When did we start blaming pedestrians for being hit by cars?

A colleague in Montana circulated this article that explains the history of how we view pedestrian fatalities.

It used to be that motorists that hit or killed pedestrians were viewed in the same way as someone who drive a motorcycle down a crowded hallway: That's just not acceptable. You shouldn't operate a large, fast, heavy machine in a place where there are a lot of people.

A typical busy street scene on Sixth Avenue in New York City shows how pedestrians ruled the roadways before automobiles arrived, circa 1903. Via Shorpy.

Now we just expect that pedestrians will stay out of the way of cars.

There are so many good quotes in the article, I won't even start to pick them out. But the old news stories, cartoons, and ads are also well worth the click. It follows the change in our society from drivers needing to watch for pedestrians, through changes in attitudes brought about in part by the auto industry; how traffic controls developed; and the history of traffic safety, including ad campaigns that target unsafe behavior.

In the Netherlands - which arguably has the highest bicycle mode split in the world - there is strict liability on the driver's part if s/he hits a bicyclist or pedestrian. That is, a collision is assumed to be the fault of the driver, and the circumstances when the driver is not considered 100 percent at fault are very narrow.

Strict liability is the law in all but five European Union countries, and there is a campaign to change the law in the UK. In the U.S., we struggle to pass Vulnerable User Laws.

Just after reading that article, I saw two items on our local TV news website about kids being hit by cars. One was a child that rode his bike out into the street from a driveway. And the driver didn't even stop! The other was a child killed when he ran out from between two parked cars. Both happened on residential streets.

Sure, these days, we think, "Well, those parents should watch their kids. The kids should learn that they have to be careful and stay out of the street."

But as the article about the history of pedestrians and motor vehicles in public roadways points out, streets are public spaces, and it used to be that drivers were expected to watch out for other road users, including people walking on the public right of way. We used to realize that kids are to be expected in residential areas.

We even allow drivers to break the law with impunity, as long as it's just a little bit breaking the law. Everyone assumes that "5 over" is OK for speeding, and the police generally won't write a ticket if you are not more than "10 over." If a driver is going below the speed limit, s/he is considered a menace and a freak.

What difference does 5 mph make? Well, a pedestrian hit at 20 mph has a 95 percent chance of surviving. A pedestrian hit at 40 mph has an 15 percent chance of surviving.

30,000 people are killed by motor vehicles every year in the U.S.: drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, passengers, etc. Any other product with that kind of safety record would be pulled from the store shelves within a day. Yet we let the carnage continue year after year. When is will we say, "Enough!"?

Business owner freaks out over bike lanes

Yes, it's been awhile since I posted. But I have a whole folder of thoughts marked "Save for Blog," so maybe I'll get some of them out.

Today's topic is the freak out that the Northside Business Association had about the redesign and re-striping of North Sherman Ave. Commonly called "putting bike lanes on Sherman Ave," even though the safety improvements are going to improve the safety for all users, including drivers.

The vote and the whole debate is now old news, but today one business owner - not even located on Sherman Ave - managed to revive it and piss off the biking community as well.

The owner of New Orleans Take-out, on Fordem Ave banned Alder Marsha Rummel for supporting the project. Reaction was swift on the Bikies list.

I called the west side NOTO, which is pretty close to my house, and asked if I was banned as well, since I sit on two city committees that voted in favor of the project, and I testified in favor. The owner - turns out it's a different owner, despite what the article said - told me no one was banned from his restaurant. He hadn't even read the article, but I think people had already started calling him.

Others called and expressed their displeasure. One wrote:

After his initial diatribe we actually talked.

Among other things, he said his business has been down ever since bike lanes were put on Fordem.  I questioned that since Fordem was always two-lane.  I said perhaps the fact that the mural on the side of the building has deteriorated badly in the last two years and his sign needs work, it looks like he is not open or barely open at best.  He actually said I had a point.
John said he will have something in the Isthmus next week - let's wait and see.

Another person wrote an email to the owner and got this reply:

You are wrong, Bill.  But, the city council running rough-shod overthe city has to stop.  There was no investigation into how this wouldaffect the city.Public safety wasn't an issue. No other solutions were investigatedor discussed.  Their rational was fabricated and there was noeconomic impact statement done.  It will affect property values.  Itwould nice to know how and how much.  I used this incident to wake upthe city to what's going on.  It's time for civic involvement to curbcity council excesses.   I knew that I would take a lot of heat butsomeone has to, "Stop, enough."  The council can't close off one ofonly two ways to get to the north side and not think that it isn'tgoing to affect life on the north side.

I simply couldn't let this response go without an answer. Although I didn't email the owner directly, I posted back on the list - which is widely read by even non-bicyclists because of the number of people and level of public involvement on the list:

I'm not going to argue with this guy, since he obviously has some issues beyond not thinking bike lanes are a good idea. But, he is very wrong on so many points.

