[SDCBC] Fwd: UT Mid City Transit Article Saturday - What does pla nning f...

[Gene Carman]

Jon, I think you are right...  when so many cars fill the roads of 
the cities that gridlock is a nearly permanent situation, and folks 
are making no forward progress, and there flat out is no room to add 
yet another "bypass lane..."  and motorists spend hours idling away 
their 8-10  dollar (or more) a gallon gas in whatever motorvehicle 
strokes their egos, then and only then will they look to the 
government and say...  "Do Something."

Of course at that point, it will be way way past the point of doing 
anything easy, practical and foresighted.  (already we are trading 
bombs for oil...  what's next?)

Meanwhile, those of us of good health from riding bikes, will ride on 
by and laugh inside as we weave between the enormous vehicles, each 
holding a single passenger, and GOING NOWHERE!
(anybody besides me remember the gas "crisis" of the '70s?)

So just keep cycling along, using whatever space you can...  and wait 
for the days ahead.

Teach your children, eat right, ride your bike, and keep in good health.



At 03:21 AM 1/17/2008, JonIsaacs at aol.com wrote:
>Hello to all:
>
>Jim Baross reminded us that this is a cycling forum:
>
>"Gentlemen:
>I am not disinterested in this area of transportation issues, but it 
>has drifted away from bicycling, right?
>
>Please consider that this forum is for bicycling information and 
>discussions. I suggest and request that you consider responding 
>among each other about transit discussions and/or relate your 
>discourse on the SDCBC list-server to bicycling.... or find and/or 
>start a San Diego transit discussion group."
>
>Gale made the following comment:
>
>"To specifically answer your question "Then exactly what does it 
>depend upon?", the answer is "parking".  It depends on when parking 
>for all the vehicles becomes an issue."
>
>To which I respond with a cycling specific answer:
>
>Parking costs and limited availability were a major part of my 
>decision to turn in my  UCSD parking permit and cycle to work 5 days 
>a week.   I think it was more the lack of nearby parking more than 
>the cost but in the ~18 years since I made the change I figure I 
>have saved about $15,000 in parking permit costs alone.
>
>Another practical advantage of cycling was the predictablity, I 
>could count on the fact that I could make the trip from Encinitas to 
>my office at UCSD in 40-50 minutes regardless of the traffic 
>situation.  In my car, when traffic was light, I could make the same 
>trip in 20-25 minutes but even back then on a Friday or during the 
>Del Mar Fair/Racing season, the car traffic would be stopped on NB 
>101 from the from Carmel Valley up to the top of Torrey Pines grade 
>and that could take 45 minutes by itself with the entire commute 
>taking over an hour.
>
>I believe that when it is easier to ride a bike somewhere than it is 
>to drive a car in traffic and find parking, then people naturally 
>make that same decision I did.  In terms of cost effectiveness, 
>dependability and easy resolution of parking costs/availibility 
>cycling and walking certainly seems to have all other choices beat....
>
>Jon "keeping the focus here on cycling" Isaacs
>
>
>
>**************
>Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.
>http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489
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