Attn. City Fathers
Traditional cyclists often ask me why e-bikes are suddenly so popular on our local Multi-Use Paths (MUPs).
BTW, thank you. You are justifying expansion that benefits traditional cyclists, runners and pedestrians as well.
It is the same reason cyclists no longer predominantly ride in the street or out on roads and gravel riding has become so popular. We’ve made our streets impossible for everyone… including motorists.
Many of my e-bike customers and prospects are former motorcyclists. Others are motorists that just need to escape traffic! They wouldn’t ordinarily be caught dead on a bicycle (they drive everywhere else). I am fairly certain Ruby’s is the only local shop that has many e-bike customers that have transitioned from regularly riding traditional bikes. That is only because we offer conversions. I suspect non-cyclists are the reason speed has become such a problem on our paths and goofy, sorta motorcycle looking e-bikes, are so popular. They aren’t there to exercise or even to enjoy the outdoors. They miss the freedom of getting around on two wheels, but it just isn’t safe. Our city fathers need to deal with this problem!
In the photo above, there are sidewalks on each side. This is inside the town of Tampa, Fla! Can you imagine how anxious motorists are to get across those lanes of traffic? Can you imagine what it costs to build and maintain such a monstrosity? Do you really think a pedestrian crossing that entrance is safe? How about a bike rolling at 20mph, trying to stop for that speeding car? QUICK QUESTION: How many, even in a group like this, know that the pedestrian has the right of way?
It’s our own fault. First we complained about speed traps and tickets driving visitors from our communities (is there any evidence this is true?). Then it became common knowledge that you aren’t getting a ticket if you are only five over the limit. God forbid we have traffic camera laws with any teeth. Small wonder The NTSB, says the AVERAGE motorist is 5mph over the limit at any given time.
You aren’t likely to get a ticket. You are almost certainly speeding. You don’t know anyone that has gotten a ticket that wasn’t in a crash or drunk. Small wonder we seldom see a police cruiser that isn’t speeding. All this makes alternative transportation next to impossible, even walking two blocks to the nearest bus route!
Now, a lot people don’t know that speed limits are set every few years, based on the average speed vs the number of crashes (motorists almost never have accidents. Speeding, hurrying, harrassment and road rage are choices, not accidents). The result is that speed limits are raised unless people DIE!
Here in The Quad Cities, there was a time when sections of Ave of The Cities, River Drive, The One Ways and Locust Street were 15mph. They were called business zones. Most of the rest of those same STROADS were 20 or 25mph (depending on the side of the river). People walked freely, but we drove them away (pun intended).
Nearly all residential neighborhoods, nation wide, were once 15mph. No wonder us kids rode our bikes in the street and around town. We walked to school. My residential speed limit is 35mph. It is so narrow that two cars cannot pass if any cars are parked on the street. The street is not wider. There aren’t fewer cars parked along it, but we just keep raising, or effectively eliminating, speed limits. It is not marked and not one of my neighbors knows the speed limit anyway. It is under a hundred yards long and people really do sometimes drive it over 40mph!
We need more reasonable urban speed limits and timed lights to calm traffic. Moline is 3 miles from 16th street to 53rd (longest uninterrupted stretch of STROAD). If somehow you could drive it at 60 and not hit any lights, slower drivers or people turning, it would be 3 minutes to cross. I am not suggesting we go all the way back to 20mph, but that would take 9 minutes. We have pushed our kids indoors, created car pools, traffic jams and made it impossible to walk anywhere to save less time than one push of the snooze button! Moline is a larger than average community too. In most we are talking less than a minute and remember, I am comparing it to 60mph, not more common speeding of 45mph.
Hit at 35mph, you are 15% likely to die. Hit at 45, you have a 15% chance of surviving (also from The NTSB)! How often do any of us go anywhere that the difference between 35 & 45, in town, will save us a minute? Why are we speeding? Why are we endangering lives to save less than a minute and what could possibly be so important that it is worth the risk?
You may say that the sidewalks are still there. Try crossing any major intersection with a cane. If you can make it, without feeling truly endangered, you still have to look out for those making rights on reds and leaving the STROAD for a side street. They honedtly believe they have the right of way!
We need traffic law enforcement and to re-educate motorists. Heck, our city coffers could really use the additional income. Don’t tell me how cyclists are breaking laws. On top of the fact that studies have shown we break fewer, we aren’t killing anyone or costing billions in damage. In my 67 years, ONE person has been killed by a cyclist in our quarter million population. Heck, in our 1.5 million MSA! I can’t say that about one year, in just one of those towns, for motorists. Laws that aren’t enforced are no laws at all. Once it is okay to break one law, the next one isn’t such a big deal. I mean, “that rich homeowner can afford another Bark Box. My dog needs food!” See how it spreads?
This won’t make any community a cycling Mecca or give us what are known as “walkable streets.” It will go a long way towards making it happen. These changes cost almost nothing and actually generate income. So, how about it city fathers? Do you have the courage to make the changes we need? We can’t keep making streets wider or faster. We can’t afford to maintain what we have!