1. The city - specifically Traffic Engineering (not the most radical bunch) did investigate other solutions to documented safety issues on Sherman Ave. They tried other solutions for 20 years. 
2. There are documented safety problems - for motorists, pedestrians, transit users, and bicyclists. 
3. The City Council was following the recommendations of Traffic Engineering.[pdf] Again, and I say this with affection, "Not the most radical bunch, or known car-haters, IMHO."
4. Every study of this type of roadway redesign has been shown to either have no effect or a positive affect on economic activity along the corridor.
5. This project is not closing off any routes. Traffic Engineering estimates that the same volume of traffic will be able to use Sherman Ave after the re-striping. When you have a four-lane road with no left-turn pockets, the center two lanes become de-facto left-turn lanes, so only the outer lanes can be used for through traffic. Local users - drivers - have said that they worried about being hit from behind when stopped in the left lane to make a turn. This means some people might not even make that left turn into a business. The center turn lane removes this problem and reduces conflict points for left-turning vehicles from seven to two. 
6. Yes, this redesign was put forward twenty years ago by Traffic Engineering to make the road safer for DRIVERS.
7. Civic involvement is how this project got approved. Just because you disagree with the vote doesn't mean that no one listened to you. It just happens that there are others - perhaps even a large majority that disagree with you. 

Whenever I hear doomsday predictions from people that haven't even researched the subject, I always want to ask for a retraction after the horrible results fail to materialize:

• Smoking ban will kill all the bars in Madison! (And before that, "All the restaurants will close if smoking is banned!")

• Big building will lead to massive traffic jams every morning and night!

• Everyone will sell their house or property values will drop if this building gets built!

• Roundabouts will lead to terrible crashes because people don't understand them!

• No one will move into those apartments, and they will all become run down when the project fails economically!

• etc.

[And someone reminded me of one of my favorite, which somehow slipped my mind: "If that bike path is built, crime will soar and housing prices will plummet!" Of course, exactly the opposite is true. Studies have shown that housing prices near paths are almost always higher than comparable houses farther away from paths.]

Every one of the above I have heard in the last ten years, and not one of the dreaded outcomes has happened.

Bicycle news stories round-up - Late July 2012

I haven't been blogging much, but I've been writing a lot at work. Instead of something profound (as if my stuff is ever "profound"...), maybe I can just share a few things I run across. I'll also try to write more, but in the meantime...

I'm going to try to post a few interesting stories about bicycling each week or two. Few comments, but mostly links to the articles.

Madison PD expands bike-cop program. New bikes, more cops on bikes. The program as been very popular with both the officers and the public.

The Atlantic Cities examines how bicyclists can sometimes be the bad guys. Although some pedestrians are quick to complain about bicyclists being rude, generally pedestrians and bicyclists are allies.

Walking and Biking Pay Off. The final reports are in, and an article for Federal Highways looks at the four Non-Motorized Pilot Transportation projects - one in Sheboygan.

Have you ever been accused of hating cars? Or heard people say the city is waging a war on cars? NPR examines this claim. And unless you think that this is a new argument, they look at the history of the American relationship with the car, one that has not always been loving.

Bike sharing helps transit systems bridge the "last mile." A good article in Mass Transit magazine explains that bike sharing can enhance a transit system by allowing customers to get from the bus or rail stop to their final destination quickly and easily. Chicago received money to get a bike sharing program off the ground from TIGER III funding by pointing out that the program will complement and improve access to the transit system. But as the Mass Transit article points out, the Federal Transit Administration won't fund the infrastructure for bike sharing, although the Federal Highway Administration will. And both the physical and political environment in a city must be friendly for bike sharing to work.

New York's huge bike share program is still on hold, and people are wondering what is holding it up. Even elected officials say the silence about the delay is disconcerting.

From Boston comes this blog post about why we should pay people to bike to work. What the post really argues is that "parking cash-out" should be more common.

A study from Florida shows that using "sharrows" on roads without bike lanes, but which have on-street parking, decreases the percentage of bicyclists riding in the "door zone," that is the area where they could be hit by a car door if someone opens it into traffic. Unfortunately, the percentage decrease only went from 71 percent to 55 percent, meaning that more than half the bicyclists still are at risk. Maybe they need more bicycle education. Florida isn't known as the safest place to ride or walk, and bicyclists are probably not all that confident that they won't get hit anyway.

Madison installed a HAWK signal - otherwise known as a pedestrian beacon at Blair St on the E. Mifflin bike boulevard. This signal is supposed to help bicyclists and pedestrians cross Blair while not encouraging additional motor vehicle traffic on Mifflin. Some recent research shows that these types of signals are effective in reducing pedestrian crashes.

Keeping older people mobile shouldn't just involve wider roads and bigger signs

This is a theme in transportation policy: If people are driving off the road or otherwise having crashes, the obvious solution is to make the road more "forgiving," that is make it easier to drive faster and without paying attention. The solution isn't to make people drive slower or be more alert; it's an engineering problem, not a human problem.

Talk about enabling bad behavior. How would the tough-love people feel about fixing the problem of irresponsibility in other areas of our lives by making sure there aren't harsh consequences? I'd love to hear this in a debate among conservatives.

Here's another example, a report on "Keeping Baby Boomers Mobile: Preserving Mobility and Safety for Older Americans."

Lack of action on federal transportation bill actually benefits bike-ped projects

Not everywhere, of course, but Sheboygan County and Minneapolis, as well as Marin County, CA, and Columbia, MO, have gotten far more money than they could have every imagined. And the money just keeps coming.

