View Full Version : Inspirational clip on bike advocacy/direction
I just watched this clip from John Burke (trek bikes) listed below. Inspirational, mostly stuff we already know, but a well presented overview of current and future directions of the bicycle industry, world health, resource dispersion, and fuel for bicycle advocacy/inclusion as only feasible solution.
John Burke: the al gore of the bike trade? this is in www.youtube.com
i'm sorry i am not able to make direct link to this presentation, but it was easy to find in even a general search!
Curiouswill
03-31-07, 10:03 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfRiFylmiS0
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfGTppMYSYo
(Sorry, I'm deaf so I cannot tell what the contents is so I cannot tell which one you may means but here is a direct link to a possible one of the 2)
P.S. Next to the clip, below the description is a space listed with URL and Embed. you wanna copy the URL space.
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfRiFylmiS0"]
thanks! this is the one to go to above! thx!!
More butts on bikes, so we can sell more bikes and become very, very rich.
So what, it has been going on since the late 1970s.
Trek and the other big bike companies make great bikes, but they are less than honest about their promotion of more butts on bikes (for money). What national safety programs that really help cyclist such as Hawaii's BikeEd (http://www.hbl.org/bikeEd_general.html) program have they put in place?
As dishonest as Al Gore, so the comparison was appropriate.
sbhikes
03-31-07, 05:52 PM
Wow. So in 3 years, Louisville KY put in 127 miles of bike paths and in that time, bike boarding on city buses rose from 9000 units to 91,000 units. Real statistics for the doubters that facilities don't create more cycling.
And in 1991 governments in the US spent 20 milion on bicycle facilities. Bicycle businesses went to lobby them to do more but they thought that was crazy. Now governments are spending 800 million in the US to build new bicycle trails because they see the wisdom in supporting cycling to solve traffic and health problems. 100 million on safe routes to school alone. They know that a supportive cycling environment will create more cyclists, relieve traffic congestion and alleviate obesity and health issues caused by inactivity. They know it works because they've analyzed the global statistics.
With all this money the bicycle business understands now that to grow the bicycle business they should become bicycle advocates. Goes rather against John Forester's belief that cycling does nothing for economic growth, doesn't it? Goes against his pessimism that cycling will never be done by more than a tiny niche, so why bother building cycling friendly communities, doesn't it?
Thanks for sharing this with us.
When I was a kid, we were able to ride to school just fine without any special lines and funny little painted guys. Then the fear mongers started in on how dangerous the streets were, so schools all over started discouraging cycling to school and flat out banning it. Now when there is a small increase from that low point, some folks are jumping up and down saying, see, see the paint works.
Now many of these folks cannot ride without a painted little funny man; how sad.
Interesting how they industry spends 10 cents on advocacy for every 100 dollars made.
oilfreeandhappy
04-01-07, 12:05 AM
The obesity statistics are nothing less than a horror picture. Good video though. The one I watched had some voice over audio problems.
Dahon.Steve
04-01-07, 08:20 AM
When I was a kid, we were able to ride to school just fine without any special lines and funny little painted guys. Then the fear mongers started in on how dangerous the streets were, so schools all over started discouraging cycling to school and flat out banning it. Now when there is a small increase from that low point, some folks are jumping up and down saying, see, see the paint works.
Now many of these folks cannot ride without a painted little funny man; how sad.
Good one.
Today, if you ride your bicycle to school, you're considered poor by most standards. The kids in the high school I went to are driving new cars by their senior year. It's going to take lots of those painted little funny men on the street to get people out of their cars so be it.
Dahon.Steve
04-01-07, 08:23 AM
I think Trek is on the right path with their "Lime" bicycles but the price still has to go lower. It has to drop to the price of a department store bike or it will have little effect on the industry. In fact, Trek may have to take a loss because the type of customers their looking to convert consider $89.00 dollars a lot of money for a bicycle. If I'm not correct, the Lime bike will cost three times that much and it lacks fenders!
