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Active Transportation attitudes in Rochester, NY

There is a transformation occurring on active transportation (mostly walking and bicycling) attitudes in the Rochester, NY region, but we’re still waiting for the tipping point.  The tipping point will occur when both vehicle drivers and active transportation folks actually share the road, and obtain ‘complete streets’:

“Instituting a complete streets policy ensures that transportation planners and engineers consistently design and operate the entire roadway with all users in mind – including bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and riders, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.” Complete Streets

Many in our region want active transportation to happen:

Riding into the future: Bicycle master plans encourage two-wheeled travel around Rochester “The city wants to make it easier for people … to hop on a bike rather than in a car. It has begun implementing its Bicycle Master Plan, as much a mindset as it is a blueprint for creating a bicycle-friendly community. (June 23, 2011) Democrat and Chronicle

I believe, as chair of the Rochester Regional Group of the Sierra Club’s Transportation Committee, that we here in Rochester can pass the tipping point and have active transportation become a major component of our transportation options.  You can get a whiff of that movement from this report:

Bikes in High Demand this Summer” R Community Bikes’ volunteers are having trouble keeping up with an increase in demand for bikes. The non-profit is on track to give away 100 more bikes than last year. The group gave away 1,300 bikes in 2009, 2,400 in 2010 and they’re still getting inundated.” (June 2011) RochesterHomePage

We have an incredible amount of trails that help close the distance between streets and destinations, making it easier and safer to walk and bike to important destinations.  We have bicycle groups, enthusiasts, universities, public health departments, and transportation authorities who all want to make our citizens healthier and reduce the negative effects of our present transportation system.   A major government report emphasizes the importance of this matter:

“… a factor in rising obesity rates is a sedentary lifestyle and automobile dependence; 60 percent of Americans do not meet minimum daily exercise requirements. Making cities more walkable and bikeable would thus have multiple benefits: improved personal fitness and weight loss; U.S. Global Change Research Program 98 Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States reduced local air pollution and associated respiratory illness; and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.”  (Global Climate Change Impacts in the US (2009) page 97).

However, no amount of enforcement, education, and engineering can move us beyond the tipping point if the public, in and out of their cars, doesn’t change its attitudes.  What are some of the attitudes blocking our way to the tipping point?

·         Many environmentalists who do not ride bicycles themselves fail to grasp the profound implications of our local transportation, which accounts for the release of 27% of greenhouse gases, and thus fail to join the movement for active transportation.  Moving a large component of those who now drive their gas guzzlers for short distances to active transportation alternatives would accomplish a sizeable quotient of their goals—combating Climate Change in our region, improving our air quality, and making us healthier. 

·         Our media reports on the occasional collisions involving walkers and bicyclists, but won’t take a moment from their agenda to remind the public that bicyclists have a legal right to be on the roads—and how to do that safely.  Imagine the change in attitudes that would occur if mainstream media put out 30-second reminders each day that our streets, which all of us pay for, can be navigated safely if we all followed the rules.  Believe me, there are organizations that will help the media find things to fill
those 30-second spots. 

·         Bicyclist should be more aware of their profile on and off our streets.  When a bicyclist fails to understand the rules of the road, they frustrate and annoy drivers by suddenly appearing in places drivers do not expect.  Speeding down the sidewalk behind pedestrians who cannot possibly hear their silent machines often startles those who would otherwise love to share their space.  The bicycle community should see the big picture, that Climate Change is really occurring, and their passion should be embraced as a major solution to it.

·         Drivers must respect the right and the vulnerability of those not (at the moment) in their vehicles.  Our vehicles, which are polluting our atmosphere, are not only costing us a sustainable future, they are absorbing much of our earnings— car costs, taxes for road and bridge repair and snowplowing, insurance, car repairs, inspections—you name it.  Add on the distractions we enjoy while driving (radios, texting, cell phones, GPS’s, and that coffee we’re drinking) to a negative attitude towards someone on a bike or walking, and it makes for an unsettling environment. 

Last weekend, while biking along the canal, I got talking to a couple who have been bicycling across the country for seven months about their experiences (Nomads — Benson and Ashleigh’s Bicycling Adventure).  Some communities, they said, were very bicycle-friendly and some that purported to be friendly were not so much.  Attitudes of drivers in communities they passed through made a big difference in the safety and quality of their travels.  Here’s one of their ideas about improving community attitudes towards bicycling:  in some communities, the bicycling community takes on the responsibility of policing themselves by reminding each other to obey the traffic signals.  How close are we to that?

