tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20657525543006475422024-03-13T19:32:45.290-07:00The City BicycleQuestioning commitment to the bicycleUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-91081283205060876632014-06-23T16:46:00.000-07:002014-06-23T16:46:00.538-07:00Arkansas: A study in the effects of accelerated depreciation<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxrnQLCj0hgddYcPoAzc6V9XuBtZ5Qk1Oje67RIYwJ9EudD6NXTZ8-St9FNf6yQnvf2yIw-Z9Fsq41d-msvghRudOPFFJNeaAlbtSVy4weEbZ3o7wPL9Gos6griizLjgixjfXE6H2pf-M/s400/arkmontage.JPG">I was really looking forward to Arkansas. From the year I spent in North Carolina, I gained a certain affection for the South, and so as soon as I heard that my colleague and I would have the opportunity to film there, I started fantasizing about escaping the damp end-of-March New York chill and enjoying some good barbecue and fried catfish.<br/>But most of my experience in Arkansas could have been re-created on any strip mall in America. To their credit, Fayetteville and Little Rock did have small historic downtown areas, but the vast majority of the state appeared to be a continual repetition of the same twenty stores you'd encounter on the Connecticut Post Road or on any other suburban commercial development in America.<br/>In this wasteland of national chain stores, I was excited when we finally encountered one small example of localism - a Chick-Fil-A near our hotel in the strip outside of Fayetteville. But as we were enjoying our sweet tea and chicken sandwiches, my colleague informed me that there is in fact a Chick-Fil-A in the NYU food court, erasing my last hope that we'd found something attributable to the fact that we were south of the Mason-Dixon line.<br/>I recently finished reading Building Suburbia by Yale architecture and urbanism professor Dolores Hayden. In the chapter on "edge nodes" she explains how not only were the creation of suburban commercial strips subsidized by federal dollars for highway construction, but additional federal commercial real-estate tax breaks also created incentives for the construction of cheap, suburban commercial sprawl at the cost of older businesses and building stock in historic downturn urban areas.<br/>In 1954, the Republican controlled Congress re-wrote the tax code to permit a seven-year "accelerated depreciation" period for greenfield income-producing property. Previously, the tax code only allowed "straight-line" depreciation, but this new accounting method allowed companies to defer corporate income taxes by reducing taxable income in current years in exchange for paying increased taxable income in future years. This created a huge incentive for companies to sell the property after the first seven years to another owner who could then repeat the accelerated deprecation cycle.<br/>Hayden writes:<br/>"Commercial real estate became a tax-shelter, and venture capitalist were attracted to it, accelerating the turnover of cheap building. Each new round of accelerated depreciation led to another set of profitable losses. After several rounds, structures were abandoned in favor of new buildings in more distant sites. Nothing could have been more damaging to older business in both big cities and small towns."The accelerated deprecation tax break was created by the Eisenhower Administration as an incentive to encourage more construction and growth, and it served that purpose quite effectively. By the time the Tax Reform Act of 1986 eliminated the incentive, there was a huge glut of cheaply constructed strip mall commercial real-estate.<br/>The development of commercial development further and further from urban centers created a world where individually-owned automobiles have become an absolute necessity. I like to imagine that with a bicycle, rain gear and a pair of warm gloves, I could manage to get by pretty much anywhere in America. But with a vast majority of its commercial buildings located along the interstate, Arkansas is the kind of place that life without a car seems, even to me, pretty much unfeasible. There is even a certain pride in the car dependent lifestyle: as my colleague, who was born and raised in Arkansas boasted, in the Razorback state you drive ten feet to the end of your driveway to pick up your mail.<br/>Other than an increase in the price of gasoline, I'm really not sure what could create the kind of incentive needed to encourage urban density. As long as we a have steady supply of cheap gas and undeveloped rural acreage, it seems inevitable that strip-mall development will continue to consume Arkansas and the rest of rural America.<br/>Photo: Entering Bentonville, Arkansas, the birthplace of Wal-Mart.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-76977755946313012022014-06-22T17:58:00.000-07:002014-06-22T17:58:00.572-07:00Stressed biking (and the ego of the dedicated commuter cyclist)<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRyQR2nyQdawx5fNBl9U0VE1i-ZzdGd5icCgm9Z2e8nP_9A7iFiafsOi8kcSrl_QPnzkfDL2dOqpcUt6TkPR4CQ4Ec_Ng5Gi-92dZiAr-Ikov7FLEeQTQ2lo6bYQeWcfGBPWs8M9MCivH/s400/n206185_35125072_6214.jpg">On Thursday I returned to New York and to urban commuter cycling after a month-long yoga training and retreat in Connecticut. As I coasted down 2nd Avenue from Grand Central to my office building downtown, I realized something was wrong. Instead of soaking up the lazy hum of NYC's late-August doldrums, I was stressed.<br/>Every metal grate and lip of the manhole cover signaled impending doom. Every cab was attempting to sandwich me into the giant churning wheels of a tour bus. In every parked car lurked out-of-towners waiting to obliviously open car doors into the traffic stream. It was a clear, sunny morning and I was miserable.<br/>It's not that there weren't days when I dreaded getting on my bike before my break, but usually as soon as I'd start to ride, the adrenaline would kick-in and I'd feel great. Now something was different. I wondered if after a month of yoga and meditation, my stress tolerance skills were out of practice. But then I realized that the real trouble was that I was finally being honest with myself about how stressful riding in the city can really be.<br/>I didn't ride my bike every day because it was always a pleasant and enjoyable experience. I rode because I had some notion of toughness tied up with my ego telling me I needed to ride even when it was icy or raining or late at night and I was exhausted.<br/>I'd hardly had time to go online over the past month and so it was with great anticipation that I logged on to Streetsblog on Monday to catch up on the latest transit and biking news. The top post, however, was a sobering piece about the death of James Langergaard, an experienced NYC cyclists who was killed by a car while crossing Queens Boulevard at 69th Street.<br/>I'm always a little troubled after hearing about a cyclist's death, but usually I can manufacture a reason why I'm a safer cyclist than he or she was. However, James had years of city cycling under his belt and was a committed bike advocate who had spent countless hours helping other cyclists learn how to ride safely in the city. This time there was no rational for my own survival - only good fortune.<br/>Shortly after I'd read about James, a coworker approached me in the office kitchen and said she is inspired by my commuting and was considering starting to bike to work as well. It would save her a lot of time, she said, but she'd never tried because she had a lot of fear about riding in the city.<br/>Before, I would have vociferously encouraged her to overcome the fear. It's not as bad as you think it is out there on the streets, I would have urged. You'll feel terrific.<br/>But now, having just been reminded of our tenuous mortality, I acknowledged that biking in the city is scary and stressful. Sometimes, I told her, that little bit of fear is terrific - it makes you feel alive before you plop down in front of a computer monitor for the next eight hours. But you have to weigh that juiced up feeling with the risks of the endeavor, and if you really don't feel safe, it's just not worth it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-23997540277202836972014-06-21T19:10:00.000-07:002014-06-21T19:10:00.432-07:00Courtesy vs Safety, or Getting Shot At vs Getting Run Over<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXbfJVBRfvhX1Pfy8rSmsZlAY8iaKaLA5fL8bWqoUNCTVfjCR003-USwB_GWPX_wB_5h8HGLDr3JIdcq5KnuxH0sVJB7QRqYHyGUnQMgJ-ubtA3LoZ9PcJP5jSwUBI4Zdz4r7ay9I_7I4/s400/smooth.jpg">In the bicycling portion of my brain, wedged between the Daredevil Lobe and the This Is Good For Me Cortex, there exists much neuronal traffic dedicated to picking a line of travel that keeps me alive. It can be a fine line between being courteous to other traffic and being run off the road. Between making sure motorists are aware of your presence and intentions and causing a flare up of road rage. Nothing like a middle finger fully deployed from a truck revving its engine that then whizzes by you leaving only an inch or two of clearance so that you ruminate the 20x difference in mass and 40x difference in inertia between the Ford Excursion/EnviroDestroyer and you to really make you feel alive.