Presentation Tonight
26 June, 2009
Tonight I am giving a Presentation on Bicycling at Timpanogos Cave National Monument. They have asked me to speak on safety due to the increasing number of cyclists in the canyon. Come and be part of the small friendly audience, and learn a bit about Timpanogos Cave while you are at it.
Plans
24 June, 2009
Orem is working on a big Bicycle Master Plan. They have some money from Mountainland that will allow them to hire a consultant. They need our help! In order to make Orem a more friendly place to ride, they want to hear from you. Comment on this post, or send me an email to get on a mailing list so you know when meetings and other events will be. You won’t get any spam, just good old knowledge. Ride on!
Copenhagen
23 June, 2009
I’m Back
23 April, 2009
Hello all! I have been asked by several where I have been and what has been going on. I have been very busy, and very tired. I’ve had plenty of Bike News to write about, but I haven’t had the time or the energy to do so in the recent past. That is about to rectified, I hope. So, here is an update on what has been going on. First, the Share the Road license plate bill, SB102, was signed by the Governor! That means that come October, those of us who have cars and ride a bike can all put our feelings about who owns the road on the back of our cars. Proceeds will go first to buy more plates, and second, to fund advocacy and educational efforts by the Utah Bicycle Coalition. This promises to be a very small amount, but whatever comes in will help. Next, I went to Washington DC this spring for the National Bike Summit. What a great trip that was for me. I was able to visit with at least one person in the office of each member of the Utah Congressional Delegation. All were attentive, and at least outwardly supportive. I hope that I can build a good relationship with these people so that they can see the good that bicycles can do. Next, my employer, Mad Dog Cycles, was declared a Silver level Bicycle Friendly Business by the League of American Bicyclists! I know, you are thinking that since it is a bike shop we should be bike friendly. It isn’t that easy. I can help any of you work on that designation if you want help. Also, I can help you help the city or town you live in become a Bicycle Friendly Community. Just ask! Last, but not least, May is Bike Month! Events are happening all month. UTA is holding their annual event in Provo on the 12th, and many other events should be happening. If you want your business to be able to win an award, UTA hosts the commuter challenge each may. Click here for details. It promises to be the best Bike Month Utah Valley has every seen! Look for more posts, more regularly. I will tell you though, it will be the middle of next week before I post again. I have some serious yard work to do.
Another reason to ride.
26 February, 2009
As if I needed another reason to ride a bike. Anyway, the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) has a great article on their website this morning. Check it out. Now, how do we get governments in this state to start recognizing how simple the solutions to so many problems are?
Remember when …
24 February, 2009
Remember when you were a kid and you got your first bike? Do you remember the feeling of freedom that you had when the training wheels came off and you finally didn’t need to have your Dad hold you up as you rode and he ran for all he was worth? What a feeling that was. Do you remember going to the corner store on your bike, or perhaps to the local swimming hole or swamp like I did to mess around and hope you didn’t get caught by the “cops”? Those were great days weren’t they. If you are like me, and I suspect that you are in at least some small way, your bike was your freedom, it was your transportation. Of course, you probably didn’t have much choice because at 8 years old there was no way your mother was going to let you drive the station wagon, or if you grew up in the 90’s, the minivan. Then came the big 16th birthday and you haven’t been on a bike since. It probably didn’t matter that much when you were in your early twenties and still single. There is an amazing thing that happens when one finishes college and gets married and starts working for a living. The gut grows, the muscles get flabby, the couch and the TV become your best friends after spending a long day stuck in that chair and then that seat of your ultra efficient car. You probably live 30 miles away from your job in some suburb or exurb and there is no choice but to drive 15 miles to the nearest anything except for other tract houses that look remarkably similar to yours, even if they were built by a different company. Remember when you were a kid? That bike? That freedom? Do you realize that they still make bikes?