Why?

Because those four communities: one rural county (Sheboygan), one suburban county (Marin), one small city (Columbia), and one large city (Minneapolis) each got $25 million in the last five-year transportation bill under the Non-Motorized Pilot Program. That's $5 million per year for the life of the SAFETEA-LU bill. The goal was to see if a massive influx of funding could change the mode share and significantly improve walking and biking.

But every time Congress fails to pass a new transportation bill, they pass a "continuing resolution", that keeps money flowing to the same programs, in the same amounts, for another chunk of time. We are now 835 days past due for a new transportation bill. Yes, over two years. That means that each of the communities listed above have had another $10 million handed to them to keep trying to change their local transportation system towards being more pedestrian and bicycle friendly!

To see how they have done, you can click around on the NMPP site, but much of the information is not up to date, and many of the changes in behavior and mode split may not be apparent for a few more years. After all, some of the trails, bridges, and other infrastructure aren't even finished yet. And educational and encouragement programs are just starting to have an effect.

For us here in Wisconsin, Sheboygan County was definitely starting the farthest back, as far as being pedestrian and bicycle-friendly. They had to start almost from zero on their planning efforts and educational programs. The other had already done some of the work, and just needed the money to make their bike-ped dreams a reality.

We often read about how great Minneapolis is for bicycling. It was rated # 1 by Bicycling Magazine, and is #2 among the top 50 largest cities in the percent of work trips by bike. [Note that Madison beats Minneapolis, and ties with Portland, OR, but is not among the top 50 largest cities.] They have worked really hard, and I don't want to take anything away from the advocates, planners, engineers, elected officials, and everyone else that is working on making Minneapolis bike-friendly. But having $35 million (and still coming) drop on you helps a lot as well!

Black Friday recall efforts: Midnight at Hilldale Target

Earlier this week, I tried to find any group organizing for the Hilldale Black Friday midnight sale. Although I couldn't find any official efforts, after a little emailing in the neighborhood, I found some other folks that were already planning on going down Thanksgiving night around 11 PM. I was glad to know I wouldn't be alone. It's more fun with others, and it's safer too. You never know what you are going to run into out there.

At first we were on the curb across from Target, just south of the University Ave entrance to Hilldale. When the line to go in the door grew to where it reached the University Ave sidewalk,  decided to go over there to walk up and down the line. I knew that the sidewalk on University Ave was public, so it was OK to stand there.

Unfortunately, one of the Target employees was not so knowledgeable about the public right of way, and she came over to tell me that the sidewalk was private property, and I couldn't be there with the petitions.

Hmmm... I hate to act like a know-it-all, or pull out my past service on the City Council, but I was definitely not moving. I tried to be polite and point out that the sidewalk was legally part of the "street," and so was public. The employee kept saying, "This isn't the street, it's the sidewalk. We paid for this sidewalk." Yes, Target was required to pay to have the sidewalk installed as part of the development, but they do not own it. It's City property.

Ms Target Employee finally told me that if I didn't leave, she would call the police. I responded that she was free to do so, but I could guarantee that the police would agree with me about my right to be there. In order to not waste the time of the police, I did point out to her that I had been on the Council when the Target development was approved, and I was quite aware of the public right of way. She still thought I was on private property.

Of course, when the police arrived, they said I was completely within my rights to be on the sidewalk, and as long as I was not harassing the customers, I and the rest of the volunteers could stay. We had been very polite, and as a matter of fact, had mostly not even talked to people unless they approached us first.

I think the employee was completely shocked that, not only was I not intimidated by her, but I was willing to risk dealing with the police. Of course, since I knew I was within my rights, I wasn't bothered at all.

So not only did I collect a bunch of signatures, but I struck a blow for our civil liberties.

So to all you recall volunteers: Know where the public/private line is, and don't let anyone tell you you can't be on the public sidewalk. (We actually moved to the terrace so we wouldn't block people walking or standing in line, but that was being polite, not a matter of our rights.)

And if you go to Hilldale, Frey St, which runs on the other side of the Target parking lot from University Ave, and the bus stop across from Sundance Theater are also public right of way.

Stop the bike vs car wars - we're all at fault

No matter what mode of transportation you name: cars, bikes, feet, bus, trains, airplanes, or rollerblade, someone is going to gripe about people that use that form of transportation. With a background in bicycle advocacy, I have heard more than my share of gripes about the way bicyclists and motorists operate.

Instead of arguing who's right or wrong, or what road users break the law more often, I try to diffuse the tension and give people a little perspective with a couple of thoughts.

First, my personal opinion is that all road users should obey all traffic laws all the time. That includes signalling turns, not speeding, yielding to pedestrians, not going through an "orange" light, full stop at stop signs, etc. But we all know that everyone breaks at least some laws every time they take to the road. Yes, even you. Let's try to concentrate on stopping people from doing things that are going to endanger other people.

And before all my biking friends jump down my throat, and if anyone else is interested in a perspective on why bicyclists blow stop signs, here's a little article from Toronto to give the other side.

