Bracelets for Bike Lanes?

Jay Lustgarten said:

...
He may as well have launched a band for the millions of Americans
who--like me--can't go out and enjoy a bicycle ride around the
neighborhood. His remains an elitist sport, not something kids in
America can enjoy to school. Perhaps a model for cancer patients, but
not for the average kid, who needs BIKE LANES to go to school safely.
That band remains to be launched... 😉...

See <http://www.johnforester.com/>.

--
Tom Sherman - Earth (Downstate Illinois, North of Forgottonia)

donquijote1954 said the following on 20/3/2005 9:35:

Quoted message said:

'"The Lance Armstrong Foundation and Nike are raising funds for
youth-cancer support groups, research, and education by selling $1
yellow rubber bracelets etched with the phrase 'LIVE STRONG,'" Michelle
Milford, spokesperson for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, said in an
e-mail interview.'
http://www.winchesterstar.com/TheWi.../Life_bands.asp

Giordano (a regional clothing chain here in Asia, apparently HQd in
HongKong and comparable to Benetton) had an ad in yesterday's Straits
Times with multi-coloured bands much alike to the Livestrong bands
carrying inscriptions of 'peace', 'love', etc. Have not seen the bands
in th actual stored, so I can't positively say whether they were just
used for the ad or they are actually selling them.

Quoted message said:

He may as well have launched a band for the millions of Americans
who--like me--can't go out and enjoy a bicycle ride around the
neighborhood. His remains an elitist sport, not something kids in
America can enjoy to school. Perhaps a model for cancer patients, but
not for the average kid, who needs BIKE LANES to go to school safely.
That band remains to be launched... 😉

what do bike lanes have to do with anything? it is laisyness that needs to be
cured. no use having bike lanes if everyone is a couch potato. we need potato
slow lanes (G)

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes
Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices
See http://www.knight-toolworks.com For prices and ordering instructions.

Steve Knight said:

Quoted message said:

He may as well have launched a band for the millions of Americans
who--like me--can't go out and enjoy a bicycle ride around the
neighborhood. His remains an elitist sport, not something kids in
America can enjoy to school. Perhaps a model for cancer patients,

but

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

not for the average kid, who needs BIKE LANES to go to school

safely.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

That band remains to be launched... 😉

what do bike lanes have to do with anything? it is laisyness that

needs to be

Quoted message said:

cured. no use having bike lanes if everyone is a couch potato. we

need potato

Quoted message said:

slow lanes (G)

Obviously it got to do with SAFETY. Would you push an 11 year old child
with a bike into the mean streets of America? Sounds to me like
throwing a sardine into a tank full of sharks.

On a bike
The National Safe Kids Campaign [in Sweden] offers the following tips
to help ensure that your child will reach school safely by bike:

-Don't let your child ride a bike to school until she or he is at least
ten years old.
-Check local laws that might allow children to ride bikes on the
sidewalk.
-Take a trial ride with your child to help find the safest route"for
example, streets with a bike lane or few streets to cross.
-Review the rules of the road with your child. Bicyclists are required
to follow the same rules as motor vehicles.
-Let your child know that bike privileges will be taken away if he
doesn't wear"and properly fasten"his helmet. It's also a good idea
to do sporadic checks to make sure that the helmet fits properly.

http://www.swedish.org/16706.cfm

'One particularly delightful feature of life in Davis is observing the
morning and afternoon "rush hours" on the greenbelt paths, as groups of
children travel to and from school on bikes, skateboards and scooters.'

Not all is black in America. Maybe only 99%. Well, the 1% such as this
city could serve as model for the rest...

Cycling in Bike-Friendly Davis
By Paul Dorn

Last December I relocated to Davis, a small city 15 miles west of
Sacramento, home to the University of California, Davis. Part of the
attraction was the greater availability and affordability of housing.
But an additional factor in my move was Davis' well-deserved reputation
as the most bike-friendly community in the US. In the 1960s Davis was
the first city in the country to paint bike lanes on a street, and it
has continued to pioneer innovative bike planning ever since.

