In the wake of a near miss of NOLA by Gustav and the upcoming potential for lowcountry havoc from Hanna, let’s take a look at some recent horrific events that have nothing to do with the weather.

Here at the SBC, we believe that cyclists of all creeds, speeds, shapes and sizes are in this together. As such we recognize that the changes needed to make more people get on bikes will be beneficial to everyone who rides from the hard core roadies to the SCAD fixie hipsters to families and casual recreational riders. Therefore, here are some points in the news of late, highlighting the general need for education, tolerance and understanding of the rights of cyclists to the road.

First, this shocking hit from behind in Miami where a cab plowed into a club ride, striking eleven, six of which were hospitalized, one in critical condition.

Next, an LA physician who intentionally sped by two riders and slammed on the breaks, causing them to fly into his rear window. Apparently, he tried this assault technique at least one time before.

Finally, this June 2008 photo of a race held in Mexico, where an intoxicated driver plowed head on into the peloton.

The Share the Road concept is something we could and should be promoting together in conversations with friends and neighbors, in the media, really everywhere we go. We hope to continue to involve all area cycling groups in the dialogue for better education and cooperation among road users.

Yesterday we discussed the need for education to expand our network of bicyclists.  Today we will discuss expanding the infrastructure to include bicycles on a day to day basis in transportation planning.  We all think of Copenhagen as the model for this, and we should, but they have been working at it for 50 or 60 years, and even Portland, Oregon has been at it for 30 years to get where it is today.

As noted in this excellent piece from planetizen,

A proper bicycle network is comprised of four basic types of bikeways: bicycle lanes, bicycle boulevards, shared streets and off-street paths. Although bicycle use is not common in many American cities, planners and government officials must acknowledge that such activity is unlikely to increase without a sufficient bicycle network in place. Cities and towns interested in developing or expanding their bicycle network must consider plans that include all four types. Doing so creates a tapestry of options for the three types of bicyclists and their individual requirements (outlined in my previous post). Portland, Oregon and Berkeley, California experience some of the highest bicycle mode shares in the country precisely because they use a layered approach.

So, with that in mind we turn to the update of our local transportation plan that will happen over the next year or two.  The plan needs to include bicycles wherever possible, expand the network of on and off road facilities, and obviously including the routes of the Coastal Georgia Greenway.

The best strategy, and one we will push for with the city and county during this time, is adoption of a complete streets policy.  This idea, already in place for our neighbors in Florida and South Carolina, requires pedestrian and bicycle facilities be included in all new road projects and expansions.  Assuming we allow for exceptions where this is excessively costly, we could grow our infrastructure incrementally and continue to build the bicycle friendly place we know Savannah could be.

UPDATE:  Bicycle “improvements” are usually the first thing to get cut from a project to limit cost; nevertheless, they are very inexpensive when compared with the total cost.

Furthermore, if a motorist argues the old lie that their tag and gas taxes pay for the roads, point them to this from Texas (see last paragraph), or this older study.  The bottom line:  income and property taxes are necessary to build and maintain roads which are tremendously expensive and usually much less than half paid for by gas and tag taxes.  As such, we need to change our thinking and funding of transportation to include other modes besides personal autos.

So, when we start to talk about how to make things better for the average bicyclist in Savannah or anywhere, it is a pretty complex task using the personal auto-centric transportation grid currently in place. Experienced riders may go just about anywhere except restricted access interstate type highways, but less experienced cyclists will need some help.

In order to move a greater proportion of casual cyclists to take their bike out of the garage and start using it to get from A to B, we need to first educate on best practices in often unfriendly roadways. This involves both safe route selection and understanding how to ride safely.

The former is best accomplished by talking with people who are already riding around town regularly — i.e. networking with the bicycling community. SDRA has produced this map of the bike routes downtown, some local routes are already available at bikely.com, and recreational rides at mapmyride.com, but none of these is comprehensive. Therefore, so that longtime residents, visitors and newcomers will know about safer roads to travel, we at the SBC plan to develop a mapping system to rate specific roads’ suitability for cycling.

The second point of education, safe cycling, is not so complicated. We have previously referenced a video on the topic, but the bottom line is that as a cyclist, you are a vehicle operator with the same rights and obligations under the law as the much heavier and faster vehicles with whom we share the road.

This means that with few exceptions, sidewalks should be avoided as your visibility is deceased and your chance of a car vs bike crash is much increased, not to mention the risk to pedestrians from bikes. It means that while traveling on wider roads, one should stay to the right and allow cars to pass. It means that on narrower lanes (even and especially where multiple lanes are travelling in the same direction) and there is not enough room for you and a car to share the lane, your safest choice is to take the lane. The potential for a sub-30 second inconvenience to a handful of motorists exists, but this action is supported by the law and could save your life.

Finally, a helmet is important as your last line of defense against a car — you will be glad to have it when a careless motorist knocks you down. If you worry about helmet head or sweat, just think how unfashionable it would be to wear a hospital gown the rest of your life. There are some more fashion forward models out there now and ways around the sweat issue as well.

Stay tuned for part II of bicycling networks — how should we reinvent our infrastructure to make it accommodate cyclists better?

Here’s a great idea for your fireworks viewing pleasure:  Ride a bike to the display!  You’ll get home faster not waiting around in traffic — just make sure you have some lights and wear your helmet.  And if you need inspiration for the helmet, take a look at this video from the B:C:Clettes:

By the time we see them it’s too late, but here is an interesting study of the relationship of bumper stickers (which this researcher refers to as territory markers) and the tendency to road rage from the Washington Post. Even more interesting was that the nature of the message did not affect the behavior and the more stickers, the greater the correlation.

Photo by niznoz

This is not particularly helpful to bicyclists as we only know when a driver is aggressive after they have needlessly blown their horn or knocked us off the road, but it does provide some insight into territorial behavior on the road.

It also reminds us that we need to protect our territory — when the road is not wide enough for you to ride and a car to pass, move to the center and take the lane. It is allowed by law, and you will be safer even if you provide some mild irritation to someone. Better to find routes that avoid such a situation, but you can’t always count on that. And even if you like to put stickers on your bike, by all means be friendly out there. Smile and wave as if you know a driver who yells at you. They will be at worst confused and at best won over, and you will have taken the high road.

This Friday June 20 is the third of the Dump the Pump days, this one corresponding with APTA‘s Dump the Pump. So, leave the car at home and catch a CAT (throw your bike on the front rack), bike, walk or carpool.  You  can print out this poster and hang it in your office!

As we know, bikes are a very efficient way to get from A to B. If your office does not have a shower and are thinking that you could not manage sweat and odor, here are a few tips courtesy of Tricks and Tips for Biking to Work (reprinted from this excellent book):

1. Change clothes and clean up in a washroom. For privacy, use a toilet stall. Use wheelchair-accessible stalls for the most room.
2. Remove your work clothes from your bag and hang them up. If stalls don’t have wall hooks, buy adhesive ones and put them in the stalls yourself.
3. Take off your cycling clothes and put them in your bag. If you’ve nowhere to let cycling clothes dry, put them inside a plastic bag.
4. If you store your bike in a secure, private area, lay your cycling clothes on the top tube and handlebars to dry.
5. Use a towel to dry off sweat.
6. If you feel smelly: Carry a package of disposable, moist towelettes and use them to sponge off. Or use a washcloth.
7. Apply talcum powder.
8. Towel off hair, wet it if necessary, and brush, comb, and/or blow-dry.
9. Put on jewelry away from toilets and sinks so you don’t drop it in.

With prices the way they are, pedal power is getting more and more attractive to the average American. Check out this from Mike Luckovich of the AJC last week:

We have a long way to go to bicycle enlightenment in Georgia. I should not read what goes on in Atlanta, but it’s where I grew up and I can’t help it if people are forwarding me the stuff over and over. Opinion Talk on AJC asked for comments on whether bicyclists should use the roads. Not surprisingly, the majority of reponses from the east coast’s model for sprawl were negative. Here’s an example of the attitudes:

I have no problem with bikes sharing the road if….

As noted in several other posts, cyclists obey all of the same traffic laws as motor vehicles and are subject to the same citations as motorists when they break a traffic rule.

They pay to license/register their bikes for use on the road. Having a valid license plate on a bike would help accident investigations where a cyclist was involved.

They pay some sort of “trail fee” to remain on par with the taxes built in to gas prices that motorists pay. These fees would be used to maintain the roadways that the cyclists want to share.

If cyclists want equal treatment on the road, the expectation should be that they are also subject to the same registration/taxes as motorists.

Let’s take the points in turn, as each is wrong in its own special way:

1. To the extent that the laws are enforced, cyclists are subject to the same laws and citations as motor vehicles. Being on a bike does not excuse a person from a stop sign. I agree that we should set the example.
2. Paying to register a bike is one that motorists often tout as their right to the road — after all, they ‘bought’ it with their tag and gas taxes, right? Not so, according to this study. As I have previously noted elsewhere,

After examination of the direct and indirect costs of road building and maintenance, gasoline taxes would need to be increased by 20 to 70 cents per gallon for the roads to be a self sustaining venture. And so, in fact your and my property and income taxes pay a significant component of this infrastructure, to say nothing of my own automobile and gas taxes, since I too have a car and drive it.

3. And then to say that we need license plates on bikes to help in accident investigations I think is just inflammatory, implying that bicyclists are hitting and running. What in fact happens is that motorists hit cyclists. The injured cyclist is likely unable to leave the scene — motorists are not injured and hopefully stop to help, though they often flee the scene as happened here not so long ago.
4. These final points essentially cover the material under #2 again. Let me just point out again that roads for cars are heavily subsidized ventures. Tag and gas taxes do not cover their construction and maintenance, and therefore anyone who pays taxes of any kind is subsidizing personal automobile travel whether they choose to travel that way or not.

Traffic is probably the greatest barrier to riding for the average person. If you follow the rules of the road, with a few modifications for your vehicle’s slower speed, you can strike a good balance between your safety and the flow of car traffic. This video produced by a certified instructor for the League of American Bicyclists gives a great introduction to the best practices for riding in traffic. Check it out — it just takes a few minutes and the advice is excellent.