BIKE: It's not a zip code, it's a [monster truck] way of life & Securing Toll Road Bonds

[Patrick Goetz]

I live just north of Hyde Park and commute to work to UT.  Consequently, 
I frequently see bicyclists and pedestrians on my way to work.  Further, 
I also live near the heavily used #1 and Intermural buses.  I think this 
distorts my view of reality, giving me a false sense of hope for the 
future when really there should be none.

This morning I had occasion to commute to work from the south side (you 
know, the "it's not a zip code, it's a way of life" neighborhoods).  By 
way of life they must mean being a monster truck driving imbecile, 
because from S. 5th to UT, it was just me on my bike in a sea of big 
trucks, suburbans, and SUVs.  I didn't see a single bicyclist, 
pedestrian, or even a bus the entire way.  Long waits at the lights, and 
left turn lanes each clogged with 20-50 monster vehicles.

What are these people thinking?  Ordinarily I can bike across town twice 
as fast as they were getting there in their monster vehicles.  Meanwhile 
the price of oil is up again and the dollar is headed for the toilet, 
with no end in site.  We used to joke about the value of the peso; this 
is how Europeans will view the dollar in a few months -- as play money. 
  And it's all because the hipsters in South Austin (and in just about 
every other part of town) can't live without their Mercedes SUV.  What a 
sad reason for the cataclysmic collapse of our society.

TOLL ROADS
Travis County commissioner Karen Sonleitner