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Tag Archives: bicycle politics

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 † Andy Cline § advocacy § business § ecology § policy ‡ Comments (0) ° Also 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 † Andy Cline § advocacy § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (1) ° Also 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 † Andy Cline § advocacy § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (2) ° Also 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 † Andy Cline § advocacy § news § policy ‡ Comments (3) ° Also 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 † Andy Cline § advocacy § news § policy ‡ Comments (20) ° Also 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 † Andy Cline § advocacy § news § policy ‡ Comments (13) ° Also tagged:

LAB and the Future of Bicycling

Mighk Wilson, of Bicycling Is Better, has decided not to renew his membership to the League of American Bicyclists. He’s a guy with a lot of serious bicycling cred. So when he says the following, I’m inclined to listen:
I don’t want this to be seen as a League-bashing exercise.  I’ve been wondering if I should [...]

Posted 15 February 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle safety § ecology ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged: , , , , , , ,

CIP Tax Up for Renewal in June

The News-Leader reports today on the renewal of the capital improvement projects tax — a 1/4-cent sales tax that will expire in September. The vote is set for June.
This is the money that has paid, and will continue to pay, for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in Springfield — a small portion of the $26 million [...]

Posted 10 February 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § ecology § policy ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: ,

What MO Citizens Want

The Missouri Transportation Alliance has been studying what sorts of MoDOT policies citizens will support. Click here for a report on the findings by Brent Hugh of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation:
The good points from our point of view:

MoTA is recognizing that people want to be able to have the choice to bicycle, walk, and [...]

Posted 09 February 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § ecology § policy ‡ Comments (7) ° Also tagged: , , , ,

Risk and Rewards

Charles Pelkey’s bicycle safety article in the VeloNews makes this claim:
Getting a precise breakdown of the actual risks per mile is a bit more difficult, but a rough analysis of 2005 fatalities would suggest that riders are between three and 10 times more likely to die per mile traveled than are drivers.
Sounds scary.
I prefer my [...]

Posted 28 January 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle safety § ecology ‡ Comments (4) ° Also tagged: , , , , ,

Getting Serious

Getting involved in bicycle (and active transportation) advocacy is serious business. How do you discover/plan the right course of action to encourage people to get out of the cars once in a while?
Like many other bicycle advocates, I have approached this question programmatically, i.e. identify a problem or opportunity and then dream up a program [...]

Posted 12 January 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § ecology § policy ‡ Comments (4) ° Also tagged: , , , , , , ,

Naples Denied, Won’t Re-Apply

In case you missed it, I’m reporting from Florida until school starts. I’m in Naples and will be visiting Orlando. Tomorrow (Sunday) I’m planning to ride much of the downtown area to get a feel for the zeitgeist of Naples. I’ll post photos, video, and comments soon (unclear because my internet connection here is ratty).
The [...]

Posted 02 January 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § news § policy ‡ Comments (7) ° Also tagged: , , , , ,

Springfield Advocacy News

The STAR Team meeting this week hosted two guest speakers.
Springfield City Manager Greg Burris brought his “listening tour” to the meeting. He’s been meeting with civic groups to get a picture of how citizens envision the future of Springfield. He said he hopes to meet with 40 to 50 groups during the tour.
He began the [...]

Posted 18 December 2009 † Andy Cline § advocacy § news § policy ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged: ,

Bad Driving

An interesting report from the UK has this to say about the cause of bicycle crashes with cars resulting in injury and death:
With adult cyclists, police found the driver solely responsible in about 60%-75% of all cases, and riders solely at fault 17%-25% of the time.
The cyclists’ lobby group CTC said the report showed that [...]

Posted 15 December 2009 † Andy Cline § bicycle safety § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (5) ° Also tagged: , , ,

Hugh Responds to Concerns About HB1250

Members of the STAR Team of Ozark Greenways received the following e-mail yesterday (published here with permission) from Brent Hugh, executive director of the Missouri Bicycle Federation, regarding the HB 1250. Hugh had originally alerted us to the bill. His message is in response to our inquiries and comments.
I wasn’t very precise in my wording.
The [...]

Posted 08 December 2009 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle safety § news § policy ‡ Comments (3) ° Also tagged: , , ,