It’s that time again.  Join Frank, the rat, and others on a Ride Around Town this Friday, April 11th, Liberty Plaza, starting at 6pm:

From Frank, RAT Coordinator: The long term forcast is exceptional for Friday, April 11, so come join us for the April RAT!

If you’ve always thought about joining in on this ride, April is the month to finally commit!

A few reminders.  This ride is all about paying exceptionally strict attention to safety and rules-of-the-road.  Bikes must be street legal- although lights are becoming an option with the ride now no longer proceeding under darkness.

Still, bright colors should be worn by riders, safety vests if you have one, and helmets.  None of this is required by law … but the RAT is more about being safe than just obeying the law.  We pay attention to correct lane position for riding on narrow downtown streets with parallel-parked cars (3 to 4 feet from the car is the safe margin), and ride single file when it’s okay for automobiles to pass; side-by-side if we are taking the lane.

As the weather eases and more riders turn out (we had 10 last month!), it will be harder to stay together as a group.  That’s okay.  The ride leader will try to pay attention and will ask the group to pull over to the right on an unbusy stretch to wait for the riders to re-group.
With even larger groups we’ll probably just let the riders string out.  This happens a lot at stop signs, of all places, because we only go through 2 at a time (bicycles occupie a lane 2 abreast if conditions allow).  So, when we have, say, 30-50 riders (!!!yes!  it will come!!), we’ll ride in several lines of 4-10 riders.  Each group should have a more experienced rider to “lead” if conditions warrent some decision making.  If you are new to city riding and find yourself in an uncomfortable situation, please pull over and walk your bike on the sidewalk.

Hope to see you at Liberty Plaza!

A hot trip from Transit Riders United (TRU) led me to this survey being conducted by SEMCOG.

From TRU’s blog:

Every few years, SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, updates their long range transportation plan to decide the region’s transportation funding priorities for the next 25 years.

According to SEMCOG, the survey findings will be considered by staff and local elected officials as they “explore transportation investment choices and establish a regional investment direction. The end result will be a long-range plan serving the needs of the region’s citizens and businesses by promoting a transportation system that is accessible, safe, and reliable.”

That means if you care about transit, including busing, rail, biking and walking, you should take this survey.  You can take the survey by clicking here. 

I biked to work today on Liberty street as was delighted to see 6 other cyclists during my short ride.  It’s great to see this.

Which brings me to an issue I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.   I recently read the Tipping Point for the first time and one of the themes of the book is the power of our environment to shape out behavior.  One of the manifestations of this idea is the concept of  “Broken Windows”.  When people see broken windows, trash, graffiti, etc. in a neighborhood, it tends to invite more of the same.  And more broken windows, trash, graffiti, etc. brings with it crime and a general feeling that a place is unsafe.  So when a community makes a sincere effort to clean up the environment and immediately repair broken windows and remove graffiti, it in turn makes the community a better place.

I and others believe the same can be said for sustainable transportation.  When there are bike lanes on the road, it sends a clear message  not just that bikes belong on the road, but that a community wants people to bike.  Same goes for nice sidewalks.  And bus stops.

If we truly want people to use sustainable transportation, it’s not enough just to educate them on these alternatives.  I can educate until I am blue in the face, but if a person just doesn’t feel safe because their is no place for her to bike in the road, well, that’s a problem.

Actions speak louder than words.  This is what I am coming to realize.  It’s actually what makes Ann Arbor such a great community in many ways.  The City and DDA works to make our community walkable and bikeable by creating the infrastructure, which in turn increases the number of people who bike.  And the fact that we have a prominently located transit center in the downtown and a go!pass program clearly shows that we are interested in supporting transit.

But we need to do more.

So am I writing myself out of a job?  Not really.  Because I think employees will still need someone to advocate for them to improve the sustainable commuting choices.  I still think commuters need a little push to get them to try cycling, walking, busing, even if the infrastructure is there.

But I definitely believe that infrastructure matters big time.  And I think this City is moving in the right direction.  Let’s keep up the momentum.

So what can you do?  Stand up at City Council Meetings or email your rep, go to AATA Board Meetings, get to know the Washtenaw Biking and Walking Coalition.  If you are a downtown commuter, send me an email to let me know what you think is important so I can advocate for you.  Use your words to stimulate action.  And keep sustainable transportation in the public eye.