Paths increase recreational riding and an extremely small amount of transportation cycling. I do not believe that most of the increased cycling is from painting bike lanes. Hawaii’s increase in transportation road cycling is more from increased road congestion and Hawaii's BikeEd (http://www.hbl.org/bikeEd_general.html). When I returned to cycle commutting, it was due to road congestion, not paint.
sbhikes
04-01-07, 03:58 PM
I still can't get over people thinking less than $100 is a lot for a bicycle. My first 10-speed bicycle cost more than that in 1976.
slagjumper
04-01-07, 07:27 PM
When I was a kid, we were able to ride to school just fine without any special lines and funny little painted guys. Then the fear mongers started in on how dangerous the streets were, so schools all over started discouraging cycling to school and flat out banning it. Now when there is a small increase from that low point, some folks are jumping up and down saying, see, see the paint works.
Now many of these folks cannot ride without a painted little funny man; how sad.
Could it also be that it is more dangerous since you where a kid? The number of cars on the road increased by 109 million in the past 47 years. Even since 1974 the number of drivers has increased 50 million.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_vehicles_in_the_United_States
Since 1960 in the US has risen by 157 million (212.16%), while the population of licensed drivers grew by 109 million (125.28%).
Could it also be that it is more dangerous since you where a kid? The number of cars on the road increased by 109 million in the past 47 years. Even since 1974 the number of drivers has increased 50 million.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_vehicles_in_the_United_States
Since 1960 in the US has risen by 157 million (212.16%), while the population of licensed drivers grew by 109 million (125.28%).
NO, traffic in the suburbs is pretty much the same as it was then. That is why some here are whining "urban sprawl". So why is there so much fear mongering that the roads (including to schools) are not safe.
If you are commuting from the burb into town, yes more crowded there, but the school kids are not making that commute. So no impact there.
slagjumper
04-01-07, 09:57 PM
NO, traffic in the suburbs is pretty much the same as it was then. That is why some here are whining "urban sprawl". So why is there so much fear mongering that the roads (including to schools) are not safe.
If you are commuting from the burb into town, yes more crowded there, but the school kids are not making that commute. So no impact there.
More likely to die in the suburbs of car accident than in the city of random violence and car accidents combined. You pays your nickel and you takes your choice. Who is fear mongering here? But I do agree that there are many weak minded school managers who just dismiss biking to school, out of hand. They might be afraid of law suits, but I know of no law suits brought against school boards because someone had an accident going to school while riding their bike.
Not sure that "painted little funny man" would change school officials ideas about biking to school.
slagjumper
04-01-07, 10:39 PM
The suburbs are dependent on cars. Why can't more suburban locations develop or require bike and ped facilities? I'd venture to say that most suburban kids actually ride buses to school, because it is too far and dangerous to walk on streets with no sidewalks where motorists are not even expecting peds and bikes.
I think that voters care less for kids now that the baby boom is over.
Proof?
In my suburban area traffic has increased dramatically as the bedroom communities have kept expanding and expanding and many surface streets are now chock full of commute traffic.
So in the suburb you live in, you have a significant increase in the number of people living in the same homes between your house and the school? Or did they rezone your suburb for a high rise mid-block?
From my home to the school, there are exactly the same homes and traffic level as when I moved in 1985. That is the nature of cul-de-sac communities.
The suburbs are dependent on cars. Why can't more suburban locations develop or require bike and ped facilities? I'd venture to say that most suburban kids actually ride buses to school, because it is too far and dangerous to walk on streets with no sidewalks where motorists are not even expecting peds and bikes.
I think that voters care less for kids now that the baby boom is over.
I am in favor of all streets having sidewalks (and my area does have them). I am also in favor of shortcut paths (and my area does have one to the school that overpasses the main highway out). The cyclist here in this burb had that bikelanes removed that the county put in without asking us first.
slagjumper
04-01-07, 10:43 PM
So in the suburb you live in, you have a significant increase in the number of people living in the same homes between your house and the school? Or did they rezone your suburb for a high rise mid-block?
From my home to the school, there are exactly the same homes and traffic level as when I moved in 1985. That is the nature of cul-de-sac communities.
How far to the school? Surely in most areas you'd have to pass intersections other than cul-de-sac roads. I cant see some poor cul-de-sac owner getting stuck with a cul-de-sac that has a school at the other end.
