09.26.08
Posted in Advocacy
by Mark Dieterich at 1:45 pm
About three months ago, I hand an opportunity to read over parts of the Rhode Island Driver’s Manual. At the time, I was shocked by how little information the manual contained about bicycles and, even more surprised by how much of the information contained actually tried to address cyclists rather than motorists. I posted these thoughts and shortly afterwards representatives from the Greenways Alliance of Rhode Island, the Narragensett Bay Wheelmen, the Sierra Club, and the Providence Bicycle Coalition came together to draft some proposed changes to the Rhode Island Driver’s Manual.
In the next few weeks, the members of this working group will be meeting with a representative from the Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicle (RIDMV) to discuss the proposed changes. The next printing of the RI Driver’s Manual is going to press soon and we are hoping our recommended changes can be incorporated into the next printing.
We’ve also received word from RIDOT’s manager of Driver’s Ed Training that our proposed changes document has made it’s way across his desk. They are considering not only distributing our changes to the instructor, so they can be incorporated into the training material used for the courses and practice tests. Furthermore, they are also considering the development of a brochure using our material to to go the children and their parents!
Both of these, if they do indeed come to fruition, would be a great help to spreading the word about the rights of cyclists within the new and upcoming motorists.
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09.22.08
Posted in Advocacy
by Mark Dieterich at 11:31 am
Need something to get you warmed up as the weather turns cooler? Look no further than this morning’s Projo. A letter to the editor posted this morning claiming that
It is often suggested that automobile drivers should learn to share the road with bicyclists. In my opinion, it is foolhardy and dangerous for bicyclists to be on the highways with motorists, period. Bicycles no more belong on roadways than autos belong on bike paths.
Bicycles are slow, small and difficult to see; autos may weigh tons, and, with their automatic transmissions, are powerful and fast at a light touch of the foot.
Show me a safe bike path, that efficiently takes me everywhere I need to go by bicycle and I’m sure you will see more people on bikes. The simple truth is that we have a few, very nice bike paths in the state, that all to frequently force cyclists to stop at cross streets and go very few places.
While this last statement is true, isn’t it the drivers responsibility to “control” their vehicle? Who cares if they are driving an Indy race car, which I’ve never driven but I imagine responds quite quickly, it doesn’t give you the right to drive irresponsibly. He continues:
Too many cyclists are clueless as to rules of the road – either for automobiles or for bicycles. This complicates matters for motorists, who are required to pass a written examination on rules of the road, and pass a road test to obtain a driver’s license. And young teenagers are required to attend a 30-hour driver-ed course, to boot. This is gross and unfair to motorists, whom we expect to share the road with bicyclists.
I agree that there are many naive cyclists on the roads, but for every cyclist I see breaking the law in a single day, I can point to MANY more motorists doing the same or worse. The bigger issue, in my mind, comes back to who is likely to get hurt by the misdead? In all cases, be it the cyclists or the motorist breaking the law, the cyclists is going to loose.
While it’s true motorists had to pass a written and driving test at some piont to get their license, how many could do so today, were they to be spot tested? I think the number would be surprisingly low. Here is my favorite part of the argument:
This unfairness is magnified immensely when contrasting the mandatory costs of having the two types of vehicles use our highways. Registration and license fees, taxes and a sensible insurance package with liability and collision coverage may cost in the thousands of dollars for a responsible car owner but perhaps zero for unwitting cyclists. Should a bicyclist be the cause of an accident, there would be no mandatory liability insurance for any injured parties; in all probability too, in court, the cyclist would walk.
… and who’s problem is it that driving a car is expensive? Imagine for a moment if everyone road bicycles as their primary vehicle. The infrastructure required to support the few remaining cars and public transportation options is immensily less than our current, umaintainable, infrastructure. As for the difference in insurance costs, it all comes back to who is more likely to do severe damage. Outside of bicycle racing, how many serious bicycle/bicycle or bicycle/pedestrian accidents are there compared to atomobile vs. anything type accidents? As for the accident question, how many bicyclists cause an accident where they, themselves, are not the ones sent off to the emergency room? Perhaps they would walk out of court, if they could walk at all!
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09.19.08
Posted in Advocacy
by Margherita at 9:20 am
TRANSPORTATION: Mayors call for increased flexibility in reauthorization bill (09/19/2008)
Josh Voorhees, E&E Daily reporter
Lawmakers should take into account the unique challenges faced by metropolitan areas and provide local officials with the necessary flexibility to tackle them in the new transportation law, the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors told a House panel yesterday.
“Although the current federal transportation statutory framework acknowledges the importance of the metropolitan scale and mobility issues, it actually does little in substance to motivate or support metropolitan-based transportation solutions led by elected leaders in these regions,” Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper told a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee.