<br/>If I could, I�d always bike in a way that is unobtrusive as possible. I�ll be over as far right as possible on the tarmac to let autos pass. However, there are times when hugging that line will make one�s path of travel quite erratic. Pictured in the photo is an example of the physical narrowing of a roadway, which can happen for all sorts of silly design or design fault reasons. The portion of the road in the foreground has allowance for parallel parking on the right hand side, giving just about enough room for there to be proper bike lane if the city were to put some paint down. Is that a good idea here? Maybe not. It would certainly be a "door" lane (sorry Anna, and RIP Peugeot), and as you can see, it would come to an abrupt end where the road narrows ahead.<br/>One option is to follow the yellow path, hugging the right side the entire way. While this may allow more drivers to pass more easily, it also results in the biker jutting out into the lane resulting in A) car swerving over the yellow line to pass, B) car hitting the brakes, C) bike running into curb, telephone poll, trip to ER, getting $7,000 bill in the mail because hospital missed a number on your ID number, etc. As much as an adventure as C is, sometimes I have prior commitments.<br/>I like follow the red line and make my move to where I�ll have to be riding in the narrower road ahead gradually and early enough to leave some buffer. I like to think this makes cars more conscious of both you and the upcoming change in the roadway. If I know there�s just one car behind me and about to pass, I�ll sometimes hug the right until the road narrows. Aren�t I nice guy? But that�s only if I�m certain there�s just one car. If not, sorry cars. I�ll take my chances on a bird flying out the window.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-4049918172129553332014-06-20T20:22:00.000-07:002014-06-20T20:22:00.207-07:00Brooklyn Bridge CongestionAfter four years of committed bike commuting, in an effort to reduce the amount of stress in my life, I've pretty much stopped riding into Manhattan on my bike. The Brooklyn Bridge tourist congestion has gotten so out of hand, and to cut over to the West Side bike path from the Manhattan Bridge is such a congested, threatening mess, that I've reached the point where I mostly just use my bike around Brooklyn. (I've also had a series of really nasty run-ins with not only motorists, but also pedestrian tourists and cyclists doing stupid illegal things like riding the wrong way in bike lanes). <br/>I honestly think if the City hopes to increase the number of commuter cyclists, there needs to be a re-configuration of the Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian/cyclist path (maybe give cyclists a protected lane on the car deck level). Or if that isn't feasible, we need a safer, more direct way for cyclists using the Manhattan Bridge to get over to all the protected and separated bike lanes on Manhattan's west side.<br/>As an illustration of the commuter's nightmare that is the Brooklyn Bridge cyclists/pedestrian path, here's a video I took yesterday.<br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-57961355083415879222014-06-19T21:34:00.000-07:002014-06-19T21:34:00.074-07:00What about the disabled? A response to Urbanophile<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhwvjH1JqMSE28x6lgRpLjSQL8suQBXkSN9qGr7EL7YiemhMp5HIJa72OGf2QFBy70z9qu4trWRP1jBIs5NudZurjIIRprPcdBt8MY0cpKSTQSIu2PEweNpF3gJhSFCPeq-zF0zNUnnqI/s400/annamumford.jpg">As I�ve mentioned before, I was born the visual impairment that causes my eyes to wiggle, thus reducing my visual acuity and preventing me from getting a drivers� license. Some cities are well equipped for people like me � cities like New York or San Francisco with functional metro and regional transit networks where many people who can afford to own cars chose not to.<br/>But most cities are not. According to the Brookings Institution's Robert Puentes, 54 of the largest 100 metropolitan areas in the U.S. lack both a rail or subway system and a functional bus system.<br/>As someone who can�t legally drive, I agree with Urbanophile�s recent assessment that not owning a car in such a city is isolating, and I concur with his assessment that residents of such cities who live in the downtown area and choose not to own cars are willfully segregating themselves from the suburban members of their larger regional civic community.<br/>However, for many folks, car ownership isn�t a choice. Not only for the disabled, but low-income families, undocumented immigrants, youth and the elderly often are left to navigate America�s vast suburban and semi-urban wasteland without the protective cocoon of a personal automobile. According to the 2001 National Household Transportation Study, nearly a third of our population doesn�t have drivers� licenses (total population 2.77 million, total drivers� licenses 1.9 million).<br/>The isolation caused by not owning a car was something I experienced acutely while living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and working for a certain (unmentionable) presidential candidate. The campaign was headquartered in Southern Village � a suburban enclave south of Chapel Hill. As I�ve discussed earlier, the problem with Southern Village was its only transit connection to downtown Chapel Hill and the rest of the Triangle area�s sprawling suburbs was a six-lane highway.<br/>Chapel Hill did offer a free shuttle service around the core downtown area surrounding the University of North Carolina, and on weekdays until 8 pm, the NS bus ran once every hour between Southern Village and downtown. However, if you couldn�t sneak out of work till 9 or 10 pm, and then needed to get to the drug store before it closed and back in front of your computer in less than an hour, the free shuttle service wouldn�t get you there. Nor would it, at 11 pm, shuttle you downtown to grab a quick drink with co-workers. And if you needed to go anywhere on the weekend, you�d better wear comfortable shoes. None of the bus routes to Southern Village ran on Saturdays, and, God bless the South, the bus system shut down completely every Sunday.<br/>One dark and rainy Tuesday evening late in January, when moral on the obviously failing campaign was particularly depressed, I�d caught the NS downtown to run an errand thinking I�d finish in time to catch the last bus back to the "Village." The checkout line was longer than I�d hoped, and I�d had to sprint the final block to the bus stop only to see the bus taillights disappear down the hill. Cursing, I was standing at the bus stop, catching my breath and steeling myself to walk home when a CCX bus pulled up at the stop.<br/>The CCX, short for the Chatham County Express, ran later than the NS and, though it wasn�t technically supposed to make a stop at Southern Village, it passed right by it on it�s way to the Chatham County Park 'n Ride a few miles down Highway 15-501.<br/>The doors opened. I weighed the risks � if the conductor refused, I�d end up down the highway five miles south of Southern Village. But if the conductor would make an unscheduled stop, I�d be home in a hot shower in 10 minutes.<br/>I got on the bus. As we merged onto the highway, I walked to the front of the bus and asked if the bus driver could drop me off at the Southern Village exit.<br/>"You know this bus don�t stop there," she said.<br/>"I thought it could stop at night," I lied.<br/>"Well, it don�t," she said. Silence. We were approaching Southern Village. I started to cry, and I wasn�t faking it. I was exhausted and miserable at the thought of jogging five miles in the rain back up the dark country highway.<br/>"What are you gonna do?" she asked.<br/>"Guess I�ll have to walk back up the highway," I replied.<br/>"Well, what are you gonna give me?" I was confused. Was she asking for a bribe? I didn�t have any cash on me. There were just two other passengers on the bus and they were watching our exchange with interest now.<br/>"A gold star in heaven," I said, watching as my bus stop approached. The South is getting to me, I thought, now I�m invoking religious guilt to get home. The bus slowed.