The Plan

(Image from Copenhagencyclechic.com)

Earlier in the week, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) released a report called “Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States”. In the report, they recommend the following strategies:

Communities Should Enhance Infrastructure Supporting Bicycling

Enhancing infrastructure supporting bicycling includes creating bike lanes, shared-use paths, and routes on existing and new roads; and providing bike racks in the vicinity of commercial and other public spaces. Improving bicycling infrastructure can be effective in increasing frequency of cycling for utilitarian purposes (e.g., commuting to work and school, bicycling for errands). Research demonstrates a strong association between bicycling infrastructure and frequency of bicycling.

The CDC report also notes evidence that “improving bicycling infrastructure is associated with increased frequency of bicycling.” or as Roger Geller in Portland stated, “Build it and they will come.”

Combine this with Secretary of USDOT Ray LaHood’s recent comments on Portland being the 21st century model for all US cities to follow, and his quote: “the upcoming reauthorization of DOT’s surface transportation programs provides an opportunity for us to feature bicycling as part of a new American mobility within livable communities.”, you can sense a sea change occurring in transit policy…one that embraces “complete streets”.

We’ve heard the message loud and clear in the OC, and are working with city council members, local engineers, and planners to begin rolling out plans for infrastructure redevelopment programs. Not only is there a health mandate, but now numbers are showing major increases in economic development surrounding complete streets, increased safety, as well as the benefits of reduction in CO2 emissions. Also, historically speaking, down economies are prime times for infrastructure projects and exactly what the federal government looks to use to reinvigorate jobs, and the economy. For examples, look no further than the incredible WPA parks, dams, schools, and highways programs during the 1930′s. Similar examples are noted through every major recession in US history.

Our new council woman, Delia Jasso, is very excited about “Complete Streets” programs, and has set to work in looking at revisioning Tyler Street from a One-Way, to Two-Way, with the addition of cycle tracks. An example of a potential model for revisioning can be seen here:

In the 1970′s, Tyler and Polk were converted to One-Way only, as were many other streets in the US. While traffic flowed faster on these routes, business immediately dried up on all retail frontage due to the lack in visibility. Residents also noted increases in potential accidents due to constant wrong-way turns. Fortunately, several property owners throughout the corridor recently noted this degradation of economic development and looked around the country for models like the above to replicate. Another interesting note, the “complete street” shown has greater traffic volumes, yet it’s only two lanes.

BFOC is leading the charge with help from the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce, Fort Worth Avenue Development Group, and Mrs. Jasso to develop a North Oak Cliff bicycle infrastructure map, which would include dedicated bicycle paths along certain streets with speed limits in excess of 30mph, Bicycle Boulevards (ie. Bicycle priority streets/shared vehicle) on 30mph and under streets, completion of OC bicycle trail networks to the Katy Trail/Whiterock/etc, and connection points from Light Rail stations, schools, Methodist Hospital, and major retail corridors:

Stay tuned!

BFOC & New Belgium Present Cyclesomatic!

Bike Friendly Oak Cliff is proud to announce Cyclesomatic, a week long bicycle festival in North Oak Cliff from October 2nd to the 11th. Events will include a history-themed group ride, bicycle competitions, Bikertoberfest! in Bishop, an Urban Bazaar/Bikefaire, a “Kiddical Mass” Ride, Bike to School Day, BBQ, Bands, Bicycle Films at the Texas Theatre, Art Bike Shows, and guest speaker councilwoman Angela Hunt. New Belgium brewery is sponsoring part of the week, and we’re coordinating efforts with DART, BikeDenton, the Oak Cliff Bicycle Company, the Cube Creative, Eno’s Tavern, and more.

Click here to view the full calendar.

BFOC announces Safe Routes to School campaign collaboration with local schools!

BFOC has officially begun developing a Safe Routes to School campaign with staff members of Rosemont Elementary School in North Oak Cliff. The kickoff date for this program will be on October 7th, in coordination with the National “Walk/Bike to School Day“. The event will be one of many we’re planning for a week long Bicycle Festival in October.

