Amanda,
If you really believe that we are going to get 20% bicycle commute mode share by 2020, then why didn't you ask the mayor for more than "not disproportionate cuts"? If the bicycle mode share is really going to double, then shouldn't the funding equation tilt in favor of the modes that are going to be gaining share and against those that are losing share? We have to believe and act as if that 20% is a certainty. If we don't, we create a self-fulfilling prophesy that will produce failure. The road lobby is going to be walking into the discussion with a rock-solid certainty developed over decades that the driving mode share is going to be growing. And they will have city engineers using traffic modeling software fed with 1970's era assumptions that are going to project a nightmare scenario unless we expand current levels of road funding. The City Engineer is sure to cite the fact that we have a backlog of road projects and that we need to "catch up" on our road building while labor costs are low due to the economy, and if we don't catch up, we are going to miss out on an opportunity for economic growth. City Council Members will have images of automobile congestion dancing through their heads, and reacting emotionally to that thought when the road-builders are speaking about the "needs" we have. And many on the council will be switched off by what they view as "anti-car" views of people promoting alternatives. How are we going to respond to that reality? I am going on vacation on August 4th, but I will try to put some ideas together on how to deal with this situation. From: Amanda White [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 2:38 PM To: Matt Logan Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Bikies] New Chicago Cycle Track Increases Bicycling by 60%! Hi Matt, Yes, you are right that funding is a huge obstacle in bicycling funding. We did meet with the Mayor and asked that we not see disproportionate cuts to our bicycle budget. I'm interested in coordinating a meeting for bicycle supporters to discuss the 2012 budget and an action plan for protecting our funding. I agree that we need a plan and we need to be organized. One of our first opportunities is at the Community Budget Discussion that the city is holding on August 16. We should plan to get together before then. Amanda ________________________ Amanda White Associate Director Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin (608) 251-4456 [email protected] www.bfw.org <http://www.bfw.org/> On Tue, Jul 26, 2011 at 2:12 PM, Matt Logan <[email protected]> wrote: I have been following the use of cycle tracks in NYC on streetsblog for quite some time and they can be a very effective tool for capturing a higher mode share of bicycling. However, the greatest obstacle to achieving the goals of 20by2020 is not a lack of great tools, but the current budget situation which is almost certainly going to force big cuts for services that serve "special interest" demographics like bikies. At the same time the outcry for more road spending for "the majority" will certainly continue. If we are serious about achieving the 20by2020 goals, we need to have a plan that can convince city leaders that we really will have 20 by 2020, and that we don't need as many new car lane-miles as a result. Otherwise, we are going to find that there will not be enough money to fund the bicycle facilities for the "special interest" because the money is "needed" for "the majority". From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Amanda White Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 11:41 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Bikies] New Chicago Cycle Track Increases Bicycling by 60%! Hello Friends, The article below announces the first statistics on Chicago's new Cycle Track. Bicycling on Chicago's new Cycle Track has increased by 60% and a count conducted one morning showed 48% of morning traffic was bicyclists. http://gridchicago.com/2011/it%E2%80%99s-official-kinzie-is-ready-to-ride/#m ore-486 This shows the dramatic effect a Cycle Track can have on ridership. Women, children, and seniors feel more comfortable when riding in a separated, better protected bike lane. Expanding our success on Segoe Rd. and creating a strategy for increasing buffered bike lanes and cycle tracks in Madison could help in achieving 20by2020. The Bike Fed would like to hear what folks on this list serve and others in our community think about this type of facility. How about a few public meetings to share ideas and consider where this type of facility could help better connect our network? We're very interested in conducting these meetings in August and September. Thoughts? Amanda ________________________ Amanda White Associate Director Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin (608) 251-4456 [email protected] www.bfw.org <http://www.bfw.org/>
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