<br/>"Don�t tell anyone I did this, okay?" the driver said. "I�ll get in trouble."<br/>"I won�t tell anyone. Thank you so much," I mumbled, pushing through the doors into the damp suburban quiet.<br/>I survived North Carolina carless for another month, and then, after the campaign finally imploded, I moved back to New Haven to live with my partner. Now I had the Metro-North commuter train to get to and from my job in New York, and I could rely on my partner to drive me to the suburban Stop 'n Shop to pick up groceries on the weekends.<br/>If I hadn't had my husband to drive me, navigating New Haven's suburbs on foot or by bus wouldn't have been much easier than North Carolina, which brings me back to the point of how we, as a society, can assure that people without drivers' licenses have some degree of mobility outside of major metropolitan areas.<br/>Of course, ideally the zoning density and transit systems in small and mid-sized American cities would improve to the point that cars wouldn't be the only really practical modes of transport, but this isn't going to happen overnight.<br/>If we're willing to blantantly subsidize car ownership with federal tax dollars, perhaps there could be a parallel "cab voucher" program for those unable to obtain driver's licenses. Such a program would not only make transportation more accessible to those without cars, but it would also create demand for cab and car service providers to expand in smaller urban and suburban communities.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-55964254442900197202014-06-18T22:46:00.000-07:002014-06-18T22:46:04.382-07:00Bike to Work Month, More Than Green PR?<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVsKZx_y0NJRVOuUbsSUKragQ7wDULc7Ik5wBSV0diDtlSFkj0PWmI98KPLoiKROZamW3Ux28ZhzwCHGDkLPKJD0QRk-lilxAg93vSc2AuhQm_I6Vtpj3nd7L3Q5wkRFGykY4na6c78ee/s400/bikelog.jpg">I have had my moments of skepticism about whether the designation of May as "Bike to Work" month does more to fill the "we need to look like we're doing something 'green'" publicity desires of businesses and local governments than it does to actually increase the number of people who become regular bicycle commuters.<br/>But recent conversations with my mom, who lives in a small town in Washington State, have put my cynicism in check. Even as a regular year-round bike commuter, she's incredibly enthusiastic about the May bike commuter events organized by her local transportation department and has been obsessively logging her bike commuting miles in hopes of winning the bike-commuter challenge grand prize of a Dutch bicycle. She even mailed me a photocopy (Image 1) of her millage log so I could see how committed she's been to getting in her miles.<br/>My mom also mailed me a copy of her union's May health newsletter, which <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWlBGZU2CMRy-aujstLeyTrsJF0pJGCvRvve9wKzH8FZs1pkiwfUqSPrOl3V9yJ5wp3NisSNVTCg0N78vcSo7JflqGlo2dI3vVmwt7JQnuOyrAO8tq1AirAt_bJe0xrkF3XxzltaH0aT9/s400/bike2.jpg">in honor of bike to work month, dedicated a section to the benefits of bicycling (Image 2). Having worked in the labor movement for a number of years during which time I don't think I ever came across efforts to encourage healthier lifestyles, I got pretty excited to see AFSCME promoting cycling to their membership. I can only hope that other unions will follow their lead once they realize how having a healthier, more physically active membership would decrease long-term health care costs.<br/>So I guess I'm willing to look past all the favorable press hits generated for bike month sponsors and appreciate that having a yearly month dedicated to bicycling may indeed get more people out of their cars and on to the tarmac.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-69427394203910861762014-06-17T23:58:00.000-07:002014-06-17T23:58:00.061-07:00From Rainy Puget Sound, Two Inspirational Bike Commuters<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVSM9ajbpgI9KIvHOgoorldWTD3HXvnUlqCPdeFKrH3CCeX724Uu4pqGjfkqKp0qB47A9B4rnLAY9Kowtq_r2vAfDr9sNoiHHttUxTeKyNI2zKMihWSsq4A8uUmQDNcWXyai9udnFs427/s400/IMG_0270.JPG">I spent the holidays with my parents in Washington, and although I didn't make it out on a bike to enjoy the unseasonably unrainy (dry is never an adjective that can be used to describe northwest winters), I was inspired by two very dedicated bike commuters.<br/>Last time I wrote about my parents' commuting choices, my mom, who has to be at her job at the grocery store at 5am, said she was too scared to ride the eight miles into town on the dark rural roads every morning. But over the last year, her desire for exercise and a little fresh air motivated her to invest in bright lights and fenders, and so now she's commuting regularly on her vintage Jack Taylor.<br/><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dngeJDwZc0cSEt0MdLk6SrpC_P20hfBy9nbh6DWDNd_SjQ4VDd8wmlwZB3eZHmta9C61OtO3BUslc0eohIEi8jWYygujMk6i4Frw07RBOE_xjaIVYqKeXbuiN1rcpNEqTr32p1G6cEHw/s400/IMG_0258.JPG"><br/>Photo 1: My mom holds up the neon t-shirt she wears over her rain gear or jackets. If it gets wet, she just hangs it up to dry when she gets to work. <br/>A few days after Christmas, I was having a conversation with my mom and her good friend Ellie Duffield about the best ways to stay warm, dry and safe during winter biking. Ellie is also a regular bike commuter, traveling from her home in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle to her job in the U-District.<br/>Photo 2: Ellie shows off her high-visibility waterproof backpack cover she designed using a piece of neon waterproof fabric.<br/>When so many bike<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLiAzTdH8UF2MexpkYIqFOuk1FkwUCdQWdazkVJBJsylZoXXCD2LanRuqVNDI3f1hh7SdLpeHho3qcMWGz5roKe-koiwb4z_4LBIThOtY4Rlkz-XgTd1eFdWeGMgdBfgIAJFM2pWpzy70v/s400/IMG_0262.JPG"> commuters and bike bloggers are young, male or both, it's really encouraging to have conversations with older female cyclists who are out there in the rain and the dark, choosing to use a sustainable form of transit. I only hope I'm as strong and as tough when I'm that age.<br/>Photo 3: Bright lights on rural roads are a total necessity, not only so cars see you, but so you can see the pavement, my mom explains, powering on her external battery pack super bright headlamp.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-9857880897627529592014-06-17T01:10:00.000-07:002014-06-17T01:10:00.430-07:00NYC-By-Bike: Tough Luck<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheb6LTHm85X2vSTLXM8dBzwKWw9kM2zUHODaEX2vlvpIwTvGl8WGiKeoVSIBzwmCujUnz-x8-owXeGwHD9RD5kizbEWbrI4bgUrStbN_ZikiaLwqk7z3WmiNGrmvGjkwweWgpNna9XUtqI/s400/DSCF2054.jpg">From a series of posts on exploring New York's neighborhoods, bike lanes and parks. <br/>Cold overcast Seattle weather today. I wasn't feeling very inspired to leave the warmth of my kitchen, so I decided to tag along with my husband on his commute to work in Chelsea (Photo 1). I figured after he peeled off, I could keep going up the West Side bike path, around the tip of Inwood, and then down t<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12KcuWBq8fRVzOof-fw91FUD8ZUKcAwQFKhkSQRLOcvEt91k9O1HdAOcCcxg5DtKMwqDG3GK0nbjtRehC8s9u5mRUuHs8K9kIULGG1DGWVN2u3ftg-jW5snF3unQkIOWt91bFfnPsn20O/s400/DSCF2058.jpg">he greenway along the northeast part of Manhattan that I'd never bike on before.<br/>Despite the chill, the ride started out well enough. I stopped for a water break around 92nd Street (Photo 2) and then continued on, keeping my speed up to stay warm until I had to stop and carry my bike down the stairway where the bike path ends at Riverside Drive (Photo 3).<br/><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLABM08hFvycoPdGe2YNPJwiv4lHUEptQ8uQF_upDNpggn452cu6SU0YSfA38YjZO2zH3pFmqfHh5ewknwuU2aiPiQAFw2xf7G6lLxOEMy-CWpQ1s30tcrejObBlPlKBueZl1YBA3CnWSK/s400/DSCF2063.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeQJ2DmdSarXsfySGpdvzqpjVCMpnuymoRN2ejnVQUCAsNl4R-FIfS8mHNW3hoOpDcuLfjM4LGUDjsgbHIZETW2fpwPOZ1RqIuN_X-vLwhSmeATUUNvxXeCebggH6773L5k-uLo2M-itfj/s400/DSCF2064.jpg"><br/>I veered off Riverside and onto the bike path on Dykeman, which after a few blocks became a separated greenway that paralled Harlem River Drive. I didn't see any other cyclists, which struck me as a little odd considering there'd been a constant stream of bikers along West Side. I reasoned that it probably had to do with the path's potholes and intermittent stretches of gravel which made me thankful for my cyclecross frame and thick tires.