City Council Candidate Survey Answers

for the May 2006 election

 Here's how the candidates responded to our survey.

You can also see our endorsements.

Mayor Peak Oil Should Austin make a plan to prepare for it? Bike Program staffing Ban parking in bike lanes Shoal Creek. Supports car-free bike lanes Helmet Law. Wants law for... Allow City employees to cash in parking spaces Oppose unbalanced CAMPO representation Political Pedal. Rode in this ride Open government. SupportsProp. 1. Danny Thomas Yes Increase No (only during peak hours) No no answer Yes No no answer Yes Will Wynn no answer No No Yes Kids, possibly adults Probably No Yes No Jennifer Gale Yes Increase Yes Yes Kids Yes Yes Wasn't invited Yes   Place 2 Peak Oil Should Austin make a plan to prepare for it? Bike Program staffing Ban parking in bike lanes Shoal Creek. Supports car-free bike lanes Helmet Law. Wants law for... Allow City employees to cash in parking spaces Oppose unbalanced CAMPO representation Political Pedal. Rode in this ride Open government. SupportsProp. 1. Wes Benedict No Decrease No No Neither kids nor adults No Yes No No Eliza May Yes Increase No Yes Kids and Adults Yes Yes Yes No Mike Martinez Yes Increase Yes Yes Kids and adults Yes No Yes No Place 5 Peak Oil Should Austin make a plan to prepare for it? Bike Program staffing Ban parking in bike lanes Shoal Creek. Supports car-free bike lanes Helmet Law. Wants law for... Allow City employees to cash in parking spaces Oppose unbalanced CAMPO representation Political Pedal. Rode in this ride Open government. SupportsProp. 1. Colin Kalmbacher Yes Increase Yes Yes Neither kids nor adults Yes Yes Yes Yes Kedron Touvell Yes Increase Yes Yes Kids Yes Yes Yes Yes Mark Hopkins (Did not return survey) Brewster McCracken (Did not return survey. Voted against car-free bike lanes on Shoal Creek. Blvd, and at the ACA candidate forum, said he supported a helmet law for adults.) Place 6 Peak Oil Should Austin make a plan to prepare for it? Bike Program staffing Ban parking in bike lanes Shoal Creek. Supports car-free bike lanes Helmet Law. Wants law for... Allow City employees to cash in parking spaces Oppose unbalanced CAMPO representation Political Pedal. Will ride in this ride. Open government. SupportsProp. 1. Darrel Pierce Yes Increase Yes Yes Uncertain Yes Yes No (but showed up to the happy hour afterward) No Sheryl Cole Yes Uncertain No No answer Kids Yes No No (said she had a scheduling conflict) No DeWayne Lofton Yes Increase No No Kids Yes No Yes No   Essay Questions Mayor Danny Thomas Will Wynn Jennifer Gale Peak Oil We should eliminate the need to use fossil fules. What would you do to encourage more transportation bicycling & bike commuting? We need to tap into the public and private sector to build off road hike and bike trails to encourage and increase the bicyle commuting. To lead by example I bicycle commute or walk on a regular basis and to set an example for other buildings, the new Austin City Hall has a special room for secure city employee bicycle parking and shower facilities. I support promotional and educational events like Bike Month, Bike to Work Day, Texas Bike & Walk to school day and the Political Pedal. Create bike Avenues with no cars or trucks or vehicles. Train people in the proper care and cleaning of their bicycles in a fun manner. Create businesses. If you wouldn't ban parking in bike lanes, how would you deal with the problem instead? I would propose to prohibit cars parking in bike lanes during peak hours. This is not a ?one answer fits all circumstances? problem. Some bike lanes should ban parking; some bike lanes should be extra wide to accommodate parking and biking. There is national research regarding alternatives to bike lanes that I am cautiously optimistic about. Share lane markings are being reviewed at the national level and should be included in future additions in the manual of uniform traffic control devices and this may resolve some of these concerns. It is a solution that will benefit cyclists and is beyond bike lanes. I will have all vehicles towed away to a street around the corner. How would you improve enforcement of the no-parking rule in those few bike lanes where it exists? Look into a volunteer force to help issue tickets for violators during those peak hours. To begin with it is legal to bike on most sidewalks in Austin. It is currently legal for adults to ride without a bicycle helmet. There are many more citations written to motorists than cyclists. I believe that traffic laws should be enforced on all vehicle operators whether bicyclist or motorist. Unfortunately, because of the limited resources police officers must use their professional judgment in determining enforcement priorities. I will personally supervise these areas. I will ask for monitors to keep an eye out. If you think Shoal Creek represents a "compromise", then what exactly do you think motorists gave up, and what exactly did cyclists gain? Feel free to share any other comments or thoughts on the Shoal Creek Blvd. issue. I need to study this in more detail. I voted in support of the city staff plan for Shoal Creek that was supported by the Austin Cycling Association and the Texas Bicycle Coalition. Although I was in the