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Here are a couple things I'm thinking.

1. Paying for it: What if we (cyclist) paid for services instead of fees. I mean things such as paying for bike parking, showers, etc. We could pay monthly like cable, or trimet passes. I'm not advocating a system that would not have a free option, just a system that would promote paying something and getting something to help fund the overall goal. 

2. Culture: There was a caller that said something about the culture of cycling and that we all yell at cars and blow stop signs. That is not all true. 

Cyclist and cars have to get along. Both cyclist and motorist are equally guilty of antagonizing and blaming each other. As someone who has been hit by cars and spent a lot of time in the hospital, I am sensitive/cautious to where cars are. Both times I was hit, I was hit by a car trying to make legal, yet dangerous, left turns. I am forever changed by those instances because I am extremely cautious. I am more easily bothered by people who blow stop signs or in general seem to not pay attention to what they are doing. That is dangerous.

In a car you have the ability to seriously injure someone and so the responsibility is greater, yet a cyclist has to take it upon himself to follow the rules, if for nothing else than to show that we are respectable members of the transportation community.

In transportation there are bad apples who will always interpret the laws loosely, think speed limits, not using turn signals, driving with cell phones and roll through stop signs. Some of these things happen both on cars and bikes. I still think they are excuses to divert both users from really working together. We have to get past blame and move on to solutions. Bike lanes and other bicycle diverting, highlighting mechanisms should help to separate out the situations that cause the most tension. It's money well spent for both users. 

3. Trails: 

I miss the ease near by of mountain biking. You have to drive outside of the city to do "good" mountain biking. I hope there are some plans to make mountain bike accessable land.

Portland has some amazing athletes and could benefit from access to trails or sports parks centered around cycling: cyclocross, mountain bike, track, and road course like PIR. 

Many cyclist train on the road because there aren't safe alternatives. 

posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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