Bicycle Austin forum

first: apologies if any of this below is posted someplace else on the bike forum or email list.

this letter was printed in the chronicle from Amy Babich and i found it very inspiring and made me interested in Bogota's different approach to visualizing transportation movement in a city.

also - i was reminded of the CAMPO survey. they are requesting input by march 13. only 8 questions. jump over and let them know your thoughts for the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization mobility plan for 2035..

http://www.campotexas.org/2035plan.php

Date Received: Fri., Jan. 30, 2009
AMAZING TALK BY BOGOTÁ'S FORMER MAYOR
   Dear Editor,
   
Enrique Peñalosa gave a talk Downtown last Wednesday, and it was amazing. Peñalosa is the former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, who transformed the city in one three-year term.
   
He began by saying that happiness is the goal of life, and so cities should be designed to maximize happiness. As for what makes people happy, Peñalosa mentioned three things: walking around and seeing people, being in touch with nature and the outdoors, and not being excluded.
   
Great public space makes people happy. The pedestrian space is our public space. Sidewalks, said Peñalosa, are more like parks than like streets. Sidewalks are where people can meet and talk. You can tell how advanced a city is, he said, by comparing sidewalk width and street width. Highways do not indicate an advanced city – developing countries are full of cities with big highways where most people lack running water.
   
Then Peñalosa made a very interesting point: How much space we allocate to pedestrians and how much to cars are not technical questions to be solved by traffic engineers doing studies. They are questions about values, about what sort of city we want to live in. When someone says that there is room for on-street parking but not for 10-foot sidewalks, that's a statement about values.
   
Elected officials were invited free of charge, but none showed up. Chris Riley was there. In general, it was bicyclists who attended. However, the talk was not about bicycles but rather about how to design cities for happiness.
   
Peñalosa is probably the most interesting city planner in the world. It's too bad that only bicyclists seem to have heard of him.
   
I wish Peñalosa were running for mayor of Austin.

Yours truly,
   Amy Babich

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so i did a little quick research on Bogota - and found this enlightening information.

Despite the deep crisis in the construction sector[i], the following physical aspects of Bogota have changed substantially: pedestrian zones, road infrastructure, especially the implementation of paths reserved exclusively for bicycles, the revitalization of parks and sidewalks, and the implementation of the Transmilenio bus rapid transit system. This system, which has improved commuting for 10% of users of public transport, involves lanes dedicated exclusively to buses; new buses; and permanent, easily recognizable stops. The Transmilenio was created with public revenues, centralized control and infrastructure construction, and contracts with private companies. It has made urban transport during peak hours more agile, thereby reducing congestion and average commuting times. The "pico y placa" ("peak times and license plates") program greatly restricts the use of private automobiles at peak times.

http://www.globalurban.org/Issue1PIMag0 … rticle.htm

The public transportation system and system of bicycle paths called ciclo-ruta are world class. Bogotá now ranks as the worlds most bicycle friendly city with over 300 kilomiters (over 150 miles) and expanding of bike ways.

The network was also integrated with the TransMilenio bus system which is provided with bicycle parking facilities.

A network hierarchy was determined following the criteria below.

Main Network: connects the main centres of the city in a direct and expeditious manner, for instance connecting the main work and education centers with the most populated residential areas, and receiving the flow from secondary networks.

Secondary Network: leads riders to the main network, it connects housing centers and attraction centres and parks with the main network.

Complementary Network: links and provides continuity to the network. It consists of additional bike paths that are required to complete the mesh system and to distribute bicycle traffic on specific areas. It includes a recreational network, local networks and a system of long green areas.

Since the construction of the ciclorutas, bicycle use has increased 5 times in the city, and it is estimated that there are between 300,000 and 400,000 trips made daily in Bogotá by bicycle. A large portion of this use is in southern, poorer areas.

The ciclorrutas are an ongoing project. Many segments are still not connected to the main network. In some parts, they are placed on the sidewalk in a way that puts pedestrians and cyclists in competition. Nonetheless, the ciclorutas have been a successful idea that has transformed the atmosphere of the city.

http://darvic.net/joomla/index.php?opti … 4&Itemid=1

i referenced much of this in my CAMPO survey. :-)

megan

passing this along.

what: Rail 4 Real kick-off discussion
when: Sept 10, Wednesday
time: 6pm
where: UT campus, Goldsmith Auditorium (GOL 3.120)

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From: Greg Anderson <andrewsurban.com>

Sustainable transportation in Austin could happen sooner than you think. 

The UT-Student Government, Campus Environmental  Center and Urban
Development Society have joined forces to create the Rail 4 Real Coalition. 

Join us Wednesday, September 10, at 6pm in Goldsmith Auditorium (GOL 3.120) on the
UT campus for a candid discussion with State Rep. Mike Krusee, Mayor Pro Tem
Brewster McCracken, Dean Fritz Steiner and Brandon Janes of the Austin Chamber
of Commerce. 

If you are tired of being tethered to a car and the uncontrolled
sprawl associated with this form of transportation, come and hear what is in
our future and how we can help get streetcars sooner rather than later.

Please forward this e-mail along.

Thank you,

Greg Anderson
www.rail4real.org

EDIT: Email address removed. As per forum rules, please do not post anyone's email address, since spambots pick them up. -MBJ-