We’ve re-designed and upgraded the former Drive Less, Live More booklet. It’s now called Bike Smart Springfield (note that the paper edition has a different cover). Click that link, and take a look. You’ll also find it linked on the Carbon Trace sidebar.

Be sure to visit the Let’s Go Smart website.

Also check out the Let’s Go Smart page on Facebook.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle culture, Springfield Missouri, sustainability, transportation

Walking home yesterday — all of 3/4 mile — I saw five separate incidents of people being silly on the streets. Upon seeing the first one, I thought: Oh, good blog post! Then the silliness just kept coming to the point where I thought: Oh, different blog post! And the silliness continued this morning — the last incident being a guy who tried to squeeze me at a stop sign and then ran the sign.

So here’s my upshot: Cars and bicycles, as media that allow us to write and interpret a text called the street, are separated by massive differences but share at least one uncomfortable trait: both moving machines encourage humans to understand convenience as a primary value of writing the text of the street. Within this similarity in an important difference — perhaps only of scale.

Author Robert Pirsig once wrote that riding in a car was “just more TV” because one experiences the world through a screen. Indeed, one is separated from the world by the screen in a way similar to the separation TV creates. This situation encourages people to understand other street users as objects.

The bicycle has no screen. One of its greatest strengths as a mode of transportation, however, is also a problem: Bicycles are fun to ride and encourage us to move, and keep moving, based on the sheer joy of ease of movement and maneuverability. How can this be bad? Well, just hang out for a few minutes at the 4-way stop at Hammons and Cherry. (There are actually people who argue that stopping at stop signs is difficult because — and this is just a head-scratcher  – getting moving again is somehow inefficient and difficult.)

Both sources of bad behavior are equally self-righteous, and, therefore, utterly galling.

Among the silly incidents I saw yesterday was the near collision of a bicycle and a car at National and Grand in which both parties were displaying, in the particular ways of their given media, a self-righteous disregard for other road users.

We have a cultural problem on our streets that finds its expression in the media of bicycles and cars: lack of courtesy, civility, care — take your pick. To the extent that these qualities are lacking in the driver (of any vehicle and for whatever reason) is the extent that our streets are sites of fear and danger instead of a commons where we all benefit from our collective investment.

Now you’re ready to listen to my recent interview on KSMU. I used my grumpy voice.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle culture, bicycle safety, car culture, crazy drivers, cycling, pedestrian safety, traffic law, transportation, walking

The proposed reflective vest bill (HB 1937) solves no problem that exists on Missouri’s state highways. Bicyclists are not suffering deaths or injuries comparable to people in cars.

Perhaps we ought to require all cars to be painted day-glo and use headlights whenever the motor is running. And perhaps car drivers ought to honk at each curve and hill. Oh, and stiff fines (percentage of annual salary) for breaking traffic regulations. How about tax incentives for not driving? Why does no safety-conscious legislator suggest any of this?

(Literacy alert: That’s a (snarky) rhetorical question.)

Here’s a video I made yesterday that illustrates the power of lane position. I had not intended to use this video in this particular post — it’s a Sunday afternoon ride, so traffic is not heavy. But you’ll get the idea. The roads involved are Seminole and Fremont. The travel lane widths in most areas are not sharable (< 14 feet). Two things to note: 1) My position throughout this video is in the middle of the right tire track to the middle of the road. At no time am I closer to the road edge than 4 feet, and 2) You’ll see a motorcyclist buzz me (2:45). He is being an asshole (note that there was no on-coming traffic). I did not feel unsafe because he saw me; he did it on purpose. A driver who sees you is unlikely to hit you — even if they are being a jerk.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle politics, bicycle safety, cycling, traffic law, transportation

Apparently, yes. This is partly a case of attempting to criminalize speech for political purposes.

Although it also appears apparent that you’ll “win” even if the worst should happen.

What’s the law in Missouri?

Practice as professional engineer defined–use of titles, restrictions.

