Dan Rivoire is on a roll (pun intended). The SLO County Bike Coalition executive and newest San Luis Obispo City Council member has already had an impact on future land use and transportation in the city and is well on his way to creating a more social and bike-friendly community.
In his first 100 days in office the former AmeriCorps member served as the deciding vote in getting the Land Use and Circulation Element passed and therefore successfully creating a plan that will serve the city for the next two decades.
The Chicago transplant and Cal Poly grad recently unbuckled his helmet, propped up his bike, sat down and waxed poetic about paella, his love of hockey and the best way to start affecting change in your community.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Scheesh, that’s tough, I think my response to this type of question always varies wildly depending on whatever I’m most excited about at the current time. Thanks to Atascadero Blades on Ice, the little ice rink on El Camino Real in Atascadero, I’ve been playing tons of hockey lately. I keep reminiscing about the days where hockey was the center of my life, when playing hockey professionally was all I wanted to do when I grew up. I wanted to play defense and be the captain of our home team, the Chicago Blackhawks. Defensive players aren’t typically team leaders, they often only protect the goalie and act as the quarterback for the wingers who really score most of the goals. It’s the defensive men that are leaders, like Chris Chelios, a famous Blackhawk, that I always looked up to. They bring people together by giving everyone a chance to win and taking personal responsibility every time the team struggles.
Which personal quality do you like most?
Authenticity.
Where would you like to be right now?
I would like to be in my back yard, soaking up the sun, enjoying vacation days surrounding some patriotic holiday, drinking a cold beer, fifteen minutes away from completing preparation of a humongous paella to be devoured by my closest friends. Watching the clams and mussels open up, snuggled in among the poultry, pork, game, seafood, arborio, sofrito and saffron just makes me smile ear to ear.
Having been involved in both sides of advocacy process, what would you suggest to others who want to participate but aren’t sure where to start?
I would suggest that everyone who wants to participate take a moment to identify what they want for our community, find the people who share those desires, and express them to City staff and elected officials. Engage with your fellow advocates, staff, and elected officials and you will learn how to navigate the more complex aspects of the process. Teaming up with other grassroots advocates, a local organization, or joining a City advisory body is essential. I believe advocacy is an outcome driven process. It is extremely important for advocates to be sensitive to what tactics will most likely result in long term success. Being respectful and friendly are undoubtedly the two best advocacy tactics for San Luis Obispo.
How will the passage of the Land Use and Circulation Element make SLO more bike friendly?
The passage of Land Use and Circulation Element allows our community to move forward with efforts to make our streets safer for everyone and help more people live close to where they work. With regard to transportation and bike friendliness, our General Plan is an incredibly thoughtful and comprehensive set of plans, policies, and goals, arguably the best in the county. Specifically, we set ambitious goals to increase the percentage of people biking, walking, carpooling, and using transit to get around town and backed them up with the resources necessary to succeed in that mission. By 2035 we will have such a safe connected network of sidewalks, paths, and bike lanes that riding to work, out to eat, or with your kids to school is second nature.
How can bikes create a better SLO?
A diversified transportation system is similar to a diversified stock portfolio, revenue strategy, or ecosystem. It is more resilient and productive. By empowering people to get around by various means, we strengthen our ability to confront the challenges of the modern era, congestion, environmental change, transportation costs, personal and economic well-being. Making SLO better for biking and walking positions our community to attract talented and community oriented residents to the Central Coast. Nobody wants be stuck spending their personal time unproductively in traffic, they want to be socializing, coaching, learning, getting involved in community causes and enjoying life. I’m so happy that our community is focused on creating a better SLO, and I can’t wait to work together with everyone toward that goal.