minority on that particular vote, it is clear to me that my colleagues on the council are committed to finding a permanent satisfactory solution for the major stakeholders on Shoal Creek. The council decision was to test several possible treatments Shoal Creek Blvd. is one the most scenic and dangerous avenues. Comments about helmet laws I need to look into this I wear a bicycle helmet, and of course require my children to do the same. I am committed to promoting bicycle helmet use in the most effective possible way. I do not have any data that indicates disparate enforcement of the existing mandatory bicycle helmet law. If police data were to show disparate enforcement that would be troubling. Helmets save lives. Brain injuries can result in millions of dollars of medical expenses for the long-term care of the injured. Before repealing the current ordinance I would require objective data indicating that the ordinance does more harm than good. Mandatory helmet laws should be based upon solid data. [I asked the campaign to clarify whether the Mayor supports a helmet ordinance for kids, adults, both, or neither, and the camaign manager left the following on my voicemail.] "He supports a helmet ordinance for children and he is supportive of the idea a helmet ordinance for adults but wants to see more data on that before he'd be prepared to act. What he said was he'd have to be convinced that it's a bad idea, he feels he doesn't have quite enough information yet, so he's not certain about that, leans towards supporting it, and supports a helmet ordinance for kids." Let's provide insurance for adults. We need better paying jobs so we can afford to buy helmets for our children. How can the bus system best be improved? What role would you take in that? I would work deligently to sharpen the transportation system. Get more buses, shorten pick up time so more people will feet better about riding the bus. We need to improve, develop, and expand effective mass transit. I am a partner, supporter, and fan of Capital Metro. Capital Metro is run by a board of local elected officials. I currently do not sit on the board of Capital Metro. I am committed to safe, efficient, affordable transportation options for the citizens of Austin. Capital Metro has shown significant improvement in the last six years and I believe they are on a positive trajectory. I was proud to play a small role in helping to avert the recently threatened transit strike. We have desperately needed more buses in more areas for years Comments about the Open Government amendment. I do support Open Government but I am concerned about the cost factor to the tax payers of Austin. I am opposed to Proposition 1. I strongly support open government, but the charter amendment as drafted is legally ambiguous, poorly written, will have unintended consequences, and is certain to be extraordinarily expensive to implement. If Proposition 1 passes, I believe it is unlikely that we will be able to hold our planned bond election in November. I don?t believe it is the best open government law we could have, and I don't believe it belongs in our city charter. I fully intended to implement these ideas. This is our government not just mine. I will hold all executive sessions in the open when I can. General comments Austin and the surrounding areas must have a good rapport to come and work togetrher to help solve the traffic problems. This problem effects all areas not just Austin. Regarding Bike Program staffing, I have never made specific budgetary promises during a campaign, and I won't start now.  The bicycle program is only one component of Austin's efforts to improve conditions for bicycling.  Bicycling should be integrated into the transportation and recreation facilities in Austin.  Many departments including parks and recreation, public works and other city employees should consider it part of their job to make Austin a more bicycle friendly city. Provision of financial incentives to city employees that do not drive their automobiles is worth consideration, and I am likely to support it.  Federally, the Bicycle Commuter bill sponsored by Congressman Earl Blumenauer would provide federal income tax benefits to tax payers who choose alternatives to driving a single occupancy vehicle.  I would encourage our three Austin Congressmen to vote for the Bicycle Commuter Act when they have an opportunity. Regarding CAMPO representation, CAMPO is a regional transportation planning body.  Austin representatives on the Austin Board do not just include City Council members.  Travis County Commissioners, State legislators and a State Senator also make up part of Austin representation.  