If you like Hartford and Graffiti

I was reminded this week why Hartford is such an amazing city, especially if you give a damn.  There are so many opportunities to get engaged and influence the direction of the city.  Hartford is small enough that you only have to show up and you're making change.  This post may not seem like its about bikes, but it is.  Remember that being a cyclist or pedestrian means that you have decided to harbor radical thoughts.  Don't sit at home stewing in radicalism when action is imperative.   Hartford (or whatever city you call home) needs your radical thoughts for planning and the intellectual discourse.  These city plans and discussion groups often involve transportation plans, proposed bike lanes, and road diets.  Showing up at the meeting on a bike, and asking questions pertinent to non-motorized transportation keeps the topic at the top of the list.  Don't let your city wave the green flag without actually doing the stuff that makes change.

This time the info session is in Pope Park.  Do you think downtown dwellers can find it?

Next week you can weigh in on two different Hartford plans.  The first is the Hartford Parks Plan on Monday, December 9th at Pope Park from 6-8PM.  This is the final public comment session.  Hartford has extensive park acreage, and a limited budget for upkeep.  The public comment sessions are being used by the consultant along with paper and online surveys to find out what is important to Hartford residents.  The last info session rolled out a map showing desirable bicycle connections between the parks, which would also serve as a network for bicycling throughout the city.  This is a big deal.

If you're not at the table, your favorite park features might get dropped as the park plan is laid out.  This is a bit disconcerting for parts of Hartford's population that haven't been coming to the meetings.  The attendance and survey responses have been dominated by Westend and Downtown residents.   This last public info session has been wisely moved out of Downtown, which should make it easier for Frog Hollow, Behind the Rocks, and Barry Square residents to attend.  Spread the word if you live in one of those neighborhoods.

The near North of Downtown is being evaluated and a plan is being put together.  There is a public info session on Wednesday, November 11th at the Hartford Public Library at 6PM.  The initial feedback I'd heard on the North Downtown plan was negative, and that includes complaints of very little publicity for the previous public info session.  That means its time for residents  and business owners to show up in force and make sure their interests are being taken into account in this plan that will guide the City of Hartford when zoning and developing the area.  The planning also impacts the layout and improvement of city streets, which are currently highway no-man zones north of I-84.  I'm curious why the consultants didn't pick a location for this info session that is actually in the zone that they are studying?

If one is looking for information or intellectual engagement, it's here in spades.  Just this past week I went to a moderated discussion with the DEEP Commissioner at the Mark Twain House and a panel discussion on Hartford urban issues at the Hartford Public Library.  Coming up next Saturday is a presentation / discussion at Real Art Ways where they will be asking the question, "How do our surroundings shape us?"  A fitting question with all the Hartford plans in the offing.  The event starts at 1PM and appears to involve food if you get there by 12:30PM, and they want folks to RSVP.

All of these info sessions and discussions tie in to one of my favorite things.  Graffiti!   Heaven, a mecca of legal walls, just north of Downtown Hartford has a bunch of new stuff up.  Also took a stroll up the train tracks and was rewarded with several great pieces.  Don't forget to represent for Heaven, and tell your friends.  Friends don't let friends miss out on great street art.

So happy to find hieroglyphics.

They're watching you from the pyramid in the sky.

I really like when the graffiti includes characters along with the burner.  

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Blurry, misty ghostly ride

There's this big park in Tolland called Crandall Park. I went there yesterday as part of my explore-the-trails-between-Storrs-and-Hartford-on-Thursday-because-I-have-class-in-Storrs-in-the-morning-and-office-hours-in-Hartford-in-the-evening-so-I-have-free-time-between-1-and-4-and I-brought-a-car-tour (took a long time to put those hyphens in). As you may recall from Gov. Malloy's forecast yesterday, there was a lot of fog. You also may recall that I wear glasses now. Generally, I think they're great, because I can see things and also because I can recognize people. It's nice that people don't think so rude anymore. In fact, yesterday involved a lot of glasses reflection now that I think about it. I was sitting in the library reading without glasses and several people came up to me to say hi and from their initial saying-hi distance I couldn't really tell who they were. I wonder how I had any friends before glasses.

Anyway, I don't usually get glasses fogging up problems unless I'm eating soup or I stop riding after riding intensely. To cure the first problem, I take the glasses off until the soup cools. For the second, I start riding again and the rushing air seems to work as a defogger. Yesterday, the moving didn't work at all. The humidity was so high that they would stay fogged no matter what I did. So, the world was foggy and my glasses were foggy and I pretty much was blind. I still rode a few miles like this, albeit very slowly. Eventually, I decided it was too annoying. I put my glasses in my jersey pocket and my old nemesis depth perception returned. When I first started wearing glasses, the ground seemed really close, so without them the ground seems really far. Also, I was riding a 29er, so ground actually was pretty far. So, I spent the remainder of the ride hallucinating a tall bike in a fuzzy forest.

