course overview webinar: advocating for active transportation · train the trainer courses –4...

Course Overview Webinar:

Advocating for Active Transportation

November 14, 2018

SAFE ROUTES ACADEMYACTIVE TRANSPORTATION ACADEMY

Welcome/Introductions

Amelia Mansfield, AICP

Planning Manager, Burton Planning Services

Active Transportation Academy Roles:

• Project Manager

• Course Developer

• Course Instructor


Agenda

• Active Transportation Academy Overview

• Full Course Learning Outcomes

• Highlighted Topics from Full Advocating for Active Transportation Agenda

• How to Apply


Active Transportation Academy


• ATA purpose – to offer training to help communities reach their active transportation goals

• FREE trainings and workshops to communities throughout Ohio

• Open to any local jurisdiction (school, school district, government, health department, etc.)

• Professional development credits available for attendees

• Home page for more information: ODOT>Planning>LTAP>ATA

o https://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Planning/LocalPrograms/LTAP/Pages/Active-Transportation-Academy.aspx



Active Transportation Academy• Recent rebranding from “Safe Routes Academy” to

reflect broader offering of courses

• NEW COURSES!

1. Community Traffic Calming Programs (4 hours)

2. Conducting Walk/Bike Audits (4 hours)

3. Health & Equity in Transportation (4 hours)

4. Complete Streets Implementation (4 hours)

5. Advocating for Active Transportation (4 hours)



Train the Trainer Courses – 4 hours each

• Walking School Bus

• Adult School Crossing Guard

• Girls in Gear

• Conducting a School Walk AuditBPS



SRTS Training/Implementation Programs

• SRTS School Less Plans (8 hours)

• SRTS School Travel Plan Development (4 hours)

• Non-Infrastructure Implementation (4 hours)

• Incorporating SRTS into Wellness, School, and Community Policy & Planning (4 hours)

• Safety in Active Transportation: School & Community Planning (4 hours)



COMING SOON!• Crossing Guard Training – Online/On-Demand

• Creating a Vision Zero Action Plan

BPS


Advocating for Active TransportationLearning Outcomes

Goal 1: Understand the basics of advocacy.

Goal 2: Know the advocacy issues that exist

in your community.

Goal 3: Design a strategy for building

advocacy in your community.

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION ACADEMY

Part I:

What is Advocacy?

• Defining Advocacy

• Defining Advocacy in Context of Active

Transportation

• Active Transportation Inequities

• Best Practices in Active Transportation Advocacy


Defining Advocacy

“Public support for or recommendation of a

particular cause or policy.” – dictionary

“Any action that speaks in favor of,

recommends, urges for a cause, supports or

defends, or pleads on behalf of others.”

– Alliance for Justice


Defining Advocacy

Activities That Comprise Advocacy Work:

• Organizing people

• Educating decision makers

• Educating the public

• Researching to produce relevant information

• Taking action

Alliance for Justice


Defining Advocacy

Types of Advocacy:

• Instructed = work with a person/group to

communicate what they want and/or need

• Self-Driven = a person/group communicates their

own wants and/or needs

• Statutory = a person/group is legally entitled to an

advocate

• Non-Statutory = advocate for a person/group who

isn’t legally entitled to advocacy assistancewww.AdvocacyProject.org.uk


Defining AdvocacyIn Context of Active Transportation

• Physical health

• Mental health

• Environmental health

• Age

• Gender

• Race

• Income

Why do we need active transportation-

related advocacy?

Inequities related to:


Best Practices in Active Transportation Advocacy

• Generally:• Have a clear mission.

• Have an action plan.

• Build base of supporters.

• Educate yourself, partners, and supporters.

• Stay connected to other advocates.


Best Practices in Active Transportation Advocacy


Part II:

Active Transportation and Your Community

• What Affects the Function & Form of Streets

• Strengths & Weaknesses of Active Transportation

• Affecting Active Transportation Issues in Your

Community


What Affects the Function & Form of Streets?