I am satisfied that Austin's proportionate voice is heard at the regional level. I was a founding member of Envision Central Texas. In the Envision Central Texas survey, which had over 12,000 respondents, 70% of the respondents said it was important or very important to them to have safe bicycle and pedestrian facilities from home to work and home to shopping. Also, the ECT transportation model supported the goal of 8% of all trips in the five county areas to be by bicycle within a 20-year period. That would be achieved by increasing the trips of fewer than three miles by bicycle to 15%. Austin is a national leader regarding renewable energy, and I have championed a national campaign to show demand for plug-in hybrid cars. I have been a strong advocate for commuter rail. Personally, as a cyclist, I have ridden my bicycle countless number of times to work at City Hall and to council meetings. I would like to work with my colleagues on the council and my counterparts in the region to increase the number of bicycle trips in Austin. $20 million of bike/ped funding authority remains from the 2000 transportation bond referendum. The city has not yet decided how the $20 million will be spent. At the request of the Texas Bicycle Coalition and in cooperation with our three members of Congress, we held back programming that $20 million until after the passage of SafeTeaLu, the federal transportation bill. I had worked with Representative Krusee and our members of Congress to get a $25 million earmark through the new non-motorized pilot communities program. That earmark in addition to the other recent $10 million in federal earmarks would have helped Austin jump start its efforts to meet its long-range bicycle facilities goals. We had intended to hold the $20 million in bond funds as a match, in anticipation of that opportunity. Unfortunately, Austin was not selected as one of the four pilot communities. This is our time to change transportation as people know it. Excerpts from the candidate's website (couldn't find a website for this candidate) When it comes to transportation and traffic, we must do three things: We need to make far more efficient and effective use of our existing roadway network; We need to improve, develop, and expand effective mass transit; We need to dramatically change our land-use patterns. We spend 70% of the City's budget on police, fire, and EMS, but the fact is, you are far more likely to die in a traffic accident in Austin than you are to be murdered or to die in a house fire combined, by a multiple of three. I've been working for the last six years to help turn the vision of SH 130 into reality.  I truly believe that SH 130 is going to open a whole new frontier for Austin. [There was no mention of bicycling on the website that we could find, and according to Google, the words bike, bikes, bicycle, bicycles, bicycling, bicyclist, cyclist do not appear anywhere on the site. The word cyclist appears on a page which trumpets "Austin's Bicycling Community Supports Mayor Will Wynn", based on a letter signed by six (count 'em) cycling advocates, and it seems a little presumptuous to claim that they represent the 'Austin Cycling Community'. Our own endorsements are identified as the BicycleAustin editor and the BicycleAustin forum members, but we make no attempt to claim that this represents the 'Austin Cycling Community'.] (couldn't find a website for this candidate) Candidate's campaign website website   Place 2 Wes Benedict Eliza May Mike Martinez Peak Oil Except when socialists intervene, the laws of supply and demand and their affect on a free market price cause the most efficient adjustment to changes in supply and demand. Yes, I believe this should be a key component of our emergency preparedness through the Homeland Security Office and our Office of Emergency Management. One key component of dealing with local and global disasters/emergencies and crises is through diligent planning and prevention methods. My experience over the last 13 years with Austin Fire Department has provided me with direct and relative experience to deal with these exact issues. I believe we need to have a city-wide assessment study to make sure the appropriate city departments have the resources they need to work with other local, state and national entities to develop an adequate response to this impending crisis. What would you do to encourage more transportation bicycling & bike commuting? I support better sidewalks. I also support better freeways and major thoroughfares so fewer cars will be congesting other streets. Wasting Capital Merto's money on street cars will take away funding for sensible bike projects and will also reduce bus ridership. It starts with your values as a city. As the city grows, we have to have a shared value. We believe the physical activity of bicycle riding for commuting purposes contributes to the overall health of the city. Bicycling contributes to bicycle traffic congestion, air quality, and ultimately healthier residents. To achieve this, as a city, we must have the shared vision and mission to increase biking commuting by designated goals over a specific time. Furthermore, I am very supportive of Capital Metro Rails With Trails plan and Lance Armstrong Bike Trail and would like to see more of these bike paths developed. Finally, the City of Austin gets millions of dollars from the Capital Metro 1/4 Cent Fund to pay for street and sidewalk improvement projects. I would encourage Capitol Metro to use the 1/4 cent fund for bike lanes. I will specifically encourage by practicing instead of preaching. As your next council member in Place 2, I will whenever and wherever possible use my bicycle as my mode of transportation and encourage others to do likewise. Increasing bicycling transportation significantly