With the news that the government has failed to produce an energy/climate bill, it appears we the people are on our own once again. If we are to break our addiction to oil and mitigate the damage we are doing to our environment, then as individuals and families we are going to have to make the kinds of choices that may help us prosper as oil runs out and the earth’s climate changes.

Once again, the bicycle is a wondrous invention that can help.

(Actually, the whole “on our own” thing doesn’t really work. In a democratic republic such as ours, the government is us. We don’t have a climate/energy bill in large part because we failed to demand it.)

It is clear to me, even without hard data, that more people in Springfield are riding bicycles for all kinds of reasons. My hope is that new riders come to learn these things quickly:

1. Springfield’s urban core is a great place to ride a bicycle.
2. Riding a bicycle is safe, fun, convenient, healthy, and economical .
3. Using a bicycle as basic transportation here is very easy if one is not stuck in some hell-and-gone, car-centric, sprawling suburb.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle culture, bicycle politics, cycling, green transportation, sustainability

Waaaaaaaa?

But then I read this essay by Keri Caffrey, of Commute Orlando, and it began to make a bit of sense:

The root cause of the problems for bicycling in the U.S. is the oppressive belief system about who the roads are for. We have car-culture amnesia about our public road system and who is entitled to use it. Enforcers of the culture of speed have used intimidation and fearmongering to subjugate the drivers of human-powered vehicles. The result is that most bicyclists ride in ways that increase their risk, leading to a spiral of increasing fear…

Be sure to read her description of the spiral of fear.

Two things to consider:

1. Cars pass bicyclists closer on roads with bicycle lanes.
2. Bicycle lanes and tracks play a role in increasing bicycle crashes.

I’d never had much experience with bicycle lanes before moving to Springfield.  My first experience with them was fine it seemed. But I became unsettled, which led to this examination of our local system.

Since that time I’ve had the opportunity to ride on lanes and tracks in other places — mostly in Florida — and at least observe lanes in many other places. My view of bicycle lanes has become ever dimmer largely because I’ve become ever more analytical about my riding experience and the behaviors of other road users. Plus I have a healthy respect for my own safety on the road.

I do not feel safe in a bicycle lane because, in fact, I am not as safe as being an integrated part of traffic.

I think our Springfield plan is a much better way to go. The CIP money will be paying for route signs — a numbering system similar to the interstate highways —  on the current bicycle route system. And sharrows will be painted on the system, which will clearly indicate to all road users that bicyclists are a normal part of traffic.

Next, the city is starting work on The Link – a connector system of traffic-calmed roads that will connect current and future greenways. Our greenways represent an excellent form of bicycle infrastructure something like what we’ve seen in the compelling videos of David Hembrow (although we still have much to learn from the Dutch example).

I believe these projects represent real progress for bicyclists in Springfield and will serve as an example for other communities in the United States.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle culture, bicycle infrastructure, bicycle politics, bicycle safety, bicycle trails, cycling, traffic design, Transportation Planning, Urban Planning

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle culture, cycling

OK, I get it that this is an attempt at whimsy. But ya gotta wonder about an ad agency that sooooo misunderstands the intended audience. It is not the case that women are going to find getting dirty on a bicycle cute. It is not the case that people are going to choose bicycles over cars if riding bicycles makes their lives more difficult.

This image is also counter-factual. One does not have to get dirty or wet riding a bicycle in work clothes. Just check out any photograph at Copenhagen Cycle Chic. If one rides a proper bicycle (i.e. with a chain guard and fenders) one is not likely to suffer the indignity pictured above — an indignity that absolutely will keep average people — average women — from commuting on a bicycle.

You want women riding bicycles to work? Show them this photo:

(Published by permission of Copenhagen Cycle Chic)

What the offending image represents is designers getting a little too cute while understanding a bit too little about the kinds of things that make people not want to ride bicycles.

Thankfully there’s plenty of time before the 2011 Bike to Work Week to kill this idea and dream up something useful.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle commuting, bicycle culture, bicycle equipment, commuting, cycling

Any Carbon Trace readers in Springfield want to get together on this? Gimme a shout.

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