DVRPC (PA & NJ) recruiting for Public Participation Task Force Members

[jeffandnicole]

https://www.dvrpc.org/Newsletters/DVRPCNews/2017/November/#th1

The DVRPC is accepting applications to be a member of their Public Participation Task Force.  Per the website: "The mission of the PPTF is to provide ongoing access to the regional planning and decision-making process, to review timely issues, to serve as a conduit for DVRPC information to organizations and communities across the region, and to assist the Commission in implementing public outreach strategies."

Meetings appear to be approximately every 2 months, which have started at 5:30PM.

I've never been a PPTF member, but I can say from prior experience with the DVRPC that public board/committee members are usually very heavily weighted towards bicyclists and pedestrians (honestly, the entire DVRPC is weighted in that direction).  While it's not a totally bad thing to include peds and bicyclists in planning, overspending on bike paths while resisting minor road improvements isn't best for the regional transportation system.

And, honestly, I think the task force is a good sounding board, but the actual influence they have?  Minimal at best.

[cpzilliacus]

I will offer this suggestion - if you live in one of the DVRPC counties in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, and can attend those meetings, then you should sign up. 

It seems to me that the advocates for bikes and pedestrians and transit all have unlimited amounts of time to attend functions such as this.  Though I have seen participants that feel that they must consider that the overwhelming majority of trips are by automobile, and that users of highways are the ones that fund most bike, pedestrian and transit projects.

[jeffandnicole]

It seems to me that the advocates for bikes and pedestrians and transit all have unlimited amounts of time to attend functions such as this.

The meeting time used to be around 10am or so, which absolutely geared this committee to the bicyclist and pedestrian committee.  It must've been one heck of a concession to move it to 5:30pm.  Not sure if that has improved diversity among the committee though.

[SectorZ]

It seems to me that the advocates for bikes and pedestrians and transit all have unlimited amounts of time to attend functions such as this.

The meeting time used to be around 10am or so, which absolutely geared this committee to the bicyclist and pedestrian committee.  It must've been one heck of a concession to move it to 5:30pm.  Not sure if that has improved diversity among the committee though.

Does that infer that people who walk or ride bikes (out of necessity or recreationally) don't work?

[jeffandnicole]

It seems to me that the advocates for bikes and pedestrians and transit all have unlimited amounts of time to attend functions such as this.

The meeting time used to be around 10am or so, which absolutely geared this committee to the bicyclist and pedestrian committee.  It must've been one heck of a concession to move it to 5:30pm.  Not sure if that has improved diversity among the committee though.

Does that infer that people who walk or ride bikes (out of necessity or recreationally) don't work?

I'm not inferring anything.  I'm simply stating the time the meetings used to be, and the overall makeup of the committee that met at that time.

[Alps]

It seems to me that the advocates for bikes and pedestrians and transit all have unlimited amounts of time to attend functions such as this.

The meeting time used to be around 10am or so, which absolutely geared this committee to the bicyclist and pedestrian committee.  It must've been one heck of a concession to move it to 5:30pm.  Not sure if that has improved diversity among the committee though.

Does that infer that people who walk or ride bikes (out of necessity or recreationally) don't work?

The opposite. People who drive cars tend to be able to support that by working.

[sparker]

It seems to me that the advocates for bikes and pedestrians and transit all have unlimited amounts of time to attend functions such as this.

The meeting time used to be around 10am or so, which absolutely geared this committee to the bicyclist and pedestrian committee.  It must've been one heck of a concession to move it to 5:30pm.  Not sure if that has improved diversity among the committee though.

Does that infer that people who walk or ride bikes (out of necessity or recreationally) don't work?

The opposite. People who drive cars tend to be able to support that by working.

One of the largest groupings of bicycle advocates tend to cluster around university campuses, so it's likely that there's proportionally less full-time workers within that category, which would correspondingly affect vehicle ownership.