Broken Sidewalk Archives
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Can one song dually inspire a bike advocacy video in London and a car commercial in the United States? That’s exactly the case with the song “Straight Lines” by Louisville native and Brooklyn based artist Dawn Landes. I just finished listening to a repeat broadcast of WNYC’s Soundstage program where Dawn played live with Ray Rizzo and Josh Kaufman where they mentioned these videos, so I had to check them out.
I would say the Transport for London video is the winner hands down for creativity, but I suppose I’m a little partial to bikes as opposed to minivans. Thoughts?
Dawn Landes will be playing at Forecastle in Louisville on July 11.
Joshua Poe, a student at the University of Louisville, recently posted his observations on living in New Albany and biking to Louisville for school and work at the New Albany Bicycle Coalition blog. He says he was apprehensive about living so far away, but eventually made the jump to a bike commute:
Finally, when the weather warmed, I surrendered and devised a route to commute to work at Dutchmans and Cannons Lane and school at U of L. I started out using TARC and the #22 bus to get across the Sherman Minton Bridge, but the 3 bus routes in New Albany are so scattered and infrequent and that I have since forsaken the bus altogether. Here are some observations about biking from New Albany to Louisville.
- New Albany has the potential to be an excellent city for cycling. Right now, it is not.
- Two bike racks on TARC buses are not sufficient. Often they are already in use and some bus drivers will not let you take your bike on the bus, in which case you have to wait for the next bus, which can take up to an hour and a half.
- It takes approx. 45 minutes to get from downtown New Albany to U of L across the Clark Memorial Bridge on a bicycle (the completed Greenway will easily cut this in half).
- On an average day, I see blue herons, hawks, eagles, turtles, and a variety of songbirds on the Beargrass Creek bike trail, at the Falls, and in Cherokee Park (this week I saw a hooded warbler).
Joshua has many more great observations you should check out at the NA Bicycle Coalition site. He says he rides at a leisurely pace, so a commute through various parks around town must be really refreshing, not to mention all the wildlife he is able to enjoy (without creating roadkill).
Imagine moving your entire office (or home?) across town with only a team of bikes? Remember that includes dozens of large boxes, computers, chairs, and even a sofa. Bicycling for Louisville just completed such a move from Second Street Downtown to Frankfort Avenue and New Main Street in Clifton with the help of a couple dozen volunteers.
There’s been quite a bit of coverage of the event on bike blogs across Louisville, and lots of photo evidence. Check out Kirk Kandle’s writeup at Pedalaround Mojo and some great photos over at CART. There’s even more photos on a flickr pool dedicated to the move. What a great way to go green, build community, and keep Louisville weird all at once.
[ Photo by Kirk Kandle from kirkwrites/flickr via CART. ]
A Kentucky House Bill was submitted January 13 that could make it illegal to transport children on bike on Kentucky state maintained roads. Representative David Osborne, representing a small portion of Jefferson County and part of Oldham County filed the bill but when confronted says he plans not to pursue the proposal.
From HB 255:
AN ACT relating to bicycles.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 189 to prohibit the operation of a bicycle on a state-maintained highway while transporting a person under the age of 18 years in an attached trailer or other apparatus.
Louisville’s vigilant bicycle groups brought the bill to our attention and all wholeheartedly condemned the bill as misguided. Kirk Kandle at Pedalaround explains the point very well:
“It shouldn’t be the business of lawmakers to further shield motorists from their responsibility in the use of their vehicles’ deadly, crushing force. Rather, it should be the lawmaker’s duty to protect the most vulnerable citizens from the danger imposed by motor vehicle operators. Otherwise, we live in a world that goes on the assumption that bicyclists and pedestrians shouldn’t have put themselves in harm’s way to begin with.”
The sheer number of roads in the Louisville area this bill would prohibit from family biking is extensive. There are over 3,500 miles of state maintained roads in the Louisville District 5 area including most major roads you can think of. Main, Market, Baxter, Bardstown, Frankfort Avenue. 3rd, 22nd, Cherokee Parkway. Broadway, Lexington, Westport Road. Dixie Highway, Preston, Shelby, Covered Bridge Road. Enough to isolate some families on one single block even when amenities like parks are only a couple blocks away.
I wondered if Louisville might be somehow exempt from the proposed law since the city took over maintenance of state roads last year, but Chris Poynter with the Mayor Abramson’s office says the city only handles traffic lights and snow removal.
