I have decided to concentrate on my photography.  I have not been able to do as much with it as I would have wished lately but will steadily be putting more time and effort into fine art photography since I have always been passionate about it, and I wish to focus in the art form I love the most.

As I have various other interests and commitments (and too many damn irons in the fire:-) that means that the time I have for bicycle advocacy and even for bike riding (at the fanatical pace I had been doing it at least) has to be curtailed.  I will still always ride and will always be interested in the potential of the bicycle for transportation as well as recreation and health.  I just don’t have as much time for it.  I have not had time to update this blog as much as I would like.  I will still occasionally post to it and will leave it up but it won’t be a main area of focus for me.

I have LOTS of new work that I have not yet posted to my photography site , http://oregonshadowandlight.com  and even more waiting for me as soon as I can get into the darkroom to develop it.  I also “curate” a daily blog showcasing the best of black and white photography called Quintessence in Black and White, http://quintessenceinblackandwhite.tumblr.com) I hope to see you at one of those blogs someday!

Dan

This, in an area with a terrible economy that is already suffering the effects of a double dip recession, and has two failed “big box” stores in a prior development not a mile away!

One thing that is immediately apparent about this car-centric abortion of a development is the sheer space devoted to pavement.  I have highlighted the parking space in the picture of the proposed development below to show how the acres of pavement actually dwarf the amount of space used for retail.  The proposed big box store, while being a destructive business killer for local stores in core-area Keizer, would also potentially add some 4200 to 7200 cars a day in traffic headaches to the already overburdened area.  Much of the extra traffic snarl would be loaded onto the residential street of Chemawa NE.  Further, the City Council’s efforts foist this “road apple” onto the people of Keizer (over their strenuous objections) disregard the city’s very own codes.

Proposed Park o Rama

Mixed use development according to City of Keizer Code is supposed to  “support transit use, provide a buffer between busy streets and residential neighborhoods, and provide new housing opportunities in the City.  Development is intended to be pedestrian-oriented with buildings close to and oriented to the sidewalk.”  Unless you somehow consider prodigious expanses of parking lot to be pedestrian oriented, I don’t know how this would fit with the intent of the city development codes.

Portion of Keizer Station Development A with Empty the "Big Boxes" noted

Thankfully there is a local group called Keep Keizer Livable fighting this development.  They have an intuitive on the ballot for March Eighth to require the development to go into area A (where the two empty big box stores already lie fallow). First step:  Pass Measure 24-314 on Tuesday March 8th and force a sensible development of the area already designated for “big box” stores.  Next step:  Elect better leaders who have vision (not vi$$ons) for wise, progressive, and sustainable development that would actually benefit the city they are supposed to represent.

Eric, of Salem Breakfast on Bikes, has also covered this issue here.

Area C at present. Note all the residences on Chemawa

Separated Bike Track in Vancouver - Image Credit: Paul Kreuger

Common sense.  In Taiwan I learned a Chinese expression that often comes to mind now:  ”Fei whah.”  It means “wasted breath.”  Being forced to defend separated bicycle infrastructure (such as cycle tracks) as a critical part of basic urban transportation systems should come under the category of Fei Whah squared.  It should be common sense.

I am a raging utopiholic, but I do try to sober up (on working days at least) and fake the temperance reality demands of those not fortunate enough to live in Portland (in Stumptown, God love it – temperance and reality remain irreconcilable).  I realize that in any cause worth fighting for, dogged determination and well-organized action is required to make what should be obvious a reality.  In fact, sadly, this always seems to be the case with even the most basic human rights and needs. [...]

It should have been self-evident that it was wrong for people of color to have been disenfranchised, segregated, and subjected to the myriad abuses they suffered in pre-seventies America.  But it took the titanic struggle and pain of the Civil Rights Movement, and years of pertinacious labor, to affect even that most elemental of changes.  And though that struggle has won major improvements, brought progressive core-level values changes, and a more enlightened way of thinking to our nation, it still finds itself guarding against regression and assaults from talking bags of assholes like Rush Limbaugh and his ilk.  So it is with almost all fundamental improvement for humanity here on this planet.  It must be fought for, won, and then guarded.