Bicycling in Davis is, simply put, great. Streets with minimal traffic,
bike lanes and traffic calming. Bike-only light cycles at major
intersections. A university campus closed to vehicle traffic. Miles of
empty country roads just outside town. Abundant bike parking
everywhere. Great transit--Amtrak, Greyhound, the county-wide Yolobus,
and the UC Davis-run citywide service Unitrans--that facilitate a
car-free lifestyle. A city government that proactively (imagine!)
encourages cycling, going so far as to feature an 1890s style
high-wheeler (also known as an "ordinary," "penny-farthing" or
"scorcher"😉 as the city symbol.

One prominent recent example of Davis' commitment to cycling is the
newly dedicated Putah Creek Bike Path, which opened in October 2000.
Built over 18 months at a cost of $4.5 million, the 12-foot wide Putah
Creek path crosses under Interstate 80, helping cyclists avoid a busy
traffic interchange. The project was financed by $750,000 in
Proposition 116 funds, $250,000 in development impact fees, and $3.5
million in redevelopment agency funds. Imagine if San Francisco's city
government were as serious about enhancing bike and pedestrian safety
with the nightmarish Interstate 280-Cesar Chavez intersection.

The Putah Creek Bike Path is the newest section in the city's network
of multi-use paths, which extends for more than 50 miles in dedicated
right-of-ways with grade separations (bridges and underpasses) to
minimize traffic interaction. This extensive path network complements
another 50-odd miles of bike lanes on shared roadways. One particularly
delightful feature of life in Davis is observing the morning and
afternoon "rush hours" on the greenbelt paths, as groups of children
travel to and from school on bikes, skateboards and scooters.

http://www.runmuki.com/paul/writing/davis.html

donquijote1954 said:

...
On a bike
The National Safe Kids Campaign [in Sweden] offers the following tips
to help ensure that your child will reach school safely by bike:
...
-Let your child know that bike privileges will be taken away if he
doesn't wear"and properly fasten"his helmet. It's also a good idea
to do sporadic checks to make sure that the helmet fits properly.

Just what we need, a cross-posted h*lm*t flame war! 😉

--
Tom Sherman - Earth (Downstate Illinois, North of Forgottonia)

Tom Sherman said:

donquijote1954 said:

...
On a bike
The National Safe Kids Campaign [in Sweden] offers the following

tips

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

to help ensure that your child will reach school safely by bike:
...
-Let your child know that bike privileges will be taken away if he
doesn't wear"and properly fasten"his helmet. It's also a good idea
to do sporadic checks to make sure that the helmet fits properly.

Just what we need, a cross-posted h*lm*t flame war! 😉

Not to worry. Flame wars are about the safest wars around and can only
bring some light--and hopefully some action--into the issue. It's like
bringing these planners to ride bike lanes...

Planners Pedal In Bike Lanes
By Eric Holeman
You know the feeling. It comes when you're riding along on a bike
lane filled with gravel (or glass), that seems to tilt at a 45 degree
angle between the curb and the car lanes. Or when you approach a bridge
to find that it has just enough room for one car lane or worse, just
enough room for two car lanes, enabling traffic to race by you as you
hope your twinkling VistaLite will be heeded as a warning to avoid,
rather than serving as a blinking "Hit Me" sign.

It's the feeling that tells you in this post-Boub age exactly who the
intended users of the road are, and it seems everything you see tells
you that it ain't you.

But according to Nick Jackson, the age of roads designed solely with
cars in mind has passed.

Jackson coordinates a new bike tour program for CDOT employees that's
designed to let transportation planners experience the cyclist's
perspective-by actually getting them out on the roads on a bicycle.
"The basic idea is to get the people who are designing the roads out
there riding a bicycle on city streets." said Jackson, who works for
the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation on the city's Streets for Cycling
program at the Chicago Department of Transportation.

