This page from Hecht Kleeger has some good graphical representations of crash data.
Say no more. Get involved.
Best,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2011 Robert Matson
Here’s the New York Times article. Write a reply. Write the editors. Write your congressman and councilmember.
For City’s Transportation Chief, Kudos and Criticism
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/nyregion/06sadik-khan.html
And then, you there, the one reading this, take a friend out for a pleasant ride — out to the Atlantic Ocean or the Hudson River, to The Park (you know the one), to the Little Red Lighthouse, to JFK, to Gracie Mansion…. Introduce all your neighbors and friends to the simple joy of cycling. Obey the road rules, be nice to pedestrians (and everyone else) and otherwise just be a good citizen.
To be a bicycle advocate, you don’t have to set yourself on fire. No, just invite a friend out on a ride and enjoy yourself. If you need ideas for routes, join the New York Cycle Club to get access to their wonderful ride library.
Best,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2011 Robert Matson
New York Times
BUSINESS DAY
As U.S. Agencies Put More Value on a Life, Businesses Fret
By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM
Published: February 16, 2011
Agencies that calculate the worth of a life have been raising the number, which affects how much the government should spend to prevent a single death.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/business/economy/17regulation.html
Best,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2011 Robert Matson
Queens
Dear Councilmember Ulrich:
Thank you for dedicating your career to making New York a better place to live and work.
However, I have learned that your office has announced a proposal to mandate bicycle licensing. Thousands of New Yorkers are likely to be killed and injured by this law, if enacted. Surely, this is not the consequence you intend.
According to the facts from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in the 15 years from 1994 up through 2009, 5,746 people were killed in the five boroughs of New York City in motor vehicle accidents. Allow me to emphasize that: Five THOUSAND, seven HUNDRED and forty-six.
Source: The U.S. Department of Transportation’s
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s
“Fatality Analysis Reporting System Encyclopedia” at
http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx
Considering that these 5,746 people were killed over a period of _ONLY_ 15 years, the mind boggles to contemplate the thousands upon thousands of New Yorkers who have been killed by our dangerous streets over the decades.
Experts in the field of transportation safety have ample evidence that bicycles and bike lanes create safer streets with fewer accidents to all street users. The New York City Department of Transportation has
published data showing this is true in New York.
There is also testimony from experts showing that laws which inhibit the wide use of bicycles, such as bicycle licensing and helmet laws, causes a decrease in the number of cyclists (source: Transportation Alternatives). Since a drop in the number of cyclists creates more dangerous streets for all street users, licensing laws have the unintended effect of increasing mortality — deaths — on city streets.
The 5,746 street users who were killed from 1994 through 2009 must not be ignored. Being dead, they can not write you or your office, or march to City Hall in protest. But it is a great injustice to forget or ignore them.
How many more New Yorkers must die, before we reach a consensus that safe streets are important, and that, as a community, we should pursue all efforts that create safer streets?
Bicycle licensing will cause fewer people to bike. Fewer bikes will mean more dangerous streets. More dangerous streets will mean thousands killed on New York roads.
New York does not need laws that result in deaths. What we need, are leaders who will support and advance a readily acceptable truth: New Yorkers need laws that result in quality of life improvements. We need safe streets.
I hope you will agree.
Please retract the proposal for bicycle licensing. And please support the construction of safe streets and bike lanes.
Thank you for caring about New Yorkers.
Respectfully yours,
Robert Matson
Member: New York Cycle Club and Transportation Alternatives
cc: Blog.NYCRecumbentSupply.com
# # #
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply (TM)
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2011 Robert Matson
In order to ensure you continue to get life-saving bike lanes, you need to spend 10 minutes today to tell your council member what you think. (Suggestion: you want bike lanes because they decrease injuries and save lives for ALL street users — motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, skaters, dog walkers, dogs, cats, you name it — and you want them fast, before the next 100 people needlessly die on New York City roads.)
Here are some facts so you better understand just how serious this business is:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811156.PDF
Browse around here: http://www.nhtsa.gov/NCSA
Here’s an article at RecumbentJournal.com on the subject
http://www.recumbentjournal.com/views/columns/item/299-cycling-safety-situational-cities-certainly-scariest.html
See my previous blog entry: Get involved in local politics to improve street safety.
And here are the two stories and what you should do:
New York Cycle Club Alert: Where You Can Help
Issue: Queens Councilman Eric Ulrich has announced a proposal for citywide bike licensing.
