Getting more kids on bikes more often
By Beth Richards
I can still remember flying down the big hill on the way to my elementary school in Des Moines, Iowa in the 1970s. My bike was super-girl purple with a sparkly white banana seat and completely oversized basket with big flowers that I eventually pulled off, as the tom-boy in me emerged. I loved my bike and I loved the freedom of that ride to and from school.
These childhood memories used to be the norm, but not anymore. In 1969, 48% of children walked or biked to school. Today, that number is down to just 13% Kids who are being driven to school aren’t just missing out on great experiences that turn into cherished memories, they’re missing out on much needed physical activity.
New Urbanists: No Economic Recovery Without Smart Growth
This post highlighting Streets Blog article relates to our featured article asking for more bicycle infrastructure. https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20111004135137190
Highlights:
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“What were seeing right now is an inability to look at how we live and how it relates to our problems, and financial problems,” said Kunstler Tuesday during a speaking engagement with the Congress for the New Urbanism. “Production homebuilders, mortgage lenders, real estate agents, they are all sitting back now waiting for the, quote, bottom of the housing market to come with the expectation that things will go back to the way they were in 2005.”
But despite massive government expenditures to restart the old economic engine driven by suburban homebuilding, recovery is elusive, Kunstler said. The author of “The Geography of Nowhere” and “The Long Emergency” argues that suburbanization has been a multi-decade American experiment, and a failed one.
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In its new booklet Curbside Chat, Strong Towns asserts that since the 1970s, the suburban growth that powered America’s economy operated much like a Ponzi scheme. In towns across the country, politicians traded the short-term payoffs of sprawling development — namely increased taxes — for long-term maintenance obligations that are just now coming due. And they’re coming up short.
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“Our problem was not, and is not, a lack of growth; Our problem is sixty years of unproductive growth,” said Marohn. “The American pattern of development does not create real wealth; it creates the illusion of wealth. Today we are in the process of seeing that illusion destroyed and with it the prosperity we have come to take for granted.”
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“We now have to do things differently.”
Continue reading “New Urbanists: No Economic Recovery Without Smart Growth”
Police on bikes in the news
5 bicycle officers injured in 1 month, but police not deterred
->In the latest incident Saturday, a 26-year-old bike officer was struck in a crosswalk at Fond du Lac Ave. and W. Capitol Drive by an 84-year-old driver. The officer is recovering at home from minor injuries. The driver was cited for failure to yield the right of way.
Another officer was struck by a 47-year-old suspected drunken driver from Mequon as the officer conducted a traffic stop shortly before 9 p.m. Sept. 15 in the 1500 block of W. Vliet St., according to police.
Three officers were struck in a hit-and-run incident in the 1100 block of W. Lincoln Ave. shortly before 12:45 a.m. Sept. 9.
https://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/5-injuries-in-1-month-to-bicycle-patrol-officers-131016808.html
SUV crashes into police bike patrol in training, leaving three officers hurt
->Diaz was discharged Thursday but Beaudry and Mercado were still hospitalized in stable condition Friday, Reyes said.
"I don’t think this women intended to hit anyone," Reyes said. "It’s fortunate everyone is going to be able to walk away."
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Traffic investigators will review evidence from cameras at the intersection to see if they can get a clearer picture of what happened. Police did not impound Quintanilla’s vehicle or cite her for a traffic violation.
"Just by her staying on the scene speaks volumes," Reyes said. "I’m sure she didn’t intend for it to happen."
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/mh-miami-bike-cops-hit-20110929,0,7768959.story
Reducing school traffic would help rush hour congestion
[B’ Spokes: This is probably close to here as well.]
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from Greater Greater Washington
Here’s a simple suggestion to improve the morning rush hour: Get more kids to walk, bike, and bus to school.
It is estimated that 20% of morning traffic congestion in Fairfax County is related to parents driving kids to school, and despite the availability of alternates, drop-off lines are only getting longer.
No one wins under the current system. Taxpayers pay too much for kids to get to school, parents lose valuable time serving as chauffeurs, and kids forfeit an opportunity to learn independence and healthy habits. And, of course, everyone suffers when traffic swells.
For the time being, there are almost no programs or policies in Fairfax that promote an alternative to the curbside drop-off. In fact, at several schools, principals prohibit students from walking or biking to school, even though Fairfax County has endorsed these options.
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As a result, taxpayers pay multiple times for students to get to school. They pay teachers and administrators to staff large-scale kiss & ride operations, while at the same time they pay for the empty bus seats that students and their parents choose to forgo. Meanwhile, they also pick up the indirect costs associated with increased traffic congestion and on-road incidents.
There are many reasons why walking and biking to school benefit children and the community. Children develop independence at an earlier age, they get the health benefits of exercise, they are more alert in school, and they develop a lifelong healthy habit of walking or biking.
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Continue reading “Reducing school traffic would help rush hour congestion”
Who owns the road?
People Who Should Know Better
The linked article from Commute by Bike reminds me of the conversation with my Mom about getting a replacement fan after mine broke “You can’t carry a fan on your bike.” she exclaimed. Well here is my bike carring a 16″ fan:
Seriously, rethink what you can do with a bike. It’s also kind of funny as that’s her bike with a basket on it with paper to go to the local recycling, she sort of gets it.
A bit from the article:
My friend Michael related a conversation about transportation costs that he had recently with “Cheryl,” a social services professional who works with low income families. Michael assumed Cheryl had a good deal of insight into the challenges faced by people who struggle to make ends meet on minimum wage. He commented to her that given the employment and economic uncertainty that nearly everyone is facing, more transportation funding/planning/consideration should be devoted to public transit and bicycle infrastructure. To his surprise, Cheryl exclaimed, “bicycle what!?”