Safe Routes to School programs were first championed in places like the Netherlands, to encourage children to safely walk and bicycle. The goal was to make bicycling irresistible…the results have been incredible:

BFOC interviews Lance Armstrong’s mom, Linda Armstrong Kelly

First off, thank you so much for letting us speak with you. We had recently discovered you once lived in Oak Cliff, and wanted to find out a little more about your history on our side of the river.

I lived most of my life near the Lemmon and Inwood area, but my family moved to Oak Cliff where I lived for four years and attended Adamson High School. I had Lance at Methodist Hospital in 1971, and lived in the Wynnewood Apartments at Zang.

What can you tell us of your time in Oak Cliff?

It was a tumultuous time for me, as I was pregnant at 16, and Lance’s father was abusive. I remember having to hold a paper route just to make ends meet. This was during the 1970′s, so the area was quite a bit different than it is now. I have three siblings that also went to Adamson High School.

Did you work anywhere else in Oak Cliff?

I did. I worked for a time at the J.C. Penney’s on Jefferson Boulevard {which has sense been torn down}, the Parker Glass company on Zang, and the Kroger at Wynnewood. Shortly after having Lance, we picked up and moved to Garland for a short time, until finally settling in Plano.

Have you ever returned to the Cliff?

I have. Recently, I went back when putting together my book. In it, I discuss the challenges of being a single mother in Oak Cliff and beyond, and having to do all I could to give Lance a chance to succeed. It wasn’t easy, but those early struggles were necessary in order to help give my son the opportunities he would use later to strive ahead.

Seeing your son’s advocacy for “the beginner” cyclist in Austin has really heartened us, most notably his efforts to bring bicycle infrastructure to the city, and his advocacy for children to ride. Are you also involved with this?

Absolutely. In fact, I’ve worked with the Texas Bicycle Coalition, and have always been 100% behind programs for bike lanes, and safe routes to school. In the end, we need to do everything possible to get people out and riding on bicycles, and fighting for the new cyclist. The benefits are innumerable.

Oak Cliff Bicycle Company Announces Opening Date, Aug. 3rd

Just heard from our friends at Oak Cliff Bicycle Company that they’ll officially open their doors on August 3rd. They’re planning a party to celebrate, so be sure to check their website for updates, or follow their tweets @ocbicycleco.

The Perception of Safety

While working out of Fountain Place tower yesterday, I noticed the window washers pass by my 48th floor office, and thought, “who on earth would sign up for that job?” The reality was, the person washing the window was standing on a tethered platform, and had a second tether attached to themselves from the rooftop. There were three cantilevered arms over the building, two for the platform, and one for the worker. Though you do hear of deaths of plunging window washers, the reality is very rare, and considering the number of skyscrapers around the world and the amount of cleaning needed, the accident rate is extremely low. So why wouldn’t you or I choose this job? Quite simply, the perception of safety is so low that the idea of taking the responsibility is left to a small “fearless” minority. Would a major education campaign detailing the true safety of window washing, and citing the rarity of accident rates improve the number of window washers? Possibly, but by numbers so low as to be little worth the expenditure and effort. Some label the fear of bicycling in traffic as “Cyclist Inferiority Complex”, and tend to berate the population at large for having this wholly natural human vs. car concern.

In the 1960′s, the Netherlands and Denmark had developed their “car-first” infrastructure, and saw precipitous drops in bicycle modal share. By the 1970′s, efforts were made to focus on “people-first” planning, and to develop extensive bicycle infrastructure. This clip from Contested Streets details that switch, and shows areas in 1965 Copenhagen that look very much like Dallas now. The battle the planners faced was the assumption that “we’re not Italians, we’re Danes…we have no culture for walking”. Similarily, businesses fought the infrastructure tooth and nail, claiming traffic congestion and a drop in visibility. The reality is both cultures are now known as bicycle meccas. One would assume it’s always been that way when visiting, but according to planner, Jan Gehl, it’s only occurred within the last 30 years. Portland, Oregon would have never thought itself the bicycle capital of the US only 15 years ago, but the city’s massive redirection toward people first planning, changed the area in very short order.