<br/>But then the path ended abruptly at a set of stairs leading down under the Washington Bridge. The smart thing would have been to tu<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGvSi7nW8qkc_L-B_vnZs2PHsHpEBTKTjTiRON7wtcNVQpZKyuOiFoWeobaH_6-nAPhUYTKw2zv2pxSWDAt2c8dxXCQ0N1LsFYOXIW7gpIpiTmDN-j1IqZ7m65iZPZGme1Blv8DlFsnjV/s400/DSCF2065.jpg">rn around, but I thought I saw the continuation of the path on the other side of the overpass (Photo 4), so I went for it<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLn-YlpcIooOjvdlxaUEu5iLydyYunZlXCIeMIUJn8AEIucO05yALBEFXbBIl8tRrx2fJs0vPRBytniwWoQui_63W1R10lS7wusI1IJab8qnrGpXme3PCHBgy7SM4TkLOJJNogQHQyuwiC/s400/DSCF2066.jpg">. The path did pick up again for a few hundred meters, but then disapeared after the next underpass (Photo 5) and I was stuck snaking my way through the bushed along the outside of the guardrail (Photo 6).<br/>I was able to get off Parkway at the 155th Street exit, and I headed down the lovely wide pike path on St. Nichola<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUYfnHtvlh9s7GVkBdnrgmOZGXUV8gzF0xRN0BZSIYdbBSTX39xa-31mCjviV6elrUnyHwnlhvZMQ9LcSA0z-DVJXuin4ps9c6PfGoFgxq-rK8TvD5BphQJJX_dHaBisQ7PIjYQrVB0MW/s400/DSCF2068.jpg">s to 120th Street, where I turned left back towards the greenway that according to my map stretched from 120th down to the Queensborough Bridge. But as I was heading up the pedestrian overpass to get back to the water, I heard a loud popping noise and lost all pedal traction. My chain had broken, and although I <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wiWJn8QXeZrMj-KGpyebwcQu32IJr4SK8LlYxwjP1qP36cbiqYYz_6f64cUKMKzypv_azF3RZTUHxiW_8MsVXt2I4mpR9LL0Cn47vMIUULnUZo-fXxKg-DWpltzmiLGBsi43jB_p01vh/s400/DSCF2069.jpg">was carrying most everything else I could need for self-repair, I didn't have a chain tool with me (Photo 7).<br/>Bummed that I wouldn't get to explore this piece of East River greenway, but also a little relieved because I hadn't worn enough layers and was freezing, I walked my bike back to Lexington Avenue and caught the train home.<br/>As I sit and type, the sun is coming out making me wish I'd been a little lazier this morning and gotten a later start. The forecast for tomorrow is still rainy, but maybe I'll be able to sneak in a few loops around Prospect Park before it starts coming down hard.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-43058485747320542462014-06-16T02:22:00.000-07:002014-06-16T02:22:00.054-07:00Subsidizing homeownership (and the lobbying efforts of the National
Association of Realtors)<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAN8gUsMLg6Gt12_dMWDkizf_u_EtoNDYnyii390oIoiwWNxdtET3E6lJW5PHVImMSBRNX7DtXtj5NgNAGaf9eFhTDgoJu2ZyZu0ffa44dsXTHnv-f4hhEnXC_2D_x802dsr04_h52vfxV/s400/Picture+2.png"> Last year, after our friend bought a condo in New Haven, we realized that technically we too could afford the downpayment for a home. Swept into the we should really be building equity mindset, we found a real estate agent and looked at a couple of places. But in the process of poking around closet space and fantasizing about tearing out carpets and knocking down walls, I came to the realization that I didn't want to sacrifice the ability to move where my career projected me for the satisfaction of being able to install marble counter tops in the kitchen.<br/>Richard Florida�s recent Atlantic article, How the Crash Will Reshape America, discusses a study by economist Andrew Oswald that showed that places with higher homeownership rates also suffer from higher unemployment. Oswald�s results went as far as showing that homeownership is in fact a better predictor of unemployment than rates of unionization or generosity of welfare benefits.<br/>In his article, discussed on Steetsblog and Greater Greater Washington, Florida argues that "America�s tendency to overconsume and under-save has been intimately intertwined with our postwar spatial fix�that is, with housing and suburbanization," and that the solution "begins with the removal of homeownership from its long-privileged place at the center of the U.S. economy."<br/>Incentives for homeownership extend far beyond the cultural premium placed on the creation of the perfect suburban domestic space. Not only does public funding for road and utility construction subsidize the cost of building suburban communities, but our tax code and federal government programs have, both historically and in the present day, have primarily subsidized single-family home ownership, thanks to influence from the real estate industry.<br/>Since its inception in 1908, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has sustained an active role in shaping federal housing policy. During the Great Depression, NAR successfully lobbied the President Hoover and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) to stimulate housing production through loan guarantees for mortgages for single-family homes. Thanks to NAR�s efforts the FHA originally excluded multi-family from the program.<br/>NAR also successfully lobbied for a mortgage interest income tax deduction. This "mansion subsidy" is an extremely regressive tax, as the amount of the deduction increases with the size of the mortgage. In her 2003 publication Building Suburbia, Yale urbanism scholar Dolores Hayden estimates that this tax break costs the federal government $100 billion a year in lost revenue, and almost half the tax break goes to the top 5 percent of taxpayers � households with income over $100,000 a year. Since 1997, homeowners have been able to write off the first $500,000 from sale of home before capital gains tax, and since last year, first-time homebuyers have been eligible for an $8,000 tax credit.<br/>In February of this year, President Obama included in his budget proposal a provision that would reduce the amount of mortgage payments families earning over $250,000 can deduct from their federal taxes. NAR, of course, is "100% opposed" to the provision and has vowed to "use its formidable array of resources against its enactment." NAR�s power should not be underestimated: it is is America�s largest trade organization with 1.3 million members, and NAR�s PAC spent over $17 million on federal lobbying in 2008, ranking it the 11th largest PAC in the U.S.<br/>Let's hope that as President Obama's attempts to win Congressional support for his tax reforms, transit advocates will seize the opportunity to counter the lobbying power of NAR. And let's continue to discuss the merits of universal homeownership and whether federal incentives for homeownership, incentives that have been extensively shaped by the real estate industry over the last hundred years, are in actuality beneficial for our country.<br/>Photo: Martha Stewart, undercover lobbyist for the NAR?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-77110432714288637232014-06-15T03:34:00.000-07:002014-06-15T03:34:00.783-07:00NYPD: You were asking for it (so don't expect us to help)<img src="http://www.downtownpet.com/blog/uploaded_images/baby.pig-738048.jpg">I got punched in the face on my commute home today. I had just crossed the Manhattan Bridge and was biking south on the bike path on Jay Street. The traffic was backed up, but the bike lane was open. Right in front of me, a car peeled out of the traffic and began to cruise up the bike lane.<br/>At Willoughby, the light was red so the car stopped. I tapped on the trunk to let the driver know that I was trying to pass. As I squeezed past her driver�s side door, I told her she shouldn�t be trying to bypass traffic by driving in the bike lane.<br/>On hearing this, she got out of her car, screaming at me for trying to tell her where she could drive and for touching her car. She started to come towards me and I got off my bike. Before I knew what was going on, she swung at me, punching me in the side of my face. I lifted up my bike to protect myself as she continued to scream at me. At this point, pedestrians pulled her away and a building security guard called the NYPD.<br/>I was a little woozy from the punch but I told her she couldn�t leave the scene because I wanted to press charges.<br/>The cops and an ambulance arrived. I was directed into the ambulance to check my head. I�d blacked out for a second � the impact of the punch had really freaked me out as this was the first time I�d ever taken a punch to the head.(Luckily everything seemed okay. Since the impact was to my lip and jaw, I declined to be driven to the hospital for a cat scan.)<br/>After they had heard her version of events, the cops came and interviewed me. The head officer said that she told him I had punched her first, through her driver�s side window as I was biking past. I told him this absolutely was not true and asked if any of the witnesses on the street had seen this (as many people had seen her slug me). He said the only people who were asserting that I�d attacked first were my assailant and the other occupants of her vehicle, but as far as he was concerned it was my word versus hers. Therefore, if I wanted to press charges, she could also press charges against me.