Ruben Hovanesian June 27, 2012

 Public Agencies?  Private Agencies? 2

 What makes them successful & powerful  How to develop an effective & healthy relationship  A case study in Glendale 3

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 A group of people who (attempt to) influence public opinion/policy  Bicycle Coalitions  Safety Advocates  Health Advocates  High Speed Rail Supporters 5

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 There is a need that hasn’t been met with expected satisfaction  There is interest  There is an opportunity 7

 The advocacy group’s Vision and Mission 8

 Citizens who want that need to be met  Minority or Majority  Controversial or Acceptable  Find it beneficial  For a minority or a majority  Can be in support, or against 9

 Gathering of interested community members  Grant availability  Significant project to affect that need  Positively or negatively  Expansion of larger advocacy group  New Policy 10

 Lack of bicycle infrastructure 11

 Vision  Glendale is a city where everyone feels safe to walk and bike 12

 Mission  We advocate for vibrant and safer places to walk and bike, promote walking and bicycling as fun and sustainable alternatives to driving, educate to increase safety on our streets, and inspire the community to get involved and make a difference 13

 New City policy to have an advisory committee on bicycling  Passing of “Safe and Healthy Streets” Plan  Gathering of interested community members 14

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 Consistent meetings to discuss same issues  Official recognition  Chapter of parent organization  New non-profit 16

 Students  Young Professionals  Including Engineers and Lawyers  Hobbyists  Community Members 17

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 Strength in votes  Politics have strong control over engineering projects  Actually happens or not  Politicians want/need votes  Need support from community 19

 Clients are generally Public agencies  Politics don’t directly affect Consultant Firms  Clients are affected though  Clients control the money  Clients get what they want 20

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 Listen  They don’t have any authority  But they do have the public’s attention ▪ Voting public  They can get the public agencies attention ▪ Through politics 22

 Provide a response  Official or unofficial  That simple 23

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 Grants  Some require engagement of the community  Advocacy groups have a strong voice in a community  Partnerships  Advocacy group donates for specific projects 25

 Knowledgeable and experienced as users  Consulting and Advice  Not everything works with minimums  Community needs  Constant contact 26

 New yet beneficial projects  Difficult to pass in City Councils  Can offer political support ▪ Especially where engineers can’t make recommendations 27

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 Proposed road diet  Near Community College  Major North-South Connector  Near riots  Death threats to politicians 30

 Proposed Test Road Diet  Near shopping park  Leads into/from existing section of traffic calming implementation  Major East-West connector  Very likely to succeed 31

 Walk Bike Glendale  Advocacy group for walking and biking in the city 32

 More knowledgeable and experienced with the specific project needs as users  Larger outreach effort  Proper use of social media  Better response to protests 33

 More support from community recognized  Result of outreach efforts  Active Communication between City officials and Advocacy leaders 34

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 Incremental efforts “satisfy politicians that they have dealt with a problem while exhausting the capacity of grassroots advocates to keep pushing forward”  Rather than focus on a specific strategy to achieve a policy goal, “nimbly and creatively” react to unanticipated challenges or opportunities 36

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