He should check with WisDOT before saying boneheaded things like that. In addition to being convenient for bicyclists (although most bicyclists would probably find most state roads less than optimal to bike), there are a host of reasons that paving shoulders make sense:
- Paving shoulders makes roads last longer. The edge of the roadway crumbles first, and it is better to have that edge be on the shoulder than part of the lane that most users drive on. - Snow and dead-animal storage - "Recovery zone" when people start to drive off the road. - Extra space for slow moving vehicles (besides bikes), such as farm equipment, repair vehicles, public safety equiment, etc. - A place to pull over for emergencies -- aka a breakdown lane -- or if the cops are ticketing you. And finally, it just doesn't cost all that much when you are already building or repairing the road. The cost-benefit ratio is very high for the added tiny expense. I don't feel the slightest hesitancy in saying that Vos is just being dumb. And it would be charitable to say he was being vindictive against groups that he doesn't like. That would imply that he has actually thought through his ideas, and I don't think he has. Robbie Webber Transportation Policy Analyst 608-263-9984 (o) 608-225-0002 (c) [email protected] All opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer or any other group with which I am affiliated. On Thu, Nov 6, 2014 at 4:09 PM, Matthew Logan <[email protected]> wrote: > So during a conference yesterday, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos floated some > ideas on how to cut costs in the transportation budget. One of them was to > eliminate shoulders on state highways. Of course, these are what > bicyclists generally use. > > > > > > http://www.wiseye.org/Programming/VideoArchive/EventDetail.aspx?evhdid=9332 > > [See 23:50 for the start of the transportation section] > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > >
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