My second approach, to try to get people off the "who's worse" train, is that it's not the vehicle that causes bad behavior. It's the person using the vehicle. And most bicyclists are also drivers. They are probably scofflaws when they drive as well. You may see them, or only pay attention when they are on their bikes, but they probably get behind the wheel and break the law there too. If someone is in a hurry or is reckless when riding their bike, then they are likely in a  hurry and reckless in a car as well.

And finally, people ask me what they can do to improve the driving (or biking) of others. As an elected official, people constantly asked me how to get people to stop speeding, or how to get people to yield to pedestrians. Well, it's not easy, and we all have a part. We have to speak up, and it may be speaking up to those we love.

How often do each of us ride in a car with someone else, and notice that person speeding, blowing a red, not coming to a full stop before making a turn, or not yielding to a pedestrians? And how many of us say something to our spouse, friend, co-worker, neighbor, parent or sibling? If we see our neighbor blow the stop sign at the end of the block every day, and don't say anything about it, how can we expect anyone else to get through to that person?

So yes, the police can run around ticketing people for every little thing, but that is going to cost you, the taxpayer a ton of money. Contrary to what some people think, it costs the city money to enforce those laws. The time required to stop someone, do a license check, write the ticket, file the paperwork, and then possibly go to court when the person contests the ticket, is far more in staff time and resources than the money coming in from that ticket. That's not to say that we shouldn't enforce traffic laws, but we are never going to get perfect compliance by using law enforcement only.

Why do people yield to pedestrians in California and many other parts of the US? Because that's just the way things are done, and you learn that from the time you start to walk. It's cultural, like being stoic about cold weather in Wisconsin. (Or a more negative cultural tradition, drunk driving.)

We all have to start being responsible for our own behavior and also speaking up when we get the chance. Don't sit silent if you see someone speeding, and you are sitting in the car next to him. Say something. And let's all watch our own behavior as well. none of us is perfect, regardless of whether we walk, bike, drive, roll, or run.

We can make the streets safer for everyone, but we all have to be part of that change.

Seminole Hwy vs. Badger Trail: Why not use the path?

Recently, the Wisconsin State Journal ran a letter asking why bicyclists aren't using the Badger State Trail, which in some areas runs next to Seminole Hwy, instead of the road. This seems to be a common question, "There's a path right there. How come the bicyclist isn't using it? Why are they on the road? Isn't it safer on the path?"

Here is my answer:

Many of the riders you see on Seminole Hwy are going too fast for the path. Paths are not just for bicyclists, but also walkers, joggers, kids on bikes, dog walkers, and slower recreational cyclists. So if you want to go fast, either because you are in a hurry - like so many motorists - or because you are trying to get your heart rate up, the road is the proper place to bike. In the same way motorists cannot drive 55 on many narrow roads with poor sight lines or other, slower users, bicyclists should not be going 20-25 mph on the path, even when there is no one on it.
The bicyclists on the road also may not be coming or going to a location that makes the path a logical choice. Leaving the Arboretum, you use Seminole Hwy to cross the Beltline and get to many places in Fitchburg. The path crosses in a different location. Much as a bicyclist might ask, "Why is the motorist not on Verona Rd?"
The road is only unsafe if the motorists do not wait until it is safe to pass the bicyclist. I have been riding on Seminole Hwy for 20 years, and the only problems I have are when drivers are in too much of a hurry, and cannot slow down until there is a gap to pass.
All these perceived conflicts could have been avoided if Fitchburg had added bike lanes all the way down to Whalen Rd a number of years ago. But they said, "There isn't that much traffic. Bicyclists and motorists can share the lane easily." So now we have bicyclists doing exactly what the planners suggested, and the motorists being upset by that action. 

Auto-dependence forces financial and personal sacrifices

Interesting article today on CNNMoney.com. It's all about the financial costs of high gas prices, which may also force personal sacrifices as well.

Sidewalk closed. Use which side?

I think this finally got fixed, but the situation depicted below has been in existence for about a week. This is the 2500 block of University Ave, just a lock from my house, which is the site of two different construction projects - one on private property and one in the city street.

I'm not sure who was responsible for the signs below, but I've seen this happen before. Both sides of the street have signs telling pedestrians to use the other side. Huh?


<= south side

              north side =>


Fortunately, I can get through a construction zone, even missing parts of the sidewalk. But I always feel bad for people with limited mobility or anyone trying to push a stroller. We need to make sure that there is always a pedestrian route through construction areas.

Sidewalks are the basis of a good transportation system, and everyone is a pedestrian. Even if you drive, take the bus, or use a bike, the beginning and end of your trip are made by foot. If we can't walk easily through our neighborhoods, we have a serious problem.

Fish Hatchery Rd rebuild in 2012: Will bike and pedestrian conditions improve?

A quick post about a projects that could improve bicycling south of downtown and the campus significantly, or could just lay new pavement over a crumbling section of roadway.

Below is an email conversation about this project. In the initial email to the Bikies list, I had cc'd a few people who I thought could either provide answers, or should be aware of problems in this corridor. The second email is from Tony Fernandez, of City of Madison Engineering. I'm not sure if he is directly involved in the project, but he at least has knowledge of it, and was trying to provide some info. Much appreciated.

