Good morning,
I came across this article this morning and I've asked the author if I could plagiarize it to draft a letter to our local authorities making a similar proposal. However, I have 2 questions...
1) Who should I send it to?
I'm considering the Dominion Post, Daily Atheneum, MPO and traffic commission
2) Who should I send it as?
Should I sign it as a concerned citizen, director of Positive Spin or Bicycle Board member? All of the above?
I'd also appreciate any help in drafting it. I'd like to get it done this weekend before the user fee projects are finalized. Ideas, assistance?
Thanks,
Nick Hein
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: Ralph Fertig <sb-ralph@cox.net>
Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 20:08:11 -0700
==========
The South Coast Needs Bikes!
Santa Barbara Can Learn from European Cities
By Ralph Fertig, president of the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Last July 15, Parisians woke up to find 10,600 new bicycles available
throughout the city for their use. The public/private initiative was
crafted by Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë to propel the city toward a
greener future.
Where did this innovative program come from and what does it mean for us?
Specifically, how might the South Coast benefit from a similar program?
Judging from the success of programs already in Europe, it would reduce
our traffic congestion, cut pollution, promote fitness, and be a popular
means of travel for residents and visitors alike. How can we lose?
Throughout Paris, there are bicycle stations every 300 yards. Each
station has an electronic vending kiosk with instructions in eight
languages. Using your credit card at the kiosk, you get a bike card to
swipe over one of the waiting bicycles to release it. When you return
your bike, you lock it into a smart post that identifies you, the
bicycle, plus where and when the bike was rented. If you exceed your free
30 minutes, it bills your credit card. Diagnostic software automatically
checks tire pressure, gears, lights, and brakes. If a bike fails the
tests, it¹s locked out of service and a mechanic is directed to it.
The bicycles are a custom design. Each one has a low step-through frame,
adjustable seat height, roller brakes, always-on front and rear dynamo
lights, front wire basket, three-speed hub gears, chain guard, cable
lock, puncture-resistant tires with reflective sidewalls, and a kickstand
that lifts the bike off its rear wheel. Every part of the bike has
security bolts that require special tools to undo.
Paris is joining other cities with new-generation bicycle rental
services. They include Lyon, Stockholm, Vienna, Seville, Brussels,
Barcelona, Córdoba, Singapore, and Copenhagen.
Two years ago, Lyon, France, initiated a bike program similar to the one
in Paris. They have 4,000 bicycles at 175 locations. The average number
of rides per day is 15,000. Office workers account for 40 percent of the
rentals. Ninety percent of all journeys on bikes last fewer than 30
minutes, which means they¹re free. Users who opt to keep them longer
incur charges. Bikes which aren¹t returned within 24 hours are billed to
the user¹s credit card, in the amount of 150 Euros.
Lyon¹s Deputy Mayor Jean-Louis Touraine reported that bicycle use has
increased 30 percent since the program began. At the same time,
automobile traffic has declined by 4 percent, reversing Lyon¹s previous
1-3 percent annual increase in motor vehicle use. For those now renting
bikes, 55 percent said they are driving less than before. The program has
eliminated 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions during the past two
years, and air quality has improved. Touraine observed that ³we¹re
finding a city that is more humane, more convivial, less dangerous, less
stressful, and less polluted.²
So what is happening in the U.S.? As American cities contend with growing
traffic congestion, they¹re paying attention and moving to adopt similar
bicycle programs. Washington, D.C., will have rental bikes available
later this year. Last month, Portland, Oregon, sent out a ³request for
proposal² for a bicycle rental system of 500 bikes. New York, Chicago,
and San Francisco are also investigating the possibilities of such a
program.
So why not do this on the South Coast? Campers at Carpinteria State Beach
could bike into town. UCSB students could bike to the airport, Amtrak
station, or Camino Real Marketplace. Campus visitors could use the bikes
to get around without cars. Santa Barbara workers could pedal to
restaurants for lunch, and tourists could go from hotels to popular
destinations without adding to traffic.
How would we pay for it? Paris is trading space on 1,600 billboards for
the bikes. Some cities generate revenue with ads on the rental kiosks.
Here, we could sell kiosk ad space or enter into agreements with major
employers. It might be operated by the Santa Barbara Bikestation
headquartered in the Granada Garage, or it could be an MTD transportation
program. Maybe we could tap into part of the 2008 South Coast Measure D
transportation tax.
Teaming today¹s computer and bicycle technology to address the issues of
traffic congestion, obesity, oil prices, climate change, and air
pollution provide a timely solution for everybody. It¹s time to bring it
here!
==========
Ralph Fertig received this email from Harold & Karen Karabell on 9/20/07
7:24 PM
Ralph, it says "page not found" when I tried to open the link below to your
op/ed piece. Can you cut and paste it into an email?
Thanks,
Karen Karabell
St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ralph Fertig" <sb-ralph@cox.net>
To: "CBC" <cbc@topica.com>; "Thunderhead Alliance"
<thunderhead@thunderheadalliance.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2007 8:07 PM
Subject: [Thunderhead] bike-share programs
A local newspaper just published an op/ed article that I submitted to
them about bike-sharing programs. After reading about what's happening
in Europe & beginning to happen in the US, it seems to me that the
technology is now mature enough to accelerate bicycle use at home. So I
tossed out this challenge, not knowing what might come next:
http://www.independent.com/news/2007/sep/20/santa-barbara-can-learn-europea
n-cities/?print
I do know that several places in the US have campus bike programs of
different kinds, but the strategy of saturation of a city with kiosks and
bikes seems to be the way to go. Will it work as well in the US?
~~ Ralph Fertig, President
~~ Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition
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