Interesting first-hand insight, Wassenaar.
Off-the-cuff commentary:
DRIVER EDUCATION: I've resisted saying this since it's more of a State
issue, but since it would affect the Cities more than anywhere, here
goes... Double the driving test fee and raise the passing score from 70 to
85. Taking the test twice as many times at twice the cost quadruples
revenue. Driving is a privilege, not a right. Driving skills are poor.
Sixteen-year-olds need not drive and are likely to develop better commuting
habits than us.
BIKE LANES: Dedicated lanes would be great, with soft shoulders for dogs
and wipe-outs. When the Ford Plant closes, perhaps we could turn that rail
into trail. How much longer is the RR going to be treated like another
nation?! When/If I'm a senior citizen, I would like wheelchair or golf
cart lanes.
ONE CAR: Couples/Families with one car should NOT be taxed.
BROKEN GLASS: I missed any implication that bikers pollute. I doubt any
do. Glass is probably why bikers ride on the road. (My high school friend
was hit by a car whose driver drifted just far enough over...) "Littering
Is Punishable By ..." signs must cost less than $500. Trail sweeping is
vital to bike trail success. Empty propane tanks on Shepard likely from
Left Out Descending Bank (homeless village), I suspect. Plenty of bottles
dropped from Wabasha Bridge - a net needed?
SPEEDERS: More speed traps needed on Shepard. Most recent one was,
ironically, parked on paths. People are developing bad habits through 40
mph zone. Suggest "Your Speed Is..." sign in shadow of Wabasha Bridge.
And several down Fort Road. "Trucks Right Lane Only" also.
LEADERS: If my Councilman is not walking to work I'm going to let the air
out of his tires. Granted, if there was a decent ascent up the hill like
there used to be it would be a more appealing walk/hike/climb. That whole
Kellogg/RiverCentre area is a pedestrian mess. Watch the parking meters.
PEDESTRIANISM: The skyways take their toll on the street scene. I won't
go in 'em unless forced. Maybe one entire street through town should be
Nicollet Malled....
REPKE/DIST. 2: Good to hear things are picking up up there. Wondering how
many bike racks are at Wells Fargo and surrounding businesses.
BIKE RACKS: Bike racks are art in NYC and other places. Bring it on.
Snoopy go home.
AMH
Neil Armstrong Avenue
Andrew M. Hine
Corporate Research Materials Laboratory
3M Center 201-1W-28
St. Paul MN
55144-1000
USA
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tel: (651) 733-1070
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Lab 201-W110
"Mike Wassenaar"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
g> cc:
Sent by: Subject: RE: [StPaul] Bike To Work
Week
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orum.org
05/18/2004 10:35
AM
Are we doing enough in St. Paul to promote transportation alternatives?
As a semi-regular bike commuter, I'd like to add a couple of quick
observations:
My ride to work is 15-20 minutes along Shepard Road from Randolph and
Victoria to downtown. The bike lane there has made my commute much
easier for two reasons: I am no longer trying to avoid drivers and
buses along West 7th that don't signal lane changes, crowd lanes, block
lanes, etc. If
the city has any reasonable expectation of making the streets
"multi-modal", than we need to spend resources and effort on both
infrastructure AND education. Most of the education efforts I have seen
are for bicyclists, particularly youngsters, which is needed. But by my
observation, the state of overall driver education is pretty poor:
drivers don't know how to interact with buses, bikes, and pedestrians;
and at times bicyclists willfully ignore traffic rules to avoid cars.
I'm a bit of a thrill seeker, but taking your life into your hands on
every commute does not particularly encourage this activity. And on a
side note, it's not bicyclists who seem to be tossing garbage and
breaking bottles onto the bike lane along Shepard Road (or speeding ten
to fifteen miles over the 45 mph limit...we could make some extra
revenue if a cop car was judiciously placed right near the Centex
development).
The second thing that makes my commute easier now that Shepard Road is
open is that downtown is not configured at all for bike commuting. The
only designated east-west lanes are typically joint bus lanes such as
along 5th and 6th. Entry into downtown at Sibley near Kellogg now is
pretty easy, but the bike lane ends after 4th Street! Commuting from
the west, there are no good entry points. When I would commute from
Hamline-Midway, it was a struggle to get from west-to-east, and then
find a way to get into downtown around the Capitol. The last five
minutes of my ride were always the most difficult.
I bike because I enjoy the exercise, but when I combine that with bus
commutes, I save close to $700 a year in parking costs, and I reduce the
need to have an extra car, and all those attendant costs. That probably
equals two or three mortgage payments a year. My wife and I are in the
vast minority on our block because we use only one car. I don't know
what would be the cost savings on my block if 10% of the people changed
their habits a little bit, but I like the idea of families in our
neighborhood saving money. The city could actually be using cost
savings to promote transportation alternatives and living in our
community (if we still have a marketing department?). Hmm.
Rich Kramer's points about recent city investments are valid, but I
don't see any integrated approach to encouraging transportation
alternatives in the city. Most of this seems to be done by CDC's and
developers of senior housing who are thinking about integrating
development with transportation planning. Some of this work was funded
or encouraged by the Met Council in the Ted Mondale administration.
Of course, that solution only works if people are within reasonable
distances from their jobs. At my workplace of 14 downtown, only two
people could reasonably bike to work (less than 30 minutes), and only
five or six could reasonably bus to work regularly. My guess is that's
typical for most downtown employers.
I've often thought an interesting question for local politicians (mayor,
city council, but also met council, state, county and federal) and local
administrators and planners is how often they use other means of
transportation besides a car. It's sort of a litmus test, like George
HW Bush not recognizing a bar scanner in 1988, or not knowing the price
of milk. That would be a demonstration of leadership on these issues.
Mike Wassenaar
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