cannot be achieved without a strong public education model. If you wouldn't ban parking in bike lanes, how would you deal with the problem instead? I go around the cars. I am unaware of any current legislative proposals on the table but would be willing to establish an advisory group to look into this matter and work with your organization to develop a solution that will be legally binding and enforceable. How would you improve enforcement of the no-parking rule in those few bike lanes where it exists? Our police are too busy enforcing the smoking ban in bars to focus on bike lanes. Communication and education usually resolves many of these types of problems. I would bring together police and biking community as both must be at the table in order for the resolution process to be feasible, effective and successful. I think this should be part of our code enforcement system. I would support doing an assessment of our bike thoroughfares to find out how often this rule is being broken and then focus on getting equity in the system. If it is true that bicyclists are cited much more often than cars, then that is something that really needs to be fixed. I would support allocating the necessary funding to this effort. If you think Shoal Creek represents a "compromise", then what exactly do you think motorists gave up, and what exactly did cyclists gain? Feel free to share any other comments or thoughts on the Shoal Creek Blvd. issue. These three concerns (pedestrian, cyclist and motorist) must be treated with equal respect for their values, a tri-modal resolution must be created. Yes. I think this having bikes on one side and cars on the other represents a reasonable compromise. I know this Shoal Creek Blvd. issue has been a tough issue for everyone, but I am confident we can come to a solution that satisfies the whole community. Comments about helmet laws I don't support mandatory helmets for bike riders anymore than I support mandatory condoms for gays. Personal protection is a personal choice. We have the opportunity to protect children, thus the current ordinance is just the beginning. The recent example of the former mayor's Bruce Todd's near death experience is testimate enough of the need of wearing of a helmet to protect from such tragedies. In our minority communities education and communication is key and by working with programs like SAFE KIDS and AISD for helmet distribution and education in minority communities we can begin to bridge the gap. Yes, but a repeal is not all that I would do. I would first seek to amend the ordinance to require all cyclists to wear protective head coverings and issue citations to legal guardians for people under the age of 17. Along with this proposal, I would seek a commitment from the private sector (insurance industry, helmet industry, and others) to perpetually fund the purchasing of protective head gear for those who can not afford to do so on their own. For me, the issue of protective head gear is about public safety and not creating criminal offenses and fines. [When picking our endorsements we leaned towards Martinez but were concerned about his supporting an adult helmet law. So we spoke with him, explaining that helmet laws decrease the number of cyclists, and he said that with that perspective he would want to get more information from both sides before supporting the law.] How can the bus system best be improved? What role would you take in that? I would prevent wasting funds on an expensive light rail and street car system that serves very few people and improve the bus system instead. I will ask my colleagues to appoint me to the board of Capitol Metro and will begin working immediately on improving our bussing routes while tackling the arduous but necessary task of preparing for upcoming contractual negotiations with the Amalgamated Transit Union which represents many of the Capitol Metro employees. A first class transit system does not need to be pitted against those who will provide the services in order to be successful. Comments about the Open Government amendment. Although I do see merits in the proposals. However, this is a charter amendment destined for multiple trips into the courtroom which will be very expensive. I would love to work with Council Member Lee Leffingwell on developing a new ordinance that addresses open government. The charter ammendment proposed is too broad and will actually hurt the city's ability to fund more bike trails and open space and other things we all care about. I absolutely support all possible city information being available online but I will NOT be voting in favor of the Open Government Charter Amendment Proposal. We should do everything possible, as soon as possible, to increase transparency in government though ordinances and policies and not through our City Charter. General comments I'm a Libertarian. [Ed. note: No foolin'?] My my staff and I will be in attendance [at the Political Pedal ride] as we believe that this physical activity keeps Austin citizens healthy and promotes physical activity ...health care problems. Re: Campo reform, no, I don't believe I can support such a measure. While I agree that Austin contains most of the area's population…transportation and transit