Here's a neat livable streets success story from Virginia. A short time back a woman named Andrea Garland dropped by the TOPP office in Manhattan. A transportation engineer and native of Colombia, Andrea now lives in Roanoke, where she is active in several cyclist and pedestrian groups. One of those groups, BikeWalk Virginia, is bringing Ciclovia to downtown Roanoke in August.
Downtown Roanoke. Photo: ocracokewaves/FlickrAndrea, who is planning the event, explains that the Ciclovia Streetfilm was instrumental in making it happen.
Watching the Ciclovia video was very inspiring. I don't oftenthink that Colombia could be an example for the world. So I feel proudof Bogotá to have many features to showcase, such as Ciclovia andTransmilenio. I thought the video was worth more than 1,000 words, andit was the easiest way to get people's attention toward having aCiclovia in Roanoke.
At first I used it to introduce Ciclovia to thepeople that are currently helping me with the event -- city officials,artists, friends, etc. I broadcast it duringan Earth Day festival hoping to get some volunteer interest. Now thatI'm actually having the event, I'm using it to get more organizationsinvolved. I'm introducing the event with a brief description andincluding a link to the video so that they get a better idea.
I really think that without the video (the short version actually is the one I use the most), it would have been very hard to even get a permit for it, because it is such a new concept for this region.
Congratulations to Andrea and everyone down in Roanoke. If anyone else out there has a similar story, or if you'd like advice on how to use Streetfilms, Streetsblog, or other Livable Streets Initiative tools in your town, let us know.