327.181. 1. Any person practices in Missouri as a professional engineer who renders or offers to render or holds himself or herself out as willing or able to render any service or creative work, the adequate performance of which requires engineering education, training, and experience in the application of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences to such services or creative work as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning and design of engineering works and systems, engineering teaching of advanced engineering subjects or courses related thereto, engineering surveys, the coordination of services furnished by structural, civil, mechanical and electrical engineers and other consultants as they relate to engineering work and the inspection of construction for the purpose of compliance with drawings and specifications, any of which embraces such service or work either public or private, in connection with any utilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment, processes, work systems or projects and including such architectural work as is incidental to the practice of engineering; or who uses the title “professional engineer” or “consulting engineer” or the word “engineer” alone or preceded by any word indicating or implying that such person is or holds himself or herself out to be a professional engineer, or who shall use any word or words, letters, figures, degrees, titles or other description indicating or implying that such person is a professional engineer or is willing or able to practice engineering.

2. Notwithstanding any provision of subsection 1 of this section, any person using the word “engineer”, “engineers”, or “engineering”, alone or preceded by any word, or in combination with any words, may do so without being subject to disciplinary action by the board so long as such use is reflective of that person’s profession or vocation and is clearly not indicating or implying that such person is holding himself or herself out as being a professional engineer or is willing or able to practice engineering as defined in this section.

Unauthorized practice prohibited, persons excepted.

327.191. No person shall practice as a professional engineer in Missouri, as defined in section 327.181 unless and until there is issued to such person a professional license or a certificate of authority certifying that such person has been duly licensed as a professional engineer or authorized to practice engineering in Missouri, and unless such license or certificate has been renewed as provided in section 327.261; provided that section 327.181 shall not be construed to prevent the practice of engineering by the following persons:

(1) Any person who is an employee of a person holding a currently valid license as a professional engineer or who is an employee of a person holding a currently valid certificate of authority pursuant to this chapter, and who performs professional engineering work under the direction and continuing supervision of and is checked by one holding a currently valid license as a professional engineer pursuant to this chapter;

(2) Any person who is a regular full-time employee of a person or any former employee under contract to a person, who performs professional engineering work for such employer if and only if all such work and service so performed is done solely in connection with a facility owned or wholly operated by the employer and occupied or maintained by the employer of the employee performing such work or service;

(3) Any person engaged in engineering who is a full-time, regular employee of a person engaged in manufacturing operations and which engineering so performed by such person relates to the manufacture, sale or installation of the products of such person;

(4) Any holder of a currently valid license or certificate of authority as an architect who performs only such engineering work as is incidental and necessary to the completion of architectural work lawfully being performed by such architect;

(5) Any person or corporation who is offering, but not performing or rendering, professional engineering services if the person or corporation is licensed to practice professional engineering in the state or country of residence or principal place of business.

Don’t you just love legal language

I think it is entirely possible someone with a bug up his/her ass could file a complaint about me. I hold the super important and prestigious title of chairman of the engineering committee for the STAR Team of Ozark Greenways — I insisted on Grand Pubah, but no one listened I once submitted a drawing of a proposed bicycle corral (that — GADZOOKS! — included actual measurements) to a local merchant so that merchant could make an argument to the city and local downtown civic groups for building such a thing. I have absolutely no qualifications as an engineer as reinforced by my life-long aversion to anything having to do with math.

What protects me: The bike/ped community and the City of Springfield (especially the planning and engineering people) have a good working relationship built on mutual respect.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle infrastructure, bicycle politics, cycling, transportation, Transportation Planning, Urban Planning

Something to note: You are NOT watching “hardened” cyclists or “road warriors” or “adrenaline junkies” who brave the dangers of traffic. Bicycling in traffic is safe (compared to a lot of other dangerous things you do everyday). Those concepts are used to sustain fear. You are watching people driving their bicycles and enjoying it.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle culture, bicycle education, bicycle safety, cycling, traffic, transportation