This past weekend, WOBO vols Michael and Shannon headed east to the Rockies for a “Winning Campaigns” training with the Alliance for Biking and Walking. The training, led by ABW staffer Jeremy Grandstaff and LA County Bicycle Coalition founder Ron Milam, was packed with tools and tips for, well, winning campaigns – and since we’ve both been at the forefront of the emerging “Oaklavia/Sunday Streets” effort, we used the practice sessions to scheme the next steps towards making fun, safe, free car-free parkways a reality in Oakland.

In addition to spending two and a half days honing a plan for bringing Oaklavia/Sunday Streets to the Town, we also had many opportunities to share stories and ideas with fellow bike/ped advocates from Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Minnesota.  Other groups are working on diverse goals ranging from changing Minnesota state law to allow bicyclists to turn left on red when they don’t trip the traffic light sensor, to inserting a “Bike Palace” with free, secure parking and showers into the newly restored Union Station in downtown Denver. We’re looking forward to leaning on these awesome, inspiring allies as we work for a better neighborhood quality of life here in Oakland.

Group photo with cow sculpture by BikeDenver board member Lise Neer.

It wasn’t all business, though.  Denver’s re-developed warehouse district has become a hopping scene for nightlife, especially when the Colorado Rockies are playing, and we spent the evenings walking to pubs where a base hit was cause for a conversation-stopping commotion.  The nearby Cherry Creek trail is a bicycle and pedestrian throughway that leads south from downtown, and Saturday afternoon about a dozen training participants took a ride on the paths and streets of Denver.  One of the most interesting locales was the Denver Art Museum, where giant cows lounge on the lawn in front of a recently completed, pointy building intended to reflect the shape of the mountains, and covered in 9,000 titanium panels.  That’s a lot of bikes!

Submitted by Shannon T.

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