History:

• History of suburbanization and auto-oriented sprawl development

• Federal policies that encouraged suburban development

• Growing middle class = more private automobiles

• Commuting culture

www.alamy.com


What Affects the Function & Form of Streets?

Design:

• Wide roads

• Deep setbacks

• Low intersection density

• Auto-oriented businesses

• Separated land uses

ordermatic.com vice.com

BPSESRI


Active Transportation Strengths & Weaknesses

Categorically:

• Policies, systems, and environment

Specifically, presence or absence of:

• Supportive processes

• Supportive programs

• Multi-modality of the road network

• Safety of the road network

• Accessibility of active transportation facilities

• Design of the road network and surrounding areas


Affecting Active Transportation Issues in Your Community

Understanding decision-making structure based on scale and location of the issue.

Ohio EPA District Offices and Air

Pollution Control

Ohio Counties


Part III:

Steps Toward Advocacy

• Effectively Addressing Active Transportation Issues

• Activity: Policy Assessment Checklist

• Building a Strong Message

• Activity: Craft Your Own Message

• Making Change with Elected Officials

• Activity: Your Steps Toward Advocacy


Effectively Addressing Active Transportation Issues

Approaches:

• Developing a message

• Establishing model policies

• Demonstration projects and activities

• Petitioning for change

• Building a coalition, committee, or task force



Approach: Developing a Message• Clear, consistent, and cohesive message about

importance of an active transportation issue

• Derived from mission statement, established goals, or

through marketing

campaign or outreach plan

• Created by special

committee, staff,

consultant, public, or

borrowed from elsewhere.



Approach: Establishing Model Policies

• Support or directly motivate active transportation project and programs

• Laws, regulations, plans, design guidelines, etc.

• Examples: o Law

o Policy

o Plan



Approach: Demonstration Projects & Activities

• Walk and bike audits

• Community bike rides

• Tactical urbanism

BPS BPS ThisWeek News



Approach: Build a Coalition, Committee, or Task Force

• Group dedicated to working on an issue

• Temporary or permanent

• Can assist with developing a message, establishing policies, and implementing demonstration projects and activities

• Name isn’t as important as the role!

• Include people from across sectors



Model Approach: “Community Action Model”

• Partnership• Engage the community• Strengthen multi-disciplinary coalitions

• Process• Assess, re-assess, evaluate• Prioritize and plan

• Progress• Identify and implement strategies

Healthy Places by Design

https://healthyplacesbydesign.org/community-action-model/



Healthy Places by Design

Model Approach: “Community Action Model”

• Community context is crucial

• Residents, culture, history, policies, businesses, etc.



Activity: Policy Assessment Checklist



Resources that Support Advocacy Efforts

• Healthy Places by Design

• League of American Bicyclists

• American Planning Association

• Active Transportation Alliance

• ODOT Local Technical Assistance Program

• YayBikes!


https://www.bikeleague.org/

http://www.planning.org/

http://activetrans.org/

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Planning/LocalPrograms/LTAP/Pages/Training-Technical-Assistance.aspx

https://www.yaybikes.com/


Building a Strong Message

Steps:

1) Know the issues your community is facing.

2) Understand your audience and know the benefits of active transportation.

3) Develop an elevator speech.

4) Craft a campaign.



Step 2: Understand your audience and know the benefits of active transportation.


Benefits of Active TransportationCategory

Increased Physical

Activity

Decreased Reliance On

Automobiles

Improved Built

Environment

Health

• Reduced risk of chronic

disease and premature

death

• Less daily stress

• Encourages active

commuting

Social

• Eyes on the street

• Opportunities for

interaction (build sense

of community)

• Reclaim roads as people-

oriented spaces

• More access for low-income

populations, elderly,

children, people with

disabilities

Economic • Lower health care costs

• Less congestion

• Household money for auto

costs can be put to more

productive uses

• Greater productivity

(school/work)

• Increased property values

and tourism (e.g. pedestrian-

scaled shopping or business

districts)

• Greater tax revenue per

square foot than any other

type of development

Environmental

• Influences the

development of well-

designed spaces

• Reduced emissions

• More compact development

= less impermeable surface

and stormwater runoff



Step 3: Develop an elevator speech.