Am I trying to equate separated bicycle infrastructure with the importance of the Civil Rights Movement?  No.  But the ability to move safely under your own power is a pretty basic right isn’t it?   I am also saying it will require hard work and struggle to get it and keep it.  I am saying that although safe bikeways are an obvious need, they will have to be won from a sometimes oppositional, mostly ignorant power structure.

I have blogged before about riding with my kids to one of Salem’s main parks.  To get there we have to ride part of the way down Commercial Street NE, which has very heavy traffic that moves at a fairly high speed.  Commercial Street, in fact, acts as a highway link-up from Interstate Five through to Highway Twenty Two and points east.  To protect my family from the rushing cars and trucks moving over this stretch of road, the powers that be have given us a magic white line.  It is about six inches wide.  To the right of this white line we have been granted a few feet in which to bicycle (when a parked car, delivery truck, or trash can doesn’t occupy it).

I must (and do) trust that six-inch white line (and God) to keep my wife, kids, and self safe from car and truck drivers herding their metal boxes along, while some of them update their Facebook status, no doubt.  That thin six inches of paint and the driver’s attention is all that keeps the hurtling metal and my family apart from each other.  And some people say I am not a religious man!
Now I ask you, in the name of common sense and the mastery of the obvious, shouldn’t we really have a physical barrier there between some two to twenty tons of rolling metal and our so very breakable selves?

Elly Blue has written a great post for grist also demanding separated bicycle infrastructure and covering a recent study in Canada that shows people are much safer in them.  There are also some other good studies that show that cycle tracks are effective and well received and that people are safer while riding in separated bicycle lanes.  I think that’s great.  I feel it’s unfortunate that we actually need them though.  I must be on another utopi-bender.  It should be palpably clear without the studies that people would be safer out of physical reach of vehicles while bicycling.  Let’s promote the radical common sense of getting that done.

Shower guy at Worst Day of the Year Ride 2011

My niece, Sarah, and I rode our first event ride of the year yesterday and had a blast!  The Worst Day of the Year Ride was a smile-a-minute joyful romp.  It benefits a great organization too. I love getting out and seeing Portland’s fun-loving bikey culture.  We opted for the relaxed eighteen mile urban ride, but there was also a forty-five mile “challenge” ride full of hills that I heard was fun.

It was great to get to ride Portland’s extensive, progressive, and beautiful urban bicycle infrastructure.  From the beautiful eastside esplanade along the river, over the hard-won steel bridge bike crossing, through to the well designed bicycle boulevards in residential neighborhoods, to the cool green bike boxes keeping cyclists safe, Portland has done it right, and the resulting bicycling experience it fantastic.  This is the result of years of continuing hard work, visionary leadership, and dogged advocacy efforts.  Check out Joyride, and Mia Birk’s blog for more information on how this came to be.

Creativity, and a culture of fun-loving self expression and affable fraternity flourish in such an atmosphere.  Portland has the most delightfully weird and joyous collection of bicyclists and unique people of any city that I have visited.  I truly love it.

There was a couple celebrating their anniversary by joining the bicycle ride.  She wore a bridal vail, he had an accompanying party of groomsman out for a celebration ride.  Fun!  There was also a pirate, compete with bottle of rum and broadsword.  I gave him a wide berth.

One of my favorites was the “shower guy.”  One of the riders near me told another one she would give her ten bucks if she would ask him if there was room for two in his shower.  Another piped up that she would offer a ten spot if that was the first time he had heard that line.

Sarah on East Bank Esplanade in front of the Steel Bridge

Sarah and I are planning to go on a bunch of event rides this season.  We help keep each other motivated and having fun.  The Worst Day of The Year Ride (which had no rain or wind and even a few peeks of sun) was a great start!  We are hoping to get in a few more of the great Portland events on the riding to-do list.

Bike Portland also has a nice write-up on the 2011 Worst Day of the Year ride and lots of pictures here.