The third email was my response to Tony, which also got cc'd to the same group, plus Christy Bachman, who Tony had identified as the person taking the lead for the City. This is a Dane County project, so the City of Madison neither planned the project nor has direct authority, although I'm assuming they had significant input because the majority of the roadway is in the City.

I haven't heard anything from the County yet, so maybe things are better than I think.

Email #1 - from me.

There was an article in today's Cap Times about the 2012 planned rebuilding of Fish Hatchery Rd from Wingra Dr south to West Badger Rd. 

Most people on this list recognize that this stretch, although equipped with bike lanes, is an unpleasant ride, and often downright scary. Much of the problem stems from potholes and cracked pavement on the far right (the bike lane), but also the amount of trash, debris, sand, and general junk that lands in the bike lane. 

I also think that, given the amount and speed of traffic - normally far over the speed limit - the current width of the bike lanes is too narrow.

Did anyone attend the meeting mentioned in the article? Will the current conditions be improved when the project is done? Obviously, new pavement will be a huge improvement, but are there any other changes planned? 

And while the project is ongoing, will there be some accommodations for those bicyclists that still need to use Fish Hatchery to get around? Due to the Arb on the west and the lack of north-south routes to the east between Fish Hatch and Park, Fish Hatchery Rd is often the only option in this area. 

I have cc'd a cross section of City of Madison, Dane County, and Bike Fed folks. The road is in the City (mostly, although there are sections in Town of Madison), but Dane County is doing the project, since it is a county highway. 

Thanks for any info. I'm sure many people on the list would be interested in any insights.

Response from Tony Fernandez

This is a federally funded pavement replacement project. Dane County is the lead agency and Matt Rice is doing the plans. My supervisor Christy Bachmann is the main liaison for the City of Madison. My understanding is that the type of funding pretty much restricts the project to replacing the existing pavement, and the current plans call for bike lanes for the full length of the project, but no significant widening anywhere. To get the latest information about the current design and any planned public involvement activities or other opportunities for input you should probably contact Matt or Pam Dunphy at Dane County Highways.

Email #3 - from me

I didn't expect widening, but perhaps a change in the location or width of paint? Don't know the width of the curb-to-curb, but since traffic is consistently well above the speed limit, I would imagine the MV lane widths are pretty generous. Might a little narrowing of the other lanes - by even 6 inches - allow a slightly wider bike lane and also slow the average speed? As Mike Rewey has repeatedly pointed out, just making sure that the 6 inch bike lane marking starts in the MV lane, and does not cut off 6 inches of the bike lane makes a big difference.

I also posted the questions to nudge the folks in charge of maintenance (sweeping on a road next to the Arb, anyone?) to perhaps be more diligent when the project is done. The Fish Hatchery corridor suffers from a multitude of issues that make it a crappy bike route, but there is really no alternative. Fast traffic (law enforcement and engineering); higher traffic volumes; ugly, car-based land use (planning); and a multi-jurisdictional roadway leads to poor maintenance.  Because Fish Hatchery is so huge south of the Beltline, and also a major exit off the Beltline, it feels like a fast highway, but it is actually an urban roadway - one that passes through several neighborhoods with a high percentage of low-income resident. There is also a middle school, the Arb, and a large health care facility in this stretch. 

Because it feels like a highway, drivers are less sympathetic to bicyclists and pedestrians in the area (and public right of way), because they wonder why anyone would be on foot or bike on this big, fast road. Well, there really isn't much choice.

So, I think with a rebuilding project, even without changing the curbs, there are a few things that could be changed to make this road more bike and pedestrian friendly. Hey, how about painting the few crosswalks with wider markings too? I hear from lots of kids and parents trying to cross that street to get to Wright Middle School. 

Sorry, this really isn't a rant against anyone in particular, but more a plea that maybe something can still be done to improve the situation. I was really hoping to hear, "Yes! We are doing those things. We know it sucks, and we took all that into consideration, and here's how it will be different when the work is done." 

Still hoping. 

Random thoughts on a winter walk on University Ave

I'm working on a post about the bike sharing program that will be before the city council tomorrow night, but that is going to be a long post. In the meantime, here are a few thoughts on walking down University Ave this afternoon.

Bicyclists and car drivers are not (usually) separate groups

An email arrived today from a colleague in another part of the country. She was posting a questionnaire her bicycle advocacy group had sent to candidates for office. Like many groups around the country, they wanted to see the candidates' feelings and attitudes towards certain issues in the community. The answers would be sent to members and shared with the public.

By the way, this is one way for a 501(c)3 organization, which are generally thought to be prohibited from political activity, to be involved with elections. Sending a questionnaire and sharing/publishing the results is fine, as long as you send the questionnaire to all candidates and don't endorse.


However, the first sentence on this questionnaire was, "We believe great places to live provide transportation independence for those who do not drive motor vehicles."

This bothered me a bit, and below is the response email I wrote.

You start off with the the statement, "We believe great places to live provide transportation independence for those who do not drive motor vehicles."

I think this is a bit of a disservice to your/our cause, and also to those of us use bicycling and walking as everyday transportation modes. I own a car and drive. But I also bike and walk more frequently, and obviously believe strongly in the necessity of having these options for all in the community. 