The trails at Crandall's are pretty good. I rode about 10 miles and I think there was maybe 1 or trail I didn't ride. Very, very twisty stuff, in a effort to pack a lot of trails into a small-ish area. Someone is putting considerable effort putting some new stuff in right close to I-84. They haven't removed the duff yet, so it wasn't the most fun surface to ride on. The park itself also seems pretty cool. It's got pretty much all the things you'd want out of a park except for a skatepark.

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Waiting for a Body Count

I work across the street from the amazing engine of development that is Goodwin College and regularly take the short walk from Pratt & Whitney to stretch my legs and put eyes on the Connecticut River.   Jarring me out of river staring bliss is the high speed outlet of the busy Route 2 exit ramp.  Even more disturbing than my alert high stepping to cross the street between speeding cars is the position of the new Connecticut River Academy magnet school building.  Something felt very wrong.  A school at the foot of a high speed exit ramp without any observable traffic calming or cross walks. Seriously?

The new building for the Connecticut River Academy

Consider for a second the increasing traffic from Goodwin College combined with the existing traffic from Pratt & Whitney and then add in a very concentrated traffic load from the school.   In the meantime, the CT DOT is asleep at the wheel.   Neither of the nearby roads, Willow and Ensign, have sidewalks passing under Route 2.  The Route 2 exit ramp that sends traffic rocketing past the new school is unchanged.  A valuable bicycle and pedestrian connection between the Connecticut River Academy and East Hartford's Great River Park remains (legally) disconnected.  I felt physically ill.

Goodwin College has decided to invest in higher education, magnet schools, rental housing, and riverfront property value in this previously neglected neighborhood.  This is despite the CT DOT scar (Route 2) that cuts much of the Goodwin campus and property off from Main Street East Hartford.   In what I've seen of Goodwin College's leadership, they are in it for the long game, which includes environmental sustainability, ethical stewardship, and community building.  It would surprise me if Goodwin College hasn't approached the CT DOT about fixing the looming hazard of the unadulterated Route 2 exit ramp.  Little do they know, the CT DOT is waiting for a body count.

I challenge Kate Rattan (CT DOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator) and Sharon Okoye (CT DOT Safe Routes to School) to take a long hard (proactive) look at how Route 2 and the outdated interface with this neighborhood can be improved to the benefit of East Hartford and safety of the youths that are soon to attend the otherwise beautiful Connecticut River Academy.  I understand the the CT DOT is a large ship to turn, but to do otherwise would be negligent.

A view up the Route 2 ramp from the corner of the school yard

The exit ramp traffic is moving too quickly to read this sign.

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Wintry Mix

This past week is best described as a wintry mix.  Midwest, and the Northeast.  Small towns, no towns, tents in the wilderness, and back to the big city.  Hiking, biking, flying, driving, and buses.  Amazing graffiti. Ice and leaves.  Slippery rocks.  A really heavy bike that never should have existed, but did.

Crowd source funded bicycle graffiti in Urbana, IL.

I've been toying with this crowd source funded graffiti concept in Hartford.  If any CT local graffiti artists think this would be neat, get in touch with me.  Sort of like a mural (getting paid) but with the artistic freedom of a graffiti piece.  I've got a venue that is interested and could help publicize.  Lately I've been all about the Tavis / Skan stuff, which we saw a lot of today in Rocky Hill.

Beautiful sandstone canyon in Southern Illinois.

You wouldn't expect there to be massive cliffs, sandstone canyons, and mountain lions in Illinois.  I can confirm the first two, and the third is a maybe based on the eviscerated deer we stumbled upon while free-hiking in the Shawnee National Forest.  Valerie and I spent a couple of days hiking and winter camping over the holiday week.  It was awesome.  No one was there.  It might have been the frigid temperatures that resulted in our private camping and hiking experiences.  On night two of camping, I awoke with frozen condensation on my sleeping bag.  First rule of having fun - nobody died.

Back in Urbana, IL, I caught up with Joel at The Bike Project and put some time in on one of the oddest bikes I've come across.  This so-heavy steel rig from White Auto Inc was outfitted with some truly obscure Shimano components.  A rear disc brake was mounted by way of a self tapping screw.  The Shimano Positron shifter and rear derailleur were actuated by two cables - and indexed.  If it weren't for the inherent shitty quality of the rig, I might have adopted it.  The rear wheel had a radial hop of 1/4" and the front fork was misaligned, and I expect both were that way when the bike was new.  It served it's purpose as a loaner bike for a couple days, and was put back into TBP circulation.

