July/August 2010
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
July-August 2010 AMERICAN www.bikeleague.orgwww.bikeleague.org League of American BicyclistsBicyclists WorkingWorking for a Bicycle-FriendlyBicycle-Friendly AmericaAmerica Beautiful LIMITATIONS Music Touring by Bike p. 12 16 2009 ANNUAL REPORT and the League in 2010 and Beyond 22 DIVE IN! How to Become a BFC 28 VELO-CITY GLOBAL contentJULY-AUGUST 2010 IN EVERY ISSUE Viewpoint ......................................................... 2 Chairman’s Message .....................................3 InBox .................................................................. 4 Cogs & Gears ................................................... 6 QuickStop ......................................................... 28 ON THE 12 COVER! From the Saddle 12 Beautiful Limitations A Music Tour by Bicycle 22 Think Bike Bicycle Advocacy 9 Thanks DOT and Sec. Ray LaHood 10 Ready to Rumble: Making Sure Rumble Strips Don’t Ruin Your Ride Pedal Progress The Future of the League 16 The League in 2010 and Beyond 10 18 League 2009 Annual Report Bicycle Friendly America Workstand Working Toward a More Bicycle-friendly Nation 22 Dive In! How to Become a BFC 24 Let’s Ride The East Coast Greenway cover photo courtesy of Ben Sollee 9 28 AmericanBicyclist 1 viewpoint [Andy Clarke, president] Copenhagen is No Danish Fairy Tale Copenhagen certainly lives up wide striped bike lane beside it to nient way of getting around. to its self-proclaimed title as the City handle the volume of bike traffic. 2. It’s about more than just infra- of Cyclists. Almost 4 out of 10 trips structure. There is, obviously, a in the Danish capital are made by bi- Headline News culture of cycling that permeates cycle — and the whole feel of the city Distilling the lessons from traffic safety from school kids to is transformed because of that simple, Copenhagen and a four-day confer- people learning to drive and con- and to the Danes, quite unremark- ence is going to be a challenge. User tinues among commercial drivers able truth. Rush hour doesn’t feel or groups and researchers shared expe- and all motorists. sound like rush hour at all; the city is riences with politicians and business 3. Copenhagen has taken 30-40 somehow made more civilized, 24/7, executives; planners and engineers years to develop what we see by the bicycle. from 60 countries discussed differ- today ... and while I used to think ent solutions to the same universal that saying this would ease the Color Me Impressed problems; and we all bemoaned the pain of those who question wheth- I was one of nearly 100 North lack of speedy progress towards being er such change is really possible, American delegates (out of a total of more like Copenhagen in our own I now realize that we don’t have more than 1,000) to the Velo-City communities. the luxury of waiting that length Global conference in Copenhagen at The headlines from the City of of time to transform our cities. the end of June. Although I’ve been Cyclists were: New York City and Seville (host of before and marveled at the infra- 1. Copenhagen works for cyclists the next Velo-City conference in structure for cyclists and the myriad because cycling is a priority and March 2011) are prime examples types of cyclists and selection of bikes because the details of the cycling of places that are changing much one sees there, I was impressed all infrastructure have been taken more rapidly — and that’s the new over again by the sheer volume of cy- care of — there are no (or very model we need to follow. clists. Fellow delegates took hours of few) places where the network video and shot thousands of pictures suddenly ends or where you are Our colleagues at the Danish as they roamed intersections where left to fend for yourself at tricky Cyclists Federation are in the fore- 36,000 cyclists a day pass through. intersections, just when you really front of efforts to keep Danish cities They rode the bridges, with not just a need help! Cycling really is the moving forward while exporting their 4-6 meter cycle track but an equally quickest, easiest, and most conve- expertise through the Danish Embassy of Cycling. After my Velo-City Global experience, I think they have created a thousand new ambassadors to the cause. RushRuR hour in Copenhagen doesn’tdod feel or sound like rush hourh at all. The city is, somehow, made more civilized by the bicycle. Andy Clarke League President 2 AmericanBicyclist chair’smessage [Hans van Naerssen] Rock the Vote New changes have been made to the League’s election process to improve both member participation and Board representation. oard elections are very signifi- cant in setting the direction and tone of an organization. This BDecember you will have the opportunityo to elect five League Board