In case you somehow missed it the first time.

Comments by John Forester, P.E.

I have used the term "cyclist-inferiority" in several applications, but these application all serve to describe aspects of the false concept that cyclists are inferior to motorists.

The political application is that it serves the motoring organizations, and therefore the highway organizations that they control, and in addition many politicians, to consider cyclists as inferior to motorists. By considering cyclists inferior to motorists, government can deny to cyclists some of the important rights that apply, in legal terms, to drivers of vehicles, but which are commonly supposed to apply to motorists, because cyclists and motorists are the only significant users of the nation's roadways. The rights denied are denied purely for the convenience of motorists. The most important of these are the right to use most of the width of the roadway, and the right to use roadways at all when bike lanes or bike paths have been produced, or those roadways which cannot be reached by driveways. The only reason for these restriction s that stands up to scientific analysis is the belief, on the part of motorists, that cyclists delay motorists.

The social application is the extension of the above political excuse to characterize cyclists. The official view is that 95% of cyclists are unable to learn how to obey the traffic laws. Of course, they conceal this behind propagandistic jargon, terming the ability to obey the traffic laws "expert skill" and those with it the "elite." Since cyclists are very little different from the population at large, that means that, supposedly, 95% of motorists must be incapable of driving properly. However, the meanness of that attitude is demonstrated immediately by the obvious reluctance of the same motoring organizations and motorists to restrict motor-vehicle driving privilege to those who demonstrate an expert, elite, level of skill. No, as long as you drive a car, only considerably below average skill is required to receive a driving license. It is absurd to consider that most adult cyclists are incapable of knowing how to obey the traffic laws when most adult cyclists, in the USA at least, have been certified by the government as having that knowledge and skill. The only excuse for this absurdity has to be the false idea that riding a bicycle makes you temporarily incompetent, an incompetence from which you recover the moment you get behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle.

The superstitious application of the phrase cyclist-inferiority refers to the feelings induced in people by the propaganda which has been used to promote motorists' interests. These feelings include the ones that cars own the roads, that cars don't look out for me, that I, when on a bicycle, am an intruder onto their range, from which they will eject me by either threats or death. One pervasive and effective form of that propaganda has been the traditional bike-safety propaganda program (it never was safe cycling instruction and cannot be called that), which taught cyclist-inferiority superstition, no matter how dangerous that was for cyclists. Thirty percent of car-bike collisions in the Cross study (mid 1970s) are caused by the cyclist obeying the precepts of bike-safety education.

The psychological application of the phrase cyclist inferiority refers to the cyclist-inferiority phobia, complex, or superstition, depending on severity of the case. This is the sense that:

"I, the cyclist, don't really belong on the road, which is owned by the cars, and that I am unable to follow the traffic laws for drivers of vehicles, or that if I did I would quickly be smashed.

"The roads are very dangerous places where everybody is against me, and where I have no place that I can call my own to which I could retreat as a place of safety. Since the greatest danger is from cars, which operate to my danger, obviously the greatest danger to me is the same-direction traffic that comes from behind. To protect myself from this great danger, I must do all that I can to avoid same-direction motor traffic, to defer to it when it is present, to always give it the right of way, etc., including promoting bike lanes and bike paths to protect myself from this danger."

It suits motorists, which means most people in the USA, and therefore the various governments of the USA, to have cyclists considered inferior to motorists. That provides the excuse for doing things that clear the roads of cyclists for motorists' convenience. And it assists them a whole lot if cyclists cooperate by considering themselves to be inferior to motorists.

For all of these reasons (and there are probably more), it is accurate to apply the name of "cyclist inferiority" to the type of cycling and the associated feelings, superstitions, and political urges that carry out this program of motorist superiority

John Forester, P.E.

726 Madrone Avenue
Sunnyvale, California
94086
408-734-9426

DART Systemwide Accessibility Questions

Systemwide Accessibility Questions

DART Bike & Ride Advisory Panel

May 20, 2008

Think of accessibility as meaning that our services and facilities are easy to understand and use.

1. What do you think are the most positive features of the DART system in terms of accessibility for bicyclists– whether it be facilities, communications, vehicle, etc?

2. What do you think are the top barriers of the DART system in terms of accessibility for bicyclists– whether it be facilities, communications, vehicle, etc?

3. What do you think are the most positive features of DART Member Cities’ bicycle facilities in terms in terms of providing access by bicyclists to the DART Transit System?

