People Power:
Engaging Sustainable Transportation Solutions
Day 3: Bicycles and
PROJECT
PROPOSALS
ON TRACK FOR CLASS #3
-BAGELS AND COFFEE
-PEOPLE POWER INTRODUCTIONS
-Q & A
-FREE WRITE
-READING: RECAP, THOUGHTS, QUESTIONS
-LECTURE
-HISTORY
-CYCLING IN THE US AND SANTA CRUZ
-BIKENOMICS
- PROJECT BRAINSTORMING
-PREVIEW OF THINGS TO COME
Free Write!
With your understanding of the work People Power does in Santa Cruz for sustainable transportation, specifically bicycle advocacy, brainstorm some of the work you’d like to dedicate your time to. List some projects you’re fond of and some you’d like to get involved in and why.
We will be discussing project ideas later in class so take this opportunity to really reflect on what motivated you to take this class and how you would like to manifest that motivation. (5 min)
Pair Share (5 min) and Discuss (10min)
:Recap:
-Active Transportation the missing link in our current system
-Blatant over-reliance on driving
-Major Systemic Funding Issues
-Obesity Epidemic in the States
(transportation is the problem and the solution to obesity, safe ways to schools normalizes walking and biking for kids, cdc recommends 30min of activity daily)
-Investing in active transportation pays for itself in public health and conservation dividends
BIKENOMICS: CH. 12-13
-VEHICULARISM AND VEHICULAR CYCLING
-EFFECTIVENESS OF BICYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE
-CRITICAL MASS AND COMPLETE THE STREETS
-DEMAND-SIDE ENERGY USAGE SOLUTIONS
BELOW: SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER ENJOYING A RIDE IN THE VERY BROOKLYN BIKE LANE HE AND HIS WIFE VEHEMENTLY LOBBIED AGAINST
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BICYCLE
-THE FIRST BICYCLE WAS UTILIZED IN 1865 COINED THE ‘BONESHAKER’ WHICH WAS OFTEN TIMES MADE OF WOOD
- THE DOMINANT DESIGN SHIFTED IN 1870 WHEN THE FIRST ALL METAL BICYCLE WAS FABRICATED WITH THE OLD FASHIONED CHARACTERISTIC LARGE FRONT WHEEL DESIGN
- ADVANCEMENT IN METALLURGY LED TO THE ADVENT OF THE CHAIN AND THE MODERN LIKE-SIZE TWO-WHEELED DESIGN OF THE BICYCLE CAUGHT HOLD
-DR. DUNLOP INVENTED THE FIRST PNEUMATIC TIRE REVOLUTIONIZING THE BIKE IN 1898
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BICYCLE
- SUSAN B. ANTHONY AND COMMON SENSE DRESSING: “the bicycle has done more for the emancipation of women than anything else in the world."
- LEAGUE OF AMERICAN WHEELMEN, FIRST BICYCLE ADVOCACY GROUP AND LOBBY IN THE US, WAS FORMED IN 1880
- COME 1960 THE AUTOMOBILE HAD QUICKLY TAKEN THE COUNTRY’S TRANSPORTATION SCENE BY STORM SO MANY OF THE BICYCLES OF THE TIME WERE MADE TO RESEMBLE CARS!
START AT 6.16
The Asphalt Bubble
- Much of the work done by the early LAW went towards expanding roadways for bicycling. Due to the popularity in the late 1800’s the LAW was a powerful lobby and was able to influence the local state and private stakeholders to expand infrastructure
- Interstate Highway Act of 1956 sealed the United States fate as being covered predominantly by asphalt; More roads meant more development
- Context: cheapest highway construction project rung in at $6.75 million/mile in rural Arkansas with the average being estimated at $60 million/mile
- Who pays for the construction and upkeep? We all do! However, only 51% of funding comes from direct user fees; the rest is covered through government subsidies
- The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that we will need to invest 3.6 trillion dollars by 2020 in order to keep up with basic maintenance
- Unlike cars and car infrastructure, which operate at a net negative, bicycles and bicycle infrastructure operate in a net positive
SUPERHIGHWAY TO HEALTH
-bicycle infrastructure → less congestion, less pollution, reduced healthcare costs
-The federal government only started spending money on active transit (2%) in 1991
-considerable health issue considering time spent driving is directly correlated with many chronic diseases
- Diabetes is the seventh leading killer in the United States
- Half of the journeys we undertake daily are within 3 miles of our house and can be completed with a 20 minutes bike ride
- Half of those can be substituted with a 10 min bike ride
Bike Lanes on Main Streets
- Money conserved by means of commuting via bicycle most often ends up in the local economy
- Among obvious economic benefits, bike friendly communities tend to have a higher quality of life
- Bike lanes are much more inexpensive compared to roadway construction and repair
- Bike lanes calm traffic and unanimously have caused a rise in ridership
- ‘Sharrows’ and separated bike lanes alike share this effect
- Encourages bicycle friendly business districts such as that of Long Beach, CA
Slowing Things Down