got their wish.
(Photo © J. Maus)
Here’s the news that caught our eye this week:
– The San Francisco bike infrastructure injunction has been lifted! The city is preparing to roll out 35 bike lanes that it’s planned over the last four years, during which bicycling rates in the city have skyrocketed.
– Blueprint America’s special report on the supposedly simple act of crossing the street in an Atlanta suburb is a harrowing and inspiring call for immediate and necessary reconsideration of car-centric planning. Watch the 8 minute video here.
– A look at the state of drunk bicycling laws in New York City and beyond, with Portland lawyer Bob Mionske weighing in.
– Also in NYC, the debate over a proposal to replace an aging highway with a waterfront park and bike path has sparked an interesting debate about what the future of urban transportation systems will and should look like (scroll down for a set of guest essays).
– This in-depth look at disability, transportation, and poverty is a must-read for decision-makers and activists.
– A look at the growing popularity of bicycling in Omaha, Nebraska, and what the city is doing about it (currently, painting sharrows).
– Taking the plunge to trade in the truck for the bicycle proves surprisingly easy and fun for Jason in Albany, New York. Meanwhile, Benny in San Diego tells the story of becoming a “two-bike family,” reconsidering his love affair with driving, and even reluctantly giving Critical Mass a try—and loving it!
– Do you need dressguards and a chaincase on your bicycle? Do you even know what those are? This blogger tells you all you need to know and more, with photos.
– In Manhattan, citizens turned out to re-create Paul Revere’s midnight ride, in costume, on bicycles, to warn of the impending demise of the city’s community gardens.
– Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to present what may be the world’s first forkless bicycle.
– It’s anyone’s guess as to what alternative fuel source will power the cars of the future. A British company is banking on human waste.
– Video of the week: Poetry on the bike path in Lisbon, Portugal.
– And finally, the history of the bicycle like you’ve never seen it before. Really. Never.
Fast Company also has a nice article up about the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, doing a $1.5 billion re-development of their old town to make it attractive and car-free!
The SF Bike Coalition is a 501c4, it has 11,000 members, and it has the guts to take on elections and politicians.
These are all things that the BTA avoids. It has made the BTA nearly toothless 501c3.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/06/BA151EQJ07.DTL
“Mayor Gavin Newsom and other city officials have been eager to move ahead with the cycling improvements, which have been demanded by the politically powerful biking community.”
At the Portland BTA you can pay $100 for a meal.
I was sentenced to a week in Atlanta’s suburbs on business a couple of years ago. Hotel was within half a mile of the training facility, and it was so dangerous to walk between them that I actually took a cab a few times.
No single travel experience has ever made me feel more grateful to live in a nice walkable city neighborhood.
Anonymous (#3) – Guts has nothing to do with it. As a 501(c)(3), the BTA is required by federal law to obey the laws regarding campaigns and elections – they are very restricted in what they can do, based on their (c)(3) status.
If the BTA isn’t doing what you think it should, perhaps you should (A) talk to new Executive Director Rob Sadowski, who appears to be pretty responsive from what I’ve seen so far, or (B) Start your own nonprofit aimed at taking a more active political stance. Umbrella (http://www.umbrellastreets.org) could be a good incubator for you to get you up and running, and there are at least a half-dozen local advocates who would likely be happy to help get such an organization up and running.
Portland needs a dedicated political organization to fight for cyclists’ rights – what it lacks so far is someone to build and manage it. Care to take up the challenge?
Matt, I think guts/political savvy has something to do with it. Regardless, great response.
Velophile (#5) – I think guts has everything to do with SF Bike Coalition’s actions. The (c)(4) designation helps a lot, too. Pehaps the BTA should start a (c)(4) to act as their political arm?
People interested in spurring the BTA to develop a 501(c)(4) political arm should write a letter to or email the BTA. Address it to Rob Sadowski, Executive Director, and/or BTA Board Chair Mary Roberts.
rob@bta4bikes.org
maryr@bta4bikes.org
Mail:
P.O. Box 28289
Portland, OR 97228
Phone: (503) 226-0676
Fax: (503) 226-0498
and while you’re at it, consider volunteering for the BTA. Or if you hate the BTA, find another bike org, or a community organization, and just give an hour or two a week, or a few hours once or twice a month. Everything helps.
It’s far easier to gripe about things than it is to get out and do something. Actions really do speak louder than words.
Yes, I’m sure the (c)(4) thing would help BTA. Rather, it would help biking in Portland, but probably not BTA per se. BTA staff would probably remained largely focused on keeping their grant money so they can keep their jobs (can’t blame them for that).
But there seems to be a problem with the Portland culture that prevents real political progress here. It’s probably why there is not already a (c)(4).
In SF, they understand that you have to take on the entrenched political interests that stand in the way of safe biking conditions on the roadway.
Same thing in NYC. That’s why they have made so much more progress on bike infrastructure in much less time than Portland.
Here, it is more important to be nice than right. And most people who would be political advocates are more concerned with “bike fun” than biking rights.
I appreciate the value placed on collaborative decision-making and positivity in Portland, but people seem to lack the desire to be confrontational and direct with the powers that be. And in the big boys’ political games, that is unfortunately necessary.
The addition of Sadowski doesn’t seem to be changing that.
As you say, what is lacking is leadership.
Just my $0.02.
Just my
Correction for Blueprint America:
The most dangerous road in Georgia is any road that you try to cross on foot or bike.
From the same sfgate story Anonymous #2 cites:
“…The court’s involvement stems from a lawsuit filed by the Coalition for Adequate Review and Ninety-Nine Percent, which are led by blogger Rob Anderson. …”
Guts? Better have smarts too, and also, be prepared to do the research, know the law, and follow correct procedures to get things done. Mostly it was just two people…nasty curmudgeon Rob Anderson and his savvy lawyer sidekick who the SF Bike Coalition has been obliged to take on over the last four years to get the injunction lifted.
Anderson is definitely not nice, but the more important reason he was able, as I understand it…nearly by himself and with little money, to force San Francisco to draft a drawn out environmental impact review, is because he was right about the law requiring one. Politicians and advocacy groups favoring the bike plan apparently didn’t do their homework on this point, and so were completely caught off guard by the assault on the plan by Anderson.
The entire city of Atlanta (and all its suburbs) are a complete and total nightmare for any pedestrian or cyclist. I lived there for almost two decades and I almost never rode my bike anywhere except in the park. Whenever I saw a cyclist on the road, I would wonder why the hell they were thinking (and why the hell they didn’t move to a more bike-friendly town).
Thanks very much for the link to my car-free story. It’s still going well. I just went from Albany to NYC to State College, PA, by bus and bike. I had a blast cycling in Manhattan and Brooklyn, including crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. The photos are posted at http://rocbike.com.
All the best,
Jason