Advocate of the Month: Adan Carrillo
Utah is home to many community bicycling advocates, who dedicate time and energy to making riding in their cities and neighborhoods more safe and accessible. Bike Utah is excited to highlight an advocate each month, with the goals of recognizing their work, connecting with more community members, and inspiring new advocates to take action!
Occupation: Corporate Relations Manager with Rio Tinto (March2021- )
Associated Group: Bicycle Collective, formerly with the Salt Lake County Bicycle Advisory Committee (2017-2019)
Position: volunteer
What is/was your favorite bike?
My favorite bike is a Retrospect Harper (a single-speed bike) with coaster brakes, which I’ve modified and upgraded a bit. It is my favorite because it is super simple and easy to use and maintain.
How do you integrate biking into your everyday life?
Before the pandemic, I would try to ride to work as much as I could. Due to my proximity to the office, I’d take the long way simply to extend my commute a little more. These days, I still bike around town when going out to restaurants or running errands, mostly around the downtown and Sugar House areas.
Where is your favorite place to ride in Utah?
Riding with my daughter and niece along the Porter Rockwell Trail is always the most fun. Here in SLC, I like biking around town and taking shortcuts through alleyways that otherwise I wouldn’t take while driving. I also like the many trails around Summit County and Moab.
How do you include bicycle advocacy in your work?
Most of my work involves highlighting the “what’s in it for people” aspect of what we do. Improving active transportation doesn’t resonate well with anyone until you remind them about the interconnectivity it has with our costs of living, our health outcomes, and the environment. Now more than ever, we must strive to provide a more equitable and sustainable quality of life for everyone; my work in advocacy is conducted with this goal in mind.
What projects are you excited to see be completed or begin in the near future?
Starting this spring, we’ll begin to transform several streets in Salt Lake City. 300 West from 2100 South to 900 South, 900 South from 900 West to 900 East, 900 East from Hollywood Avenue to 2700 South, and starting in 2022, 200 South from 400 West to 900 East to name a few. I’m privileged to have been working alongside some of the most talented, visionary, and passionate people in the active transportation industry in the state. I believe people will be amazed to see the final product once these streets are reconstructed. As far as I know, no other municipality in the state is prioritizing active transportation as much as we are… it’s been a unique opportunity for me.
“Bike Polo is a super fun activity but it’s also very challenging. I am not very good at it at all, but I really do enjoy it whenever I try it. I know there’s a desire to grow the sport, and those who do it regularly are friendly and welcoming to let anyone join them. You can learn more about it by following them on instagram: @beehivebikepolo”
How do you balance your career, advocacy efforts, and private life while avoiding burnout?
I am very aware of my limitations as a city staff member. Therefore, I have learned to rely on other groups and people to jump in and carry forward some of these other advocacy efforts. I truly see advocacy as a team effort; not one single group or individual will ever succeed on their own. I think of my role as one that creates opportunities for open conversations to take place and provides as much information as possible to allow interested parties to decide when and how to get involved.
What is a time when multiple groups came together and made a positive change together?
Last year, the City’s Transportation and Streets departments collaborated with surrounding communities, and members of the Sweet Streets and Cycling Utah organizations to decide what the new striping design for 500 East and 700 South would be after these pavements were resurfaced. Thanks to their input and our technical analysis, we improved accommodations for people riding bicycles along these two popular streets.
What do you find most difficult about doing your work?
Retrofitting streets that for decades have been exclusively planned for people driving is without a doubt the most challenging aspect of our work. Across the transportation industry, the budgets allocated towards the construction of active travel facilities and their maintenance have yet to be allocated more consciously. I feel at Salt Lake City, we’re starting to set the example in terms of what it takes to do this successfully and sustainably, but the City alone will only get so far. We need the rest of the state to begin doing the same if we want to experience a palpable difference.
What do you do to overcome those difficulties?
I’m a firm believer that we won’t overcome these challenges alone. I believe we must take the time to deliberately partner with other local entities, non-profit organizations, advocacy groups, and the business community, so they can help us request these needed changes. As city staff members, it is very difficult for us to lobby our own elected leaders, so we must rely on community members to be the voice of reason and ask for these types of active transportation investments themselves. I would encourage everyone reading this to become more involved in asking their government officials how they can be of assistance in advancing their own city’s active travel goals. If a particular municipality doesn’t yet have an active transportation plan, you better bring your friends with you, because that means there is a lot of work to do.
What do you find the most rewarding about your work?
The most rewarding aspect about this type of work is that day in and day out, we’re making efforts and investments, at times historic, to dignify people’s travel experience by improving other transportation modes, not just driving.
What advice do you have for someone who has an idea, but has no idea where to start?
Reach out to the many individuals who are already advocating for active transportation infrastructure to be built and learn from them, you might even help them amplify their voice along the way. Reach out to your own elected officials at all government levels and request that more resources are devoted towards active transportation. Often, by the time transportation officials are planning or designing the next road projects, the funding has most likely already been earmarked towards a particular transportation aspect, and it’s near impossible to shift it then. I would urge everyone to get involved early on and to hold us accountable throughout the process, in a civil and constructive way.
The Salt Lake County Bicycle Advisory Committee, the Salt Lake Valley Trail Society, WalkBike Provo, Sweet Streets and Vineyard Velos are organizations made up of passionate individuals from all walks of life who are making a positive difference in terms of bicycle advocacy. Bike Utah’s 1000 Miles Program is also a great avenue for people to learn more about this cause and be a part of it.
How can we engage future generations to continue advocacy work?
We must invest the time and effort it takes to develop genuine relationships of trust with the external groups I mentioned earlier and invite them to support us. The old “us versus them” mentality must be rejected if we truly want to foster meaningful, productive outcomes. As I always say: “Those bike lanes aren’t going to build themselves.” As transportation professionals, it is always more challenging to advance our agenda forward without meaningful collective feedback or help. We must invest the time and effort it takes to do this right, and it requires a joint, concentrated effort. It is up to us to properly illustrate the important consequences that our transportation choices today will play in our health, economic, and environmental outlooks tomorrow.
Do you have a follow-up question for Adan? Would you like more info about your local bicycling advocacy group or have a specific active transportation project you’d like to see initiated? Do you know an advocate we should highlight? Email info@bikeutah.org!
