[Vision2020] Critical Mass, A Public Menace! Inconvenient Truth -- What WE gonna do

[Ted Moffett]

Nils wrote:

What else can we, in whatever collective groups, begin doing?



I biked a couple of times with "Critical Mass" a few years ago, a small
group that would bike around Moscow as a group, taking up a lane of traffic,
not just biking on the side of the road, to make a statement on bicycle
transportation as a force and option in Moscow.  Our pace was slower usually
than the traffic, so cars and trucks were slowed down, but otherwise we
attempted to follow traffic law.

Actually, I think it is legal for a bike to take a lane of traffic in the
middle of the lane, is it not?  Anyway, what did we get for our efforts to
make Moscow a more bike friendly city?  The Moscow Police Dept. ticketed
some of the bicyclists on one ride, following along looking for violations,
violations that happen often with bicyclists, but the police do not often
aggressively look for them.  I did not witness this event, but I was told
this happened from reliable sources.  One time when I road with the group, a
Moscow Police officer tagged along on a bicycle, while police cars followed
us on our route through Moscow.  I expected a ticket for the slightest
violation.

Yes, a group on bicycles is a major threat to public safety!

Solutions?  How about letting a group on bicycles bike around town down the
middle of a lane of traffic without the police in tow?

Read on for more bottom line reasoning, if you will...

You mentioned PCEI using biofuels...And given that the U of I has
engineering efforts under way on alternative energy powered vehicles, it
seems that both the U of I and the City of Moscow could consult on using
biofuel or alternative powered vehicles for their operations?  Or do they
already?

The U of I and the City of Moscow could make a significant investment in
solar power?  Or have they?

All new buildings the U of I, the city or county build could be built to
high energy efficiency standards, and include solar power or other
alternative energy in their construction.

Roof top gardens in downtown Moscow?  Small scale CO2 sequestration.

Do you mean goals that are realistic given the massive inertia to really
address the problems, ignoring solutions that may mean some economic
sacrifice or major alteration in lifestyle?Like saying, lets encourage
alternative transportation, a mantra of city planning for decades, while
most everyone wants their own car and truck to drive in, and thinks biking
for general transportation is a joke, and won't use alternative
transportation anyway?

Alternative transportation won't be used substantially when the system is
set up to encourage and make massive profits off most everyone driving their
own private vehicle.  Is the new five lane Moscow/Pullman Hwy. or the
upgrading of Hwy. 95 to four lanes, going to increase or decrease fossil
fuel use?  Large cities that do have a lot of use of alternative
transportation come to this in part because using a private vehicle became
difficult with traffic jams and lack of parking.  Take away the parking
lots, and create traffic jams, that might force change, but then wait till
the next election, and those politicians who decided to block expansive
parking lots to encourage biking or the bus might be out of work.

Though Donovan' suggestion of a massive increase in gas taxes will not
happen, and though he may have been just pulling our leg again, I agree that
drastic action is needed to reduce fossil fuel use.  Ten dollar a gallon gas
would have an impact on unnecessary or frivolous driving.

It seems the planning for Moscow's transportation future, from the Federal
level down (and some federal dollars do in the large picture impact Moscow's
traffic), is making car and truck use the highest priority, not attempting
to encourage people to use other means by limiting the infrastructure that
supports an increase in vehicular traffic, though the Chipman and Latah
Trails are a fantastic development that no doubt is making a small impact on
reducing fossil fuel use.

Biking is something that just about everyone could do to get around Moscow,
if they just made a bit more time in their day, even carrying reasonably
heavy loads with a bike trailer, as Megan mentioned she uses.  Biking makes
a more friendly community, a human scaled environment, and is a lot of fun
besides the dreadful fact it is good exercise (don't mention this to a coach
potato, just tell them biking is a hell of a lot of fun).  If the bit of
extra effort this would require is beyond the available time or motivation
of people, then, how can you motivate them?  Oh, right, take away the
parking.

The business community and the U of I, I assure you, for the most part,
wants to encourage driving and parking, for their bottom line.  The
businesses who do the most business have the most parking adjacent to their
location.  Do you think the U of I wants to start a program to keep freshmen
from bringing cars to school?  This might negatively impact recruitment of
students.  But how many fossil fueled vehicles would this remove from Moscow
Streets?

Paradise Creek bicycles is an exception!

Having dedicated bike lanes attached to streets, separated with even a
humble "barrier" of some sort, would make biking more attractive, safer,
more "legitimate."  This would be a hard sell in Moscow, I suspect, and
would require rebuilding many streets.  Given the incredible psychological
connection many have with their personal self esteem invested in their car
or truck, getting people to start treating bicycling with the same emotional
appeal as driving a car or truck, might be difficult.

Roger Hayes, who posts occasionally to Vision2020, commutes on his bike year
round from Moscow to Pullman.  This is well known, so I trust Roger does not
mind my mentioning this fact.  If he can do this, year after year, many more
could also, or even just commute within Moscow or Pullman on a bike more
often.

Let's just skip the police targeting an alternative transportation bicycling
activist group as though they are criminals?

There are so many ways that Moscow can address the problem of fossil fuel
use there is no problem finding ways.

Other cities are addressing the CO2 emission/global warming problem with
concrete action.

How about hiring someone as described in the article below?

http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/2006/story08-02-06.php

Chicago's efforts:

http://www.consciouschoice.com/2002/cc1504/aboltinterview1504.html

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Ted Moffett
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