The weather wasn't quite this warm! Image credit: BikePortland.org

Disappearing bike lane at Chemawa and Windsor Island Rd.

In my continuing series of incessant whining about bicycle infrastructure, “Better know a Problem Spot,” I take my complaints to the great city of Keizer.

The route west on Chemawa N to Keizer Rapids Park features a disappearing bike lane at Windsor Island Road.  A lot of families and kids use Chemawa to get to the park (which has some pretty good bicycling paths and the potential for awesome for bicycling).  Eric of Breakfast on Bikes has a good post up here for more information on Keizer Rapids Park and what its future might hold.  It has music programs in the summer, lots of families who use it regularly (including mine), and an area for dogs to play.  It gets a lot of use.  The only way to get there is by traveling down Chemawa.  There is no entry to the park other than the main one on Chemawa.  It really needs a good bicycle land all the way down the street.

Map of Disappearing Bike Lane at Chemawa

Well worn path to Keizer Rapids Park where the bike lane ends

With so many more bicycle riders now moving around the cities though, it may be surprising to find that the rate of accidents between them and motor vehicles has actually gone down.

In Minneapolis, the number of riders more than doubled while the accident rate remained at or below the level it had a decade before.

New York City has also more than doubled its number of daily bicyclists while cutting its accident rate nearly in half from late nineties levels.

Image credit- transalt.org

Portland has been a perennial trend setter and leader in these improvements, bringing up to seven times the numbers of bicyclists to the party while also slashing the indexed accident rate.

The simultaneous gain in ridership and safety is due to a couple of things in my opinion.  First, I think the effort and wise strategy of the people planning and implementing bicycle infrastructure and traffic control in these three cities has been rewarded not only in increasing numbers of cyclists, but in lower accident rates, simply because the systems they have created are fundamentally sound and provide a safe way for bicyclists to travel.  By the way, this should put the final nail in the coffin of the “vehicular cyclist” advocates who contend that bike lanes are dangerous.  With all those extra cyclists happily pedaling down the bike lanes,  one would expect the rate of accidents to go up drastically if their argument had any validity.  Instead, the numbers of accidents have gone down dramatically.

The other reason for the dramatically better accident rates can be found in a thing that any heard of zebras could have told you about:  Safety in numbers.  There has been growing evidence that large numbers of people riding bicycles make it safer for all.  Occasionally I will see a deer out near the road when I am driving.  Seeing one always makes me slow down a little and keep on the lookout for more since I really really don’t want to hit one.  I have also frequently seen the “deer crossing” signs but that never has the same effect as actually seeing the real live animal.  The same phenomenon is at work with the members of the flock riding bicycles, and their fellow members of the herd behind the wheel.  Just the fact that there are a lot of them helps keep a reminder of their presence in the forefront of the mind.  One bicycle advocate put it this way, “People are so used to seeing bicyclists — love them or hate (them) — and they don’t want to hit them.”  Seems to sum it up.

I don’t think one can discount the effect of having safe infrastructure in place first though to make it possible for the “critical mass” (if I can use a loaded term) of bicyclists to be reached.  It would be a mistake to get the “safety in numbers” trailer before the cargo bike.  In order to get those people out there the facilities had to come first.

The phenomenal success that these three cities have had in building good infrastructure for riders who then come out to make use of it and thus make it safer for everyone.  It’s a positive feedback loop.  It gives us all a great guide in the direction we need to go to bring better bicycling to our cities.

