Meeting With the Elders of The Bicycle Holy Land

Tonight I went to Mt. Tabor Middle School to join the community conversation with Mayor Adams and the Council about the new proposed Mayor's budget. While it sounds a little wonky, and granted, I expected it to be, I was amazed at just how pleased I was to be experiencing yet another convergence of the citizens of Portland, The Bicycle Holy Land.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was how many people were carrying helmets and sporting bicycle pins. Keep in mind this was a hearing about the entire city budget, not just bicycle funding. The number of people there to show their support of and testify about bicycle funding was inspiring. Representatives of the BTA, bikeportland.org, and the Bike Temple were just some of the faces seen in the crowd and at the testimony table.

Most of the comments made to the Mayor and Council were positive, I lost track of how many 'Thank You's they received. While there are many things that people will disagree with, as with any government action, I took tonight as a sign that city hall is listening, and responding to it's people, and it's people want to ride bikes.


Update: Check out bikeportland.org's coverage of this event and a statement by yours truly.