The STAR Team of Ozark Greenways meets on 18 November at 5:30 p.m. at 319 N. Main Street in the offices of Butler Rosenbury & Partners. It’s “bring a guest night,” which is our not-so-subtle way of acknowledging that to remain an effective committee we need new meat from time to time.
Hmmmmm… Who should I ask to be my “guest”? Any volunteers?
I have been talking up the STAR Team recently on campus. We’d love to get more students involved.
An additional selling point: The STAR Team actually gets things done. Upcoming projects include our bicycle-friendly community application and a complete streets project.
For your reading pleasure, here’s an e-mail that made the advocacy rounds. I have no idea about the source:
The Top Ten Facts on Bicycling & Walking in the United States
1. Bicycling and walking make up 10% of all trips made in the United States, but receive less than two percent of federal transportation funding
2. Bicyclists and pedestrians account for 13% of traffic fatalities, but receive less than one percent of federal safety funding.
3. 40% of all trips in America are two miles or less, 74% of which are travelled by car.
4. Americans spend, on average, 18% of their annual income for transportation. The average annual operating cost of a bicycle is 3.75% ($308) of an average car ($8,220).
5. A small reduction in driving causes a large drop in traffic. In 2008, the number of vehicle miles travelled dropped 3%, translating to a nearly 30% reduction in peak hour congestion.
6. Transportation sources account for 70% of our nation’s oil consumption and for 30% of total U.S. GHG emissions.
7. Simply increasing bicycling and walking from 10% of trips to 13% could lead to fuel savings of around 3.8 billion gallons of gas a year. This is equivalent to having 19 million more hybrid cars on the road.
8. 89% of Americans believe that transportation investments should support the goals of reducing energy use.
9. 71% of Americans report that they would like to bicycle more. 53% favors increasing federal spending on bicycle lanes and paths.
10. For the price of one mile of four-lane urban highway, around $50 million, hundreds of miles of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure can be built, an investment that could complete an entire network of active transportation facilities for a mid-sized city.
Comments 5
It sounds to me like it’s the pedestrians that are getting hosed. Get people walking and they’ll bike as well.
Posted 10 Nov 2009 at 9:24 pm ¶Greetings from the worst metro in America for pedestrians!!
Yes, Pedestrians are definitely getting the worst end. Pedestrians need infrastructure. And they need relentless enforcement of the laws which protect them. We’re failing on both counts. And we’re failing so miserably on enforcement that 90% of drivers I’ve queried don’t even know they are supposed to yield to a ped in a crosswalk. They simply think that is the place peds are allowed to cross when there are no vehicles present.
Most bicycle statistics reflect the hazards faced by pedestrians because most bicycle crashes are the result of bicycle drivers acting like pedestrians on wheels.
So really, the infrastructure and enforcement focus does need to be on improving things for pedestrians. Then focus on roadway equity and civility and teach bicyclists to act like vehicle drivers.
Posted 11 Nov 2009 at 11:14 am ¶One of the reasons we’re interested in a complete streets project is because I think you’re right, Steve, re: get people walking and they’ll bike as well.
Keri… Yep, the stats tell an interesting story.
Posted 11 Nov 2009 at 12:06 pm ¶I’ll try my darnedest to make it to the meeting this Wednesday. I have to give a presentation from 4-5 and as long as it doesn’t go late I should be able to make it.
Posted 15 Nov 2009 at 1:45 pm ¶Brad… Way cool.
Posted 15 Nov 2009 at 2:38 pm ¶