Most of these suburban locations would require leaving the safety of the cul-de-sac and venturing to the more heavily used roads, where new cul-de-sacs would add to the traffic concerns.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=high+schools&near=Roswell,+Ga.+30075&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=13&ll=34.040854,-84.385986&spn=0.105546,0.181274&om=1
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=School&near=Maui&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=14&ll=20.83892,-156.332445&spn=0.057274,0.090637&om=1
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=high+schools&near=Roswell,+Ga.+30075&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=13&ll=34.040854,-84.385986&spn=0.105546,0.181274&om=1
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=high+schools&near=Columbia,+Md.+21045&layer=t&ie=UTF8&z=14&om=1
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=high+schools&near=Columbia,+Md.+21045&layer=t&ie=UTF8&z=14&om=1
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=high+schools&near=Columbia,+Md.+21045&layer=t&ie=UTF8&z=14&om=1
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=824412
Enlarge and move right from the last point and you will see the highway overpass path.
slagjumper, you really like Baltimore; 3 links to it. What are you trying to tell us.
I still can't get over people thinking less than $100 is a lot for a bicycle. My first 10-speed bicycle cost more than that in 1976.
Mine was before 1976, and it still cost more than $100 (Raleigh Grand Prix). It came from a LBS (Don's Bicycle, Coralville Iowa).
The expectations have been unrealistically set by the flood of *-mart crap made by peasants in China; full suspension MTB's for $68.88? That's a rant for a whole different thread - and it's certainly not a problem that's limited to bicycles (ask the folks at Stanley how well they compete with the 99 cent pliers and $2 hammers from wally world).
I think it'll take quite an effort to reset expectations of what a quality bicycle should cost - even if it's made by the very same peasants.
chipcom
04-02-07, 06:22 AM
Paths increase recreational riding and an extremely small amount of transportation cycling. I do not believe that most of the increased cycling is from painting bike lanes. Hawaii’s increase in transportation road cycling is more from increased road congestion and Hawaii's BikeEd (http://www.hbl.org/bikeEd_general.html). When I returned to cycle commutting, it was due to road congestion, not paint.
CB, I lived on Oahu for 3 years...the cycling environment wasn't anything to write home about - hardly a shining example for the rest of the world. How often do you ride the LikeLike, or the Pali, or Ala Moana Blvd, how about Kalakuaua in Waikiki? How about around up to the North Shore?
You also don't have a freakin clue, outside of your own little area, how much bike paths have increased transportational cycling anyplace else...so perhaps you should frame your claims in terms of Oahu, which sure as heck isn't the rest of the country. Geeze, you're starting to sound like a zealot yourself lately...something I never considered you to be.
sbhikes
04-02-07, 08:19 AM
Why does anybody care what some island-locked random guy has to say about it? Corporate presidents have analyzed the statistics and considered where to throw their millions of dollars. I think I'll follow the smarts and the money here. 127 miles of paths, 3 years, and 1000 percent increase in cycling. Can the anti-cyclist VCers produce better evidence their scheme has worked so well?
Good stuff to know! Thanks for the link! :)
CB, I lived on Oahu for 3 years...the cycling environment wasn't anything to write home about - hardly a shining example for the rest of the world. How often do you ride the LikeLike, or the Pali, or Ala Moana Blvd, how about Kalakuaua in Waikiki? How about around up to the North Shore?
You also don't have a freakin clue, outside of your own little area, how much bike paths have increased transportational cycling anyplace else...so perhaps you should frame your claims in terms of Oahu, which sure as heck isn't the rest of the country. Geeze, you're starting to sound like a zealot yourself lately...something I never considered you to be.
I guess you expect everyone with an opposing view to yours, to post credentials first.
Since I am retired Military as well, I have lived and ridden in quite a few places as well (as stated in some discussions we have had before). I have ridden in CO, CA, CT, MD, VA, FL, ID, NE, OR, WA, Washington DC, HI, Japan. So not quite the limited experience some want to box me into. Ala Mouana Blvd., Nimitz Hwy, Kam Hwy are included in my daily commute. North shore is my recreational riding playground. I have done some group rides on Pali and Likelike, but not so much anymore. I rarely have need to go into Waikiki (tourist trap), so I rarely ride there unless going to ITB or some function, but Kalakuaua is actually a pretty easy ride since it has so much traffic that the normal speed now is 15 mph (you can pick any of the 4 lanes to ride in).
