Although it doesn’t guarantee action, it certainly represents an understanding of the inherent benefits associated with bicycling, especially in urban areas. One can hope that it also demonstrates the progress America’s cities continue to make towards livability and sustainability. If anything, to my knowledge, such an on-paper commitment to bicycling has never been so far reaching in this country. Hopefully, this is just the beginning…

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED AT THE

The U.S. Conference of Mayors

76th Annual Meeting

June 20-24, 2008

Miami

TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

###

ENSURING BICYCLING IS INTEGRATED INTO NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION,

CLIMATE, ENERGY AND HEALTH POLICY INITIATIVES

WHEREAS, bicycling can provide multiple and cross-cutting

benefits in U.S policy initiatives that seek to address

transportation needs, limit climate change and energy

consumption and improve public health; and

WHEREAS, we now live in a nation with 300 million people, and

that number is expected to grow to 365 million by 2030 and to

420 million by 2050 with the vast majority of that growth

occurring in congested urban areas where there are significant

limitations on accommodating increased motor vehicle travel; and

WHEREAS, since 1980, the number of miles Americans drive has

grown three times faster than the U.S. population; and

WHEREAS, a national transportation system that invests in and is

conducive to bicycling reduces traffic congestion in our most

heavily congested urban areas while promoting an overall

improved quality of life that is valuable for the Nation; As

example:

• More than 200 cities throughout the U.S., representing more

than 35 million people have committed to implementing bicycle

friendly action plans to make their communities more bicycle

friendly; and

• The greatest potential for increased bicycle usage is in our

major urban areas where 40 percent of trips are two miles or

less and 28 percent are less than one mile; and

• Surveys show that a majority of people want to ride more but

are dissuaded by concern over traffic danger and other

barriers, and case studies have shown that when those barriers

to bicycling are removed, people start riding; and

WHEREAS, a national network of interconnected urban and rural

bikeways can provide valuable community benefits, including low

or no-cost recreation and alternative transportation options for

people of all ages and abilities

WHEREAS, the transportation sector contributes one-third of the

greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and passenger

automobiles and light trucks alone contribute 21 percent

WHEREAS, 10 percent of global oil production goes solely toward

fueling America’s cars and trucks and the U.S. could save 462

millions of gallons of gasoline a year by increasing cycling

from one percent to one and a half percent of all trips; and

WHEREAS, bicycle commuters annually save on average $1,825 in

auto-related costs, reduce their carbon emissions by 128 pounds,

conserve 145 gallons of gasoline, and avoid 50 hours of gridlock

traffic; and

WHEREAS, over 800 of our Nation’s Mayors have signed onto the

Climate Protection Agreement of the United States Conference of

Mayors urging the Federal Government to enact policies and

programs to meet or exceed a greenhouse gas emission reduction

target of a seven percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2012;

and

WHEREAS, two years ago the Conference of Mayors unanimously

endorsed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, whereby a

key component is to implement climate-friendly land-use policies

and invest in public transportation and bicycle and pedestrian

infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, the Center for Disease Control estimates that if all

physically inactive Americans became active, we would save $77

billion in annual medical costs

WHEREAS, the United States is challenged by an obesity epidemic

in which 65 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or

obese, and 13 percent of children and adolescents are

overweight, due in large part to a lack of regular activity; and

WHEREAS, the percentage of U.S. children who walk or bike to

school has dropped by 70 percent since 1969 such that only 15

percent of students were walking or biking to school in 2001

while the rate of childhood obesity has tripled in recent years,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of

Mayors believes that achieving increased levels of bicycling is

in the national interest; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Conference of Mayors

encourages the development and implementation of a coordinated

national bicycling strategy aimed to increase safe bicycle use

as a mode of transportation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Conference of Mayors

encourages the development of federal transportation,

environmental and public health policies that recognize

increased and safe bicycle usage for transportation is in the

national interest and that we further urge Congress in the next

federal transportation reauthorization to establish policies and

funding mechanisms that will aim to:

• Reduce the number of motor vehicle miles traveled (VMT); and

• Improve safety conditions for bicyclists; and

• Collect transportation and safety data needed to monitor

progress; and

• Provide incentives for state and local governments to adopt

and implement Complete Street policies designed to accommodate

all users; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that even absent federal incentives,

Governors and state-level leadership should embrace Complete

Streets policies that acknowledge the contributions of bicycles

as a means to reduce vehicle miles by integrating bicycle use

into standard street design; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that that the U.S. Conference of Mayors

calls on all Mayors that sign onto the Climate Protection

Agreement to develop and implement action plans to incorporate

bicycling programs and policies as a key component in reducing

greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors

encourages every mayor to strive to make their city a Bicycle

Friendly Community.

Ridership is up already 45% over June 2007. May saw a 25% increase, April 28% and March 22%.  More than 157 companies signed up for the authority’s employer discount program in May — about 881 riders.

