By Larry Cohen, Nation of Change (see the original for hyper links for more background)
Recently, Dr. Richard Jackson, a friend and colleague (a leading expert in health and the built environment) received a letter from his building’s management demanding he move his bike – from leaning against the wall of his rented parking spot. Though he lives in LA, he doesn’t own a car; his bike is his transportation. According to management, his bike posed an affront to the “safety, cleanliness and accessibility of the building” – meanwhile, the other tenants’ cars apparently raised no such concerns.
“The car is still king – from parking lots to roadways. And car companies intend to keep it that way.”
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But, the auto industry’s profits depend on making sure that cars remain the standard mode of transportation – and that car companies grow their customer base, not lose them to bicycles. Auto companies are fueled by profits, and the auto industry spent over $45 million last year alone on lobbying Congress and other federal agencies in order to maintain a monopoly on our roadways. The auto industry makes money by ensuring that the public values driving and that roads are built for cars alone – even if this means greater demand for fossil fuel, increased environmental degradation, fewer opportunities for physical activity, and more road-related injuries.
They’ve gone beyond lobbying, releasing a spate of ads recently – many in college newspapers – that hone in on bikers and imply that alternatives to driving are humiliating or dangerous, and generally bad for communities – despite growing evidence to the contrary. Shame becomes the bargaining chip in GM’s recent ad depicting a biker, embarrassed to be seen by girls who are driving in a car. Another ad shows a bus with the destination sign reading "creeps and weirdos." But this campaign strategy makes no sense. Regular drivers benefit, too, when more people take alternate modes of travel. It means fewer cars will be on the road, which lowers the incidents of traffic crashes and helps to increase safety overall.
And, despite what these ads would have you believe, biking and active transportation are a solid investment in health, communities and prevention. Bikes could save our nation as much as $3.8 billion a year by promoting physical activity, decreasing chronic disease and reducing healthcare costs. An increase to 15% active transportation in the Bay Area would result in 2,236 fewer deaths, and a gain 22,807 total years of life. Bike commuting costs as little as five cents per mile, reduces water and noise pollution, road wear and traffic congestion. In Portland OR – known for its biking culture – researchers found that bike-related industry contribute significantly to the local economy – providing somewhere between 850 to 1150 jobs and generating about $90 million a year. A new report shows that bikes saved Iowa $70 million in healthcare costs, and generate $1 million each day.
And more people are biking. Nearly half of 18 to 34-year-old drivers are driving less and owning fewer cars. Equally important, nearly two-thirds surveyed said they would drive less if alternative transportation, such as public transportation, was available. In urban centers across the country, biking has enjoyed a re-birth of hipster cool – from fixies to cyclovias to bike rack art installations to Oakland’s scraper bikes that ‘go hard, I don’t need no car.’
This is great news for bike enthusiasts, environmentalists and public health advocates, but we need our street infrastructure to support physical activity. Roads designed for cars – and only cars – have real impacts on our health and safety. A recent report found that the number of combined biking and pedestrian traffic deaths has increased in the last two years to 14%. This is an appalling but preventable outcome, likely stemming from more people walking and biking without changes to the built environment and structural support.
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Investing in cheap, proven solutions to improve health and the economy should be a top priority for our country. It’s time to think differently – to stand up to those who still say the car is king, and to create a new norm that is in harmony with the environment and our health. In order to do this, institutions need to support cyclists by providing bike racks, and not penalize them for locking bikes in parking lots. Cities can implement Complete Streets policies and include the needs of cyclists and pedestrians when plotting intersections and roads. But in order to do this, we also need support from the federal government – not for Congress to cut entirely federal funding for biking and walking. And we need car companies to value health over profits, and work with communities – not against them – in finding solutions.
Continue reading “Creeps and Weirdos: The Auto Industry Agenda for Keeping You on Four Wheels”
If this is wrong thinking…
Then why do so many Road “Engineers” think they can do the same with bike/ped traffic and just have them disappear by lack of facilities?
Continue reading “If this is wrong thinking…”
seriously, MoCo [and others] really needs young people to stick around
by Dan Reed, Silver Spring, Maryland
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What I found most striking was the drop in the county’s young adult population. According to the Planning Department, Montgomery County has 15% fewer adults between the ages of 15 and 24 than we did in 2000.
