While surfing Facebook, I came across a post in one of the many bicycle groups asking that a protest ride to be organized to complain about the current riding conditions people experience riding their bicycle.(Image 52.2)
52.2
Well when someone did organized a protest ride called critical mass a few years back but only a handful of people showed up. I joke to this day that we were critical, but we were no mass. The ride that is referred to in the picture is the Downtown Highlife bicycle ride. It's less of a protest and more of a fun ride which meets at the Alamo every last Friday of the month at 9pm.
If you're really angry and really want to make a point, I would avoid making the same mistake with the critical mass ride. Instead, might I recommend that you crash the Walk & Roll rally that is held every May.(Image 52.1) This event will take place Friday May 6, 2016 at 8AM. This event celebrates the action taken by the city to encourage walking, biking and riding VIA. But as I wrote two years ago in the posting San Antonio isn't Serious about Bicycles, this event is simply a lie.
So if you choose to make a point, I recommend the following signs in the memes below. Please inform me that your doing this, I'll be happy to spread the word. And If I do manage to show up, I'll be carrying this image (Image 52.6)
52.3
52.4
52.5
52.6
Images:
52.1: The official Walk and Roll Rally. More info can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1686470051592907/
52.2: The FB conversation that I'm referring to in the post.
52.3-52.6: Memes that I recommend that you download and/or make similar protest signs.
As the Mayor issued his Proclamation in support for National Bike Month, two people got into accidents on very busy stroads. The first was at Broadway near Hildebrand where Chase White was riding home on his Cannondale got hit by a SUV. The other was Jose Carlos Macy got sideswiped while riding on in the bike Lane where two cars were racing. Both are dangerous places to ride even with a bicycle lane but they don't have to be, the City of San Antonio has failed time and time again to provide safe places to ride your bicycles on major thoroughfares and from the looks of things, they ain't going to change anytime soon. April 29, 2014. Chase White:
5.1
Chase White, like other people ride daily on Broadway. On the night of April 29,(image 5.1) White was riding his bicycle in the right lane which is roughly 10 feet in width. This lane stretches from Hildebrand to Casa Blanca. As he was riding a SUV came along and rear ended him as he and the SUV entered the construction zone by Hildebrand. He had lights, but the person in the SUV didn't have the patience for sharing the road. He is lucky to be alive, he had a helmet which saved his life, but chances are, he will be buried in debt for medical bills and is officially out of work for a while.
Jose Carlos Macy thought he was safe riding in the bicycle lane on W Commerce St. (Image 5.2) Little did he and his friend knew, two cars decided to race down the stroad and he got dragged underneath the car. The car speed away leaving Jose to die. He wasn't wearing a helmet, and how could he, it really uncomfortable to wear one.
5.3
The Problem with Broadway, Chase White:
Broadway is one big stroad, and because of its location sandwich between US 281 / Olmos Basin and Fort Sam Houston, (Image 5.3) it is a very major thoroughfare between Downtown and the North East Side of town. Now we can blame the driver of the SUV who wasn't paying attention, we can blame Chase White for not yielding to the car, or we can blame the people who designed Broadway.
Broadway consist of one 12ft center turn lane, two 12 ft vehicle lanes and one 10ft vehicle lane.(Image 5.4) Imagine if they didn't have that 10 ft right lane, but a protected bicycle lane also known as a cycletrack. There's no reason for San Antonio to have 3 vehicle lanes going in the same direction. When you have more than two lanes, the cars race each other and overtake each other passing in every lane available whether it is the left lane or right lane. Just go sit at a bus stop along Broadway and you'll see the cars racing each other. But if they actually had a protected cycletrack like the one they have in Austin on Guadalupe St, (Image 5.5) then maybe Chase would still be working and would still have healthy pelvis.
W Commerce St is a one way stroad consisting of a 4ft bicycle lane in the left side of the street, two 14ft vehicle lanes and 10ft shoulder. (Image 5.6) Now I have had problems riding in this bicycle lane to where I don't ride in it anymore. I don't know how many time I almost got killed because a car wanted to make a left turn and couldn't give a damn that I was riding in that lane behind him. This same make up for the stroad going the other way, Buena Vista which also has the bicycle lane on the left hand side and should be kept out of. Now a days, when I find my self on W Commerce or Buena Vista, you'll find me riding in the 10ft shoulder. The good news, cars aren't always parked in it. You have all this space to your self that the other cars are keeping out, might as well use it.
