Comment Log Display

I am writing to request that funds from the California Cap and
Trade Program be used to make major investments in 
the State's virtually nonexistent and woefully inadequate bicyle
and pedestrian infrastructure.  The fastest route 
to improving air quality in California is to reduce consumption of
oil.  The fastest and most dramatic way to reduce 
consumption of oil is to get people out of their cars and onto
their feet and their bicycles.  The fastest way to 
get people onto their feet and their bicycles is to provide
convenient and SAFE pedestrian and cycle routes.  

Probably no one would doubt that riding a bicycle or walking uses
less oil than a motor vehicle, but the magnitude 
of the savings can be startling. Tom Murphy, an associate professor
of physics at the University of California, San 
Diego, has calculated that a human on a bicycle gets as many as
1,300 mpg-equivalent, while a human walking achieves 
as many as 340 mpg-equivalent.  so why are there so few cyclists
and pedestrians using bicyles and boots to do their 
business?  

The simple, straightforward and accurate answer is that the State's
infrastructure for cycling and walking is, in a 
word, abominable.  One often hears politicians say that they can't
afford to invest in the infrastructure because 
there aren't enough cyclists and pedestrians to justify the
investments, that they can't build facilities that will 
stand empty when the motor vehicle roads are gridlocked.  But how
many pedestrians and cyclists are prepared to risk 
a tussle with a harried motorist in a 5,000-lb. SUV - a tussle in
which only one is likely to emerge unscathed?  I 
ride my bicycle most everywhere I go, and I can say with some
authority that, even living in "environmentally and 
socially-progressive" Marin County, riding a bicycle on the streets
is unsafe. In fact, I am re-evaluating my use of 
a bicycle since being smacked two weeks ago by a Prius making a
left turn from 4th Street in San Rafael.  
Fortunately, I suffered only minor damage, though my bicycle did
not fare so well.  Since that incident, I have been 
plagued by images of what my body might have looked like if,
instead of a Prius, the battering ram had been a Toyota 
Land Cruiser or a Cadillac Escalade.  People don't ride on the
roads, and pedestrians don't walk on the roads, 
because they are scared.  It's just that simple - really. 
Especially in California, with its mild winters and 
predictable precipitation, if you build a safe infrastructure,
people will use it.

So what kind of infrastructure is needed?  Well, it's more than
painting cute little pictures of bikes and writing 
nifty slogans like "Share the Road" on the pavement.  First of all,
motorists don't even notice those.  Second, they 
don't make the road any wider, or eliminate a single parked car
(you can only appreciate the danger of a parked car 
once you've been "car-doored" by a motorist who swings the
driver-side door open right in front of you).  The 
infrastructure that's needed comprises bicycle and pedestrian
routes that are segregated from the motor vehicle 
traffic.  There are many ways to achieve this, and organizations
like the Marin County Bicycle Coalition can provide 
many examples of methods that have proven effective.  Much can also
be learned from countries such as The 
Netherlands and Denmark, which are light-years beyond us in
providing safe bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.  

Also of utmost important is approaching the matter of
infrastructure with the right attitude.  "Transportation" has 
to mean, in the minds of the planners and engineers, more than
"motor vehicle transportation".  Cyclists and 
pedestrians must be given equal attention and consideration in
making infrastructure investment decisions; in fact, 
I would argue that they must be given paramount consideration,
given their physical vulnerability (no airbags on a 
bike, and the crush zone is your body!) and their past status as
secondary - or non-existent - citizens.

Finally, an integral part of investing in cycling and pedestrian
infrastructure is changing the perceptions and 
attitudes of motorists from of annoyance at the presence of
cyclists and pedestrians to one of respect and 
appreciation of their extreme physical vulnerability and the
contribution they make to improving the quality of our 
air and reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels.  Of equal
importance is educating bicyclists and pedestrians 
on the responsibility they have to obey traffic rules and to
respect the rights and vulnerabilities of drivers.  The 
only thing I can imagine that would be as bad as being hit by a car
is being the driver who hits a cyclist or 
pedestrian.  In short, we are all in this transportation mess
together, and we need to do our parts by obeying the 
rules and being considerate of each other.

Thank you for your time and attention.