Poynter was also surprised by the bill and notes that “streets are for everyone… that’s why Louisville enacted its complete streets policy.” He says that just because many streets are mostly filled with motorists doesn’t mean streets are only for vehicles. Many bike routes in Louisville follow state-maintained roads.
I couldn’t get in touch with David Osborne in time for publishing, but the bikelounger describes a conversation Kandle had with the representative (more from CART as well):
“It seems that Mr. Osborne had encountered a cyclist, who was making a u-turn on the back side of a blind curve, and barely had enough room to avoid a collision with the cyclist. There was a child in a trailer attached to the bike.
“The two of them, Mr Osborne and our mystery cyclist, exchanged a few words at the scene. Apparently the cyclist expressed that it was legal for her to be on the state road (although the wisdom of making a u-turn that close to a blind curve is debatable).”
Osborne agrees the bill is poorly written and has no plans to pursue it. I’ll post more information if it becomes available. If you would like to contact Rep. Osborne’s office to voice your opinion against such misguided bills banning cycling of any kind from roads, you can call 502.564.8100 ext. 679 or e.mail David.Osborne@lrc.ky.gov or get in touch with your own representative.
Leave it to Copenhagen to implement such a small luxury that can make a big difference in the lives of cyclists. Bicycle culture blog Copenhagenize shows us why minor infrastructure improvements are so important:
“It’s a tiny detail. No bells and whistles, just a simple idea to make a tiny fraction of the day a little bit easier for a small percentage of the cycling citizens of the city.
“Which is precisely why it’s brilliant.
…
“Actually, if you cycle about in Copenhagen take a look at the light posts next to where cyclists wait for lights to change, you’ll see a tiny anthropological detail. I called it Bicycle Culture Buddhas.
“The metal is rubbed smooth on precisely one side of the post from all the cyclists’ hands that lean up against it. Just like the tummies of so many Buddhas.”
Could such a railing and foot ledge increase the occurrence of cyclists stopping at red lights? I can think of several locations where such an innovation would be useful such as the intersection of Lexington Road and Grinstead Drive or any light that takes a while to change. Copenhagenize admits this isn’t a solution for every intersection, but believes similar ideas could be implemented on a smaller scale across the city.
Perhaps if we make it comfortable, easy, and even fun for people to get out on their bikes, everyone could be a little safer. What are your thoughts?
Read the full article over at Copenhagenize.
Have you seen these little white cyclists popping up at major Louisville intersections? They are designed to show cyclists where to position their bikes to trigger a traffic light change. When I first saw the stencils, I thought this was some sort of DIY fix since the stencils were slightly jagged, but it turns out the city has been painting them along bike routes. Good to know if you ever find yourself at an intersection governed by those induction loops.
Came across this bike rack on the corner of Fourth Street and Broadway. It’s pretty hard not to notice the rack because of its size and many were having a great time spinning the wheels of the bikes comprising the rack. The rack was designed by Scott Scarboro for the Louisville Downtown Management District’s art bike rack program.
After all the controversy over Mayor Abramson’s proposed Downtown bike station, this StreetFilms video emerges showing how Chicago’s famous McDonald’s Cycling Center in Millenium Park works. Many loved the idea of a similar center in Louisville, many more thought it was a waste of money, and others thought the money could be better spent on more basic infrastructure. Whatever your opinion of the proposed project, it’s helpful to see how such an easily misunderstood facility actually functions and what Chicagoans think of it. Here’s a portion of a letter the Mayor wrote supporting Louisville’s Bike Station:
“For the past two years, there has been a national buzz about Louisville as a city redefining itself — a city of great arts and culture, a city of sports, a city of parks, a city that is an affordable and exciting place to live. This has not happened by accident.
We’ve devoted special efforts to make our city more attractive to young professionals, a key, educated demographic that keeps cities vibrant. It’s why we’ve invested in downtown — and it’s why, during the last three years, we’ve strived to make our city more bicycle friendly.
Part of that strategy has included discussions of building a downtown transit center that could bring together, all under one roof, major bus lines, a cab stand and car rentals. It could also serve as a cycling center for commuters, causal riders and tourists who want to explore downtown, bike the Louisville Loop to Southwest Louisville or cycle into neighborhoods like Old Louisville to view the spectacular Victorian architecture. The center could also include space for a coffee shop, a restaurant and small retail stores.
This truly would be a transit center, not just a bike station. And it would continue our effort to make our city “go green” and encourage alternative transportation.”
The Louisville bike station is on hold while a feasibility study is going on and the city plans on conducting a public opinion survey on the transit center soon.