<br/>I had been in too much shock after getting punched to try to find witnesses who would wait around for the cops to show up. I had seen one woman who identified herself with a badge come up to the security guard who was at the scene first and describe to him that I had been attacked, but she wasn�t still around by the time the NYPD was interviewing witnesses.<br/>I asked the cop if it mattered that she had been illegally driving up the bike lane to avoid traffic at the time she assaulted me. He told me that it didn�t matter because "people violate traffic laws in the city all the time."<br/>Thanks for the support, NYPD. Yes, people do break the law all the time, but I�d like to believe it�s the job of our police force to keep our communities safe by actually enforcing the rules.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-23144544555196401032014-06-14T04:46:00.000-07:002014-06-14T04:46:00.675-07:00The true cost of car ownership<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj8xF5J-NXTCwVsrGhLtMU39q_Vgvg-qElNH62LxIFkenRkmCjUhAryLJoS_paGuIBmLL9kOW9VYyKq6b8t7omESNzPp7B6Njd_USkmkAvhahAlYsf5XK_I3InzTlWJE7FEVyIZFfceTif/s400/31car-graf01.jpg">Infrastructurist and Urban Omnibus recently posted an interview with the co-founder of Zipcar, Robin Chase. If you have the time, the full interview is an excellent read, but what struck me as particularly compelling was what Chase said about the cost of individual automobile ownership:"...according to the National Households Consumer Survey, across the nation it costs $24 per day on average that people are spending in America on their car, day in and day out. If I were to tell you that it was going to cost $125 a week to go to work, you would say, no way, I�m not going to do it. But we are doing it - we just don�t realize we�re doing it."In the early part of this decade, I worked as a union organizer for SEIU in the Silicon Valley and many of the low wage immigrant families I was working with considered car ownership an unaffordable luxury. In the current recession, and with gas prices starting to creep up again, I started to wonder if a significant number of Americans, despite a lack of practical public transit options, are having to give up on individual automobile use.<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKAgfUo6EpYwC5avkFbzFiUh0G_5nj6AnFtVZiZcS9D-VWvV-EzGjbOJTDGm9wyAoQklgRzc2gFOxZ73h1Voo_xSNPG-ofmAB-re-aIBWq7ps6pDrDvxGX4_dePVgbkUoKoxGriwZF94lU/s400/light-vehicle-sales.png"><br/>The most recent national statistic I could dig up on household car ownership was from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey, which found 8.7 million families in the United States did not own cars (8.1 percent of all households). But that percentage of car-less households is probably on the rise. Felix Salmon notes on his Reuters blog that car sales have dropped precipitously in recent months (see Figure 1 - via the NYTimes and Figure 2 - via PeakVt). Salmon explains:<br/>"...for most of the past decade, every group of 1,000 people bought about 60 cars a year and ended up with about 3 more vehicles at the end of the year than they had at the beginning. So what happens when they�re only buying 35 cars a year? Even if they manage to hold on to their old clunkers for a bit longer than they otherwise might have done, the total number of cars per 1,000 people is likely to fall quite dramatically..."<br/>I would argue that this decline in new car sales, as well as the choice of the 8.7 million households to remain "car-free," is based more on economic necessity than a desire to use green transportation. The National Household Travel Survey didn't provide household income or demographic data, but Smart Growth America estimates that African Americans households are about three and half times more likely not to own a car than white families, and Latino households are two and a half times less likely. As our economy falters and the price of oil continues to rise, car ownership may become an unaffordable luxury for even a larger number of Americans.<br/>Chase's new project is GoLoco, a website that facilitates ride-sharing, She is enthusiastic about the project because it will help working families who are struggling to afford car ownership, but must rely on a car to commute to work. She says in the interview that, "Ride sharing is going to be significant while we transform our infrastructure to be less car-dependent. While we have such a high cost of car travel in such a car-dependent country, I don�t see another solution."<br/>According to Complete Streets, in 2001 when the price of gas was closer to $2 a gallon, an average American family already spent 18 percent of their income on transportation. The relative cost for lower-income Americans was even higher - 36 percent of the income of the poorest fifth of American families went towards transportation costs.But let's not forget, even shared car ownership is beyond the means of many working poor in our country. In the audio clip "Struggle for Transportation" included with Barbara Ehrenreich' recent NYTimes Op-ed, Too Poor to Make the News, Ehrenheich describes how with the recession, even the cost of public transit has become too much for some working families, resulting in a larger number of late-night cyclists along major Los Angeles thoroughfares. (The larger article describes the recession's effects on the lives of America's working poor who were struggling long before the derivatives bubble burst, unlike the formerly wealthy and middle class "Nouveau Poor" that have snagged most of the hard knocks press coverage.)Like universal health care and a living wage, affordable public transportation should be accessible to all working families in our country. Government polices that promote individual car ownership over investments in public transit are not only bad for the environment, but they fail to serve working families to whom car ownership is a large financial liability if not an outright impossibility.<img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif"> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-4275973744472072142014-06-13T05:58:00.000-07:002014-06-13T05:58:00.173-07:00More Brooklyn Neighborhoods Linked Through Bike Lane Network<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrfLXUOiuCMLmxeRUTnIYWOMEUHn__GzcGKFcoPfHBmbHxgPk982KwidT9bgev5zhMFjiokmCVP9R2zFfT6px0vulQ1uZ1XCek-vPgLxmWnp9lAg2I84dSpMHxZMv1y_Y8EfjHcRmzqWqh/s400/06282010116.JPG">Biking from Red Hook to Borough Park yesterday, I was amazed by how much of the way I was able to travel down dedicated (and sometimes protected) bike lanes. From Red Hook I headed up 9th Street to the new and sadly controversial two-way protOected lane on Prospect Park West, entered the Park at 15th Street and exiting to take the protected bike lane down Ocean Avenue. Often when I'm traveling to southern Brooklyn, I hop on the train to avoid the speeding traffic that comes hand-in-hand with the car-centricity of the outer edges of the borough. But having safe and separated bike lanes made all the difference. Now if only I didn't have to compete with crazy drivers on 4th Avenue on my commute to Bay Ridge.<br/>Photo: Paint still fresh on the Prospect Park West bike laneUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-77741271966695324212014-06-12T07:10:00.000-07:002014-06-12T07:10:00.468-07:00New Video: Food Almanac, Forecasting the Year Ahead in Food and Farm
