MyWHaT

Rush hour as a thing of beauty in a city of nearly 2 million and one reason why there is BLOG called Copenhagenize.com

UPDATE (12/14-2PM): Bicycle-friendly Copenhagen a model for big cities“Today around a third of the population drive cars to work or study, another third take public transport, while 37 % cycle”

For Traverse City, what would be a realistic goal for percentage of commuters who either walk, ride a bike or use BATA? 5%, 10%, 30% or higher?

Monday night’s meeting will be a good opportunity for supporters of street calming and reclaiming of streets to hear the direction of the city. There has been a small, incremental shift in perspective to include more of a complete street philosophy, but it is a fragile one. The city hasn’t seen that much leadership or follow through from staff or the commission.

This is a good chance for residents to speak to the commission and the public about their vision. The meeting is at 7PM in the Commission Chambers on the 2nd floor of the Governmental Center.

You could also send an  Email to all City Commissioners or comment on the Plan for TC BLOG.

The question I ask is, how do we establish a stronger policy level commitment to a more biker and pedestrian friendly transportation network?

Earlier in December,  I followed and contributed to a Facebook discussion on Traverse City commissioner Jim Carruthers’ page. Carruthers posted the latest Streetfilms video: Bike Boulevards in New York city. Comments in the thread weren’t overly positive, but they weren’t overly negative, either. Actually, they quickly cascaded into talk about snow removal on sidewalks. It was during a snow storm, so that’s understandable. But I was happy to see it put out there.

Download the Bicycle Boulevard Planning & Design Guidebook from The Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation.

The film is an introduction to the street design and the process planning and engineering go through as they implement the street calming design. I can easily see the use of one or more bike boulevard’s in Traverse City. For me, the greatest short-term impact a TC bike boulevard scheme would be political & cultural. It would be a strong statement by the city to say that:

No, the roads don’t just belong to the realm of the automobile and our city is no longer going to be designed by the primary purpose of moving automobiles.

As the region becomes increasingly populated, the need for this type of strong leadership and direction will be more and more apparent. Particularly in its absence.

Of course, that’s not all they would do. The intent of a bike boulevard can be summarized as 1) raise the status of cyclists and pedestrians to equals in the eyes of city infrastructure 2) provide bicycle priority artery 3) slow, not eliminate, automobile cut-through traffic in neighborhoods.

All of the above would help to increase the keys to increasing ridership: safety through design, safety in numbers.

The unintended positive impacts are almost limitless: They would provide safer crossings for pedestrians, more quiet & less polluted neighborhood streets, increased social-negotiation rather than traffic-negotiation, and more gatherings in residential front yards.

There’s more. The list can go on. And it will. I’ll address Bike boulevards frequently in the coming months. Including, perhaps, a few drawings of how they might work in Traverse City.

What’s your initial response to a bike boulevard?

Where do you see them being affective?

• View: Bicycle Boulevards for NYC from Streetfilms.
• Download: Bicycle Boulevard Planning & Design Guidebook