decisions affect not only Austin but the entire region and it is through regional commitments and collaboration that will continue to move our progress forward in reaching our goals and objective as it relates to these issues. From the candidate's website It's time to stop fighting over toll roads and light rail and offer real solutions. Capital Metro provides a valuable service to many people, but many routes continue to run nearly empty. We should shut down these wasteful, polluting routes and allocate 1/4 cent of the Capital Metro sales tax towards desperately needed road construction. If Austin puts more resources towards badly needed roads, that would reduce the pressure to put tolls on our roads. County commissioners, state representatives, and city council members can make this change happen. To keep a high quality of life we must: Finish alternative freeway routes such as SH 130, Work with the Legislature and TxDOT on road improvements to reduce congestion, Maintain a user?friendly bus system, Create an efficient and cost-effective light rail system, Develop regional transportation solutions like the high speed rail line being developed by the Austin?San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District, and Accommodate pedestrian and bike travel downtown. The one solution we don't need is putting tolls on existing roads built with taxpayer money. I'm an advocate for Austin bicyclists (a large and growing community) and I believe we should continue as a City to make significant new investments in bicycle as well as pedestrian infrastructure.  When and where we can install new bike lanes and build new sidewalks, we should.  If elected, I'll be excited to play a role in the development of the Lance Armstrong Bikeway and the planned extension of the Pfluger bike / pedestrian bridge over Town Lake.  Indeed, one of the most promising aspects of renewed residential development in downtown Austin is the opportunity it affords to promote bicycling and walking as an alternative to driving. Candidate's campaign website website website website Place 5 (Mark Hopkins and Brewster McCracken did not return surveys.) Colin Kalmbacher Kedron Touvell Peak Oil As an economist, I have studied the peak oil hypothesis extensively. Certainly, the demand for oil is rising, and the reserves are increasing less rapidly. But I don't think there will be a abrupt crash in supply, rather a gradual increase in the price of crude over time as more costly sources of oil are exploited. Still, this is a strategic challenge and as a city we should plan for this immediately in a myriad of ways, focusing on improving our public and alternate transit systems, developing alternative sources of fuel and mandating higher standards of fuel conservation. I like the Mayor's push for plug-in hybrids and I have been a wind-power subscriber for 5+ years. But more needs to be done, and I will commit to ensuring that more is done. What would you do to encourage more transportation bicycling & bike commuting? As your City Councilmember I will strive and fight to see that not a single new road is constructed, not a road expanded or repaired without the addition of curbed bike lanes. Many folks who would love to bike are just not doing so because of safety issues, and they're right to worry. We claim to be a progressive town, yet our large bicycling community is fed the scraps off the edge of a very big table. In addition, our City ought to have an extensive network of bike/pedestrian only bikeways. We shouldn't just name one after Lance Armstrong, break out the champagne and consider the job over and done with. Adding more and expansive, safe bike lanes to existing streets and creating new bike routes in the model of Lance Armstrong Bikeway would work wonders to encourage more folks to bike. Safe, ubiquitous bike lanes are the prerequisite to encouraging more bicycle commuting. As a biker myself, I have nearly been ran over many times traveling from my apartment at 6th and West Lynn and the UT campus. Enfield is an especially dangerous stretch. We've got to do more to get our main arterial roads bicycle friendly. Once we have the infrastructure in place, we should increase our efforts in marketing bicycles as a commuter transportation option. Advances in recumbent bikes and other technologies do not seem to be on the radar for most Austinites, and that's a shame. If you wouldn't ban parking in bike lanes, how would you deal with the problem instead? How would you improve enforcement of the no-parking rule in those few bike lanes where it exists? There is a severe disconnect between citizens' wants and needs and the highest paid police force in the state. No news there. Bike issues are not being taken seriously. Again, nothing newsworthy. At least not until someone gets clipped by a trailer and is critically injured. There are many trouble areas concerning the APD. Now, when the City Council renegotiates the contracts with the police union in two years, our Council members must stand firm and make quite a few demands of our police force in general and specifically in regard to taking Austin law seriously and without fail when it comes to bike issues. We should demand better enforcement from our police dept. We