White Auto Inc.  WTF?  Swedish tyres.

The top tube sticker had texture, like leather, to make it look fancy.

Yes.  This is a Shimano disc brake.  And that adjustment knob is a non-functional cover for the actual adjustment underneath.  More WTF.

And the Shimano Positron rear derailleur had two cables with a ball bearing for indexing.  WTF x 3.

Lovely mat brown finish.  

The Bradley Flyer is awesome.  Although the schedule can be sparse.

On my way back to Hartford, I caught the last bus back from Bradley to downtown Hartford.  If you are a downtown resident, the Bradley Flyer is awesome.  For $1.30 you get an express bus trip from Hartford to the airport.  Way cheaper than the $40 cab ride or parking a car at the airport.   The only drawback is that the schedule is sparse on the weekends and still not great during peak travel times.  It would serve Hartford well to increase the frequency of the airport express bus.  It would be way cheaper than something like Fastrak and I think the convention, tourism, and resident benefits would be significant.

On Sunday Josh and I wandered South and Southwest from Hartford.  I crashed on some slippery rocks and there was much graffiti and train tracks.  On the topic of graffiti, there is a final public input session on the Hartford Downtown North plan on Wednesday, Dec 11th at the Hartford Public Library.  You should go, and make sure that Heaven gets proper representation.

I heart graffiti.

And heart it even more when it incorporates existing features of the structure.

Sometimes a border catches your eye.

Josh really likes cracking ice that is suspended above the ground.

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Stop leaf blowing trails

Riding on leaves can be difficult. They're slippery and unpredictable. I was riding with Salem the other day and he was cruising through the leaves like a cool guy and I was carefully picking my way down hills.

But just because I can't ride like a cool guy on leaves, doesn't mean I want to get rid of them. In preparation for this cool blog post, I read this. They're talking about erosion control if you rake leaves and I was wondering if they had ever actually been in the woods before. Leaves are the first barrier against rain carrying away your trail's soil. All over the woods where you see leaves, there's minimal erosion. Where leaves are gone and there's bare soil, lots of erosion. People get rid of leaves because riding on them is hard, but apparently have cooked up this trail maintenance theory to lie to themselves. One thing the Reservoir has going for it is that no one has started carrying in leaf blowers. Sadly, I was riding Nassaghegon this week and to my dismay, I found a bunch of leaf blown trails. I always that it was pretty remote out there, but I guess I was wrong.

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Exhausting administrative remedies

In case you missed it (ICYMI), Chris Brown has filed a lawsuit against the DOT for shutting Flower Street in contempt of the hearing officer's decision instructing the DOT to keep it open for bicycles and pedestrians. I think it's pretty great and it's not very often that you see people standing up to government agencies when they don't have a financial stake in something or a monied interest group backing them.

Read the article here. Read more!

Giving cranks

Run red lights in support of a good cause this Saturday. I only had this flyer as pdf, so I'm not sure if the screenshot I took of it renders it readable or not. Anyway, it starts at the Trinity College Chapel. Registration is at 9am and it starts at 10am. The idea is that you're riding around gathering food, so you should bring a bag, some money and a lock. There's something called a facebook page for it. I guess you can look at that, too. 

I probably can't go because I have to do a stupid estates exam. I'd much prefer doing this.

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How to make yourself tired

I like to think I'm a tough guy and that I'm a fairly in shape one, too. I'm not so sure.

At the Hartford 'cross race last week, Doug proposed that we ride to the Cheshire race. I love the Cheshire race and try never to miss it. There are trees and rocks and those things make for 'cross course that I like. It's pretty much the only time that I feel like I'm a competent mountain biker.

So, Doug, Tony and I met up in the south end of West Hartford and rode down. I think we must have had a tailwind, because even our speed-capped singlespeeds made it there in just over an hour.

The race went ok, but I've realized that I can't go fast. I can do the bike handling and catch people that way or ride away from them, but when it came to pedaling through the flats, I just couldn't hold on. I don't know if it's these zip-tied folks shifting or being able to better select a gear day-of after riding the course or I just suck. I'm leaning towards the sucking thing. I still had fun, but I think you have more fun when you're not sucking. I even had a good start this time. I was like 7 or 8 coming out of the woods on lap one, but I ended up finishing 16. I mean, I gave up like three spots at the end of the last lap. That is not good.