Here’s why there’s so much hope about our region’s commitment to active transportation.  Recently, there was a major conference on how to make our community a better place to ride and walk: The Greater Rochester Active Transportation Symposium, check it out: Rochester Cycling Alliance: Active Transportation Symposium: 

Walk, Bike, Smile, Thrive: a report on the first Greater Rochester Active Transportation Symposium. By Jon Schull, Ph.D. Interim Director, RIT Center for Student Innovation, and  Scott MacRae, M.D. Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester.  Walking and biking is good for your health, good for your state of mind, and good for Rochester. And it’s about to get better. more…

Our community leaders, our educators, our universities, our public health officials, our governmental officials, and even our grant writers want us to get over the tipping point and become as bicycle-friendly as the platinum winners of the League of American Bicyclists * Bicycle Friendly America.  We need to remember that this push to increase bicycles use is not limited to Rochester, as many communities have successfully taken on their vehicle dominated culture and achieved a synergy of safe and healthy motion in their communities.

How do we get beyond the tipping point, where a majority changes their attitudes?  Here are some of my recommendations:

·         We go into neighborhoods and talk about bicycle boulevards, which are now in the City of Rochester’s Bicycle Master Plan.

·         We educate continually about riding safely in our streets and obeying the rules.

·         We remind bicyclists, pedestrians, and vehicle drivers that the existing rules can keep us safe if we take a moment to observe them.

·         Report on those who are not obeying our laws, thus increasing enforcement’s awareness of specific issues.  A cell phone and a license plate number can deliver a reckless driver a powerful message.

·         Encourage our communities, via neighborhood associations, to help ensure that they have an active transportation network, which will probably increase the value of their homes.

·         Remind bicyclists how quiet and fast they are, so oftentimes their movements startle pedestrians and vehicle owners.  Get the proper lighting, know the turn signals, wear a helmet, and obey the rules of the road.  If you look and act as if you know how to bicycle through our streets, drivers will be more likely to respect you.

Sure, few of us would actually give up our vehicles and just walk and bicycle in the Rochester area—though some do.  But I leave you with this thought: for all that elegant insularity that our cars give us, we are paying a very high environmental, health, and economic price.  We can do something about that; we could be changing our attitudes and moving towards a planet that will be sustainable.
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Getting the word out

Mostly, I just wanted to hightlight the GRATS idea with the article below that I have posted in various venues–and to mention that I hope the next meeting of the RCA includes some time devoted to communications–getting the word out about RCA’s mission alternative transporation as a real option in our area.

So, here’s the article:

Rochester bike commuting, the tipping point

Remember when you were a kid and used to watch water drops form? You’d stare at a point where a water drop was building, then after a while a tipping point would be reached and the drop would, well…, drop. Magic didn’t cause it; it was physics and surface tension and (not to bore you) things were building up.

Something like that is occurring in Rochester, NY on alternative transportation. Things are building up. 1. The public’s desire to do something about Climate Change. 2. Rochester, NY’s location at the confluence of several major off-road trails. 3. Many influential organizations willing to work together to solve the transportation conundrum facing us. 4. A five-mile direct trail from Rochester Institute of Technology, Genesee Valley Park, the University of Rochester, and downtown Rochester. All of this is coming together in a new concept by Professor Jon Schull, interim Director, Center for Student Innovation at Rochester institute of Technology. The concept is called GRATS: Greater Rochester Active Transportation System.

Here’s the skinny on the GRATS project: “Rochester has an enviable network of bikeable and walkable trails and boulevards that connect neighborhoods, campuses, and natural attractions. Connect the dots and a few gaps, and give Rochesterians, visitors and businesses new options for local travel, regional recreation, and economic development. With intermodal links to bus stations, train stations, waterways and airports, GRATS gives us a sustainable transportation system. Over half of our trips are under 5 miles. Why not bike? Why not walk? HELP MAKE GRATS A REALITY.” GRATS.

What’s compelling about GRATS is the map. Instead of the usual busy road/bike map, you see a lean, instantly comprehensible grid that conveniently intersects our community north, south, east, and west. You spot your house, your job, or your local grocer and you see how close you are to GRATS. You and GRATS will get you to those important short distances without polluting the planet or costing you an arm or a leg.