While travelining along the line, I noticed a few key areas where tri-rail could drastically improve its bottom line and service:

TOD: Currently Inexistent.  This is my major focus in Regional Planning studies.  Often times, I find that our problems are not necessarily the fault of poor transit policy but rather what we choose to do with the land around our transit centers.  In Miami, this usually equates to fences, poor access, and inappropriate uses.

Parking: Currently free and very limited.  Potential revenue source?  There are several reasons why free parking poses many problems, even at transit stations.

Employee Parking: Seriously?  This parking is largely unused and unnecessary.

Tri-Rail has received a year reprieve in which it must continue to attract a larger share of riders while working to better integrate itself with the South Florida Landscape.  Most of the land use issues are largely out of the control of the agency but must still be addressed regionaly if we ever hope to make a sliver of change in our very autocentric lifestyles.

On Thursday, Transit Miami attended FDOT’s public hearing on Alton Rd.

FDOT ran a PowerPoint presentation describing the project, and there appears to be nothing new. The parking lane has now been reduced to 8′, and 1′ has been added to the sidewalk in both the preferred alternative and the alternative with bike lanes. So we don’t know what happened to leaving any space for a Baylink streetcar.

Several members of the public got up front and voiced their opinions. Two people from the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association got up and mentioned their concerns about FDOT’s failure to implement pedestrian improvements, such as reducing the travel lane width to 10.5′ and improving pedestrian crossings. A couple others called for on-demand pedestrian crosswalks and median refuges. Some also called for bicycle lanes. Our own Gabrielle Redfern got up to remind FDOT that they are in violation of Florida statute and their own standards by not providing bicycle lanes. She was not the only one who reminded them that a lawsuit is an option if FDOT does not properly accommodate bicycles on Alton Rd.

For your reference, check out the Florida Statute that requires establishing bicycle ways when reconstructing any state transportation facility, then read the first sentence on page 8-12 of Chapter 8 [PDF] of FDOT’s Plans Preparation Manual that says “Shared use paths are not replacements for on-street bike lanes.” Somehow the engineers involved in the Alton Rd. have convinced themselves that the shared use path they are planning for Alton Rd. fulfills the requirements.

Current conditions on Alton Rd. force bicyclists who fear cars to ride on the sidewalk. As in the above picture, this often means they ride against traffic and face vehicle conflicts at every driveway and side street. FDOT’s plan to reconstruct Alton Rd. currently offers no improvement to this dangerous situation. Check out John S. Allen’s website for some compiled information on the dangers of bicycling on the sidewalk.

It’s not too late to let FDOT know what you want to see on Alton Road. Even if you didn’t make it to the public meeting, you can review the project documents at City Hall, Monday to Friday 9-5, through July 7. You can also email the project manager, Adebayo Coker, with your comments. Send the email by July 7 to <Adebayo.Coker@dot.state.fl.us>. Please, let your voice be heard!

Read Gabrielle’s two posts on Alton Rd., or hit up the PDF of the powerpoint from April 30. Most importantly, get over there if you want to make your voice heard that you want bike lanes!

I’m heading down from Fort Lauderdale for the occassion. Those of you who live nearby have no excuse…

Have you checked out Google Transit yet? It sounded good back when it came out: use Google Maps to plan your transit trip. It’s definitely better than the official South Florida Regional Transit Trip Planner, but we didn’t have any local transit systems on there. Until now.

We can’t be certain when that changed, but Broward County Transit is now on the official list of Transit systems that Google searches. A nice feature is that if you search for directions on Google Maps, it offers a “public transit” option as well as a drive option for areas that are on Google Transit. It’s never been easier to compare your public transit alternatives to driving.

If anyone’s keeping score of these high tech transit tools, I’d say that puts Broward: 2 to Miami: 1.

Photo by Flickr user Steve Rhodes.

If you would like to see bicycle lanes included on Coral Way, from Southwest 12th Avenue to Southwest 15th Road, please join Transit Miami by writing a quick letter of support by Friday, June 27th to Alexander Adams (aadams@miamigov.com) in the City of Miami Planning Department (You can even tell him, or us, where else you would like to see such facitlities). Bicycle lanes along this important corridor will be an important link in the City’s eventual bicycle network. Speak up and show FDOT that bicycling in Miami is being taken very seriously!

I was fortunate enough to have been invited to attend part of the Mayor’s Hemispheric Forum by Miami Mayor Manny Diaz.  The hemispheric forum occurred prior to the US conference of Mayors, also here in Miami, which officially began yesterday.  Mayor Diaz is being inducted as the President of the Mayors Conference.  I’ll cover this critical event in some more detail next week.

Related Articles:

• Hemisphere’s Mayors Gather to Discuss Problems
• Miami Green Plan Going National
• Miami is Full of “Your Honors” this weekend

There are no quick fixes. We are fast approaching a time when people realize that not having a transit system in place is the same as not having adequate sewers or electricity. We are living up to our image as a Banana Republic, and unfortunately some of those so-called Banana Republic’s down south are much better off transit-wise than we are.

This morning on NPR Houston Mayor Bill White talked about the challenges facing his city. In light of the Mayor’s Conference going on today, I thought it appropriate to show how another car-centered modern city is dealing with not having adequate mass transit: