Your Part

This week and into next week, you can provide input on the Master Bike Plan for Spokane. I've written about why this is important many times, so I'll spare you the sermon.

The bottom line is that without citizen input and feedback throughout the process, then the plan is doomed from the start. We must have active input if we want to build a better bike town. The main piece of the plan right now is looking at a draft of some maps and ideas. It's fun stuff to look at and exciting to think about the potentials.

The format for this input is open houses. That means you can show up during the window of time, look at maps, ask questions, get clarification, and provide input. This is not about sitting through some long boring presentation.

There are 3 open houses:

• Tuesday, April 22, Southside Senior Activity Center, 3151 E. 27th Ave., from 6 to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, April 24, at the West Central Community Center, 1603 N. Belt, from 7 to 9 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 29, at the Northeast Community Center, 4001 N. Cook, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The astute reader will notice that the locations correspond with council districts. I'll be at each one. This is a great exercise for me in practicing humility and respect for people that don't agree with my view of the world. Stop by and say hi .

If you absolutely cannot make these meetings then you can fill out a survey. Actually, you should fill out a survey in any case.

And if you really want to make an impact, contact your council representatives. Just calling/emailing your council people and telling them that bike and pedestrian amenities are important to you will make a huge difference. At the end of the day, the council must adopt what we're building here. The council people generally like to be re-elected, so they are going to vote for stuff that's important to the people in their districts.

Don't know your district or who your council people are? Go here and look it up.