…Cheryl didn’t understand. “Well, how are bicycles supposed to help with that?”
“People can bike to work or use them to go grocery shopping…if you don’t have to worry about car repair, you can buy food, pay the rent.” Did I mention that Michael is from a rather well-to-do family and has never faced nor will he ever likely face this situation himself? And he’s explaining this stuff to a social worker…
“Who would use a bicycle to go grocery shopping? You can’t go grocery shopping on a bicycle. Nobody does that!”
Michael was becoming exasperated. “People do it all the time. A lot of people do. Look around- people bike all over Flagstaff.” Michael is relating this story to me as we sit in a bar on South San Francisco Street. Cyclists whiz by, one after the other. My husband is among them and within minutes, he has joined us in the bar, bike helmet in hand.
Of course, Cheryl has never seen anyone bike anywhere in Flagstaff or apparently anywhere else. Ever! “Nobody would do that.”
“Well, I do. I bike in to work almost every morning and my wife and I bike to the grocery store all the time. We put our groceries on a bike trailer and in panniers,” said Michael.
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Road hogs: Minneapolis cyclists don’t need to share
OK Cyclists these are the rules: you can only ride single file, no talking, no smiling and no joy riding. This is a bike path, oops, I mean a multi-use path not a playground for your personal amusement.
This seems to be the attitude on too many of our trails but no one seems to question the validity of building trails ONLY with minimum widths and no pavement markings. We can only imagine what it would be like to have room for cyclists to ride two abreast and be able to comfortable and consistently talk with their riding partner while walkers walk hand in hand on the same trail and here comes an oncoming cyclist and no one flinches. Elly Blue in Grist writes about such a trail:
"I’ve never been the biggest fan of riding on bike paths, especially ones shared with people walking, but Minneapolis is doing better than most with designing these trails: Most of the paths we rode were marked with lanes for bike travel in two directions, with a separate path for walking."
Imagine that, accommodating all users rather then cracking down on those fun loving "reckless" cyclists trying to navigate a trail that is as narrow as they can make it. Seriously, whenever you hear of police enforcing speed limits on a trail we should be saying "You know what, that trail needs to be wider with more lanes."
Continue reading “Road hogs: Minneapolis cyclists don’t need to share”
D.C. police need to be better versed in bicycle laws, complaints board says
[B’ Spokes: Since we have dealt with similar issues here, there are somethings worth noting on what’s happening in DC.]
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By Ashley Halsey III, Washington Post
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The complaints board recommended that officers be allowed to delay submission of their accident reports until they have interviewed the cyclist, who sometimes ends up in a hospital after colliding with a car; that accident report forms be revised to provide more accurate options; that officers receive additional training and testing on bike laws; and that the police department strengthen its partnership with the District’s Bicycle Advisory Council.
The police department “should change its method of investigating bicycle-motor vehicle crashes in order to provide appropriate safeguards for bicyclists who are injured,” the board said in its report.
The board also recommended that officers ticket drivers who stop or park in bike lanes.
The D.C. Council also has under consideration a measure that has won approval in other cities that gives bicyclists the right to take a driver to civil court to recover damages for harassment, assault and battery. The bill received particular attention after an Aug. 31 incident, recorded on video, in which the driver of a pickup truck allegedly harassed and then struck a cyclist. The police department used the video to track down the driver, but no charges were brought.
John B. Townsend II of AAA said the board’s recommendations made sense. “There needs to be a greater sensitivity not only with law enforcement but also with motorists,” Townsend said. “The people who ride bicycles are as much entitled to the road as is anyone else.”
Continue reading “D.C. police need to be better versed in bicycle laws, complaints board says”
The Toothless Official Response to Air Quality Emergencies
[B’ Spokes: Keep in mind Baltimore is a non-attainment area and generally the days before air quality alerts are really nice biking weather days, so if people biked more we could avoid the alert altogether.]
Highlight from Streetsblog Capitol Hill by Angie Schmitt
Meanwhile, as this air quality emergency is taking place, public environmental officials responded the way they do across the country: issuing press releases imploring people not to idle their vehicles, to avoid mowing their lawns, and to avoid unnecessary driving.
All of this strikes James Sinclair at Network blog Stop and Move as a bit counterproductive, especially given the many ways government entities are actively encouraging polluters:
I’d give $10 to meet a single person who read the warning and decided to not drive that day. “What, I didn’t even know about that,” said Clovis resident Holly Rollis. Many Clovis residents were unaware that their area could push the Valley over the limit when it comes to meeting federal air quality standards. The fact is, only people who read the newspaper are aware of this issue, and how many of those readers will be bothered to take any action?
This is especially stupid because we have one agency begging people to drive less, and not use drive-thrus, but then we have other sides of government approving new highways, wider roads, and more fringe development. Does every bank, fast food chain and pharmacy need not one, but two drive-thru lanes? Build them and people will use them. Asking people to refrain from using the drive-thrus that are the prominent feature of many new retail developments simply does not work.
Instead of begging people to abstain from behavior the government not only condones but actively subsidizes and encourages, why don’t these air quality officials take decisive action, like enforcing black-outs or imposing additional fees on drive-thrus, or ticketing cars that are idling near schools during air quality episodes, Sinclair asks.
Of course, some crowds will immediately respond with the “get government out of my freedom to idle!” These people are incredibly selfish, and do not understand that we have set up government to regulate activities which are harmful to others. Your 6 minutes at the drive-thru may be the reason an old lady has to stay home all day using her asthma medication. When your freedom to be lazy takes away the freedom for someone to breathe, we have a problem.
Continue reading “The Toothless Official Response to Air Quality Emergencies”