December 1, 2002 Volume 13 No. 4 Issue #51

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   From the Chairman: Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving! At this time of year and after all this country has been through the past year, we have a lot to be thankful for. Your CPABC has been busy as ever. Look at our schedule to see all the meetings we have set-up and have to attend. We’re changing from a Glendening to an Ehrlich administration, so need to make new bike/ped friendly contacts. For the past 15 years, the Governor's Office varied between open or closed doors to get legislation passed or allowed SHA/MDOT to promote or discourage bike/ped facilities. Governor Glendening supported many of our initiatives and we thank him for his many years of strong support and wish him well. We welcome Governor-Elect Ehrlich to Annapolis (again, he was House of Delegate Member in the 1980's) and look forward to working with him.

    See what your busy coalition has been doing the last 3 months. We’ve been meeting with SHA/MDOT, the U of M, IKEA and DPW&T to ensure that bike/ped elements get included on all our transportation projects. We’re still behind on Powder Mill & Cherry Hill project (though it looks like change is in the works!), a little ahead on the bike lanes on Route 193, see IKEA's US#1 project as a pilot for future projects, and the Ammendale/Virginia Roads project as a real winner. Check out Ammendale Rd and let DPW&T know how appreciated it is. We received the Md Bike/Ped Master Plan on Oct 11. Despite 2 years of hard work by many people, the resulting document leaves many disappointed with its lack of commitment and really no plans for the next 20 years.

   We’re aware that funds will be short. The state budget is expecting over a billion dollar shortfall and counties will be short as well. We have to keep reminding the elected-officials, planners and staffers that bike/ped elements don't cost much and ask that these much needed facilities be included in our transportation plans. We often hear about "non-attainment-on pollution issues" and wonder why bike/ped elements are not accepted to reduce pollution and reliance on autos. Your CPABC is on the right track, but it always take time for powers-that-be to accept ways to travel without your car, don't cost much, and will be adopted by the public when they’re professionally and safely built.

   Thanks go to Jim Hudnall for his professional work on our website & Jill DiMauro and Scott Mitchell from REI for their wonderful grant for our outstanding work (their words) in advancing bike/ped travel in the region The $1000 grant will go toward improving our website. Next members’ meeting is Monday Dec 2, come on out!

Bill Kelly, Chairman

MARYLAND BIKE/PED MASTER PLAN WORKSHOP ON SAT 12/14/02

CPABC is putting together a MD Bike/Ped Master Plan review workshop on Saturday December 14 from 9 to 1 PM at Davis Hall in College Park (Rhode Island Ave & Fox St, a mile south of the Beltway). Its 2 year development was completed in October with less than expected results. Thousands of hours and hundreds of thousand dollars of costs were incurred, but the 3 volume finished product has left many unhappy. We hope to have the missing parts added when the plan is next updated (if this happens!). The meeting is on a Saturday so that working folks can attend. We hope to have a ‘studied position’ to offer the Maryland Legislature. They asked for the Plan in 2000 and want our views on this important planning tool for good bike/ped transportation. The Maryland Department of Transportation Statewide 20-Year Bicycle and Pedestrian Access Master Plan can be seen at http://www.mdot.state.md.us/bpplan/bpplan.html

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY DELEGATION WORKSHOP IN ANNAPOLIS DEC.20

Delegate Pauline Menes and the 21st Delegation has asked us to come to Annapolis on Friday December 20 to discuss our views on needs for 2003 and to plan our Sixth Annual Bike/Ped Symposium.. We meet in the PG County delegation room from 9 to 3 with them and other County and State bike/ped folks. We’ve been exploring the possibilities of an Annapolis bike/ped caucus. We have many friends in Annapolis who think Maryland should be a leader in bike/ped development. December dates are filling up quickly, but this always happens before start of a session in Annapolis. Hope to see you there!

MARYLAND BICYCLE ACCESS WORKSHOP DECEMBER 9 IN ANNAPOLIS

One Less Car (OLC) is hosting the 2nd annual Maryland Access Workshop at the Arundel Center, in Council Chambers. Featured will be several current bike issues in Maryland, including the 20 Year Plan, and bike/ped access to state facilities. Come and take an active role in bike/ped advocacy! To register call or email Pete Olsen; 410/360-6755 or pete@onelesscar.org.