Metropolitan regions account for 26 percent of the nation in terms of land area, but they account for more than 83 percent of the U.S. population, 85 percent of employment and 86 percent of the gross domestic product, according to the Conference of Mayors.
Hickenlooper urged members of the Highway and Transit Subcommittee to establish a “Metropolitan Mobility Program,” which would hand local elected officials the decisionmaking ability to tailor national strategies — and funding — to metropolitan needs.
Read the rest of this entry »
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09.18.08
Posted in Advocacy
by Mark Dieterich at 8:30 am
The town of Barrington received a $226,000 grant as part of the RI Safe Routes to Schools Program. According to an article on EastBayRI.com,
The money is intended to address a number of problem areas around Hampden Meadows School, including vehicles traveling at excessive speeds, drivers not yielding to pedestrians, a lack of crosswalks, inconsistent sidewalks, inadequate bike facilities, and poor pedestrian and bicycle signage.
Some of the grant money is being used to fund extra police traffic patrols in the Hampden Meadows School area.
“We issued a lot of warnings and a few tickets,” Chief LaCross said. “We’ve been out there monitoring the speed on New Meadow and Kent Street.”
Which begs the question, why don’t they issue a LOT of tickets? I’d love to hear from somebody in law enforcement as to why they don’t issue more speeding tickets. What’s the downside? I would think the technology has reached a mature enough state where it’s pretty cut and dry when a car is speeding. They take the time to pull someone over to issue a warning, why not write the ticket? I honestly think hitting people in their pocketbooks is the only way we are going to get speeding under control in this state.
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09.14.08
Posted in Events
by Mark Dieterich at 8:26 pm
| September 21, 2008 |
| 11:00 am |
SEE THE PAWTUCKET SECTION OF THE BLACKSTONE BIKEWAY 9/21
What: Watch a video of the city’s plan for the Pawtucket section of the Blackstone River Bikeway, then walk the route with the city’s Planning Director.
Where: Blackstone Valley Visitor’s Center, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket
When: 11am Sunday September 21
Who: Mike Cassidy, 401-724-5200 or cassidym@psdri.net
Cost: FREE
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09.10.08
Posted in Events
by Mark Dieterich at 8:16 pm
| September 26, 2008 |
| 2:00 pm | to | 4:00 pm |
| September 29, 2008 |
| 2:00 pm | to | 4:00 pm |
| September 30, 2008 |
| 2:00 pm | to | 4:00 pm |
| October 1, 2008 |
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
| October 2, 2008 |
| 2:00 pm |
From Barry Schiller via the advocacy email list:
Those who use bikes as part of an attempt to live a reduced-car or no-car life style, or just use the buses, and/or like me also use buses to get to the bike paths, might be interested in the schedule of public hearings on the proposed RIPTA service cuts.
The underlying problem is we finance RIPTA with a flat portion of the gas tax, that not only does not keep up with inflation, it actually has declined (about 10%) in dollars as people buy less gas in response to the high prices. It is impossible to sustain a system that way. RIDOT has a similar problem, but they have been able to get by for now by heavy borrowing.
Thus RIPTA, facing a $12 million deficit this fiscal year, (projected to about double in 4 years) has proposed cutting about 20% of its service. This includes all evening buses after 7pm, all holiday service, total elimination of 7 lines and 8 park-and-rides, the shortening of 12 additional lines. with reduced frequency on remaining service. Yet the Governor’s Office seemed to suggest this is not a severe reduction but a “tweaking” of service.
Those concerned should consider calling elected officials including the Governor’s Office (222-2080, ask for Chris Long) and/or attending these hearings:
all are 2 to 4pm and 6 to 8pm, except Smithfield evening hours are 6:30 to 8:30pm
- Fri, Sept 26 Narragansett Town Hall
- Mon, Sept 29 Warwick City Hall
- Tues Sept 30, Barrington Library and Newport Public Library
- Wed Oct 1, Smithfield Senior Center
- Thursday, Oct 2 Providence DaVinci Center, 470 Charles St
Personally, I think RIPTA is a huge asset to the RI transportation system and the fact that they provide bike racks on all the buses makes them hugely attractive for cyclists.
