Renewed energy (no pun intended) in this area of inquiry is definitely in order. I think a lot of people around here have been burned by repeated efforts at getting bike lanes built and generally promoting a more alternative approach to transportation. Maybe the time is right, Andy. You should be able to call the mayor and the Ithaca/Tompkins County Transportation Council and the city council members individually and as a whole and traffic engineers, just for starters.
As I said, lots of people have tried. Maybe you'll succeed where others haven't. Bethany Andy Goodell wrote: > I was talking to someone about feedback the other day, in terms of > living lighter. They said how there isn't positive feedback by driving > less because each time you fill at the pump, you still get that shock of > paying for a tank of gas. I told them about Ithaca's Cyclovia to the > farmer's market being the single best piece of positive feedback in my > transportation. I could have chosen many ways to get to the farmer's > market, but biking as a group was by far the safest, and made me feel > like I was part of something larger, without making a negative impact. > Now that is positive feedback! > > I mentioned closing off roads for bikes before on this listserv, which > mostly got responses saying that's not feasible because we lack the > density. How are we supposed to wean off oil if we make excuses instead > of leading with actions? Check out this article about NYC, where for 3 > Saturdays this summer about 7 miles of roads are banning cars so that > bikes and people walking can get around safely. > > http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/nyregion/17closing.html?partner=rssnyt&em > "Saturdays in August, along a 6.9-mile stretch of streets through > Manhattan, from the Brooklyn Bridge, north to Park Avenue and the Upper > East Side. Cars, trucks and buses will be banned on the streets along > the route from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Aug. 9, 16 and 23." > > Bogota and NYC have the density to pull this off, but if Ithaca has 40% > of commuters walking to work, I think it should be tried here as well. > If dense places like NYC will try this as an experiment on a 3-time > basis, what is to say that Ithaca cannot do something similar? I'm new > to Ithaca, so I don't know who to contact to try to make something like > this happen. If you have ideas, let me know. Please only reply to all if > needed. > > -Andy > > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please > visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