Next MD Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee Meeting December 13 in Hanover

The next MBPAC meeting is Friday Dec. 13 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM at the SHA Safety Center on Connerly Rd in Hanover, Md. The committee meets the second Friday every other month in differing locations, public invited. The February meeting is tentatively in Annapolis, changed to Feb 5 for to coincide with the symposium for greater participation.

CPBAC’S INTERNATIONAL BICYCLE CALENDAR NOW AVAILABLE

Cycling (and recycling) advocates have done it again! CPABC and 15 other co-publishers from around the world have produced a handsome wall calendar with 30 remarkable bicycle photographs. The calendar is good for the years 2014 and 2025 when 2003 “recycles.” Available now from REI in College Park for $11 to make a great Christmas gift this year and… the future!

NEW BIKE RACKS ON BUSES SHOWING UP EVERYWHERE

              Last August WMATA committed $1.6 million dollars to install 1,400 bike racks on all its metro area buses. Metro’s commitment to extend ridership to those with bikes is outstanding! We really appreciate all three jurisdictions’ (DC, Virginia and Maryland) contributions to the cost. Let’s show our appreciation and see some bikes on these racks!

Try it & get the word out on how easy it is! We’ll have a bus with rack at our bike/ped symposium Feb 5, 2003. For Metro info call 202/637-7000.

CPABC AWARDED GRANT FROM REI, MEMBERS ALSO NOW GET DISCOUNT!

We’re happy to announce that CPABC has been awarded a $1000 grant from REI/College Park to expand our website ( www.cpabc.org ).  CPABC and REI have a long history together. We both started in College Park in 1988 and have supported each other over those 15 years. REI recognized CPABC's worthy bike/ped advocacy and wanted to show their appreciation. Jill DiMauro, our good friend at REI, along with J. Scott Mitchell, Store Manager, put us in for the national award from their Seattle, Washington headquarters and also granted CPABC members a 10% discount on purchases. This is a great reason to have a $10 membership in CPABC and get it back with your first $100 purchase there. We’re proud of our website and aim to update more frequently. Web pages are the info carriers of the future and really get the word out. In fact, CPABC received more input than we could print in this issue of Pedal Power, so we are expanding the newsletter online.

When you stop and shop at REI, thank them for their grant to enhance bicycling in Maryland!

BOOKLET ON LAWS PERTAINING TO BICYCLING AVAILABLE

A free copy of a 30 page orange booklet of all pertinent complete and unabridged laws, worth carrying around, is available from MD-DOT at 800-252-8776. However, there have been several additions to the MD code since it was published. In particular; (a) Drivers to exercise due care. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any bicycle...being ridden by a person. Hard to believe that provision is new. It was part of MD Del. Jim Rosapepe's Bike-Ped Access 2000 legislation enacted in 1995. In response to his legislative initiatives, the MVA also revised the Maryland Drivers Handbook (10-98 edition) with excellent material on motorists sharing the road with bicyclist. Most of the new material is on pages 42 & 76. See our website (www.cpabc.org) for that.

LOVELY FALL BIKE RIDE HELD SUNDAY OCTOBER 27

We had our Fall Bike Ride Sunday October 27, starting at REI. The weather was beautiful but turn-out low. We rode the new College Park Trolley Trail, around the U of M, around Lake Artemesia, through Greenbelt under the Metro tunnel. Capt John Brandt and his wonderful U of M police Bike Patrol, assisted by Metro and M-NCPPC Police did their always outstanding job of getting us safely around the 12 mile loop laid out by Barry Wells. REI provided wonderful door prizes and the Mayor of College Park, Steve Brayman and his daughter, Samantha, rode with us. Our next ride will be our MD 500 on April 27, 2003. Many thanks to REI and the Police for their great support!

