Last Year as I started this blog, I wrote about how two accidents that didn't need to happen. One was Jose Carlos Macy who died across from the HEB on W Commerce and Calaveras and another Chase White on Broadway right before Hildebrand. One year late nothing has changed, these stroads are still terrible places to ride your bicycle.
Jose Carlos Macy was riding home along the 5ft bicycle lane on W Commerce St when two people decided to turn W Commerce into a race way. People are unaware that when they're driving, the size of the lane that they're traveling in will either encourage or discourage speeding and the wider the lane, the more accidents are likely to happen. W commerce St has two 12 ft lanes and only 5ft for a bicycle lane on the left hand side while the right hand side is 9ft wide.(Image 42-1) When I'm going down this stroad, I am always riding in the right shoulder because you have 9ft to use. There's rarely parked cars and for the most part, I don't have an issue with VIA buses stopping at the bus stops.
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Now about two years ago, I complained about this very issue to the BMAC
at one of their bike nights and I recommended that they keep the current
design but move the bicycle lane over to the right side of the stroad.
I spoke about this before this tragedy took place. Well they recently
repainted both Buena Vista W Commerce St and you guessed it, they
kept the same dangerous design. Just another example that the city don't
really care for you riding your bicycle unless it's for recreation.
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Here's my suggestion on what they should do to both Buena Vista and W Commerce St.(Image 42-2) But they won't because cars would have to stop behind a VIA bus we can't have a car be slowed down.
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Ben White was riding home northbound on Broadway when a guy in an
oversize pickup truck struck him and drove away. Since then, the
Construction has ended and what they left behind was 12ft travel lanes and no bicycle lanes. Ben White
was lucky, he's still alive and there's talk about improving Broadway,
but don't count your blessings for if the history of the city's action
are any indications, they'll keep the oversize stroad, in favor of my
common sense suggestion that I publish back in August 2014.(Image 42-3, 42-4) Worse yet,
there's talk about removing the protected bicycle lane behind Sams
Burger Joint to put in parking. Again, these actions goes to show that an unoccupied vehicle is more important than providing a safe place to ride. If this action is not with the saying Keep San Antonio Lame, I don't know what is.
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Now I've been talking about to people who got into car crashes while on their bicycles. Many told me how SAPD virtually does nothing to catch the terrible driver and don't expect the hammer to come to your rescue. I've been told by those on bicycles who got hit by cars end up being told by such law firms that their cases aren't worth it. Even worse, a slap on the wrist is pretty much what the perpetrator gets for injuring or even committing involuntary manslaughter.
The latest victim is a cyclist that was hit last month at the corner of Fredricksburg Rd and N Flores. The driver ran a red light and hit her and simply drove off. So far as I understand it, they haven't even caught the guy who thought it was more important to get to where he was going fast than a value of a person life. Her name is Devona, and she could use your assistance. Her family has set up a go fund me site to help pay for her medical bills. http://www.gofundme.com/d-rod They are still pretty short of their $4000 goal so please donate a dollar.
As my new job keeps me away from San Antonio and time from writing this blog, I'm going to slow down a bit and keep a post at least once a month and at irregular periods. My goal is still the same, and I hope that you keep doing what you can do to make San Antonio a better place to ride a bicycle and to Keep San Antonio Real.
I have three stories this weekend, so please read them all.
Earn-A-Bike CO-OP
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On June 14, 2014, the first of it's kind bike shop open up in San Antonio. This isn't your typical Bike shop, but a place for you to build, repair, and share ideas on bicycling and to encourage more people to ride bicycles and other forms of Sustainable transportation. Many other cities have such a place where people who lack tools and bike repair stand could go to and learn how to repair a bicycle, and now San Antonio finally has one.
The Ideal started with Christian Sandoval and when he got his ideal and ran with it a week later, a person at VIA sitting on all the abandon bicycles that were left on the buses bike rack came to Sandoval and gave him 40 bikes. The goal of the CO-OP is to get people who need bicycles on bicycles by providing them skills to keep their bicycles up and peddling along. All somebody has to do is volunteer for 25 hours on building and repairing bicycles and you get your own in return. So if you know somebody who's broke, and have plenty of time on their hand, please direct them to the Earnabike CO-OP at 2619 Guadalupe St, 78207. They also have classes on coming up bicycle repair, so if you would like hands on training, please make time for this at this link: https://www.facebook.com/eabcoop/events
They Are also in need of money to keep the place up and running as well as bicycle parts, tubes and everything else under the sun that is needed to keep a non-profit up and running and open so please visit the Earnabike website at http://www.earnabikecoop.org/ to donate or better yet, VOLUNTEER. Also if you have a bicycle in the garage that your not touching anymore, please donate that too for somebody out there would like to put that fun between their legs. Right now, their business hours are Tuesday and Thursday, 6PM to 9PM and Saturday 2PM to 5PM.