Of course, there will be much resistance to the kind of changes needed to seriously change direction on transportation and mitigate its effect on our environment. Some resistance will come from those of us disinclined to change our driving habits. It’s convenient to simply hop or jump into our car and buzz down the road. But the personal fossil fuel vehicle is expensive. The sticker price is only a fraction of the cost of a car. You have to ask yourself: How much did your vehicles cost? The second car? How much does it cost to run it? How much of your taxes go for the upkeep of the infrastructure for your vehicle? How much for insurance? How much do you pay to park? Repairs? Inspection? Insurance? Accidents and deaths? How many jobs do you work to pay for your vehicle? Subsidies to the oil industry? What if gasoline prices start to reflect their true cost—some say $10 per gallon?

More resistance will come from the car and fossil fuel industries. They’ll feel threatened by a public willing to forgo the car for the bike, though that’s a great big hypocrisy: When you’re an employee and your job is being replaced by outsourcing or by new technology, they tell you to get over it. Get retrained and deal with it. But if you are an industry that pollutes and compromises our environment, they don’t succumb to reason and deal with it, they hire lawyers to fight it. They spend a zillion bucks on advertizing and influence peddling to convince you and your representatives that life without a car is unthinkable.

So, what’s the tipping point? What will it take for us to adopt an alternative transportation system like GRATS? What about bicycling in winter? What about getting sweaty and going to work? What about bike storage? The answer is: The tipping point is you. Get involved. Go to Rochester Cycling Alliance and chime in.

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Getting the word out

Mostly, I just wanted to hightlight the GRATS idea with the article below that I have posted in various venues–and to mention that I hope the next meeting of the RCA includes some time devoted to communications–getting the word out about RCA’s mission alternative transporation as a real option in our area.

So, here’s the article:

Rochester bike commuting, the tipping point

Remember when you were a kid and used to watch water drops form? You’d stare at a point where a water drop was building, then after a while a tipping point would be reached and the drop would, well…, drop. Magic didn’t cause it; it was physics and surface tension and (not to bore you) things were building up.

Something like that is occurring in Rochester, NY on alternative transportation. Things are building up. 1. The public’s desire to do something about Climate Change. 2. Rochester, NY’s location at the confluence of several major off-road trails. 3. Many influential organizations willing to work together to solve the transportation conundrum facing us. 4. A five-mile direct trail from Rochester Institute of Technology, Genesee Valley Park, the University of Rochester, and downtown Rochester. All of this is coming together in a new concept by Professor Jon Schull, interim Director, Center for Student Innovation at Rochester institute of Technology. The concept is called GRATS: Greater Rochester Active Transportation System.

Here’s the skinny on the GRATS project: “Rochester has an enviable network of bikeable and walkable trails and boulevards that connect neighborhoods, campuses, and natural attractions. Connect the dots and a few gaps, and give Rochesterians, visitors and businesses new options for local travel, regional recreation, and economic development. With intermodal links to bus stations, train stations, waterways and airports, GRATS gives us a sustainable transportation system. Over half of our trips are under 5 miles. Why not bike? Why not walk? HELP MAKE GRATS A REALITY.” GRATS.

What’s compelling about GRATS is the map. Instead of the usual busy road/bike map, you see a lean, instantly comprehensible grid that conveniently intersects our community north, south, east, and west. You spot your house, your job, or your local grocer and you see how close you are to GRATS. You and GRATS will get you to those important short distances without polluting the planet or costing you an arm or a leg.

Of course, there will be much resistance to the kind of changes needed to seriously change direction on transportation and mitigate its effect on our environment. Some resistance will come from those of us disinclined to change our driving habits. It’s convenient to simply hop or jump into our car and buzz down the road. But the personal fossil fuel vehicle is expensive. The sticker price is only a fraction of the cost of a car. You have to ask yourself: How much did your vehicles cost? The second car? How much does it cost to run it? How much of your taxes go for the upkeep of the infrastructure for your vehicle? How much for insurance? How much do you pay to park? Repairs? Inspection? Insurance? Accidents and deaths? How many jobs do you work to pay for your vehicle? Subsidies to the oil industry? What if gasoline prices start to reflect their true cost—some say $10 per gallon?

More resistance will come from the car and fossil fuel industries. They’ll feel threatened by a public willing to forgo the car for the bike, though that’s a great big hypocrisy: When you’re an employee and your job is being replaced by outsourcing or by new technology, they tell you to get over it. Get retrained and deal with it. But if you are an industry that pollutes and compromises our environment, they don’t succumb to reason and deal with it, they hire lawyers to fight it. They spend a zillion bucks on advertizing and influence peddling to convince you and your representatives that life without a car is unthinkable.