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"What" draws young people is pretty simple: Jobs, reasonably priced housing, short commutes, proximity to shopping and entertainment, and increasingly, neighborhoods where you can walk/bike/take transit instead of driving. The "how" is more challenging. But we should start going after those solutions now rather than waiting until it’s too late.
https://www.justupthepike.com/2012/02/seriously-moco-really-needs-young.html
A crazy week behind us and more big days ahead
from Bikeleague.org Blog by Andy
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So what happens now? Well, the bill was finally approved in Committee and is currently scheduled to be debated on the floor of the House during the week of February 13 – it is still a very partisan bill and trying to pass an amendment is going to be extremely tough, should we go that route.
Meanwhile, the Senate MAP-21 bill threatens to spring back into life next week – which means we have to switch gears and ensure a strong “local control” provision is included to enable agencies to access funds for bicycling and walking projects. Senator Ben Cardin is our champion here, and if things do start to move as we expect we will need your help again.
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Continue reading “A crazy week behind us and more big days ahead”
Who Still Likes the House Transpo Bill? Big Oil, Big Truck, and Big Box Retail
from Streetsblog Capitol Hill by Ben Goldman
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American Petroleum Institute CEO Jack Gerard believes that most Americans “know America will need more oil.
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So, more drilling (oil companies make money) and lax regulations (trucking industry makes money) mean slightly lower shipping costs (mega-retailers make money). Big Oil, Big Truck, and Big Box — whose business models each depend on wider highways and sprawl — are the major beneficiaries of this bill.
Continue reading “Who Still Likes the House Transpo Bill? Big Oil, Big Truck, and Big Box Retail”
Five Ideas for Frederick Road in Catonsville
A group of community leaders met with State Highway Administration officials to discuss options.
By Penny Riordan, Patch
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1. Adding more pedestrian crosswalks: SHA officials said the only funding for Main Street improvements are funding sources that make ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) improvements and improve pedestrian safety. An example of a more visible crosswalk is outside the Catonsville Library.
2. Expanded sidewalks for outdoor seating for restaurants: The idea has been proposed by local real estate agents Kirby Spencer and George Brookhart and was discussed at the meeting, but any expansion of sidewalks for outdoor seating would also involve partnerships with the county and local business leaders.
3. Improved signage reminding motorists of pedestrian and bicycle traffic: Some of these improvements will occur as part of the county’s long-term pedestrian and bicycle plan for the area.
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Continue reading “Five Ideas for Frederick Road in Catonsville”
Baltimore City Hall’s culture of secrecy and privilege
[B’ Spokes: I’m going to pull a few quotes from Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space by Richard Layman quoting Baltimore Sun. I want you to think about these comments and the issue with us getting bike lanes nixed by the city in preference for cars with no facts ever presented, while we have numerous studies from around the country that shows that exact opposite should be expected then what we are told by the City.]
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The embarrassing and unfortunate financial failure of the Baltimore Grand Prix was caused by a pervasive culture of secrecy and privilege within City Hall and at Baltimore Racing Development.
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Propagandists and politicians use an over-reliance on secrecy to shape popular opinion and suppress dissent. But the success or failure of the Grand Prix was not a matter of opinion; it was a matter of financial facts.
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Continue reading “Baltimore City Hall’s culture of secrecy and privilege”
Best of Brew Comments: Cyclists rallying to save Mount Royal bike lane
[B’ Spokes: This is too good not to be posted here as well. I will also note it is a shame BDOT will not even do a temporary study to see objectively if bike lanes will work here or not. All we are getting is that the City is afraid of change and that is not of acceptable.]
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“The bottom line here is that at least some parts of DOT do not want to inconvenience cars for even a minute, no matter the costs in safety to cyclists and pedestrians. This is a completely backwards policy suited more to 1962 than 2012. I don’t know the numbers for sure – I’d certainly love to see them – but I would be shocked if the current average traffic volumes on Mount Royal were high enough that removing a lane of traffic in each direction would result in a complete traffic standstill.”
– Chris Merriam
“I’m far more concerned with the safety and quality of life that complete streets (and a dedicated bike lane) will bring residents, students, and cyclists on Mount Royal at all hours than I am with how quickly county residents can get to and from work at rush hour.”
