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posted by Brent Hugh at 7/03/2009 02:15:00 PM
 Randy (Ranj) Niere, longtime MoBikeFed board member and supporter, passed away June 21st of a heart attack.Randy was a member of the Missouri Bicycle Federation Board of Directors and also has served on the advisory committee of the Riverfront Heritage Trail. He photographed many events for MoBikeFed. He attended meetings too numerous to count to speak up in support of better accommodation for bicyclists and pedestrians. Randy bicycled and raced in his youth and returned to bicycling in 2001 after he suffered a simultaneous stroke and heart attack. During his recovery he started riding a recumbent tricycle, taking it on his first Katy Trail ride in Spring 2002. That was a solo ride--an experiment to see how far he could go living and traveling independently with his new disabilities--and the first of several trips he took on the trail. Later he improved his balance and stamina enough to ride a regular recumbent bicycle--and (typical of recumbent owners) rode a string of different models over the years. Randy liked to say, "I'm living your future," meaning that the average American lives 7-10 years past the time they can drive--exactly as Randy did--and it might be wise to spend some time and effort now to prepare our neighborhoods and towns for that future.
I first met Randy when we worked together in support of the Bike KC plan in 2002. It's unfortunate Randy didn't live to see Bike KC fully implemented--that may happen later this summer--but it was typical of Randy to be thinking in the long term. During Randy's career, he worked as an emergency room technician at KU Med Center and software/database engineer with Borland. He was active in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), playing a key role in the establishment of the Kingdom of Calontir. Randy was an accomplished guitarist, lutenist, and photographer. The KC Star death notice for Randy: Randy Niere, 53, died June 21. Ranj was born October 9, 1955, and preceded in death by his mother, Virginia, and brother John. He is survived by his partner, Cat Wilson; sister, Judy Poe; nieces Gina, Kelly, Erin, and his many friends. A memorial will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 3, at the RenFest grounds. Information about the memorial service, which will be held Friday, July 3rd, 2009, at 6PM:
posted by Brent Hugh at 6/25/2009 11:12:00 AM
 Ever wonder why your support of MoBikeFed and other bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations around the state is important?Well, read some of the comments and commentary about Columbia's new bicyclist harassment ordinance, and you will wonder no longer. The law makes it a Class A misdemeanor to threaten, harass, throw something, or knowingly create the risk of death or physical injury to a bicyclist. That's the same penalty you would get for improperly parking in a disabled parking space. You would think that an ordinance that makes road rage against vulnerable road users would be simple common sense, not the subject of controversy. Well--you'd be wrong. J Karl Miller says in an opinion column in the Columbia Missourian that the new law is "unfair to motorists": When it comes to bicycles, however, I am sorry to say my acceptability quotient has bottomed out. Please belay that — I have nothing against bicycles per se. . .Of course the Columbia Tribune's Trib Talk piles on (repeatedly), the Lawrence Journals' Andrew Hartsock worries that bicyclists are now a protected class (along with pedestrians and wheelchair users, presumably) and the KCStar's Mike Hendricks chimes in to say that such a law isn't really needed--at least not most of the time. A rather vigorous discussion took place in the KCStar's letters to the editor as well as in comments to articles about the new law in the Columbia Missourian, Columbia Tribune, KCStar, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch (with over 130 comments about a four-paragraph article). Out of state, there appears to be a bit more support--Port Huron, Michigan, Times Herald columnist Michael Eckert is prodding the Michigan Legislature to pass a suite a bills even more sweeping than Columbia's new law. A few points that might help understand why this law was necessary:
But we don't. And it would be reasonable to protect all road users--including pedestrians, handicapped users, motorcyclists, and motorists as well. MoBikeFed supports initiatives to improve safety for all road users--and the Columbia City Council appears to be moving in that direction as well. Within a few weeks they plan to amend the law to include other vulnerable road users. What do you think? Feel free to share your opinion on this topic in the comments below.
posted by Brent Hugh at 6/25/2009 11:06:00 AM
A new state law takes effect Wednesday that supporters say will reduce traffic fatalities by 10%.
The law requires those who have two convictions for drunk driving to install an ignition interlock system for six months in order to get their driver's license back. According to the KCStar: The law is good news for Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other traffic safety advocates.
posted by Brent Hugh at 6/24/2009 01:52:00 PM
 Recent Missouri Congressman Carnahan, along Rep. Holt and Inslee, introduced H.R. 2724, the National Transportation Objectives Act. (Full text here.)Katy Dawson of Congressman Carnahan's office sent MoBikeFed the following summary of the legislation: This legislation would define clearly a set of objectives and performance goals that would move our national surface transportation policy forward in a way that addresses our economic, environmental, and energy challenges. Ask your House Member to Co-Sponsor HR 2724 We are now asking the other Missouri members of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor this legislation. You can contact your Member of Congress using the contact information below.Message: "Please co-sponsor the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009 (H.R. 2724), sponsored by Rep. Carnahan." Missouri House Members (Note that no member of Congress has a public email address any more--to send an electronic message, visit the member's web site, listed below.) 1st District:
posted by Brent Hugh at 6/23/2009 12:26:00 PM
Rep. Jim Oberstar, chair of the House Transportation Committee, has released the first draft of the successor to SAFETEA-LU, which will determine federal transportation policy and spending for the next six years.
