Advocacy & Safety - getting bike lanes in community

talked to one of the counties free holders about why there are no bike lanes and how to go about getting some and wanted to talk to you about it. this is my idea on how to get the towns on board...

1. talk to local bike shops and see if they have a cycling club. get the clubs info contact the club leader, club contact, to see if they would be on board with it.
2. get clubs together from local bike shops at a park or place for a ride/meeting to discuss bike lanes.
3. come up with a plan, maybe a representative(s) to go to town/county meetings to present info.
4. see what happens.

what do you think? suggestions?

First and foremost get political! Encourage cyclists to contribute to a Mayor's or County Exec's campaign. $50 is usually enough to get their attention and helping out with phone banking and canvasing goes a long way as well. Sometimes inviting a politician to a bike ride (as part of their campaign) can work as well.

Once you have a key politician's attention work on getting a comprehensive bike master plan developed. If this is allowed to be developed on the cheep or if the only focus is bike lanes, most likely it's going to stink. Hiring a professional consultant to help oversee the plan is critical.

I am not interested in bike lanes per se, but in the safe accommodation of bicyclists and pedestrians on our public roads. Sometimes lowering the speed limit or calming an intersection and inviting bicyclists to integrate themselves into the main traffic stream will be by far the best course of action. The place I do appreciate a properly engineered bike lane is on a high-speed prime arterial, or between a through lane and a right-turn-only lane.

I am not interested in bike lanes per se, but in the safe accommodation of bicyclists and pedestrians on our public roads. Sometimes lowering the speed limit or calming an intersection and inviting bicyclists to integrate themselves into the main traffic stream will be by far the best course of action. The place I do appreciate a properly engineered bike lane is on a high-speed prime arterial, or between a through lane and a right-turn-only lane.

First of all, you have to differentiate between cylists...

The lycra type prefers the freedom of the open road while the commuting type prefers the safety of bike lanes. So we must accomodate both, and you make very good points...

This is what I propose (if the budget is tight):

1- FOR THE LYCRA AND COMMUTING TYPE: 20mph speed limit on right lane of multi-lane roads... enforced by speed cameras.

2- FOR THE PUBLIC AT LARGE: building of bicycle infrastructure for leasure. This would introduce the public to biking.

I say "if the budget is tight" because if we had all the money that, say, goes into the Iraqi occupation, we could use the Dutch or Danish model.

I wouldn't worry though about getting the bicycle clubs to agree on something and influence the politicians. I would turn to "the people," and explain to them that they would be better off riding a bike. Then they can either vote for the right candidate --or join the revolution... :D

http://atom.smasher.org/streetparty/?l1=Coming+Soon%3A&l2=the&l3=Banana+Revolution%21&l4=

First of all, you have to differentiate between cylists...

The lycra type prefers the freedom of the open road while the commuting type prefers the safety of bike lanes. So we must accomodate both, and you make very good points...

This is what I propose (if the budget is tight):

1- FOR THE LYCRA AND COMMUTING TYPE: 20mph speed limit on right lane of multi-lane roads... enforced by speed cameras.

2- FOR THE PUBLIC AT LARGE: building of bicycle infrastructure for leasure. This would introduce the public to biking.

I say "if the budget is tight" because if we had all the money that, say, goes into the Iraqi occupation, we could use the Dutch or Danish model.

I wouldn't worry though about getting the bicycle clubs to agree on something and influence the politicians. I would turn to "the people," and explain to them that they would be better off riding a bike. Then they can either vote for the right candidate --or join the revolution... :D

http://atom.smasher.org/streetparty/?l1=Coming+Soon%3A&l2=the&l3=Banana+Revolution%21&l4=

These are all pretty bad ideas. 20 mph speed limit, what are you nuts? I'm a commuter cyclist, and there's no way I want a speed limit like that, nor do I want bike lanes. The road is posted 45 and there are times when I can go the speed limit, why on earth should I create a greater danger by being limited to less than half of the prevailing speed?

All I need is educated, aware drivers, educated, aware cyclists, and a well-maintained road. Blue stripes give a false sense of security and will end up in greater, rather than fewer, injuries.

These are all pretty bad ideas. 20 mph speed limit, what are you nuts? I'm a commuter cyclist, and there's no way I want a speed limit like that, nor do I want bike lanes. The road is posted 45 and there are times when I can go the speed limit, why on earth should I create a greater danger by being limited to less than half of the prevailing speed?

All I need is educated, aware drivers, educated, aware cyclists, and a well-maintained road. Blue stripes give a false sense of security and will end up in greater, rather than fewer, injuries.

Only if you don't stand them... The speed limit is for the cars, not for the bikes. This idea is explained here...

