This series of letters to the Fort Collins Coloradoan beginning with Curt Groen's letter January 8th provides an interesting perspective on the value of scientific inquiry in transportation planning vs. opinion and anecdote.
Please add your thoughts (or, better yet, send a letter to the Coloradoan - limit it to 250 words)
Bicyclists should pay taxes
By Curt Groen
Coloradoan© January8, 2006.
The city wants to keep 18 wheelers (whose road taxes contribute to state highway repair) out of town, yet want to make motorist share lanes on a busy highway with bikes (who pay no road tax).
I think that the bikes need to be restricted to the lesser-traveled side roads. If bikes are to share the road with motor vehicles, how about use taxes through bike plates, operator licenses (with written and biking tests), bike insurance and stricter legal enforcement.
The bicyclists in this town are presently out of control, running stop signs, stop lights, ignoring lane usage, improper turns and reckless operation of the bike. From what I am seeing, Fort Collins and the state of Colorado are the leaders in wasting gasoline due to the fact that bikes are presently allowed to impede traffic and with the new "Sharrows," will be encouraged to further do so.
Bicycles don't waste gas
By Paul Miller
Coloradoan© January15, 2006.
I read with interest Curt Groen's recent letter about bicycles in town. While I agree that some bike riders are careless and don't always obey appropriate traffic laws his idea that "Fort Collins and the state of Colorado are the leaders in wasting gasoline due to the fact that bikes are presently allowed to impede traffic" is puzzling at best.
Try as I might, I just can't picture a bicycles rider impeding traffic enough to cause a major waste of gas. If the state's citizens are in fact "leaders in wasting gasoline' it's because people drive every where instead of using alternative transportation or idle at railroad crossings while a train passes, or warm up cars for 20 minutes in the mornings. Bikes, on the other hand don't use gas at all, and as a bonus, don't emit anything, either—no carbon monoxide, no heavy metals, no anti-freeze leaks. And most bike riders I know would rather go out of their way to avoid traffic than impede it. Who typically wins when you pit a two-ton vehicle against a 10-pound bike?
Groen's idea of taxing bike riders for using public roads interesting, and his suggestion for written and biking tests may help weed out the careless bikers. But ultimately, it may work better to provide tax credits to bike commuters—those who are serious about limiting air pollution—to help offset the health hazards of inhaling car exhaust, something that can't be avoided no matter where the bicyclist goes.
Bikes healthy for city
By Wendy Schumacher
Wendy Schumacher is a alternative transportation activist.
Coloradoan© January17, 2006.
This is in reply to Curt Groen's Jan. 8 letter regarding sharing the road with bicyclists. I am both a bicycle commuter and taxpayer. Like many drivers, some bicyclists do not follow the rules of the road, but Mr. Groen, please do not put all of us in that category.
The Fort Collins City Council recently restored funding for the bicycle coordinator, who promotes safe cycling and improving air quality through the Commuter Coach program. The city gets federal dollars to run incentive programs that take cars off the road, thus reducing congestion and air pollution. Commuter Coaches organize participants in individual offices, report mileage and distribute information on safety.
To me, Fort Collins is a Choice City because of the 150 miles of bike lanes that make my rides healthy, enjoyable and safe. It sounds to me like Mr. Groen thinks that 150 miles is not enough. Let's plan for more!
Bicycles Allow More Space for Cars
Submitted to the Coloradoan© January 22, 2006
By Rick Price
Curt Groen ("Bicyclists Should Pay Taxes," Coloradoan, Jan. 8) is likely stuck in traffic too much to read John Forrester's book, "Bicycle Transportation, A Handbook for Cycling Transportation Engineers." Fortunately, we have transportation planners on City staff who do a fine job of applying professional planning practices to bicycle transportation in Fort Collins in accordance with the City's 2004 Master Transportation Plan.
So that Mr. Groen won't have to trouble himself to look up Forrester's book I'll summarize his conclusions to Chapter 8, "The Effect of Cyclists on Traffic." According to Forrester only in rare instances do cyclists have a negative impact on road capacity (defined as the ability of the roadway to maximize automobile traffic). The opposite, he claims, is more common and he points out, that "in important urban situations the conversion of some motorists to cycling could significantly increase highway capacity, reduce congestion, and decrease the trip times of those who remained motorists." Certainly this is the case in Fort Collins where approximately 4-5% of the population elects to bicycle or walk to work, thus reducing roadway congestion for those who prefer to drive.
You've made a choice, Mr. Groen, some of us have made a different choice. I don't begrudge you your choice. I ask only that you be as generous with the 90% of law abiding cyclists as we are in allowing you to enjoy the extra roadway that we bequeath to you by electing to ride our bicycles.
