The Revolution will not be Motorized.

AniMaUx

According to the proposed law, if a vehicle could not pass with a 3 foot margin of collision, the motorist must slow to at least 15 mph.  It’s this detail that persuaded Jerry the bill needed further consideration.  Jerry was convinced by the CHP the law would cause rear-end collisions or create a long line of traffic behind cyclists. [ "F" the long lines of traffic.]

Back to battle for the advocates.  Cyclists have a perfectly good law to take to task: California’s vehicle code gives cyclists the right to “take the lane” when bike paths don’t exist.   So be it.

It business as usual: take the lane. We’ll teach patience.  FYI: current vehicle code requires that motorists pass cyclists at a safe distance.  Personally I wasn’t  a fan of the bill; it would have given cyclists the option to be passive.  You can’t be passive out there;  we need to teach cyclists to take control when there’s no bikes lanes.  It’s what we’ve always done; not because we’re elitist, but because we’re concerned for our safety.

Jerry’s Veto letter:

To members of the California State Senate:

The intent of this bill is to improve bicycle safety, a goal I wholeheartedly support.

This bill changes the longstanding law for how motor vehicles should pass a bicycle travelling in the same direction. Current law requires drivers to pass at a safe distance; this Bill would specify that the distance must be at least 3 feet or at a speed not exceeding 15mph.

This bill offers some needed and clear improvements to the law such as specifying a minimum buffer of 3 feet. However, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol have raised legitimate concerns about other provisions such as the 15mph requirement. On streets with speed limits of 35 or 40mph, slowing to 15pmph to pass a bicycle could cause rear end collisions. On other roads, a bicycle may travel at or near 15mph creating a long line of cars behind the cyclist.

I encourage the author, proponents, and opponents to send me a bill next year that solves these problems.

I am returning Senate Bill 910 without my signature.

Sincerely,

Edmund G. Brown Jr.

World Expo 2010 was hosted in Shanghai China:  an event designed to explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century. Fifty-five percent of the world’s population lives in cities/urban environments. The prospect of future urban life, a subject of global interest, concerns all nations, developed or less developed, and their people. Being the first World Exposition on the theme of city, Exposition 2010 attracted governments and people from across the world, focusing on the theme “Better City, Better Life.” For its 184 days, participants displayed urban civilization to the full extent, exchange their experiences of urban development, disseminate advanced notions on cities and explore new approaches to human habitat, lifestyle and working conditions in the new century. They will learn how to create an eco-friendly society and maintain the sustainable development of human beings.
(above text: http://en.expo2010.cn/a/20081116/000004.htm)

The Danish pavilion not only exhibits Danish virtues, through interaction, the visitors are also exposed to some of Copenhagen’s best attractions;  the city bike, the harbor bath, playgrounds and picnics – representing common, day to day life in Denmark .

Sustainable Danish Pavilion Design for Expo 2010 by Bjarke Ingels Group

Los Angeles closes a number of streets so crowds of riders can pedal their bikes around the city free of car traffic.

For more information visit the CicLAvia Wedsite.

photo: http://angiesmith.photoshelter.com/

Side Hack Music Machine

Not a single Freddie took me up on the invitation to be a part of this epic bike/music event.  The kids and I packed the bikes, drove to the west side and joined in the event.  The ride started at Media Park in Culver City on Venice Blvd.

TheFmly.com‘s monthly ride was an experience to be remembered! About 200 riders on all sorts of bicycles essentially took control of the city streets from Culver City, through West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Century City and Santa Monica.  At each intersection, 4 to 6 riders would stop and hold traffic back so when the light turned red all the riders could pass through safely.  There was near total acceptance of the riders by Los Angeles motorists on a busy Saturday nite; it was absolutely amazing!    Everyone honked in appreciation, rolled their windows down and cheered!  The route mostly passed on busy main streets: Venice, Fairfax, Beverly Blvd, Santa Monica Blvd, Olympic.  Absolutely Amazing!  2 pop-up music venues and the last stop was a place for everyone to chilax, munch some treats and visit.  The air was thick all evening with the sweet scent of cannabis.

The ride departed at 8:30 and arrived at the final spot at 1:30am.  Not even a single cop was ever to be seen. Amazing!!  The ride covered about 25 miles.

Apparently, Critical Mass rides in Los Angeles have had their effect on motorists; they realize how to share the road and enjoy a parade.

There are more people riding bikes than ever. Yet half of all U.S. trips are three miles or less, and more than 90 percent are made by car. The National Bike Summit has improved bicycle-friendliness and livability in many communities, but the need and opportunity to improve physical activity, safety and livability in the U.S., while reducing congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on oil – remains greater today than a decade ago.

These issues seem difficult to solve but the answer is simple. The answer is the bicycle. Now is the time to ask Congress to make strategic transportation investments that foster healthy people and healthy communities. Join us March 8-10 in Washington, D.C. to act on a simple solution – the bicycle.

Visit the Bike Summit website at the League of American Cyclists.

BlahBlahFreddie believes bicycle advocacy should be concerned primarily about promoting safety and not the advocacy of ideals related to “improving physical activity” or “reducing congestion & greenhouse gas emissions” or even “dependence on oil” – these are topics that get opponents fired up to fight back.  Advocacy that relates its cause and success to local economic improvements tends to make potential opponents stop and listen.  Anecdotal evidence is available regarding economic benefit to the local economy when bicycling safety improves; cyclists tend to visit local businesses in greater numbers.  The city of Portland, Oregon has numbers to support these claims.

The overall impact in the reduction of green house gases, reducing congestion and dependence on oil are so very slight in the short term, relative to total numbers, that opponents are compelled to argue against expenditures for advocacy programs since the benefits, relative to overall measures, are very slight and difficult to quantify.  Any conversation regarding “improvements to health” should be avoided altogether;  opponents who embrace a general conservative philosophy fight hard against “social engineering.”  Nothing gets people more fired up to battle against a cause than when they think your idealism rails against their lifestyle.  It’s practically tantamount to being anti-American.

BlahBlahFreddie’s position on bicycle advocacy: It’s all about the safety stupid.

It turned out that five dollars was inside, along with a noted, signed by “Anonymous,” thanking him for his “very courageous effort bringing cleaner air to Toronto.”

Polarbear used the money to buy two lottery tickets.

This is a feel good story if I ever read one!

Hope Mr. PolarBear won some extra cash with those lottery tickets.

s.o.c.k.s !!

An Excerpt: Outside of this city—and many places inside the city—it’s still very risky to ride a bike. Cyclists remain afterthoughts in the planning process. Parents don’t dream of letting their kids ride on the street. A lot of adults are too scared to even try.

This is why Tim Johnson is riding into New York this weekend. Johnson, 33, is an unfamiliar name to most sports fans, but to hardcore cyclists, he’s something of a cult hero, a six-time U.S. champion of cyclocross, a muddy racing genre that’s an exhilarating mix between mountain biking and skinny-tire stuff found in the Tour de France.

Saturday night, Johnson and a group of other cyclists are riding into the city amid a 550-mile trip between Boston and Washington D.C, where the National Bike Summit occurs next week. The ride is designed to raise awareness and funds for Bikes Belong, an organization that seeks to make roadways safer and get more people on bikes.

Read the full article at the WSJ.