Be still my heart!

News Flash

Help Re-Name Thunderhead Alliance - Win $$$
Thunderhead Alliance is embarking upon a process to rename/rebrand the organization. We’re inviting all our members to share with us ideas for a new name. If your suggestion is selected, you will win a $250 voucher good towards your Thunderhead Alliance membership, events, or publications.

Soooo, they're looking for a new name? I can suggest a few, but remember, this is an organization whose former leader labeled me as "an enemy of cycling" because I had the effrontery to question their accepted wisdom on spending public monies on bike lanes. Imagine that. Their reaction to differing viewpoints was worthy of Joseph Stalin, but at least he would have offered a blindfold and cigarette.

With that as prologue, here are my suggestions for a name change (and I'll do my very best to keep it clean!):

Give Us The Money Bicycling and Pedestrian Advocacy.

Inferior Cyclists/Inferior Facilities.

Cycling Shills for Cash.

Know Nothing Cycling.

Money Money Money Money Money Money Money Money...um...Cyclists and...uh...oh, yeah, Pedestrians.

And you didn't miss the fact that they're (sort of) offering money for a good suggestion, did you? Normally, an organization brings in a consulting firm to conduct some surveys about the perceptions associated with a new name. They have focus groups. But TA is doing this on the cheap, and only offering $250 VOUCHER for the winning entry.

So I'll make a counter-offer right out of my own pocket. I have $3.28 in change in my pants pocket right now. Put your own suitably twisted suggestion for a new name for TA in comments. The winner gets that princely sum of $3.28! What a deal! To keep this impartial, I'll ask Doctor Wally Crankset to be the judge, assuming he's not currently incarcerated and he's reasonably sober.

Remember, this ain't no VOUCHER. It's cash. Real money. So make your suggestions and I'll announce the lucky winner by December 7th.


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Cycling in Hell

(Image from Wikimedia)

Those of you who read CycleDog regularly know that I'm not afraid to rub a cat's fur the wrong way. So it shouldn't be a surprise that I'm not a fan of the Copenhagen style bike lane plans, or their foaming-at-the-mouth, overly ardent admirers. If you want such facilities, move to Copenhagen, but don't make the mistake of believing that similar projects are possible here. There are simply too many differences between our cultures.

First, taxes in Europe are exorbitant by our standards. Sure, they get a lot of public services in return, but if Americans were taxed at similar levels we'd overthrow the government.

Second, fuel costs are staggering. A gallon of gasoline costs roughly the equivalent of eight dollars. Is it any wonder they drive tiny, fuel-efficient cars? Is it any wonder they use bicycles for short trips?

Third, the oldest parts of European cities are laid out on a pedestrian scale. Streets can be narrow, sidewalks almost non-existent, and parking is often some distance away. Some cities have had the dubious benefit of rebuilding their cores after seeing them flattened in two world wars. I don't know of any sane people who'd advocate total destruction as an urban redevelopment option.

Finally, they enjoy extremely high population density, getting to live cheek-by-jowl with the neighbors. "Hey honey! CycleDog is having sauerkraut tonight! Let's get out of here!"

Now, the admirers of the Copenhagen plan would have us believe it's a cycling utopia, and if only we'd build similar facilities here, we'd find our paths strewn with flowers by tall, tastefully dressed Nordic women in stylish footwear.

So imagine my dismay at seeing the following:

In a measure to protect their cyclists, the Danish city of Grenå is funding a large-scale project called “See Mi” that will make navigating the city’s busiest streets easier for both cyclists and drivers. The initiative will see the installation of battery-powered RFIDs in the steering columns of 300 bikes as well as receivers at seven of the city’s most dangerous intersections. The RFID from the resident’s bicycle will send a signal to the traffic light when approaching the intersection; in turn, the traffic signal will automatically flash a ‘cyclist’ sign to warn drivers that they should keep an eye out for cyclists before making a right turn.

(LINK)

RFIDs are usually passive and do not require battery power. But that's a minor point. A much bigger one it this - MOTORISTS DO NOT LOOK FOR CYCLISTS ON THEIR RIGHT, EVEN IN UTOPIA. And a bike lane system merely reinforces this behavior. Cyclists are 'safely' segregated, out of sight and out of mind.

So in order to make this supposedly Utopian system work as it should, another modification, another layer of bureaucracy, another layer of control, and another equally pointless layer of gold leaf has to be applied to Copenhagen's turd of a bike system.