What to include:• Introduce yourself and/or engage with a question• Explain what your campaign is about• Request action

Quick tips:• No more than 27 words• No more than 9 seconds• Avoid jargon• Share your passion/tell a story



Step 4: Craft a campaign.

What to include:• Target audience/s• Type of media• Budget• Tasks/responsibilities• Timeline

Quick tips:• Ask for help from an expert (in-house, volunteer,

paid).• Keep it simple and attainable.• Focus on the mission of your elevator speech.


Activity: Craft Your Own Message


Making Change with Elected Officials

What to Know:

• Navigating the public process

• Building advocates of current decision-

makers and future candidates

• Targeted messaging

• Cultivating a culture of advocacy



Navigating the Public Process – ways to

communicate your message to elected officials:

Method

• Hard copy letter

• Staff report or memo

• Email

• Online comment

• Private meeting

• Public meeting

• Demonstration



Navigating the Public Process – ways to

communicate your message to elected officials:

Timing

• Alignment with established public comment period

• Alignment with related project timeline

• Alignment with election season

Elected Body of Choice

• Which scale? state, county, city, village

• Board or individual? commissioner, mayor, or Board of

Commissioners and City Council



Building Advocates of Current Decision-

Makers and Future Advocates:

• How do you communicate with elected officials in ways

that they will pay attention?

• How can you effectively make change with their help?

• Know the advocates in your community

• Encourage them to run for elected office*

* Be aware of any rules/codes of conduct for your workplace before

becoming involved in political activity



Targeted Messaging – questions to ask:

• Do you think the downtown area/Main Street is

successful? If not, how would you change it?

• Do you think there are enough existing transportation

options in town? If not, how would you increase access

and availability to options?

• How will you improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists?

• How do you plan to involve residents in the decision-

making process?



Targeted Messaging – questions to ask:

• Some people say there is a traffic problem. Do you agree?

If so, how would you solve it?

• If a proposal for a new infrastructure project came to you,

how would you evaluate its worth before implementing it?

• Do you think our sidewalks need improvement? If so, how

would you go about improving them? If not, why?

• What neighborhood do you live in and why? What are you

favorite places to visit?



Cultivating a Culture of Advocacy – elected

officials who support active transportation:

• Encourage them to ride (bikes, transit) and walk for day-

to-day activities

• Involve them in a walk or bike audit

• Schedule regular group rides or walks; invite elected

officials (even marketed as special guests)

• Strike a balance between consistent and constant

messaging


Activity: Your Steps Toward Advocacy


Full Course Agenda

• Introductions

• Learning Outcomes

• Part I: What is Advocacy?

• Part II: Active Transportation and Your Community

• Part III: Steps Toward AdvocacyActivity: Policy Assessment Checklist

Activity: Craft Your Own Message

Activity: Your Steps Toward Advocacy

• Wrap-Up

• Adjourn


How to Apply for a Course

• To host a training in your community, please apply here:

• https://bit.ly/Active-Transportation-Academy-Application

• Please commit to at least 15 participants & have a space for the training

• Consider multiple schools, communities, etc. if needed.

• We are happy to assist with recruiting or coordinating with nearby communities.

https://odot.formstack.com/forms/untitled_form_25


THANK YOU! QUESTIONS?

Amelia Mansfield

Burton Planning Services

[email protected]

(614) 561-0342

Course Overview Webinar:

Advocating for Active Transportation

November 14, 2018

course overview webinar: advocating for active transportation · train the trainer courses –4...

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