have meter maids who ticket cars parked illegally within minutes of a violation. It should only take a little prodding from the council to expand that level of response to enforcing bicycle lane laws. If you think Shoal Creek represents a "compromise", then what exactly do you think motorists gave up, and what exactly did cyclists gain? Feel free to share any other comments or thoughts on the Shoal Creek Blvd. issue. The current "compromise" is inane. My two cents. The good news is that the city has been willing to experiment with different striping patterns and traffic calming measures. The bad news is that the final decision-makers are either incompetent, indifferent, or unwilling to make the tough choices necessary to promote a cycling culture. I believe in separated, car-free bike lanes and I will push for them while I'm on the council. Comments about helmet laws This didn't work in Dallas or Fort Worth, doesn't work here. This is a difficult issue. I think a kids helmet law would be acceptable if the city would do more to subsidize helmet purchases for poor families (especially if they only cost $7 each). But I agree that there should be more focus on safety training and I would like to see the city offer more basic safety classes to riders. How can the bus system best be improved? What role would you take in that? We need a much more serious investment in public transit. Our buses need more routes, fewer stops on cross-town routes and efficient timeliness. Cap Metro has recently floated a proposal to CUT 27 ROUTES. This is disastrous not only for the folks who depend on those routes for transportation, but also for the busdrivers who will have to make up those routes in weekend and overtime as well. The city of Austin is growing at astronomical rates. Now is the time to ADD routes and service, not decrease it. However, we cannot and must not lose sight of our environment and ecology and that is what I have been spreading the following proposal any chance I get to talk about transportation: the entire fleet should be converted to bio-diesel or hybrid technology. As your City Councilman I will take a more hands on roll and try to force Cap Metro back to the bargaining table. I will say "hell no" to a cut in any routes and I will not support any increase in City support for Cap Metro boondoggles like light rail or street car programs until they are prepared to invest more in the inefficent and underfunded bus system. I support the commuter rail project that will connect distant neighborhoods and business centers throughout Austin. But I think it is imperative that we do not let our bus system suffer neglect because rail projects are "sexier" with voters. I would like to invest more in the bus system and provide more ubiquitous, timely coverage, including rapid transit bus systems. At the same time, it is important that we continue to provide bike racks on our buses to assist those who are living car-free, and I hope our rail systems will be open to bikers Comments about the Open Government amendment. I do support the Open Government Online charter amendment and I believe that now, more than ever, this amendment (and similar moves nationwide) is crucial to a fully functioning and responsive democratic process. I?m preaching to the choir, I know, but we live in perilous times where back-room deals and political corruption are the name of game. Lobbyists like Jack Abramoff are essentially given crowned prince status and their clients get more from government than the average American. The justice department under George Bush, crowned king, is shifting their efforts to domestic surveillance of peace and animal rights activists, as the ACLU has recently uncovered in Pennsylvania. I would be stunned if the same or similar things were not going on in Austin. It is for these reasons and also, the fundamental concept of transparency, which any democracy should pride itself upon, that I support the ?Clean Government? charter amendment. Austin needs this amendment because it will provide for a transparent and open government. A transparent and open government is an accountable government. This measure would also make incentive negotiations open, allowing for more citizen review of developer boondoggles. It'd also make the police department more accountable and transparent to citizens. I wholeheartedly support it. General comments I understand that there is often a temptation for interest groups to endorse the frontrunner of a race in order to avoid "punishment" if the group endorses the wrong candidate. I can tell you that I honestly believe I can win this race, as there are countless numbers of Austinites who detest this incumbent and feel betrayed by his actions on the council. As a cyclist myself, I believe I would be a better advocate for the cycling community and I humbly ask for your endorsement. Let's work together to prevent bicycle deaths and campaign for alternate transportation option. Thanks for the opportunity to speak. From the candidate's website We've got to increase the walkability of Austin. You shouldn't have to drive a car to enjoy our great city, and in fact, over twenty percent of Austinites don't drive. As a result, plenty of folks are missing out.  