UPDATE ON THE METBRANCH TRAIL

The town of Takoma Park is close to finalizing plans for their stretch of the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MTB), which will run from the Silver Spring Metro to Union Station when completed. A public hearing was held to hear the proposed alignment by Jim Klein of Lardner/Klein Landscape Architects. The proposed design conforms with the much-lauded AASHTO guidelines. Although running into the budget limit for the project, the town may opt for an alignment that would save some trees despite losing some parking spaces. Construction is slated to start in March, dependent on Mont Co Historical Commission approval. All of the speakers were well in favor of the trail, though some had misgivings about losing trees and want the trail narrowed. Gail Tait-Nouri, Montgomery County Bikeways Program Coordinator, sent an email warning of anything narrower than the 10' width that Mont Co will build for its section. She stated that 8' wide trails with high use, which the Takoma section will reach, result in higher accident rates involving liability issues. Concerns about the only 8' Trolley Line Trail are already coming in. The 2000 high-season counts for the Capital Crescent Trail was 240 hourly average and 550 peak hourly use. Since the MBT is basically an extension of the Capital Crescent, similar usage numbers are likely. The Capital Crescent Trail is 12' wide with a 2 foot gravel shoulder for joggers and is being considered for widening because of overcrowding and safety. In D.C., Jim Sebastian is apparently about ready to present options to the city, but it doesn’t look like the D.C. planning department feels much pressure. It costs very little to make a surface wider during trail construction and nearly impossible afterwards. Prince George's Co. Park & Planning mandates a minimum 10' on all trails in the County. Let’s keep asking for wider trails in the region.

JIM HUDNALL NEW CPABC WEB-MASTER

Jim Hudnall, President of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club (OHBTC) is our new CPABC Web-Master (www.cpabc.org). Jim is undoubtedly the busiest bike/ped advocate around. Not only is he president of OHBTC, he’s Recording Secretary for One Less Car, serves on the BTAG Committee, and assists with the Md. Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (MBPAC). He is very aware of current events and really knows how to build a webpage. Check out his OHBTC site at www.ohbike.org.  His work also extends to the MBPAC website. When you really need something done, ask a busy person because they always get it done! We thank Jim for graciously extending his help. Jim is at jim@ohbike.org

CARS PARKING ILLEGALLY ON NEW UNIVERSITY BLVD BIKE LANES

Newly installed bike lane on Route 193 are being blocked by illegal parking for game events at the U of M. Homecoming on November 9 at noon was a sad sight. Close to 1,000 cars were parked on the shoulders and median between Adelphi and Metzerott Rds in spite of no parking signs and large SHA signs with “no parking in median, park in lots.” This not only blocked bike lanes but forced motorists, become pedestrians after illegally parking, to walk between parked cars and fast-moving traffic on the busy road (speed limit 55 MPH!). There’s certain to be a lawsuit when someone’s injured, if not killed. University officials told us that state police should give out tickets, but police say they don't have enough manpower for that. Meanwhile, SHA, their safety office and the 21st delegation folks say they will stop the illegal parking for the 2003 season. Though parking is in limited supply, the University seems to encourage driving but does little to encourage public transit. They should make use of the 3,800 parking spaces in the Greenbelt Metro lot, nearly vacant weekends and nights, and bus fans to campus. County school buses parked next to the Metro lot could be used for those 4 are miles. SHA and Eric Tabachex resolved the 80,000 seats / 20,000 parking space problem at the new Redskins stadium. With 50,000 seats at Byrd Stadium and 18,000 parking spots on campus, UofM’s dilemma should be easier to solve. The community feels disrespected when the state and our fine university seem to ignore our request to enforce state laws. Hopefully 2003 we’ll see change.

BIKE/PED FACILITIES & FATALITIES

In one of many new documents written to highlight the need for appropriate resource planning when congress reauthorizes the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21, the means by which states receive federal gas tax dollars for transportation projects), “Mean Streets 2002” reports that 4,955 people died in the year 2001 while walking down the street in the United States, up from 4,843 in 2000, the 1st increase since ‘95. While by far the minority of all trips made, about 13.6 percent of all traffic deaths are pedestrians and cyclists. Because state Departments of Transportation typically control the vast majority of federal funds (94 cents of every federal transportation dollar), federally-funded roads have tended to be designed and built with little regard to local needs. often resulting in wide, high-speed arterials running through towns and neighborhoods.

States lost the opportunity to spend $700 million on bicycle and pedestrian projects through a program in the federal law. The program, Transportation Enhancements, is designed to support bicycle and pedestrian projects. The states have under-spent the funds available for the Transportation Enhancement program by about $700 million since fiscal year 1998. Another study (“Measuring Sprawl and Its Impact”), endorsed by state and local air quality officials and conducted by Rutgers & Cornell universities concludes that metro areas most affected by sprawl have the worst air quality. In the 10 most sprawling metropolitan areas, there are on average 180 cars to every 100 households.

The report recommends transportation policies that complement smarter growth, such as: maintaining programs for walking and cycling facilities, and support for state and federal transportation infrastructure policies that favor the maintenance of existing streets and highways over the construction of new ones. Minneapolis-St Paul has fewer vehicle, pedestrian, bicyclist, and total traffic fatalities fatalities*, as well as fewer fatalities per 100,000 people than suburban Washington, has 12.6% of commutes by bicycle as compared to the 0.5-1 % for our area. Minneapolis also has a vigorous program of bicycle development.

MD has projects like Powder Mill Road intersection and University Boulevard favoring motor vehicles. One of the key factors found in a recent report by The Road Information Program, a business-sponsored organization, is “the design of a region’s transportation facilities, particularly its roads and key intersections...” It is time for better treatment in Maryland for bicyclists AND safer roads!
*2000 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)

For more info go to:

• http://www.transact.org/PDFs/ms2002/state%20fact%20sheets%20al-mo.pdf
• http://www.americabikes.org/about.asp
• http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/sprawlindex/MeasuringSprawl.pdf
• http://www.istea.org/

SIXTH ANNUAL BIKE/PED SYMPOSIUM SLATED FOR FEBRUARY 5, 2003

CPABC, partnering with WABA and OLC are again hosting the Symposium in St. John's Hallway in the Lowe Office Bldg on Rowe Blvd. The Symposium is held on the first Wednesday of February in the middle of the 12 weeks’ legislative session to work with Senators and Delegates on needed bike/ped legislation and issues. It is the one day when all the bike/ped folks in the region get together, share ideas and learn what is happening across our 10,000 square mile state.
Check our Web-Page www.cpabc.org  for further details, see you there!

NO ROUNDABOUT FOR RHODE ISLAND AVE & EDGEWOOD RD

We have been supporting a traffic calming roundabout at Rhode Island and Edgewood Rds to replace the 4-way stop and the build-up of traffic during rush hour. The City of College Park and PG Co. studied 3 options: traffic signal, roundabout or ‘do nothing.’ Looks like the ‘do nothings’ won out. The traffic signal was deemed too dangerous and most did not understand the concept of a roundabout. About 100 attended a community meeting to review each option. About 40 voted to do nothing, 20 for the lights and 15 for the roundabout. So our City Councilmen send the money allotted for improvements there back to city treasury and leave us with the traffic back-up we endure everyday.

POWDER MILL RD AND CHERRY HILL RD STILL IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENTS

Our next Task Force Meeting, scheduled for Nov. 22 is to see if any improvements are in the works for the newly reconstructed intersection . They have promised to include bike lanes and improve pedestrian safety and travel. When traffic improvements were made last year the bike/ped improvements were not fully carried-out. North of this intersection, on the Prince George's section of Cherry Hill, the County's DPW&T is supposed to have 14' curb lanes, striped at 11,' to match-up with Montgomery Co.'s already improved section. We have asked Montgomery County to stripe their 14' curb lanes to match Prince Georges County’s.

SUPERB BIKE AND POCKET LANES ON AMMENDALE/VIRGINIA MANOR ROAD

We have received many calls about the new bike lanes and pocket lanes on the newly constructed Ammendale/Virginia Manor Road intersection just south-east of Martin Luther King Junior High in Beltsville. These are PG Co DPW&T roads we’ve been watching for 5+ years. We’re very pleased with the finished product! Curb lanes are 16' wide, striped at 11' as stenciled bike lanes, with 5' sidewalks. At the intersection is a state-of-the-art "pocket lane" allowing cyclists to travel straight ahead safely while car traffic turning right crosses behind them. Thanks to Sam Paladino from DPW&T for his professional planning and construction of this much admired project! Hopefully many more will follow. Check it out to see how a multi-use transportation corridor should be properly built for all users. And thanks, Prince George's County for a job well done!

QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS ON I-95 CONTEE ROAD CONSTRUCTION

In the Spring of 2002 MD State Highways (SHA) sent questionnaires to 2500 people. 2,500 were questioned about what enhancements should be associated with this transportation improvement. The response was: 1. Construct bicycle/pedestrian facilities - 48%; 2. Widen county/local roads - 30%; 3. Develop parks/recreation areas - 22%. The next section asked for the top three issues of concern SHA should address with Contee Rd improvements: 1. Make improvements to local roads - 37%; 2. Improve bike/ped access -33%; 3.Improve congestion/traffic circulation - 30%. Keep sending in these questionnaires and always ask about bike/ped improvements.

