Thanks Phil. Sandi and I love the "Amazing Race"

I have so much to write about, and this is the really busy season for me.  Thanks are in order.

First, to Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz and Earl Blumenauer.  I’m excited to see my Congresswoman team up with the esteemed Congressman from Portland, Oregon.  Below is a link of me with Congressman Blumenauer after we talked about bicycling to Baltimore and his upcoming trip to Philadelphia (and Jenkintown, I hope)

Short Video of Steve and the Congressman

Next, is the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and the League of American Bicyclists.  Sarah Clark-Stuart did a fantastic job coordinating things in DC.

Alex Doty, Breen Goodwin, and Hans Van Naerssen (the new League President)

Thank you to the Maryland State Bicycle Coodinator, Michael Jackson, for giving me a reason to bike 50 miles between DC and Baltimore.

En route from DC to Baltimore (a 4 1/2 hr ride)

Here is a link to the route I took:

Thank you to Pennsylvania’s First Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator, Dave Bachman. Brian Sanders is the new Bike/Ped Coordinator. State Representative Rick Geist, from Altoona, presented Dave with a citation. He didn’t read the whole thing, but it probably says, “Dave, you’re a cool dude, and you did a great job” (in official-speak, of course). Dave did bike across the US one summer.

Rep. Rick Geist with Dave Bachman

Thanks to google for coming out with google maps for bicycling. I find it really useful. And I look forward to incorporating this into my projects.

Google maps team member demonstrating the new bicycle routing.

Cover of the PA Outdoors Plan

Last night, while the Superbowl was on, I read through the 2009-2013 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan.  Note… I’d suggest starting on page 18 and then go back and read the beginning after you’ve read the more interesting content.

On page 65, the plan says, “Serious work needs to be done to broaden and strengthen the constituency for outdoor recreation.”  If you read the content of the plan, you’ll see that it addresses needs for urban, rural and suburban populations.  Local and county parks constitute 43% of “Away-from-Home Recreation Activity.”  And it talks about goals for street trees and access of urban neighborhoods to nature.

The overall feel of the plan, however, gives me the impression of a romanticized notion of nature:  featuring fishing, camping, waterfalls, horseback riding, ATV use, bicycling and hiking trails, etc.  I love this stuff, and I think it’s important.  But I think most of the opportunities presented here are predicated on one thing:  Access (by car).

As was noted in the plan, being outdoors doesn’t have to mean traveling two hours to go to a state park.  It mentions having easily accessible outdoor activities that you don’t need a car to get to. Even street trees and community gardens are mentioned.

The Pennsylvania Wilds Conservation Landscape Initiative, which I wrote about yesterday, provides $140 million for enhancing state parks and revitalizing communities.  It’s pretty clear to me that this will never be enough. We can’t just take large areas of the state out of private ownership.  When Yellowstone National Park (our first National Park), was created, Wyoming wasn’t even a state. And there were still pressures by private interests to control it in order to make a profit.

I was thinking about the fact that 69% of respondents to the State Outdoor Recreation Plan thought there should be more bike lanes.  But in many places, there just isn’t space.  And I think this demand for bike lanes correlates to peoples’ fear of bicycling in traffic.

So, given that it’s too expensive to buy up all the land, and bike lanes aren’t faring too well outside of Philadelphia, here’s what I wonder.  What if, like West River Drive is closed on weekends, all roads in Pennsylvania were closed to cars for two hours a day?  Or maybe longer on weekends.  People could walk and bike in the streets without fear of cars.  This would immediately give people access to the outdoors.  It would immediately address the obesity epidemic.  It would improve communities.  I don’t know all the consequences of this.  I think it could start as a statewide experiment – like a four hour car-free Pennsylvania event.  It would really bring everyone together around something positive.  People could have parties in the streets.

Outdoor recreation – It’s having fun outside.  It’s not being in front of a computer or a TV, which are the biggest competition to parks, gardening or sports. And I think it’s under attack by the very modes of transportation that we think we need to enjoy the outdoors.

This weekend at the park is their winterfest.  Locals  are looking forward to snow for this event.

So, I was meeting with a group working on the NE PA six counties of the CLI.  There are 7 areas of Pennsylvania where DCNR and partners are “working on creating a sustainable regional economy based on our natural resources and these links between communities and resources.”
How do you express this on a map?

Let’s take a step back…  What is the Conservation Landscape Initiative (CLI)… I really don’t know much about the CLI, but here’s an article about why it exists, and Ellen Ferretti at Pennsylvania Environmental Council is quoted.  I also found a link to another summary.

When you are involved in an initiative, it’s natural for it to consume much of your energy. I think that stakeholders involved on a day to day basis need to focus on details.  But people who would be supportive of the CLI efforts (such as local communities, state representatives, and Congressional Reps), need a much broader picture.  They need to see what’s most important in a split second.  If you’re advocating for the CLI to a potential supporter, you need to leave them with a summary that, I think is, a map, the mission statement, specific asks, a reason to be feel good, and how these asks fit into a broader context (ie, the projects total investment priorities).