It is not just those that "do not drive motor vehicles" that need these options. It is all of us! We all know why, so I won't go into that.

But we need to think about how we portray ourselves, and making a sharp dividing line between "pedestrians and bicyclist" on one side, and "drivers" on the other is not going to help both our image and our cause. We are everyone. We are you. We are your neighbors, friends, colleagues, doctors, lawyers, teachers, city officials, store owners, and the rest of the people you see every day. We are normal. 

Not driving is seen as something for the poor, the very young and very old, and people with disabilities. Or worse, people who have had their license taken away (although that seems to stop few in Wisconsin, the only state where a first OWI is a civil forfeiture, like a parking ticket, and you have to have 4 OWIs in 5 years to make it a felony.) In very large cities, obviously not driving is more normal for middle class and professional people, but there are few of these places [where you live] and most states.

We know that this is not the case, but we need to point out that everyone needs good access to non-motorized transportation, not just the non-drivers. 

I see this in news articles, community discussions, and policy documents. We talk about bicyclists as if they are not also drivers. I would venture to say that 95% of the people on this list own a car and drive. When we are told, "Bicyclists don't pay for the roads," - because people think we don't pay gas taxes - we have to point out again and again that we pay gas taxes, car registration, and licensing fees, because we are also drivers. And we are also property owners, and in Wisconsin property taxes pay almost 100% of the costs of local roads, the ones that most of us use for biking. 

We also hear, "Bicyclists don't obey the law." Of course, drivers don't obey the law either - speed limits, yielding to pedestrians, full stops before entering the crosswalk, etc. But it is much easier to say, "Most bicyclists are also drivers, They probably don't obey the law when driving either." It personalizes the violation, so it's not the vehicle that causes the law-breaking, it's the person. And it points out that bicyclists and drivers are not separate, segregated elements of the community, but simply the same people making a separate choice for that trip, like running shoes, dress shoes or loafers on your feet. 

Big roads act as barriers for those not driving

Whenever I hear transportation planners say that they are going to make "improvements" to a road, my first thought is, "improvement for whom?" Something that might make it easier or less congested for drivers on that road might make it much more difficult, or actually impossible for someone to cross that road, especially if that someone is walking or bicycling.

Catching up after Chattanooga Road trip

I've been remiss in posting, in part because I've been out of town on a road trip/business trip. I'm going to write a few short posts to comment on the trip, but here's the outline of what I did:

Reminder: School Zone speed limit is 20 mph in Madison

In the last couple of day, there have been a couple of articles reminding us that school is starting and motorists should drive carefully around schools. The Madison Police Dept. put out a press release, so I assume the articles were generated from that. Some also mention that the MPD will be enforcing speed limits and other traffic laws in school zones.

This is good, because everyone using the roads should be aware of kids going to and from school. And the article mention that we should "slow down." They are even starting to mention that motorists (and bicyclists, too) need to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk.

But something is missing, and it is bugging me that this little fact is left out. Neither the MPD press release nor any of the articles mention that the speed limit in school zones in Madison is 20 mph. It doesn't matter if that yellow sign is on Midvale Blvd, Milwaukee St, E Washington, or Regent St. No matter what the speed limit is at other times, or how fast the rest of the cars are going, when there are children present, the speed limit is 20 mph.

There are two schools on Midvale Blvd, also two schools on Regent St in a one mile stretch. Milwaukee St has several school zones strung together. And East High School, where two students were killed crossing the street, sits right on East Washington. And I have driven at 20 mph through each of these area, with kids present, and had people tailgate me, pass me unsafely on a 2-lane road, and generally been subjected to the treated as if I was trying to be a public menace.

You think you get dirty looks as a bicyclist riding in the middle of traffic? Try driving the speed limit past a school!

It's the most dangerous time of the year....

As I ride around town every August, I have that holiday song, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" going through my head, but with new words, as noted in the title of this post.

The highest crash rate for bicyclists in Madison is late August and the month of September. This is due in part to all the new bicyclists showing up each year. Many undergraduates have heard that the best way to get around town is by bike. "Don't bring your car!" is written in very large letter - three times - in the materials on transportation given to all new students coming to the UW.

The problem is that many 18 year-olds, and even older bicyclists that are riding around Madison for the first time, haven't learned to do it right. American teenagers often give up riding a bike when they are about 13 - about the age when they can really start to understand how to negotiate traffic safely. It's not cool to ride a bike around town when you are in high school, and you start to have friends with a drivers license. So the Freshmen coming to Madison haven't been on a bike, except maybe on a trail or in a group, since they were truly kids.

And there are also many people moving to Madison that aren't used to a real city. Although Madison is still considered only a mid-sized city in population, our downtown and campus area operates much more like a bigger city because of density, urban design, and traffic congestion. So even if the new bicyclists are used to riding in the street, they may not know how to ride in urban traffic.

These two factors - no adult experience on a bike and no experience in urban riding - cause new Madison bicyclists to make all sorts of mistakes: riding the wrong way, riding without lights, riding on the sidewalk, riding unpredictably, turning without looking for cars or signaling, etc. After awhile, they either learn to ride correctly (more or less) or they give up on biking in Madison. The crash rate goes down either way.