Realizing the importance of the “perception of safety”, planners went to great lengths to make bicycling irresistable. Because of these major changes in Europe, statistics show massive increases in ridership for all age groups when compared to the US:

Women are more sensitive to safety than men, so separation of transit modes was a major push made by European planners to enhance the perception of safety. Because of this, Denmark and Germany have nearly 50/50 travel rates between men and women, and in the Netherlands, women actually exceed men in ridership:

This change in planning goes well beyond enhancing the “perception of safety”, and goes to great lengths to increase the overall safety by focusing on “people first” road calming. We’ve already noted Soren Jensen’s study of cycle track installation increasing ridership by 18-20%, and Peter Jacobsen’s study of safety increasing with the number of riders. What’s more telling is the fatality rates when compared to the US:

Between 2005 and 2007, bicycle trips in Amsterdam officially outpaced car trips. From 1990 to now, ridership has increased 36%. The only things changed infrastructure wise from then to now were increases in bicycle infrastructure and restrictions in parking measures. To see changes of that magnitude in the US, we’ll need to make similar adjustments to our road systems to place people over cars.

In Oak Cliff, we’re beginning to make that happen. We’ll outline the incredible programs lined up by our new city leaders and OC chamber soon.

Beating the Heat in Melbourne, Australia

When studying cities around the world that have strong multi-modal transportation options (bicycle infrastructure, streetcars, pedestrian paths), a high level of walkability, and an active downtown life, it’s hard to beat Australia’s second most populous city, Melbourne. In previous articles, we discussed roadblocks to creating a vital downtown life given the climate in the South…Melbourne shares this concern, but with temperatures that have trumped even the highest found in Dallas. On February 7th of this year, Melbourne’s mercury tipped in at a steamy 46.4 degrees Celsius…that translates to 115.5 degrees fahrenheit.

View Larger Map

So what design cues could Dallas pull from a city like Melbourne when attempting to revitalize its streets while being mindful of the climate? Here are some tips we learned from reviewing planning methods their city leaders have pursued:

- Orient buildings and structures to maximize potential for breezeways
- Shading is CRITICAL. Provide as much shading vegetation as possible, utilize large awnings on pathways (discourage short awnings)
- Make a requirement for shower facilities to encourage workers to cycle to work
- Encourage development of water facilities (water fountains/features) at ground level to create feel of coolness
- Capture the heat with creative use of solar shading
- Encourage businesses to open windows, fold back cafe doors during mornings and evenings to create inviting feel
- Discourage use of building materials and colors that reflect heat
- Minimize open paved areas
- Develop courtyards between buildings to take advantage of shade and breezeway

(Hardware Lane, in Melboure, Australia)

(Melbourne Image by Mia Mala McDonald )

Ask the Experts: Paul L. Jacobsen, and Dr. Lon D. Roberts, PhD.

In our last “Ask the Experts” article, we corresponded with Danish Engineer, Soren Jensen, to help clarify the findings from his study titled, “Road safety and perceived risk of cycle facilities in Copenhagen”. Local Vehicular Cyclists had attempted to cite the study as reason for not developing bicycle infrastructure. At the conclusion of the article, Soren summarized that if Dallas in fact added Cycle Tracks to its roadways, it would actually see “much higher ridership”, and “greater safety to bicyclists”.