Action needed: Email the Councilman (e-mail address: eulrich [at] council [dot] nyc [dot] gov) and tell him why this scapegoating of all cyclists for the bad habits of a few is wrong. Mention you are a member of New York Cycle Club to show that, all together, we have clout.
* * *
Councilmembers James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio (Staten Island, Republican) are demanding new bike lanes be subject to a lengthy and unnecessary review process.
From:
Paul Steely White
Dear T.A. StreetBeat Reader,
As reported by the New York Post, Staten Island Republican Councilmembers James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio are demanding that all new bike lanes be subject to a lengthy — and highly unnecessary — review process. Councilmembers Oddo and Ignizio’s proposal would put a snarl of red tape and potentially years of waiting time between New Yorkers and life-saving improvements to their streets.
Take Action: http://transalt.org/takeaction/actioncenter/5073
Send Councilmembers Oddo and Ignizio a fax and stand up against a long, drawn-out review bogging down life-saving bike lanes. Tell Councilmember Oddo and Ignizio that New Yorkers need bike lanes. We will not stand for their attack on safe streets.
T.A.’s legal committee is fast at work on an official answer to this nonsense. Meanwhile, before other Councilmembers begin blaming every other traffic jam on bicyclists, we need you to tell Councilmember James Oddo that obstructing the installation of bike lanes will only make our streets more dangerous for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists alike.
On Manhattan’s 9th Avenue, a parking-protected bike lane and its accompanying pedestrian islands reduced injuries for everyone by 56 percent. That’s drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists, all safer because of a bike lane. Because bike lanes make streets safer for pedestrians and drivers too, their timely installation is integral to making our streets safer for everyone.
T.A. needs your help to defeat this attack on bicycling before it gets started. Stand up for your right to bicycle in a safe lane! Send an e-fax to Councilmember Oddo now!
Paul Steely White
Executive Director,
Transportation Alternatives
Councilmembers Here!
To e-mail your councilmember, find their name and e-mail address below. You could also pick up the phone and call their office. I’m not certain how to address them, but try “Your Honor” — can’t be too far off — and let me know how that goes.
MATHIEU EUGENE mathieu.eugene@council.nyc.gov
GALE BREWER gbrewer@council.nyc.gov
FERNANDO CABRERA fcabrera@council.nyc.gov
MARGARET CHIN chin@council.nyc.gov
LEROY COMRIE comrie@council.nyc.ny.us
ELIZABETH CROWLEY ecrowley@council.nyc.gov
ERIC MARTIN DILAN Edilan@council.nyc.gov
JULISSA FERRERAS jferreras@council.nyc.gov
LEWIS A. FIDLER LFidler@council.nyc.gov
HELEN D. FOSTER foster@council.nyc.gov
Daniel R. Garodnick garodnick@council.nyc.ny.us
James F. Gennaro jgennaro@council.nyc.gov
VINCENT J. GENTILE vgentile@council.nyc.gov
SARA M. GONZALEZ Sgonzalez@council.nyc.gov
DANIEL J. HALLORAN dhalloran@council.nyc.gov
VINCENT IGNIZIO Ignizio@council.nyc.ny.us
ROBERT JACKSON rjackson@council.nyc.gov
LETICIA JAMES ljames@council.nyc.gov
PETER KOO pkoo@council.nyc.gov
G. Oliver Koppell okoppell@council.nyc.gov
Karen Koslowitz Koslowitz@council.nyc.gov
BRAT LANDER lander@council.nyc.gov
JESSICA S. LAPPIN lappin@council.nyc.gov
Stephen Levin slevin@council.nyc.gov
Melissa Mark-Viverito mviverito@council.nyc.gov
Darlene Mealy darlene.mealy@council.nyc.gov
Rosie Mendez rmendez@council.nyc.gov
JAMES S. ODDO joddo@council.nyc.gov
ANNABEL PALMA apalma@council.nyc.gov
Domenic M. Recchia, Jr drecchia@council.nyc.gov
JOEL RIVERA Joel.Rivera@council.nyc.gov
Ydanis Rodriguez yrodriguez@council.nyc.gov
JAMES SANDERS, Jr jsanders@council.nyc.gov
LARRY B. SEABROOK cmseabrook12@yahoo.com
ERIC ULRICH eulrich@council.nyc.gov
JAMES VACCA jvacca@council.nyc.gov
JIMMY VAN BRAMER jvanbramer@council.nyc.gov
ALBERT VANN avann@council.nyc.gov
Mark Weprin MWeprin@Council.NYC.gov
RUBEN WILLS Ruben.Wills@council.nyc.gov
Stand up for safe cycling, today.