Policy and Politics<br/>A short clip with highlights from the panelists at Food System NYC's Food Almanac Event on February 2. See more food policy videos at Letitia Productions.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-84436528801590471122014-06-11T08:22:00.000-07:002014-06-11T08:22:00.034-07:00Business class<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dRr9ROGxkLquq7e1h6liaF6bOsUk_kHx5QVIyFZlyXOcpVBHmou1rRZG-L5c4OM1IxRy_NfYZS3OP7DBuyU30d9Xw3pjQ1gepzrxmiR1hVHh7R40-tYXl_dHgf-7zD7fhDmtKrL7BORZ/s400/Picture+4.png">Over the past month I�ve traveled out to Sayville, Long Island and up to Syracuse to conduct a series of work-related interviews. Traveling for work often requires some negotiation, since getting around most destinations without a rental car either means costly cabs, hours spent on semi-functional public transit systems or bumming rides from business contacts. <br/>It�s always a little awkward having to explain to someone you just met that not only would you like her buy-in on your proposal, but you also need a ride to your next appointment.<br/>The revelation that I�m traveling without a car is understandably met with incredulity. On a business trip to Los Angeles last year, I took a cab from the airport to the downtown hotel where I was staying. As soon as she had confirmed my reservation, the assistant at the check-in counter began to explain the parking-permit system. When I told her I didn't have a car, she was incredulous.<br/>"Well how did you get here then?" she demanded to know.<br/>My latest approach to work-related travel is to arrange for someone who can drive to chauffeur the trip. Of late, that lucky soul has been Maris, who, on the condition that we can take the motorcycle, has agreed to be my chauffeur.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-59971664145460938562014-06-10T09:34:00.000-07:002014-06-10T09:34:00.530-07:00Justice drives a tow truck<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkOtLeRhuWIRp5InVV1cJdWeP4IJR-2enif3Y-NWLHkDmsmocgM0yUI8Z3GADC0gQ5Napuba2tDJsOxj-9GMQ_m1kYAOFwpYUyRJwXhAcPNS61Bx3535bx9Ehd0zicNVu5NcD-JzS_7Ve/s400/foldingbike.jpg">I was biking to the train station in New Haven this morning on my new folding bike when a driver in a black Mercedes sedan doored me and proceeded to leave the scene after I told him I wanted to file an accident report.<br/>When the police arrived, the driver, who had gone into his nearby apartment, refused to come out and talk to them. I guess he thought he could hide to avoid paying for the damaged wheel and fork and fender on my bike. But the NHPD didn't react too kindly to his decision to hide, and so now, not only will he (or his insurance) be paying for the repairs, but he also had his car impounded.<br/>The sad news is that my shoulder is messed up from slamming into the door. And my vintage Peugeot (see photo), which I bought last week from a bike messenger in Bed Stuy who had broken up with his live-in girlfriend and needed money for a down payment on a new apartment, is totaled.<br/>The silver lining of the incident was that I got to sit in the back of cop car and watch the Mercedes get towed away to the police lot. It so rare in a world of competing motorist and cyclists interests that the scales of justice tilt in our favor, but today, thanks to the NHPD, was just such a day.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-14438076313429999002014-06-09T10:46:00.000-07:002014-06-09T10:46:00.051-07:00No parking on the dance floor<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhAmROFjYUMgtMDmdzhoQHrdIZOZGrxGd3GbtsaKYZli08I6uj9XsCvWTX8H3_aVmhamKc78bP6SmsZEebytF2ga4q_o11zFNGXIc8GN2h5i0BEuMhE6txa1ULI7WUjLIHjEnyjounJE/s400/Picture+3.png">There are a lot of policy wonks out there. Heck, this blog does a lot of flapping its gums. For a while, the mayor of New Haven, John DeStefeno, has been talking about transit-oriented development (TOD) as the guiding light for the city�s future. And rightfully so. New Haven had a bit of a rough period when manufacturing jobs fled in the second half of the last century. So, while the renaissance of New Haven in the last 20 years may have something to do with the hundreds of millions of federal research dollars that come to Yale, it also surely has to do with it being connected to rest of Connecticut�s shoreline cities and, of course, New York City by commuter rail. Those rails now leave New Haven poised to be a major business and transit hub as density continues to increase.<br/>Photo: Union Station and surrounding areas from New Haven Parking Authority.<br/>DeStefano has made the pitch for TOD in a slideshow he was taking around town last year that addressed both short term and long term development priorities, as the city sees it anyhow. Anyone who has taken the MetroNorth to New Haven�s Union Station knows that there�s a lot of room for some smart growth around the train station.<br/>While it�s only a 10 or 15 minute walk to downtown or the New Haven Green, it�s not a pretty walk. Outdated concrete bunker housing projects, the brutal NH Police Station, some highway off and on-ramps, surface parking lots, and the not-so human scale edge of downtown greet any takers. There�s vast potential for not only making this walk a friendly one, but for putting these areas to better use. I wouldn�t be surprise if Donald Trump were to buy up some land around the station to build a residential high-rise in the next decade. There�s the serious question of what will become of the low-income housing as there have been some blunders in New Haven�s past, but most people will agree that the Church St South projects are not very hospitable and impenetrable by foot traffic in their current form.<br/>This is all a long preamble to DeStefano and United Illuminating, the local power company, going at it during a press conference last week.<br/>The mayor�s primary goal was to criticize the planned electricity rate hike. However, it got real interesting when the mayor tried to call out UI for planning to abandon their New Haven offices and move to the suburbs in 2012 when their current lease expires. He was joined by the usual Connecticut political suspects in criticizing this "dumb growth." Some UI execs crashed the party and it turned into a shouting match. DeStefano let UI know he was displeased, especially given that UI had essentially abandoned an old plant in 1999 that remains a brownfield site.<br/>UI argued that employee parking in New Haven was too expensive and, of course, the cheap real estate in Orange would be able offer ample parking for its employees. Why does almost everything in New Haven come down to parking? Homer Simpson may call parking "the cause of, and solution to, all of New Haven�s problems."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-10401231398473649622014-06-08T11:58:00.000-07:002014-06-08T11:58:00.132-07:00Steal This, MoFos!I headed over to my favorite New York bike shop* today to get a new bike lock. After the cops who helped me file my stolen-bike police report told me that bike thieves can easily pop a u-lock off with a 2x4, I wasn't sold on getting a Kryptonite lock. But Hal, New York's bike-security expert, convinced me it was wroth the extra cash. And despite how hard-line he comes across on screen, Hal was actually quite sympathetic when I told him I'd had my last bike stolen after I'd stupidly locked it to scaffolding.<br/>"Remember, it's never your fault when your bike disappears," he consoled. "It's the fault of the people who took it."<br/>And so, as a helpful reminder of how to keep your bike safe on the mean streets of New York, here's StreetsFilms terrific video featuring NYC bike mechanics Hal Ruzal and Kerri Martin.<br/>* I love Bicycle Habitat. When I needed a cardboard box to pack my bike in when I flew to the Yukon a few years ago, I went around to a number of bike shops in the city. Most offered to sell me a box for $30 or $40, but when I walked into Bicycle Habitat and explained my trip, they gladly donated an old box. I've been a loyal customer ever since.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-41565597069017767052014-06-07T13:10:00.000-07:002014-06-07T13:10:00.235-07:00Life outside the cage<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8n9-K2x9pMiE0XCwFuza3glyPX2wdQUf7ec4cgHyVwihE41WD1QcGcRfpFcRrkZh3q5tD69DullFrCQScIwSJJSU-eY22nlmOf32WDFCifTIuHfC6YBclg4EWVtpt030b0_QuhfI93dI/s400/bigwheel"><br/>For most of my driving life, I�ve preferred two-wheeled transportation to automobiles. Living in the Northeast, having a car in the wintertime can certainly be more convenient and practical than a motorcycle. However, using clothing that plugs into my motorcycle�s electrical system to keep me warm, I can ride through just about any type of weather as long as there isn�t snow or ice on the roads. Though, I will get the occasional look from motorists on a 29-degree day that clearly indicates their suspicion that I may have escaped from the loony bin.<br/>Why would I put myself through sub-zero wind chills on a motorcycle when I could be in a car? Well, I think like most things in life, it goes back to my childhood. Riding my first real bicycle � a metallic blue Schwinn Stingray � was a feeling like no other. There�s the feeling of freedom in being able to cover distances, the thrill of going fast, and the visceral wonder and joy that is felt by your body as it somehow understands the very complex laws of physics which keep you upright, though you haven�t studied them yet in school. (Or, more likely, never will. The mechanics behind counter-steering � how a bicycle or motorcycle turns at speed - are astoundingly complicated.) I still feel that joy when I ride my bicycle or my motorcycle.