Tell you what - put the cyclist and the driver in the same lane and treat both of them as responsible vehicle operators, and this problem will go away without resorting to another Band-Aid approach. No one questions the underlying assumptions of these segregated bikeways, that cyclists are incapable of learning to ride in traffic, or that it's even possible to ride safely on a city street, because there's too much money and prestige tied up in building more and more facilities. Thunderhead Alliance, Bikes Belong, and a host of advocacy organizations including my favorite, the League of American Bicyclists, turn away from any serious discussion of this.

Sue Knaup given the boot!

(Not a recent photo)

Sue Knaup Leaving Thunderhead


PRESCOTT, AZ (BRAIN)-Thunderhead Alliance's board of directors has decided to part ways with executive director Sue Knaup.

"The board informed me on August 31 that they plan to take Thunderhead in a new direction that does not include me," Knaup said. "In spite of all my efforts, the board is set on their new plan and direction."

She added, "In a strange way I am uplifted as I look ahead to my next role for bicycling and walking, transit and social equity. I plan to launch a new international
organization that will hold at its core the principle of respect and kindness for leaders of advocacy organizations and carry on the capacity building efforts I held so dear at Thunderhead."



Sue Knaup called me an "enemy of cycling." And yes, I took it personally. But here's hoping she can find a new job...that is...if there's anyone willing to hire her. I received neither 'respect nor kindness' from her and some of her sycophants, so I have no sympathy for her ignominious sacking. Getting kicked to the curb was too kind.

Also, let's hope that Thunderhead's new direction includes something other than the 'build it and they will come' variety of paint-and-pave they've espoused up to now. Some diverse viewpoints would be welcome too, but I won't hold my breath.

Thunderhead Alliance Newsletter

It's far past time that those nice folks at Thunderhead stopped whining and learned to ride on the road with the rest of the adults.

I read this newsletter from TA, and for now, all I can think about is the utter self-centered attitude and near blindness of it. Iraq and Afghanistan are costing us, what, a billion dollars per day? We need more troops. The troops need more up-armored vehicles, and they CLEARLY need better medical care. Yet TA whines about the loss of bicycle facilities funding. There's a fundamental disconnect in their thinking, a lapse of ethics and ordinary human empathy that reveals a grasping, money-grubbing attitude that I find revolting.

This is a classic guns-or-butter situation when it comes to federal spending. We'd all like to ignore the enormous expense of fighting two wars. We'd prefer that 'the other guy' pay for it by cutting funds from HIS pet programs rather than ours. But the bottom line is that streets and highways benefit commerce far more than any bicycle facility. This is another harsh reality. Governments spend money on programs that enhance commerce because they contribute to the tax base. Bicycle facilities and programs don't do that, for the most part, so when crunch time arrives frivolous programs are the first to face the axe.

Regardless of my conviction that this war is illegal and immoral, we cannot simply cut off the funding and leave our own people more vulnerable. On my own, personal level, there's a clear ethical conflict. We cannot cut off funding because it would lead to more death and destruction, yet if we continue funding the war, it leads to more death and destruction.

But whining about spending cuts to bicycle programs is very far down my list of priorities.

The Thunderhead Alliance Weather Report

Volume 3, Issue 2

March 02, 2007

ORG TIP: ACT NOW TO STOP UNFAIR RECISSIONS IN YOUR STATE!

The largest rescission of federal transportation funds ever ordered by Congress is underway, totaling $3.471 billion. Because DOTs generally protect their familiar highway programs, rescissions such as this pose a threat to the most important programs to bicycling and walking. Once FHWA issues the order, states will have 30 days to surrender program balances. So contact your best officials at your DOT right away to let them know you and your organization will not tolerate unfair taking from programs that fund bicycling and walking! Then ask how you and your organization can help ensure the rescission is spread across all transportation programs evenly.

During FY’06, there were three separate federal transportation rescission orders, totaling $3.74 billion. A number of states targeted only a few programs to carry the burden of the rescission order. For example, some states targeted only the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ). Texas took their entire rescission amount from the Transportation Enhancements (TE) program. Programs that fund bicycling and walking were targeted at a far greater percent than highway programs during the FY’06 rescissions, even though these programs represent a minor percentage of the apportioned funds.

So don’t delay! Make that call to your favorite DOT official today to let them know you and your organization are watching and to find out how to help ensure this monstrous rescission is handled appropriately.

And please email your experiences to sue “at” thunderheadalliance.org. We are beginning work on an interactive database for our web site that will offer you the means to tap all SAFETEA-LU federal transportation funds for your efforts. We will have a section for combating unfair rescissions, so whatever you send us from this current one will help many other Thunderheaders respond to future rescissions. And please include any successes you have in bringing together coalitions of other organizations for this effort. Thank you!

http://www.thunderheadalliance.org/WeatherReport/WeatherReport0702.html#Org_Tip