5.6
Now every time I see screwed up designs here on the West, South and East sides, I wonder if it was intentionally put that way because of the Hispanics and Black people live out here. I have no evidence that this is a result of racial discrimination, but when you see the broken small sidewalks and the dangerous bicycle lane on the left hand side, I can only help but think that way. There are many more examples that I will point out in future blogs that has got to be the result of racism in these parts of town..
Now image if we were to shorten the 14ft vehicle lanes to 12ft and replace the 10ft shoulder with a two way cycle tracks. Imagine if that was in place on the night that Jose was riding home, he would probably would be alive right now. One of the two racing vehicles would have probably hit the barrier separating the vehicle lanes from the driving lanes and perhaps killing one of the drivers. Again, you don't have to travel far to see what could have save the life of Jose Carlos Macy. All you have to do is travel to Austin and ride down Rio Grande St by UT and you'll see a two way bicycle lane. You can also go to 2nd St there as well and take a look at that cycle track (Image 5.7). The reason why I want 2 way cycletracks on one way street is to reduce the conflict for when people have to go in the direction against the flow of traffic.
5.6
Now if your worried about the bus stops along these stroads, then I might recommend the bus island. There's no reason why the bus has to enter these protect bicycle lanes. This one in Austin along Guadalupe St is a perfect example on one and you don't have to travel to the Netherlands to see others in action. You can also use this same method to make safe passage for cyclist when it comes to streetcar tracks.
Why We Have What We Have:
Now you have to wonder why we have such screwed up infrastructure when it come to pedestrians and bicycles. So far my only finding in that regard is the city ordinance that you see below.
Sec. 19-66. Conformity with state manual.
All traffic-control signs, signals and devices installed or erected in
the city shall conform to the manual and specifications approved by the
state highways and public transportation commission. All signs and
signals required under this chapter shall so far as practicable be
uniform as to type and location throughout the city. All traffic-control
devices so erected and not inconsistent with the provisions of state
law or this chapter shall be official traffic-control devices.
State law reference— Similar provisions, Vernon's Ann. Civ. St. art. 6701d, § 31.
When I did a google search of
"state highways and public transportation commission," I came up links to TXDOT sites. Now there is an association I have heard called the American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials (AASTHTO) which is a quasi government body that create the standards in which TXDOT and other DOT's go by. When I complained about the repainting of S Hackberry St, I was told that they went by these standards and was properly painted. This is my only conclusion to the reason why we have such lousy bicycle lanes, sidewalks and other bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure. It is because we are using standards that make highways, not friendly city streets. (Wikipedia Link)
There Are standards we can use to create the neighborhoods we want, but before we can actually impliment those standards, we're going to have to rewrite this law to use The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO). This is the site on where I got my examples pictures for my first blog,An Introduction and South Flores Success. NACTO is a coalition of 15 of the largest cities in the United States with one Affiliated member, Austin, TX. And naturally, San Antonio is not a member, Keep San Antonio Lame. (Wikipedia Link)
5.8
Just think if we actually had the infrastructure that kept us safe, more people would be riding their bicycles and walking. And when more people ride their bicycles, it makes all of us safer. Just look at this chart (Image 5.9) from NYC, you can clearly see that in the city of New York that the number of cycling accidents were reduce while at the same time the number of cyclist actually increased. Other cities showed the same results from this LiveScience Article. There's no need for a helmet law, or other silly suggestion like "Share the Road." We've been trying these things for the better part of two decades and all they have solved was nothing. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. And that is what you'll continue to hear from city officials from the MPO, The City of San Antonio, and other Government agencies. It sounds nice, but if were asking people to share the road with motorcycles too, (Image 5.8) then we should know by know we're doing something wrong.
5.9
There is some good news in this, The city of San Antonio don't have any mandatory helmet laws and we're ain't going to get any. After all, the mayor don't want to reduce the number of B-Cycle trips everyday.