<br/>There is a feeling of exposure on a motorcycle. You experience all the elements around you. You are more sensitive to everything you pass. The wind coming off of the side of the road jostles you around, and you can quickly tell if it just passed over fertilized farmland or salt marshes. The jagged stripes of tar used to seal up cracks in the pavement are not just mesmerizing as they pass below your feet, but can be treacherously slick if the roadway is wet. That car waiting in the driveway � will it try to pull into the road in front of you? The car in the oncoming intersection � is it going to make a left? And unless you are in the invincible late teen years, this fragility is palpable, and makes you think differently about your journey than if you were in a car.<br/>If you�re an English motorcyclist, you may call cars and their occupants "cages" and "cagers." While that term humorously tries to illustrate the trapped and imprisoned state of automobile drivers, to me, it also describes the protection afforded to motorists surrounded by a ton of steel. You can afford to simultaneously check your Blackberry, drink a latte, and fiddle with your iPod when you have airbags, crumple zones, and comprehensive insurance with a very reasonable deductible.<br/>I certainly feel that riding a motorcycle has made me a better driver � one who is more attentive to what others are doing. As a result, I also feel like I notice a lot more bad driving. So much so, in fact, that I need to temper my reaction to idiot driving maneuvers on a daily basis.<br/>Are motorcyclists really more responsible drivers? The numbers seem to confirm the bike-car dynamic I describe: In two-thirds of multiple vehicle accidents involving motorcycles, it is the other driver who violated the motorcyclist�s right-of-way and caused the accident. Mostly this is due to motorists "not seeing" the motorcycle.<br/>Is it really that motorists have a harder time seeing motorcycles than cars? Of course not. The truth is that most accidents are caused by motorists "not seeing" the other vehicle, no matter the number of wheels. And let's be clear: "not seeing" simply means not even looking.<br/>I think that if more of the driving populace were to experience commuting behind the handlebars of a bicycle or motorbike, the roads would be a bit safer.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-47396586562224888342014-06-06T14:22:00.000-07:002014-06-06T14:22:00.524-07:00Butte, Montana and funding a better transit future<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxCOXjKrMIvBCmwDCVO6Q9TethoKTDIK3LjKthOYWGswFaGmxvva_QK0xaMnem6jv7S5Naau2JqDFphYr5P6GVtCrLXsFq125wmy0Vp4XVTJDrdsA5fWMYFOj-L25Na-tPgykzTVSFFa8y/s400/butte.jpg">There are three car rental counters at the Butte airport. There is also a vending machine, restrooms and a luggage conveyor belt. I was supposed to wait here for my cousin to pick me up, but there was no where to sit.<br/>I approached the Hertz counter to see if there was a bus or a shuttle that went from the airport to downtown Butte. No luck. And no one answered the phone at the local cab company.<br/>As my plane banked sharply in the final descent into Butte, the airport seemed close to downtown, so I figured I could walk. An hour later, walking along the exhaust-stained snow on the edge of Montana's Route 2, I'd passed the Wal-Mart, a K-mart, Staples and numerous car dealerships. I could have been on the Boston Post Road in Connecticut save the occasional fly-fishing gear outlet.<br/>I've found there's a certain defiance in attempting to navigate the shoulder-less boulevards of suburban sprawl on foot. When I join the ranks of the delinquent teenage runaways, the deranged homeless veterans and the other wanderers of the public spaces in this low-density wasteland, the passengers in the cars that pass refuse to make eye contact.<br/>Two hours later, after crossing under the Highway 90 underpass, I was still on the strip and I started to wonder if Butte even had downtown. I called my cousin to see if she was off work yet.<br/>"I'm standing in front of Casino Lil's," I told her, admiring what appeared to be a one-stop gas station, liquor store and casino.<br/>"Which Casino Lil's?" she wanted to know. Although endogenous to the Montana hick town, Casino Lil's apparently as ubiquitous as Dunkin' Donuts in the Northeast.<br/>"Um, I'm facing an Exxon station," I said, struggling to locate any identifying feature. "And there's a check-cashing place on my left."<br/>Perhaps it's selfish to wish in my lifetime that a drivers' license will cease to be the VIP pass to adulthood, independence and freedom in America. But if our country is serious about achieving energy independence and reducing our carbon footprint, we all stand to benefit from reexamining our monogamous commitment to the automobile.<br/>Proponents of hydrogen-cell and electric cars argue that we'll be able to retain the car-centric infrastructure by simply replacing our gas-guzzling vehicles with newer technologies. Even when, and if, these become cost-efficient alternatives, there are health and quality-of-life arguments for moving away from the construction of car-dependent communities.<br/>With the stimulus bill it is now considering, Congress has the opportunity to direct funding towards building and sustaining our nation's public transit systems. Let's hope they take this opportunity to begin building a different America, an America that isn't so wedded to its Cadillacs and Hummers and miles and miles open highway.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-56922164981733902702014-06-05T15:34:00.000-07:002014-06-05T15:34:00.433-07:00Some Things Are Universal<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1z6pXDEiHbsbav4_4FOcrty_ZuDhTOQcyqlACEHyDA-y0uNbLpzpn2lv1Yx8SVV4CXgBIiSkV9Rug-AEF99NxTnmp00_hldG4UGbQq_q9MkMdPufQKyGGXip5aIWdja0sH6xvpLltXBWd/s400/IMG_0570.JPG"><br/><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEaKaaSnCOKiAuymeI4NKQbuKF8n98lVNPx86q4NvJfOkadsvxaKkyreVkJDGKcIh41pzTnF4ACOLXNx-DEITxVNEALBtzTpPe8xbQCfWtatJEXTSW3r1FUS_Y5vmKQC0d9Ofo5UEbdbNn/s400/IMG_0569.JPG"><br/>While visiting Santiago this past week I couldn't help but notice that, like drivers in NYC, Chilean motorists seem to have the same disregard for the dedicated bike lane.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-88349512240442921552014-06-04T16:46:00.000-07:002014-06-04T16:46:00.131-07:00Who Stole My Baby? (Bike Jacking on 14th Street)<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYNJV5rkH82TDsToTn8rzGvDl31QGTTo2IEKAzTXKaB66-hhUO5t8F2yikqhINcm1Xu3XNsAszIlCiA8WoLeWFTNmuD3Aw5YuqVERWCiTocQ2igkqca4MiXYuTDuvQ2kSDQDtve696KQ_/s400/P8212438.JPG">My bike got jacked today and, while it's not the first bike I've had stolen, I'm pretty torn up about it.<br/>I'd locked it to scaffolding on 14th Street and when I came back an hour later, it was gone. The bolts on the scaffolding had been unscrewed and the bike and u-lock slipped off.<br/>Although its monetary value wasn't that great, I had a bit of an emotional attachment to this bike. It's seen me through four years of bike-commuting in NYC, and it came with me on my 2000-mile saga through the Yukon and British Columbia (photos 1 & 2).<br/>I know the chances of ever seeing it again are infinitely small, but I figured I might as well put the word out there. It is (or was, as I hear i<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-hpC6AsCITgT_jl1Eu9vuMA9rO4yNK_YzOOyOpJvUV7gnR3mit3Y2jNC0KOOtE1ZvYFE5-2PxJ4J3Ua1vyEMmwQ9AwZBmHXiYfEN4kDvNgRLnKW1Mmklgygs5zKUsIBsBTgKM0qQGQdL/s400/DSC_2293.jpg">t will likely be repainted or covered in stickers before it's resold) a tan, black and gold Specialized 56cm cycle-cross bike with tan handlebar tape and clip-in pedals.<br/>And if I never see you again, RIP, my trusty companion. I thought I took pretty good care of you when you were around. Sorry I never found the time to put on that new chain I bought you last month.<br/>The cops assured me your next life will likely be as a food-delivery vehicle. All I can say is that I hope you make it many more years on the mean streets of New York, and that you get to deliver something tasty like tacos or samosas and not greasy Chinese food.