{"id":168602379,"date":"2010-05-06T09:59:39","date_gmt":"2010-05-06T09:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=168602379"},"modified":"2010-05-06T09:59:39","modified_gmt":"2010-05-06T09:59:39","slug":"lab-responds-to-aaa-complaint-about-bike-lanes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=168602379","title":{"rendered":"LAB responds to AAA complaint about bike lanes"},"content":{"rendered":"

…
\nOf course, there are some detractors. AAA has come out and said they\u2019ll bring the city to a grinding halt\u2026although a quick look at Pennsylvania Avenue today suggests that tour buses and taxis are doing an excellent job already of bunging up the travel lanes as well as the parking lanes, and that despite the construction zone extending beyond the width of the eventual bike lanes themselves, the street seems to be working just fine.
\nIndeed, evidence from city after city in this country and the rest of the world suggests that
\na) AAA\u2019s favored approach of adding more and more lanes ad infinitum hasn\u2019t worked for 50 years (all it\u2019s done is get even more people stuck in the same traffic jams) and probably isn\u2019t going to start working today all of sudden
\nb) Putting in better bike infrastructure really does generate more bike traffic and either reduce or slow the increase in car traffic \u2013 look at Portland over the last 15 years, New York City in the last two as classic examples
\nc) When travel lanes or capacity is reduced, traffic goes away. People find other ways or other modes; or they don\u2019t make the trip. Happens every time a bridge goes out, or a major construction project blocks off a major artery \u2013 people adapt.
\nd) And by even AAA\u2019s survey indications, a lot of people will adapt by going by bike. That\u2019s a good thing. That\u2019ll reduce congestion; make more room for delivery vehicles and tourist buses and taxis.
\nThe reaction of AAA is unfortunate, if not utterly predictable. And maybe it\u2019s good that after years of really not having to worry about bikes because we weren\u2019t making much inroad (sic) into their territory\u2026maybe now they are getting a little flustered with such an iconic and visible street as Pennsylvania Avenue having bike lanes. We are starting to succeed and make a difference.
\nWhat AAA and others fail to see is that we\u2019re not proposing a zero-sum game. We\u2019re not trying to do away with cars, nor are we anti-car. Cars will have a critical role to play in our transportation system into the forseeable future\u2026but not as the ONLY means of getting around, and not as the ONLY, exclusive user of the public realm to the detriment of almost everything else \u2013 clear air, health, climate, safety, energy etc. Great cities and great streets have choice. They enjoy and celebrate diversity. They feature PEOPLE not traffic. They have balance. Altering the balance of traffic on Pennsylvania Ave won\u2019t choke it or bring it to a halt \u2013 it will bring it to life. And the nation\u2019s real Main Street (not the ghastly DC Beltway, as AAA would have you believe it is) deserves to be brought to life again.
\nAndy Clarke
\nPresident, League of American Bicyclists
\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.bikeleague.org\/blog\/2010\/05\/bike-lanes-on-pennsylvania-avenue\/<\/a>
\nFollow up to: Penn Ave. Bike Lanes: AAA is crushing us https:\/\/www.baltimorespokes.org\/article.php?story=20100504093331952<\/a>oldId.20100506095939680<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… Of course, there are some detractors. AAA has come out and said they\u2019ll bring the city to a grinding halt\u2026although a quick look at Pennsylvania Avenue today suggests that tour buses and taxis are doing an excellent job already of bunging up the travel lanes as well as the parking lanes, and that despite … <\/p>\n

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