Section 2, Question 3

Read scholarly article on pedestrian/car/bicycle accidents in NYC: Pedestrian injuries due to collisions with bicycles in New York City and California. 

 

The study this article describes raises the question as to whether media coverage surrounding bicyclists is as accurate as the stations claim to be with regards to trends and frequency. This study gathered data from hospital records to find out specific information about pedestrians injured by cyclists in New York and California. This study found that the rate of pedestrians injured in collisions with cyclists has decreased, even as the number of cyclists have increased. The demographic characteristics of the injured pedestrians showed that most individuals were male and between the ages of 0-14. The authors credited this finding to the fact that children are exposed less to cyclists and that there have been major improvements in cycling infrastructure.

Section 2, Question 2

Read through the counter argument to Simon’s discussion. Summarize the counter argument and comment on it- do you agree or disagree. 

 

The counterargument for this article is that Simon was overgeneralizing a large group based on the bad behavior of a few members. I agree fully with this article and the author’s opinions on the matter. Not only does he explain the controversy behind the tweet, he also criticized Simon for tweeting it at all, which was one of the issues that I had with this situation in the first place as well. He eloquently explains how Simon acted unprofessionally as a seasoned news reporter by exhibiting stereotyping. He also points out how ridiculous it was that people are afraid of bikers when there are even more dangerous vehicles on the road every single day. The author seriously debunked every argument against biking, so I ended the reading agreeing with this author wholeheartedly. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his opinions on the matter; not only did he provide excellent information and explained away all arguments against biking, he provided an answer as to why the public feels this way towards biking.

Section 2, Question 1

Read through the article on Scott Simon’s discussion of cyclists. Summarize (and comment) on the article. Do you agree/disagree/agree with some and not with others? 

 

This article focuses on NPR’s Scott Simon’s bashing of cyclists on Twitter. The author hones his argument primarily by bringing up the opinions of one individual who has a dialogue going as part of the war between car drivers and bike riders. She also makes the observation that the topic of bicycles riles readers up, but articles about deaths due to drunk driving, speeding, or distracted driving mainly go unnoticed. She then leaves the article with a question to her audience as to what is the root cause of the passion behind this issue.

I don’t disagree with the author that this is a heated issue. I think using Scott Simon as the example for this piece was insightful as it showed someone famous who has included their voice in this debate and has strong feelings about the issue. I fully agree with the author’s distrust of Simon’s tweets because it seems to show a skewed view of cyclists that has the potential to help society as a whole.

Section 1, Question 6

In this section, you’ve been looking at streets from pedestrians’ and from bicyclists’ perspectives. What have you mulled here that you haven’t thought about before? Or if you already know this information, what kinds of genres did you read here, and how do these genres help you to familiarize yourself with a topic. Pretend that you were interested in understanding debates on the beer industry or the wine industry. If you were starting out research, how would you find the contemporary debates, what would get you a toe hold on the topic, in a way that wouldn’t be too taxing?

 

Before reading this genre, I truly didn’t understand the controversies involving pedestrians and bicyclists. I see people walking and riding bikes all the time, but I had never really thought about the infrastructure that supports these modes of transportation. I really do think our society needs to buckle down and support these forms of transportations without forming some sort of retaliation or holding resentment against them. Not only are these modes of transportation better for the environment, they create lively towns and promote a safer neighborhood. I really do think it is important that towns make it a priority to build roads that can support cars, bikers, and walkers.

After reading this genre, I can see how people might be aggravated by this issue. Some people really don’t like change or want their neighborhoods redrawn because of what bikers and walkers want. While I can understand these hard feelings, I cannot get behind taking out your anger on bicyclists by throwing things at them or scattering tacks on the road. Even if you don’t like how someone is behaving, I don’t think it is appropriate to ever try to deliberately hurt someone. Besides this resentment, however, I really think implementing change is extremely important in creating a better neighborhood overall.

These genres really helped me focus on the controversial topic of sustainable transportation by allowing me to look at the issue through perspectives I hadn’t  considered before. Examining genres like these really allow you to see all sides of an issue in order to understand how one dispute affects a multitude of people. I think that to begin research on a hot topic you need to start searching for information in the media to gain a basic understanding of the field of study. From there, you can find more scholarly sources to understand the nuances of the specific topic. This method allows you to learn technical terms, as well as gain insight from individuals who are directly affected by and have strong opinions on the issue.

Section 1, Question 5

Here’s another article, linked from Shenandoah Bicycling Company. How does it fit with what Street Fights suggest? Extra credit: Who produced this article? What’s their agenda? 

