If you’re wondering what The Alliance for Biking and Walking is all about, Susie Stephens in the above video gives a good explanation, along with a brief history of the organization — and conveys its spirit with a song! The Alliance’s mission is to help local advocacy organizations become more effective. Help your organization become more effective by attending the Winning Campaigns Training at our Fall Retreat, Nov. 13-15.
Susie died in 2003, but her spirit lives on in the work of the Alliance (formerly known as the Thunderhead Alliance), especially in cities like Victoria, BC. Victoria has the highest bike modeshare of any sizable city in North America, surpassing even Portland OR. Susie will be honored there with a tree planting ceremony this Monday, Oct. 26. Below is an email about the event, with more about Susie, from Victoria bike-ped advocate John Luton. This was posted to The Alliance mailing list:
A memorial tree to American bike advocate Susie Stephens will be planted Monday, October 26th at the Atkins Rd parking lot access to the Galloping Goose regional trail in View Royal. The location is a crossroads of the new and the old where a paving project on the Goose, to support the E&N rail with trail project, is days from completion. The event is a waystation in the long journey for Stephens’ family, who have been traveling the world planting trees in memory of the Washington state advocate who brought her message to the capital in the late ’90s and helped energize local cycling advoactes. Susie always had a special affection for Victoria. The ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. and people who knew Susie and cycling supporters are invited to intend.
Stephens was killed in a St. Louis bus accident in 2003 while she was in the city training U.S. National Parks service staff on better planning for bikes and pedestrians. An insurance settlement left her mother Nancy MacKerrow, with a settlement she has since been investing in Susie’s passions of bike advocacy and the urban forest. McKerrow has funded scholarships for biike advocates to attend training with the U.S. based Alliance for Biking and Walking, which was co-founded by her daughter as the Thunderhead Alliance. The Alliance brings together local and regional advocates from across North America and her electrifying speech to delegates of the 1998 Pro Bike conference in Santa Barabara encouraged local advocate John Luton to invite her as a keynote speaker at that year’s AGM of the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition.
Stephens then helped connect Victoria advocates with the National Center for Bicycling and Walking in the U.S. who brought the 2004 Pro Walk – Pro Bike conference to Victoria, an event that again focused attention on cycling and walking for transportation in Victoria. More than 600 attended.
Working out of Seattle and then eastern Washington, Stephens had many occasions to bring her bike to the Island and was a big fan of the Goose. Luton, who has organized the tree planting, is expecting numbers of cyclists in the community who met Stephens to join the planting. Cyclists will also be able to look in on the new paving project, expected to open within days.
Stephens speech and an improptu singing performance showing off a beautiful voice and a knack for inspiring lyrics can be seen at: http://blip.tv/file/2730954
Luton has been working with CRD staff to set up the planting with a location and species that will act as a local memorial. MacKerrow, along with Stephens’ brother Jack Stephens, have made a special trip to Victoria to attend and make a local donation for the tree.
For more information:
John Luton
22 Philippa Place
Victoria, BC V8S 1S6
johnluton@shaw.ca
Executive Director, Capital Bike and Walk Society
Coordinator, Vancouver Island Cycle Tourism Alliance
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The Blip TV link will go dead later this summer. To see the Susie Stephens video, go to YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IMpv0OPApU