Bicycle Austin forum

tomwald

Moderator

From: 78722

Registered: 2008-05-27

Posts: 290

Seeking questions for city council & mayoral candidates questionnaire

The League of Bicycling Voters is seeking questions for the Austin City Council and Mayoral Candidates Questionnaire.

By this Wednesday, March 7th, 2pm, please send your proposed questions to the LOBV Endorsements Committee Chair, Mike Librik, at endorsements at lobv dot org.

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Save the date for the Candidates Forum: Monday, March 26th, 6-9pm on the UT campus (exact location to be announced)
Co-hosted by: League of Bicycling Voters, UT Orange Bike Project, Austin Cycling Association, and Austin's Yellow Bike Project

MichaelBluejay

Webmaster

From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-26

Posts: 1,466

Website

Re: Seeking questions for city council & mayoral candidates questionnaire

Thanks for asking for our input, though I wish we had more than two days to submit questions.

Here's what I'd ask, based on last survey conducted by Bicycle Austin:

1. Supporting Cycling.  What specifically would you do to encourage more transportation bicycling and bicycle commuting?

2. Density.  Greater urban density is what makes non-auto-transportation viable.  How would you encourage greater density?

3. Parking in bike lanes.  It's currently legal for cars to park in many bike lanes in Austin.  Would you prohibit cars from parking in bike lanes?

4. Shoal Creek Bike Lanes.  Council affirmed that it's perfectly fine for cars to park in the bike lanes on Shoal Creek Blvd., ignoring national safety guidelines and the advice of its own staff. Staff and cyclists favored the common-sense plan of having parking on just one side of the street, freeing up enough room for a car-free bike lane on each side of the road. Here's a 6-minute movie of the presentation we gave to council on this issue, as well as more background information.

. . . . . Would you support staff's plan for Shoal Creek for car-free bike lanes and parking on one side of the street? (vs. the current setup of parking on both sides of the street, in the bike lanes)

. . . . . If you think the Shoal Creek represents a "compromise" (as it has been popularly misrepresented), then what exactly do you think motorists gave up, and what exactly did cyclists gain?

5. Helmet Law.  Many people have reservations about the helmet ordinance because the last time anyone checked, over 90% of the no-helmet tickets given to kids were given to black and Hispanic kids, and because many believe that getting kids to wear helmets should be the responsibility of parents, not the police.  Helmet laws have also been shown to reduce the number of cyclists, making cycling more dangerous for those who continue to ride, and some research has suggested that cyclists who wear helmets are more likely to get hit by cars, which could partially explain why as helmet use went up in the 1990s, head injuries among cyclists skyrocketed. (More on helmets and helmet laws from BicycleSafe.com.)

. . . . . . Do you support a local helmet law for:   Kids   Adults   Both   Neither

6.  How can the bus system be improved?  What role would you take in that?

7. Urban Rail.  Do you support trains running inside the urban core, and if so, what role you would take in making that happen?

8. Car parking requirements.  Parking space requirements for businesses work against density goals and are a significant obstacle for small businesses in central Austin. Also, about 12 bikes can be parked in the space used to park a single car.  Would you be willing to reduce the amount of car parking that regulations currently require?

9. Personal Bicycle Use.  How often do you ride a bicycle?

[Added 3-25-2012]

10. Bicycle Boulevard.  Is there any section of any roadway in Austin which you would support turning into a Bicycle Boulevard (i.e., a section with no thru-traffic for motor vehicles), as was done in Palo Alto?

bizikletari

Member

Registered: 2009-03-18

Posts: 223

Re: Seeking questions for city council & mayoral candidates questionnaire

I'd add

11. What specific measures would you take to make driving less convenient in central Austin?

12. Would you support having streetlights synchronized to reduce speed?

13. Would you support modifying the signage and the streetlights on the Lance Armstrong Bikeway to give right of way to cyclists over turning cars or cars exiting driveways?

Last edited by bizikletari (2012-05-09 13:24:43)