CPABC GUEST AT FAIRFAX PEDESTRIAN SAFETY FORUM SEPTEMBER 12
CPABC was invited to attend a pedestrian safety forum to share our work on US#1 in College Park. DC’s COG brought us together to work on making US#1 in Virginia safer for bike/ped travel. The meeting, chaired by Dana Kaufman (a Fairfax Co. commissioner) in conjunction with the National Capital Region Transportation Board and COG. State Delegate Bill Bronrott and Peril for Pedestrians producer John Wetmore were spoke about pedestrian safety in the region. Virginia invited Maryland because of its lead in bike/ped safety. Community leaders and citizens were there in good numbers and all felt we could help each other make our region safer.

NEW U OF M DEPARTMENT HAS OUTSTANDING TRANSPORTATION HANDOUT

There’s a new department at the University of Maryland. Campus Parking and Shuttle-UM have been combined into the new University Department of Transportation and they’ve already published a wonderful brochure "Transportation alternatives to and from campus.” This brochure was designed to help students and faculty (nearly 50,000) understand alternatives to solo driving. The 12 panel brochure explains just about every mode of travel available: public transit, shuttle, car pools, walking, bicycling (yeah!) metro, and van pools. Community Affairs at 301/314-5274.

U OF M BIKE/PED COORDINATOR DAN HAYS TO STAY

Dan Hays, who started last Spring as a temp helping Bill Malari of the University Planning Office coordinate campus bike/ped activities, is now on permanent staff. He’s an avid cyclist who sees bike/ped conditions over his handlebars on his 14 mile commute from downtown DC. He tells us the University is planning a Green Environmental Forum with a transportation section for April, 2003. They’re also talking about developing a bike/ped master plan to better accommodate bike/ped travel on and near campus. Dan can be reached at 301/405-0250.

COLLEGE PARK IKEA IMPROVEMENTS MOVING ALONG

You can’t miss the new construction north of the Beltway on US#1. We’ve been following this project for 2 years and are assured by IKEA (spending $10 million) and SHA that there will be bike/ped facilities when the store opens in Spring of 2003. There will be 16' curb lanes striped at 11', and 5' bike lanes, 10' multi-use trail on the west side and 5' sidewalk on the east side. There also will be "pocket lanes" at Sunnyside and at the store entrance. This construction will set the "foot-print" for the rest of US#1 when it is rebuilt from the Beltway to the U of M and will be the model for other bike/ped designs. We’re looking forward to IKEA being our neighbor!

ROUTE 29 UPDATE -WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

“Wood chips surround small green and purple plants held in beautiful brick retaining walls, set off by various tan and red brick work. Vintage-looking streetlights brighten each end, shining light onto the stairs that lead to the street above. The ornate setting is all part of the new 121-foot-long bicycle and pedestrian tunnel that runs beneath five lanes of Butler Avenue at the Enterprise intersection,” as reported by the Dailey Sun, Flagstaff, Arizona. The tunnel, longer than the over passes proposed for the US Rte 29 Commuter Bikeway, connects a McDonald’s to a bike trail. Concepts similar to the overpasses for our Route 29 exist, but in AZ the focus is on the real dangers of intersections, not on prejudices. On October 17, 10 environmental and bicycle organizations wrote the governor, thanked him for his commitment to smart growth and asked him to look into the US Rte 29 Commuter Bikeway. On November 14, MD DoT responded with a restatement of SHA’s position with the same misdirections and did not directly address the letter sent. What Arizona built, though it works well, cannot even be considered in Maryland.

Another study (“Measuring Sprawl and Its Impact”), endorsed by state and local air quality officials and conducted by Rutgers & Cornell universities concludes that metro areas most affected by sprawl have the worst air quality. In the 10 most sprawling metropolitan areas, there are on average 180 cars to every 100 households. The report recommends transportation policies that complement smarter growth, such as: maintaining programs for walking and cycling facilities, and support for state and federal transportation infrastructure policies that favor the maintenance of existing streets and highways over the construction of new ones;

Article on Flagstaff bicycle tunnel:
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=53444#comments_section

Arizona’s bicycle master plan:

• http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=53423
• http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/sprawlindex/MeasuringSprawl.pdf
• http://www.istea.org/