But there is another factor that may contribute to the crash rate. And it certainly makes biking harder and more stressful for those of us used to Madison's patterns: There are a whole bunch of new drivers in town.

Parents are dropping off the kids at the dorms, trying to find a parking spot or just generally lost. Late summer tourists looking for the Farmers Market or Monona Terrace are confused by the one-way streets and inner and outer loops of the Capitol. New faculty, graduate students, or staff trying to find their way around their new home. And then those new students: young, excited to be on their own, impulsive, and completely clueless that driving is sort of a pain in the ass in Madison. None of these groups are used to the many bicyclists, pedestrians, moped drivers, buses, and general confusion and congestion of our downtown and campus.

We veterans of the Isthmus know that W. Dayton ends at both Camp Randall and the Overture Center, that you can't drive a private car on State St, that there is both a King St and Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, that the diagonal streets to the Square are one way, that bicyclists are likely to be sneaking up on the right side where there is a bike lane and riding on the sidewalk everywhere, and when traveling west on E Johnson from First St, the name of the street changes to Gorham -> University Ave -> Campus Dr -> University Ave.

We also know that there is construction everywhere, and the Isthmus makes both driving and parking a dicey and slow process.

But many of the newbies and visitors don't know any of these things, and they are lost, confused, stressed out and distracted by all the activity. That makes for lots of mistakes on their part, and a dangerous situation for those of us using less protected modes of travel.

To the veteran bicyclists and walkers, I urge patience and caution. You can tell when a driver is not a local. There's car "body language" as surely as there is human body language. Be especially careful when someone is going slow, drifting about in their lane, or the car is filled with furniture and luggage. These people are about to make a sudden turn without signaling or turn the wrong way on a one-way street. Try to wave with all your fingers and smile instead of yelling.

The visitors are probably not going to see this post, but in case it gets passed along to new residents, my advice is to park the car as soon as you can and walk. Really, it's faster than looking for a parking spot. Please remember that you must yield to pedestrian in the crosswalk, and bicyclists both have a right to the road and also are likely going as fast as you are in traffic. No matter where you lived before, Madison has a different traffic rhythm, and a different mix of road users. It's slow going in the car, and it's sort of confusing as well. Did I mention that walking might be easier?

The assumption of driving everywhere

Boy, I hate being up at 8:00 AM. I am not a morning person, and now I don't feel so bad about it. A recent study found that there really are “morning people” and “night people.” And the same study found out that night people were alert and productive more hours of the day, regardless of what time they actually got up and started working. So there. I may sleep late every day, but I'm getting plenty of work done.

Why am I bringing up this gripe about being up early? Because I am at a conference on campus at 8:00 AM this morning, and it's making me grumpy. But this conference is the lead-in to my topic today: Even groups that promote physical activity as an important part of preventing obesity and its accompanying health problems assume everyone will be driving everywhere.

For a number of years, I have been working with a statewide group on overweight and obesity issues. The Wisconsin Partnership on Activity and Nutrition (WIPAN) is a CDC-funded effort to address these issues. Today this coalition is meeting on campus with a UW group with a similar mission, WIPOD.

For the first few years I felt like my role in WIPAN was to show up and say, "How you construct your community affects physical activity!" Most of the people initially involved were public health professional and health researchers. They all knew that increased physical activity can prevent all sorts of health problems, but few seemed to connect our transportation choices and built environment with whether people were getting the recommended amount of physical activity. At the national level, the CDC and Surgeon General were just beginning to talk about the role of the built environment in facilitating or deterring physical activity.

I clearly remember the first time I heard a CDC researcher say that we needed to make our communities more walking and bicycling-friendly. It was at a national conference on walking and bicycling, and I wanted to shout, "Hallelujah!" During the Q&A period, I urged the speaker to take this message to policy makers, because, as I said at the time, "We can say that we need better walking and biking environments, but policy makers think, 'Oh, that's those lycra-clad, environmental, tree-hugging, freaks that want people to drive less.' Which is true, that's who we are, but it doesn't mean we are wrong. But when a respected public health professional or researcher says the same thing, more people are likely to listen."

Eventually, this message got through at both the national and state level, and because I had been pushing for the inclusion of this aspect of policy, they made me the Chair of the Community Design and Physical Activity Committee for WIPAN. We've worked on writing walking points and briefing papers for the local coalitions around the state on such issues as:

• What is an MPO, and why should you care what they are doing?
• How's your local MPO doing with regard to policies to improve physical activity?
• How can you get involved with Safe Routes to School?
• What is Complete Streets, and how do you get your local community to adopt this policy?
• etc.

So, today I was asked to attend this conference to represent WIPAN in a breakout session on the built environment. Because I registered late, the woman who confirmed my registration emailed me to say that, "All the parking permits have been issued, so you'll have to find parking on your own." I emailed back that not only was I not worried about finding a place to park my bike, but I lived within 1/2 mile of the conference site.

