See the initial post for the rules and background. Here’s the next set of outcomes.
We will know our transportation system is balanced when…
See the initial post for the rules and background. Here’s the next set of outcomes.
We will know our transportation system is balanced when…
9 responses to “New Look Exercise # 5”
When safety project funds are allocated by percentage of fatalities (note: about 1-2% of funds are spent on projects clearly aimed at bike/ped safety, while 15% of fatalities are bike/ped).
When kids can walk and bike safely to school.
When we spend at least as much on bikes and peds as the voters (in polls) say they want — in Portland, about 25%.
When we see ourselves as people who sometimes bike, drive, and walk, instead of bicyclists, drivers, pedestrians.
When bicyclists can get anywhere they want to go as safely as drivers.
When bicyclists and pedestrians have as many crossings of the rivers as drivers.
When Vancouver, Gresham, Rockwood, Gladstone, Oregon City, Clackamas Town Center, Lake Oswego, Beaverton, Washington Square, Wilsonville, Tualatin, Tigard, Hillsboro, Aloha, Forest Grove and Cornelius all have transit and pedestrian environments equivalent to Portland’s.
When traffic lights are synchronized so that pedestrians and bicyclists don’t have to wait;
When the speed of motorized traffic is reduced to 15 to 20 mph, a speed safe for pedestrians and bicyclists, not just cars;
When only people who use parking have to pay for parking;
When there is more than one option for any trip;
When every street has space designed for pedestrians and bikes.
When anyone can drive to a transit center and never need their car the rest of the day.
When every store or business can be reached by a short walk from transit.
When people can live in the typical suburban subdivision without owning an auto;
When children can safely walk or bike anywhere they need to go.
When there are ramp meters on freeway exits to protect the flow of traffic on local streets.
When hell freezes over…
TOP Dozen:
We will know our transportation system is balanced when the bicycle mode of transport is taxed to support bicycle infrastructure and the government services supplied exclusively to bicyclists.
We will know our transportation system is balanced when bicyclists start being respectful of and obey traffic control devices such as stop signs and red lights.
We know our transportation system is balanced when transit system fares more accurately reflect the cost of providing service.
We know our transportation system is balanced when all curb extensions with bus stops are removed and busses are required to pull over to the curb when stopping for passengers allowing other traffic, including bicycles, to pass.
We know our transportation system is balanced when there are no more bus only lanes on city streets. (Excluding the current downtown transit mall.)
We know our transportation system is balanced when the “Equality of privileges and immunities of citizens” clause in the Oregon constitution (No law shall be passed granting to any citizen or class of citizens privileges, or immunities, which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens) is applied to our public streets such that rental car sharing companies do not have reserved parking places on those streets and thereby be required to use private property for reserved locations.
We know our transportation system is balanced when the legislature no longer gives tax credits to people who buy certain types of vehicles.
We know our transportation system is balanced when large entities like OHSU can no longer swindle the City Council and taxpayers into paying for projects like the tram.
We know our transportation system is balanced when tax abatements are eliminated for high density and transit oriented development.
We know our transportation system is balanced when the addition of a mode of travel does NOT displace or compromise transport infrastructure already in place. (Examples: I-Max removing motor vehicle lanes on Interstate Avenue, Eastside Streetcar used as a club on MLK and Grand Avenue to create more congestion rather than using an under utilized street, and bike lanes replacing motor vehicle travel lanes-various locations.)
We know our transportation system is balanced when the general public out numbers the politicians and the usual suspects of bicycle and transit activist at public transportation policy meetings, forums and seminars (like New Look), and politicians actually listen to the needs of motorists.
We know our transportation system is balanced when motorists have specific and equal representatives proportional to usage on all transportation related citizen committees to counter balance the representation of other modes.
bike lanes replacing motor vehicle travel lanes-various locations
Where? I can’t think of a single instance where a motor vehicle lane was eliminated to provide a bike lane.