Jackson says that the tours have two purposes. "First, to show them
that bike lanes work. Second, to get them to think about bike lanes in
their design work."

http://www.biketraffic.org/biketraffic/BT0102/

donquijote1954 said:

Obviously it got to do with SAFETY. Would you push an 11 year old

child

Quoted message said:

with a bike into the mean streets of America? Sounds to me like
throwing a sardine into a tank full of sharks.

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but when I was about nine or so I
started riding a bike to school just about every day, as long as it
wasn't snowy or raining. And yes, this was on the "mean streets" of
America. I wasn't kidnapped or hit by a car, either.

If you're paranoid about your kid getting hit by a car, is a bicycle
lane really going to keep you from worrying? I think bicycle lanes are
a nice amenity, but hardly a requirement to prevent accidents. Proper
riding instruction, the use of hand signals, and always wearing a
helmet will go a lot further to keep a bicyclist safe.

-Bill H.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Tom Sherman said:

Just what we need, a cross-posted h*lm*t flame war! 😉

I guess it's a way to get even for the Jesus/abortion thing.

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

For those who don't see--or don't want to see--the light...

Ride a bicycle whenever possible. As we all learned in elementary
school, cycling is THE most efficient method of transportation!

[Notice it says TRANSPORTATION, not the means for WHO GOT THE BEST TOY
in the block.]

The Most Efficient Engine
Would you be in favor of a diverse transportation system capable of
providing increased mobility to the majority of the world's people with
minimum environmental impact and small investment demands? What is it,
you ask, this efficient, inexpensive, and rehumanizing system? Why,
human power, of course!

(snip)

In the U.S., bicycles are most often thought of as toys; only about one
in forty is used regularly for commuting. Yet the majority of car
commutes are the most inefficient possible use of an automobile. More
than half of all commutes in the U. S. and more than three-quarters in
the U. K. are less than eight kilometers (about five miles). This is a
reasonable cycling distance; it is also the range in which
internal-combustion engines get the poorest mileage and emit the most
pollution.

Besides placing drastically less stress on our environment, human power
also benefits the engine - the human body! The advantages of regular,
sustained exercise are already well documented, and bicycling is a
low-impact form of exercise as well. Studies have shown that workers
who commute by bicycle are happier, more alert and more productive than
average. Traffic stress from automobile commuting, on the other hand,
has been shown by a University of California study to raise blood
pressure, lower frustration tolerance, promote negative moods, and lead
to aggressive driving. Human power is clearly a healthier choice!

(snip)

Fundamental changes in current transportation policies at all levels of
government will greatly aid progress in these areas. Planning and
design in all areas and scales needs to take into account the true cost
of automobile transportation and the benefits of reducing it - a
natural outcome of increased emphasis on human power! Local grassroots
bicycle advisory councils are needed (and are emerging everywhere) to
guide planners and politicians out of the dark and smoggy ages of the
urban auto kingdom and into the new, human-friendly world of cleaner
air, smaller quieter streets, and more HPVs.

James McGurn, author and cyclist, has this to say: "The bicycle is the
vehicle of a new mentality. It quietly challenges a system of values
which condones dependency, wastage, inequality of mobility and daily
carnage...there is every reason why cycling should be helped to enjoy
another golden age." Think about it. The list of benefits for both
individuals and societies is almost as long as the backup at your local
intersection during rush hour.

http://bikeforpeace.org

Bill H. said:

donquijote1954 said:

Obviously it got to do with SAFETY. Would you push an 11 year old

child

Quoted message said:

with a bike into the mean streets of America? Sounds to me like
throwing a sardine into a tank full of sharks.

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but when I was about nine or so

I

Quoted message said:

started riding a bike to school just about every day, as long as it
wasn't snowy or raining. And yes, this was on the "mean streets" of
America. I wasn't kidnapped or hit by a car, either.

