Dear eco event organizer,
I’m sorry, I will not be able to make it tonight. I spoke too soon when I RSVPed for this event.
It turns out the bus isn’t an option. I had misread the bus map and schedule.
And I do not feel safe riding my bicycle there, as the route is mainly high-speed, congested roads.
A concern that I was going to share tonight is how unfriendly this area is to people who are not driving cars. So this is perfect!
And no, I’m not fishing for anyone to give me a ride tonight. Because it’s not just about me. I choose to represent people who have no choice other than foot, bicycle, and public transport.
I am car-FREE by choice, but I at least know how to drive, am able to drive, have a driver’s license, and would be able to afford the expenses of car ownership (if I were willing to sell my house and live in the car). There are so many other people who have no choice.
We environmentalists need to push more to stop the erosion of public transportation and walkable density. This isn’t just for the environment. This is for the well-being of elders, children, and even the driving population. I am only one person, but at least I can cast my one vote.
Getting there by public transport and/or bicycle was going to be my transportation activist homework adventure for the day, but it just physically is not going to work. So I guess in a sense I did still do my homework. I researched and found that the bus does not get close enough or run late enough for me to attend this event. And would be dangerous to try to go by bicycle, especially at night.
Conversation ongoing, and let’s shape a safe, sane transportation future for our area and for the planet.
POSTSCRIPT: Well, this whole thing ended up coming full circle, in a good way. Because a couple weeks ago, when I first got what I thought was the invitation to this meeting tonight, I emailed the person back to see if it was outdoors. (Because I have been trying to avoid indoor meetings as much as possible, so as to limit unnecessay exposure to Covid and other health risks, since I am in multiple high-risk categories and also work with vulnerable populations.)
The person who sent me the email (a person I don’t know) told me no, it’s only indoors. So then I asked her if a virtual option is available and she said no.
Then I thought, well, maybe it’s important enough for me to risk the exposure. And I decided to make it a transportation activist homework assignment.
Now, fast forward to today, my good friend who is high up in this eco organization told me that the meeting is in fact available by Zoom. And told me she wasn’t sure who I had been emailing with.
Well, it’s a very large organization so I will have to sift through my emails to see who it was who emailed me. And obviously what this other person was inviting me to must be a totally different meeting. (This organization is not only massive but has many many different levels.)
But long story short, I can attend tonight’s meeting by Zoom tonight! A very eco-friendly transportation options: virtual meetings!
POSTSCRIPT POSTSCRIPT: Except no, I had the wrong info yet again. The meeting organizer is not having it by Zoom. Well, as I am often saying, some of the most powerful activism is what we are doing right in our own homes and neighborhoods. And by postal mail and email too.