I know in this time of govt abuse, it is hard to get worked up about bicycle lanes, but that's not their goal. Why are they willing to reduce usable roadway, cause traffic congestion, eliminate street parking and spend many millions doing so? It just doesn't make sense. Hat tip to Carol K. http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/37561 I suggest you also google ICLEI [name of you city/town] Rich Martin This is the original e mail Carol K sent . Some of this is included in the link above. --- On Mon, 6/20/11, Carol K. <[email protected]> wrote: From: Carol K. <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Hope4America] City Hall bikes and why it's on there agenda To: [email protected] Date: Monday, June 20, 2011, 11:00 PM Unfortunately, Oldveteran, the reality is kind of the other way 'round.....where I live there are bike lanes and yet just about every time I'm out driving 'round, bikers are not obeying the rules of the road and compromise their safety and the safety of drivers as well.......one of the favs is they ride right through stop signs and then there is making turns without hand signals [drivers don't have ESP], riding outside their bike lanes [this backs up traffic for quite a ways], and the worst is not staying in their bike lanes and cutting through car/truck traffic.....I wish bicycle riders would give cars and trucks the proper respect and attention they should and wish they would follow the rules of the road....even when they are in their bike lanes...... Spending millions of dollars to construct bike lanes where there isn't a need, there aren't lots of bike riders, doesn't pass the straight face test..... -------Original Message------- From: Ronald Hyden Date: 6/20/2011 8:39:17 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Hope4America] City Hall bikes and why it's on there agenda Well, if you "GOOD". and "friendly " Texas drivers would give bicycle riders the proper respect and attention you should then perhaps these "dastardly" bike lanes would not be necessary ! C'mon give the cyclists a chance, think of all the gasoline we're saving! oldveteran --- On Sun, 6/19/11, Carol K. <[email protected]> wrote: From: Carol K. <[email protected]> Subject: [Hope4America] City Hall bikes and why it's on there agenda To: "Conservative_Principles_and_Activism@yahoogroups." <[email protected]>, [email protected] Date: Sunday, June 19, 2011, 7:09 PM Thank you for the update, Rich.....y'all have been in my thoughts and prayers....must admit I've been hoping for a different outcome, but my gut had told me they'd pass this.... Really hope you can rally folks and get the incumbents voted out of office...... Would just bet if you could get the individual folks on the council to explain in their own words why these bike lanes are needed they couldn't do it. When something doesn't pass the straight face test, when it defies all logic, that's when the elected officials need to be voted out. We have only just begun to see these issues appear.....I shudder to think what they will be coming up with on down the road. -------Original Message------- From: Rich Martin Date: 6/19/2011 12:29:55 PM To: .RR; 1.2 CCPGA; 1.2 TheFinePriNT Subject: [TheFinePrint] City Hall bikes and why it's on there agenda City Hall bikes and why it's on their agenda Last Wed evening we went to the Arlington, TX , City Hall where the Council was going to vote on accepting the $250,000 bike plan. It was large auditorium capable of seating a couple hundred. There were a dozen seats lined up on a stage that reached wall-to-wall. Comfortable visitor seating and 2 giant TV screens so everyone way in the back wouldn’t miss anything. The meeting started with the Pledge of Allegiance and some awards earned by Arlington 5 police officers for getting qualified in some training course. They were given a big hand by the audience in appreciation. After the house keeping was done, Mayor Cluck (yes, that's his real name) said there would be 40 minutes to discuss the bike plan. Each side would have 20 mins. 2 mins per speaker. There were only a half dozen professional speakers so they didn't need all their time. To their credit, they included some of the negatives, such narrower streets mean more congestion, elimination of street parking, and a negative impact on the city economy. Their $250K report (that's the cost of the report only) predicted an increase of 70,000 (down from 90,000) in Arlington population. The difference may be implementation was reduced from 40 years to 30. Then it was the citizens turn. Each one started by identifying themselves by name and address. Many included how long they were residents. All were opposed to the plan for a myriad of reasons, including the ones mentioned earlier. One speaker said he had spent a lot of time driving around today and could find only 3 bicyclists. Another questioned the wisdom of placing bikes in the vicinity of auto traffic. The citizens in the Hall liked what they heard and applauded each speaker when their 2 minutes were up. During one of these applauses, Cluck said "you can clap if you want but you're using up your own time." Everyone was surprised when Cluck cut off the speakers. Our 20 minutes granted had expired. A citizen stood up in the audience and spoke loud enough for all to hear "you work for us." Before long a half dozen people were yelling loud enough to be heard. The mayor threatened to have one citizen thrown out and many citizens stood up in support. But the smug Mayor Cluck just smirked. Police were stirring in the back of the hall. It was obvious the arrogant S.O.B. was not interested in hearing the views of the city's residents. Peggy said, "that's not what you expected, was it?" We were very disappointed. All this time, the dozen elected City council men and woman, never said a word. They were spectators. "This sucks" I said as I made our way past a cop. We weren't alone. When we got home I was still baffled to what I saw. The info was: 1. Arlington population was expected to grow 70-90,000. 2. Streets would have one lane converted into bike lanes. 3. Property values would be depreciated. 4. Current bike riders were few. To be honest, one of the streets I drive on, Baird Farm has a bike lane on each side of the road. I have never seen a single bike rider using it. Like so many things in politics these days, it just didn't make sense. There must be something I don't know. Rich Martin I recd this from the Lone Star TEA Party I too left the room which was a mistake, I should not let emotions rule in a case like that. There is a deeper agenda other than bike lanes and to achieve their goal by 2040 they have to move massive parts of the populations to reduce urban sprawl which is really what this is all about. If you saw the last mass email we sent out you saw an ICLEI article about our mayor and Arlington. The mayor says we are no longer members of ICLEI, let me find out this is a lie. What's worse about the whole thing is they are using our own tax dollars to implement a plan we never signed off on. It's our job now to take them on and the best way to do that is to change the faces down at city hall. We're going to discuss this in our next meeting. Mel Moss Lone Star Tea Party For background on the bike "paths" movement, read this http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2734537/posts For more stories like this, Google: bike paths soros Barack Obama (D) Top Contributors http://images.opensecrets.org/obama_top_contribs.htm?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638 Contact Your Govt http://www.contactingthecongress.org/ . __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (3) Recent Activity: New Photos 1 Visit Your Group IF YOU DON'T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS, FEEL FREE TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM! Please visit: www.operationshoebox.com Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use . __,_._,___ -- To join RichsRants, send email to: [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/richsrants?hl=en