So, what’s the tipping point? What will it take for us to adopt an alternative transportation system like GRATS? What about bicycling in winter? What about getting sweaty and going to work? What about bike storage? The answer is: The tipping point is you. Get involved. Go to Rochester Cycling Alliance and chime in.

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Rochester bicycle boulevard ride a success

On Sunday, May 23 at 1 PM in Cobbs Hill Park, over forty bicyclists began a bicycle boulevard demonstration ride through the Upper Monroe neighborhood in Rochester, New York. They were not racers, or members of a single bicycling club, or recruits for a charity ride. They were just ordinary folks finding out what a bicycle boulevard would look and feel like in our area.

Maybe it is a harbinger of things to come. Portland, Oregon’s next generation bicycle boulevards is already achieving what we are attempting here: “A low traffic volume and low traffic speed street where bicycles, pedestrians and neighbors are given priority.” Already, this concept is being introduced as one of the choices for the Bicycle Master Plan being developed by the City of Rochester and the county of Monroe.

Preparation for this demonstration ride began almost a year ago by choosing a neighborhood properly situated near the heart of the city, en route to popular generators. A generator is a destination that attracts traffic, like a supermarket, a city center, a theatre district, or, in Rochester’s case, its wonderful network of trails (including the New York State Canal Trail) which come to a hub at Genesee Park.

For this specific demonstration ride, a route from the Upper Monroe neighborhood was mapped out and temporarily signed, pointing out each turn of the ride. When fully developed, this bicycle boulevard would not only have permanent signage, it might have many other features like auto speed reduction, auto traffic reduction, and various changes to make crossing busy streets easier and safer. (http://www.bta4bikes.org/) Ultimately, Upper Monroe bicycle boulevards would be linked to a series of other boulevard routes throughout all our neighborhoods providing safe and enjoyable routes that make our neighborhoods more neighborly. Not to mention fewer fossil-burning vehicles, fewer ozone alert days, and a lighter impact on climate change.

What might tip the community from one that views bicycles, walking, and public transportation as peripheral ways of getting around to a city that is designed specifically around these transportation options? Maybe we could take our lead from Portland, Oregon, pack up all our influential community leaders, and send them to Boulder, Colorado or The Netherlands and let them see how they do it. Don’t laugh, it’s been done—and it worked!

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Rochester bicycle boulevard ride a success

On Sunday, May 23 at 1 PM in Cobbs Hill Park, over forty bicyclists began a bicycle boulevard demonstration ride through the Upper Monroe neighborhood in Rochester, New York. They were not racers, or members of a single bicycling club, or recruits for a charity ride. They were just ordinary folks finding out what a bicycle boulevard would look and feel like in our area.

Maybe it is a harbinger of things to come. Portland, Oregon’s next generation bicycle boulevards is already achieving what we are attempting here: “A low traffic volume and low traffic speed street where bicycles, pedestrians and neighbors are given priority.” Already, this concept is being introduced as one of the choices for the Bicycle Master Plan being developed by the City of Rochester and the county of Monroe.

Preparation for this demonstration ride began almost a year ago by choosing a neighborhood properly situated near the heart of the city, en route to popular generators. A generator is a destination that attracts traffic, like a supermarket, a city center, a theatre district, or, in Rochester’s case, its wonderful network of trails (including the New York State Canal Trail) which come to a hub at Genesee Park.

For this specific demonstration ride, a route from the Upper Monroe neighborhood was mapped out and temporarily signed, pointing out each turn of the ride. When fully developed, this bicycle boulevard would not only have permanent signage, it might have many other features like auto speed reduction, auto traffic reduction, and various changes to make crossing busy streets easier and safer. (http://www.bta4bikes.org/) Ultimately, Upper Monroe bicycle boulevards would be linked to a series of other boulevard routes throughout all our neighborhoods providing safe and enjoyable routes that make our neighborhoods more neighborly. Not to mention fewer fossil-burning vehicles, fewer ozone alert days, and a lighter impact on climate change.

What might tip the community from one that views bicycles, walking, and public transportation as peripheral ways of getting around to a city that is designed specifically around these transportation options? Maybe we could take our lead from Portland, Oregon, pack up all our influential community leaders, and send them to Boulder, Colorado or The Netherlands and let them see how they do it. Don’t laugh, it’s been done—and it worked!

