Bicycle Coalition Podcast

In our return episode, Randy and Brenda speak with Leonard Bonarek, who takes charge of all suburban issues at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. Leonard just got done with the Coalition's first-ever suburban forum and talks about lessons learned and what he's got in store for next year's forum in Camden, New Jersey.

John A. Petty II and Dawn H. Petty host the yearly Philly Seersucker Vintage Bike Ride and Picnic Social -- a ride where everyone dresses up in unique, vintage clothing, and ends with a city picnic -- taking place this year on June 23. The Pettys joined the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia podcast recently to talk about the ride -- and why they once renewed their vows after another city's Seersucker ride.

Andrew Austin is running for Committeeperson in the West Passyunk area of Philadelphia as a Republican. We spoke to Austin about running as a Republican in the deeply-Democratic Philadelphia, and why he feels the "marketplace of ideas" is important for our local democracy.

Will Woldenberg was a junior in high school on 9/11. He decided then he wanted to serve his country -- and he did, going to college on an ROTC scholarship and eventually deploying overseas. Now, he says, he's taking that same sense of service to local politics, and is running for the first time as a committeeperson in South Philadelphia.

Amanda Feifer O'Brien became interested in getting more involved in politics after the 2016 election of Donald Trump. The South Philadelphia resident has done her homework, and is running for committeeperson on the basis that she can help her neighbors better understand and get excited for the voting process.

Leigh Goldenberg is already involved in a lot of advocacy and organizing around Philadelphia. She helped organize Philadelphia's first "human-protected" bike lane in December, and has been advocating for better bicycling in Philadelphia for a long time. Now, she's running for committeeperson in Ward 1, Division 10, which includes the Passyunk Square section of South Philadelphia.

Pete DeCarolis is running for Committeeperson in Ward 2, Division 1, which includes parts of Queen Village and Pennsport in South Philadelphia. We spoke to Pete about what made him want to get involved in elected politics in Philadelphia, and what changes local elected officials can make to improve South Philly streets like Washington Avenue.

Michael Morrison is running for committeeperson in Ward 31, Division 11 -- East Kensington. We spoke to Morrison about his candidacy and issues from trash to transportation in that part of North Philadelphia.

Mantua resident De'Wayne Drummond is the president of the Mantua Civic Association, the Chairman of the 24th Ward Democratic Executive Committee, and an Indego Community Ambassador. De'Wayne has a lot on his plate, and we spoke to him about bicycling in Mantua, how he works as a leader within his community, and his efforts to get people to "pedal to the polls" on Election Day.

David Wilkes is running for committeeperson re-election in Philadelphia's 15th Ward, 19th Division, which encompasses a part of the Fairmount neighborhood. The Bicycle Coalition spoke to him about his experience as a committeeperson and what's required of that elected position.

The most local elected position in Philadelphia is committeeperson. For this week's episode, we spoke with Jon Geeting of Philadelphia 3.0 about committeeperson elections and what the organization he works for is trying to do to get more people to run for office. This is the first of several podcasts dedicated to committeepeople and local office holders.

For our latest podcast, Brenda and Randy invited a Twitter user named “Zero Vision Phila,” who has been a vocal opponent of the Bicycle Coalition’s mission over the past year or so. The formerly anonymous user, Bob, accepted our invitation and came on. It was an interesting—and frustrating—conversation. We discussed speed cameras and design of Roosevelt Boulevard, bike lanes, education, and lots of other things.

Philadelphia Weekly writer Dr. Timaree Leigh Schmit wrote a cover story recently, depicting the many psychological reasons people, well, hate cyclists. On this week's episode, Randy and Brenda speak with Timaree about her story and our own experiences with trying to educate the public about being on the road alongside people on bicycles.

This week, Brenda and Randy speak with Jameson Gitto, a young urbanist who participates in his local community as a neighborhood community board member, volunteer, and organizer. Jameson talked about what he does to make a difference in Philadelphia, and what anyone can do to help make the city better.

Randy and Brenda speak to bicycle lawyer Joe Piscitello about Vision Zero and what those in the undocumented community can still do if they're involved in a crash on their bike.