Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Outreach topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Spokane Reimagined pitches 'Week Without Driving' and neighborhood bike buses
Summary
Spokane Reimagined asked the Bicycle Advisory Board to help publicize the Oct. 1–8 Week Without Driving (a disability-awareness effort) and to support neighborhood 'bike buses' in September to rehearse routes to groceries, libraries and workplaces.
Emily, an organizer with Spokane Reimagined, described Week Without Driving as a disability-awareness initiative that asks residents and elected officials to consider mobility without a car and called for board support for outreach and logistics.
"Week without driving was started by Disability Rights Washington, in 2021," Emily said. She said the week will be Oct. 1–8 and proposed lead-up "bike buses for grown-ups" in September—neighborhood rides that demo routes to everyday destinations and give would-be riders practical tips.
Emily asked the board to help in three ways: (1) suggest an appropriate city role or point of contact, (2) recommend people or groups to help run neighborhood rides (ambassadors, neighborhood councils, bike clubs), and (2.5) suggest other ideas. Board members recommended using the city’s community update newsletter, neighborhood council contacts, Spokane Bicycle Club, CommuteSmart Northwest and local bike shops for outreach and volunteer recruitment.
Why it matters: the initiative aims to make multimodal travel feel practical for more residents and to highlight barriers (e.g., lack of benches, connections and clear low-stress routes) that prevent people from choosing biking or transit.
Board members and community volunteers suggested tactics including ambassador programs, small incentives or gamification, partner outreach to employers and bike shops for visibility and repair clinics, and neighborhood-focused routes that demonstrate how to reach groceries, libraries or transit hubs on a bike.