Today I went for a walk …
21 February, 2009
Today I went for a walk to pick up my bike. I left it at work last night for various reasons, and I had to go get it. I only live a mile from work, so I decide to use my two feet to get there. Besides, I didn’t have a bike that would carry another bike(they do exist), and my wife had the car. So, I walked. Why am I writing about my walk? Well, because it was notable. It was short, and it was utterly dull, lifeless, and it is no wonder more people don’t walk around here. It only took me 20 minutes to walk to work. I could do that every day if I chose too. I discovered that we need to do a much better job with our sidewalks. The street I walked along was boring, and lifeless, and full of traffic. There were no trees,(I know, it is February in Utah) no grass, no flower beds, no street furniture, no art. There weren’t even any porches, and if there were, they would have been 30 feet from the sidewalk. I was walking down what is classified as a collector street by our city and there is not a business on it for the majority of its length. We need to fix this. We need to make it better for pedestrians. We need to make it more comfortable to walk. We need to slow down traffic. Why don’t we? I think our Mayor and City Council and City Manager need to go for a walk a bit more often. Maybe their eyes would be opened. Maybe. Mine sure were. Along the same lines, I’ve been looking at handicap access and facilities a bit more lately. A blind man came past the store the other day, and we work with people in wheelchairs a lot. I’ve been noticing that sidewalks don’t get shoveled, and handicap parking areas are full of snow. How do people with disabilities get around in the winter time? I’m surprised that more businesses and cities aren’t sued for violation of Federal law. We have a lot to improve on, for all users of our transportation system.
Taxes by the Mile
20 February, 2009
Nothing makes me want to jump on a bike faster than reading the following story. This could be another big boost for the bike industry.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-lahood-vehicle-mileage-tax,0,6754105,print.story
Update*** To Obama’s credit, he nixed the plan: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090221/D96FKPMG0.html
Why we Build Roads Instead of Transit
14 January, 2009
Image Courtesy of UTA
This past week I read this interesting article about the Wasatch Front Regional Council’s(WFRC) plans for Foothill Boulevard in SLC. The article talks about the desire of the Salt Lake City council to have a light rail line on that route instead of reversing lanes and BRT. I am very pleased to see the vision of the council on this issue, but they may be fighting a loosing battle, at least until this new administration gets its feet under it, and perhaps a lot longer if the highway and auto lobby’s have their way. This is why. When an entity such as WFRC or MAG, which are the regional transportation planning agencies, go to plan transportation infrastructure, they look at population densities as part of their process to determine what to build. Population density determines what gets built as does zoning and population projections. These entities, called Metropolitan Planning Organizations or MPO’s, determine what to study based on population projections as well. So, by estimating population increases based on computer models and looking at city zoning, they decide what type of transportation infrastructure to build. By decree from the Feds, if density is low, you build a road. If traffic along the corridor is projected to be heavy, you build a big road. So, by examining all of the current zoning in the vast majority of this country, not to mention Utah or Utah County, we will automatically build roads. This seems on its face to be perfectly rational and logical. But I submit that it is not. Let’s look at the results. If you build a road that is five or seven lanes wide, like many of the new roads being built in Utah county, you can carry a lot of traffic. If you build that road to mostly empty country such as Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain, and other such places, you allow people easy access to vacant land and they will build there. They will build large homes that are on 1/4 acre lots,or bigger, and they will commute to work. If on the other hand you build light rail out to those communities and only a two or three lane road, people will build smaller homes much closer together so they can be closer to the train station. More walkable communities tend to develop. If you do the same thing in more developed places, like Orem and Provo, redevelopment occurs. Density, the all important catalyst of transit investment soon follows. Basically, we have two self-fulfilling prophecies going on here. If you build roads you get sprawl. If you build trains, you get walkable compact development. The problem is, the Feds won’t allow transit unless density requirements are met, and they won’t be met around here, unless there is a catalyst. Great chicken and egg story right? So, now you know why there will likely not be light rail on Foothill. In speaking to the team doing the studies on the Provo-Orem BRT, I learned a valuable lesson. If Orem changed its zoning along University Parkway to allow mixed use higher density development in place of strip malls and big box stores, we would be in line to easily qualify for Light Rail instead of BRT. As it is, we don’t have the density. Density is, by the way, the worst seven letter word you can ever say in a place like a Utah County neighborhood meeting. Let me know what you think we should have. Would you rather live in a townhouse or condo with a great park nearby and the ability to walk or ride a bike or take transit everywhere, or would you rather have the 1/4 acre lot in Eagle Mountain and a long commute? I really would like to know.
