Comments on: Creating Safe and Livable Streets and Neighborhoods http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/10/creating-safe-and-livable-streets-and-neighborhoods/ Blog for bikeleague Wed, 22 May 2013 13:17:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Brant Apley http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/10/creating-safe-and-livable-streets-and-neighborhoods/comment-page-1/#comment-33902 Brant Apley Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:57:04 +0000 http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/?p=3676#comment-33902 great post,however I get some trouble in understanding the last paragraph, could you please explain a bit more in depth?

]]> By: Streetsblog.net » Seeking traffic justice across the country http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/10/creating-safe-and-livable-streets-and-neighborhoods/comment-page-1/#comment-33690 Streetsblog.net » Seeking traffic justice across the country Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:20:09 +0000 http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/?p=3676#comment-33690 [...] without risk and periodically we have to face that awful reality. Another fatal bike crash in the Tampa area last week brings the total there to seven in just a couple of months – and bringing stark relief [...]

]]> By: ryan http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/10/creating-safe-and-livable-streets-and-neighborhoods/comment-page-1/#comment-33547 ryan Sat, 16 Oct 2010 04:39:51 +0000 http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/?p=3676#comment-33547 I was hit by a car on 10/14 feet from where Kay Ishizuka was killed weeks earlier. I was wearing a helmet (thankfully) and had lights on the front and back (2) as well as reflectors. My roommate was hit at the intersection just to the north of there last fall, same deal with lights/bike lane. The reality of the situation is that without a serious response at all levels of the community, nothing will change. I have no hope for this state and will leave as soon as i can.

]]> By: Drew http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/10/creating-safe-and-livable-streets-and-neighborhoods/comment-page-1/#comment-33539 Drew Tue, 12 Oct 2010 22:00:13 +0000 http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/?p=3676#comment-33539 If looking at statistics, anyone riding in the entire Tampabay area should be evaluated. Still cycling remains both a way of life and an important facet in my life. I just hope I can remain vigil enough to out maneuver even Tampa’s finest who choose to ignore the 3-foot rule. Have to agree with Life Mbr #958 above – How St Pete can retain that bronze status is I’m sure only because it’s given for a 3 year period. Sure the Mayor has influence on it, but it not his game alone. I’ll not even dream that Tampa could be considered for that type award.

]]> By: Life Mbr #958 http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/10/creating-safe-and-livable-streets-and-neighborhoods/comment-page-1/#comment-33511 Life Mbr #958 Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:12:56 +0000 http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/?p=3676#comment-33511 I live in St. Pete. How it remains a “Bronze” community is bizarre. In the words of our new mayor, Bill Foster, “bicycles and cars don’t mix,” and has the police department pursuing cyclists who don’t put a foot on the ground at stop signs. Meanwhile, that same PD can’t seem to locate hit and run drivers. It is more typical that my most entertaining moment remains the time I watched a motorist use the bike lane in front of the main Police Station as a passing lane.

]]> By: Khal Spencer http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/10/creating-safe-and-livable-streets-and-neighborhoods/comment-page-1/#comment-33510 Khal Spencer Thu, 07 Oct 2010 03:26:42 +0000 http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/?p=3676#comment-33510 Details.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/sep/22/221613/lack-of-leads-in-hit-and-run-death-disappoints-inv/news-metro/

]]> By: khal spencer http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/10/creating-safe-and-livable-streets-and-neighborhoods/comment-page-1/#comment-33509 khal spencer Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:33:58 +0000 http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/?p=3676#comment-33509 Note this Atlantic article about Mr. Smith written by James Fallows. Apparently NPR covered it as well.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/10/the-opposite-of-self-pity-neil-alan-smith/63937/

]]> By: khal spencer http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/10/creating-safe-and-livable-streets-and-neighborhoods/comment-page-1/#comment-33507 khal spencer Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:28:15 +0000 http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/?p=3676#comment-33507 Individual stories are powerful because we connect to the names and faces. That is a double edged sword. It powerfully motivates us for change but can sometimes give a falsely intensified sense of danger.

For example, the Neil Alan Smith case in St. Petersburg is powerful both because of the nature of Mr. Smith’s demise and for the class implications–he was one of Dan Koeppel’s “invisible cyclists” who only was written about because of a cruel comment someone made about him in the local paper, to wit, that someone of Mr. Smith’s stature in life was better off dead. But I am sure that Neil Smith’s death due to a hit and run crash while bicycling home from his minimum-wage job, and the back story written afterwards, will make more of a lasting impression than Andy’s mention of a 15% crash reduction in St. Petersburg. Statistics don’t have a name or face.

So even if statistics are improving, those individual stories make the rounds on the Internet like wildfire and contribute to the notion that cycling is a dangerous activity. Frankly, the family home is still one of the best places to get yourself killed or injured because we take the hazards so much for granted (fire, electrocution, choking, poisoning, falls, drowning, etc.). Perceptions sometimes trump reality.

]]> By: Mary Laughter http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/10/creating-safe-and-livable-streets-and-neighborhoods/comment-page-1/#comment-33504 Mary Laughter Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:56:23 +0000 http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/?p=3676#comment-33504 Unfortunately my sister in law was a static last year when she lost her life in a bike auto collision…
It may seem like the stats are going down but it seems like it is just as much happening as ever..

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