If you're paranoid about your kid getting hit by a car, is a bicycle
lane really going to keep you from worrying? I think bicycle lanes

are

Quoted message said:

a nice amenity, but hardly a requirement to prevent accidents.

Proper

Quoted message said:

riding instruction, the use of hand signals, and always wearing a
helmet will go a lot further to keep a bicyclist safe.

-Bill H.

Maybe the streets are meaner now. Would you let your kid ride to school
along a busy street? For one, that would take a lot of faith in the
soccer mom engaged in a very lively chat on the cellular, which,
chances are, wasn't around when you were a boy.

I ride almost every day - over 2000 miles so far in 2005. Yes, I'm
fortunate enough to live in Southern California, where riding is a
year-round possibility. Yes, I have some bike trails I can ride, and I
probably have accumulated 25% - 30% of my miles on those trails.

Yes, there certainly are streets that I avoid, because they do not have
extra width in the curb lane for safe riding, or because of very heavy
traffic, or because of a lack of bike lanes. However, I do not require
a marked bike lane in order to ride from Point A to Point B.

Maybe you need to devote some weekend or evening hours to finding the
routes around your home or leading to your workplace that you CAN ride
with reasonable safety!

Bicycling is not an elitist sport. It is an activity in which millions
of Americans engage for a variety of reasons. Racers are the tiniest
minority of all riders, largely because they are practically non-human
in their lung and heart capacities. The bicycle is probably the world's
most used form of transportation, unless travel on foot is "bigger".
(Interestingly, I read that the UN published a 300 page book a few years
ago on the future of transportation, and the word "bicycle" appeared not
once in the entire work!)

19 Mar 2005 22:21:21 -0800,
<[email hidden]>,
"donquijote1954" <[email hidden]>quoted, in part:
\cut,<rec.bicycles.racing,rec.bicycles.rides,alt.planning.urban>

\snip

Quoted message said:

Jackson says that the tours have two purposes. "First, to show them
that bike lanes work. Second, to get them to think about bike lanes in
their design work."

Bike lanes suck, especially when they _END_ on a gravel shoulder with
the only warning being a notice of same painted on said lane 5 meters
before said eventuality.
--
zk

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Maybe the streets are meaner now. Would you let your kid ride to school
along a busy street? For one, that would take a lot of faith in the
soccer mom engaged in a very lively chat on the cellular, which,
chances are, wasn't around when you were a boy.

And a stripe of magic paint will keep this distracted menace from veering
into kids in a bike lane how, exactly?

I'd feel much better with basic traffic enforcement than with bike lanes,
and I'm all in favor of setting the fines high enough to cover the cost
of enforcement.

Reckless drivers kill people. Distracted drivers kill people. Paint
stripes don't stop two tons of metal.

--
[email hidden] is Joshua Putnam
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/>
Updated Bicycle Touring Books List:
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/tourbooks.html>

On 19 Mar 2005 17:35:39 -0800, "donquijote1954"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Perhaps a model for cancer patients, but
not for the average kid, who needs BIKE LANES to go to school safely.

Actually what they need is careful drivers who give them space. I
have seen no evidence that bike lanes improve safety at all, and some
that they make it worse.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

On 19 Mar 2005 22:21:21 -0800, "donquijote1954"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Flame wars are about the safest wars around and can only
bring some light--and hopefully some action--into the issue.

True.

Here's some light on bike lanes:
http://www.lesberries.co.uk/cycling/infra/infra.html
http://www.bikeplan.com/question.htm

And here's some on helmets:
http://www.cyclehelmets.org
http://www.cycle-helmets.com

How about we stop blaming the victims?

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

Zoot Katz said:

19 Mar 2005 22:21:21 -0800,
<[email hidden]>,
"donquijote1954" <[email hidden]>quoted, in part:
\cut,<rec.bicycles.racing,rec.bicycles.rides,alt.planning.urban>

\snip

Quoted message said:

Jackson says that the tours have two purposes. "First, to show them
that bike lanes work. Second, to get them to think about bike lanes in
their design work."

