register<\/a>…..it\u2019s going to be a great event!]<\/strong><\/p>\nAt last year\u2019s Velo-city Conference in Seville, Spain,\u00a0we randomly gave one lucky participant a free ticket and\u00a0accommodation\u00a0to Velo-city Global in Vancouver. In about a month, University Student Alyson Fletcher from Ithaca, New York will be packing her bags to attend the world\u2019s biggest cycling policy conference. We had a few questions to ask her\u2026<\/p>\n
Q: Tell us a little a bit about living in the New York area and the cycling situation there. What role do you think cycling should play in cities?<\/p>\n
I live in Ithaca, New York which is a very hilly small city about two to four hours from any other major cities. The weather is gray about 9 months of the year, the winter is long and the average slope of the hill roads in Ithaca is about 12 percent. \u00a0These aspects pose particular challenges for the beginner to average cyclist. Even I, as a rather advanced cyclist, do not choose to commute by biking because the walking and transit are both so much more convenient. \u00a0(I do ride for recreation on the weekends in the beautiful rural farmland that surrounds our city.) With the flat areas of the city being easily walkable and the hilly areas being well-covered by transit, commuter cycling can be a hard sell in this town. \u00a0That said, the traffic conditions for cycling are actually rather safe compared to most places. \u00a0To boot, there has been some traction in local cycling advocacy in recent years to improve Ithaca\u2019s bikeability. \u00a0Last year my university hosted an Active Transportation Symposium inviting experts Mia Birk and Jennifer Dill to town to review a plan to develop a \u201cneighborhood greenways\u201d program to increase the bikeability of Ithaca for people of all ages.<\/p>\n
As a rule of thumb, I think if our streets are safe for cycling, they\u2019re safer for everyone.<\/p>\n
As a bike zealot, I of course think every city should incorporate cycling. \u00a0It is a key aspect of any place\u2019s livability. \u00a0I believe streets should be designed with the consideration of all users in mind such that we can more equitably share in the use of our one of our largest public assets. \u00a0As a rule of thumb, I think if our streets are safe for cycling, they\u2019re safer for everyone.<\/p>\n
Q: How did you find Velo-city 2011 in Seville? What did you learn, what lessons did you take with you? Any unforgettable moments and\/or great memories?<\/p>\n
\u00a0Velo-City 2011 in Seville was one of the best experiences of my life. \u00a0I met so many great people, was inspired by those working on bettering cycling all over the world, and I even found a summer internship! \u00a0I actually found out about Velo-City through doing a project with Gil Penalosa in Fall 2010 where I interviewed him to learn about his perspectives on how to do effectively advocate for more livable cities.<\/p>\n
Velo-City 2011 in Seville was one of the best experiences of my life<\/p>\n
So it was great for that to come full circle seeing him lead the conference as master of ceremonies. \u00a0I definitely think the ride in the Spanish countryside the Saturday after the conference was one of my most unforgettable experiences at the conference. \u00a0It was such a beautiful route with such breath-taking views. \u00a0I also met four great folks from Austin, Texas and I have since visited all of them to learn about cycling in their city. \u00a0I feel so lucky that I get to go to Velo-City 2012 and see them all again!<\/p>\nCyclists on public bicycles in Seville, during the 2011 Velo-city Conference<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nQ: What sort of conference content are you looking forward to Vancouver for Velo-city Global 2012? Any particular expectations from the conference?<\/p>\n
\u00a0I\u2019m looking forward to learning about tactics for more effectively communicating the benefits of cycling to other users. \u00a0In order to avoid preaching to the choir, I think we need to understand how others perceive cycling and how we can improve these relationships. \u00a0 I also expect to learn about new methods and technologies for collecting data on cycling. \u00a0I would also love to hear about new ideas for quantifying the benefits of cycling, especially the economic and business cost-benefits.<\/p>\n
Q; What are your thoughts on Velo-city leaving Europe and going to North America?<\/p>\n
It will be great to see more familiar faces at Velo-City this time around as it will be more accessible to people I know and have worked with in North America. \u00a0Vancouver also has such a great cycling network (almost comparable to some of the great European examples) so it will be a superior model for American advocates to follow. \u00a0I visited there once a few years ago and was impressed at how easy it was to spend my entire day riding comfortably on dedicated bike facilities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nCyclists in Vancouver, host of Velo-city Global in 2012 Credit: Vancouver Cycle Chic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n***<\/p>\n
About the Interviewee<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nAlyson Fletcher is a graduate student in a Dual Masters Program in City Planning and Landscape Architecture at Cornell University. \u00a0Her studies are focused in land use, urban design, and transportation. \u00a0Her planning thesis project looks at the demographics and usage of the new protected bike lane network in Chicago, Illinois (research on which she will be presenting at Velo-City 2012). \u00a0She has interned with the Active Transportation Alliance in Chicago, Illinois and before that, volunteered with the Livable Streets Alliance in Boston, Massachusetts. \u00a0Before graduate school, Alyson worked in architecture and co-led a non-profit called Common Boston that did tours in under-represented neighborhoods of Boston. \u00a0She also biked across the United States in 2010 to build, raise money, and advocate for affordable housing in America.<\/em><\/p>\n**<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Guest Feature, European Cyclists’ Federation [Editor’s Note: We are proud to announce that Spacing has partnered with our friends at the European Cyclists’ Federation to become is one of the media sponsors for their Velo-city Global 2012 conference, taking place in here in Vancouver on\u00a0June 26-29. It\u2019s the biggest cycling planning conference in the world,Continue reading “Free Ticket to Velo-city Global Vancouver: Q & A with Alyson Fletcher”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11232],"tags":[8746,1263,481,1111,8637,398,8744,8748,8747,1105,1106,8745,1762,2359,214,5957],"class_list":["post-10541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","tag-advocate-for-more-livable-cities","tag-austin","tag-cycling-2","tag-cyclist","tag-gil-penalosa","tag-indepth-features","tag-ithaca","tag-jennifer-dill","tag-mia-birk","tag-new-york","tag-north-america","tag-rather-advanced-cyclist","tag-seville","tag-texas","tag-vancouver-2","tag-velo-city"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFree Ticket to Velo-city Global Vancouver: Q & A with Alyson Fletcher - Spacing Vancouver<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/vancouver\/2012\/06\/01\/free-ticket-to-velo-city-global-vancouver-q-a-with-alyson-fletcher\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Free Ticket to Velo-city Global Vancouver: Q & A with Alyson Fletcher - Spacing Vancouver\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Guest Feature, European Cyclists’ Federation [Editor’s Note: We are proud to announce that Spacing has partnered with our friends at the European Cyclists’ Federation to become is one of the media sponsors for their Velo-city Global 2012 conference, taking place in here in Vancouver on\u00a0June 26-29. 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