Our public transportation system is not all that it can be; in terms of service areas, stops and being on time.  The fleet of buses we have is not as clean-burning as possible and relies upon expensive, morally questionable fossil fuels. As your City Councilmember I pledge to:  Ensure an increase in Austin's public transportation on all levels  Convert as many buses to hybrid and bio-diesel technology as we can Build more sidewalks, parks and plazas starting with Saltillo Plaza in East Austin.  As a strong believer in alternate forms of transportation, I try to ride my bike as much as possible between home, work and school. Unfortunately, by doing so I've nearly been ran over more times than I can count. Austin's roads are not bike-friendly, period. I salute the efforts of the city in creating some bike lanes, but the current method of separating bike traffic from car traffic is ineffective. Rather than painted lines, the city should use a concrete curb for separation: Cars are less likely to swerve into bike lines if they have to go over a curb to do so. This measure should increase safety while convincing more citizens to ditch the car and ride the bike to work. I support the gradual removal of all street-level metered parking lots in favor of aesthetically-designed parking garages strategically peppered throughout downtown. Removing the metered lots would allow the city to add one additional lane of traffic, widen the sidewalks, and add a wide, curbed bike lane. Candidate's campaign website website website Place 6 Darrel Pierce Sheryl Cole DeWayne Lofton Peak Oil My understanding is that the City of San Francisco passed a resolution to develop a plan for an energy crisis, and yes, I do believe that Austin should have a plan that could help prepare us for the raising cost of oil and help promote energy saving initiatives. Furthermore, I believe we must encourage citizens to find alternative modes of transportation to limit the amount of pollution as well as save energy resources. Austin is a very progressive city.  I'm surprised that we were not the first to adopt this type of comprehensive plan.  However, given the fact that San Francisco has created a plan of this nature, I'm sure that Austin will follow in its footsteps. What would you do to encourage more transportation bicycling & bike commuting? Work to create mores bicyle lanes along streets and in parks. In addition, provide community outreach to educate citizens on the benefits of bicycle commuting. We should work to reduce auto parking in bike lanes. [except she won't vote to ban parking in bike lanes - Ed.] We should create more bike lanes and more 'bike friendly' roads and streets. We should aggressively promote biking as an alternative mode of transportation. The first thing that we need to do is create more corridors that are friendly to cyclist and pedestrians.  Secondly, we must continue to promote cycling as a form of fitness, as well as transportation. If you wouldn't ban parking in bike lanes, how would you deal with the problem instead? Before I would consider sponsoring such an ordinance, I would need to become more knowledgable about how to create a plan to ensure bike lanes are protected and at the same time ensure there is adequate parking available for cars. I'm not prepared yet to commit to sponsor or support legislation establishing a blanket prohibition on auto parking in bike lanes citywide, but I do believe we should take some real policy steps toward attempting to reduce auto parking in bike lanes. Where the rule exists, I believe enforcement should be diligent and if elected would work with the City Manager to help ensure that it was. I agree that this is a serious issue.  However, the reality is that Austin places the bike lanes next to the curb and therefore there are no other places to park, other than in the bike lanes.  The best thing to do would be to somehow design streets in a manner that they allow for both parking and bicycle lanes.  I would love to support this issue, but I do not think that it's practical given the current design of most of our streets.   How would you improve enforcement of the no-parking rule in those few bike lanes where it exists? Ensure comprehensive policies are in place and enforced by the police department. Further, champion the allocation of adequate resources to monitor citizens who violate parking ordinances. I feel the first thing to do is to call attention to the matter.  Issuing parking fines are a low priority on the minds of most police officers.  However, in the areas where this is clearly a violation and it is not being enforced, I would work very closely with the district reps within APD to address this issue.  I would also talk with the council and municipal court to see if certain individuals could be deputized to issue fines, much like they currently use with handicapped parking. If you think Shoal Creek represents a "compromise", then what exactly do you think motorists gave up, and what exactly did cyclists gain? Why would cyclist get lanes in both directions and cars only be allowed to park on one side of the street?  There are many homes in this area, and I assume they would have visitors from time to time.  