This article mainly examines the idea of “complete streets”, which is an initiative that aims to ensure every resident can safely walk or bike where they live. In other words, “completing the streets” means to accommodate travel by all modes and expand the capacity to serve everyone. This is one way to try to balance safety and convenience for all road users, as currently most roads are only suited for motor vehicles. “Complete streets” improve safety, reduce crashes, encourage more walking and biking, and increase the number of people who are able to walk and bike. These goals fit in with what Street Fights suggests in that it was Sadik-Khan was the one who was implementing the infrastructure to create “complete streets” in her community. This article helped prove all of the points Sadik-Khan made in Street Fights, including the idea that everyone needs safe, inclusive street designs to create less dangerous streets and encourage other modes of transportation. In addition, the fact that this article serves as a campaign to create change and inspire others to take on the cause of “complete streets” shows the same sort of resistance that was evident in Street Fights. While it has been proven that we need “complete streets” in our neighborhoods, it will take a community willing to change in order to implement this much needed endeavor.

The Shenandoah Bicycle Company produced the article discussed above. The SBC is a local Harrisonburg shop that “is dedicated to supporting cyclists of all levels by providing the highest quality service, products, and experience in a unique, inviting and fun environment.” Their website features information on their shop, smoothie bowl store “Pulp”, blog, service, rentals, local resources and events. We can conclude that this business is very environmentally aware and is a local resource for learning about such transportation topics. Their agenda is to influence their captivated audience (mainly bikers, pedestrians, and those who are interested in other healthful activities) on matters that they see as important, such as “completing the streets.”

Section 1, Question 4

How accessible are different parts of a town for people who need/want to work? Read the following article, and try to find another one on poverty concerns and walking/access to sidewalks. 

Low income areas have twice the pedestrian fatality rates as affluent neighborhoods and that is mainly due to a lack of pedestrian-friendly infrastructure. Many towns, especially those in the suburbs, are built with the idea that the main mode of transportation will be cars. This car-centric thinking creates an environment where the main roads are not built for walking. As the number of poor people living in suburban areas has increased, people who are less likely to be able to afford cars are living in areas where there is less infrastructure in place for safe walking. This means that living in a suburban town as a walker allows for much less accessibility to different parts of town, making it harder to get around geographically and more dangerous as there are not precautions set in place to keep pedestrians safe. Cities need to make it their priority to take all of their residents into account to create an environment where everyone has access to the means to get around safely. For walkers, this might mean that it still may be harder to get around to places that are further away, but at least they will feel safer knowing that there is an infrastructure in place that puts their safety first.

 

Here is another article that addresses poverty concerns and pedestrian walkability.

Driven into Poverty: Walkable urbanism and the suburbanization of poverty

Section 1, Question 3

Read through these articles on walking trends and cities/suburbs. Summarize the main ideas from these articles. 

The main idea that I found consistently discussed in both articles is the idea of encouraging walkability by getting people out there and implementing good urban design. The first article, “America’s Most Walkable Suburb Offers Lessons for Towns Everywhere” describes how Arlington, Virginia reinvented their town to accommodate walkers with methods such as crosswalks, bulb outs, median islands, landscaping, bike lanes, and wider sidewalks, to name a few. Once they reinvented the design of the town, Arlington became more desirable as a place that attracted young people, families, and businesses to where the action is. In addition to expanding the business district, this method improves health, fosters a sense of community, and saves money for the city. The continuing prosperity and quality of life for this town is contingent on creating walkable places in order to foster a vibrant community.

The second article, “10 Techniques for Making Cities More Walkable” does a similar job of discussing ways that towns can increase walkability. This includes decreasing the amount of parking and designing roads that make pedestrians feel more safe while on the move. This is not a personal account like the first article is, however this piece specifically talks about ways to make communities more hospitable to walkers by providing the tools pedestrians need to feel comfortable walking.

Section 1, Question 2

A. Read and summarize one of these articles. 

In June of 2011, bicyclists were attacked by anonymous members of their Virginia Beach community while they were out on their 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning bike ride. Thumbtacks were scattered along a bike route in the Pungo area, flattening over 100 tires and causing crashes that hurt two riders.  This incident is a continuation of a series of disputes involving bicyclists in this city, joining the ranks of two notable hit-and-run collisions involving cars and bikers.

