Category: advocacy

San Francisco bike plan on hold two more years

From Left in SF

Last year, blogger Rob Anderson and his “Coalition for Adequate Review” put a stop to San Francisco’s bike plan when he filed suit against the city, arguing that any transportation changes must undergo an Environmental Impact Review. Judge James Warren agreed and completely stopped all new bike projects in the city with an injunction prohibiting any new bicycle facilities of any kind in San Francisco.

Now we have the news that the city does not expect to complete the required environmental review until spring 2009, with re-adoption of the bike plan in the summer of 2009. The city cannot even install bike racks for parking or racks on buses until this environmental review is completed. The San Francisco Bike Coalition urges action and asks San Francisco cyclists to call the Mayor and Board of Supervisors to encourage them to make this a higher priority.

Bicycle haiku and other bicycle blog madness

Frank has an nice winter CX baiku in Illinois. He also pointed me to a old set of baikus from last summer.

Carlton talks about “get off the road for your own safety” individuals in the Netherlands(!), India and Nazi Germany. Perhaps there’s a connection with this “bicycle neglect”. Alan makes the point that the American Automobile Association — which is a motorist lobbying group — has more than 300 times the membership of bicycling advocacy groups. He writes:

In fact, cyclists are so utterly overpowered that the motoring interests hardly even have to show up. In Olympia and Salem, according to leading cycling advocates, the trucking, development, and manufacturing industries lobby fairly heavily on transportation issues. But car manufacturers, car dealers, and auto clubs rarely flex their muscle. Says [Bicycle Alliance of Washington executive director Gordon] Black, “They don’t have to show up very often, because they know the government is doing their bidding. They don’t feel threatened. They don’t see us as a threat.”

CycleDog points us to an online driving test. I scored 95%.

Now let’s ge to the boring news: Diesel shortages in South Dakota, North Dakota (in spite of record production at the state’s lone refinery) and Iowa, where the presidential hopefuls are stumping for the January caucus. There’s even a shortage of hops for beer manufacture. The state of Connecticut plans for fuel shortages. Some French equestrians are pushing horses for transportation. And in Zimbabwe, a brand new biodiesel factory isn’t quite living up to the hype. One of the problems? Not enough feedstock to go around: the farmers have to choose between starvation or running their cars, trucks, generators and irrigation pumps.

Trek: One World, Two Wheels

Update: See Jame’s thoughts on Trek’s commitment and 1000 Limes.

Trek’s Commitment: One World, Two Wheels.

Trek Dealers are working to get people to ride their bikes and make a more bike friendly world, one mile at a time.

We all know the world has some problems; gas is expensive and cars pollute, the roads are congested and humans are getting bigger. And not in a good way.

Luckily, there is a solution to these problems. A solution that burns calories, not gas. It doesn’t waste fuel sitting in traffic. Something that could even bring communities closer together.

The solution is the bicycle.

With 40% of non-work related car trips being taken being two miles or less, what would happen if more people took the short trips on their bike? What if more communities had a “Safe Routes to Schools” plan so kids could ride to school safely? What would the world be like with more bicycle friendly communities?

Imagine arriving at work fresh instead of frazzled. Parking within feet of the building! Your kids getting exercise to and from school. Better still, commuting by bike IS exercising! And there are no carbon emissions from burning calories.

We all can ride and we have only one planet. Trek and Trek dealers challenge you to join us in making the world a more bike friendly place. You can start by riding your bike. It’s the greenest thing you can do to help the earth.

Trek is committing cash for Bikes Belong (the industry-funded advocacy group) and The International Mountain Bicycling Association.

Specialized Bicycles took a big step for bicycling advocacy last year when they named Ariadne Scott as Director of Advocacy and Environment for Specialized. Her mission at Specialized is to develop and implement Specialized’s global green action plan and integrate it into the company’s culture, environment, products, marketing and communication. Specialized helped organize a bicycle fair at Yahoo! and provided Globe bicycles for giveaways. On Bike To Work Day 2007, Specialized provided California politicians with bicycles for the event. “We are working with the leaders in our retail channel, the environment and advocacy arena to demonstrate the benefit of bicycling as a great and valid means of transportation,” said Mike Sinyard, founder and president of Specialized Bicycles. “Riding to work can directly impact global warming.”

Bike parts company Planet Bike is famous for their support of bicycling advocacy. Planet Bike donates 25% of company profits to bicycle advocacy groups, primarily the Thunderhead Alliance. Since 1996 Planet Bike has donated over $500,000 to grassroots bicycle advocacy.

