Should Bikes And Cars Be Treated Equally?

Lisa Caruso, writing in the National Journal Transportation Blog asks the above question relative to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's pronouncements two weeks ago at the National Bike Summit.  Writes Caruso:

" With all the attention last week focused on extending the surface transportation law and Federal Aviation Administration programs, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's announcement of a major policy change regarding the way bicyclists' needs are treated in the transportation planning seems to have received little notice.
"People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning," LaHood wrote on his Fast Lane blog March 15. "This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized. We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects." LaHood's blog post includes recommendations for how states and communities can accomplish this, such as "treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes" and "set a mode share target for walking and bicycling."
LaHood called the new policy a "sea change," but is it a good one? Should non-motorized modes of transportation be treated as equal to other modes, particularly when modes like driving and mass transit are at least partially, if not primarily, self-funded? Or is it the essence of DOT's evolving 21st-century mission to give people more mobility options that, according to LaHood, are relatively fast and inexpensive to build, are environmentally sustainable, reduce travel costs, improve safety and public health, and "reconnect citizens with their communities"?"

Read the article and comments that follow here.

Bike Forum Thursday, February 12, 2009

How Can we Create a Safer Bicycle Culture in Fort Collins? A Community Cyclists Forum
Cyclists to Discuss Bicycle Safety at Community Forum on Feb. 12

The forum will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Drake Centre, 802 W. Drake Road. Click for details.

How Can we Create a Safer Bicycle Culture in Fort Collins? A Community Cyclists Forum

Cyclists to Discuss Bicycle Safety at Community Forum on Feb. 12

The forum will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Drake Centre, 802 W. Drake Road.

The Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation, or CPD, will host the “Bicycle Safety Summit,” a community forum to discuss bicycle safety in Fort Collins.
Although Fort Collins has been recognized as one of the nation’s most bicycle-friendly communities by the League of American Bicyclists, developing safe cycling practices is still a work in progress.

Recent public concerns regarding safe cycling issues, and the deaths of two cyclists, are leading city officials to turn to the community in search of solutions.
David “DK” Kemp, City of Fort Collins Bicycle Coordinator, said that the goal of the “Bicycle Safety Summit” is to respond to safety concerns in the community, with a goal of gathering ideas for creating a stronger culture of safety in the community.
“We need to acknowledge that the city cannot fix the issue on its own,” Kemp said. “Community involvement and cultural change is essential to finding a solution.”
The forum is designed to gather concerns and ideas for action at all levels of involvement. The idea of a “summit” is symbolic of the collaboration of individuals, the community, local organizations and government.

“One of the hopes of the CPD is to help our community think of all the different ways we can approach issues,” said Martin Carcasson, CPD Director. “This is an issue where a simple policy solution is not likely, but rather requires us to work together as a community at multiple levels.”

The forum is co-sponsored by the City of Fort Collins and local cycling organizations, Bike Fort Collins and the Fort Collins Bicycle Co-Op. The event is open to the public, and community members are encouraged to participate.
Light refreshments will be provided. Non-partisan student facilitators from the CPD will moderate the forum, and the discussion will be documented to ensure that concerns, ideas and questions will be addressed. The results compiled at the forum will be utilized by the City of Fort Collins and cycling organizations to move forward on this issue.

About the CSU Center for Public Deliberation
The CPD was founded in 2006 and is dedicated to enhancing local democracy through improved public communication and community problem solving. The organization coordinates and hosts numerous events in the Fort Collins and Loveland communities. Student associates are trained as non-partisan facilitators and conveners, and focus on helping the public unite and address critical issues in a more effective manner.

Boulder Celebrates 1st Anniversary of Platinum Bike Summit

Boulder City Council sponsored a Bike Summit Sept. 7, 2007 with the purpose of achieving Platinum status from the League of American Bicyclists.

Among the suggestions coming out of the summit:  

• World class recreational cycling for all ages;
• Bikes on Transit;
• Wayfinding initiatives;
• Bike Education in Schools;
• Bike Service Stations;
• Car free zones;
• Active Living Business Cluster.

"The bike summit was attended by nearly 100 people, inclucing leaders from the bicycling community and staff from a number of local agencies, who gathered to brainstorm a vision of of vision that would make Boulder the bicycling capital of the world in 20 years.  The  Bike Summit Report is a recording of the recommendations and initiatives identified by summit participants.

The summit was a collaborative community effort. City staff's primary role was to listen carefully and to facilitate a broad and open discussion amongst participants, with no attempt to explain why something wasn't feasible or how it didn't fit into current city plans.

Follow some of these links for more on the Boulder initiative:

From the report on the summit: http://www.ci.boulder.co.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7693&Itemid=3068