PS
Also your probably asking why I misspelled the Word Street. Well, I didn't, I am simply using a term we need to start using in identifying the problem with our infrastructure, The "Stroad"
Images:
Image 5.1: KSAT 12 News story of Chase White Accident.
Image 5.2: KSAT 12 News Story of Jose Carlos Macy
Image 5.3: My map showing how Broadway is a funnel
Image 5.4: Google Street Image of Broadway North of Funston Pl.
Image 5.5: My picture of the Cycletrack on Guadalupe St in Austin, TX across the street from UT
Image 5.6: Google Street Image of W Commerse St pass Sabinas
Image 5.7: My picture of 2nd St at Red River of the two way cycletrack. Notice how the signal lights are the same for car and bicycles but when they want the bicycle to go they go green while the ones for the cars stay red.
Image 5.8: A sign I found on Google search for Watch for Motorcycles.
Image 5.9: A chart I found showing the number of cyclist out there compared to the number of accidents in NYC. Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAZCSbIVZWBWkxBkciVkvxuUv8LRY9Lb2_fQMQQhU0m3nCjG1VdXFQrR1gG-T4Af7E4W4cpVDZwl-JDuY1OzFPKOlrKblhIJGaMKCcpxqoFRrNJyeFg01Y98wnY2S5k7L_JYhWkdmUqqk/s1600/ridership_graph.jpg
Up Coming Bicycle Events
Ride of SilenceWhen: Thursday, May 15, 2014 6:30pm
Where: Halcyon/BlueStar Art Complex Description: A Bicycle ride honoring those who lost their lives. Frankenbike #48
When: May 17, 2014 10am to 4pm
Where: Red-D Bikes~ 120 Playmoor Suite B ~ 78210
Description: FrankenBike (n) A free bike swap meet held once a month in San Antonio,
Texas that is open to anyone who wants to buy, sell or trade bicycles
and bicycle related gear or parts.
Bike Beat Festival
When: Sat, May 17, 3pm – 11pm
Where: Main Plaza, San Antonio, TX Description: The 2nd Annual BIKE|BEAT features bike demos, live music, roller races, food trucks, giveaways and much more!
Up Coming Important Meetings If you want to make a difference, please attend. Walk & Roll Night (BMAC & PMAC joint meeting)
Where: VIA Metro Centre, 1021 San Pedro Avenue, San Antonio, TX
When: Wed, May 14, 5:30pm – 8pm Description:
The MPO Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee and the Pedistrain Mobility
Advisory Committee talking about the current projects related to
pedestriand bicycle related. What Should you Say? You should mention this blog, blogsanantonio.blogspot.com. Not much unless you have a minor problem in your neighborhood.
S. Flores Street Improvement Community Meeting
When: Monday May 19, 2014 6pm to 7pm
Where: Cafeteria of Morrill Elementary School, 5200 S. Flores, San Antonio, TX
Description: City of San Antonio’s TCI Department
will present the alternate bicycle route as a result of community
feedback from public meetings held in December, March and April.
What Should you Say? Let them know that they don't need to have alternative bicycle routes and infact that what they did was a pretty good job and the bicycle lane is making it safe for us. You can also hand out this flyer to all those who think getting rid of the bicycle lane is a good ideal. Contact Jeanette Morin at 207-5011 or
Jeanette.Morin@sanantonio.gov
VIA’s South/West Corridor Study Public Meeting When: Tuesday May 20, 2014 6:00PM Where: Harlandale Community Center, 301 Sussex, 78221
When: Thursday May 22, 2014 6:00PM Where: The Neighborhood Place 3014 Rivas St, 78228
When: Wednesday, May 21, 2014 3pm to 6pm Where: Madla Transit Center
When Wednesday, May 21, 2014 6AM To 9AM Where Crossroads Park & Ride
Description: VIA is conducting a study to identify transit improvements along the South/West Connector
Corridor in the San Antonio region. The corridor study area includes Military Drive from
IH-37 on the east to General McMullen on the west; and General McMullen and Zarzamora
from Military drive on the south to Fredericksburg Road on the north. More info can be found here: http://www.viainfo.net/Planning/Corridor.aspx
What Should You Say? You should ask for more frequency on the crosstown routes and bicycle racks called bicycle hoods at bus stops. Also ask that via look into creating bus islands so the bike lane can go around a busy stop.