2003 WINTER-SPRING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

• Mon. Dec, 2, 2002 7:30 PM -   CPABC Meeting College Park REI
• Fri. Dec. 6, 2002  -  IKEA Planning Meeting 10:00 AM-Ivy Lane
• Mon. Dec.9, 2002 9:00 AM  -  One Less Car-Meeting Annapolis
• Fri. Dec. 13, 2002 9:30 AM  -  MBPAC Meeting Connerly Rd. Hanover
• Sat. Dec. 14, 2002 9:00 AM  -  CPABC Workshop on Master Plan, Col PK.
• Fri. Dec. 20, 2002 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM  -  Annapolis Legislative Workshop
• Wed. Feb. 5 2003 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM  -  Annapolis Symposium- www.cpabc.org 
• Mon. March 3, 2003 7:30 PM  -  CPABC Meeting College Park REI
• Fri. to Sun. April 11to 13, 2003  -  U of M Green/Environmental Forum
• Sun. April 28, 2003 9:00 AM  -  Maryland 500 Ride-www.cpabc.org
• Mon. June 2, 2003 7:30 PM  -  CPABC Meeting College Park REI
• Mon. Sept. 8, 2003 7:30 PM  -  CPABC Meeting College Park REI
• Sun. Oct. 26, 2003  -  CPABC Fall Ride College Park www.cpabc.org

(an extra article that didn't make it into the newsletter)

WITHIN MY LIFETIME
Randy Mardres

50 years ago -- General Motors & others found guilty in federal court of systematically destroying the trolley car network in America.

40 years ago -- The military-industrial complex built the interstate highway system, even as a Republican President was warning the nation about them. The interstate system, delayed because of WWII, no longer had its original designer and was built in violation of one of his absolutes - no interstate to come within 25 miles of a city. Instead, designers and politicians sliced cities up and often killed neighborhoods and downtowns, causing significant social unrest.

30 years ago -- A few early planners saw the need to shift resources to a broader range of transportation options. Advocates were mostly anti-automobile because of: global social injustice that personal cars caused, what road building was doing in America and the huge resources hog an automobile culture is. There were only a few advocates and they were asking “what happened to a balanced transportation mix of walking, biking, transit and personal auto?”

20 years ago -- Large number of transportation advocates, public transit and bicycle, were seeing transportation on a different scale. Enough, though less then a dozen, professional bicycle coordinator positions were created and, along with enough transportation planners who agreed a national conference could be considered held the first “Probike.” The top concern at that conference was; what would more professional bicycle planners put on staffs do? And if we did get more hired, would doing so drain the “bicycle movement” of all its advocates and its energy?

10 years ago -- Professional bicycle planners were in all 50 states and bicycle coordinator staff position/s were in many city and county jurisdictions (almost more than advocates of 10 years earlier). The bicycle movement was stronger than ever, with increased number of citizen advocates, many better qualified spokespeople. Their presence was felt through presentations at land planning and highway design functions. Solid numbers of local and highway planners, and a few politicians, understand the urgency of doing something about the auto monopoly. But many politicians noted the organization of advocates without truly comprehending the situation.

Today! The balance has swung. More local politicians understand that we can’t build our way out of the growing transportation mess by merely building more roads. There is no consensus by our elected officials on the degree of urgency or how to avert the growing crises, but they have joined the majority of planners in calling for action. Nationally, we have more advocacy institutions in place, including bicycle caucuses in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. More citizens, not only cycling advocates, are beginning to request bicycle facilities. Advocates continue as always, but things have changed. We have ”legacy” highway planners, dinosaurs who can only do things the way they have throughout their careers, making decisions and advising politicians. So now increasing numbers of politicians, not restricted by party, throughout the country are saying what planners were saying twenty years ago, and advocates thirty years ago. Suggesting bike/ped facilities, at one time a radical activity, has become mainstream. The more conservative end of all groups are the last to embrace change, but bicycling transportation is not the partisan and minimized subject it once was AND it continues to evolve and grow. Transportation is now THE issue among politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike. This is change! The choir is larger and more diverse then ever and continues to grow! It needs much work, is not in harmony but is singing the Transportation Blues. It has taken a long time, but bicycling is arriving again. What form it will take depends on a lot of things, including each of us. As Thornton Wilder said; “Each good and excellent thing stands on the razor edge to be fought for.”

Article on Flagstaff bicycle tunnel
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=53444#comments_section
 

Article on Arizona developing a bicycle master plan
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=53423

Other newsletters:

• #50 - September 2002
• #49 - June 2002
• #48 - March 2002
• #47 - December 2001
• #46 - September 2001