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Creating a Bike Path.

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cyclingday

I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
I obtained this old bike path sign a few years ago, so I was pleasantly surprised, when I came across this mention of its creation recently.

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I have been lobbying our local City Council to consider extending the oceanfront bike path, so I have some appreciation for how hard it is, to convince the powerbrokers how beneficial a multi use off highway trail is.
They just want to take the easy route by saying No!
I get it, because No! doesn’t cost anything.
But Yes! is way more rewarding.
I guess that’s why people run for City Council.
If a jobs worth doing, then you’ve got to do it yourself.
My campaign slogan would be,
“ Easy Solutions for Complex Problems.”
 
Looks like Chicago was ahead of the pack on this but has now fallen behind. Interconnectivity with bike/pedestrian trails is hot now. When was the first portion opened? Keep on keepin' on!
 
In the Phoenix area we have an association of governments within the county (Maricopa County Association of Governments (MAG)). They have focus on regional coordination and planning and have gotten all the cities and towns within the county to work together on bike accessibility. It’s pretty impressive when you look at it on the map they created. https://geo.azmag.gov/maps/bikemap/

I noticed on the Chicago article and the MAG website that “Safety” seems to be an important aspect to convincing people to spend money on this kind of stuff. Chicago guys were working with the “Safety Council” on their path and MAG mentioning “safe and smart travel” as a core policy area. https://azmag.gov/About-Us/About-MAG.
 
In the Phoenix area we have an association of governments within the county (Maricopa County Association of Governments (MAG)). They have focus on regional coordination and planning and have gotten all the cities and towns within the county to work together on bike accessibility. It’s pretty impressive when you look at it on the map they created. https://geo.azmag.gov/maps/bikemap/

I noticed on the Chicago article and the MAG website that “Safety” seems to be an important aspect to convincing people to spend money on this kind of stuff. Chicago guys were working with the “Safety Council” on their path and MAG mentioning “safe and smart travel” as a core policy area. https://azmag.gov/About-Us/About-MAG.
I have a letter of proclamation from then AZ Governor Bruce Babbit for my help on working on the Phoenix Metro area bike path plan as a local Schwinn Dealer. Like your freeway system, the bikeways were talked about for so many decades, I never thought I would live long enough to see them in operation. It looks like you enjoy using them on your Vintage Rides.

But every time I'm in Phoenix anymore it seems the entire "cross town" is torn up with your light rail system construction, like many of our cities here in Southern California.

John
 
Most metro areas in the early 1900's had prioritized bicycle-only infrastructure, but sadly our car culture and motor obsession took over. Every square inch of property smartly built for Bicycle use was devalued through cultural change and greedy apologists. Unfortunately, the value of this R/E today discourages actual solutions as per below. New infrastructure like this is tough in tightly packed cities full of autos.
https://www.vox.com/2015/6/30/8861327/bike-lanes-history
"California Cycleway"
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Pasadena portion.
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Even with today's small reversals, what has transpired is summed up below.
A global status report shows that road traffic injuries are now the single biggest cause of death for children and young adults, and that more than half of all traffic deaths are pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. In the United States, driver fatalities fell from 27,348 in 2006 to 23,611 in 2017, but pedestrian and cyclist fatalities increased from 5,567 to 6,760.
From the 1900s to the early 1930s a battle was fought as motor vehicles became increasingly dominant. As traffic fatalities rose, angry mobs dragged reckless drivers from their cars, and some cities printed “murder maps” showing where people had been killed in traffic.
 
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Yep!
Master planning would’ve been prudent at the dawn of civilization, but like most things we do, we were only concerned about the here and now.
Every time I drive my automobile, I always think how nice it would’ve been, if the trucks and commercial vehicles had been given their own roads.
And every time I ride my bicycle, I always think, how nice it would’ve been, if the cyclists had been given their own roads.
This concept would’ve been universally appealing to each segment of the various user groups, and could’ve been doable if the grid had been laid out before one inch of concrete had been poured.
But, Nooooooo!
Greed and expedience won the day, and now, we’re left with the mess of trying to retrofit these solutions.
I guess that’s why we are always looking for another Planet that can support life.
Because, we need a do over on this one.
🤪
 
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