In our dialog, Mr. Jensen referenced an important study from Public Health Consultant, Paul L. Jacobsen, titled, “Safety in Numbers”. This study has been the basis many US and European city planners have cited to increase bicycle infrastructure within their communities. The summary of the study states: “The risk of an individual pedestrian or bicyclist being hit by a motor vehicle decreases as the number of pedestrians or bicyclists increases, respectively.” When combined with the Soren study, which notes that implementation of Cycle Tracks increases bicycle ridership, a correlation can be inferred.

Within our comment section, commenter Steve-A, dismissed the Jacoben study, and linked to a Cycle*Dallas article he’d written citing “random numbers” could be used to achieve the same results. He drew his conclusions using a method noted in an article written by Vehicular Cycling advocate, John Forester, who questioned the study’s findings.

BFOC communicated with Paul L. Jacobsen in California, to explain his study and counter the claims made by Cycle*Dallas and Forester, and followed up once again with Author/Engineer Dr. Lon D. Roberts, to also shine some light onto the dispute.

First will start with Mr. Jacobsen:

Hi Jason,

This question comes up every 6 months or so. There’s a website out there with this argument.

First off, this is not the way I did the analysis. The folks saying the data is manipulated need to read the Methods section of my paper. (http://safetyinnumbers.notlong.com)

Secondly, having a variable on both sides changes the exponent by one, and that’s the issue that matters. The other variables change slightly. The key point is that injury rate is non-linear with the amount of walking and biking. Take a look at Table 1 in this recent paper. Lots of researchers have found the injury rate to be non-linear.

Soren Jensen provided the data used in Figure 2 of my SIN paper.

Best wishes,
Peter

Next up, we asked Dr. Roberts to also review Forester’s argument:

The argument that some have posed that Jacobsen’s “Safety In Numbers” plots can be replicated by calculations involving random number is interesting but perhaps flawed — both mathematically and logically. For instance, the assertion that a plot created by paired data where the X-axis values are represented by the quotient of two uniformly distributed random variables, N divided by C, and the Y-axis values are represented by the quotient of two uniformly distributed random variables, C divided by P, results in a quasi-hyperbolic curve, “similar in shape” to Jacobsen’s, places undue emphasis on extreme outliers on both axes to dictate the shape of the curve. For instance, if N and C are randomly chosen values between 0 and 1, on average, half of the values for N will be 0.5 or less and half of the values for C will be 0.5 or less, if N and C are randomly chosen numerous times. Using Monte Carlo simulation to plot the value of N divided by C for 1000 samples in a run that I did, 75 percent of the values were less than 2, on the other hand the single most extreme value was 973. Since the theoretical values for N divided by C can range from zero to infinity, a computer generated plot of the “best fit” curve may vaguely resemble a hyperbolic function, if you choose to ignore the distribution of the data points, but it isn’t. (For any who are interested in how trend lines and correlation coefficients can be artificially manipulated, I would refer them to Anscombe’s Quartet.)

BFOC Pedicab for Bishop Arts!

We’ve been raising quite a bit of funds recently through the sales of t-shirts, online fundraisers, and a homebrew fest. So far with the funds, we’ve got a couple more bike racks on order, some “share the road” signage plans, a September Bicycle event, and an entry point sign into Oak Cliff stating “Welcome to Oak Cliff. A Bike Friendly Community” on the way.

We also used some funds to pick up a pedicab (above)! So now, when you’re in Bishop Arts, be sure to keep an eye out for this three-wheeled wonder. The guys at Oak Cliff Bicycle Company are giving it a once over, and we’ll probably be painting it up, but once completed, it will be available to ferry visitors around the district and back and forth between Tyler Street, Bolsa, Bishop Arts, the Texas Theatre and more. All proceeds from tips and advertising go right back into more bicycle projects for the OC!

Revisioning a Street for a Community

On CycleSmartDallas, a recent post titled “Friday Bike-Lane Special” uses the above photo to justify the failures of bicycle facilities with the added comment, “advocates for segregationist bicycle facilities like being treated this way”.