Keep in mind that federal transportation spending comes all the way down to the local level--affecting not only state and federal highways but major roads in cities and towns, mass transit, and many other matters. This is, of course, draft legislation and it may change significantly before it passes. Also at this stage the bill contains no dollar amounts--those will be inserted later as the result of negotiations in Congress. Reading over the draft, I would say in general it delivers better than I guessed based on the summaries released earlier but still there are significant missing pieces. What's missing
Please leave a comment to make any corrections or leave your ideas about what should or should not be included in the bill.
posted by Brent Hugh at 6/19/2009 01:39:00 AM
This session, MoBikeFed worked on several important bills. You can see a complete list, with status here.
The Reader's Digest condensed version: - Rep. Mike Sutherland’s Complete Streets bill would give MoDOT strong encouragement to make their roads safer for bicycling, walking, and transit users and to design roads to be safe for the young, the old, and the disabled. [Killed for 2008 due to MoDOT opposition.] - Rep. Mike Sutherland introduced the bill adopting a specialty license plate in support of bicycling. [Alternative application method approved—we could have bicycling license plates in 12-24 months if the Governor signs the bill.] - Sen. Bill Stouffer’s Dead Red bill allows bicyclists & motorcyclists to proceed through a red light if the actuator failed to detect the vehicle. [Awaiting Governor’s signature.] - Rep. John Burnett introduced the Safe Streets bill, higher penalties for negligent or reckless drivers who injure or kill. [Received a hearing; well positioned for next year.] - Sen. Kurt Schaefer and Rep. Will Kraus introduced bicycle month resolutions; the Governor signed an official Bicycle Month proclamation. [Passed.] - A controversial bill to allow much greater equestrian access to trails and public lands was strongly opposed by mountain biking and trails groups because of technical details about the way it was written. Thanks to opposition voiced by MoBikeFed and other groups and MoBikeFed’s testimony at two key hearings, the bill was re-written to remove the controversial portions. [Awaiting Governor’s signature.] Many thanks to all MoBikeFed members and supporters who wrote their elected representatives or visited the Capitol for Bicycle Day, the Katy Trail Ride with the Legislators, or helped out via your membership or financial support. Your support is bringing a level of visibility to the movement for better, safer bicycling and walking that has never before existed in Missouri.
posted by Brent Hugh at 6/19/2009 12:38:00 AM
 The federal transportation bill--which will set transportation policy for the U.S. for the next six years--is up for renewal in 2009.Backers of the bill, including House Transportation Chair James Oberstar (D-MN), had promised that the bill would be transformative, bringing the nation's transportation system into the 21st Century, introducing greater accountability, and setting ambitious national transportation goals--not only for automobiles-related purposes but for vital national interests like reducing pollution, addressing climate change, reducing sprawl, improving the nation's health, reducing America's dependence on foreign energy, and bringing real transportation choice to America. Highways or transportation? However, in repeated slips that can only be described as unmistakably Freudian, two members of the Transportation and Infrastructure referred to the bill in yesterday's press conference as "the Highway Bill".
