FLCC> Cyclovia.

[Wayne Gottlieb]

I'm passing this on the the FLCC group in case you
haven't seen it yet.  Wayne 
--- David Kay <dlk2 at cornell.edu> wrote:

> Date: Sun, 01 Jun 2008 11:25:40 -0400
> From: David Kay <dlk2 at cornell.edu>
> To: Curb your car coalition
> <curbyourcarcoalition-l at list.cornell.edu>,
> bpac at icycle.org
> Subject: Re: [Fwd: Cyclovia begins Sat]
> 
> To return for a moment to the beginning of this
> thread with a report.
> 
> A little miniversion of Cyclovia was indeed started
> in Ithaca yesterday 
> - first time, it was just a dozen or so riders of
> all ages and skill 
> levels getting together to ride safely and legally
> from DeWitt Park to 
> the Farmer's Market.  This group was, on average, at
> the other end of 
> the comfort-in-traffic spectrum from that of FLCC
> and probably also from 
> that of the Critical Mass regulars.  The reality of
> riding on a street 
> at all in a group was for some, well,
> em-pedal-powering.
> 
> Joan Bokaer's vision is to build from this extremely
> modest start 
> towards some version of the social capital
> building/transportation 
> alternative event developed in Bogota, Colombia. 
> While I think the path 
> from "here to there" is a VERY long one, Joan has
> proven (with the 
> Global Walk for A Livable World and Ecovillage at
> least) that her 
> determination to make big things happen from small
> beginnings should be 
> taken seriously.
> 
> For inspiration about what Cyclovia might mean, I
> highly recommend 
> watching the clip at:
> 
> http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/ciclovia
> 
> As you are watching try to imagine which of the
> roles of the 
> participants you see you think Mayor Peterson would
> most enjoy playing.
> 
> David
> 
> 
> Wendy Skinner wrote:
> > Wayne,
> >
> > This makes sense, and thanks for explaining.
> Perhaps the original 
> > rhetoric is due for some revising, to make more
> clear the purpose, the 
> > etiquette, and the safety rules of the ride.
> Mainstreaming these 
> > concepts is essential, which might mean amending
> the message so that 
> > it calms concerns before they arise.
> >
> > Thanks. Keep riding!
> >
> > Wendy
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wayne
> Gottlieb" <wgottlieb at yahoo.com>
> > To: "Curb your car coalition" 
> > <curbyourcarcoalition-l at list.cornell.edu>;
> <flcc at icycle.org>
> > Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2008 10:31 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Fwd: Cyclovia begins Sat]
> >
> >
> >> I agree that it doesn't help make friends among
> >> motorists (And they are our friends...) to
> disobey
> >> traffic rules.  However, I would like to comment
> on
> >> both issues.  1) Going through red lights: 
> During
> >> some of our rides, the FLCC cyclists will often
> go
> >> through an intersection en Mass.  We don't go
> through
> >> red lights, but if many of us are turning left
> and a
> >> car comes before we've finished, cars will often
> wait
> >> for us, even though they have the right of way. 
> Their
> >> courtesy is answered by profuse thanks from the
> >> cyclists.  We like to stay together.  2) Blocking
> >> lanes:  Sometimes we ride in very large groups
> (20-50)
> >> and try to be aware of much faster cars that need
> to
> >> pass.  Our official policy is to ride single file
> when
> >> cars pass, not wanting to be a burden on the
> local
> >> traffic.  However, we're on East Hill where
> speeds are
> >> 45+.  Downtown, this might be different, where
> cars
> >> are not going much faster than the cyclists. 
> What
> >> might be more important is to be sensitive to the
> >> needs of local motor traffic and avoid the
> tendency to
> >> be the "righteous" cyclist.  I hope the critical
> mass
> >> rides will be posted. I've been impressed to see
> them
> >> pass and always wished I had my bike with me.
> Wayne
> >> --- Wendy Skinner <ws at twcny.rr.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Gotta comment: Bicyclists should ALWAYS obey the
> >>> same traffic rules that apply to cars. Streaming
> >>> through red lights is not only dangerous but
> will
> >>> not make friends. Those who get through a light
> >>> ahead of the rest should pull over safely and
> wait.
> >>> Taking an entire lane is fine if you ride at the
> >>> prevailing traffic speed. Not allowing other
> traffic
> >>> to function is also unsafe and completely
> >>> unnecessary.
> >>>
> >>> I might join a community ride if I felt there
> was
> >>> more structure and planning and that I would not
> be
> >>> embarrassed to be seen. I may be
> misunderstanding
> >>> this effort, but the "shut it down" approach is
> >>> dated and irritating. It can backfire and make
> >>> people more opposed to sharing the streets.
> >>>
> >>> Please be careful out there.
> >>>
> >>> Wendy Skinner, lifetime cyclist and first female
> >>> bicycle messenger, Marathon Messengers, Boston.
> >>>   ----- Original Message -----   From: BobWölfé
> Jung2
> >>>   To: Curb your car coalition ; bpac at icycle.org
> >>>   Sent: Friday, May 30, 2008 1:58 PM
> >>>   Subject: Re: [Fwd: Cyclovia begins Sat]
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>   Hello all,
> >>>
> >>>      If anyone is interested in joining with a
> >>> community of cyclist already around, today is
> >>> Critical Mass. We meet at 5pm and ride at 5:30pm
> >>> (usually 5:20 and 5:40-5:45 actually) on the
> west
> >>> end of the commons (by the UPS store). Perhaps
> >>> someone might want to come by and sell the idea
> of
> >>> Cyclovia to folx there...
> >>>      Of course Critical Mass has been doing this
> in
> >>> Ithaca since around 1995 or 96, I believe..
> >>>          http://www.critical-mass.info/
> >>>
> >>>      Then again, there seems to be some
> contention
> >>> around the fact that for reasons of safety we
> >>> (Critical Mass) tend (there are no leaders or
> rules)
> >>> to try and stay together (massed up)...this
> includes
> >>> not being split up by red lights...so if the
> front
> >>> of the group goes through a light, and some folx
> >>> catch the red, they keep going. Being split up
> and
> >>> having cars between us is felt to be dangerous.
> For
> >>> similar reasons, we will take the entire lane
> and
> >>> sometimes more than just one...lately we (in
> Ithaca)
> >>> seem to try and leave at least one passing lane
> open
> >>> on multi-lane roads. We have no destination or
> even
> >>> route picked out, just a pleasant, sociable bike
> >>> ride around town.
> >>>
> >>>       We certainly would welcome anyone to come
> and
> >>> join us today, or any last Friday of the month.
> >>>
> >>>       I'm also curious, will Ithaca's Cyclovia
> be
> >>> shutting down streets to motorized traffic as in
> >>> other towns/cities? That certainly would take
> care
> >>> of a lot of the safety issues.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>   --   -BobWölfé Jung2, K.S.C.
> >>>   Anarchic Discordian Bike Pirate
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> 
> -- 
> David Kay
> Sr. Extension Associate
> Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI)
> Dept. of Development Sociology
> Cornell University
> Ithaca NY 14853
> 607-255-2123
> Dlk2 at cornell.edu
> http://devsoc.cals.cornell.edu/outreach/cardi/
> 
> 
> 
>