Town Hall Speaker Content

In the event of a town hall, we have a lot to say, and we need to communicate it directly, appropriately and very positively. We all love to bike, and we need to let folks know:

who we are (a very diverse group),
- Where are you from and where do you ride?
- Contrast who you are, compared to the stereotype.
- Make it real. If a family member rides, tell them what that relationship means to you.
- Why is bicycling so fun for you? Why do you love it so?
why we need safer streets and roads,
- Do we want to remain the 49th safest state to bike?
- We don’t want our kids to fear the street anymore. It did not used to be this way.
- We want local adjacent businesses to have open, safe access and be seen by passers-by.
why we deserve to be on public street space, to get from A to B, and
- We all contribute to paying for the roads, through local general fund, local sales and property taxes, state sales and income tax, federal income tax, and from state and federal user fees (gas tax).
- State laws across the country allow a bicycle to responsibly travel legally as a “vehicle”. SC is one of the vast majority of those states that explicitly state this in law.
- It is public space. That is why.
- We have a right to congregate and get to our destination via this public space.
why we joined this movement:
- So our kids and family can ride a bike if they choose, responsibly from good education about the laws of riding, and unencumbered by measures that restrict our access to public space – measures such as “bike liability insurance” and “permits”. These things unfortunately only serve to reduce ridership, hurt our local bike economy, and ultimately foster communities where kids have fewer opportunities to freely and safely access local parks and other active spaces.
- Rather, we need support for better infrastructure, more education, and more enforcement. We’re all in this together.
- We know you can think of a ton of reasons!!