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Posted in Events
by Mark Dieterich at 3:51 pm
| September 15, 2008 |
| 7:00 pm |
| September 17, 2008 |
| 7:00 pm |
| September 23, 2008 |
| 7:00 pm |
| September 25, 2008 |
| 7:00 pm |
At the last advocacy meeting, Barry Shiller brought to our attention an upcoming Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding. Due to deferred maintenance, past borrowing, a decision to build the IWay and more, RIDOT claims they need an additional $300 million per year. These hearings are to explain the situation and ask how we, the public, want to deal with this shortfall. Obviously, one of our concerns is the state will likely chop “discretionary” funding, including bike programs. here is a copy of the press release and the meeting dates:
Rhode Island, like many states across the nation, is facing a transportation funding crisis. That is why this past March, Governor Carcieri established the Blue Ribbon Panel on Transportation Funding to explore the State’s current transportation funding structure.
Since its inception, the Panel has been reviewing the State’s transportation funding structure, funding needs, as well as future funding options. The Panel is now looking for public input and is therefore announcing four public meetings that will begin on Monday, September 15. The meetings, which will be held at 7 p.m., will provide the general public the opportunity to voice their opinions on the State’s current funding structure and offer suggestions for improvement.
The Blue Ribbon Panel Public Meeting schedule is as follows:
Schedule:
- Monday, September 15, 7 p.m., Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) Flanagan Campus, 1762 Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln.
- Wednesday, September 17, 7 p.m., CCRI Newport County, One John H. Chafee Boulevard, Newport.
- Tuesday, September 23, 7 p.m., University of Rhode Island (URI), Kingston.
- Thursday, September 25, 7 p.m., Rhode Island College (RIC), 600 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Providence.
We would encourage anyone who can to attenda local meeting and express your concern over the potential loss of funding for alternative transportation.
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Posted in Advocacy
by Margherita at 9:21 am
Sustainable neighborhoods — ‘bobo’ ghettos or future cities? (09/10/2008)
Special to ClimateWire
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The sustainable neighborhoods Europe has been creating over the past 20 years are yielding positive results, including lower greenhouse gas emissions. Yet these communities are few in number and are quite small compared to conventional neighborhoods.
The very concept of “environmentally friendly neighborhoods,” or “eco-neighborhoods,” still draws widely divergent reactions from Europeans. Some consider them dream communities, laboratories for future cities. Others see ghettos for affluent people who yearn for an alternative lifestyle.
These and other findings arose from an international conference entitled “Planning Sustainable Neighborhoods: From Idea to Implementation,” which was held last week at the University of Lausanne. The conference’s speakers agreed that European urban planning has reached a historic watershed: After long promoting growth in all its forms, cities are now setting their sights on better quality of life.
Read the rest of this entry »
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09.09.08
Posted in Events
by Mark Dieterich at 4:03 pm
| September 10, 2008 |
| 10:00 am | to | 12:00 pm |
Wednesday is the ride with Jack Madden of the Hub: “Crossing Providence by Bicycle”. This ride is a tour of routes for crossing through downtown Providence North to South and East to West, featuring landmarks. The ride will take about two hours.
Where: The Hub Bike shop, 181 Brook Street, Providence
When: 10:00 a.m.
Who: The Hub bike Shop (401) 383-9934 or jack@thehubprovidencecom.
The event is free.
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09.04.08
Posted in Advocacy, Tales from the Trenches
by Mark Dieterich at 1:38 pm
By now, most everyone is aware the school is back in session and you’ve likely seen many articles in local papers reminding people of this fact. Most of these articles, as they should be, will be targeted at reminding motorists to slow down, obey the school zones, and be patient with the school buses. In the same manner, cyclists should also be more diligent. Aside from being mindful in school zones and groups of kids waiting at the edge of the road for a bus. It’s this last group I really want to focus on.
As I pass many groups of kids in the morning, I’m reminded of one afternoon when I joined a fellow cyclists to pick up his daughter from childcare. As he was inside getting his daughter ready, I waited by the bikes standing next to the fence for the playground. Before I knew it, I had a small group of kids congregated around me, peppering me with questions about biking and telling me their own bicycle stories. It really made me wonder what happens to our enthusiasm for bicycles as we get older and I began pondering what we could do to help kids keep their interest in cycling.
So what can we do? Well, I would propose that we all make an effort to interact with this groups of kids waiting for the bus. Just a friendly wave or a hello as you pass might be enough to make them stop and think, why am I waiting for this bus when I could be riding my bike to school. The motorists sure aren’t going to slow down enough to greet these kids, so why don’t we cyclists step up to the plate and help make these kids know they are important as well.
I had a great interaction this morning. As I approached one particular group of kids, I could see them pumping their arms trying to get the passing cars and trucks to honk their horns. None of the passing autos were obliging them, so when I rolled up and as I passed them I rang my bell a few times. As I pedaled away, I heard a chorus of enthusiasm and laughter, what a way to start my day! Who do you think got the “cool” points for today, the cars or the cyclist?
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