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Author Archives Andy Cline

Our Urban Challenge: First in a Series

“What is striking about biking is not that it solves any particular problem but, instead, that is it part of the solution to several.” —  J. Harry Wray
We have several problems in Springfield.
You can begin to survey our problems — or challenges — by reading Springfield’s Competitive Assessment. Another snapshot of our community is available [...]

Posted 11 March 2010 § advocacy § business § ecology § policy ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , , , , ,

CIP Powerpoint

Click here to see a PowerPoint presentation about the Capital Improvement Sales Tax that will come up for renewal in June. This money will be funding bicycle and pedestrian projects, including sidewalk repair, sharrows, and a new bicycle route numbering system.
I believe it is important to Springfield’s progress that voters re-approve this tax.

Technorati Tags: bicycle [...]

Posted 11 March 2010 § advocacy § policy ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: , ,

Free ChipSeal!

On the Carbon Trace blogroll you’ll find a link to ChipSeal (also mentioned in this post). The author, Reed Bates, is a bicycle blogger in Texas, and he’s recently had run-ins with the “law.” Those quotes indicate irony. Commute Orlando has a round-up of the events so far. And you can follow the story is [...]

Posted 09 March 2010 § advocacy § announcement § news ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , ,

CIP at the Council Meeting

The City Council last night heard public comment on Council Bill 2010-073 — calling for a special election in June to renew the 1/4-cent Capital Improvements Sales Tax. STAR Team Chairman Bruce Adib-Yazdi was one of three citizens who spoke in favor of the tax. No one spoke against it.
Bruce’s remarks were confined to supporting [...]

Posted 09 March 2010 § advocacy § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , , , , , ,

CIP And Bicycle Infrastructure

Not doing anything at 6:30 this evening? Then drop by the city council meeting to show your support for the $400,000 line item in the Capital Improvements sales tax renewal to pay for a new bicycle route numbering system (complete with wayfinding) and sharrows. This is a numbering system developed by the STAR Team and [...]

Posted 08 March 2010 § advocacy § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: , , , ,

Stuff

Ya gotta carry stuff to be a utility bicyclist.
Now that I have a Burley Nomad, I can carry a lot more stuff — like groceries and such. And when the farmer’s market opens, well, just look out. I’ll be buyin’ some food.

It’s attached to my Marin Pioneer Trails here. And I’ll soon be able to [...]

Posted 04 March 2010 § bicycle equipment § ecology ‡ Comments (7) ° Tagged: , ,

Fat City

Gallup has gone looking for the commonalities among America’s most obese metropolitan areas. Here’s the top ten:

The study covers the usual suspects, e.g. poor eating habits and lack of exercise. But here’s something they overlooked: access to (or willingness to use) alternative transportation, i.e. burning calories instead of carbon.
In Montgomery, Ala., for example, data from [...]

Posted 03 March 2010 § advocacy § ecology § news ‡ Comments (11) ° Tagged: ,

Media Centers

Planetizen (one of my new favorite blogs) points to an interesting article about using library media centers to revitalize cities. While it isn’t housed in a fancy new building, we do have one of these media centers right in the heart of downtown Springfield on the Square — the Park Central Branch Library. Here’s a [...]

Posted 03 March 2010 § ecology ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

A Metaphor to Ride By

Here are some lessons about riding in traffic from Keri Caffrey of Commute Orlando. It’s a dance!

Bicycling in traffic is a dance you lead from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo.
Note the commanding and confident lane positioning.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle culture, bicycle safety, bicycle video, cycling

Posted 02 March 2010 § advocacy § ecology ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged: , , , ,

Rail Dreams

From Planetizen comes word that 88 percent of Americans want high-speed rail. Sounds like good news to me. But the numbers may be a bit suspect as they come from a survey conducted by HNTB Corporation. HNTB, based in Kansas City, would be just the outfit to design, build, and maintain such infrastructure.
Now, just because [...]

Posted 28 February 2010 § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (11) ° Tagged:

Big Wheel Keep On Turnin’

So, I looked at the temperature this morning — 29. I said to my daughter: “Walk or ride?” She chose ride! Excellent. That’s progress.

Technorati Tags: bicycle culture, cycling

Posted 26 February 2010 § ecology ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: ,

A Walking Winter

Carbon Trace is also supposed to be about walking, but I don’t spend much time writing about it. Perhaps I need to change that. The last few weeks have given me much to think about because the weather has kept me on foot.
I’m prepared to ride my bicycle no matter what the temperature is. My [...]

Posted 25 February 2010 § ecology ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged: , ,

HB 1250 Hearing Is Today

The transportation committee hearing for HB 1250 is today in Jefferson City. I was unable to change my schedule, so I won’t be testifying. I did, however, send Rep. Sara Lampe my thoughts on the bill, including links to everything I’ve written so far on Carbon Trace.
Click here for my reasons for opposing this bill.
I [...]

Posted 23 February 2010 § advocacy § news § policy ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged: , , , ,

HB 1250 Must Be Stopped

HB1250 — the bill that would require cars to pass bicyclists by no less than 3 feet — is scheduled for a hearing in Jefferson City on Tuesday. I am not sure I can make it to testify, but I’m going to try. I will, however, be contacting my Senator and Representative to make sure [...]

Posted 19 February 2010 § advocacy § news § policy ‡ Comments (20) ° Tagged: , , ,

Influence Pedaling

I’m in Jefferson City today taking part in MoBikeFed’s annual lobbying effort. There are several issues of interest before the legislature this years, including:

The continued fight for a Complete Streets resolution.
Supporting the Tour of Missouri.
A Safe Routes the School program.
A safe-passing law.
Include bicycles in the back-to-school tax holiday.
Establish annual proclamations for bicycling events.

Of these, I [...]

Posted 16 February 2010 § advocacy § news § policy ‡ Comments (13) ° Tagged: ,