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-58720796349467437872014-06-03T17:58:00.000-07:002014-06-03T17:58:00.258-07:00A Bell's Not a Bell 'Til You Ring ItMy 16 year old road bike has finally received a few tweaks to make commuting a bit easier. A bicycle that I once coveted for its clean, classic Italian racing lines now has a bell. Receiving it as a gift, I was excited to mount it as riding daily from Brooklyn to Manhattan - usually over the Brooklyn Bridge - there are occasions when reminding a pedestrian, driver, or fellow bicyclist that you are there is useful. I actually try to keeps it's use to a minimum, partly to be as generous as possible given all the bike-pedestrian heat lately, and though it's not nearly the same, I do not want my "ring-ring" to be viewed the same as speeding drivers' "courtesy" honks which drive me mad. Are they different? I'd say yes, based solely on mass.<br/><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixfF73JY2sP5gg8L7o4m5tkuXTQb-_hci95DP3WMMdLs_DigNiHuPrcmkyoQn7tQPcztRvdUHTbXeVs6MoFeELAyeS1Cp21IAnvdk0XiUsxVplO25LxgC_WTUvcBc2dB3yZkSYlZNhOwg/s400/bianchibell.JPG">The little yellow bell that I had, unfortunately didn't fit my road bars, be they bare or taped. It was too small. Intended for mountain bike bars I suppose. So, I had to modify it bit. Basically, I cut off the adjustable plastic ring, and then put a few screws through a hose clamp into the underside of the bell. (Aside: hose clamps can be used for just about anything that needs fixing. I always keep a few in my motorcycle tool kit just in case.)<br/>Now that I could properly mount it, I first tried on top of the bars, where you usually see bells mounted. It lasted about a day there. I had to move my hands from the hoods of my brakes to use it, and well, it's when you use your bell that you should actually be most ready to potentially slow down or maneuver.<br/><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_foVw9ITQtc5aSff_92-wrvDpFGZFx4Y9N2RQD8RL-M8obzXTduHlxAxBtthrS7Op4CKTrCIxmNaimA7IwDA6nq35v0KS2VRjhVCJvq4JmoiCP0-q0cJM4ON3u9Muq8sP_fcGVbFrV40/s400/bianchibell2.JPG">So, I moved down on the bend of the bars, just below the brakes, so I can give a flick with one of my fingers while riding on the hoods, ready to brake. As an added bonus, something about this mounting position makes the bell gently toll when riding over rough terrain, like the boards of the Brooklyn Bridge deck. Just enough to hear me coming. Unless of course, you're running with your iPod headphones pushing a double-wide stroller with a dog leashed to it. There's nothing me or my little bell can do about that.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-78294472419840439562014-06-02T19:10:00.000-07:002014-06-02T19:10:00.731-07:00Bike Fossil<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCzn2GA-nai4k_PQOoKtUEqUiJ3ZPamycX2mfrts4gqHHFgo97IOvs509Fwtpd1PEplvij5UWyP0CSJrmOEa9US9S4PKzemv-M4wW9jHS_TrReb4waNUOZGXR4-YIw6LywDYkjau6aIO_/s400/IMG_0599.JPG">Discovered on an expedition to get groceries on Friday after the blizzard.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-21747672463717192012014-06-01T20:22:00.000-07:002014-06-01T20:22:00.717-07:00Dangerous<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIO7pobmz1nGzRwK5WPI46sBFLKoCqvqJectjK7YuZ6q0_eWD5h5rw1fPEMc6y0xGXEcGYVVQ8V7AZ2SjnFBixduoRxm_nsTtlrP6mrj1-tx06Rc9IJW5VxIwPfB3OAi3LDCFsU454fkqS/s400/birdseye.jpg"><br/><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9m1SNwukqeIPxS7i-2xt95dyNdX59LooDt769zPZd_kvhx720X8lnICGuIgpoJwjCZo-tLpvA4cPIGJTIeI_cfP823gN42Q4UBzueQh8AaskPPdHK_McKKC8HOpymRMwLqRxdrme859sY/s400/lefthandimage1.gif"> To replace my beautiful vintage Peugeot that was destroyed in a dooring incident, I recently purchased a Brompton folding bicycle off of Craigslist. It's a lovely piece of engineering, and it folds up small enough to sneak it through the security checkpoint at my office (the building security maintains that they won't allow any type of bicycle, even of the folding variety, past the entryway).<br/>Because of its amazing compactness, I don't have to fret about leaving the Brompton locked outside. It's small enough to carry into grocery stores or coffee shops � I even sat it under that table at Spitzer's in the LES one night. And it's an amazing conversation piece. I'm stopped on the street at least daily by folks who want to know what it is and where to buy one.<br/>While the Brompton has received an overwhelmingly positive reception from people who in most cases probably don�t consider themselves pro-bike, I did have one stunningly negative response from a group of fellow train-riders. My primary reason for getting the Peugeot, and then the Brompton, is because Metro North still doesn't allow full-sized bikes on most trains.<br/>When I have the Brompton with me, I sit in one of the end rows and, since the folded Brompton is smaller than your average roller-bag carry-on suitcase, it fits comfortably in the gap between the seat and the aisle.<br/>Last week, on my way into work in the city, a group of women boarding in Milford edged into the three adjoining seats. As she tugged at her too-tight khaki capris, their ringleader glared at the Brompton at my feet and commented to her fellow commuters how it was "dangerous" to allow such things on the train<br/>Refusing to make eye contact with me, her friends proceeded to agree that it was risky to allow such an item on the train and how upset they were that the conductor didn�t ask me to take it off.<br/>Their conversation then shifted to how awful the traffic was these days and how one of them had spent an hour yesterday in her SUV stuck in traffic on Route 34.<br/>In no way was my folded Brompton posing any risk to this group of women, and the vitriol in their reaction shocked me. I guess it�s a good reality check about the extent of anti-bike bias that persists in our country, a highly illogical and emotional reaction that that continues to thrive despite the well-established truths that biking is good for your physical health while increased driving results in traffic and pollution.<br/>Photos: Profile of a folded Brompton and a birds-eye view of a folded Brompton (from the Brompton website).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2065752554300647542.post-6891718335236174782014-05-31T21:34:00.000-07:002014-05-31T21:34:00.288-07:00A little personal space (the separated bike lane)<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpv_7tqp-8FDhkVWs6IBn27I-w2p-NPgXJnUmYkbvyRJmQIo4vuZoXuPwD3yhciw7PvBWOJyMfKkMxoVRyGL4cb2IDUQqIebs9tCOTDvwEoftG36ncgK8wH_rFCPf-q6PF4kLrIQvq8jx/s400/parkway.jpg">While the number of people commuting by bike has risen over the last few years - in New York City, commuter cycling grew 35 percent between 2008 and 2007 - a fear of accidents prevents many potential commuters from venturing onto the roadways.<br/>The danger is real. In 2007, 698 bicyclists were killed. This may seem small, considering how many people are killed in car accidents every year, but proportionally bike riding is more dangerous. While two percent of traffic fatalities are bicyclists, less than one percent of all transit is made on bikes, so cyclists are killed more frequently.<br/>My father is an example of someone who is too scared by traffic to commute to work. I asked, him, last time I was visiting my parents at home in Washington State, why he prefers to take the bus or carpool with my brother. With lovely and spacious bike lanes, extremely courteous drivers - at least by New York standards - and relatively mild weather, wouldn�t it make sense?<br/>It just wasn�t worth the risk, he told me. In the last few years, a number of his acquaintances had been hit while cycling. While no one was killed, all had been injured pretty seriously and one had been hospitalized for months.<br/>Later that visit, I was in the car with my mom driving through the Evergreen State College campus parkway. Formerly a four-lane drive, the college had recently spent a good chunk of taxpayer dollars converting one of the lanes in each direction into a bike lane, separated by a curbed and grassed divider from the traffic lane.<br/>"Waste of money," my mom commented. "There was already a huge shoulder." That was true, the parkway did have an ample shoulder. But cars traveling on the parkway, which connected the college to Highway 101, were often traveling 50 or 60 mph, and from my previous experiences biking there, had no qualms about using that generous shoulder as a passing lane.<br/>I'd never been on a truly separated bike lane before - the one on New York's 9th Avenue hadn't yet been built - so I borrowed my dad's dusty mountain bike and went for a ride to check it out.<br/>It was incredible. I felt invincible. And I started to fantasize, imagine how many more people, people like my father, would feel safe enough to bike to work if every street was like this, if every bike lane was clearly marked and separated from speeding and reckless drivers?<br/>Photo: The separated bike line on Everygreen State Parkway, Olympia, WashingtonUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0