It is believed that the thumbtacks were strewn on purpose to hurt the cyclists, as cars are unaffected by the short tacks. This scattering also occurred the previous weekend, when 100-200 tacks were collected at each of the several intersections by bikers along their normal bike route. The bikers were angered at this blatant disregard for their well-being and discussed the physical damage both their bikes and bodies have experienced. Safety for these athletes has definitely become a public issue, as there are no provisions for bike safety currently in place in the Virginia Beach area. In both incidents, police reports were filed. It will be interesting to see how the story develops as the city plans for new road projects involving bike paths and lanes.

 

B. Read through the comments from one of these articles and summarize the types of comments. 

It was intriguing to read the comments for the article “Tacks Scattered on Woodside Roads are Hazard to Bicyclists” because almost all of the ones I saw were very supportive of bikers. While the article described the tack attacks as instances of anger towards the biking community, most of the comments exhibited horror at what was happening. Some of the commenters were bikers themselves, while others were just members of the community who decided they needed to speak up and take a stand. A few of the posts spoke from personal experiences as to how the tacks had affected them on their bike rides, while others offered advice to protect the safety of other bicyclists. All of them spoke from personal experience and voiced their outrage as to what was happening in their community to the bikers they knew.

I only saw a few comments that were remotely negative. “Mr. Tackman” listed four points as to why he believes these attacks weren’t the worst thing in the world, all which cited the bicyclists at fault. However, while “Mr. Tackman” did end up saying that not all bicyclists deserve this, he still made sure to note that these actions were caused by the explosion of cyclists in the area. It is noteworthy to mention that a few commenters directly responded back to what “Mr. Tackman” said condemning him for his harsh views of bicyclists.

Reading the comments was eye-opening as they seemed to support what Sadik-Khan discussed in her chapter. While a few individuals are extremely opposed to the idea of biking, to the point where they will go out of their way to voice their opinion or to even throw tacks all on the road, most of the community supports bicyclists and want to keep them safe. While not all of them are complete fans of the biking trend, almost all of them condemned the “terrorist” who deliberately went out of their way to hurt others who decided to bike. Most of the individuals seemed to think that these tacks were an act of sabotage- both to bikers and their shared community- because they were meant to hurt others. Some of the commenters stated that they could see how bikers are a nuisance on the roads but that the attack was a bad and unjust act to everyone in the community. Other commenters talked about implementing cameras, writing down license plate numbers, and calling the police to catch these culprits before they can continue their attacks.

Section 1, Question 1

In Street Fights, chapter 8 Janette Sadik-Khan suggests that everyone loves to hate bicyclists. What are the key points she makes in that chapter, and how does she contextualize this perspective about bicyclists? (see reading files for a copy of this chapter). 

 

Let’s be real. Everyone loves to hate bicyclists. They ride too fast and terrorize pedestrians; they ride too slow and dangerously obstruct drivers. They don’t wear helmets or reflective bike gear, which only puts their own lives in jeopardy. At the same time, they manage to look ridiculous riding around in helmets and reflective bike gear. They shouldn’t ride in the streets because the streets are hostile, car-only zones. They also shouldn’t be allowed to ride in their own lanes because there just aren’t enough of them to take away the much needed space of the cars on the road. Finally, there are too many bicyclists who are constantly running down pedestrians, which means they just shouldn’t be allowed on the sidewalks. No matter what bikers are doing it is seen as “wrong” by society and people will find a way to be angry about it.

The main reason that there is so much anger directed towards bikers is that they don’t seem to “belong” on the road, in the typical sense, in the way that pedestrians and car drivers seem to. I think that the main reason that everyone hates bicyclists is because they represent change. Whether the change is brought about in the physical mapping of our roads or in the conscious lifestyle choice that lead more people to get out there and get healthy, bikers represent a threat to a change in our traditional infrastructure.

Some anti-bikers have tried to argue that bicyclists make the streets more congested and dangerous, but in fact it’s been proven they cause quite the opposite. Imposing bike lanes on Kent Avenue in New York City, for example, managed to slow traffic and reduce the amount of speeding cars in the area. The author contextualizes the perspective of bicyclists by providing the information from multiple perspectives to show how different groups of people are affected by these environmental changes. Sadik-Khan argues that the small opposition who fight biking do not seem to understand the sport or the culture behind it, while the broader community as a whole supports the expansion of bike paths. This small and determined opposition does not actually reflect the public opinion. Those who are intent on creating actual change for the environment and our cities must pull ahead with the work that they know to be right, even in the face of loud opposition.

Introduction

Hello! Welcome to the greatest blog you are ever going to have the joy of reading. You, my lucky readers, are soon going to have access to my internal gallery of astute opinions and comments on alternative transportation. Sit back, relax, and prepare to be amazed at the wonders of sustainable living from the mind of yours truly.