Blogs

Join a world celebration of alternative transportation. Every September 22, people from around the world get together in the streets, intersections, and neighborhoods to remind the world that we don't have to accept our car-dominated society.

For more information about World Carfree Day go to http://www.worldcarfree.net/wcfd/

Just learned on the Bicycle Advisory Board list of a site set up to map reports of people parking in bike lanes: http://spokane.mybikelane.com/

I found a similar site yesterday for New York City that's full of photos and license plate numbers. Some of the comments on that site are pretty raw, and in my view just contribute to the perception of an adversarial relationship.

Maybe we can start drawing gentle attention to the importance of clear bike lanes, while keeping a little "Spokane nice" in the posts on this site.

--barb

One of the greatest hindrances faced by Spokane's bicycling advocates is that the powers-that-be, the mayor and city council, don't hear from cyclists about their concerns. Believe it or not, these people value input from those they are elected to serve. The adage that the squeaky wheel gets the grease is is very much in play when it comes to local politics.

Please, please, please contact the mayor and your city council representative and thank them for establishing and funding a bicycle/pedestrian coordinator for the city. Not only will they appreciate positive feedback for what they have done, but you will also make the cycling community more visible to them which will pay dividends in the future. You can thank them via postal mail, email or by making a phone call to their office where you may speak to them, their support staff, or you might leave a message of thanks. It's all good. Links to contact information are below.

Spokane City Council contact information

Mayor Mary Verner contact information

This past week, the city council voted to fund a bike/ped coordinator for the next few years. The position pays reasonably well, $30k according to some reports, but won't be a continuing position nor will it provide benefits, at least at this point. It's hoped that the position, and the person in the position, prove essential and it/they become a fully funded position within the city bureaucracy.

What this position does is make it so cycling interests can be more readily represented at various levels of city government. Most meetings among city staff are held during the 9-5, or 8-4 or whatever a working day might be and Bicycle Advisory Board members, having jobs and professional commitments they are expected fulfill in order to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, found it increasingly difficult to attend these meetings. The coordinator will work to keep cycling interests front and center during the day-to-day workings at city hall and should result in BAB members not having to scramble to get meetings covered so they can work more on bigger projects, such as the Bicycle Master Plan.

If you see the mayor or your council representative, be sure to thank them for supporting cycling in the city. The job description has yet to be defined, nor is there a hiring timetable as of yet.

Several national transportation reform groups worked together on a national survey about attitudes toward transportation funding.

Check out how we currently spend our federal transportation dollars, and how people say they want them spent:

Roads: Respondents want them to receive 37% of the funds--they get 78%.
Transit: Respondents want them to receive 41%--they get 20%
Walking and bicycling: Respondents want them to get 22%--they get 1.5%

http://www.railtrails.org/whatwedo/trailadvocacy/Advocacy_corner_Aug_08_...

Right on top of the downtown plan, another one is under review and taking comments through Friday, Aug. 8: The downtown/University District transportation plan.

See http://www.spokaneengineering.org/Downtown%20Study/Downtown%20Study.htm for links to the draft, and provide your perspective as a cyclist by sending email to DKSTransportationStudy@spokanecity.org.

--barb

There's a great bike info site for women called www.teamestrogen.com, with very informative forum discussions.

In a discussion there that is of high relevance for those of you in search of the "perfect" bike saddle, I found a link to a saddle info resource for both men and women: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html.

This Thursday, Aug. 7, is the final open house on the downtown master plan update, and also the deadline for public comments on the draft plan.

See http://www.downtownspokane.net/downtownspokane/sub.aspx?id=2516 for links to the plan chapters.

The plan does acknowledge bikes and cycling, but with more emphasis on a pedestrian-friendly downtown than on bike-specific circulation issues. It talks about an increase in transit use due to rising fuel prices, but doesn't acknowledge the parallel impact on bike commuting and the need to plan for that. Etcetera, etcetera.

I'm part of Downtown Macy's Green Team, and our store manager has given us space in the building to park our bikes. Are there any other downtown businesses who offer that?

See http://www.petitiononline.com/bikether/petition.html for a petition asking Google to add a "bike there" option, similar to the Drive There and Take Public Transit options.

See http://GoogleMapsBikeThere.org for more on the request. Google adds features in response to user demand, so numbers really count.