Open House: Improvements to I-35 (I might be able to attend this meeting.)
Where:
Central Catholic High School Elizondo Center (corner of Wilmington
Avenue and Dallas Street) 1403 St. Mary’s St. San Antonio, TX 78215
When: Wednesday,May 21, 2014 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Description: TxDOT invites you to an open house on proposed improvements for
Interstate 35. The project staff will be on hand to answer questions and
provide information. No formal presentation will be given. Attendees
are invited to come and go at their convenience.
TxDOT proposes improving I-35 between North Flores and New Braunfels
Ave. and between AT&T Parkway and Binz-Engelman Road. The proposed
project includes auxiliary lanes, ramp adjustments and other
improvements to improve mobility and enhance the operation and safety of
I-35 in this area What Should you say? Ask for
Bicycle lanes along the the frontage roads or mix use sidewalks and make sure they use the
City of San Antonio Bicycle Master Plan when making improvements. Also ask for these types of intersections so they can become safer for all users. https://vimeo.com/86721046
Open House - Improvements to US 90 from Loop 1604 to I-410
Where: Mary Lou Fisher Elementary School Cafeteria, 3430 Barrel Pass, San Antonio, TX 78245
When: Tuesday, May 27, 2014, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Description: TxDOT invites you to an open house on proposed improvements for US 90
From Loop 1604 to I-410. The project staff will be on hand to answer
questions and provide information. No formal presentation will be given.
Attendees are invited to come and go at their convenience.
Proposed improvements along US 90 from LP 1604 to I-410 on the west side
of San Antonio are designed to improve operations and safety along this
section of US 90. The proposed improvements include:
Conversion of the two-way frontage roads to one-way operations
Relocation of entrance and exit ramps
Intersection improvements
What Should you say? Ask for bicycle lanes/Shoulder or a
mix use sidewalk along the proposed Frontage roads and Safe bicycle
lanes that stay to the right of the lane intersection. Also ask for these types of intersections so they can become safer for all users. https://vimeo.com/86721046
Upper Woodlawn Drainage Project Public Meeting
When: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 6:00 PM Where: Joe Ward Community Center 435 E. Sunshine, San Antonio, TX
What Should you Say?
Ask for a hike and bike trail along the drainage all the way too
Woodlawn lake as well as any increase size in the sidewalks that cross
over the drainage.... Contact: Peter Rodriguez at 207-8154
Skyplace Boulevard Extension Project Public Meeting
When: Thursday, May 15, 2014 6:00 PM Where: Northeast Service Center, 10303 Toolyard, 78233 What Should You Say?
Ask that the city makes sure that there is sufficient access to the
Salado Creek Trail and 6 ft bicycle lanes on each side of this street. Contact: David McBeth at 210-207-6342 or david.mcbeth@sanantonio.gov.
Bronco Lane Bridge Project Public Meeting When: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 6:30 PM Where: Virginia Gill Community Center, 7902 Westshire Drive, San Antonio, TX
What Should You Say? Ask that the Bridge has a minimum 6ft width sidewalks across with 25mph speed limits. No need for bicycle lanes. contact: Peter Rodriguez at 207-8154
Shaenfield Road Bridge Public Meeting
When: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 6:00 PM Where: Burke Elementary School Cafeteria, 10111 Terra Oak, San Antonio, TX
When: Tuesday, June 3, 2014 7:00PM Where: Burke Elementary School Cafeteria, 10111 Terra Oak, San Antonio, TX
What Should you Say?
Ask that the Bridge Contain 6ft bicycle lanes on either side with
extra stripping between the bicycle lane and the traffic as well as 6ft
sidewalks. Also ask them to remove the Turn Center lane and add that
space to the sides of the rd for bicycle lanes. Also Ask that they
abide by the Bicycle Master Plan as well. contact: Peter Rodriguez@ 207-8154 Frio City Sidewalks Public Meeting When: Thursday, May 29, 2014 6:00 PM Where: Collins Garden Branch Library 200 N. Park, San Antonio, TX
What Should you Say?
Ask that the Sidewalks are at least 6ft wide with neckdowns at every
intersection on the streets that connect with Frio City Rd. Demand that
a protected Bicycle lane is also added and that they abide by the
Bicycle Master Plan. If parking is added, demand that they put in the
parking as a barr.ier so that the bicycle lane is along the curb, and
the parking is a natural barrier to the bicycle and sidewalks. Also ask for these types intersections called "Protected Intersections" so they can become safer for all users. https://vimeo.com/86721046 contact: Peter Rodriguez at 207-8154
West Huisache Project Public Meeting When: Monday, June 02, 2014 6:00 PM Where: Young Women's Leadership Academy 2123 W. Huisache, San Antonio, TX
What Shold you Say?
This time, no bike lanes, this is a neighborhood street. It should
have neckdowns to keep traffic flowing slow with islands and speed
humps. It should also have 25MPH on this street. Putting a bicycle
lane down this street is just a waste of paint. Also ask for these types intersections called "Protected Intersections" so they can become safer for all users. https://vimeo.com/86721046 Contact: Peter Rodriguez@ 207-8154 or David Pulido @ 207-8128
May is national bike month, and both the city of San Antonio and Bexar (pronounce "Bear") issued a proclamation (image 3.1) declaring May 20th it's support for being active and for alternative transportation. But that's a misprint, the Kick off event took place Friday May 2nd.
3.1
Anyway, the city always puts on a show this time of year declaring that it is in favor of alternative transportation modes. Clearly that is not the case the first example can be clearly seen in the City Ordinances and some of the action of its law enforcement officers.
I believe many of you have heard about it, that it is illegal to ride your bicycle on the sidewalk. Well guess what, this is what the official city ordinance actually says....
Sec. 19-286. Driving or parking on sidewalks prohibited.
(a)
It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or propel or park or stand any vehicle upon any sidewalk.
(b)
Law enforcement officers and emergency medical personnel while using bicycles
provided by governmental agencies and while in the performance of their
authorized duties are exempt from the provisions of subsection (a). Any
person, while parking a bicycle in city installed bike racks, is also exempt from the provisions of this section.
If you want to understand how the law works, a good saying I go by is that "if it ain't in writing, then it never happened." And if you look at the ordinance (a), it clearly says "It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or propel or park or stand any vehicle upon any sidewalk." But your probably saying to yourself that just for cars. But if that was the case, we wouldn't have the exemption (b) where it clearly states for city personal "using bicycles" and regular folks "parking a bicycle in city installed bike racks". And just go downtown, there's not enough city bicycle parking to go around. So far I've haven't gotten a ticket for parking my bicycle on the fence of the Starbucks at Houston and St Mary's, but according to this, I could get a ticket. Now I have been harassed SAPD for riding my bicycle on the sidewalk downtown before B-cycles were put in, but since the rental service has been up and running, so far no harassment or tickets from SAPD. Also I've notice that the majority of B-cycle users are on the sidewalk anyway and it would make the mayor look bad if these "law breakers" were ticketed for using something our mayor supported. Now surely the city can amend the law to allow use to prevent being harassed by police officers, but don't count on it. We can only hope that they don't do some type of crackdown for no apparently reason.
Now I ride on the sidewalk all the time especially if it makes more sense. Example is riding against the flow of traffic, it helps to do it when there's a sidewalk available. Another is riding around the block. I do this when I get off the bus at Nacogdoches and Loop 410 for it is simply easier to get to the UPS store from the Looper bus stop via the sidewalk than going into traffic as well as trans-versing the Loop 410/San Pedro interchange. I just have a more positive experience on the sidewalk there than dealing with the average car drivers in those areas and when I get off of my Line-UP bus at the St Mary's Bridge, I ride all the way to the old library to catch the other line up. So far the officers standing at the corner of St Mary's and Commerce have not given me or anybody else for that matter a hard time.
Bus Lanes are also an issue. In other cities such as Austin, they allow bicycles to use the lane. However, several of my friends have told me that they have been harassed by Via police yelling at them to get out of the lane. Well apparently there's a law for that too. LOL
Sec. 19-462. Penalty for unauthorized use.