Newsflash to Congress: It hasn't been call "The Highway Bill" since at least 1991. But based on the initial descriptions of the legislation released Thursday, "Highway Bill" is not a bad summary. It has a long way to go before it becomes a true Transportation Bill. Among the missing items: * A national vision of our transportation system; specific national goals such as those proposed in Rep. Carnahan's National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009 * Any mention of the proposed 2010 Campaign for Active Transportation--to follow up on the major success in the four nonmotorized pilot projects from the previous transportation bill, which have shown that spending a small percentage of transportation dollars to create complete, comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian networks and programs really does work and is the most cost-effective approach to solving the nation's transportation problems and solving the difficult problems of congestion and pollution. * Complete Streets language--it is included but the language seems to be weak ("shall consider" rather than "shall include"). * Clarity on livability issues: The status of cost-effective community livability programs like Safe Routes to School is still unclear. * Land use: The bill does not seem to address the problem of land use--a very important consideration, because federal transportation policy has been the prime factor driving America's ever-increasing amount of sprawl--building cities where driving becomes the only reasonable way to get anywhere. * Health impacts: The bill does not seem to address health impacts--though current federal transportation policy is one of the major reasons our cities have been built over the past 50 years to exclude active living as part of daily life, and the pollution caused by motor vehicles is a major health problem. * Clarity in general: Although many good programs and priorities are outlined--such as the proposal to gather a large number of existing initiatives under the overall umbrella of "Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality"--exact funding levels have not yet been set. So it remains to be seen if Congress will have the guts to embrace concepts like Active Transportation that have the potential to transform American cities in positive ways--or if the state DOTs will have their way and the main emphasis will continue to be more, bigger, and faster highway systems. Even the main improvements seem incremental rather than transformational: * A slight increase in the amount of funding for transit nationwide. * Transportation Enhancements funding--the main source of funding for bicycling and walking improvements--is included with some slight but important changes. * A new office of livability is created in the Federal Highway Administration--it would gather together many existing programs like Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, and others. * Metropolitan Planning Organizations would have representation according to the population of members cities. This solves a major problem under the current system, where smaller cities have (in aggregate) more votes, leading to an emphasis in many metro areas on building the outlying areas of the metro rather than strengthening the core. * Language on greenhouse gas limits (similar to the language in the currently proposed Waxman/Markey bill) has been included. With transportation contributing over 1/3 of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions it could hardly be omitted--yet it remains to be seen whether any proposed goals will have any teeth behind them. Will our leaders have the guts to make real, transformational change happen? It is clear that much of the promised transformation in this transportation bill has been toned down--whether to assuage the fears of key committee leaders or members of the opposition party, or as the result of pressure by transportation lobbying groups or the state DOTs. As is the case with many issues in Washington the majority of citizens support the types of changes we have outlined above--but the views of well funded special interests often carry far more weight than citizen input. The good news: the outlines released this week are just a starting point. The first draft of the bill will be released Monday and Representative Oberstar plans to start committee markup as soon as next Wednesday. We will see if members of Congress have the willpower to make the changes needed to create a strong, healthy, active, vibrant America or if we will continue down our current path towards a country completely filled with single-occupant automobiles. You can help create a better transportation system in America by asking your member of congress to co-sponsor the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009. The bill's main sponsor is St. Louis-area Rep. Russ Carnahan but so far no other House members from Missouri have joined Carnahan in co-sponsoring the legislation.
posted by Brent Hugh at 6/18/2009 11:56:00 PM
 In an article today, Pitch Weekly reporter Carolyn Szczepanski summarizes the recent issues of MoDOT's opposition to the Missouri Complete Streets proposal and the department's lobbying on this and other issues.Szczepanski mentions the MoBikeFed poll (still online) which so far shows that about 95% of you think MoDOT lobbying should be severely limited and over 90% of you think the MoDOT's political lobbying hurts the department's credibility at least somewhat. Szczepanski writes:
The most notable divide over the past several years has been the passage of a Complete Streets bill in the Missouri Legislature. Such a measure would require MoDOT to dedicate a reasonable amount of funds in any road project to cycling and pedestrian accommodations, like crosswalks and "Share the Road" signs. Lawmakers have been warm to the idea. That is, until MoDOT officials dumped a whole bunch of cold water on the proposal, sinking Complete Streets during both the 2008 and 2009 legislative sessions.Let's address one issue the article brings up--because it is a commonly heard objection: If you ask MoDOT, cyclists don't demand or use the roads enough to warrant the dollars they demand.That summarizes this whole attitude--and I have seen it and heard it many times myself--that: 1. Nobody actually bicycles or walks on MoDOT roadsSo let me just take the time to address those issues with actual facts: 1. Over 25% of Missouri's population does not have a driver's license, including over 10% of adults; 8.7% of Missouri households do not own a car at all; over 18% of Missourian's are currently disabled and the vast majority of Missourians will be disabled at some point in their lives; Americans typically live 7-10 years longer than they hold driving privileges--and Missouri's population is aging. 6. Despite the terrible condition of many of our roads for bicycling and walking, people do still use them--by our best estimate, bicycling and walking makes up about 7% of trips in Missouri. Yet we spend far less than 7% of our transportation budget on bicycling and walking.In short, MoDOT roads are terrible for bicycling and walking because they have been designed that way and if the design changes then people will use them far more than they do now. People like to live where they can bicycle and walk safely.
posted by Brent Hugh at 6/18/2009 11:47:00 PM
Rachel Ruhlen wrote in Monday's Columbia Daily Tribune:
The Complete Streets movement calls for streets that can be driven, walked and biked on. That doesn’t mean our interstates need sidewalks or that rural roads need bike lanes. It means that streets in towns should be made for walking and biking, not just driving. Several communities and states have already adopted Complete Streets policies.
posted by Brent Hugh at 6/18/2009 11:35:00 PM
The new Columbia bicyclist harassment ordinance has been in the news all over Missouri and across the region--including articles in the Maneater, and Kansas City Star column, the Columbia Missourian (and again), a long article (and lots of comments) in the KCStar, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, KRCG, Bicycle Retailer, the SEMissourian, UPI, and lots of others.
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