Be inspired. Wed. June 15, 2011. Guaranteed!

If you didn't make it to Seville, Spain in March  to hear Gil Penalosa you have another opportunity.  


Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring has invited visionary speaker, Gil Penalosa to outline an ambitious plan to transform Burlington into a vibrant, healthy, happy community.  
  
Its not about cycling!  Its about vibrant cities, healthy communities, great places and happy people.  
 Gil has walked the talk, he is a "doer."  Gil is a man who makes change happen and gets difficult things done.   He has spread his dynamic brand of gospel around the world from South America to Europe, from Melbourne to New York.  People are listening and taking action.  Here's what others have said about Gil.  Please don't miss this opportunity to hear Gil.  Change won't happen without you.


Discover what an 8-80 city means.  Be there.  It's Free!  Register here. You'll leave inspired!

June 15, 2011 at 7 p.m.
Auditorium, DeGroote School of Business, Ron Joyce Centre Admission is Free and Open to All


You can see some of Gil's great videos at www.8-80cities.org 

Opportunities don't last forever

Some think it takes too long for things to get done in Burlington.
Comfort levels are difficult to leave, change is hard to accept.  We all know the bigger things are the harder they are to change.  Gigantic cruise ships don't turn on a dime.  767s require longer runways, hummers bigger garages.  Change by the bureaucracy in the Big Apple must move at a snail's pace. 
  
Surprise, surprise, surprise!  It's harder to get cycling infrastructure done in Burlington than it is in New York City.  Really!
How is this possible?  The answer lies in the questions champions ask.  From Portland's Mia Birk to NYC's Janette Sadik-Khan and the world's Gil Penalosa, champions are more concerned with opportunities to get it done rather than reasons why it can't be done!

NYC Summer Streets

Sadik-Khan (SK) is not hesitant to act, consequently things get done.  "When you use capital funds for a project, you need approval from a few different places, and it takes months, sometimes years. So she takes a bunch of guys already painting double lines and gets them to dot a bike lane with the extra paint."  SK is also big on pilots. With a pilot change, you don't necessarily need community permission, since the idea is that you may end up just taking it down.  Like Mikey in the cereal commercials, SK found, once exposed to change, they like it! A former NYC traffic commissioner remarked that SK "has done more in the past few years than anyone did in the past fifty."  You can read the article here.
According to Janette Sadik-Khan, "If you can do it here," she says with a smile, "you can do it anywhere."

Virtue Moir Olympic Gold

Contrast that with the 2007 proposed bike lanes between Lakeshore Road and New St. on Guelph, Walkers & Appleby Lines.  After public consultations, it was decided that a pilot project on Guelph Line was needed before the 2007 project could be considered.  Bike lanes will eventually be added but it shouldn't take 5 years!
  

Bilodeau reached for Gold

We need that going for Olympic Gold attitude in Burlington!  We need champions at all levels at city hall to actively seek out  opportunities to make things happen & Burlington even better than it already is.  
Opportunities don't last forever and they seldom come around again.