4. What do you think are the top barriers of DART Member Cities’ bicycle facilities in terms in terms of providing access by bicyclists to the DART Transit System?

5. What specific improvements would you like to see?

a. DART Trip Planning?

b. The Trip to the Station Stop?

c. At the Origin Station?

d. On the Transit Vehicle?

e. At the Destination Station

Return to Tony Mendoza – Fax 214/749-3669 or email tmendoza@dart.org

Calling Kit Carson.

This is the Santa Fe Trail under construction. It runs from ExpoPark (between Deep Ellum and Fair Park) to Glasgow Street in East Dallas, where it will connect to the Tenison Trail (which goes to White Rock Lake). This a project of the City of Dallas, Department of Public Works and Transportation It is funded 90% with City of Dallas bond funds and 10% from Dallas County.

This is Phase II of the East Dallas Veloway (EDV), which has now been completely funded by the City of Dallas, Dallas County, and the Federal Highway Administration. Phase I (from Glasgow to Winsted) will be let for construction by the end of 2008, with Phases III & IV to begin construction in 2009 and 2010. The EDV will run from Deep Ellum to Royal Lane, where it will connect to the White Rock Creek Trail, and more importantly, to the Cottonwood Creek Trail. The EDV will form the southern half of a trail that will extend from the George Bush Turnpike on the Dallas/Plano border to Deep Ellum/Fair Park. It will have grade-separated crossings of Central Expressway/LBJ, Forest Lane, Royal Lane, Greenville Avenue, Walnut Hill, Park Lane, Skillman Avenue, Abrams Road, Northwest Highway, Mockingbird Lane, Winstead Road, Garland Road and East Grand Boulevard.

This is a rail-to-trail project, as it follows the old Santa Fe (east/west) and Union Pacific rail right of ways, and will connect with another rail-trail conversion, the Katy Trail near Williamson Park.

The four sections of the east Dallas Veloway will be named after some item of neighborhood historical interest. The Santa Fe Trail runs through the old Santa Fe Railroad East Dallas rail yard, while the Tenison Trail will pass by the farmland once owned by the Tenison family in Dallas. Turning north, Phase III is being called the Fisher/Calhoun Trail as it passes through the old frontier train stop of Calhoun, Texas. Likewise, Phase IV will be named the Vickery Trail, after the old town of Vickery, Texas. Phases III and IV will be primarily funded by Dallas County, with financial participation from the City of Dallas through the Public Works and Transportation Department. This will be the premier urban trail in Texas, although much of it will seem anything but urban in nature.

It's no small thing.



A "shout out" to former Dallas City Councilmember Veletta Lill. As a strong proponent of the East Dallas Veloway/Santa Fe Trail from the very start, she pushed this project through during its critical early stages, suffering the frustrations of a very slow funding process, so that while all the work was completed to make the trail a reality during her term in office, she never got to actually see anything happen on the ground. Other politicians have also been very supportive of this project – Mary Poss, Edie Bernice Johnson, Gary Griffith, Mike Cantrell, Sheffie Kadane, Angela Hunt – but it was Ms. Lill who was there from the genesis, and who convinced the neighborhoods of the value of this project.

What makes this unique is the location. Most trails like this are built in gentrified/affluent neighborhoods. Ms. Lill understood the importance of linking those neighborhoods with lower income, ethnically diverse, and immigrant neighborhoods like Old East Dallas. So while the trail will pass through a very desirable neighborhood, it will also pass through an economically depressed neighborhood, bringing the benefits of a neighborhood linear park to an area where Lycra and Spandex are uncommon, serving the needs of all citizens of Dallas not just for recreation, but for transportation connections to jobs, transit, schools, and medical care. Kudos to Ms. Lill.

Here's former City Councilmember Veletta Lill leading a group of Hollywood Heights homeowners on a tour of the Katy Trail in an effort to win their support for the Santa Fe Trail. Nice bike.

The hidden value of bike trails.

From National Geographic Magazine...

In order to ward off hungry predators, short-horned lizards are capable of inflating their bodies up to twice their size, resembling a spiny balloon. And if this proves insufficient, some species employ one of the animal kingdom’s most bizarre defensive mechanisms: They shoot blood from their eyes.

The ominous squirting blood emanates from ducts in the corners of their eyes and can travel a distance of up to three feet (one meter). It’s meant to confuse would-be predators, but also contains a chemical that is noxious to dogs, wolves, and coyotes.

Recently at a public meeting to promote a connection between the Katy Trail and the Arts District, one very prominent supporter of the Katy Trail made the following comment,

"One of the best things the Katy Trail has done is to get bicycles off the streets."

