Posts from — June 2007

The Star-Trib reports that Hennepin County is dropping a plan for a bike-ped bridge over the Mississippi River for the Midtown Greenway.

I can’t say I disagree. Of all the bicycle/pedestrian transit initiatives to spend $10-12 million on, I’m not overwhelmed by the need for this bridge. I think the completion of the Grand Round parkway system is more interesting, or since we are talking Hennepin County, doing something about the Old Cedar Avenue bridge.

The proposed bridge location can’t be more than a half mile from the Lake Street Bridge. I know some people are going to say that’s a mile out of their way (in each direction for some trips). But it’s a MILE. This isn’t like the Old Cedar Avenue bridge problem, where it creates a fairly significant reroute need.

I realize that when getting grants, you can’t just apply one set of federal funds to random other projects. However, I think you need to look closely at even which projects you’re asking to fund. For $10 million, this was something of a dud.

This weekend, while riding on a county road with a 4-foot shoulder, I was called a ‘hippy,’ along with a number of words unsuitable for family consumption, by a dude in a large SUV-like vehicle.

The chief point of his out-the-window rant was that as a ‘hippy’ on a bicycle, I had no right to use the roads, and I am not a proper tax-paying citizen of this fine state or nation.

Beyond the simple fact that I was in a 4-foot shoulder, and thus really not in anyone’s way to start with even were I NOT legally entitled to road use, the economic argument against bicycle road use is perhaps the one I dislike most.

Myth: Cyclists do not contribute to road upkeep and maintenance.
Fact: Only part of the funding for road construction and maintenance comes from vehicle taxes and gas taxes. Much of the rest comes from state and federal general funding. Anyone who pays income taxes contributes.

Myth: We build trails so bikes don’t have to be on the road.
Fact: Trails are built for many reasons, including pedestrian and recreational use. In many cases, those trails are really rotten as options to do anything non-recreational, as they do not connect shopping hubs, employment hubs, and residential hubs.

Myth: Only people who can’t afford a car bicycle commute.
Fact: Don’t underestimate the incomes of some of those spandex-clad warriors or those who bicycle commute as a lifestyle choice, either — beyond looking at their incomes, their equipment isn’t always especially cheap, and does carry sales tax at purchase. Some studies suggest that cycle commuters have higher educational attainment than the median.

Plus, even if someone is on a bicycle because they can’t afford a car (or gas), that bicycle is their means to work and contribute economically, and should be encouraged.

Myth: All bicyclists are hippies.
Fact: I showered twice yesterday.

When stuck in a debate with some of the people espousing these views, none of the above work as arguments. At such moments, I like to point out that Gatorade is an American product, and that by buying $3/gallon gas, they’re enriching the Middle East, and the terrorists, and don’t they love FREEDOM?!? Heh.

New Jersey has passed legislation that will effectively ban the sale of every commercially-made bike of reasonable quality, according to Bicycle Retailer magazine:

Under the bill, it would be illegal to sell bicycles with quick release wheels unless they met performance specifications that are not commercially available. Assembly bill A2686, which was introduced in February 2006, passed in the assembly with a vote of 77-3 and is now headed to the Senate Commerce Committee.

It is to be hoped the Commerce Committee shows some sense. Quick release levers aren’t dangerous. All it takes is a brief pre-ride safety check to ensure that they’re closed and tight every time. I suspect that even if the Committee continue down the path of dumb, this can be overturned via lawsuit quickly.

There have been a number of letters to the editor at the Rochester Post-Bulletin on the subject of bicyclists using the roads versus staying on trails.

Various letter writers have rehashed all the usual issues: Tax dollars used to pay for trails, bikers who don’t follow rules, same road-same rights, build more bike lanes/separate facilities, etc.

Blessedly, one of the columnists actually wrote a fair piece on everyone trying to get along.

I do think he really low-balls training speeds, though:

And I agree with the hard-core distance bicyclists who say it isn’t practical for them to train on Rochester’s bike paths or the Douglas Trail. That’s just asking for trouble. These paths are wonderful community assets, but they’re not reserved exclusively for people on bikes. On any given day you might see plodding runners like me, families with toddlers just learning to walk, senior citizens exercising their dogs, in-line skaters, or people in suits out for a stroll during a break from work.

These paths are about as safe and practical for a serious bicyclist (who trains at a 10-12 mile per hour pace) as it would be for a NASCAR driver to practice with the horses at Canterbury Downs.

Serious bicyclists training at 10-12mph? Keep in mind that 10mph is the ’speed limit’ on City of Minneapolis bike paths. I suppose 10-12 mph is a pretty good training pace going up some hills, but it’d be a near-certain death in even a Cat5 citizen crit. I think of 10-12 mph as a good speed for an ice cream run with an occasional cyclist.

However, at least the columnist is supportive. Seems like more than a lot of the letter-writers and commenters can manage.

Beware: Tonight is the first Great Googly Moogly of the season.

I, myself, am looking forward to a DQ cone with sprinkles if the wind dies off a bit…

(note: to get to the Gateway Trail after the first turn on Randolph, one needs to go LEFT on Arlington. Doh.)