Re: Critical Mass rides here in Ithaca, they used to take place on a regular basis (last or first Fridays of month?). However I stopped participating a few years ago when a number of riders began blocking traffic on Fulton St causing some angry reactions from drivers. I thought this was both unnecessary and dangerous as well as putting riders a risk from drivers who "lost it" and did dangerous things like drive on the sidewalk by Agway to get around us. Now rides seem to occur irregularly. I've been a commuter cyclist for over 50 years, both here and in NYC, and frankly, as much as bike lanes would be nice, we simply need to take to the road and be present and very visible. Tony Del Plato
On 6/18/08, Kent Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hello - > > The idea of closing streets to motor vehicle traffic to facilitate > bicycling has been mentioned to the City's Engineering Office and has been > thoughtfully considered by that office. This is a possibility. > > However, consider that the current Cyclovia event occurs on Saturday > mornings for a short period of time when there is relatively little motor > vehicle traffic and that to close the roads the City would need to notify > residents and post barricades at all of the cross streets during the event. > Also, the route would not be totally car-free since residents would still be > traveling to/from their homes. > > In the end it comes largely down to the points that though a benefit would > be provided to those bicyclists on the (mostly) car-free route, there would > be significant costs incurred by the City. Also, participants would still > need to ride on regular streets to get to the event and when arriving at the > Farmers Market. That's not to say that it can't be done though ... > > If anyone is really interested in pursuing this idea, please contact the > Engineering Office at 274-6528 - or just stop by (2nd floor in City Hall). > > Furthermore, after participating in last weekend's Cyclovia event, I was > pleased to see how well motorists behaved when passing us, and how well the > other participants (especially the young children) behaved when cycling in > traffic. Even if some areas are free of motor vehicles, bicyclists still > need to learn to cycle safely and effectively on regular streets – the > Cyclovia is a great opportunity to do just that. > > Take care, > Kent > > > Kent Johnson > Transportation Engineering Technician > Office of the City Engineer > City of Ithaca > 108 E. Green St. > Ithaca, New York 14850 > (607) 274-6528, (607) 327-0316 (cell) > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > --- On Wed, 6/18/08, Thomas Shelley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > From: Thomas Shelley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] Cyclovia and beyond > To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv" < > [email protected]> > Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2008, 6:45 AM > > Hi, Andy. As a member of the Mayor's Local Action Plan Committee (to > reduce greenhouse gas emissions for City operations and the City of Ithaca > in general) I have officially proposed that such a Cyclovia program be > introduced by the City, with the appropriate street closures, etc. > I have no idea what will come of it, but at least the idea is on the > table. Tom > > ****************************************** > Tom Shelley > 118 E. Court St. > Ithaca, NY 14850 > 607 342-0864 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Compost Educator and General Sustainability Geek > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > -- "Justice is what love looks like in public." ~ Dr. Cornel West _______________________________________________ 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
