New Haven Independent

Pinango (pictured) stirred up a lively discussion at a local forum with her idea, which would provide companionship and security to cyclists who may be timid about taking to the streets on their own.

It was just one idea in a riotous flow that came up at an event sponsored by the New Haven Bioregional Group.

More than 60 people spent at least part of their Sunday afternoon at the forum at Common Ground High School discussing the question: “How will we, the people from all aspects of the greater New Haven community, respond to the opportunities for living more locally beyond the age of cheap oil?”

Anyone who had a passion for an issue was encouraged to convene a breakout session. Pictured are three of more than a dozen who took up the challenge, posting their issues on the wall so others could decide which group to join.

One group on bikes attracted Pinango, who commutes on two wheels from the East Rock neighborhood to Yale.

“My vision, really, is to get rid of the car, but to do it in a way that it doesn’t seem like you are being a monk,” she said, chuckling. Rather, she said, she’d like to “make it fun, because I don’t want to seem virtuous.”

Later, she elaborated in an email, “My idea was to coordinate groups of cyclists who would gather at some central point in downtown New Haven and then ride together along the main ‘commuting’ roads, say, Whitney Avenue and Whalley Avenue. This would be with the intention of making the roads safer for everyone, particularly at this time of year when it is dark so early; making bicycles more visible on the streets; supporting those cyclists who may want to consider using the bike as their commuting vehicle.

“I was not sure exactly how to go about it,” Pinango concluded, “so my first step was to join the Elm City Cycling Yahoogroup and to contact someone from ECC and tell them about the idea. Maybe this can get started with five or six of us who would begin to get the word out.”

Sarah Forman (pictured in the middle of photo above) convened a group around her dream for inexpensive, non-polluting, convenient mass transit. She said she has a car and rarely takes the bus because bus travel in New Haven is now inconvenient. On the rare occasions she does, she likes the sense of community.

“I feel connected to other people, and I see things about the city I don’t notice, and I’m not in this little cocoon driving around town, leaving pollution behind me, all by myself.”

Fleshing out the dream — based on reality in some other cities around the world — were suggestions to use hybrid mini-buses, have conductors aboard to help passengers on and off, provide storage spaces (like trains), have more intersecting routes to eliminate the need to transfer downtown, have Zip cars (hourly rentals) to supplement buses, and institute ride-sharing among car drivers and those who need rides.

Another group met to learn about time banking, a form of labor exchange among members of a network. Brenda Caldwell (pictured) convened the group, and her enthusiasm was catching. She talked about a national network that could provide support. “I really want to get this going in New Haven,” she said emphatically, “especially to get into underserved communities. It could be a great way to link people up.”

One hour of labor equals one hour of any other kind of labor. So, for instance, someone could provide child care for someone who could provide translation services… or carpentry or writing or legal advice.