– Jed Weeks
“Studies in New York, Seattle and other places clearly demonstrate that added bicycle infrastructure and increased bicycle traffic reduce crash rates and severity for ALL users, including pedestrians AND vehicle occupants. Pedestrians cannot legitimately be used as any kind of excuse for prioritizing motor vehicles over bicycles.”
– Bad Planner
“Here’s a good idea: Get rid of the median. It’s just wasted space. Scrunch the road together and there would be plenty of space for bikes and would reduce the excessive crosswalk lengths. Then get rid of all left-turns, which add conflicts and rob needed capacity. Anyone wanting to turn left should be on one of the one-way streets.”
– Gerald Neily
“The median is not wasted space. It prevents the street from being hideous. That’s not a waste.”
– Robert T.
“We need the big picture: The thousands of excess cars per day need to be moved out of the Mount Vernon corridor, and over to the Jones Falls corridor for which it is suited. Instead, the city puts a bikeway on The Fallsway, where the cars should be, with the full acquiescence of the bike community. The Mount Vernon neighborhood has been fighting and losing this battle with the city for decades. The city needs a plan which puts neighborhoods first.”
– Gerald Neily
“You’re still dead wrong on the Fallsway, Gerald Neily. If it were well suited to do that job the giant viaduct superhighway wouldn’t have been built on top of it. Motorists have been ignoring that option for decades, because they know it is slower than the other options available. The bicycling community acquiesces on the Fallsway separated bike lane because there is no reasonable question as to whether or not it is in there best interest. It clearly is. There is no other option available for a genuine and authentic transportation route for cyclists. Transforming Mt. Vernon into some sort of pedestrian paradise, which seems to be your chief concern, would not connect cyclists with their jobs downtown and their residential communities.”
– Dukiebiddle
“The problem is nicely shown by the photo – cyclists don’t take a proper position in the road. They want bike lanes because they don’t want to learn how to cycle effectively – or safely. Trust me, bike lanes aren’t going to make people like the guy in the photo any safer. Learn to ride properly and you don’t need a bike lane to be safe.”
– Ian Brett Cooper
“Asking cyclists to take the lane there, especially less experienced ones, is unrealistic. There is a hill there and it can take some cyclists a while to make it up that road, causing drivers to honk and get really aggressive. Easy to sit behind a computer and ask people to do something which is actually very intimidating because drivers get very aggressive very quickly when they feel inconvenienced.”
– Liam
“I would love to take Mr. Cooper–and our DOT officials–on a bike ride through Baltimore. Ride along with us as we get cursed at, cut off by trucks, stumble over broken pavement, narrowly avoid giant potholes, blow a tire on broken glass, and still get to our destination before cars traffic. Bike transit is super efficient, but way too dangerous and stressful with little support from our city planners.”
– Rose Reis
https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2012/02/05/best-of-brew-comments-14/
Rummer: Fort McHenry 10mph max for bikes
The park police at Fort McHenry are ticketing cyclists for biking too fast ( over 10 mile/hour) How would they know?
If you have been ticketed let us know!
Continue reading “Rummer: Fort McHenry 10mph max for bikes”
Cyclists rallying to save Mount Royal bike lane
By Fern Shen, Baltimore Brew
Did two college presidents try to kill a bike lane proposed for the stretch of Mount Royal Avenue that runs right through their campuses? And have angry Baltimore cyclists and students, with their emails, phone calls and petition campaign, saved the lane for now?
Answering “yes” to both questions might be going too far,…
https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2012/02/03/cyclists-rallying-to-save-mount-royal-bike-lane/
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[B’ Spokes: To the point; good government is about maximizing project benefits and project success. The best practice (as required by law??*) "stakeholders should or must be consulted due to ethical, legal or social obligations."**
Nothing in this article has any semblance of "good government" … it’s that simple. This is too much like what happened with Monroe St. bike lane***
While a resolution does not have the same power as law but I can’t help but wounder what would be the consequences if we can show that BDOT has a pattern of ignoring the city counsel resolution?
Is it really too much to ask that the City to take steps to maximizing project benefits and project success? ]
Continue reading “Cyclists rallying to save Mount Royal bike lane”