Thought-provoking picture

I love photos of cyclists going about every day life by bike.  This photo from Kabul shows a different side to the city than we hear about in the media.  I look at the picture and wonder about the man on the bike.  Is he going to or from work?  Is he visiting family or his sweetheart.  You'd expect to see a photo like this in a park or country-side setting, not in front of a bombed out capitol building in what is still a war-torn area.

What thoughts does the photo bring to your mind?

(Hat tip to Yakota Fritz @ Cyclelicio.us for posting the pic)

Update on the Vulnerable Users' bill

Yesterday we received a response from Senator Joe McDermott, the sponsor of SB 5838, to our letter of support for the bill.  It appears that the bill is on the fringe of moving from committee to the Senate floor for action.

Pedaling Revolution

I just finished reading Jeff Mapes’ book Pedaling Revolution. The book is a look at how cities are adapting to accommodate cyclists in urban and street planning by looking at selected cities throughout the United States, as well as a few foreign cities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

Since I’ve started to pay attention to transportation issues, and how cities are accommodating cycling in particular, I’ve been impressed with the strides Portland has made in becoming a cycling city. Mapes takes a hard look at the changes that have been made in Portland, as well as how far the city has yet to go.

His chapter Bringing Kids Back to Bikes was especially poignant. In the chapter he looks at the Safe Routes to Schools program and efforts in Portland schools to gets kids active and riding bikes. He talks of programs to teach kids to ride bikes safely that culminates with a group bike ride in the community surrounding a school. This uplifting section ends back at the school with children being picked up by lines of waiting SUVs.

This chapter hit me because I really believe that to change our transportation systems to embrace more active means of transportation, we need to reach out to and encourage the children. How can we do that when parents look at the bike as a toy and not a “real” means of transportation? I can understand the desire to protect children. After all, that should be a parent’s number one goal. But at what expense? Increasing rates of obesity due to inactivity? Fostering dependence on cars? Undoing the efforts of community minded folks pushing for livable streets?

I grew up in the suburbs with the nearest school I attended (an elementary school) just over a mile away, at the base of a large hill (we lived about 600-700 feet in elevation above the school). Walking and riding my bike to school was not really feasible for me. It wasn’t until I was in the sixth grade that I was allowed to ride my bike to school a couple of times in the spring. It is something that I would have like to have been able to do more frequently. My middle school was farther from my home, along a very busy road, and cycling to school wasn’t an option any longer. By the middle of my sophomore year in high school, I was enamored with driving, and didn’t consider my bike more than a recreational tool. It took me until I was in my 30s to reconsider my view. What will it take to get parents to reconsider their views on bicycles as transportation as opposed to toys?

Police officer confronts driver harrassing cyclists

This is from Florida, so the rule may not apply here in WA, but I love this. Props to Cycleicious for the link.

Who are you honking at? from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo.

Vulnerable user bill in committee January 26

The 2010 Legislative session is underway and Senate Bill 5838 (the Vulnerable User's bill) has been reintroduced by resolution and referred to the Senate Judicial Committee. The bill is scheduled to be heard by the committee on Tuesday, January 26. I've not been able to find details from the Legislature's web site the time when they will be meeting on Tuesday. It will be in one of the hearing rooms in the John A. Cherberg building on the Capitol Campus in Olympia.

From Dave Hiller's quote in this Publicola post, it looks like there's a chance at a majority yes vote on this bill this time around.

If you want to see this bill advance and possibly get heard on the floor, contact the members of the committee soon!

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are:
Adam Kline
Debbie Regala
Bob McCaslin
Mike Carrell
Randy Gordon
James Hargrove
Jeanne Kohl-Welles
Pam Roach

The web page for each member liked above has a link with which you can send e-mail to the member, or you can look up their e-mail addresses here and send an e-mail to them directly.

Mark's Wish List for Northwest Transportation

After a break longer than intended, I'm returning to the blog with my wish list for transportation in the Northwest. In the holiday spirit (and for a little fun), I'm writng this as a "letter to Santa Clause."

Dear Santa Clause,

We've been pretty good here in the Northwest. There seem to be more people riding the bus to work and just get around in general. We finally opened our light rail line in King County this year. Passenger rail has improved with the opening of an Amtrak station in Leavenworth, as well as the addition of another run to Vancouver, BC. We also have passed additional plans for light rail going to the Eastside and at least one more streetcar line in Seattle.

All that said, I want to present you with my wish list for Northwest transit. I realize time is short for this Christmas (and let's be honest, some things take time anyway). But if you can see what you can do to get some of these rolling, I think we'd all appreciate it here.

• Expand light rail throughout the region by adding new inter-city lines, as well as intra-city lines
• In-fill stations to fill the gaps in the existing Central Link line (one somewhere near the Boeing access road would be really appreciated)
• Increase feeder lines to the light rail stations
• Implement working, grade separated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) where light rail is not feasible and ridership potential warrants the investment
• Consolidate the major metropolitan transit agencies in the Puget Sound into one agency with operations specialists in each former agency's service area to improve efficiencies and coordination between agencies, while still maintaining the existing knowledge of local needs.
• Develop infrastructure to support transportation alternatives to the automobile (a network of bike lanes/paths, footpaths and multi-use paths)
• Improve and increase the safe bike storage capacity at transit centers and park & rides
• More bike parking throughout the region
• Frequent, high speed passenger & commuter rail on dedicated right-of-ways
• Pass a vulnerable users law in Washington similar to that in Oregon

Thank you, Santa, and have a happy holiday season!

Mark

Help pass a Vulnerable User law in Washington!

Cascade Bicycle Club Traffic Justice Summit – Wednesday, October 14 2009, Seattle City Hall

In 2007, the Oregon State Legislature passed the “Vulnerable User” law. In a nutshell, what this law does is to strengthen the penalties against motor vehicle operators found to be at fault in accidents involving “vulnerable users” (pedestrians and cyclists). As we all know, in accidents involving these parties, physics dictates that the motor vehicle will win, and the penalty is high to the loser. Legal codes in Oregon were, as they currently are in many other states, similarly slanted to the favor of the motor vehicle operator. The Vulnerable User law changed that in Oregon by assessing criminal penalties to the at-fault driver when an accident results in severe injury or the death of a vulnerable roadway user (pedestrian or cyclist).

Last legislative session, Cascade Bicycle Club, the Bicycle Alliance of Washington and others tried to bring similar change, legal parity and justice to Washington with Senate Bill 5838. The bill never made it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In legislative lingo, it “died in committee.” Fortunately, since our legislature is a biennial legislature, any bill that dies in the first year of the legislature, isn’t really dead. When the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate convene the 2010 legislative session, the bill will be revived.

Now is the time to begin planning and working to get Senate Bill 5838 passed and into law.

What you can do:
· Attend the Traffic Justice Summit on Wednesday, October 14 at Seattle City Hall. If you are unable to attend, I’m told that the summit will be aired on the Seattle Channel and available online.
· Know your legislative delegation
· Know who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee
· Call and write your legislative delegation as well as members of the Judiciary committees and encourage them to support this bill. The Legislative hotline can be reached at: 1-800-562-6000.