Any person who drives a vehicle other than a bus in a buslane
where prohibited, or who drives for a distance of more than five
hundred (500) feet without turning right where right turn within five
hundred (500) feet are permitted, shall be guilty of a Class C
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than one
dollar ($1.00) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200.00).
(Ord. No. 72941, § 1, 1-17-91)
Now I don't ride in the Bus lane at all down the for major streets (Navarro, St Mary's, Commerce, Market) simply because the bus is always slowing me down. Many cyclist do use, as do I, the bus only lanes on Navarro behind the Main Library and on Alamo Plaza. I've also seen SAPD bike cops use these lanes as well especially on Alamo Plaza. But just think, if a Via Police officer is having a bad day or for that matter a SAPD officer, then I bet he'll give you a ticket for riding your bicycle down this lane even though they use these lanes too. So far this hasn't happen, but it would really suck when it does. Now there's some pratical reason why you shouldn't be in the bus lane. For one thing, it simply takes more time to stop a bus and as a former CDL Driver, I can definitely attest to that fact. But don't count on the city to put in a two-way cycletrack down Commerce, Market, Navarro and St Mary's anytime soon because that would require to take out a vehicle lane for cars and we can't do that because that wouldn't be keeping San Antonio Lame.
The other law that is keeping San Antonio fat are the ordinances concerning the use of the Linear Creekways specifically using the linear creekways as a path for bicycling commuting. It clearly states at every trailhead that the trail can only be used during the daylight hours.
3.3
Sec. 22-28.
Public parks hours of operation and curfew.
(e) Notwithstanding subsection (a), parks designated as natural areas by the director
of parks and recreation and parks developed as part of the Linear Creekway Parks development
program (Leon Creek, Salado Creek, Medina River) shall be closed for all purposes
each day at sunset, or after events scheduled by the department of parks and recreation
are completed, and will re-open each day at sunrise.
Several times before, I've heard complaints from my friends on Facebook that they've been ticked for using the trail especially on Leon Creek or going through McAllister Park after sunset. As a person who brakes this law regularly on Salado Creek, I wonder why we have such a ridiculous law in the first place. The streets around these creekways are horrible places to ride your bicycle. There's no bicycle lane along these streets with vehicles that routinely speed 10 to 15 miles over the speed limit which are normally set at 40 to 45 mph. This trail provides me with a safe alternative and a better place to be than among the drunk drivers late at night.
Now I have the appropriate lights to illuminate the trail at night. I have two 1000 lumen flashlights including a blackburn superflea on my helmet. When riding these trails, I rarely see anybody walking or bicycling although I've have encounter families using the trail without lights on their bicycles from the camp grounds on Gembler Rd. The worse collision I almost had was almost running over a raccoon back in January. During these journeys down the trail, I've encountered possums, raccoons, deer, owls, and the occasional armadillo and grey fox. Rarely do I see skunks and thank goodness. The most magical time I had was riding in the woods south of E Commerce where I encountered a bat flying over me. It followed the trail and I illuminated the bat with my helmet light. It was like following a butterfly on your bicycle on a sunny day. Surely the City could amend the law to allow use for cyclist who have sufficient lighting to use it after sunset, but if they did that, they would create a means for people who live along the creekways a safe route to use and not being dependent on their cars but to do that would require the city to not Keep San Antonio Lame. As for private property that the trail goes through like Los Patios, then simply close off those parts of the trail after dark because that seems fair to me.
There is another thing the city could do if it don't want me to ride the trails at night. It could implement the bicycle master plan thus providing me and others with safe places to be on my bicycle in these areas of the city where the only safe place to be is on the Linear Creeks but again, remember the saying "Keep San Antonio Lame" and to do that would not be lame. DUH! The Alternative Department for Transport blog recently wrote a similar story about the same problem we're facing here about London. He said quote:
Perhaps it is beyond the scope of the report to suggest how this
might be achieved, but this word “encouragement” is dangerous. What
would “encouragement” entail? A poster campaign, or maybe even a TV
advert if the budget stretched that far. It might mean some sort of tax
break on bike purchase, or free cycle training sessions. At best
it might mean a few 20mph zones and toucan crossings.