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Sustainability Mobility Fair

Sustainability Mobility Fair “Future Transportation Choices for Short Trips” Admission is free and open to the public. At the May 8th Sustainability Mobility Fair you can view over 20 full-size alternative vehicles in a casual setting.

WHEN & WHERE: When: Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 10:AM – 2 PM
Where: The Center for Student Innovation at RIT, 1 Lomb Memorial Dr Rochester, NY 14623-5698

Most of the trips we take are 6.5 miles from our homes. Either traveling to work, to school, to shop, or just for fun, you will have many transportation choices in the future. Whether your reasons for considering alternative transportation are to cut commuter costs, concern over greenhouse gas emissions, or to improve your health, get an idea of your choices by coming to our first Sustainability Mobility Fair. This event is sponsored by The Center for Student Innovation at RIT (CSI) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the Center for Environmental information (CEI).

Our vision for creating this expo is to offer the public an opportunity to see and examine possible alternative transportation for those short distances.
Attendees will be exposed to what is new and now available on the markets and able to experience the latest choices in electric (bicycles, trikes, cars and motorcycles), hybrid electric, GEM car, Zip car, hydrogen, biodiesel, compressed natural gas, propane hybrid, plug-in electric, ethanol, Walking School Buses, bicycles, ‘veggie’ vehicles, and cycling transportation technologies.. All alternative fuel options will be on display. As more commuters become aware of travel choices, we expect to see more of them regularly choosing transportation alternatives because of the benefits. For more information, please check out: http://ceinfo.org/

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Sustainability Mobility Fair

Sustainability Mobility Fair “Future Transportation Choices for Short Trips” Admission is free and open to the public. At the May 8th Sustainability Mobility Fair you can view over 20 full-size alternative vehicles in a casual setting.

WHEN & WHERE: When: Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 10:AM – 2 PM
Where: The Center for Student Innovation at RIT, 1 Lomb Memorial Dr Rochester, NY 14623-5698

Most of the trips we take are 6.5 miles from our homes. Either traveling to work, to school, to shop, or just for fun, you will have many transportation choices in the future. Whether your reasons for considering alternative transportation are to cut commuter costs, concern over greenhouse gas emissions, or to improve your health, get an idea of your choices by coming to our first Sustainability Mobility Fair. This event is sponsored by The Center for Student Innovation at RIT (CSI) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the Center for Environmental information (CEI).

Our vision for creating this expo is to offer the public an opportunity to see and examine possible alternative transportation for those short distances.
Attendees will be exposed to what is new and now available on the markets and able to experience the latest choices in electric (bicycles, trikes, cars and motorcycles), hybrid electric, GEM car, Zip car, hydrogen, biodiesel, compressed natural gas, propane hybrid, plug-in electric, ethanol, Walking School Buses, bicycles, ‘veggie’ vehicles, and cycling transportation technologies.. All alternative fuel options will be on display. As more commuters become aware of travel choices, we expect to see more of them regularly choosing transportation alternatives because of the benefits. For more information, please check out: http://ceinfo.org/

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Sustainability Mobility Fair – May 8th Free expo

“Sustainability Mobility Fair – Future Transportation Choices for Short Trips”
Admission is free and open to the public.

When: Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 10:AM – 2 PM
Where: The Center for Student Innovation at RIT, 1 Lomb Memorial Dr Rochester, NY 14623-5698

Attendees will be exposed to what is new and now available on the market and able to experience the latest choices in Electric, Hydrogen, Biodiesel, Natural Gas, Propane, Hybrid, Plug-In, Ethanol, Walking School Buses, and cycling transportation technologies.

All alternative fuel options will be on display. As more commuters become aware of travel choices, we expect to see more of them regularly choosing transportation alternatives because of the benefits. Sponsored by Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the Center for Environmental Information (CEI).

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Sustainability Mobility Fair – May 8th FREE

“Sustainability Mobility Fair – Future Transportation Choices for Short Trips”
Admission is free and open to the public.

When: Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 10:AM – 2 PM
Where: The Center for Student Innovation at RIT, 1 Lomb Memorial Dr Rochester, NY 14623-5698

Attendees will be exposed to what is new and now available on the market and able to experience the latest choices in Electric, Hydrogen, Biodiesel, Natural Gas, Propane, Hybrid, Plug-In, Ethanol, Walking School Buses, and cycling transportation technologies.

All alternative fuel options will be on display. As more commuters become aware of travel choices, we expect to see more of them regularly choosing transportation alternatives because of the benefits. Sponsored by Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the Center for Environmental Information (CEI).

For more information and directions, surf over to ceinfo.org or http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/SMF.html

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Sustainability Mobility Fair – May 8th FREE

“Sustainability Mobility Fair – Future Transportation Choices for Short Trips”
Admission is free and open to the public.

When: Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 10:AM – 2 PM
Where: The Center for Student Innovation at RIT, 1 Lomb Memorial Dr Rochester, NY 14623-5698

Attendees will be exposed to what is new and now available on the market and able to experience the latest choices in Electric, Hydrogen, Biodiesel, Natural Gas, Propane, Hybrid, Plug-In, Ethanol, Walking School Buses, and cycling transportation technologies.

All alternative fuel options will be on display. As more commuters become aware of travel choices, we expect to see more of them regularly choosing transportation alternatives because of the benefits. Sponsored by Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the Center for Environmental Information (CEI).

For more information and directions, surf over to ceinfo.org or http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/SMF.html

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“Rochester’s 350.org Coverage”


Judging from the media response around the world, the 350.org event has been a hit: October 24 Press Release | 350.org “350.org To Stage Largest Day of Environmental Action in History | 5,242 Simultaneous Events on Climate in 181 Countries.”

“Citizens, scientists and world leaders in 181 countries will take to nearby streets, mountains, parks, and reefs today to demand strong action on climate change, in what will be the most widespread day of political action in the planet’s history. 5,242 rallies and creative demonstrations will take place, all of them centered on the number 350, to draw attention to 350 parts per million (ppm), which an overwhelming number of scientists now insist is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”

However, judging from our local media response to the several 350.org events, not much happened: a Rousing Dud. (Disclaimer: Because I did not rush out and buy up all the paper versions of our local media, or frantically tune into all the TV and radio stations either, ((because they are insufferably myopic and merely pander to their corporate sponsors)), I am basing this observation on what our local media has posted on the Internet today—October 25, 2009.)

Maybe I posted this article too soon and the media just hasn’t gotten up to snuff yet on how this world-wide event played out in Rochester. Maybe, they’re all scurrying around in their backrooms, honing 350.org coverage so it will be a real sizzler when it comes out. Maybe.

But, I’m not on any of the local media’s editorial staff. So, what do I know? Maybe, getting world-wide attention focused on the planet warming up just is too far out of the comfort and profit zones of our local media. That must be the case because there are lots of sports, criminal activity, political carping, and lots of sports coverage on our local media. Really, a lot of sports. Sports are in, imminent environmental collapse is out.

Only as an observer (another disclaimer: I was a participant) did I see over sixty bicyclists ride from downtown Rochester to the RIT campus. Then, I witnessed for myself a great rally with the RIT president and his college in full support of the sea change needed on the matter of Climate Change and a full day’s programming to show that our community gets it on 350ppm. I witnessed lots of people taking photos and videos and uploading them to 350.org. To be fair, our local media wasn’t completely hopeless. I see one media with one article on one 350.org event for our area: RIT Marks International Day of Climate Action “It may not always be the right weather for a bike ride around here, but as they say wait 5 minutes and it’ll change. The rain Saturday morning didn’t stop a group of environmentally conscious riders from hitting the trail. The purpose: to mark the International Day of Climate Action.” (October 25, 09) http://rochester.ynn.com/

Yet, all in all it’s very troubling. One of 350.org’s purposes (the other was to get our politicians’ attention focused on the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference Copenhagen 2009) was to make enough noise to make everyone take notice of the danger point we have passed for a sustainable environment. That is, to both circumvent the dysfunctional media and get in the face of a corporate-manipulated press that is disinclined to speak about the fact that the planet’s atmosphere is warming up due to humanity’s activities.

Our planet is warming up due to our way of life. This is as clear as those annoying pop-ups on every mainstream media’s web page, as clear as the ubiquitous sports scores that flash across those flat screen TV’s, and as eye-catching as the endless violence that inundates local media stories: Those charged with informing us with the information we need to live sustainable are not doing their job.

If you did attend one of the area’s 350.org events, and you still welcome a challenge, why not contact your local media and ask them why they didn’t cover Rochester’s participation in this world-wide event?

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Behold the Bike!

