by Bike Courier | Feb 15, 2016 | Advocacy
9 February 2016 DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx US Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave SE Washington DC 20590 202 366 4000 anthony.foxx@dot.gov smartcitychallenge@dot.gov Re: Smart City Challenge Dear DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx: Louisville, Kentucky could be a great city if we correct the local land use and transportation mistakes of the past 65 years. Unfortunately, Louisville’s Smart Cities Challenge application and plans will only postpone the day we take remedial action crucial to our sustainable future. The Smart Cities Challenge application submitted by Louisville is itself being challenged by local citizens and organizations that find the application to be unrealistic, undemocratic and unambitious. Undemocratic because the application has had no broad public input. Local transportation voices of dissent (voices which advocate more transportation equity, greater public transit, greater CBD and transit corridor density, fewer one way streets, slower traffic, fewer surface parking lots, and a protected tree canopy) have been excluded from the process. Undemocratic because Louisville’s transportation plan, Move Louisville, is years behind in it’s unveiling. It remains a secret kept from the public, though it is cited as a driving force behind Louisville’s Smart Cities proposal. Unrealistic because Louisville, under the excessively lauded leadership of Mayor Fischer, has recently violated the most simple principles in creating a transportation system worthy of a “Smart City”. Though promoting Louisville as “moving forward”, this administration has repeatedly undermined the community by encouraging new exurban development, at the expense of Louisville’s urban core. This includes: · allowing WalMart to steamroll over our land use guidelines in a neighborhood having the lowest number of drivers per capita. At an intersection where...
by Bike Courier | Jan 28, 2016 | Advocacy
“It’s hijacking transportation planning in favor of the automobile industry,” Hixson said. “That’s something most scientists and advocates of sustainable transportation say we need to move away from.” He said CART also wants the city to articulate how Smart Cities will address issues such as climate change, racial segregation, joblessness in low-income areas and access to efficient transportation for the poor. Local advocates are also asking about the status of an overdue study, Move Louisville, a consultant-aided project set up to determine the community’s long-range transportation plans. “Am I worried? No. Am I angry? Yes,” Green said. “It’s just typical, we still don’t have a vision for a foundational issue, which is transportation.” Image: courtesy of Courier-Journal...
by Bike Courier | Jan 27, 2016 | Advocacy
Image courtesy of WAVE 3 TV http://www.wave3.com/story/31052598/bicycling-advocate-offered-deal-on-traffic-charges http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2015/12/14/biking-advocate-rejects-plea-offer/77309418/ http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2015/11/13/cyclists-risk-jail-time-not-using-lanes/75723738/...
by Bike Courier | Jan 26, 2016 | Advocacy
First, the timeline… November 13 – cyclist charged with: 1) Disregarding Traffic Light and 2) Obstructing a Highway… December 14 – Traffic Court – the defendant rejected the deal offered by the court… January 25 – Pre-Trial Conference – Prosecution amended the Obstruction charge (???), then, again proposed dismissing the Obstruction charge if the defendant pleaded guilty to the Disregarding Traffic Signal charge, took an online traffic course and paid $179 in court costs. The deal would have achieved two objectives: 1) avoiding a 90 day jail term on the Obstructing a Highway charge and 2) establishing that cyclists do not have to use bike lanes. The deal, however, would have denied the court the opportunity to wrestle with two issues: 1) the laws (Kentucky and Metro) which convey to cyclists the latitude to take measures which increase safety, and 2) the double standard where a motorist who just hit and killed a pedestrian can avoid prosecution on the plea “I did not see the pedestrian”, while a cyclist, pleading “I did not see the light” is prosecuted for moving safely through an intersection unaware of the color of a light… March 10 – Second Pre-Trial Conference – prosecution wants to review dash cam and body...
by Bike Courier | Nov 21, 2015 | Advocacy
Bike shop owner cited while cycling on residential street…two charges…Obstructing a Highway (riding outside a bike lane) and Disregarding a Traffic Light…Obstructing a Highway charge will be dropped…KY law clearly gives cyclists the right not to use a bike lane…Disregarding a Traffic Light…defense will challenge the interpretation of law and use the same argument that motorists use after killing a pedestrian or cyclist…”I didn’t see the pedestrian/cyclist/light.”...