I suppose that my answer was unnecessarily snarky - she didn't know that transportation within the campus area really isn't an issue for me - but what struck me was that there is an assumption that everyone at this conference will be arriving car. Here I was about to talk about getting people to be more physically active via walking, biking, and transit, and there is no thought at all about giving participants information on getting to the conference without driving.

Yes, obviously, many people were coming from out of town, so I don't expect them to bike from Green Bay or Milwaukee, but there was NO information for anyone about alternatives to driving to campus. There could have been information on parking off-site and taking the many buses that pass within 1/4 mile of the site. Or even how to walk from the recommended hotel - which is also a short walk from the conference.

This lack of any "directions," except driving directions, to destinations is unbelievably common. On a number of occasions I have asked for transit or biking directions to a destination, both in Madison and other cities, and been met with a blank stare or dead silence.

This is not just a health issue, but also a social and economic justice issue, because people without cars may be trying to access destinations, events, and resources. I hope that more organizers, business owners, and convention and visitors bureaus will make an effort to provide transportation information for people not driving to the destination.

Heads up, transportation geeks! Tues, May 25 is busy.

For those that care about getting around without a car, or cheaply, or in an environmentally sustainable way, or those that just want to have a choice of transportation modes, the evening of Tuesday, May 25 is going to be a busy night.

The Pedestrian/Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Commission (PBMVC) will hold their annual public hearing on needed capital projects to improve the ped-bike network. The public hearing starts at 6:00 PM in Room 260 of the Madison Municipl Bldg. Also at that meeting will be an update on progress on the Platinum City Report, or "How are we doing and what's next?"

Also on Tuesday, at 6:30 PM at Olbrich Gardens, is a neighborhood meeting arranged my Alder Marsha Rummel about the high speed rail corridor through the East Isthmus. Now that we know that the Madison station will be at/near Monona Terrace, everyone has lots of questions about how this is going to work. Although Marsha would like to keep this focused on the neighborhood, and how the corridor will be managed, this is also the first time the Wisconsin DOT will be available to answer questions on this project.

Last night at the Long Range Transportation Plan Commission, we were supposed to talk about how/where/when the city would/could build a multi-modal station - that is one that would handle intercity buses, local buses, and was friendly to walking, biking, taxis, etc. Of course, the discussion mostly focused on the rail station location, problems, and possibilities. Unfortunately, the answer to many of our questions about the station, train operations, intersections upgrades, multi-modal access, etc. was, "We don't know yet." WisDOT is in charge here, and we don't even know how much say the city will have on many of the decisions.

Wisconsin DOT is not known for having the best public participation process. I have been to many "public hearings," and they often consist of WisDOT staff and consultants standing around boards and posters depicting options for a project and answering questions one-on-one. Then the public is encouraged to write down their comments or submit them on-line. There is rarely a Q&A where everyone in the room can hear the questions that people ask, the answers from WisDOT/consultants, and the comments that others have. This public Q&A is important because many people aren't even sure what questions to ask, and hearing the questions, answers, and comments of others helps them sort through often complex issues.

Finally, for those who live, work, or study in the area of UW Hospital, the west campus, Shorewood Hills, or the west end of the Regent Neighborhood, you may want to know about a meeting on the proposed plans for the intersection of University Ave, University Bay Drive, Campus Drive, and Farley St. The meeting will be held at the Shorewood Hills Village Hall from 5:30 - 7:00 PM. This is a very large, and very multi-modal intersection, with lots of people walking and biking through it, as well as about 50,000 cars per day, many of whom are making turns at the intersection. There is also a very busy bus stop, with over a dozen bus lines stopping there. All these bus rides need to cross the intersection, either in the morning or the evening. All these bus riders are also pedestrians when they cross. The Campus Dr Path also ends here, with many bicyclists trying to connect with routes through Shorewood Hills, or crossing to the south side of University to access the Kendall/Bluff bike route. No matter how you travel, if you need to use this intersection on a regular basis, you should think about submitting comments.

Sorry, no link for this meeting, as it doesn't appear to be on the City of Madison web site or the Village or Shorewood Hills. Also, no link to the plans developed by Strand & Assoc (I think), which, last tome I saw them, were less-than-ideal for non-motorized transportation.

Transportation issues on Brenda's WYOU program

A few weeks back, I taped a segment for Brenda Konkel's program on WYOU. If you want to watch it, you can view it here.

As you can guess, the topic was transportation. This was taped before the decision was made on the location of the high speed rail stop, so portion of the program talked about the pros and cons of the options, how the decision was being made, etc.

But we also talked about a wide range of other issues and topics, including:

• Why transportation can make or break affordable housing.
• What is a multi-modal station, and why should be build one in Madison?
• What happened with the "find the Greyhound stop" game?
• What is a bike station, and where would they work in Madison?
• What's up with the RTA? Why it's not just about trains. 
• What is bus rapid transit?
• How does the city decide what roads are going to be built? What's the TIP?

And many more topics.

I noticed a few slips on my part, like when I talked about the high speed rail line, and mentioned that many people travel between Milwaukee and "Chicago"  several times per week, when I meant to say Milwaukee and Madison. Oh, well, in general I think it went pretty well. Brenda asks really good questions, and lets her guests get into the meat of the issues. That's rare for an interview.