Also FrankenBike will be having an event there on August 16, so please also attend then. To Watch the Cutting of the bicycle tubes by Council Lady Shirley Gonzales, please watch the long video I manage to record.
Sam's Burger Joint
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This Saturday June 21, 2014, I saw something amazing. The Sysco delivery truck was not parked in the cycletrack making it's delivery (Image 12-2 and 12-3). I was so amazed, that instead of turning down Pearl Parkway to go to the farmers market, I did a one-eighty and went down Grayson to take a picture of the amazement before my eyes. Why this wasn't done earlier, like years ago is beyond me, but this is a nice start to see.
I don't know if this blog is the reason why I'm now seeing this, but if it is, I would like to thank the readers who took time and made this possible. I can only hope that the Famed Restaurant keeps this going and support the cycle track replacement on Broadway where it is needed the most. Right now, construction behind the old Butter Crust Bakery is making this unused if the construction gets finished soon, more will use it.
San Antonio Streetcar
I have yet to write about the famed streetcar that VIA is going to build simply because I have yet to go get some pictures of Greenville Ave and McKinney Ave in Dallas and it will probably won't be until August before I'm able to go. However, there's a Town Hall meeting coming up tonight at UTSA Downtown Campus at 7PM. As the anti cycling, pro-driving group called the Toll Party will try to pack the house yelling against it and spewing oil companies propaganda about it while the supporters of the Streetcar, try to counter act the miss information. However, who is going to be there asking about the cyclist? Let me tell you people again, I'm at work and I have no intention of missing work to attend this meeting. So who among my readers are going to attend and make a voice for us? Who among you will get out and say, why aren't you people building protected bicycle lanes like what they're doing in Austin in our downtown? Why won't the city of San Antonio build a cycle track down Broadway and Frio St? Because this is what is missing from this discussion.
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Also what is missing from this discussion is that when the tracks are put down, will VIA issue a statement saying that bicycles must take a separate route like they did in Washington DC. For me, I'm not going to have a problem with the streetcar or the tracks they're going to lay down. I'm experience enough to just ride in between the tracks and not have my bicycle get caught in between the rails. But I ride a mountain bike and a cruiser with 26 inch mountain bike tires, so this isn't going to be a problem with me however, other people will have a problem because most people have road tires and it is the unofficial position of the City of San Antonio that cycling is a nuance and is only for recreation, not for transportation. My blog, San Antonio Don't Deserve Bronze lays out the case for that and points out the unofficial position of the City of San Antonio. I can only hope what happen in Tuscon don't happen here.
For the Record, I'm for this streetcar because I know that when people start riding it, they're going to start demanding it be expanded. Mothers are going to discover that they don't have to fold their strollers when boarding and wheelchairs aren't going to take 20 minutes to get aboard like they do right now when boarding a bus including the VIA Primo. Your going to be able to take your bicycle aboard the streetcar and not just three, but as many as needed especially on a rainy day. Try doing that on a bus that has it's bike rack full. I have ridden rail transit before not just in Dallas, but also in other places like Chicago, Seattle, Houston and New York and I can tell you, that this is the best that the City of San Antonio can come up with to improve the community because this community cannot see pass using a motor and not the two feet we all have as a transportation. Also, if Portland, Oregon can have streetcars and be the American Capital of Cycling, so can San Antonio. If your going to want to see what a modern streetcar is going to be like, just watch this video from Portland and decide for yourself that it is better than a bus. Until I am ready to write about the streetcar and explain my full opinion, this is just going to have to do.
Images:
12-1: The Earnabike Co-op grand opening.
12-2: The Sysco Delivery Truck parked on Grayson looking West from Broadway
12-3: The Sysco Delivery Truck Parked On Grayson looking South from Avenue B Cycletrack
12-4: The Warning Signs about bicycles and Streetcar Tracks. Image from: http://www.atlantabike.org/files/warning-streetcar-tracks.png
Up Coming Bicycle Events
Cycle In-Cinema . When: Every Thursday, June-August at Dusk, 8:45pm Where: Main Plaza, 115 N Main Ave, 78205 Description: Out Door Movie.
Tour De Tube 2014
When: Sunday June 29, 2014
Where: The Slab, 414 W Cevallos, across the street from La Tuna
Description: A group bicycle ride from La Tuna to the Comal River. For more information, click here: Facebook
FrankenBike #50When: Saturday July 19, 2014 10AM to 4PM
Where: Alamo Bike Shop/Taps y Tapas ~ 1016 N. Flores St ~ 78212
Description: San Antonio's Bicycle Swap Meet and Flea Market.