I have never claimed Hawaii is a cycling Mecca (other than the climate and some nice single track). Honolulu and Hawaii state are probably some of the worst in the country for putting in dangerous bike lanes (some on Nimitz Hwy are only 2 feet wide, others are in door zones and some that funnel cyclist into intersection pedestrian island curbs).
They were building paths in Washington DC while I was there. The before and after levels of commuting were about the same. The weekend recreational riding shot up. The big factor in bike commuting to the Pentagon was parking, not bike paths. Few cities have the room to build paths within the urban area. Suburb paths are built for recreational riders, not commuters. If a new path happens to service some commuters, I think that is great (the Pearl Harbor Bike Path is a nice 3 mile change of pace during my 20 mile one way commute). All the VC’ers I know have no problem with the construction of SAFE paths (some just note the high cost for few commuters). Many of us even push our governments to build some paths. Safe shortcut paths to schools (and other areas) are great.
My point is that even if the through roads, we adults commute on, are getting very crowded; many of the roads the kids ride to school on have not changed that much in suburb communities and even in some city areas. The suburb roads I rode to school on in the 1960s in CO have not changed. Same homes, same schools and the same road with about the same suburb traffic. The through roads to Denver have much more traffic, but school kids did not ride those roads to school in 1960 and they do not ride them today. So why have kids stopped riding to school? Are they just lazy, is it the fear mongering, is it the soccer moms that can not let the little tikes out of their view? At least some of our kids and kids in ILTB’s area are still riding to school. In my little burb, it is not because of bike lanes, since we have no bike lanes in the burb.
Nope. As suburbs have continued to expand eastward however, the level of traffic has increased as those newcomers use streets that pass through my town, and others, to commute to work.
I am waiting for your proof that traffic has increased on the quite residential streets rather than the through streets. I think our money is better spent on BikeEd than on traffic level studies in the burbs.
As suburbs have continued to expand eastward however, the level of traffic has increased as those newcomers use streets that pass through my town, and others, to commute to work.
You did not say that in post #27?
Maybe there is some confussion, as often occurs with discussions over several post and responses to several people. Appoligies for any misunderstandings on my part.
Your statement "traffic in the suburbs on the quiet residential streets rather thatn the through streets is pretty much the same as it was then" is a fair one. But did you not get the same jist in my post "My point is that even if the through roads, we adults commute on, are getting very crowded; many of the roads the kids ride to school on have not changed that much in suburb communities and even in some city areas."
fat_bike_nut
04-02-07, 03:49 PM
CB HI, in some cases, cul-de-sacs might be good in your view. However, I don't think they're so hot. I have an uncle whose house is located in a cul-de-sac. According to the map, it's located here (the GOOGLE image is pre-construction):
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=renton%20WA%2098056&btnG=Google+Search&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wl
According to the Washington State Bicycle Map, this is what I am supposed to look forward to when I move in with him (see bottom left corner the of the map):
http://www.metrokc.gov/kcdot/roads/bike/maps/8.pdf
Yeah, cul-de-sacs are great, except when they're located right off of the most dangerous streets for a bike rider :rolleyes:
Edit: Nevermind, I can't seem to get the GOOGLE Maps program to be working right :(
I think that depends a great deal on the layout of each city. If my kid rode to the local elementary school (which is approximately one mile away) in our suburban city he would have to deal with two roads (arterials) that have seen a dramatic increase in traffic since "the old days."
I agree, that is why I included the words "many of the roads the kids ride to school on".
CB HI, in some cases, cul-de-sacs might be good in your view. However, I don't think they're so hot. I have an uncle whose house is located in a cul-de-sac. According to the map, it's located here (the GOOGLE image is pre-construction):
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=renton%20WA%2098056&btnG=Google+Search&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wl
According to the Washington State Bicycle Map, this is what I am supposed to look forward to when I move in with him (see bottom left corner the of the map):
http://www.metrokc.gov/kcdot/roads/bike/maps/8.pdf
Yeah, cul-de-sacs are great, except when they're located right off of the most dangerous streets for a bike rider :rolleyes:
Edit: Nevermind, I can't seem to get the GOOGLE Maps program to be working right :(
I think I get your point. I am assuming the problem is the wooded area between many of the homes and the school. Looks like a great place for a shortcut path, which most VC'ers would support if it were safely designed, built and maintained. Renton is a nice residential area as I recall it.
chipcom
04-02-07, 06:49 PM
I guess you expect everyone with an opposing view to yours, to post credentials first.