Best,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply (TM)
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2011 Robert Matson
It’s blatantly unjust that lawmakers try to create laws against things they dislike, but which they know nothing about. A law maker should be personally aware of how dangerous the roads are for cyclists before he/she attempts to make them still more dangerous.
Best,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply (TM)
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2011 Robert Matson
|| Hilarious article about New York City recumbent riding ||
|| in Recumbent Journal. ||
Recumbent Journal, Sunday January 9, 2011
“Big Apple Traffic, Cobbles Hobble Bentrification” by Chris Malloy
http://www.recumbentjournal.com/views/columns/item/287-big-apple-traffic-cobbles-hobble-bentrification.html
** Studded Winter Tires **
I’m trying to keep studded tires in stock through February. That said, every Schwalbe dealer in the country is backordered. I still have 26″ studdeds and 700c studdeds. Get them while it’s cold.
__The_Third_Saturday_Grant’s_Tomb__bent rides are now joint rides with the Metro Area Recumbent Society and the Appalachian Mountain Club. Cool, eh? New York Cycle Club members will also soon be (officially) joining in. I’m rather pleased about this because it broadens participation in the ride and welcomes the “bent curious” as well as the “simply bent.” 🙂 If you haven’t been out for the ride in a while, I hope to see you soon. It’s a wonderfully pleasant training ride that is right outside our doors.
^^ Tours ^^
I plan to lead a week-long tour upstate this summer. The route is beautiful with magnificent views (that’s bent rider speak for “expect hills”). I’ll have more details in the spring, but I tell you now so, if you’re interested, you can start training…now. Days will be 60 – 80 hilly miles. I’d be interested in hearing from prospective participants as to whether they’d prefer to rough it with a fully-loaded tour or stay at hotels or B&Bs along the way. Advantages to both.
(For indoor training, I recommend the 1-Up trainer:
http://www.1upusa.com/bike_trainer.html)
## Trikes ##
I still don’t know what to make of them for urban riding, but I’ll tell you, that new fast-folding Gecko from HP Velotechnik is really something else and it’s priced to move (but is still made in Germany). If most your riding is on greenways or country roads, do not overlook them.
HP Velotechnik trike designs continue to be somewhat unique for many reasons, not least of which is that their trikes have a surprisingly high seat height compared to other brands. The Scorpion fs, for example, is the same head height as a Corvette.
Everyone loves trikes on greenways and bike paths. Do we have enough bike lanes in NYC now for trikes to feel safe on the roads? Maybe soon. At any rate, they outsell two-wheeled bents everywhere else in the country so I’ll be bringing them in as fast as people want them.
— Help Stop the Backlash against Cycling —
NYC’s boom in cycling has lead to some backlash from a very vocal minority. Some of their complaints are justified (about cyclists violating road rules). But some are dangerously wrong-headed and involve fabrications of fact (there’s a group saying the Prospect Park West (Brooklyn) bike lane makes the street more dangerous and they want it removed. Truth: the accident and speed data shows it’s made the street dramatically safer).
Last week, the NYC Dept. of Transportation announced at the NY Cycle Club meeting that it is taking the politically necessary route of working with the police to enforce road rules for cyclists at the same time that they remain fully committed to building out hundreds of miles of bike lanes.
Please: Ride according to the road rules. Join Transportation Alternatives (www.transalt.org). And follow TA’s lead in taking action to preserve and improve the cycling boom in the city. This is important for improving the quality of life for all city residents.
That’s all folks. Have a great winter!
All best,
Robert
———-
Robert Matson
Tel: (646) 233-1219
Hours: M-F, 10am-6pm; Sat-Sun. by appointment.
This THURSDAY, JANUARY 20th at 6:30 PM, Brooklyn cyclists need YOU!
This just in from Transportation Alternatives:
* * *
Just because there's slush on the ground and you may not be riding along PPW lately, the lane still needs your show of support. This THURSDAY, JANUARY 20th at 6:30 PM, DOT will report on its PPW findings and we are certain that many, many bike lane opponents are set to come and speak against the lane; We need YOUR voices and bodies there! PPW is tremendously safer now and works better to accommodate all its users. Don't let selfish desires and dangerous double parking rule the room. Come out and support PPW. http://www.facebook.com/l/6ddeaiEgxDGxcnI_RUQLbeVpGLQ;www.streetsblog.org/2011/01/18/this-week-one-more-chance-to-defend-the-ppw-bike-lane/#comments PLACE: OLD FIRST REFORMED CHURCH 729 CARROLL STREET (CORNER OF 7TH AVENUE) BROOKLYN, NY 11215 A G E N D A - Presentation by representatives for the Department of Transportation on their findings and recommendations regarding the Prospect Park West bicycle lanes and traffic calming project installed in Summer 2010. --------------------
Park Slope Anti-bike activists are still trying to get rid of the bike lanes. Get involved. Best, Robert ------------ Robert Matson New York City Recumbent Supply (TM) The Innovation Works, Inc. copyright 2011 Robert Matson
Last night, New York City Dept. of Transportation Senior Policy Advisor Jon Orcutt spoke to the New York Cycle Club. He had several vitally important messages for cyclists:
– The NYC DOT is 100% behind improving bicycle infrastructure. There are wonderful projects in the works and we are going to see a huge growth in cycling AS LONG AS the Bloomberg administration is in office. For example, the new bike share program is going to be huge and run by experienced international vendors. The bike parking plans are everything we could hope for. And much, much more.
– When Mayor Bloomberg leaves office, there is no assurance that the next mayor will be in favor of cycling (during the last election, Bloomberg’s opponent said he planned to remove bike lanes). Furthermore, a VERY vocal minority is speaking out against cyclists.
Therefore, in order to maintain the advances, cyclists _MUST_ get involved in local politics and advocacy and actively work to protect cyclist rights. We CAN NOT AFFORD to sit on our asses and passively accept the favors. Active engagement includes: writing letters to the media; on-street protesting against laws that hurt cycling; community advocacy; joining and attending community board and city council meetings; joining and funding advocacy groups (such as Transportation Alternatives and Bikes Belong); observing all street laws; doing anything else you can think of that promotes cycling, STOPS backlash, and helps solidify gains.
– The New York police dept. has been directed to ticket cyclists regularly. No one wants to hear this. But the status quo, of cyclists riding however they please, is entirely unsustainable from any perspective, especially the political and practical. The administration, which supports cycling 100%, can not be seen to condone or coddle law breakers. Also, in the political realm, it is impossible to argue that cyclists should not be ticketed until after all the motorists start driving properly; it’s not going to happen. Orcutt did not give a time table for this, but presumably this more aggressive stance starts immediately and we’ll see abundant ticketing in the spring, as cycling picks up.
– All this goes for New Jersey cyclists as well. YOU MUST GET INVOLVED IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS. NOW!
THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
RIGHT NOW: Stop bitching about the unfairness of it all and how motorists do the same stuff and get away with it. This accomplishes nothing and creates a culture of apathy. THIS WILL KILL CYCLING.
TODAY: 1) join Bikes Belong and Transportation Alternatives and pay at least double the basic joining fee, if not more; and 2) make a commitment to get personally involved in grass roots advocacy.
TOMORROW: 1) write your local city council member and mayor in support of cycling and bike infrastructure; 2) find out when your community board and city council next meet and make a commitment to attending the meeting in order to personally, face to face, voice your support of cycling.
THE NEXT DAY: 1) write your local news organizations in support of cycling and safer streets; 2) Volunteer with a cycling advocacy group to help their efforts.
FOREVER: Obey the road rules, engage in the community. (Law breakers will never gain the hearts of the community, which is what we need to do.) Never let up. Once a month, _DO_ something that supports cycling in the political and public realm.
Links:
Orcutt’s bio (he’s also a cyclist).
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/about/orcuttbio.shtml
NY Cycle Club meeting summary
http://nycc.org/node/48887
(Hey, look, it’s Robert Matson in the red shirt, front row.)
Bikes Belong: http://www.bikesbelong.org/
Transportation Alternatives: http://transalt.org/
Best,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply (TM)
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2011 Robert Matson
From today’s New York Times:
SCIENCE
U.S. Rethinks Strategy for the Unthinkable
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
Published: December 15, 2010
“The Obama administration wants to convey how to react to a nuclear attack but is worried about seeming alarmist.”
“Suppose the unthinkable happened, and terrorists struck New York or another big city with an atom bomb. What should people there do? The government has a surprising new message: Do not flee. Get inside any stable building and don’t come out till officials say it’s safe.
“The advice is based on recent scientific analyses showing that a nuclear attack is much more survivable if you immediately shield yourself from the lethal radiation that follows a blast, a simple tactic seen as saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Even staying in a car, the studies show, would reduce casualties by more than 50 percent; hunkering down in a basement would be better by far.”
Read more about how to protect ourselves from those who hate us — and sell us oil — by reading the original article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/science/16terror.html
Next, we need to learn how to protect ourselves from those who hate us and loan us money.
Best,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply (TM)
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2010 Robert Matson