i find DIY bike lanes/routes to be useful in the early stages of advocacy pot string.  i have installed a paint applying extra wheel to the back of my bike.  With a gallon of  yellow paint in a pannier and a plastic tube metering paint on to wheel and then the road a simple easy to follow stripe that cyclist can read but is not noticed buy drivers will allow you to help cyclist find quieter routes around town.  i advocate not riding on the streets "we know the names of" opting instead for streets parallel to the arterial routes.  Post  small cyclist, size appropriate,  road signs explaining the route and destination of the paint stripes.   Of course this DIY thing could result in miss understanding and political/legal feather ruffling if done too robustly, still it is an inexpensive approach to calming traffic and helping to answer that concern "I would like to ride a bike but the cars scare me". 
This is a little off topic but still relevant. i think one might use it to persuade motorist.    
How fast are cars really? i estimate my last car was going ~10 miles an hour.
To calculate your actual speed. ? Divide the distance you drive in an year, by time spent on the road plus, time spent earning the average $8000* it cost to operate a car. This quotient will give up a truer idea of the utility gained using a private automobile. *http://newsroom.aaa.com/2012/04/cost-of-owning-and-operating-vehicle-in-u-s-increased-1-9-percent-according-to-aaa’s-2012-‘your-driving-costs’-study/




From: Akram F Abed <akram.f.abed@gmail.com>
To: The Think Tank <thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org>
Sent: Friday, September 27, 2013 8:16 AM
Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Infrastructure question - comparable cities??

Andrew,

Camden, NJ is much like Troy. 75k population, huge low income population, low car ownership rates, has a state university, big hospitals, and some industry.

Our bike lanes (3) and sharrows (2) are less than a year old. But a lot is happening in terms of connecting camden to surrounding communities and boosting economic growth and active transportation. 

Feel free to email me off list. 

Akram

On Friday, September 27, 2013, Andrew L wrote:
hey ThinkTank,

somewhat separate from my work at Troy Bike Rescue, I am part of an appointed citizens committee on alternative transportation (an idea our city is just sort of coming around to).  we have 0 bike lanes, few bike racks, and about 11 sharrows (under a year old). 

our task is primarily research-oriented, and I am searching for comparable cities and hoping the ThinkTank might help me.  Do any of you have suggestions of cities with the following characteristics:

-population: 50 - 100,000
-small "bike culture" community
-sizeable low-income population
-investing time/money/energy into bicycles as a way of turning the city around.
-demonstrable progress on that front

i know they are out there, but most examples are of much bigger cities.

I appreciate any suggestions!
Thanks!!
Andrew


--
Akram Abed
akram.f.abed@gmail.com
cell: 856.412.8035




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