Transportation commission chair explanation and apology

Recently, Saratoga, California chair Brigitte Ballingall was quoted in the Mercury News making statements that appeared anti-cycling.

She responded on this blog and in emails that her quote was taken out of context, and offered her explanation and an apology to cyclists who ride on Saratoga roads. As a member of the city’s advisory committee for transportation issues, she has worked to promote cycling and walking as transportation. In particular, she founded the Saratoga School Transportation Task Force to address safety issues related to all of the driving around local schools. “The foundation to our plan was to do anything to encourage alternatives to driving kids to school, namely biking and walking,” writes Ms Ballinger. “We wrote extensive marketing ideas promoting bikes as the ‘better vehicle’,” which I think rocks. She also worked with the city to secure Safe Routes to School funding for bike lanes and sidewalks around Saratoga schools.

Ms. Ballinger does express concern about Pierce Road in Saratoga, which is a curvy, hilly and narrow road with high traffic, poor sightlines, and steep banks off of the edge of the road. I’ve heard experienced cyclists tell other cyclists that they’re “insane” for riding on this road, and Ms. Ballinger explains that her remark was made in that kind of informal context of talking to her cycling friends. She regrets making that kind statement in a public meeting and retracts her ‘idiotic and insane’ statement.

City Traffic Commission: Cyclists are insane idiots

Update: See Ms Ballingall’s comment below for her apology and explanation.

The town of Saratoga, California is nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Jose, CA. It’s a popular area for Silicon Valley road cyclists to ride to and through. While the city of Saratoga considers cyclist safety an important issue, Saratoga Transportation Safety Commission chair Brigitte Ballingall has a different view of cycling. “I think it’s an idiotic sport to do on the road – it’s just insane,” she was quoted as saying in this news about cycling safety in Saratoga.

Cyclists are asked to “be nice” in their emailed comments to her as they explain that cycling is a relatively safe activity that can be enjoyed by almost anybody. For more information about the Saratoga Transportation Safety Commission, see the city website.

Hat tip to Paul on the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition mailing list for this news.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters: Bike facilities a waste

Headless  Panda on the Golden Gate BridgeMy children and I cross the Golden Gate Bridge bicycle path. When counts were last done in 2002, 1600 bicyclists daily rode across on weekdays. Anecdotally, bicycle use has climbed significantly since then. The Golden Gate Bridge and other similar bicycling facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area are a vital part of the transportation network for bicyclists.

Last night on PBS News Hour with Jim Leher, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters explained the Bush Administration’s policy of no new taxes to fund repairs for the transportation infrastructure. Peters told News Hour that up to 20 percent of the federal gasoline tax is earmarked for non-transportation projects, specifically mentioning bicycling facilities as an example of inappropriate, non-transportation use of the federal gasoline tax.

The League of American Bicyclists responded with a letter to Peters correcting some of the impressions made by Ms. Peters:

  • That bicycle facilities are not transportation related. “Tens of millions of bicyclists and pedestrians in communities across the country use trails to get to work, school, shops, and to visit friends and family,” writes LAB Executive Director Andy Clarke. “Every one of these trips prevents congestion, pollution, and energy consumption while improving the health of the rider or walker.”
  • “You left the impression that an enormous percentage of Federal transportation funds are spent on projects such as these. The reality is that only one percent of these funds are spent on bicycling and walking projects despite the fact that these two modes account for ten percent of all trips in the country and 12 percent of traffic fatalities each year.”

Clarke urges Peters to stand by a statement she made at the 2002 Washington, DC bike summit, where Peters said, “Many people in our country use bikes for more than recreation. For them, bikes are their vehicle for the commute to work and for the errands of daily life. We need every mode of transportation to keep America mobile. What modes did you use to get to your hotel? Very few of us depend on a single mode. I strongly agree with Secretary Mineta, bicyclists are an integral part of our nation’s transportation system and we all need to work together to develop a better more balanced transportation system that provides facilities and programs for bicyclists on a routine basis.”

The LAB also asks cyclists to send their comments to Ms. Peters to share their personal viewpoints.

In the News Hour interview, Peters also praised New York City’s proposed congestion pricing. “I think it’s a great idea,” said Peters. “Commuters today are paying. They’re paying with their time. They’re paying with their productivity. They’re sitting stuck in traffic in New York City and other cities in the United States today. So they’re paying. If this congestion process gives them the ability to get out of being stuck in traffic, to make the air cleaner, to use less fuel, to create a better environment in their city, I think it’s a great idea.”

Elsewhere: