Wednesday, November 23, 2011
A Bike Plan Too Far
It isn't government's job to get people to ride bicycles.
Posted by John Branston on Wed, Nov 23, 2011 at 12:03 PM
Sometimes government makes it easy for people who think government needs to go on a diet. Case in point: the Metropolitan Planning Organization's (MPO) Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.
After I read its hundreds of pages of observations and recommendations, I felt a little like a Rush Limbaugh fan, which I definitely am not. Still, I had to conclude that this report and this agency are as bloated as Rush himself.
I have watched with interest as Memphis adds bike lanes to Madison Avenue, North Parkway, Front Street, and other streets. I thought it would be simple, but I was wrong. People were passionately for it and against it. This week, Mayor A C Wharton announced that he couldn't find a consensus so he is forming a Madison Avenue committee, a sure sign that this is a big deal.
I have a bike. I like to ride it once in a while. I rode it for fun 60 miles last weekend. It was harder than watching football, and I won't do it again soon. I drive to work. It takes me eight minutes. I like having heat in winter and air-conditioning in summer, and I need a car to get to appointments. I would drive about as much even if gas cost $5 a gallon. Whether or not you ride a bike is, needless to say, up to you. It's no one else's business.
I like to walk. I don't need signs to point me toward the sidewalks. I know what a sidewalk looks like. I appreciate crossing signals. Beyond that I don't need much help, thanks.
The MPO, however, has other ideas. Biking is a learned behavior. Government is the teacher and motivator. How to convert drivers to bikers and walkers? The answer is invest in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, coupled with education programs, public service campaigns, and policies that support and encourage safe and efficient biking and walking.
A few excerpts from the report:
"The intent of the plan is not to secure funding for every project, but, instead, to identify the opportunities that are available." Sure.
"Census data show that less than two percent of work commute trips in greater Memphis were made by bicycling or walking." I bet it's more like point-two percent.
"A 15-minute bicycling or walking commute can provide the physical activity that is necessary to remain healthy. You can lose 13 pounds, reduce the risk of heart disease 50 percent, and burn 508 calories in an hour if you peddle 14 miles an hour." Which is a pace that only the fittest cyclists can maintain.
"By simply replacing an automobile with a bicycle to conduct a four-mile long round trip, approximately 15 pounds of pollutants can be kept out of the air." The appeal to guilt.
"Every street should accommodate bicyclists, pedestrians, motorists and transit users of all abilities and ages." Madison Avenue multiplied by 1,000.
"Support National Bike to Work Day and National Walk to School Day. Have the mayor and county commissioners proclaim May as Bike Month and October as Walk Month." Only if they wear biking shorts to work, I say.
"All development plan submittals and future transportation plans should be reviewed for compliance with the plan." Says who? And if they are not in compliance?
"Develop a GIS-based inventory of all existing pedestrian facilities including, but not limited to, sidewalks, curb ramps, overpasses, off-street connectors, parks, recreational walkways, and hiking trails. Once the data is collected and a thorough analysis is completed ... ." We can retire on a pension.
"Address the issue of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act." Simple? See Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
"Expand end-of-road facilities." Also known as bike racks.
"Increase the amount of way-finding signage around the community."
And so on.
Once again, I like to bike. I love the Greenline. Bike lanes on some streets are worth a try. I'll believe we need them when I see more bikes and fewer cars at hospitals and college campuses. Exercise is good. Health is good. But so is common sense.
Being a functioning citizen means taking responsibility for your choices and learning how to cross the street. You can't choose your parents, but you can make a choice to be fit or fat, to walk or ride, to find your way. It requires a little effort. If you don't know that by now, it won't do any good for government to tell you.
Comments (21)
Showing 1-21 of 21
Making Memphis more competitive with our peer cities includes addressing pedestrian and bicycling issues. Thankfully, MPO has produced a plan to do that, and is working to implement the plan. The quotes that you've cited indicate to me that city managers are paying attention to bike/ped issues. This is not big government telling us how to live. Would you rather that MPO just ignore this whole thing, and hope it doesn't matter to the future of Memphis?
like
dislikeYeah. Plans, facts, and data, who needs em? They should've just called you and gotten your enlightened and clearly superior point of view. You're right, it's not government's job to make people ride bicycles, but it is government's job to make it as easy and as safe as possible for people to choose to ride a bike if they want to--which is what each of these recommendations would achieve.
You're childish quips at the end of each recommendation make you sound about as substantive as your perspective.
HEY! YOU KIDS GET THE HELL OFF MY LAWN!
Sorry, John, but that's how this reads. Just remember, it's a PLAN, not an ordinance, and everything will be just fine. As you're a bicyclist, you will wind up appreciating this in the long term.
I've been to so many other cities (larger and smaller than Memphis) and watched at rush hour as bikes, cars and buses share the road in harmony. I am thinking that didn't occur in a vacuum. Someone, perhaps a committee, conducted studies, made proposals and recommended a plan. I am so grateful that memphis is getting on board with this.
Tell me about it. It's like when the government stuck its big nose in and made those unnecessary "paved" roads and traffic lights and even the bloated and expensive "inter-state" system. People like their horse and coach on a dirt road just fine and the government should just stay out of it.
Great comments. A couple of other things: there are social costs to business-as-usual transportation systems, including air pollution and the cost of health care for obesity, diabetes, etc. And addressing pedestrian issues isn't telling people what sidewalks look like. Many neighborhoods in Memphis have very poorly maintained sidewalks and in some areas, even in the inner city, streets are missing them completely. Crossing signals often don't allow enough time to get across. Please don't suggest that just because you can get around easily on foot, that current conditions should be good enough for everyone else as well.
While not having read the report, I'm sure it's chock full of bureaucratic bullshit. On the other hand, I suspect we need more planning than spontaneous, late-night, pabst-fueled guerrilla striping. On the gripping hand, if the plan CALLED for guerrilla striping, well...
You get paid for this?
"The intent of the plan is not to secure funding for every project, but, instead, to identify the opportunities that are available." Sure.
Why are you skeptical? Where is your evidence to the contrary? You're not having a conversation with your partner, you're writing an article for the Memphis Flyer. I'm surprised this got published. My respect for the Flyer just dropped a few points. This isn't the Rant, it's an editorial. Act like it.
"Census data show that less than two percent of work commute trips in greater Memphis were made by bicycling or walking." I bet it's more like point-two percent.
I bet nobody cares about your speculation. Did you do any research? Again, why are you skeptical?
"A 15-minute bicycling or walking commute can provide the physical activity that is necessary to remain healthy. You can lose 13 pounds, reduce the risk of heart disease 50 percent, and burn 508 calories in an hour if you peddle 14 miles an hour." Which is a pace that only the fittest cyclists can maintain.
Says who? Cycling speed depends on what kind of bicycle you're using, topography (Memphis is flat), the cyclists' fitness and skill, road conditions, weather, wind speed and direction and a variety of other factors. Do you even have an odometer on your bicycle? I know plenty of people who aren't "the fittest cyclists" than can keep up with a 14 mph pace.
"By simply replacing an automobile with a bicycle to conduct a four-mile long round trip, approximately 15 pounds of pollutants can be kept out of the air." The appeal to guilt.
Why do you feel guilty? This isn't worded in an accusatory manner. If anything this is an appeal to collective well-being. Breathing particulate matter is bad for everyone.
"Every street should accommodate bicyclists, pedestrians, motorists and transit users of all abilities and ages." Madison Avenue multiplied by 1,000.
A few cans of white paint. You're making this too easy.
"Support National Bike to Work Day and National Walk to School Day. Have the mayor and county commissioners proclaim May as Bike Month and October as Walk Month." Only if they wear biking shorts to work, I say.
You're so clever. You really get paid for this?
"All development plan submittals and future transportation plans should be reviewed for compliance with the plan." Says who? And if they are not in compliance?
Says whoever passes parts of this proposal, if anyone does. That would be our city/county government.
"Develop a GIS-based inventory of all existing pedestrian facilities including, but not limited to, sidewalks, curb ramps, overpasses, off-street connectors, parks, recreational walkways, and hiking trails. Once the data is collected and a thorough analysis is completed ... ." We can retire on a pension.
Google Maps disagrees.
"Address the issue of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act." Simple? See Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
So we shouldn't obey federal laws? Good plan Branston.
Jeeeez, John. We get it. You don't care for bike lanes or for transportation planning. I think that was clear in you earlier editorial where you said you wouldn't use the Madison Ave bike lanes.
Let me summarize. You prefer to drive from Midtown to Downtown for work so you don't get too hot or cold. Guess what......that makes you exactly the same as most Memphians.
Cut us some slack and write about something else.
merc, it's a well-established fact that bicycles and Ukrainians don't mix.
This is another example of AC Wharton having no experience in making sound decisions. Wharton is basically pandering to an elite wealthy few who want to have the city for themselves.
In the process, Wharton has managed to destroy businesses along Madison Avenue. AC Wharton is a puppet mayor. He has no new ideas. There has been bike paths and trails in major cities for years. (Anchorage, Eugene) The only difference is most of these cities are not as poor as Memphis.
If you are a rich developer or lawyer that has a grand expensive idea, you can bet that AC Wharton will do whatever takes to make it a reality. He will give others jobs by being on committees and conduct studies that will lead us nowhere.
We do not need puppet mayor-politicians in Memphis.
John John John....JohnJohnJohnJohn. I'll be brief, since how embarrassingly ignorant your editorial is does most of the critiquing itself. That said, next time you pick up the pen to rant out some Tea Partyriffic perspective (GOVERNMENT SHOULDN'T TELL US WHAT TO DO!!!! EVER!!!!! American flag truck.) on something that's going on in the city (City Beat? For really?), take some time - any time - to actually think independently for one breath or two.
Consider. Public roads are paid for by the government. When you drive to work, with precious heating and air, your commute - every trip - has been directly subsidized (that means, "paid for") by the government. Said another way, your drive is much, much, much cheaper than it would be if government "stayed out of it" - if it were even possible at all. Those same public roads, paid for at enormous public expense, can also accommodate cyclists, as has been proven around the world an in cities across these United States (American flag truck - with a flaming BALD EAGLE!!!!).
Now, about telling people what to do. Roads aren't telling people to drive cars obviously...wait...wait a second. Hmm. Do they substantially subsidize all of our driving? Hmm. Why didn't the oil companies build them, or the car companies? Wait, who's benefiting from this? Do we really have a "free market" when it comes to travel and transit options? DAMMIT!!!! These questions. What about this one: Since bikes put so much less wear and tear on roads, could they potentially deserve a little of that gigantic oil subsidy pie - since their use would reduce the already unaffordable infrastructure maintenance bill we have on our paved roads (please google how screwed we are in terms of being able to afford the roads we already have - that'd be a nice tidbit for you to write about in the future, perhaps. You could let us all know what Terry Rowland thinks about that number or something)?
Alright, so what else didn't you think about? For one thing, this: http://thisbigcity.net/local-economic-implications-of-urban-bicycle-networks/. Please read it. This thing you want government to stay out of is called "economic development" and "job creation." We are in a deep, deep recession, after all, in which wealth has eroded, incomes are dropping, purchasing power is evaporating, etc. A little intelligent expenditure of government resources to jumpstart some local economic activity and give people more affordable transportation options doesn't really seem like such a bad idea, does it?
Get back to us after you've done an iota of research. Seriously. And don't call 1-800-Tea-Party and ask them what you're supposed to say about bike lanes now. We'll know if you did. (They're kinda predictable. American flag truck. Ammo. Desert explosion.)
A Road Too Wide
It isn't Government's job to get people to drive cars.
No apologies to John Branston
Sometimes government makes it easy to cause one to wonder why it does not care about the quality of life of residents. For example: take a look at the last several decades of local land use and road planning.
After looking at what has happened in Cordova, Southaven and other areas with ever increasing gridlock and car crashes in spite of ever-widening roads, I feel a little like a Sierra Club fan. Still, I can only conclude the forces that caused this are as near-sighted as the Sierra Club can be sometimes.
For years, I've watched with interest as my hometown area reached for economic development through growth with all the benefits that was expected to bring. I thought it would be good, but I was wrong. The developers passionately and successfully pitched their plans to convince elected officials to ignore the rules they set for land use and road planning. Only now we all realize we were duped and the clock cannot be turned back.
I have a car and I'm thankful I can afford it and have the ability to use it. I have to drive it sometimes. This week I drove home from Birmingham overnight. It was hard, but the rapid schedule of modern life didn't allow an option.
I often bike to work. It takes me 20 minutes. I like that it gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer. I would bike even more if fuel reached $5 a gallon. It is no one's business why you ride a bike, but if you enjoy the privilege of driving a car, the government, for the common good, requires you to be licensed, registered and insured.
I often walk and I'm thankful that I can with no problems. Disabilities can make a street crossing an insurmountable obstacle.
The staff of the local MPO has done a great job of updating the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. This plan is only a portion of the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) required by the federal government in order to receive transportation funds collected through gasoline taxes. The LRTP is being prepared by a contractor at a significant cost to taxpayers.
In 2004, the LRTP was found deficient and federal highway funds were frozen. One of the deficiencies was no acceptable Bicycle and Pedestrian plan. An award-winning plan was produced that satisfied Federal Highway Administration requirements, but it was not implemented. More recently it was discovered that under the previous Memphis administration, though promises were made to implement the plan, City applications for funds stated that no bicycle facilities would be included in any project, even projects on roads in the plan. Failure to follow the plan could have resulted in returning those funds.
The law (23 USC 217(g)) states: “Bicycle transportation facilities and pedestrian walkways shall be considered, where appropriate, in conjunction with all new construction and reconstruction of transportation facilities...” 'Reconstruction' includes repaving. This law was made by Congress and the language is not new. Thankfully, Mayor Wharton recognized the potential for the loss of funds and responded by not only meeting the requirements but also by committing to comply in a way so bicycle and pedestrian facilities will not be poorly designed afterthoughts.
Data shows the metro area constantly grabbing more land around the perimeters while the population is not increasing. This leaves many once-vibrant neighborhoods in a dark shadow while adding to expensive infrastructure. Data also shows the area is slipping lower in health and education and higher in poverty.
Investments in livability can help turn these trends around. If we can all work together across city, county and state lines to agree on what is better for the area as a whole, we can improve the lives of all Mid-South residents.
I'm gonna start calling my dog Branston; he can't learn new tricks, either.
I humbly submit my response to your article, Mr. Branston.
http://www.bikinginmemphis.com/2011/11/23/my-response-to-john-branston/
@ Stapletondia
I would think that in a city touted (couldn't think of a more appropriate word due to the mind numbing effects of tryptophan) as the poorest large city in the US, that bike lanes would be beneficial to the less fortunate that can not afford to drive a car as well as the "elite wealthy few."
Before I moved to the south, I wondered why Memphis ranked so low on national measures of pedestrian safety (7th most deadly in US, see http://t4america.org/docs/dbd2011/Dangerou…) and why Tennessee has one of the highest obesity rates in the country (http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.htm…).
Reading the primitive ramblings of Mr. Branston helps me understand part of what is holding Memphis back. I'm sad to see that the mind of the senior editor of the Memphis Flyer is too narrow to comprehend the benefits of sound transportation planning. I hope the people of Memphis are not similarly afflicted.
Wow John- You sound like my Grandfather. How old are you? Like the ramblings of an old fart- "dad gum wipper snappers gone and rearranged the aisles at my gorcery store. It was good 'nough fer me, back in 19-od-6 and should stil werk. Now how'm I supposed to find my nerve pills". HAHAHA!
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