August 12, 20152 Comments on What is a Mobility Plan, and how can you influence its outcome?
Several people have been talking about the dramatic shifts in transportation policy highlighted in the new Mobility Plan approved yesterday by the Los Angeles City Council. This Mobility Plan, which is an element of the city General Plan, is the official transportation policy for the city of Los Angeles.
August 10, 20156 Comments on Los Gatos businesses complain about too much traffic
August 7, 2015Leave a Comment
Do you know those “part-time” bike lanes on Homestead Avenue in Sunnvayle, CA. Street parking is prohibited during the day from 7 AM to 6 PM, but overnight parking is allowed in the bike lanes? The city proposes removing this overnight parking to make these bike lanes a 24 hour facility.
August 5, 20154 Comments on Drink when you’re thirsty
August 4, 20152 Comments on National Night Out and a Bike Train
Reminder: Tomorrow (Wednesday, August 5, 2015) is the first Wednesday of the month, which means San Jose Bike Train rolls 8 AM out of Diridon Station, with a pickup shortly after at Bel Bacio Caffe in Little Italy. Leave a comment here, on Twitter, or at Facebook if you plan to join this ride. I generally try to Glympse this ride too.
Tonight, you can find me at the Blackford Neighorhood Action Committee National Night Out community building event at Starbird Park in West San Jose, CA. The annual National Night Out campaign seeks to promote police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, better places to live.
Civic engagement comes more naturally on foot or on bike than for those who whiz across town in a car. You travel at a human pace, so you can engage more naturally with those around you. You’re more exposed, so you want a safer community. When you drive, other people are obstacles. Walking humanizes those obstacles and makes everyone a little more neighborly. Cyclists tend to fall somewhere in the middle but, I hope, more towards the humanizing walking pace.
Events like National Night Out, block parties, and Open Streets improve the perception of personal safety. Instead of walking alone down a creepy dark street, you have a critical mass of people all around you in a lively neighborhood.
San Jose Bike Train also began partly to address personal safety issues when I heard people feared some of the scary-seeming people on the Guadalupe River Trail. Ride in a group and overcome those fears. See you tomorrow!
August 3, 20156 Comments on Uglify your bike: Does it work?
To make your bike less likely a target for bike thieves, you’re told to sloppily rattle can and sticker your frame. I knew a guy who completely wrapped his frame in duct tape, which very effectively uglified it.
I’ve long been skeptical of the usual advice to “uglify” your bike to make it less appealing to thieves. When I look at stolen bikes recovered by police they’re almost always ugly. Take a peek at the bikes in the Santa Cruz PD property room.