OK, let's assume the revolution (by and for cyclists) gets voted into
office (or gains rights by other means), WHAT WOULD THE ROAD
BE LIKE FOR CYCLISTS?

Like the article VELORUTION says, not all vehicles are equal... The
smaller, the more protection they need; the bigger, the more
responsibility. On urban multi-lane roads, the right lane has a set
speed of 20mph, monitored by speed cameras. Bikes ride the lane. Do
they get tickets for running red lights? Nah, they hurt no one but
themselves.

In other words, predators will be in the cage, and prey will be free
once again.


But you are telling me that you are a commuting cyclist who can go 45mph??? Man, you are ready for the Tour de France!!! :rolleyes:

I pretty much agree with the last part. Who will implement it though?

...
But you are telling me that you are a commuting cyclist who can go 45mph??? ...

Ever ride downhill? You are either completely ignorant or much worse.

First of all, you have to differentiate between cylists...

The lycra type prefers the freedom of the open road while the commuting type prefers the safety of bike lanes.

Huh?

To the OP...first you have to avoid over-generalizing based on suspect facts, as this feller did.

Ever ride downhill? You are either completely ignorant or much worse.

Much worse: I live in Florida where's no downhills... :rolleyes:

Huh?

To the OP...first you have to avoid over-generalizing based on suspect facts, as this feller did.

It's only a classification to make you understand that some cyclists don't want bike facilities on the road. It sounded stupid to me for a long time until I realized that fact.

If you ride wild and fast, you obviouly don't want the safety of a bike lane to hold back. Hey, for that matter, you may not even care for more cyclists on the road.

It's only a classification to make you understand that some cyclists don't want bike facilities on the road. It sounded stupid to me for a long time until I realized that fact.

If you ride wild and fast, you obviouly don't want the safety of a bike lane to hold back. Hey, for that matter, you may not even care for more cyclists on the road.

Huh? Dude you are making no sense. Making a bunch of false assumptions based on your own limited world view is not the way to advance a cause or influence public policy. Quit trying to project your own wacky theories as if they are some widely held wisdom, m'kay?

OP: As you can see, opinions vary on bike lanes, and you are likely to find that sort of variation among cycling clubs and shops, too. So maybe approaching them will help, maybe not.

Somewhat more likely is a group that focuses specifically on advocacy, such as a local bicycle coalition, or bicycle/pedestrian citizens' committee. If there is not one, maybe you can help to create one (through those local clubs, shops, etc.)

FWIW, I'm a commuter who doesn't feel the need for bike lanes. Rather than categorizing by road cyclists or commuters, a more accurate categorization might be less experienced and more experienced riders, or hardy confident riders and hesitant less active riders. Some infrastructure manuals classify riders as beginner/youth/senior citizen versus experienced adult.

I regularly go 40-43 on my return commute. UP a steep hill at 9 mph to work, down the hill a 40 mph home.

". Do
they get tickets for running red lights? Nah, they hurt no one but
themselves."

B.S.^^^^^ Somebody didn't think this one through did they? What if you run into a scooter, another bike, or a car crashes into another car, bike, ped to avoid you?

I would start by asking questions rather than beginning with the conclusion of bike lanes and asking others to support them. What do various groups want? What has been attempted? Who rides where? What are the best routes to and through the various towns? Who are the movers in cycling advocacy groups? What stake do bike club leaders have? Which town transportation are active riders? Which council members? Mayors? Are any politicians running on a green platform? Where have there been bike v motor vehicle accidents in the last ten years or so? What are school attitudes towards riding? Do any local businesses participate in bike to work week or otherwise get involved?

Even if you don't get anywhere with this, you get to talk to bunches of interesting people.

I would start by asking questions rather than beginning with the conclusion of bike lanes and asking others to support them. What do various groups want? What has been attempted? Who rides where? What are the best routes to and through the various towns? Who are the movers in cycling advocacy groups? What stake do bike club leaders have? Which town transportation are active riders? Which council members? Mayors? Are any politicians running on a green platform? Where have there been bike v motor vehicle accidents in the last ten years or so? What are school attitudes towards riding? Do any local businesses participate in bike to work week or otherwise get involved?

Even if you don't get anywhere with this, you get to talk to bunches of interesting people.

Now those are all great ideas! Reminds me of a chat I had with a guy in this town who wants to get the town to spend a ton of money building bike paths. Bike paths! Cut me a break. Let's start with some facilities, like maybe a bike rack or two so when you ride to town you actually have a place to park your bike. He's a recreational cyclist. I'm a utility cyclist. Way different priorities, so it's a good idea to talk to the other guys on the street.