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I'm only half way through this entertaining article. <br>
Who's "Ollie"? <br>
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.
<br><br>
A fun read so far... <br><br>
<a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2008/feb/06/cover/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2008/feb/06/cover/</a><br><br>
<h3><b>Ollie's Big Bike Ride</b></h3>By
<a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/staff/ollie/">Ollie</a> |
Published Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008 <br><br>
<img src="cid:7.0.1.0.2.20080209094031.03b03e20@cox.net.0" width=245 height=300 alt="Ollie's Big Bike Ride">
<br><br>
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
<i>this </i>tight, this <i>bright, </i>and reflectorized.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
And while I’ve got your attention, let’s look at the rest of it.<br><br>
- snip - <br><br>
<br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
(Let’s not get TOO dry here. We’re already nearing
day-after-Thanksgiving-turkey area. But let’s press on.)<br><br>
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.<br><br>
Of course, there are easily 30 cars on the road for every one bike. Maybe
that money <i>should </i>go to car funds rather than walking and biking
funds, because there are just MORE cars.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
- snip - <br><br>
<br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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