Separated bike lane - image credit: Brad Aaron - Streetsblog.org

I love it when someone is able to put a fairly complicated thing into quick perspective.  I recently came across a “tweet” that did so beautifully.  This exchange gets right to the heart of what we need to make bicycling a viable transportation option for the majority of people:

@transportdata @miabirk.”..the design spec should be: ‘so that parents let their 8-year old cycle there by themselves.” (via @KatsDekker)

If that simple idea were the constant standard for designing and building our overall bicycle infrastructure, it would revolutionize transportation in our cities in very short order.  Our nearest example, Portland, never ceases to amaze me with what it has been able to accomplish with thoughtful implementation of good bicycling infrastructure.  The work in Portland is still very much “in progress” and like good writing, art, engineering, or any other human endeavor, can never be said to be “finished” if continued excellence is the objective.  Still, it is striking to me what a moderate investment in bicycling there has done. [...]Bikes are everywhere now in Stumptown and the diversity of riders has grown steadily.  They have a vibrant and exciting bicycling community in Portland now for what it would have cost for one mile of interstate freeway.  It is consequently a wonderfully livable city.  Portland, and a growing number of communities , have met with success because they have realized the core truth underlying that twenty-one word tweet.  For bicycle transportation to be seen as a do-able thing; for it to be something that average people will adopt as an option for their transportation; it needs to be perceived as being safe enough for an eight year old.

The data tells us that the perception of safety is the fulcrum upon which we must leverage our bicycle advocacy.  It is the Alpha and the Omega.  We can build all sorts of wonderful infrastructure, and deliver the best bicycle education, motivation, and information known to man, but without the average person feeling safe, it will all be of little use.  The greatest gains, and the future of cycling as a way of life, lie with the vast majority of the population that don’t currently consider bicycling as a practical option for their transportation needs.

Logic and our own experience as parents and/or cyclists tells us the same thing as the data.  It is difficult (to say the least) for parents to let their children do things that may feel a bit dangerous even if they know it is statically safe.  Statistics and logic may say one thing, but the power of parental worry and guilt will eat them alive every time, and still have room left over to snack on facts for dessert.  I regularly ride to Salem’s Riverfront Park with the kids.  A portion of the bike lane that we take there runs next to Commercial Street NE, which has very heavy traffic.  My children (age twelve and ten) are very competent riders and are totally trustworthy on a bicycle.  Still though, my wife Stacey and I both feel that we have to sort of “box them in” to ride safely on Commercial.  She guards the front, and I always take a position at the back of the group, and ride further out toward traffic than I would normally, to give them room.  It comes down to this, though I know the statistics say there is very little chance we will be hit from behind, and though I have taken every safety precaution in the way of reflective vests, lights, etc., I still feel the necessity to use my body itself to protect my kids from the feeling of potential danger.  That is what we face.  All the statistics in the world will never conquer the primal nature of the protectiveness we feel for our children.  We need to be keenly aware of that and use it.

That is why the “eight year old kid test” for our bicycling infrastructure should not be the gold standard – but the constant one.  Obviously, we are sadly far from the day where most eight year olds can safely travel an entire city of any extent by themselves.  And there are more problems having to do with the ills of society than with transportation responsible for that.  While there are many bicycle infrastructure solutions available to fit various situations, and each and every single piece of infrastructure will not, of course, be able to pass the eight year old kid test, there is no reason why entire neighborhoods and large swaths of every city shouldn’t meet it.  Indeed, the standard for every city should be that kids, moms, dads, grandparents, and everyone else should be able to bicycle to school, shopping, work, and play with a feeling of comfort and security.

One of the problem spots in Salem

This will be the index page for all the posts about problem areas in Salem/Keizer that I cover.  I will be listing them here in the order I have covered them.  If you would like to add areas that should be covered ,or have ideas as far as the ones that have already been covered, please leave a comment.  You can also find these posts by clicking on the “Salem/Keizer problem spots category.

Riding South on Commercial NE at D Street NE (and on through Union, and Marion Streets)

Pictures and Text: Now you see it,…now you don’t, bike lane

Video: Most Dangerous Bicycle Intersection in Salem?

Riding from Keizer or North Salem into Downtown (covers and alternative route to Commercial/Liberty)

Pictures and Text: Getting Downtown (and back?)

Riding North on Liberty NE crossing Salem Parkway:

Video: Another Bad Intersection in Salem – Trapped to the Right

Riding North on 13th Street SE at Pringle Parkway:

Video: My Continuing Series…Better Know a Problem Spot – 13th and Pringle Parkway