjoy riding and best regards,
Chris

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

About five years ago I joined my city's Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Group.
About three years ago I was elected chair.

I think I am planning to officially resign at the upcoming meeting.
Without rehashing the gory details of local politics, I have decided that
working with the City is profoundly personally disempowering, and it only
contributes to feelings of general depression. Someone else can take up
the banner and fight the noble fight.

I plan to continue to participate in the planning process as it affects
pedestrian interests in my local neighborhood. Otherwise, I think I am
done.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

I'm surprised you lasted 5 years. I have attended that type of
bicycling planning meeting, and it drove me up the wall. Too many
people with nothing to say, who feel they have to say it at great
length.

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do you think it is about municipal government participation that is
disempowering?

I am currently of the opinion that the Ped-Bike Citizen Advisory Group ("the
CAG"😉 exists only as a way to divert people who would otherwise harangue and
harass land use and transportation planners, and local officials. In other
words, these folks, when they complain about the lack of bicycle facilities,
they get told, take it to the CAG. Then, the members of the CAG earnestly
tell the planners that they need signage here and a bike lane there, and
notes are copied down of what the CAG recommends. And then the local
officials and planners do whatever the hell it was they were planning to do
anyway. The members of the CAG feel like at least they were heard, and maybe
"next time".

I was thinking of making a little speech at the October meeting where I
officially step down, in which I would list our many accomplishments, and I
couldn't come up with much. Instead, I come up with lists and lists of
things where we were either not consulted, or when consulted, our advice was
rejected. Pedestrians faired much better in the actual facilities
implemented, which is ironic considering that the CAG is distained as a
hotbed of cycling advocates where pedestrians' concerns are not heard. But
ped facilities are easier to design and are much more politically popular.
So, I guess if I do make the little speech, rather than make a depressing
list of failures (FAILED to get safe non-motorized facilities on West Lake
Sammamish....FAILED to get any bicycle crossing of I-405 between SE 8th and
Northup...FAILED to get bicycles consideration in the Downtown plan...), I
think I'll just say nice things about staff and then shut up. If anyone
wants to hear more, we can have some beers at The Pump Room after the
meeting.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do you think it is about municipal government participation that is
disempowering?

I am currently of the opinion that the Ped-Bike Citizen Advisory Group
("the CAG"😉 exists only as a way to divert people who would otherwise
harangue and harass land use and transportation planners, and local
officials.

So to sum up it is the futility of Sisyphus?

You have my sympathy. I can harangue and hector others to do those
thankless jobs but I know I don't have the temperament to try it myself -
even if they would have me.

🙁

In article <[email hidden]>,

Claire Petersky said:

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do you think it is about municipal government participation that is
disempowering?

I am currently of the opinion that the Ped-Bike Citizen Advisory Group ("the
CAG"😉 exists only as a way to divert people who would otherwise harangue and
harass land use and transportation planners, and local officials. In other
words, these folks, when they complain about the lack of bicycle facilities,
they get told, take it to the CAG. Then, the members of the CAG earnestly
tell the planners that they need signage here and a bike lane there, and
notes are copied down of what the CAG recommends. And then the local
officials and planners do whatever the hell it was they were planning to do
anyway. The members of the CAG feel like at least they were heard, and maybe
"next time".

Well, my own impression is that the old saw: "You can't fight
City Hall (and win)" is too true. Maybe the best we can hope
for is to nudge them toward the directions we desire, but
that takes having some Councillors on-side, and a lot of work
that could be easier if only there were more people willing,
or even available, to share the load. I can see how persuading
a City Council can be an exercise in futility, with no
sympathetic Councillors.

Anyway, rather than say "quitting", maybe you can call it
the culmination of a municipal-political tour of duty.

And you still have the options of:

a) working for whichever civic party is most aware
of non-motorized transportational local needs.

b) hooking up with local advocacy groups (if there
are any that seriously work for more than just
sticking bike lanes everywhere.)

c) freelancing as an independent, concerned citizen.

d) taking a break from politics for a while, and
considering your options.

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

"Tom Keats" wrote: (clip) And you still have the options of:
a.) b.) c.) d.)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Claire, you are obviously a person who is willing and able to apply yourself
to problems. If you find that you aren't getting anywhere in your efforts,
there is nohing wrong with turning elsewhere. You will be happier, and will
achieve more.