Bike lanes suck, especially when they _END_ on a gravel shoulder with
the only warning being a notice of same painted on said lane 5 meters
before said eventuality.

I would rather have an extra 2-meters/6-feet (unmarked) added to the
outside lane (right lane for all but the Commonwealth island nations and
Japan) than a bike lane. The outside lane should also be regularly
traversed by a Pelican [1] or similar creature.

[1] <http://www.elginsweeper.com/pelican/index.asp>.

--
Tom Sherman - Earth (Downstate Illinois, North of Forgottonia)

'According to Tim Bustos, pedestrian and bicycling safety coordinator
for the City of Davis, this safe, traffic-free path network was a
critical factor in the recent vote by Davis residents to terminate the
city's expensive school bus system. "Parents have a great sense of
confidence about letting their children ride bikes," says Bustos. "The
city's extensive network of greenbelts is critical, because it makes
parents comfortable with their children cycling. They don't have to
worry about their kids interacting with traffic."'

Colin Campbell said:

I ride almost every day - over 2000 miles so far in 2005. Yes, I'm
fortunate enough to live in Southern California, where riding is a
year-round possibility. Yes, I have some bike trails I can ride, and

I

Quoted message said:

probably have accumulated 25% - 30% of my miles on those trails.

Well, kids can't be let loose on those roads where you DARE to ride. At
least their parents don't feel they are safe. And so millions of
Americans don't feel safe.

Quoted message said:

Yes, there certainly are streets that I avoid, because they do not

have

Quoted message said:

extra width in the curb lane for safe riding, or because of very

heavy

Quoted message said:

traffic, or because of a lack of bike lanes. However, I do not

require

Quoted message said:

a marked bike lane in order to ride from Point A to Point B.

If I don't see any cyclists out there is beacause it ain't safe. I
don't want to push my luck more than I do.

Quoted message said:

Maybe you need to devote some weekend or evening hours to finding the

Quoted message said:

routes around your home or leading to your workplace that you CAN

ride

Quoted message said:

with reasonable safety!

My idea of cycling is not going around the block in loops. It's many
people using it for commuting, shopping, leisure riding, etc, which
regrettably is not happening. For example, only 1% of commuting is done
by bicycles. 🙁

Quoted message said:

Bicycling is not an elitist sport. It is an activity in which

millions

Quoted message said:

of Americans engage for a variety of reasons. Racers are the tiniest

Quoted message said:

minority of all riders, largely because they are practically

non-human

Quoted message said:

in their lung and heart capacities. The bicycle is probably the

world's

Quoted message said:

most used form of transportation, unless travel on foot is "bigger".

Quoted message said:

(Interestingly, I read that the UN published a 300 page book a few

years

Quoted message said:

ago on the future of transportation, and the word "bicycle" appeared

not

Quoted message said:

once in the entire work!)

Which gives you an idea how much underused is the bicycle not only in
America but in the world: It's only a priority in a few countries.
Perhaps the 5 bucks the gallon of gas will do the trick.

Joshua Putnam said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Maybe the streets are meaner now. Would you let your kid ride to

school

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

along a busy street? For one, that would take a lot of faith in the
soccer mom engaged in a very lively chat on the cellular, which,
chances are, wasn't around when you were a boy.

And a stripe of magic paint will keep this distracted menace from

veering

Quoted message said:

into kids in a bike lane how, exactly?

I'd feel much better with basic traffic enforcement than with bike

lanes,

Quoted message said:

and I'm all in favor of setting the fines high enough to cover the

cost

Quoted message said:

of enforcement.

Reckless drivers kill people. Distracted drivers kill people. Paint

Quoted message said:

stripes don't stop two tons of metal.

I don't think there's any political will into traffic enforcement. The
Law of the Jungle prevails out there.

But a paint stripe brings people out.