Given that we’re advocates for separated transit modes in urban environments like sidewalks, bus-only lanes, and cycle tracks, I’m assuming we’re being targeted. First and foremost, this is exactly the way we would not develop a street, and deplore being “treated that way” with or without a bike lane, for one simple reason: It prioritizes cars over people. With this in mind, let’s break down our goals for streets:

- Prioritize People Over Cars
- Increase Perception of & Actual Safety
- Increase Bicycle Ridership (and Public Transit)
- Accommodate for children, the elderly, the disabled, as well as the physically fit for non-motorized modes

Now even with the bike lane, we haven’t accomplished all of our stated objectives. First, the Arizona road uses the following street hierarchy: car first, then bicycle, last pedestrian . This actually may be appropriate if in a suburban environment, where sprawl has forced distant separation of business/residential zoning from third places, and completely dismantled community. Remember, we’re advocating for cycling facilities in urban environments, where community is intact (ie. men and women can bicycle short distances to work, young and old can walk to the park and play chess, couples can take strolls from home to coffee shop, and mom’s can quickly bicycle to school with children)…for Dallas, that would be well within Loop 12. (Side note: Germany is now showing, with new experiments in car-free towns and suburbs, that there is potential for this transect to be adapted as well)

Now, let’s imagine the AZ image is within an urban transect…the car is obviously given priority by the 5 wide lanes (with 1 turn lane). The adaption technique of Vehicular Cycling, encourages (and advocates for) this car-centric planning. Perception of safety is drastically reduced, as people attempting to bicycle without facilities are only given the “Swim with the Sharks” option to commute on. Dramatically low bicycle ridership reflects this as the young, and elderly have been marginalized completely from anything but being chauffeured to school/stores/parks/theaters. While bicyclists accident rates using VC methods may be low in this scenario, safety to pedestrians and for car commuters traveling at posted speeds of 40mph just outside of the residential neighborhood (seen in the top left portion of the photo) is decreased. Here, the bike lane is a band-aided after thought as the car is still top of the hierarchy. Pedestrians are at the bottom…though they do have a wide sidewalk, but absolutely no shade (this is Arizona, btw), no place to go (zoning), and a dangerous multi-lane high-speed street to cross. This model also emphasizes large over small businesses…in other words, Wal-Mart will build next to this road.

Here is an example of how we’d actually revision the above street:

Again, our objectives are:

- Prioritize People Over Cars
- Increase Perception of & Actual Safety
- Increase Bicycle Ridership (and Public Transit)
- Accommodate for children, the elderly, the disabled, as well as the physically fit for non-motorized modes

Now let’s break down this second image from Amsterdam (which could also have been found in Copenhagen, Munich, Bogota, Boulder, Portland, Vancouver, and is the trend slowly beginning to occur across the US). The community has changed their street hierarchies to the following “people-first” model:

Pedestrian, Bicyclist, Bus, Car, Truck

Perception of, and actual safety have increased for cyclists. VC’s would dispute this, but Copenhagen’s decimal point accident levels combined with massive ridership levels easily support this case. The young and elderly can (and do) bicycle comfortably in this model. Car lanes are thinned (naturally calming speeds), and posted speeds are slowed increasing safety to motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Also, this model encourages residents to consider alternate transit, whereas the Arizona image encourages car ownership (which will now account for a lack in savings and become the second highest expenditure behind housing). This also encourages local business development, as many needs can be catered to with small store footprints (read: affordable for new business owner) at walking/bicycling distances and denser housing (ie. Wal-Mart won’t build on this two-lane street…Joe and Jane’s Neighborhood Cafe will) Other things we haven’t even delved into, but should be taken note of in “people first” planning is heightened sustainability, lowered CO2 emissions, community health (note obesity trends in US), and overall transit safety for all modes. Also, the elderly, which we’re about to experience a boom in, can continue to live and assist in this people-first community. In the car-first model, they’ll be shipped off to a distant nursing home shortly after they’re unable to drive…or become prisoners’ in their own homes.