Sometimes, I just want to puff up and squirt blood from my eyes.

Bike Friendly.

Isn't this what they really mean?

Quiz Time!

Following are five items that are often recommended for improved bicycling safety.

A) Separate Bike Path



B) Bicycle Helmet



C) Bike Lanes



D) Bike bell



E) Reflective Safety Vest





Please rank them in the order of effectiveness for improving safety for vehicular and transportation cyclists.

1) _____________________

2) _____________________

3) _____________________

4) _____________________

5) _____________________



Submit you answers in the comments section. I will post the correct ranking (with rationale and data points) at a later date.

Garden tillers, composting bins, and manure spreaders.

Dear Friends at Rodale,

As a long-time fan of Rodale Publications (beginning when I researched garden-tillers and composting bins back in 1968 as a teenager), I was dismayed to see my city listed as one of the worst cities for cyclists in the US. The author (Christine Mattheis) obviously never visited the city, checked her sources, or did much research beyond Googling, and yet she draws ill-informed and incorrect conclusions.

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s-1-18-17082-1,00.html

The following is the concept that drives our bicycle planning/transportation efforts: “Cyclists fare best when they act as, and are treated as, the drivers of other vehicles.” -- John Forester, P.E.

The City of Dallas maintains a 750 lane mile signed Bicycle Route System (plus 200 lane miles of recommended routes) of cyclist selected, on-street, shared-lane system utilizing low volume local streets and roads, and has maintained this system since 1985. In addition to working with hundreds of local cyclists and bicycle clubs (including The Greater Dallas Bicyclists), the system was developed following the principles developed by Mr. John Forester, P.E., as laid out in “Bicycle Transportation” (MIT Press). Utilizing the Effective Cycling concept he developed for the League of American Wheelmen (now, the League of American Bicyclists), the Dallas Bike Plan creates a network of bicycle routes covering the entire city, with a grid system crossing a one-mile intervals.

Additionally, the City has 50 miles of existing Grade 1 & 2 paved park trails, and plans for 100 more miles of Grade 1 trails (12’ minimum width, paved for all-weather use), of which funding has been secured for approximately 50 miles.

The City does not employ bike lanes, as they are a bicycle traffic control device, and have never been shown to increase either cycling or cycling safety. They are most effective in university towns where there is a high concentration of Class C (inexperienced) cyclists centered around a central point (i.e., a campus). While bike lanes remain a “panacea” for many cycling advocates, their actual effectiveness in encouraging cycling and promoting safety in anything other than ideal circumstances remains highly dubious. Retrofitting such designs is cost prohibitive, as the needed right of way must either come from sidewalks, private landowners, or by reducing the width of vehicle travel lanes to below the already sub-standard 11 feet width of the lanes on the vast majority of our urban thoroughfares.

As you are no doubt aware, the greatest danger to cyclists is not being struck from behind by a passing motorist (as many cyclists and non-cyclists believe), but rather the primary danger to cyclists involve intersections and the turning movements of other vehicles. While the protection from being struck from the rear afforded by a paint stripe is debatable, the increased danger of alleys, curb-cuts, driveways and intersections caused by bike lanes is well documented.

Ms. Christine Mattheis mistakenly (and lazily, I might ad) confuses the old 300 mile Veloweb plan instituted by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) for a non-existent bike lane plan for the City of Dallas. The NCTCOG Veloweb currently calls for 644 miles of 12’ wide, road-separated multi-purpose trails covering a four county region.

http://www.nctcog.org/trans/sustdev/bikeped/Mobility2030_Exh15-15_1_10_30_07.pdf

http://www.nctcog.org/trans/sustdev/bikeped/veloweb.asp

Much of her criticism probably referred to the region as a whole (in spite of her continually referring to “the City”), without recognizing that the DFW Metroplex currently has the lowest population density of any metropolitan statistical area in the nation. In the suburban sprawl of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the lack of bicycle facilities is hardly to be unexpected. Bicycle transportation is a desired by-product of high-density population centers. The urban core of Dallas has bicycle/pedestrian trip share rates as high as 12%, while the same rate in the suburban communities is closer to 1%.

I invite Ms. Mattheis to visit Dallas sometime (not the suburban sprawl, but the City) and see for herself, or to request a copy of our Bike Plan. Again, as a long time admirer of Rodale, I expect a higher level of journalism from your publications than this “drive-by” article represents.

Cutting edge cyclist.