N_C

On March 5, 2007 at 5:00 pm CST I will be presenting the idea of Complete Streets to the Public Works Dept. of South City, Nebraska. The way I am going to present this is using a Power Point slide show.

I am going to start out with what is a Complete Street & have a factual definition emphasizing on there is no prescrbied design & why that is. The Power Point will show what communities close to this one already have Complete Streets Policies & if possible I will find how it has enhanced & improved that community. I will announce the birth of a new organization that will focus on helping the communities adopt Compelte Streets Policies & improve the roadways for bicycle use. Then I will ask if South Sioux City, Nebraska is willing to pursue such a policy for their community.

What do you think? Any thing else I should include? Should I include bicycles are legal vehicle in all 50 states? Should I include a cyclist should never be required to use a path when it is legal to ride on the public roadways?

Thank you.

Helmet Head

You should try to figure out how to present what you want such that it will address something that they want.

N_C

This is new to them. They may not know what they want or need yet. This presentation should give them an insight to that. Then it will be decided from there, by South Sioux City, whether it is the council or the Public Works Dept. what they want & need out of this & if they want to pursue it further. After seeing it I hope they think & say hey this is a good idea let's pursue it further & eventually adopt a Complete Streets Policy.

There is no need to find out ahead of time what they want, they will determine that for themselves. They know better me what that is. I hope this presentation shows them a way to better improve their community beyond what it already is.

Helmet Head

But they know what they do want. You need to know what that is.

For example, maybe someone wants to get reelected, and you can show him that there would be popular support for your initiative, and therefore for any politician who supports it.

Or maybe someone's main focus is to promote business. Can you present the idea for him in a way that will show him that the traffic calming and more ped friendly environment will be good for the business district he is trying to support?

Others may have health or environment goals that could be addressed by your proposals.

I repeat: You should try to figure out how to present what you want such that it will address something that they want.

Brian Ratliff

N_C, as much as it pains me to say this, but HH is correct. My company is a little startup which survives by engineering/research contracts from the government. The first task when we start writing a proposal is to call up the relevent people and find out what the government is working on and how our ideas can forward their initiatives, as well as help our own technology base.

People get dug in when it comes to ideas that they have already spent time and money on. As a stranger coming into their office, you have to build a relationship with these people and show how your ideas don't represent a 90 degree departure from theirs, but rather, an enhancement which will allow them to leverage your skills and ideas along with what they've already been working on. Perhaps the public works already has some sort of community projects going on. Perhaps there are certain neighborhoods which have already started clamoring for something like this.

chipcom 

No reason to be pained...it's part of the advice I gave N_C in an earlier thread where he was asking for input about this and other projects.

N_C, not picking on you, just being perfectly honest, I hope that your presentation skills in person are much better than what you have displayed here in BF, at least when debating with me. I know you consider it sucking up, but you ARE asking them for something...adjust your manners, and manner, accordingly. Just smile and don't get confrontational if they ask you hard questions. Indeed, try to think off all the possible questions they may ask and have your facts and answers prepared - then deliver them in a cheerful, positive manner.

N_C

I'm going to go into the meeting with a power point that will be created from the info. on the Complete Streets web site, show it explain why there should be a policy for South Sioux City & answer their questions if they have any. It will be factual & to the point. Unless they have knowledge of what Complete Streets are or have visited the web site they do not have any idea what I talking about, I am going to educate them on this, answer their questions & ask if South Sioux City is willing to move forward with this.

I would like an answer as to my questions on whether or not I should mention cyclists should never be required, by law or otherwise to use a trail when it is legal to ride on the public roadways & that in all 50 states bicycles are legal vehicles of the road.

N_C

I already know 3 of the people I will be presenting this to via the contact I have had with them through the Siouxland Trails Foundation & other things I have been involved in with South Sioux City. I am not going into this blind. I also have confidence this will not be that hard of a sell because South Sioux is very proactive when it comes to recreation & the needs of the community. They are much smaller then Sioux City, Iowa, but way far ahead in recreation. That is why the new Siouxland YMCA is going to be built in South Sioux instead of Sioux City. This presentation is just to educate them on this. That at the moment is what they NEED me to do for them after talking with one of the council members today on the phone.

So there is the answer as to what they need, as HH pointed out. They need to be educated about this. After that they may very well tell me what more then need if anything at all from me & the new group I am forming.

N_C

One interesting thing is when I talked with the South Sioux council member that I mentioned in my previous response today he asked why the Siouxland Trails Foundation is not working on this. I told him it has been explained to me by the president of the foundation their only focus is trails & that is it. He more or less said hmm that is interesting & sounded disapointed the trails foundation is not willing to look at the bigger picture beyond the trail system.

N_C

I don't need to create a power point. I am going to use the one from the Complete Streets web site, www.completestreets.org with an addition showing a map of the U.S. that shows communities that have Complete Streets Policies already.

I will also try to have hand outs of the Complete Streets Policies from the 2 cities in Iowa.

The Human Car

The short answer is no. I assume you are after a policy change while policy has to be in line with the law, policy makers/deciders are more concerned with other issues.