Being the Change

One of my favorite quotes is Gandhi's "be the change you want to see in the world". This is one of the big reasons I ride my bike, but this also makes me think of empowerment and the ability of citizens to fully engage their citizenship.

I've got a concrete example I'd like to share with you.

As cyclists, we often find a road hazard that needs attention. We come across the hazard day after day wondering when it's going to be fixed.

Our police officers often remind us to call 911 if we see something suspicious and that they depend on neighbors looking out for one another. The message, very gently suggested to us, is we need to be involved instead of expecting others to take action.

So, I've recently posted about two cycling "hazards" that I've run across. One is a hole in the pavement next to a manhole cover on 17th street. The other is some required maintenance of lane markings on a Multi-Use Path.

For the hole in the street, I'll be contacting the City's "Pothole Posse". I'll get to find out if the posse is still active.

For the lane markings, I'll be contacting the PATH Foundation. We'll see how this goes.

It remains to be seen if my results will encourage others to be involved citizens or not. We all want to put our efforts into tasks where we think we'll see results. Will keep you posted.