Launched in October, Cycle Hamilton aims to increase the amount of safe, confident, and knowledgeable cyclists in Hamilton by promoting better infrastructure and developing partnerships with organizations, community groups, and citizens.
To work toward this long-term goal, Cycle Hamilton has set the following goals for 2016:
- Structure: Cycle Hamilton is registering as a non-profit organization and will be creating terms of reference, by-laws, a board of directors, and a formal structure to support the organization.
- Funding: While member support will provide a monetary base to support our work, Cycle Hamilton will be exploring grant opportunities available to foster and develop the organization.
- Awareness: Communicating about issues that matter to our members is a central priority. This will be done through active use of social media, while also developing communications strategies on specific issues that our members want to focus on.
- Workshops: A series of four workshops will be held from November 2015 to June 2016, with a focus on developing the organization’s goals and priorities. Outcomes of these workshops will also inform issue-specific campaigns to support our goals.
- Strategic Plan: By September 2016, Cycle Hamilton will have drafted a 2016-2020 strategic plan to guide our efforts for the next five years. This plan will address goals and priorities, while also focusing on sustainability of the organization.
November 11 Workshop: Setting Directions for 2016
Interested in getting involved? Come join at us at Cycle Hamilton’s inaugural workshop, Setting Directions for 2016, taking place at 294 James Street North from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM.
This workshop will be an opportunity to voice your opinions and ideas on what Hamilton needs to do to become a better city for cyclists and what Cycle Hamilton should do to make that change happen. During the workshop, we will be brainstorming about a range of issues related to the first year of the organization, including:
- Issues Related to Hamilton’s Cycling Network: While there have been many recent strides in expanding and improving Hamilton’s cycling network and infrastructure, we recognize that there are still many improvements to be made. We’d like to get your feedback on what issues are most pressing as we develop a list of ideas to focus on going forward.
- Communication: Cycle Hamilton wants to develop an effective and accessible communication system. We will need to communicate up-to-date information to our members, as we want to be an organization that is run by cyclists, for cyclists. Ideas developed will inform a communication strategy going forward.
- Structure and Governance: As a new organization, Cycle Hamilton’s structure is still in its developmental stages. To develop the most efficient structure, we want to draw on experiences of members and supporters as the organization takes shape.
- Education: One goal of Cycle Hamilton is to support a coordinated cycling education strategy that connects the work of many existing groups and broadens their reach to cyclists, pedestrians, drivers, and the community as a whole.
- 2016 Actions: The first year of Cycle Hamilton as a new organization will define our work in the long-run. We would like to develop a well thought-out action plan to address what is most important for the organization to work towards during our first year, including who we should be engaging with and what work we should be building on.
These topics will be discussed in small roundtables with outcomes used to inform a 2016 work plan to get Cycle Hamilton rolling! If you’re interested, we encourage you to join us on the evening of November 11 for some great discussion and an opportunity to inform the directions of this new organization.
Click here to sign up – we’d love to have you join us!
Become a Founding Member of Cycle Hamilton
In order to support activities such as our November 11 Workshop and future campaigns, Cycle Hamilton is seeking to develop a strong membership base by offering the following memberships:
- Lifetime Founding Membership: $500+
- Organizational Founding Membership: $500+
- Founding Membership: $50-$500
- 1 Year Membership: $35
As an organization of cyclists, Cycle Hamilton memberships will help us to provide::
- A Unified Voice for cycling in Hamilton
- Information Sharing to raise awareness about cycling issues and events in Hamilton
- Targeted Campaigns to promote improved infrastructure that cyclists will benefit from
- Community Building by connecting cyclists with organizations, community groups, and citizens
If you are interested in joining for a one-year membership or would like to provide support through one of our founding memberships, we would love to hear from you. Please click here to join us!
Interested in staying in the loop? If you’re not sure about membership, but interested in semi-regular updates, please sign up for our mailing list.
We look forward to working with our fellow Hamiltonians to build a strong, sustainable, and effective organization that will act as a unified voice to improve cycling for all!
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