[SDCBC] Reader cover story - Ollie's Big Bike Ride

[Jim Baross]

I'm only half way through this entertaining article.
Who's "Ollie"?
And, can I/we meet him to talk about his '... cyclist's pipe dream." 
for "... a path, built up on the sides by curbs or raised from street 
level about a foot, for pedestrians and bikes only. It could be right 
down the middle of University (Avenue) or over to one side." LA has 
something similar and I would rather not ride it for any distance.

A fun read so far...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2008/feb/06/cover/


Ollie's Big Bike Ride

By <http://www.sandiegoreader.com/staff/ollie/>Ollie | Published 
Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008

Ollie's Big Bike Ride


There's no outfit so fantastically ridiculous as the too-tight, 
brazenly colored, and obnoxiously patterned ensemble for riding a 
long distance on a bicycle. It's too much. Ostensibly the outfits are 
colored and patterned wildly to present a bold contrast to the dreary 
roadside so motorists can see you, but I think outfits are designed 
to keep bicyclists from reproducing. Really, there's no reason it has 
to be this tight, this bright, and reflectorized.

My kit involves a pair of special elf shoes with yellow Velcro 
straps. They're elfish because there's a metal shank extending from 
the toe to the heel that prevents them from bending in the middle and 
provides more pedaling power. But for no reason at all, the toes curl 
up a little at the end.

And while I've got your attention, let's look at the rest of it.

- snip -


And if you've ridden a bike down a San Diego street, you know that 
bike lanes are rare and oddly placed, sometimes materializing from 
nowhere and ending as abruptly just a few yards away.

On the topic of roads and phantom bicycle lanes, consider this. 
SANDAG, which has the important-sounding title of "San Diego's 
Regional Planning Agency," has budgeted out the next 40 years of 
revenue from TransNet.

(Let's not get TOO dry here. We're already nearing 
day-after-Thanksgiving-turkey area. But let's press on.)

TransNet is a half-cent sales tax we all pay that's allocated to 
transportation projects. In the next 40 years, the wonderful wizards 
of SANDAG have allocated about $8.6 billion for streets, highways, 
roads, and miscellaneous projects. Not that those are necessarily 
"bad" funds, but for pedestrian and bicycle projects, only $.28 
billion of that tax is budgeted, which is $280 million. Which amounts 
to road and highway projects receiving 30 times the amount of money 
that is being allotted to bike and pedestrian projects.

Of course, there are easily 30 cars on the road for every one bike. 
Maybe that money should go to car funds rather than walking and 
biking funds, because there are just MORE cars.

But this is San Diego. Routinely named one of the healthiest cities 
in the United States. Joggers trot down the San Diego River path to 
Dog Beach every day. Hikers strap their boots up and plod around 
Cowles Mountain constantly. Every June, we shut down the 163 freeway, 
set up a stage every mile, and let possibly deranged people run the 
Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. And a quick search reveals 284 businesses 
related to the term "gym" in the San Diego area.

- snip -


Here's a cyclist's pipe dream. Run a path, built up on the sides by 
curbs or raised from street level about a foot, for pedestrians and 
bikes only. It could be right down the middle of University or over 
to one side, where diagonal parking spots reside now. Cars could 
still park, but they'd have to park parallel instead of diagonally to 
the curb, but they could definitely park. The bike-and-walk path 
wouldn't have to be more than four or five feet wide.

Walkers and cyclists could visit area shops and reduce emissions as 
well as congestion. College kids riding from SDSU could make it to 
Hillcrest or North Park in no time. The blue-collar folks who live in 
City Heights could get a bike (mine cost $225) and ride to the center 
of the city for work.

As long as I'm dreaming, how about we make it a nice material to ride 
on, like garden pavers, stone, or, hell, even concrete, and line the 
path with trees. The trees will provide shade and a small amount of 
protection from the occasional rampaging, haywire car, and they'll 
also add to San Diego's tree canopy and oxygen supply. And if the 
bike path were separated by trees, shrubs, and foliage, the motorists 
wouldn't have to look at our ugly cycling outfits.

- snip -  
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