The consequence of driving 4 hours for a 20 minute meeting was that I could consume about 8 gallons of gas, add some carbon emissions to the atmosphere, and listen to Ken Burns’ book  The National Parks.

Looking at the CLI efforts from an outsider’s perspective, I think of all the people in the Philadelphia Area I know who either own properties in the CLI or are looking at buying properties.  And when you romanticize the “cabin on the lake”,  “the mountain house”, or “the farmette”, the reality is that you’re buying into private lands at a cost of maybe $200,000 + $2500/year (taxes and utilities) that could be appreciated by everyone.  I explore these opportunities for fun and then realize how much nicer it is to head to a CLI area and go to a B&B or enjoy a state park campground.  And then we can invest that much more into making our homes and communities, where we live day to day, nicer.

As residents of Southeastern PA, we don’t need to know the details of the Conservation Landscape Initiative.  We do need to support it. It’s a great connection to nature.  I appreciate the efforts of everyone working on what seems a monumentally important task.

Tom Branigan  loaned me David Byrne’s book, Bicycle Diaries.  I ended up buying a copy anyway.  Byrne is coming to talk about bicycle advocacy next Thursday at the Academy of Natural Sciences.  So far, I’ve found his book enjoyable.  He shares a global perspective and writes well.

While ordering a copy of Bicycle Diaries for myself, I decided to also get Jeff Mapes’ book, Pedaling Revolution.  David Byrne reviewed Mapes’ book in the New York Times.  No offense to Byrne, but I can’t put Mapes’ book down.  Part of it is that I get to read about friends like John Dowlin.

John Dowlin was one of the creators of the 1974 Philadelphia Bicycle Map and was one of the founders of the Bicycle Coalition.  He has been an inspiration and has dedicated much of his life to promoting the joys of bicycling.  I’ve learned a lot from his Bicycle Network News books and Cycle and Recycle Calendars.  We’ve bicycled together and had conversations about Mapping Havana Cuba.  We’ve worked together on Neighborhood Bike Works.  In John’s calm, passionate way, he knows how to stick to his vision of improving the world.  Mapes quotes John as saying, “I really felt the bicycle could be for the world’s cities what the spinning wheel was for Ghandi.”

These two bicycle books have made their way in front of other books that are sitting in my pile.

Next on my list is Restructuring the Philadelphia Region, by Carolyn Adams, David Bartelt, David Elesh and Ira Goldstein.  Mark Mattson, my cartography instructor at Temple GUS Department, did the maps.

Gerry Krieg gave me the book:  You are Here – Why We Can Find Our Way to the Moon, but Get Lost in the Mall, by Colin Ellard.

I also bought copies of the WPA Guide to Philadelphia and the WPA Guide to Pennsylvania.  Every Philadelphian needs to check out a copy of the WPA Guide to Philadelphia (at the library).

Got this T-shirt at a wedding.

What do you get your brother-in-law who met your sister on a bike ride?  Mine gets me waterproof clothing, rear-view helmet mirrors, etc.

I got my brother-in-law a membership to Adventure Cycling Association because I think ACA has an awesome mission and succeeds in fulfilling it everyday.

From the ACA Website: Our mission is to inspire people of all ages to travel by bicycle. We help cyclists explore the landscapes and history of America for fitness, fun, and self-discovery.

Adventure Cycling has first-rate publications, so even if my brother-in-law rarely gets on his expensive custom painted feather of a bike, I think he’s going to  enjoy this gift.  Actually, I think he’s already inspired to travel by bicycle.

An old photo of Steve, Kate and Congresswoman Schwartz

I signed up for the League of American Bicyclists Annual Summit, which is March 9-11 in Washington DC. Fortunately, my Congresswoman, Allyson Schwartz, cares about bicycling an healthy communities, and she is very effective as a policy maker. I have really enjoyed serving on the Jenkintown Community Alliance Board with Julie Slavet who manages the Congresswoman’s local office.

The Bike Summit is a wonderful place to learn about national policies that affect us locally, and I encourage anyone who cares about bicycling to attend.  The early registration ends soon, so now is a good time to register.

If you want another cool experience, attend Velo-City 2010 in Copenhagen.  I went to the Velo-Mondial conference in Amsterdam in 2000, and it was incredible to be immersed in a bicycle friendly culture.

About three dozen volunteers helped spread piles of gravel to repave the surface of the trail, filling mud holes and evening things out. Present were DRCC staff, members of the Local 30 Roofers Union, community members, and U.S. Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz. It took just over an hour to complete the task – about half the time expected. With shovels, rakes, and wheelbarrows, volunteers worked enthusiastically in the mild weather, right next to the river.

It’s not an uncommon scenario: You’re riding down the street and are in a collision resulting in a trip to the hospital and a totaled bike. The person driving the car does not have insurance, and may suffer the legal penalty.

Either way, you are stuck with medical bills, a broken bike, time off work, and little recourse — unless you have your own car and auto insurance.

http://bikeportland.org/2010/01/05/bicycle-insurance-coming-to-america-in-2010