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‘i share the road’ campaign 10

2 Sep 2011   | Bicycle Culture · Bicycling · i share the road · James D. Schwartz

i share the road

from the i share the road campaign website

Yesterday some of you might have seen a sneak preview of a new initiative I am working on: a campaign called ‘i share the road’. We are giving away stickers to give people the opportunity to voice their support for sharing the road between people on bicycles and people in cars.

The idea has been brewing for a while, but was expedited when a friend of mine returned from Washington DC with a bumper sticker from the Human Rights Campaign. After adding the sticker to his car to express his support for equal rights, he asked me why I don’t have something like that to allow him to express his support for equal rights on our streets for people on bicycles (himself an occasional utility bicyclist).

I told him I would take care of that for him. Yadda yadda yadda, and next thing I know I have 5,000 stickers being shipped to my house. Let’s make sure all 5,000 stickers are given away by the end of the year. Help me spread the word (more on that below).

We don’t have enough signage on our streets to remind us to courteously share the streets with the other human beings who are using the streets, so this is one way we can spread the message beyond our computer screens.

Hopefully the sticker will contribute in some small way to creating some solidarity between the various users of our streets. After all, we are all just trying to get from point A to point B – whether we are in a car or on a bicycle.

The campaign has so far been funded by myself personally, but it is a not-for-profit venture and I will not be benefiting financially from the campaign. Any money raised will go directly back into the campaign.

If you agree with the message and would like to help spread the word, here are a few ways you can help:

  • Get your own stickers and give them away to family and friends

  • Put the sticker on your bicycle (if applicable) or on your car (if applicable)

  • Share links to www.isharetheroad.com from Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or your blog. Various logo sizes are also available to share on your site.

  • Talk to local businesses to see if they are willing to spread the message on their vehicles (e.g. taxi companies, buses, car sharing services, etc.)

  • Talk to advocacy organizations to urge them partner with us to help spread the message to their constituents

  • Volunteer your time to help spread the message

Thanks in advance for you support on this initiative! Visit www.isharetheroad.com for more information.

 

i share the road

 

James D. Schwartz is a Transportation Pragmatist and the Editor of The Urban Country. You can contact James at james.schwartz@theurbancountry.com or follow him on Twitter.

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  • Gclarke

    No matter how much good cycling would do for our health, communities, economy, and natural heritage, it won’t fly in on fairy wings.

    Bicycle respect is a political agenda: new traffic laws and enforcement, new budget allocations, new street designs, and expanded safety programs.
    So winning the cycling agenda requires political power. When many elected leaders begin to see championing the bicycle as a path to higher office and when elected officials fear for their seats if they ignore the needs of the bicycle, we will have arrived.

    What can you do –

    1. Stop ranting. Stop hating private vehicle ownership. Stop screaming at drivers obvious to cyclists. They don’t hear you.

    2. Quit the AAA/CAA. Most people who belong to AAA/CAA do it for the cheap towing and road-side assistance service. They probably don’t even realize that AAA/CAA chapters spend part of each membership fee lobbying and advocating for driving and cars. The same services that AAA/CAA provides are also available from the Better World Club, which has a strong commitment to sustainability.

    3. Join a cycling advocacy group and keep your membership current. Growing memberships translates into enough staff and budget to exert political influence.

    4. Get noticed. Show up at bike related events. There’s strength in numbers and policy makes take note.

    5. Demand that your local bike shops support advocacy groups. Business carries influence with local politicians. Also buy from your local bike shop even if its more expensive and help keep these people in business. They can be your very best friends in the cycling world.

    6. Help your local school districts to fund and offer bike safety programs. With budget struggles plaguing schools, they are unable to dedicate resources toward integrating such lessons into the basic education plan.

    7. Organizing bike rallies and tours of downtown is another way to get the message out.

    8. Make friends with local law enforcement. Partner and offer to support their safety programs.

    9. Get your community college to provide adult bike safety courses.

    10. Organize a Bike Expo & Rally with local bike shops so the public can see and touch bikes as their introduction into cycling. Do this at a mall, downtown park, or public convention center.

    11. Support the Good Bike Art Project. At least Caroline Macfarlane is trying to do something positive with her public bike art stationed around the city.

    12. Organize a local Bike Commute Challenge – a competition that encourages biking instead of driving to work and other activities.

    13. Send a signed “i share” sticker to your local politicians and Mayor Ford and remined them that you vote.

    Advocacy is all about direct action.

    • http://www.theurbancountry.com James Schwartz

      Great tips! For someone who lives in the US, you sure know a lot about Toronto politics. Did you used to live here?

  • Tkeen

    Not to seem dense, but I don’t get the design of this sticker. Why is the back wheel of the bike not a complete circle, and why are the words ‘THE ROAD’ so illegibly small? The wheels almost make the initials C.O., so I am scratching my head wondering what C.O. stands for. (I’m an illustrator and occasional graphic designer, so I take something of a professional interest in logos)

    • http://www.theurbancountry.com James Schwartz

      I figured someone would ask that ;) The “CO” is the beginning of “Country” as in “The Urban Country”. If you go to http://www.isharetheroad.com and look at the logo at the bottom of the page, you will see a new logo for The Urban Country. I just haven’t updated this site yet to use the new logo.

      The reason “the road” is small is because I wanted to emphasize the “i share” part of the logo for a variety of reasons. I think it sends a more positive, less “in your face” message than “I SHARE THE ROAD” for example. I don’t want this campaign to be affiliated with the “share the damn road” t-shirt campaign that someone else is running.

      The printer is just about to start printing the decals, so if you think “the road” is too small, I could tweak the file quickly before they print it.

  • Tkeen

    Not to seem dense, but I don’t get the design of this sticker. Why is the back wheel of the bike not a complete circle, and why are the words ‘THE ROAD’ so illegibly small? The wheels almost make the initials C.O., so I am scratching my head wondering what C.O. stands for. (I’m an illustrator and occasional graphic designer, so I take something of a professional interest in logos)

  • http://www.theurbancountry.com/ James Schwartz

    I figured someone would ask that ;) The “CO” is the beginning of “Country” as in “The Urban Country”. If you go to http://www.isharetheroad.com and look at the logo at the bottom of the page, you will see a new logo for The Urban Country. I just haven’t updated this site yet to use the new logo.

    The reason “the road” is small is because I wanted to emphasize the “i share” part of the logo for a variety of reasons. I think it sends a more positive, less “in your face” message than “I SHARE THE ROAD” for example. I don’t want this campaign to be affiliated with the “share the damn road” t-shirt campaign that someone else is running.

    The printer is just about to start printing the decals, so if you think “the road” is too small, I could tweak the file quickly before they print it.

  • http://www.theurbancountry.com/ James Schwartz

    Great tips! For someone who lives in the US, you sure know a lot about Toronto politics. Did you used to live here?

  • Tara in Dun Laoghaire

    I like the decals a lot and will happily display them here in Dublin.

  • Tara in Dun Laoghaire

    I like the decals a lot and will happily display them here in Dublin.

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