Few inventions have the efficiency, health benefits, affordability, urban design potential, safety features and environmental friendliness of the modern bike. It’s not your grandmother’s bicycle; it’s a revolutionary component in our future transportation portfolio. There have been bikes. There will be bikes.

Bikes started as glorified hobby horses (the walking machine), then got pedals (the velocipede or boneshaker), then rose up and sped up (the high wheel bicycle), then began settling down for speed and safety (the hard-tired safety), and now they are fast, sleek and efficient. It was a long (and sometime dangerous) haul; and, if you are quick about it, you can see the entire history of bicycles at the Pedaling History Bicycle Museum in Orchard Park, NY before it closes. (If enough visitors go, maybe it won’t close.) [http://www.pedalinghistory.com/]

Now, in many modern urban communities the bicycle is more than an old contraption made new and glorified by bike clubs and enthusiasts. Bicycles are not simply hangers-on, like horse-riding or Model T driving on Sunday. Bicycles are becoming an integral part of planned transportation systems throughout the country. Note how cities like Portland, Oregon and Boulder, Colorado are retrofitting their vehicle-dominated streets into bike boulevards (BTA: Bicycle Boulevards Campaign) where commuters and even kids off to school can get to their destinations year-round and safely.

Year-round and safely? In New York State? In the rain, the snow, heavy traffic, though the mud, across busy bridges, to grandmother’s house and still be presentable?

Become a believer. When more people bike more drivers accept them on our streets—which, of course, they have every right to be. In official studies: under 6.5 miles, the public prefers bicycling over mass transit. Bicycling produces zero greenhouse gas emissions, has relatively inexpensive repair bills, and because of the soaring cost of road and bridge maintenance our regional planners consider bicycles a serious component of our future transportation.

If we make our streets more bike accessible, protect bicyclists from fast-moving traffic, create innovative all-weather bike corridors, [http://rochestergreenway.org/]and provide convenient and comprehensive bike parking, the public will bike. Already, many cities have found a way to bicycle-friendly their streets, not because it is trendy, but because there is no faster, more efficient, environmentally and urban-friendlier way to get around than the bike. [http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/communities/]

Too expensive, too radical, too dangerous, too slow, and just too much darn trouble? As opposed to what? Billions of dollars on maintaining our existing vehicular dominated streets? An obese society that spends zillions of bucks for insurance, parking, fuel, repairs, and the vehicles’ price (the ‘Clunkers for Cash’ program is drying up)?

The real impediment to creating a Rochester, New York that moves around in massive numbers on bicycles and renews our sense of community from our too expensive isolation tanks is Attitude. Everything else is there, the technology, the know-how, and the vivid examples of bike/transportation modes across the spectrum of world cities. Behold a healthier lifestyle.

Frank J. Regan [RochesterEnvironment.com]

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Biking Rochester

Let the Huffington Post know about biking in Rochester. If the RochesterGreenway were a reality, I think we’d be number one in this poll. Check it out.

–The Top 10 U.S. Cities For Biking Americans overwhelmingly continue to drive alone to work. With more than nine out of 10 workers favoring driving. But these 10 cities are definitely taking the initiative to change that. Here are the top 10 U.S. cities for bicycling commuters. And remember to send us a photograph of your favorite biking city. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/05/the-top-10-us-cities-for_n_252092.html

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Another Affiliation

People are talking. Excitement builds. The Rochester Greenway is entering a new phase: a steering group (maybe, the “The Rochester Greenway Steering Group”) who will be focusing on moving the project from conceptual stage to something more concrete—or macadam, or plastic, or a new composite altogether. At this point, interested groups are offering their time to see this unique concept get funding through grants, get endorsements from various groups, and provide presentations of this all-weather, carbon-free transportation system.

“I just want to point out to you that this isn’t just about biking. This is truly about a grander purpose happening here. I would just urge you to think about what you want to do. I think it’s important to consider options for the future.”

“There is an opportunity for capitalizing on new materials and ideas and how this will relate to communities. We want to have a plan for some type of sustainable plan in the longer term sense. I think that we should also get students from other regions interested from other campuses. There are many things, which could be woven into the goals. There
is great potential here.”

“This could be a steering group for a future Charrette meeting. There is a reality about a certain threshold for numbers of people working together. I think you bring up
a good point that we should all be in contact with each-other. We should also think about people in the working group. I think it’s very important that there would be a shared vision going in multiple directions. I think we should think of ourselves as being a Greenway Steering group.”

People are talking.

More to come: