FLCC> Commuting and Climate Change

[jim eagen]

Thought this was an interesting blurb, maybe some of you saw it, from the NY Times Magazine this weekend:

"BIKETOWN MELLOW: Johnny, a play on maillot jaune, French for “yellow jersey,” was Lance Armstrong’s nickname during his Tour de France days. Next month, Mellow Johnny’s will be the name of a multiuse facility Armstrong is backing in Austin, Tex., that features bicycle sales and repairs, a cafe, bicycle parking for downtown residents and commuters, spin classes and showers. The old 18,000-square-foot, yellow-and-red-brick building was, in previous incarnations, a Pearl beer distributorship and a homeless center. Armstrong and his general partner, Bart Knaggs, say they wanted to use as much of the existing infrastructure as possible. The showers from the shelter days seemed like an ideal incentive for bike commuters in a city that experiences spring and summer temperatures for much of the year. “If you want people to ride an hour to work, and their workplace doesn’t have a gym and it’s 100 in summer,” Armstrong says, “you can’t go to
 work that way.” While Mellow Johnny’s is a for-profit endeavor, Knaggs says he hopes that offering “one bazillion” bicycle-parking spaces at a nominal fee will have a positive environmental impact. “It’s more about shifting a local mind-set about alternative transportation,” he says, a nod to the fact that Texans — even those in this, the most liberal, eco-conscious city in the state — often feel dutybound to drive even to the corner store. And how does Mellow Johnny’s propose to meet its own energy needs? With conventional sources, though pedal power may put a little energy into the grid. “We’re looking for ways to use pedal power so that we can charge up the building a little bit,” says Armstrong, who, while he has no immediate plans to work the register, might be the one whose r.p.m. runs the espresso machine."

Jim Eagen



----- Original Message ----
From: Daniel Kidney <daniel.kidney at gmail.com>
To: Peter Ozolins <peter at peterozolins.com>; flcc at icycle.org
Cc: kjohnson at cityofithaca.org
Sent: Saturday, April 19, 2008 11:02:41 PM
Subject: Re: FLCC> Commuting and Climate Change

Kent, maybe you could read the below messages, also part of our conversation among the FLCC.

Peter, I absolutely agree. A few times I've had my lack of a car clearly looked down upon when applying for jobs, and several times I've just refrained from applying as it was clearly stated in the job description that car ownership was a necessity. I understand the motives of employers in seeking people with reliable transportation, but it sure would be nice if employers actually looked positively on bike commuters (or other non-personal-car commuting). Perhaps city businesses could be offered incentives to encourage their employees to get to work on bikes! (And help them out with some of the down sides Peter mentioned).

That's my final plug for the moment as I'm off for a little interstate bike commuting to go check out a college I might go to this fall in Pennsylvania. See you all next week!

Daniel


On Fri, Apr 18, 2008 at 5:07 PM, Peter Ozolins <peter at peterozolins.com> wrote:

What about approaching it from the employer end? For me at least, the
biggest headache is dealing with bringing stuff, what to do with stuff
when  I get there, and of course dealing with being dirty and wet.
Promote employers promoting bike commuting.

In CA, there's a law that you're entitled to the cash value OR a parking
spot if ine is offered at your job.

At Qualty  Bicycle Products in MN,employees win sone hefty prizes for
most miles comuted, etc.

These kinds of thugs could add up to a hefty pr coup in thus day and
age. it just needs to be promoted or sold.

 Peter Ozolins
 peter[at]peterozolins[dot]com
 607.592.1997
 Sent via mimi
_____________________________




Wayne Gottlieb wrote:
> Daniel, this has been an ongoing discussion among FLCC
> people, sometime on-line, sometimes on the bike.
> There are many of us who bike commute and would like
> to see bigger numbers.  It seems that higher gas
> prices and the whole global warming thing makes this a
> good time to promote bicycle commuting. It seems that
> Ithaca has particular difficulties, despite our image
> of being a progressive town.  We have those darn
> hills, those 6 month winters and our roads just aren't
> very bike friendly.  There's this catch 22 that nobody
> wants to ride because the roads are too dangerous, and
> the city won't consider bicycles in their plans
> because not enough people ride.  How do we help people
> overcome their aversion to riding and how do we
> convince the city that many more will ride if roads
> are planned accordingly.  If we are made aware of a
> specific action that we can take to promote this
> issue, I think you will get many people in the club
> helping out.  Perhaps some of us should be writing
> letters to the editor for a start.  I would love to
> have more people to ride to work with and I would love
> for there to be less cars on that ride.  By the way,
> don't hold your breath about the parking lots. Wayne


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