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Here is yet another real world example of how bicycle access (in a cold climate city) improved the local business climate.

NYC DOT found that protected bikeways had a significant positive impact on local business strength. After the construction of a protected bicycle lane on 9th Avenue, local businesses saw a 49% increase in retail sales. In comparison, local businesses throughout Manhattan only saw a 3% increase in retail sales.

I love complete streets and will fight for them.

OK cyclists, come voice your input.

The City of Rochester staff will hold a public information meeting from 4:00 to 6:00 PM, on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, in Room 104  of the Government Center, 201 Fourth  Street SE, for the purpose of receiving public comments related to the construction of  multi-use trail parallel to South Broadway Avenue between Zumbro River and 20th Street South.

Hello Mr Wojcik,

I want to thank you for your recent support of Complete Streets and ensuring Rochester mainatins equitable access to walking and biking infrastructure.  I just wanted to share my note to my council member and two resources you may already know about, but could be helpful for future council discussion.

This is a list of over 30 cities and counties that have followed Rochesters lead by passingComplete Streets policies AND implementing them!  http://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/completestreets/examples.html

This video was developed because communities were wondering how to replicate Rochesters policy.  How unfortunate that now we are not living up the reputation of being leaders.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZVDDwO1eho

Again thank you so much for championing active living efforts and for thinking whats best for the city in the long term.  We cannot just bend to the wills of business leaders whenever it impacts their pocketbooks, thats why we have elected officials like you to ensure equity.

Thank you for your time,

Kelly Corbin

Most people know that I am a champion for pedestrians and bikes. There are many good reasons to support biking in general. There are the very real health benefits, there is the reduction in congestion and pollution, there is the economic empowerment of not having to rely on a car. What many don’t realize is that biking is also serious business for a community.

Read the rest of this entry »

The city council will be discussing the “Uptown” project (2nd Street West of US 52) at a Committee of the Whole meeting on February 20th.  The plan that will be brought forth is a result of a number of compromises.  It does not represent what I myself would have designed, what residential neighbors would have designed, what public works engineers would have designed, not what businesses in the area would have designed.  It is a true compromise in design. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is how the new bridge over Valleyhigh drive will connect the Douglas Trail to the new trail allong Valleyhigh.

Here is an article on the progress in Minneapolis from the Atlantic has made in increasing bicycle commuters and reducing crashes.  A couple of take aways are that how you design the system matters and despite complaints of cyclist behavior, motorists actually contribute to more crashes.

A general need to improve urban bike infrastructure has become increasingly evident. As Emily Badger recently reported, dedicated bikes lanes cut bike-related injuries in half, and protected lanes drop the risk by 90 percent. In its master plan, Minneapolis intends to add 183 miles of bikeway in the coming years, and to bring all residents within a half mile of a bike lane by 2020.

Also

Bicyclists played a role in 59 percent of recorded bike/car collisions: the most common problems being a failure to yield (13 percent) and disregarding a traffic signal (13 percent). Drivers, meanwhile, contributed to 64 percent of accidents, most commonly (32 percent) through a failure to yield themselves. (The figures exceed 100 percent because each party can have some blame in a collision.)

Here is the next major trail connection being planned in Rochester.  I had mentioned this earlier, but have had difficulty hosting images on my website.  I am now using a 3rd party site to host images, so this should not be an issue going forward.

One small modification that I have asked for is a short extension connecting existing trails to 7th street NE. This is important because 7th street will eventually become a major on road bike route.

A number of cyclists will be leaving Rochester this Saturday from the Douglas Trail lot near Valleyhigh and West Circle Drive at 12:30.  We will ride out to Pine Island to greet Dr. Ring and ride with her back to Rochester at about 2 PM.  I will try to attend, and hope you can too.

Doctor bicycles across United States to warn of health dangers from climate change.

Tuesday July 2, 2012 BAYSIDE, CA- Doctor Wendy Ring, a 56 year old family physician, is riding a bicycle across the country this summer to talk to people about the health effects of climate change and the need to speed transition to renewable energy. Climate change is already affecting health in the United States; resulting in thousands of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths from a variety of respiratory, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases. Medical professional organizations including the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Practice have all issued warnings that climate change is harmful to the health of the American people and called for the rapid reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.

Doctor Ring and her husband are riding a tandem bicycle with camping gear across the northern states, giving talks at venues ranging from hospitals to house parties. They started from Oregon in July and aim to reach Washington DC by the end of September. Doctor Ring states: “I’m deeply concerned that our government is not responding to the alarms being sounded by the medical and scientific community with policies that go far enough or take effect fast enough to avert a public health catastrophe. Our country has the resources and technology to rapidly lower CO2 emissions but lacks the political will.  In medicine there’s a time period called the Golden Hour, when care must be given to critically ill or injured patients if they are to survive. In the case of our planet, the Golden Hour is almost over and we still haven’t provided proper treatment. The International Panel on Climate Change and our own federal agencies such as NASA, the EPA, and the CDC predict that if we continue “business as usual”, global temperature will increase 7 to 11 degrees by the end of the century with drastic consequences for human health.”

“I’m not a climate scientist, but twenty five years as a family doctor have taught me how to translate science into plain English and help people make changes to improve their health. In the absence of leadership from above, citizens must organize from the bottom up and build a movement to demand government action. So, in the tradition of Paul Revere, my husband and I are riding around the country to wake people up to the danger we face and move clean energy to the top of our national agenda.”

Dr. Ring is a graduate of Yale and Columbia Universities and holds a Doctorate in Medicine and a Masters Degree in Public Health. Formerly the medical director of an innovative mobile clinic in rural northern California, she has been recognized by the California State Senate and Assembly, the House of Representatives, the US Senate, the California Medical Association, and the American Medical Association for her contributions to health care for the underserved. To learn if Dr. Ring will be in your area or invite her to speak in your community please contact Susan Brinton at above email address.

Contact:
Susan Brinton
(707)822-3986
Cell: (707)845-9242
sbrinton@sbcglobal.net
Arcata, CA 95521

Construction will soon begin on the next addition to Rochester’s alternate transportation system.  The next bridge will cross Valleyhigh drive near the trail head for the Douglas Trail.  The Douglas Trail is the most used trail in the MN state system.  This bridge is the latest safety improvement connecting Rochester’s vast NW neighborhoods to downtown.

We had estimated that bridge and approaches would cost $2.51 million, but the actual cost came in$2.11 million.  The funding source for the project is the constitutional sales tax, Federal Enhancement funds, and Municipal State Aid Funds.  No city levy funds will be used for this project.

In an unrelated bike safety story.  Look for significant safety improvements to the trail crossing of 2nd Street SW at West Circle Drive.  If the sales tax passes, 2nd street will be rebuilt between Highway 52 and West Circle Drive.