Dear Councilman Pahls

September 13, 2014

 Here is my letter to Councilman-on-the-scene Pahls.  

Dear Mr. Pahls,

I would like to encourage you to vote to override the mayor’s veto in support of creating a position dedicated to active transportation in the Public Works Department.  I believe the benefits to of doing so would outweigh the costs.   Creating this position now will continue the momentum Omaha currently has towards becoming a progressive midwestern city with a lot to offer for energetic people who like to get out and move.  I often see people of all ages and backgrounds out enjoying our city’s many multi-use trails.  They may be walking, bicycling, or rollerblading, but one thing they tend to have in common is a smile.  They also seem to be healthy.  These are the kinds of people I am proud to share our city with.

I remember as a kid in the 1970s 1980s riding my bicycle along Q Street to get to the Q Cinema 6 to see a movie.    We did not wear helmets back then, and the shoulder was slender at best.  Luckily I survived and since then I have developed a pretty serious addiction to bicycling.  I reckon there are worse habits!  Since then the Keystone Trail, the Big Papio Trail, the West Papio Trail and the Huntington Park Trail have been built and have greatly increased the quality of my life here in Omaha.  I think many Omahans share this view.  I also am fortunate enough to live about 5 miles from work.  On most days, I am able to bicycle along several multi-use trails then a few side streets to my work.  It keeps me in shape, I save a bit of money that I would be spending on gas, and it’s one less car on the road during what can be a busy commute.  We have come a long way as a city.

I am able to stay healthy and support my family while still enjoying my bicycling habit.  But when friends and colleagues bring up my habitual mode of transport they often seem bemused or concerned for my safety.   I look forward to a time when bicycling is not considered an alternative form of transportation, but a practical and useful way to commute and run daily errands.  The safety aspect is one that I take seriously.  I try to ride somewhat slowly and predictably, especially as I approach intersections.  I always have at least two blinking lights on my bicycle.  I prefer using multi-use trails and side streets when possible.  But I have to admit to myself that it is somewhat dangerous.  Bicycling becomes less dangerous when there are more bicyclists.  This encourages motorists to become more aware of bicyclists and promotes a peaceful and harmonious coexistence.  

Mayor Stothert may believe that multiple means of transport are already viable options in our community.  It is true that we have come a long way.  But there are still many things that we can do to continue to create more versatility in our transportation systems.  I think we need to create an east-west bike lane or multi-use trail to provide more opportunities for bicycle commuters who do not want to ride on roads that are often busy and may not have shoulders.  Cities like Pittsburgh and Minneapolis, as well as smaller cities like Madison, Wisconsin have created many multi-use trails and bicycle lanes that make these cities very attractive to active people who are looking for a welcoming community in which to settle and raise/flee families.

I know that your job is to make tough decisions.  One decision that I hope you will make is to invest the time and effort to consider this issue.  I believe that you will find that promoting multiple means of transportation in a city creates stronger, happier, healthier communities.  Although automobiles might be the primary way we get around for a long time, as our community grows I feel our choices in transportation should grow as well.  A number of studies (referenced below [and stolen taken from ModeShift Omaha's website]) have documented the economic and social benefits related to developing infrastructure that supports multiple forms of transport.

I hope that you will support this effort to provide a path towards a more flexible and progressive transportation plan for our community by voting to override the mayor’s veto.  Thank you for being a leader in our community and for standing up for what we believe.

                                                            Sincerely,

                                                           Bike Snot OMA

P.S.:  Please stop by so we can go bicycling together.  What size shorts do you wear?

References:

http://www.fastcompany.com/1761989/bike-pedestrian-street-projects-create-more-jobs-than-car-only-projects

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=10.1289/ehp.1103440

http://uar.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/04/28/1078087411403120.abstract?rss=1

http://www.vtpi.org/tranben.pdf

Doom + ginger beer + gloom

September 11, 2014

As I hope you have often noticed, sometimes things are going great.  Other times, as you may have had to admit to yourself, things are not going so well.  As you may also have noticed, sometimes you may want to have a beer from a bottle that does not have a twisty top.  Sometimes this is fine because you have a bottle-opening strategy  that you feel is appropriate.  Other times you encounter difficulties and/or breakage, etc., et al.  Tonight my friend Bob and I experienced a bit of the not going so well/difficulties/injury perspective.  Things started off well enough as we layered up and saddled up to ride our trusty steeds down to Margaritaville to try to finish off at least part of my formidable stash of highly carbonated ginger beer.  Sure it was kind of cool and dreary, all the more reason to get out and try to enjoy what’s left of these technically-still-summer days.  As we rode to M-ville we griped and joked good-naturedly.  We saw a serious-looking fellow flying down the trail on some kind of crazy aggro-unicycle.  

rolandpasnet.blogspot.com

Q:  How does he stop?  

A:  Not applicable.  

We met up with a small but festive group of fellow cyclists at Margaritaville.   They turned out to be well equipped with medical supplies and knowledge, we found out momentarily.  I handed Bob a highly carbonated glass bottle of ginger beer and told him I didn’t have a bottle opener but that there was a grill right here that would probably do the trick.  I did not mean Bob any harm.  The highly carbonated bottle did, however, explode when Bob opened the beer in spectacular fashion.  Unfortunately his hand got sliced up pretty good.  Fortunately a helpful fellow bicyclist had a wrap-up-your-wound style/compression bandage.  He had had it since his Army days.  It provided a secure dressing to the wound as we pedaled somewhat dejectedly back to the parking lot.  Bob seems to be recovering well.  He has described the event as a “lesson learned” in that he has resolved that we should always be equipped with either a bottle opener or a first aid kit when we set out upon the taco trail.

Although completely different, yet somewhat similar, our friendly town of Omaha is now going through a somewhat difficult time.  Parts of our multi-use trails are coveredwith mud.  Our benevolent empress/mayoress seems to be hell bent on ending our glorious years of bicycle ascendancy within the city’s transportation echelon.  It would appear that the mayoress’s veto on creating a multi-modal transportation representative has doomed our town to gloomy Gotham City-like muddiness and traffic.  However, you may grasp for a shard of glass to cut through these bonds of despair by contacting your local city councilperson (especially if your councilperson is Rich Pahls (Rich.Pahls@cityofomaha.org) who may choose to help override the mayoress’s veto.  Rich Pahls?  District 5?!  Holy shit!  That's me!  

Oooooo.  I've actually got something that involves bicycling and typing that might be considered worthwhile!  So I am hoping that our city council will gang bang the mayoress’s veto off the table so we can get on with some good ol’ wholesome bicycle mud-slinging!   I will be sure to provide you with my letter to our venerable city council man/Pahls on the scene.  

http://www.cityofomaha.org/citycouncil/council-members

I am not, however, holding my breasts breath.  My hopes have been dashed by our empress often enough and I feel that it is probably best at this juncture to keep my expectations as low as a slumping, slurpy, slippery mudslide.  Yum!