I also bent my front wheel when this guy in front of me went down and I crashed into him. My fear of taco'ing and brake drag probably didn't help much on the last lap.

I've been having this general feeling of sluggishness lately. I went mountain biking on Thursday and explored the trails around Bolton Notch, some of which are pretty awesome and some of which strand you in people's backyards. I wasn't feeling like I could really get my bike moving too well. I was trying to blame it on the leaves being really slippery, but I think it's just that I suck.

Part of me feels like I still have some of that nasty cold from a few weeks ago in my lungs. My chest has been tight a bit lately and I'm still sort of phlegmy. Maybe I have diminished lung capacity from it. Or, maybe I just suck.

Anyhow, riding to and from the race was actually a lot of fun. We went through the scenic and industrial sections of New Britain. We also avoided that sense of regret from racing on a really nice day wherein you only rode for 45 minutes, but invested the whole nice day in the race. Instead, we got a nice 50 mile ride in plus a 'cross race for good measure. Of course, this makes your 60 miles feel a lot more like a hundred. Today I've got some tired legs.

I only took pictures of the kid's race for some reason.

 This guy doesn't worry about sucking at cyclocross. Also, secret tip: there's a spigot right behind him if you're running low on water during a ride through Cheshire.

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Painting with a Broad Brush: New Bike Lanes and Hartford's First Bike Boxes on Broad Street

 

Broad and Farmington today

 The Broad Street Problem
 

Broad Street looking northward

Broad Street has a well-earned reputation as a terrifying route for bicyclists and pedestrians alike. The lack of bike lanes and the I-84 on-ramp have made it especially dangerous for northbound bicyclists faced with both an uphill climb and high-risk spot for right-hook crashes at the highway entrance. Late this past summer, some City of Hartford DPW, CT DOT, and neighborhood people met to discuss ways to make this area safer for bicyclists and I came away with cautiously optimistic thoughts. I'll admit I was among those worried about the future of those improvements when then-DPW director Kevin Burnham resigned shortly thereafter, but October saw the first visible sign that progress was continuing as the heavily-damaged pavement at the southwestern entrance to Bushnell Park was patched. With the painting of these new bike lanes, another phase of these improvements goes into service less than three months after they were discussed, and we are reminded that city, state, and citizens can actually communicate efficiently and make good things happen. There are good people at the DOT. They just need more of them.

Broad and Capitol today

First Observations

You're...

This Saturday morning was my first chance to walk this length of Broad in daylight. During my 20-minute walkaround, approximately 2/3 of the motorists I observed used the proper lanes and stopped short of the bike boxes. The rest pulled right up to, or into, the crosswalk. The northbound right-turners were the worst, with about 1/3 of them driving up in the straight lane before cutting through the bike lane and a One southbound driver cut their left turn so short that they actually drove across all of the northbound lanes, including the bike lane, as they made their hasty way to the interstate. The sidewalks are improved, but the crosswalk at the I-84 on-ramp still feels like a dicey place to be a pedestrian.

doing...

it...

wrong!!!

It can get better

These bike lanes and boxes are slated to be painted green-- the first such painted bike zones in Hartford. This is bound to increase visibility when it happens. Something that was discussed with Mr. Burnham was the installation of recessed flush-mount (snowplow compatible) reflectors in the pavement along the borders of the bike lane. I think these and some limited-but-deftly-placed rumble strip milling would make the defined lanes harder to ignore in that crucial northbound stretch of bike lane. Hopefully, some lane-identifying street signs will go up as well. Education and enforcement will be important ways to further motorist awareness, but I've been watching how people drive in this spot for over a decade, and this will never be my first choice for a northbound trip. The hard truth is that this (and any) interstate on-ramp will always be a dangerous spot.


The Glitch: I've seen the lights go out on Broad Street

The dark side of this news, literally, is that the street lights on this stretch of Broad don't work yet. Workers were feeding wires on site Saturday morning, and one of them said that DOT and CL&P people are meeting early this coming week to sort out some unnamed design problem that is apparently to blame. Best guess I got on-site was maybe another week to get the lights working, meaning pedestrian commuters diverted from the now-barricaded Flower Street will have to pick their way through another week of darkness after work.

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Second trip up Mount Hartford

I used to be part of the Hartford Landfill Post-Closure Citizens' Advisory Group. Because of that, I rode my bike up the landfill once. Well, I am now part of an elite group of people who have done it twice.

It's sad that only man-made structures offer nice views in Hartford, but what can you do? I don't want all the trees cut down.

It is looking like the site may never be open to recreation or public use, but it's nice to see that they're filling it with solar panels.

Better cell phone camera than last time I went up.

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