He’s Peddling a 1% Solution to Congestion
What I’m proposing is only a partial solution to one of our biggest problems. But it is part of a solution, and though it involves big money, it’s relatively cheap and so I think we have to consider it.
We have a problem--it’s called traffic. It affects us all in different ways, but the bottom line is: We all spend too much of our lives in our cars.
What I suggest is that when people want to ride bikes, they be helped. Not with a shove, but with room to ride.
Why now? Because traffic is bad.
Traffic is bad for bikes, cars and everybody. But what are we going to do about it? New roads? Government is spending money on freeways and so-called Super Streets like it’s going out of style, but traffic’s still getting worse. People keep moving here and getting born here.
OK, now let me ask you: What are we going to do about it? What we’ve been doing about it has got us where we are.
What we need to do is provide buses for people who want to ride the buses, trains for people who want to ride the trains and room for people who want to ride bikes. All that’ll leave a little more room for people who still want to drive.
So let’s talk about bikes--that’s my interest, and they’re a lot cheaper than buses or trains.
Aren’t there plenty of bike trails? Yes, but bikes need to use the streets. Everybody lives and works on a street, not on a bike trail. And those who want to ride on bike trails get to them by using the streets.
As governments try to provide for more and more cars, they’re adding traffic lanes--usually by narrowing the wider curb lanes or shoulders that bicyclists use. The more aggressive, or less fearful, bicyclists take the whole lane (as they should). This generates lots of angry motorists--not a good thing.
Less aggressive, or more fearful, bicyclists and children leave their bikes home, and drive or are driven, or they ride on the sidewalk.
The Orange County Bicycle Coalition tries to turn this trend around, by working with governments.
Bicyclists feel that they’re doing their share just by being bicyclists. They are too. They shouldn’t be expected to pay extra to do so. And many of them are really poor. Not all, but some. And they provide their own vehicles, while bus and train riders don’t. Give them a break. Shouldn’t government provide room for all vehicles (especially the good ones)?
What we really need is wide curb lanes, which bikes (and slower cars and trucks) can all use. How can we get wide curb lanes, short of getting rid of all the traffic engineers?
What I suggest is bike lanes on all major streets.
Bike lanes require about 3 extra feet of width in the curb lane. They’re governed by state standards--actually pretty good ones. They’re called Class 2 bikeways. They also involve an edge stripe, about which bicyclists’ opinions are divided. Some like it and some don’t.
The Orange County Transportation Authority, which is not the only county agency concerned with transportation, plans to spend $8.8 billion, mostly on roads, over the next 20 years. That’s $440 million a year. It’s generally accepted that 1% of travelers use bikes. One percent of $440 million a year is $4.4 million a year. This is what should be spent by OCTA to benefit bicyclists in Orange County. Other governmental agencies or entities should spend 1% of their own transportation-related expenditures.
I think that this is what fairness requires. Not only fairness to bicyclists, but fairness to motorists (which includes just about everybody). After all, every bike on the streets is one less car there.
When you say, “Every bike is one less car,” it leads you to the benefits. First, there’ll be some congestion relief for the remaining cars. It also implies air quality benefits; bikes don’t generate smog. Furthermore, it says there’ll be a drop in road maintenance costs; bikes don’t make potholes. Furthermore, there are health benefits; it’s clear that exercise is a good thing. I think these benefits are worth spending 1% on. I think we should try it. We can hardly afford not to, unless you like congestion.