Since I am retired Military as well, I have lived and ridden in quite a few places as well (as stated in some discussions we have had before). I have ridden in CO, CA, CT, MD, VA, FL, ID, NE, OR, WA, Washington DC, HI, Japan. So not quite the limited experience some want to box me into. Ala Mouana Blvd., Nimitz Hwy, Kam Hwy are included in my daily commute. North shore is my recreational riding playground. I have done some group rides on Pali and Likelike, but not so much anymore. I rarely have need to go into Waikiki (tourist trap), so I rarely ride there unless going to ITB or some function, but Kalakuaua is actually a pretty easy ride since it has so much traffic that the normal speed now is 15 mph (you can pick any of the 4 lanes to ride in).
I have never claimed Hawaii is a cycling Mecca (other than the climate and some nice single track). Honolulu and Hawaii state are probably some of the worst in the country for putting in dangerous bike lanes (some on Nimitz Hwy are only 2 feet wide, others are in door zones and some that funnel cyclist into intersection pedestrian island curbs).
They were building paths in Washington DC while I was there. The before and after levels of commuting were about the same. The weekend recreational riding shot up. The big factor in bike commuting to the Pentagon was parking, not bike paths. Few cities have the room to build paths within the urban area. Suburb paths are built for recreational riders, not commuters. If a new path happens to service some commuters, I think that is great (the Pearl Harbor Bike Path is a nice 3 mile change of pace during my 20 mile one way commute). All the VC’ers I know have no problem with the construction of SAFE paths (some just note the high cost for few commuters). Many of use even push our governments to build some paths. Safe shortcut paths to schools (and other areas) are great.
My point is that even if the through roads, we adults commute on, are getting very crowded; many of the roads the kids ride to school on have not changed that much in suburb communities and even in some city areas. The suburb roads I rode to school on in the 1960s in CO have not changed. Same homes, same schools and the same road with about the same suburb traffic. The through roads to Denver have much more traffic, but school kids did not ride those roads to school in 1960 and they do not ride them today. So why have kids stopped riding to school? Are they just lazy, is it the fear mongering, is it the soccer moms that can not let the little tikes out of their view? At least some of our kids and kids in ILTB’s area are still riding to school. In my little burb, it is not because of bike lanes, since we have no bike lanes in the burb.
My aplologies for the tone of my post...I was in a foul mood at work this morning and took it out on you. With snow coming later this week I kinda miss K-Bay. :(
I really don't think anyone expects paths all over the place...but they are useful as part of an overall system that includes roads and off-road facilities. I see a lot of people using the three major MUPs in the area as part of their commute route and I've seen a lot more commuters over the last two years. We're lucky here - there is no organized push to get us off the roads just because of the off-road facilities.
The bigger problem IS the soccer moms and the schools, at least in the suburban parts of the mainland. When I was a kid we all rode to school and the biggest problem was theft...today the mom's think it's too dangerous and the schools either don't even provide bike racks...sometimes they outright ban riding to school - these are the same schools that don't let kids play out on the playgrounds, let alone buy playground equipment, cut sports or make them 'pay as you go' and don't even require PhysEd in many cases.
I can understand why the Moms think it's too dangerous...they all drive and hate it. IMO the only way cycling will ever be taken seriously as a form of transportation will be the same way a good sports program is built...start em young and bring the moms around to support it, rather than oppose it. We were going in that direction when we were kids...I really can't put my finger on a date or period when that started going the other direction....but I figure it was our generation that did it. :(
sbhikes
04-02-07, 08:25 PM
CB HI thinks traffic has not changed much in the residential areas? That's crazy. It's way different than it was back when the roads I rode on were lined with orchards and the worst thing you had to worry about was the farmer with the shotgun who might catch you cutting through his orchard.