If we restrict parking to one side of the street, I can envision a problem with cars parking in the bike lanes if someone were to have a large gathering at their home for instance.  So how do we draw a balance?  I would be willing to explore this issue in more detail, although I feel it has been discussed a lot at this point. Feel free to share any other comments or thoughts on the Shoal Creek Blvd. issue. In response to the first question regarding 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, I would be open to evaluating staff's plan in developing a solution that creates a win-win situation. I am a big believer in neighborhood involvement in the decision making process. We must find a reasonable compromise between citizens who live along Shoal Creek and the cyclist who bike there. It seems to me that more could be done to satisfy both parties. I need more information to fully understand the implications of possible actions, but I will commit to educate myself further if elected. Comments about helmet laws Because of the risk of injury due to cycling, adults should be required to wear helments. And while kids should be required to wear helments, it should be the parents responsibility to hold their kids accountable. [When picking our endorsements we leaned towards Pierce but were concerned about his supporting an adult helmet law. So we spoke with him, explaining that helmet laws decrease the number of cyclists, and he said that with that perspective he would want to get more information from both sides before supporting the law.] I would not at this time vote for a repeal of the helmet ordinance. Based on what I know, I think we should focus on ensuring fair enforcement rather than on eliminating the ordinance. How can the bus system best be improved? What role would you take in that? The mass-transit system can be improved by more efficient synchronzation of lights, allocating specific lanes for buses, strategically providing more park and ride options throughout the city, and giving buses the ability to change lights as they approach. With our city growing as fast as it is and in order for Austin to become a world class city we must develop world class public transportation. There is no question that our bus system has to be improved. I would strongly support expanding bus routes and increasing the frequency of stops. I think that the City needs to work with Capitol Metro to increase the number of bus routes.  This is especially true as it relates to bus routes that run East and West.  We must also expand the hours in which the buses run.  To achieve this effort, I would seek to be appointed to the Capital Metro Board. Comments about the Open Government amendment. I do support our city continuing to identify strategies and actions to ensure our government is open in the most efficient way possibly. Strategies should include providing information on land development issues and projects that are funded with tax payer dollars. I strongly believe in open government, however I believe the proposed charter amendment is too vague and too overreaching. In some cases, I believe the proposed Charter Amendments could jeopardize privacy rights of individual citizens to communicate in confidence with their own city government. I do not support it. I do support open government, but I do not support this amendment as I feel that it is too ambiguous. General comments Regarding CAMPO representation, I understand that the overwhelming share of officials on the CAMPO board represent areas outside of the Austin city limits, but I believe that we must work well and closely with our neighbors to improve our regional traffic crisis.  I would not be inclined to oppose the current representation at this time. From their website [Couldn't find anything about bikes, or even much about transportation, on his website.] I believe we must use every tool at our disposal to improve our transportation system, including expanded mass transit options, more and better roads, more investments in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and programmatic solutions.  Specifically, I believe the City of Austin should have a policy in place that commits some percentage of every expenditure made on road construction to pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure development.  We are particularly in need of improved pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure in the central city, where it can pay the most dividends in terms of reducing traffic (and air pollution).   I also believe in promoting transit-oriented development and specifically in zoning for the kind of urban density that facilitates the more frequent use and success of mass transit.  I have been a supporter of both recent efforts to deliver commuter rail service for Austinites and our neighbors, and support further expansion of the approved system as soon as possible. I also believe we need to expand and improve bus service throughout the region.... Finally, I think we need to expand programmatic efforts to improve transportation, such as promoting telecommuting, carpooling and flextime. [Couldn't find anything about bikes, or even much about transportation, on his website.] Candidate's campaign website website website website