We will know our transportation system is balanced when bicyclists start being respectful of and obey traffic control devices such as stop signs and red lights.
Every bicyclist I know is at least as respectful of stops signs and traffic controls as the drivers I know are respectful of the speed limit. Actually that is an unfair comparison, since we all know most motorists don’t respect the speed limit. The overwhelming majority of bicyclists do follow traffic laws which is why people get so annoyed about the ones that don’t.
We know our transportation system is balanced when the addition of a mode of travel does NOT displace or compromise transport infrastructure already in place.
Is that realistic? The auto certainly displaced pedestrians and bicyclists from streets. It evenutally displaced streetcars. The fact is that public right-of-way is, by nature, limited. Its not realistic for an inefficient mode like the auto to continue to monopolize it.
Bike lanes replacing motor vehicle lanes – a few non-inclusive examples:
One westbound motor vehicle lane on the Burnside Bridge was removed with the addition of bike lanes,
One motor vehicle lane in each direction was replaced on SE Sandy from Ankeny to SE 7th Av, and on SE 7th Av from Sandy to Division when bike lanes were added.
One Motor Vehicle lane in each direction was removed on NE Glisan from Sandy Bv to 31St Ave when bike lanes were added
One motor vehicle lane southbound on the N Vancouver one way grid was replaced when an extra wide bike lane was added.
One westbound motor vehicle lane on the NE Broadway one way grid was removed when bike lanes were added.
One motor vehicle lane in each direction was removed on NE 122 between Sandy Bv and Airport Way when bike lanes were added.
One motor vehicle lane in each direction was removed on NE 57th & Cully Bv from Fremont to Prescott when bicycle lanes were added.
One motor vehicle lane in each direction was removed on SE hawthorne BV from 39th to 50th when bike lanes were added.
One motor vehicle lane in each direction was removed on SE hawthorne BV from 39th to 50th when bike lanes were added.
The Metro bike map doesn’t show bike lanes on Hawthorne from 39th to 50th.
Terry –
I’m not going to contradict you in general because I’m not familiar with every case that you have listed.
However, for some of the cases that you have listed with which I am familiar, such as Glisan, the street reconfigurations were not solely because of a bike lane. They also were reconfigured for full-time on-street parking (benefit to local traffic autos) and sometimes also a center turn lane (benefit to local traffic autos).
If you look at a satellite photo of that stretch of road, you can clearly see that removing the bike lanes alone would not allow for an additional auto lane without severely narrowing the auto lanes (dangerous for trucks, buses, emergency responders). Dedicated parking is part of the deal.
See: Google Satellite Image
Also, Ross is correct, there is no bike lane east of 39th on Hawthorne. Just dedicated parking and a center turn lane.
It should be noted that these wider lanes on Hawthorne (beyond 39th) in combination with the dedicated parking, allow for buses to pull over out of traffic when boarding, which I believe was one of your requirements for a balanced transportation system.
– Bob R.
Great thoughts. I think Terry is onto something here when he talks about financial balance. Of course, I think that the motorist is receiving huge benefits relative to contribution and costs created by driving including no charge for most parking, subsidized fuel supply (military protection, depreciation allowances, etc), emergency services paid for by property tax, right of way deeded to public or paid for by property owners, not gas taxes.
(All things i benefit from, btw, when i drive, but also, things i pay for but DON’T benefit from when I walk or bike)
true cost accounting and devising a means to collect these fees would be an interesting exercise for the RTP.
I think Terry is onto something here when he talks about financial balance.
He is if you think you can set a value on street trees and the lives of small children. “True cost accounting” isn’t possible unless you accept the libertarian notion that we can reduce everything down to mathematical formulas. But that is part of what got our transportation system into the mess it is in. Instead of creating pleasant communities for people to live in, we created roads for moving vehicles. We focused on engineering, efficiency and cost, rather than esthetics. Its pretty clear the “new look” is headed toward more of the same old, same old.