Chipcom, sorry about the bad morning at work. I agree with your post completely. Depending on the area, I believe the change occurred in the late 80's or early 90's. The change had already occurred in Washington DC when I was there in 1989. I some parts of Hawaii, it occurred in the early 90's. In my town, many kids are still riding. But you are right, it was folks in our generation that caused the change. Very sad.:(
I did some work at Sunset Beach Elementary School last month, no bike racks but several of the kids, some parents and one teacher rode to school. The kids and parents just laid their bikes on the ground around the administration building. road on the way to the school (as you may have read in another post).
A ride to K-Bay and back home is a century ride for me. Second best ride on the island. The best ride is repeated climbs up to Kolekole Pass and back down to the Schofield Cemetery to pay my respects - nice quite road (except when the sweet sound of weapons fire is in the air), nice wooded areas, and some real climbing.
Here is to your service and a more pleasant week :beer:
Diane,
Please go back and reread my post.
Clearly, if you were riding through farmland to school when you grew up and that land has since been developed, that does not fit into my discussion of riding in already established suburbs in the 1960's in CO and 1980's in my current suburb, in comparison with conditions today.
Now, were the planners in the area you grew up in, so stupid that they built homes, schools and roads in such a way that it is not possible for kids to ride their bikes to school? Some modern planners have done exactly that. Very sad.:( And the VC’ers like JF have and still do fight against this stupidity.
slagjumper
04-03-07, 09:12 PM
slagjumper, you really like Baltimore; 3 links to it. What are you trying to tell us.
I found a site with the "Best Affordable Suburbs 2006" (http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/11/1116_suburbs/index_01.htm). I must have neglected to push the "Link to the Page" and so kept getting the same url. Anyway it looks like a challange to bike these most affordable suburbs. There are more at the business week link above. It looks like biking would be fine untill you had to go on the connector and secondary streets.
These are links to maps of some of the most affordable suburbs, with schools plotted. Even in flat and warm NM, I've not found much discussion of biking to school.
Albuquerque Sandia Heights NM 87122 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Sandia+Heights+NM+87122&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=13&ll=35.147705,-106.54335&spn=0.061759,0.1157&om=1)
Atlanta Roswell Ga 30075 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Roswell+Ga+30075&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1)
Baltimore Columbia Md 21045 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Columbia+Md+21045&layer=&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=13)
Boston Sharon Mass 02067 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Sharon+Mass+02067&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=11&om=1)
Charlotte Matthews NC 28105 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Matthews+NC+28105&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1)
Chicago Lake Zurich Ill 60047 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Lake+Zurich+Ill+60047&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1)
Cincinnati Evendale Ohio 45241 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Evendale+Ohio+45241&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1)
Dallas Flower Mound/Lewisville Tex 75028 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Flower+Mound/Lewisville+Tex+75028&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=13&om=1)
Denver Castle Rock Colo 80104 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Flower+Mound/Lewisville+Tex+75028&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=13&om=1)
Fort Lauderdale Weston Fla 33326 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Weston+Fla+33326&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1)
Houston Sugarland Tex 77479 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=77479&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1)
Indianapolis Noblesville Ind 46060 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Noblesville+Ind+46060&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=11&om=1)
While it might be difficult to make a qualatative assertion about traffic levels in a particular area, it is pretty clear that there are more people living in suburban locations and some of the older established suburbs have grown. While developers struggle to make housing affordable, it is easy to neglect expensive, common sense features like well designed and implimented bike paths.
sbhikes
04-04-07, 08:29 AM
While developers struggle...
Developers struggle? Seems like they're all having a big giant party if you ask me. They only make "affordable" housing if they have to, and only after they've held some choice wildlife refuge for ransom first.
The bigger problem IS the soccer moms and the schools, at least in the suburban parts of the mainland. When I was a kid we all rode to school and the biggest problem was theft...today the mom's think it's too dangerous and the schools either don't even provide bike racks...sometimes they outright ban riding to school - these are the same schools that don't let kids play out on the playgrounds, let alone buy playground equipment, cut sports or make them 'pay as you go' and don't even require PhysEd in many cases.
Absolutely!
I live in a quiet neighborhood with wide streets and sidewalks. The local K-8 school is located just across the street from the entrance to our neighborhood, and there's a traffic signal with a working pedestrian cross-walk button that allows for easy and safe crossing of the arterial.
And yet, I regularly see soccer moms in SUV's driving their kids half a mile to school!!! It's maddening...
I used to ride my bike to school (roughly a mile) under nearly identical conditions back in the '60's and early '70's. Other than fear and laziness, there's just no good reason why those kids shouldn't be walking or riding bikes to school.
I found a site with the "Best Affordable Suburbs 2006" (http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/11/1116_suburbs/index_01.htm). I must have neglected to push the "Link to the Page" and so kept getting the same url. Anyway it looks like a challange to bike these most affordable suburbs. There are more at the business week link above. It looks like biking would be fine untill you had to go on the connector and secondary streets.
These are links to maps of some of the most affordable suburbs, with schools plotted. Even in flat and warm NM, I've not found much discussion of biking to school.
Albuquerque Sandia Heights NM 87122 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Sandia+Heights+NM+87122&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=13&ll=35.147705,-106.54335&spn=0.061759,0.1157&om=1)
Atlanta Roswell Ga 30075 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Roswell+Ga+30075&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1)
Baltimore Columbia Md 21045 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Columbia+Md+21045&layer=&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=13)
Boston Sharon Mass 02067 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Sharon+Mass+02067&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=11&om=1)
Charlotte Matthews NC 28105 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Matthews+NC+28105&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1)
Chicago Lake Zurich Ill 60047 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Lake+Zurich+Ill+60047&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1)
Cincinnati Evendale Ohio 45241 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Evendale+Ohio+45241&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1)
Dallas Flower Mound/Lewisville Tex 75028 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Flower+Mound/Lewisville+Tex+75028&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=13&om=1)
Denver Castle Rock Colo 80104 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Flower+Mound/Lewisville+Tex+75028&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=13&om=1)
Fort Lauderdale Weston Fla 33326 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Weston+Fla+33326&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1)
Houston Sugarland Tex 77479 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=77479&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1)
Indianapolis Noblesville Ind 46060 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=middle+school&near=Noblesville+Ind+46060&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=11&om=1)
While it might be difficult to make a qualatative assertion about traffic levels in a particular area, it is pretty clear that there are more people living in suburban locations and some of the older established suburbs have grown. While developers struggle to make housing affordable, it is easy to neglect expensive, common sense features like well designed and implimented bike paths.
Your link for Castle Rock, CO brings up Texas.
My position on Bike Paths, is that they generally should not be needed to get from suburb homes to the schools except as short cut throughs or to get over some physical barrier (natural or manmade).
Growing up in CO, we did not have any bike paths and the routes to school were fine. That area does now have a bike path, but it does not go to the schools I attended, so it would not have been of use then or now for getting from my home to the 3 different elementary and middle schools serving that part of the suburb.
The elementary school my kids went to in HI does not have a path between my home and the school, yet it is a nice bike ride. There is a path that passes over a gulch and the highway out of town. The path is a shortcut connecting the school to the area on the other side of the gulch. That path is maybe 200 yards long. The builder was required to put it in when constructing the area homes.
For the suburbs you listed, I am familiar with two of them, Castle Rock, CO and Columbia, MD.
Castle Rock is a fast growing area and is now much larger than the town I knew growing up. At random, I picked a middle school http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=833432
The aerial photo shows a suburb community still under construction. The middle school for the suburb is set in its own area on the main access road (marked by the blue box). I do not know how much traffic that road has during rush hour, but when the photo was taken, the traffic was extremely light. Either way, it really does not matter - if you zoom in, you will see bike paths from both directions leading to the school. There is even a recreational bike path near the school. At the school, you can see a pretty large parking lot (even though it is only a middle school - so the kids don’t drive). Look even closer, there is no bike rack or bikes. So this builder was required to put in Bike Paths, but the school did not even put in a bike rack. A very sad situation.
As to Columbia, MD, I lived there for 3 months while looking for a place to rent or buy in the Washington DC area. Columbia was the primary place I was house hunting. All of the houses I looked at, had easy cycling routes to the schools my kids would have attended. Some of the suburbs in VA did have a couple of sections that would have been difficult for kids to ride to school, but those situations would have been simple to fix.
... Other than fear and laziness, there's just no good reason why those kids shouldn't be walking or riding bikes to school.
I am assuming that you are not saying fear and laziness are good reasons.;)
vBulletin® v3.7.3, Copyright ©2000-2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.