A group photo with Community Transportation Academy participants during the final week of the course.
Have you ever wondered why your street doesn’t have sidewalks? Who pays for public transit? How does Kansas City’s past continue to impact street design today? BikeWalkKC sought to answer these questions for members of the public and much more in our Community Transportation Academy (CTA). The purpose of this course was to help everyday residents understand how our transportation system works and how they can use their voice to create change within it.
Our first CTA brought together participants from all walks of life and various parts of the region: neighborhood residents, disability advocates, a school board member, a transportation engineer, and several more.
BikeWalkKC covered a lot of ground with our CTA, through a combination of activities, in-depth conversations, and guest speakers. Each week’s class sought to answer 2-3 key questions about a topic. What did that look like in practice?
Let’s take a look at Week 6, which was all about decision makers and power mapping.
From left to right: Alyssa Marcy, Long Range Community Planner for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County & Kansas City, KS; KCMO 4th District Councilmember Eric Bunch; and Missouri State Representative Eric Woods
One of the key questions to answer was “Who are the decision makers in transportation?” To help answer this question, participants went to the source: BikeWalkKC organized a panel discussion with elected officials and staff to share information about everything from how measures move through a legislative body to an explanation on how local and state jurisdictions interact with one another. Those discussions informed later conversations in the class about power mapping and how CTA participants could get involved in a board or commission.
The bottom line: Your state and local decision makers have a much bigger impact on state and local infrastructure decisions like when a road will be resurfaced or how to request a crosswalk in your neighborhood.
So, what did CTA participants have to say about the course? We asked them to complete an evaluation survey and to tell us what they would want others to know about the class and what they learned. Here are some highlights:
- 76% of participants were “very likely” to recommend the course to friends, neighbors, and/or colleagues;
- 92% of participants believe the CTA has given them a better understanding of our region’s transportation system and how to create change within it; and
- 100% of participants said they now know where to look to find elected officials, budget information, and planning documents because of this course!
That’s not all. Participants also explained in their own words how the CTA has helped them:
“I couldn’t help but feel a bit lost as a first time neighborhood association board member. This class is helping me pinpoint problem areas in my neighborhood, and most importantly, teaching me how to bring about positive and lasting change to my neighbors.” – Dia M.
“…My neighbor says that if everyone takes care of the person next to them, everyone gets the help they need. This program has been HUGE in teaching me how to help myself and my neighbor.” – Pancho L.
“…It is inspiring to be surrounded by like-minded individuals that come from diverse backgrounds. Hearing their stories in class has also helped me in my work as an engineer and how I think about the impacts of my designs…” – Sydney C.
BikeWalkKC executive director Eric Rogers speaks with CTA participants during Week 2 of the course.
While the last class is complete, we’re certain that the CTA will be back soon! BikeWalkKC has already begun to have conversations with our partners at the RE-AMP Network about another CTA cohort as well as a graduate-level course for the initial set of participants. Stay tuned for more information.
The CTA isn’t the first time BikeWalkKC has offered training on how to use your voice for a better transportation system. We also offer a transportation advocacy course that provides an overview of transportation advocacy (Advocacy 101), tips on public speaking (Advocacy 102), steps of building a coalition (Advocacy 103), and insights on how to develop and maintain relationships with staff and elected officials (Advocacy 104).
BikeWalkKC has been incredibly fortunate to work with such a passionate group of people for our inaugural Community Transportation Academy. We can’t wait to see how they take the lessons they’ve learned and use them to advocate for safer streets in their communities.
BikeWalkKC’s Community Transportation Academy is supported by RE-AMP Network Administrative Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation. We would also like to thank the Kansas City Public Library for hosting much of the course at their Plaza Branch.