membersm using a new preferential voting process.p With preferential voting, you rankr your choices. The accumulated rankingr determines who is selected to theth Board. Why the change? It provides a better representationr of your interests. We also hopeh it helps increase the number of membersm who participate in our annual elections.e See the article on page 8 to get a bet- terte idea of how it works and to partici- patep in a trial vote. We also increased the size of the Board from 12 members to 15. This helps broaden the representation of bicyclists’ interests and bring a broader set of skills to the Board. Of the 15 directors, eight are member elected and seven are Board elected, maintaining the member-elected majority. If you are interested in helping set the direction and strategy of the League, in performing the Board’s governance duties, and if you meet the eligibility criteria (visit www.bikeleague.org or see page 7 of this issue of American Bicy- clist), send us an application before August 1, 2010. Hans van Naerssen League Chair AmericanBicyclist 3 inbox [letters to the editor] Tell Us ... Have you used the Bicycle Friendly America map or yearbook to decide where you would like to live or move? If so, tell us about it. QIn addition to our regular letters to the editor, we also want to know how you feel about specific topics. We’ll post a question in every new In Box. Share your answer by mail or e-mail. Please include your name and address and title your letter “In Box Q.” Send answers to [email protected]. We may edit letters for length and clarity. FACEBOOK MESSAGE global-warming, traffic, obesity, air- BFF: In response to the TWEETED pollution, oil-use, federal debt, your League’s Facebook page Velo-City Global debt, oil-profits, spills, and more. becoming a Fan page: It’s nice to starts in a few I’m an 88 year-old woman and I know who your friends are. hours. Time for quick ride bike! With my 57 year-old daughter, I Dave Holland, June 9 with 30 to 40 of the U.S. ride a tandem recumbent trike to get and Canadian delegates to classes, groceries, dentist, senior FACEBOOK MESSAGE in the capable hands of center and sales. In response to “Counter Mr. Cycle Chic, Mikael - Nee Howard, 88, and Lauren Cooper, Cantor — Safe Routes to Colville. 57, Carlsbad, Calif. School,” a bikeleague.org/blog post Andybikes, June 22 about cutting funding for SRTS: How can a safe route to school be a waste of money? Don’t all parents want kids to get to school safely? Stop the Oil! TWEETED Beth Tobakos, June 14 We average citizens need to Pittsburgh named a stand up and take personal action Bronze Bike Friendly Community by the League of FACEBOOK MESSAGE to stop this oil madness. Don’t wait American Bicyclists. SWEET SIGN: The new 3 Feet for far-off solutions. Stop using a tdgpittsburghpa, June 21 Law sign designed by David 2,000-3,000 pound machine to travel Williams and the City of Ridgeland. within 12 miles of home – that’s 99 Josh L. Sullivan, June 23 percent inefficient. Only one solu- tion is immediate: cycling to work or school whenever possible. Only cycling reduces it all immediately: Thanks for your letters We eagerly await all of your comments — good and bad — on cycling, the League, our publications, and just about anything else you want to tell us about. E-mail [email protected] or mail it to us at 1612 K Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20006. Comment on facebook.com/leagueamericanbicyclists or twitter. com/bikeleague. Letters may be edited for style and length. 4 AmericanBicyclist FACEBOOK MESSAGE FACEBOOK MESSAGE BFB AHEAD: When it comes to In response to a bikeleague. the League’s Bicycle Friendly org/blog post about bike Business designation: lanes on Pennsylvania Ave.: Multi- Omaha, Neb. (7) modal transportation is a step in the Seattle, Wash. (3) right direction. Des Moines, Iowa (1) Barry Stuart, June 22 Kansas City, Mo. (0) You heard it here first ... that is about to change! RevolveKC.org, June 21 Bike lanes on America's Main Street From left to right, D.C. Council Members Tommy Wells and Jack Evans, Transporta- TWEETED tion Secretary Ray LaHood, D.C. Mayor Official handover of the Velo-City Conference to Seville; Adrian Fenty, and U.S.Congressmen Earl launch of the global ECS Network in “Cities for Cyclists.”” Blumenauer and James Oberstar cut the SourceWS_world, June 28 ribbon and take the inaugural ride on the new Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes. AmericanBicyclist 5 cogs&gears [League News] staffsnapshot Scott William, Director of Membership I joined the League this spring, the saddle when I went for a weekend and was excited to be part of an orga- to Bethany Beach, Del. and borrowed nization that supports my method of a bike to ride up to Lewes for a ferry transportation.