My own thoughts on the bike lane discussion are:
- If traffic volume does not change significantly after putting in bike lanes, no GHG were reduced.
- If congestion worsened after a bike lane was built, GHG emissions may be expected to go up - a little or a lot) due to the increased time autos spend on the road and idling in traffic.
- If GHG reduction AND congestion relief are removed from their purpose, we must re-examine why we are building and maintaining bike lane infrastructure and justify each project's costs and benefits with new criteria.
My suggestion to Portland's Transportation Commissioner and Director is to forget building anything new and work on making existing bike and pedestrian routes safer (remove bike paths from high crash zones and high-traffic roads).
OOOOOOOOOOOO
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With pollution from autos way down over the last 20 years (largely due to Federal regulations) why do we need to drive more people out of cars.
ReplyDeleteHere in Portland year round bike riding by masses of people is highly unlikely because of the weather alone.
Here in Lake Oswego the aging of the population creates another factor against mass bike riding yet this build it and they will come persists among planners.
Look at the hard data in the TSP measuring traffic flow at intersections (many) at rush hour. Quite simply there are no bikes!
We have got to stop wasting our precious resource tax money on things that are not used. Every decision whether operating or capital should be measured by how many will benefit from this money.
Get on it City Council!
The chief obstacles to bicycle ridership are: 1) increase in age 2) inclement weather 3) hills. Lake Oswego has all three in abundance, and at least two can't be changed, and the third is not likely to change any time soon (as in decades).
DeleteI am an advocate of a good recreational pathway system that connects to places people can park, shop, eat and have great views or other points of interest. I like paths (not sidewalks so much - ruins the relaxed feel of our cozy neighborhoods). What I don't like is all the Greenwashing that come with them:' active transportation will lower our carbon footprint, reduce GHG, and get people to live a healthier lifestyle. (Cue the birds chirping and the harp playing.). All I want is for people to be realistic about what bike paths will and won't do, and then choose what fits THEIR needs and pocketbook. It's pretty simple - maybe too simple?