As our thousands of loyal readers may remember about a month ago we had a multi-installment segment on symbiotic bike and train travel as several Beat Bloggers journeyed to the Rotten Apple to partake in the 5 Boro. Their travels took them from the Beat to Waterbury by bike and from the Dirty Water to NYC by train. Well for those who didn't read the exciting "Burros," the tearjerker "Five-Borough Ride Prequel: Heartbeat to Dirty Water to Crooklyn," or the edge-of-you-seat thriller "The 5 Boro Walk Your Bike Tour," you may wonder why not take the train from Hartford or New Haven rather than trek to dark and mysterious Waterbury? Well the answer my friends is that our heroes made this trek due to the fact that Amtrack would not house their noble two-wheeled steeds in their cars. Well be it the pattern of the Courant but todays front page story is a mirror of the Beat Bike Blog's reporting a long month ago. Regardless, their story "Bicyclists Want to Take the Train, Too" is a good example of a growing consciousness of the lack of bike infrastructure and public transportation accommodation and is an opportunity to voice your arguments on the issue. So read the article, jump on the forums, make yourselves heard, and then head back here to dish our your ideas.
Select quotes from the article:
"Bikers have no more 'right' to bring bicycles on crowded rush-hour trains than I have to haul aboard a steamer trunk." - Jim Cameron: retired TV anchor.
"People are starting to get the message," "The roads are not just for cars."
- Tom Kehoe Tom Kehoe, Democratic lawmaker and local bike legislation hero.
"Mass transportation is a nice thing for people with simple schedules. However, our society encourages us to have complex lives." - Uncreative commenter.
"Based on how much cost overrun we are seeing for the refurbishing of the railcars on the New Haven line, I'm afraid to see any of my tax dollars go to mass transit.
Finish Route 7 & 11, expand the Merritt. Thats what the average person wants."
- Self-proclaimed Iron Sheik from Fayetteville, Mass
So lets hear it friends. What does the "average" person want?!?!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Deja Vu
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9 comments:
Two independent posts on the same topic within two minutes of each other. Uncanny. We are clearly linked through supernatural brain powers.
Supernatural indeed. If I hadn't taken two minutes to edit the post and add a memorial picture of your folder the posts might have collided and imploded. Then there would have been no post, fortuitous methinks.
very good blog congratulations,
regard from Reus Catalonia Spain,
thank you
I figger this is as good a place as any to mention the BBB's media whoring. The Advocate's story dropped today in the new issue, with quotes from several of the regular contributors, there's a shout-out to the blog.
http://www.hartfordadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=8018
That was picked up by an excellent, yet blandly titled blog, "Bike Commute Tips," which posts and comments on many commuter-specific news stories nationwide. He pimps this blog, too.
http://bikecommutetips.blogspot.com/2008/05/car-free-in-hartford.html
The word is out. And it's not just from all the slips of paper that are starting to litter the tiki bars of the area...
Hartford should take a look at a model west coast city, Portland Oregon where bikers are respected by citizens and government alike. Bike lanes, commuter maps and bike parking are all good places to start. I could also use a decent microbrewery within city limits but that's for another blog. Cheers!
http://www.portlandonline.com/TRANSPORTATION/index.cfm?a=70221&c=34809
Portland, Oregon must be stopped!
I've lived in Portland, and I can say that it is a very nice place. But they have no irony there. None. Everyone is totally earnest all the time. Do not want.
How about Davis, CA then? That got platinum status of the Bike Friendly Communities program way before Portland. There are only 3 such cities north of DC in the east to even get bronze status: NYC, Burlington, VT, and Brunswick, ME.
To start, the goal would be to get Hartford at the same level as Burlington, NYC and Brunswick, ME. In my opinion, progress has been made but there is a long way to go. I feel that it starts with education as many drivers don't understand what its like to be on a bike with cars flying by. Personally, I love the idea of bike lanes. I actually feel like I own part of the road when cruising West Blvd. and Capital Ave. I dream of bike lanes up and down Farmington Ave. Will it ever happen in Hartford?
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