We need to do more than this to solve this problem. For more than 60
years now the country has been designed and built with motor vehicles in
mind. That is the reason that so many choose to drive even for very
short journeys.
3.4
And San Antonio is far from doing what needs to be done to encourage people to be active. And we can encourage people to be active all the time, but that isn't going to help the problem of our obese city. What we need to do is enable people to make the right choice. To do that we need to adopt a different set of rules, not to increase the speeds of motor vehicles, but to increase the safety and speeds of people walking and using bicycles. Just look at this image from the Netherlands and compare it to the image I took of a family on Houston St in October 2013. Would you prefer that family to be out in the middle of the lane (Image 3.4), or would you prefer them to be on a cycletrack like this one in the Netherlands? (Image 3.5)
3.5
3.6
3.7
It is sad that, to be safe and to follow the Mayor's Proclamation, you have to break the law. City Ordinances aren't the only thing keeping people fat and couch potatoes, but the recent treatment from SAPD working NIOSA were harassing people riding bicycles to the event. A sign (Image 3.6) was posted at the end of S Alamo at Ceasar Chavez. Clearly This is how I considered interpretation of no bicycle signs as this (Image 3.7). Another thing the City could have done for the event was to put in a temporary cycletrack on the Hemisfare side of S Alamo so people riding bicycle and those who use S Alamo daily could go by with out having to run into people which clearly that is why it was posted, but that ideal my friends make sense and is clearly not Lame.
One of my friends got a ticket at NIOSA for not having reflectors but he does have lights. It clearly states in the ordinance that "2.Visible
when directly in front of lawful upper beams of motor vehicle headlamps
from all distances from fifty (50) to three hundred (300) feet to the
rear of the bicycle; or b. A lamp that emits a red light visible from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the rear of the bicycle." In a later post, my friend was worried and concerned that he would get a ticket again and not have the funds to pay it. He also considered not going to NIOSA and help out at the bicycle valet. People don't want to be breaking the law, they want to be good citizens and pay their taxes, but we also want to make our community, our city a better place to live. If you happen to get a ticket for not having reflectors but clearly having lights on your bicycle, please show the Judge this Ordinance and make a complaint about the officer issuing the ticket by calling 311.
Sec. 19-295. Requirement for use of front and rear lights when operating a bicycle at nighttime.
While operating a bicycle on a public street a person may not operate a bicycle at nighttime, the period beginning one-half hour after sunset and ending one-half hour before sunrise, unless the bicycle is equipped with:
(1)
A lamp on the front of the bicycle that emits a white light visible from a distance of at least five hundred (500) feet in front of the bicycle; and
(2)
On the rear of the bicycle:
a.
A red reflector that is:
1.
Of a type approved by the department of public safety; and
2.
Visible
when directly in front of lawful upper beams of motor vehicle headlamps
from all distances from fifty (50) to three hundred (300) feet to the
rear of the bicycle; or
b.
A lamp that emits a red light visible from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the rear of the bicycle.
Any person who engages in any activity specified in this section may be
subject to prosecution for a class C misdemeanor and a fine not to
exceed two hundred dollars ($200.00).
Clearly, the Mayor want to encourage you to be active, to choose alternatives when getting around town. But actions of the city's employees and it's laws clearly state otherwise. The city would rather have you drive a car, polluting the air and being fat for that's is clearly the easy thing to as well as the legal thing to do.
So to all my fellow cyclist who break the law all the time doing what you love, keep breaking the law for your actions and determination is clearly Keeping San Antonio Real.
Image 3.1: City of San Antonio Proclamation for Walk and Roll Rally.
Image 3.2: A man riding his bicycle on E Houston St downtown back in January.
Image 3.3: Park Regulation sign at Tobin Park.
Image 3.4 A family riding their bicycles down E Houston St in October 2013
Image 3.5: A Family riding in a cycletrack somewhere in the Netherlands. Courtesy of Alternative Department for Transport. http://departmentfortransport.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/woman-and-daughters.jpg
Image 3.6: Sign telling cyclist to dismount and walk to NIOSA.
Image 3.7: My feelings towards such signs. Courtesy of Copenhagenize http://www.copenhagenize.com/2013/02/motorists-dismount.html
