Part of my job involves covering city council. I've seen all sorts of groups and organizations work with the council when they have concerns. Here are a few suggestions that might work for you.

1. Is there anyone on city council who rides a bike or cares about fitness or is a progressive thinker? Contact that person and outline your concerns. Offer to take him or her out on a bike ride around Whitehorse to show the conditions you're facing. If you can have two or three other cyclists with you, it will have a huge impact.

2. You may need to make a presentation to city council on this. There is generally room on city council agendas for delegations. Contact the city clerk or administrator to find out how to go about this. The policies in the Yukon may be a little different than here in B.C. If you make a presentation, it will give you some visibility. Whitehorse has two newspapers and other media outlets such as radio and television. They will have reporters regularly covering council. If you have a strong, articulate and persuasive argument, they may run stories on you and your concerns. Once again, don't go solo. There's strength in numbers and if you can bring other cyclists with you, it will have an impact. I've seen councils reverse decisions on more than one occasion when residents made presentations.

3. Letters to the editor are amazing at raising awareness in a hurry. At my paper, our letters page is the best-read page in the paper and people will talk about what they're reading there. Although letters are powerful, I'd suggest you use this avenue after you've first approached council.

Good luck. I'm hoping you'll soon have a letter to the editor congratulating council on changing its policy.