"We want y’all to go to school, do the right thing, and ride y’all bikes”

My friend in Detroit posted this short doc on riding bikes in Detroit.  Oh, how I miss racing city busses on my bike in downtown Hamilton on a hot summer day.. Enjoy!

Detroit Bike City from Alex Gallegos on Vimeo.

The Case for Separated Bike Lanes

This Street Films video about NYC's need for separated bike lanes summarizes a discussion that I bet is happening in many North American cities.  If there is enough room on the street, separated bike lanes are practical, convenient - whether on a bike or in a car.

But what about where there is not enough room on the street?  Since Rob Ford became Mayor of Toronto in 2010 he has been at war with cyclists.  While Ford (and many others) believe that the city's non-separated bike lanes should be ripped out for reasons of safety and efficiency, cyclists believe there must be another option.

In defence of Suburbia (well, kind of...)

                                                                               

Introducing > The Suburb of Ancaster

When we think of the phrases "walkable neighbourhood" or "active transportation" what often comes to mind is the revitalization of urban streets as opposed to suburban streets.  In Hamilton, like in many North American cities, walkable neighbourhoods are an urban issue - concerning the city core.  In our attempts to advocate for walkable neighbourhoods and active transportation we often exclude suburban neighbourhoods from the discussion. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I'm sure this is an issue in many larger North American cities: As living downtown becomes less of a pubic safety issue and more of a trendy convenience, it is suburbia that has to deal with the imbalance (i.e.: aging/inefficient/oppressive infrastructure).

I'm seeing this trend already in Hamilton.  Ancaster's situation relative to downtown Hamilton is a perfect fit for this scenario.  To most Hamiltonians, Ancaster is where the rich live.  They live in a sea of large stucco houses on either side of the 403.  They commute to work.  They live up on the Mountain, looking down on the rest of the city, a couple hundred feet below.  They are also probably arrogant, stuck-up, is what the going stereotype would suggest.

This passed Winter at the Hamilton Transportation Summit I met someone who works with the  Ancaster BIA and a newly formed group called Preserve Ancaster Village.  She told me all about the City's plans to widen one of the main roads which runs through Ancaster.  The City, she told me, plans to widen Wilson St. from 2 lanes to 4 lanes, cut down a bunch of trees which line the sidewalk, get rid of the grass barrier between the sidewalk and the road, and add roundabouts making pedestrian crossings almost impossible while making it easier for cars to speed through the suburb.

Knowing the amount of attention the once-neglected inner-city neighbourhoods of Hamilton have been getting in the past couple of years I assumed that not many Hamiltonian's were too concerned about suburban road-widening projects.

I was right - my new friend from Ancaster assured me that not many people were in opposition to the City's plan, nor did many people know of it.  Not only are suburban neighbourhoods not a fad (unlike rough inner-city neighbourhoods), but community engagement in suburbs is weak.

In the last couple of months I've been working with Preserve Ancaster Village.  Their current agendas include forming a group of citizens in Ancaster who will represent the City's opposition in the Wilson Street road-widening issue.  My involvement with Preserve Ancaster Village has been to help them efficiently organize and affectively communicate the groups' agendas.  This information will strengthen their argument when approaching City Hall. 

It's been pretty cool working with them, though the one thing that I have learned is this:

As North American's increasingly become city dwellers - moving from sparse suburbia into dense urbanicity - I feel as though suburban social issues will become neglected and overseen; just as issues in our inner-cities once did.

Whether a road is widened in a run-down neighbourhood in the inner-city or in an exploding suburb on the fringe makes some but little difference - it is a struggle either way, one where pedestrians and cyclists will have to deal with the consequences of being structurally oppressed.

So the question I am left with after all this is: do we punish suburbia or do we defend suburbia?

Biking downtown in timelapse!!

Today I rode my bike down to the property management office.  This is what the bike ride looked like.

Moving Beyond the Automobile: The rationale behind lane reductions

Lane reductions on busy streets can be a contentious issue.  While the average pedestrian on a busy street wants safety, the average person driving their car down the same street wants efficiency.  

These two opposing points summarize many discussions I've had lately with friends and family regarding the status of streets and how to build them correctly.  Ultimately, I've found, the contentious issue surrounding lane reductions come down to two fundamental differences in mentality: Those who live in walkable areas, use transit and are concerned with safety above anything else, and those who live in the suburbs, drive through the city on their way to work and want efficiency.

While the conclusion I draw from these discussions is simple ("move downtown" ...) it seems as though experts draw similar conclusions though have a different method of reaching the same, simple point.

This video outlines really well why experts and advocates involved in active transportation planning want to decrease the amount of lanes on our roads.  Thoroughfare or side street, they argue, lane reductions make streets more safe and efficient - whether your driving, cycling or walking.  

Bike to Work Day 2011

Smart Commute sponsored Hamilton's Bike to Work Day last Monday in Gore Park.

Participants were given free breakfast, a tee-shirt and entered into a draw with a chance to win all kinds of great bicycle related things.

Even though I didn't bike to the event (nor was I on my way to work...) I was pressured into entering the draw.  Well I ended up winning the grand prize of a $100 gift certificate to Downtown Bike Hounds... here's to new accessories for the new bike.

Looks like all this volunteering is beginning to pay off..

Bicycles mean exploration.

I've recently made one of the largest purchases of my life.

While living in this city I've taken the odd road trip up north and have gone on a hand-full of hikes leading me to where the city meets the country-side.  Both have given me a brief fix of nature and silence - two essential components which many of us lack in our urban lives.

Though after living downtown for nearly 8 months I've recently decided that a mere hike to the edge of the city isn't enough.  Living in the most urban setting I've ever lived in has left my 'exploration quota' neglected and time spent away from the city minimal.  Hiking to areas of the city where traffic can still be heard has become barely sufficient - far from refreshing or rejuvenating.

So I bought myself a bicycle.

A touring bicycle.

A friend got me a sweet deal on it so I jumped on the timely opportunity.  Over the past week I've taken it out for a few rides, while yesterday I took it on its first day trip out of the city.  In a few weeks time this new and endless ticket out of town will take me to Lake Erie.  The plan is to prep for a larger bike tour for later on in the summer - anywhere I can get using 100% pedal power.  Care to join?  Any recommendations??

                                                     And summer exploration begins!

City of Wateloo to become the first city in Canada to build Complete Streets!

What does that mean?

check out their website!

This means that:
a) Waterloo streets will be safer, 
b) Waterloo communities will be healthier, and 
c) Waterloo air will be cleaner 

...all through giving people more options to walk, cycle and use transit to reach their destination.

Incomplete streets - road designed mainly for movement of vehicular traffic - exclude safe passage for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users.

Building complete streets will guarantee that infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users will be routinely accommodated in the city’s transportation plans. 

They are the first city in Canada to adopt such a policy, which has been used in numerous municipalities throughout the States.

Check out this article for more info!

“If you have six-lane roads everywhere it means you have lots of cars and it is really hard to walk or cycle in that environment ... I think Complete Streets is really putting the focus where it needs to be — thinking about the most vulnerable user first and then designing around that.” 

- Phil Hewitson, Director of Transportation, City of Waterloo

The economics of walkability

Check out this article published in the Hamilton Spectator today by Christopher Leinberger - he discusses walkable neighbourhoods as being more economcally viable than suburban neighbourhoods.

"While cities are thriving and growing, suburbs have grown more congested, less green, even more car-centric and been pushed further out into the hinterland ... What is in trouble is the entry level, low-end fringe development. Those are the next slums.”

-Christopher Leinberger

Downtown revitalization, walkability and Open Streets

The city I live in is quickly changing.

From the mid-1970s to the late-1990s the city was in decline.  The steel mills closed their doors and large malls were built on the outskirts.  Downtown began to crumble and funding for social programs was cut.  Hamilton's streets were unsafe.

James & Rebecca, beside Listor Block (April 2011)

Though the scars associated with 3 decades of neglect remain, the lower-city is doing the best it has since the 1950s.  The amount of change I can see even in my lifetime is huge.  Before I left this city to go to school 8 years ago there were near-entire blocks of vacant buildings downtown - hollow window frames and bad graffiti on red brick.  When I moved back last September into a neighbourhood in the downtown north end I saw those same buildings now as coffee shops and construction sites. 

Last year, a street festival called Open Streets began in the downtown north end, just outside the apartment a friend and I moved into last autumn.  For two afternoons last year they closed down the road for the festival which is an offshoot of the Latin American Ciclovia- a street festival built on promoting active transportation world-wide.  (active transportation, by the way, refers to any type of transportation which requires you being physically active to get to where you need -- biking, walking, riding the bus, rollerblading, etc. all good, respectable things.)

The difference between the two street festivals is that the Open Streets festival has added a unique spin to it's mission statement.  Since January, I have been sitting on the steering committee for the group and it's been pretty cool to see the direction we are steering the festival in.  Rather than merely promoting active transportation, Open Streets promotes healthy neighbourhoods and downtown living.

Last year at Open Streets, people played ball hockey on the road while buskers sang songs along side.  People jogged and rode their bikes on the street playing games while patios were packed.  NGOs and community groups handed out flyers of various community issues and events, artists sold their art on the sidewalk while parents bought their kids balloons.

What this comes down to is that choosing to be active (by riding your bike, or walking) is not merely a matter of choosing a particular type of mobility.  Rather, choosing to walk, take the bus, or ride your bike is choosing to be an active member of your community, your city and your natural environment. 

The purpose of using a car is strictly to get us from point A to point B in as little time and in as much comfort as possible.  It looks at all other variables - the sidewalk, saying “hi” to a friend on the road, waving to a kid in a shop window, buying a coffee on your way to where you are going - as obstacles.  Driving a car deems anything in between you and your destination as an interruption, a set of interferences, things of which you are not a part and things which should not, by any means, stand in your way.  Our entire notion of “space”, when driving, is diminished and we do not include ourselves in it.

The main point here is that individuals, if we choose, can be active members in those things which surround us.  Hamiltonians are learning this, and we are choosing to use this method to heal our city.  The ideology many Hamiltonian’s share is that healthy individuals (not cars) make for healthy communities, therefore making healthy cities and a healthier natural environment.

Get on your bike and ride it. 

And check out this festival if you’re in town!

On the topic of the South Bronx... Another video! This one about urban green space and waterfront projects.

Majora Carter grew up in the South Bronx.  In 2001, she started the environmental not-for-profit group "Green The Ghetto".  Since then, the group has spearheaded numerous urban green space and waterfront revitalization projects in the South Bronx. 

Green The Ghetto had an idea and the municipal government listened:  Carter discusses in the video how "comprehensive planning" (i.e. inclusion of community groups in decision making processes) helped to save the South Bronx.


Their approach : Green The Ghetto doesn't use social assistance or money to mitigate urban poverty.

Rather, they believe that creating urban green space will.

This is her story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ-cZRmHfs4&feature=related