Another Successful Cyclobia in the Books!
This past Friday (August 19) was the "Back to School" event for Cyclobia Brownsville. The event started at 6:30PM and covered a few miles of blocked off roads that meandered through downtown from E. Elizabeth up to Palm Blvd and down to Amigo Land. Even though it was a very hot that day the weather in the evening was quite pleasant with a strong breeze but not so strong it made riding strenuous. All along the way there were venders, activities, non-profits and even a couple of food trucks!
One problem we have in Brownsville more so than any other city I have lived in is people work in silos. This means they tend to focus on their own initiatives and not look for ways they can coordinate with other organizations. I am not saying that is the case here as there are many organizations involved but I do think it could benefit from a bit more coordination and each party giving a little bit.
Here is a perfect example. What if the BMFA moved their monthly Friday Night Music event to Saturday and then the Farmer's Market stayed open a little later on those days? Then you could have Cyclobia in the gap and people could start with healthy foods and vendors at the Farmers Market, go ride for a few hours and then end their day enjoying live music on the lawn at the museum. Obviously there would need to be adjustments from each organization but imagine if they started hosting this on a monthly or quarterly basis? I think attendance would go far beyond what it is now. Imagine people could park near the BMFA or GPZ. Spend time at the Farmers Market, spend the afternoon riding up to the newly renovated market square where there could easily be a hub of events and activities and then end up the BMFA in the evening for live music on the lawn?
The route could be carefully planned to swing by the restaurants, studios, specific shops and galleries in downtown. The vendors and establishments along the path would know far in advance and plan to stay open. For example El Hueso and other restaurants could set up more of a sidewalk cafe atmosphere. I believe most business would support this initiative as long as it was consistent and they could benefit. We can't be putting free stuff next to vendors who spent time and money to set up a sidewalk cafe... I saw a little of that at Friday's event. There was free food being given away right next to a cash vendor. The free food line was crazy long and no one went to the vendor when I was there. Not knocking the free food providers just saying maybe they shouldn't be right next to paid vendors.This is just my two cents. I think it is an awesome event and with a little bit of adjustment we could take participation and community benefit to a whole new level. Regardless of how it grows and evolves I hope to Be part of it.
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| Author Craig Grove |
https://www.facebook.com/CraigGroveRealtor
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Grove Realty Team
I didn't know it was taking place, just noticed Elizabeth St was blocked off as my clients were leaving. We escorted them out the alley. A head's up for the businesses affected would be nice.We would of even advertised for them had they visited us! Communication makes everything easier!
ReplyDeleteConsistency on dates would certainly help. I always post the things I see so the advertisement reaches more people.
ReplyDeleteGreat that you like CycloBia and want to get involved in promoting it. It is a lot of work and actually costs a lot of money to put on. It would be great if you could sponsor a cycloBia because the cost is significant (overtime for PD, city staff, advertising, signage, etc. etc.) The UT School of Public Health has been involved from the beginning, walking the streets to meet with businesses to encourage their participation, canvassing the neighborhoods (it's hot, I personally went door to door last week telling families and businesses about the event with a team of staff and students). Yes, the goal is economic revitalization and yes we are working constantly across silos. It is often harder than it looks from the outside, as I suppose is the case with most endeavors. We are dependent on grant monies to continue these open streets events and they often come with deliverables which require changing venues, intensive evaluation metrics, surveys, counting protocols, etc. etc. We are working with the City and a Methodist Healthcare Ministries grant and have recruited and trained a safety crew receiving stipends in order to offset the cost and reduce the number of PD needed. It's harder than you think to recruit businesses to participate, since they are often operating on a very small margin and it is risky to open without a sure customer base. The fact that CycloBia has brought together city departments that didn't historically collaborate (Transportation, Traffic, Health, Parks and Rec, PD), numerous non-profits, gyms, BISD, large sponsors like HEB, UTRGV) and that we have increased the number of CycloBias from 3-6 a year, more than any other city in State and are looked at as a model for open streets events, means we have accomplished a lot with little funds and a relatively small sponsor base. What we need more than criticism is involvement and sponsorship and I welcome your participation in planning meetings and outreach (door-to-door, business to business), and negotiating with safety and traffic folks for consistent routes, completing pre and post surveys and analysis, funding applications, advertising and all of the work that goes into it. Please, please be involved. We need more people to do the work in this city and there is and has been a movement to improve quality of life and cross-sectors following the social determinants of health which are grounded in the connection between the built environment,economics,behavior and access to resources. Check out a video about the award the City of Brownsville and UT School of Public Health received (thanks to collaboration of many partners) from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation http://www.rwjf.org/.../06/coh-prize-brownsville-tx.html
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa Mitchell-Bennett. I know it's a huge endeavor and I am aware that it takes a lot of cross organizational work. Nothing about it looks easy to me. As of sponsoring it any money I could put that direction would not make an impact. I can do more by promoting as I have done consistently since before the first one. I am 100% in support of the initiative. So please don't take my suggestions as a lack of appreciation or comprehension. Just making some observations that could have a positive impact. Again thank you Lisa and everyone involved for the tremendous amount of hard work that goes into this program.
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