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1. Peak Oil
Experts say that world
production of oil is at or near its peak, meaning
that the price of gas will continue to grow faster
than the rate of inflation, among other serious
effects. The city of San Francisco recently
decided to develop a comprehensive plan to prepare
for the coming global energy crunch. Do you think
Austin should develop a similar plan?
2. Bicycle Program
staffing
Do you think the staffing for the City's
Bicycle Program should be increased, decreased, or
remain the same?
3. Increasing bike
commuting
What specifically would you do to encourage
more transportation bicycling and bicycle commuting?
4. Parking in bike
lanes
It is perfectly legal for cars to park in
most bike lanes in Austin, rendering them useless for
their intended purpose. One supposes that in the rest
of the civilized world outside of Austin, people
understand that bike lanes are actually supposed to be
for bikes, not cars.
In those few bike lanes where it's illegal for cars
to park, enforcement is spotty at best. Many times
we've seen a police cruiser pass one or more cars
parked in a bike lane, paying no notice. By contrast
we know cyclists who have been
arrested and gone to jail for minor traffic
infractions such as bicycling on the sidewalk, running
a red light, or biking without a helmet. How would
you improve enforcement of the no-parking in bike
lanes rule where it exists?
5. Shoal Creek Blvd.
Council recently 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 favor 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.
If you think Shoal Creek [as it currently
stands] 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.
6. Helmet ordinance
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.
There's also talk of reviving the local helmet law
for adults, although the original in 1996 was so
unpopular that the Council was forced to do away with
it just a year later. Helmet laws have also been shown
to reduce the number of cyclists, making cycling more
dangerous for those who continue to ride. (More
on helmets and helmet laws from
BicycleSafe.com.)
Do you support a local helmet law for...
Comments (optional):
7. Bus system
How can the bus system best be improved? What
role would you take in that?
8. Cashing in parking
spaces
Would you support financial incentives to
City employees who bike, walk, bus, train, or carpool
to work?
9. CAMPO Reform
Are you willing to oppose the current
representation of the federally-sanctioned CAMPO
body, with its overwhelming share of officials
representing areas and districts lying outside Austin,
even though Austin has most of the area's population?
10. Open Government
Transportation expert Roger Baker relates
that when he recently called to check on whether
Austin was funding the bike and ped projects promised
by the $150 million bond election in 2000, the city
told him he would have to file a formal open records
request to get that information. Do you support the
proposed charter amendment that would require such
city records to be made freely available online?
11. Would you participate in the
annual Political
Pedal
ride?
Any other comments?
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