by Bike Courier | Mar 4, 2014 | News
Plans to close Clark Memorial Bridge to pedestrians cannot be allowed to stand. Several years ago Jackie Green led a group that assured pedestrians and cyclists would have access across our state line (the Ohio River) during the week leading to Thunder. As WDRB put it, “a little research revealed the bridge closing was likely illegal. “It is a civil right to cross a state line,” Green says. “Folks who do not own cars, whose travel is done by foot or by bicycle, were denied their constitutional right, and that was the leverage we used.”” (see WDRB story below) The current plan to close the Clark Memorial to pedestrians also conflicts with the US Constitution. There at least two solutions: 1) let pedestrians use one of the lanes designated for cars, or 2) open the Big Four Bridge. http://www.newsandtribune.com/x2039937824/Clark-Memorial-Bridge-to-narrow-next-week-will-close-in-May http://www.wdrb.com/story/10197152/second-street-bridge-not-closed-to-everyone Photo by staff of News and...
by Bike Courier | Feb 13, 2014 | News
Once again, with a mouth full of words about our local economy, Greg Fischer gives our tax dollars to out-of-town (out-of-touch) consultants. This latest design consultant proposes we erect a costly (to design/build/operate/maintain) ferris wheel on the Riverwalk when Louisville already has a ferris wheel at the fairgrounds (ask them about maintenance costs). In September 2012 Jackie Green of Bike Couriers Bike Shops began lobbying for the opening of the K&I bridge to human powered transportation. See: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Louisville-Full-Moon-Bike-Ride/280337165413233 He assembled a team of local engineers, local landscape architects, local urban planners and local designers who volunteered to work on the K&I project and the Riverwalk that links Louisville to the K&I bridge. Metro did not respond to their offer. It became clear that the owner of the K&I bridge, Norfolk Southern Railroad, was not going to open the bridge to the public until Louisville committed to a first class Riverwalk. Green published a critique of Fischer’s lack of commitment to the Riverwalk in Insider Louisville. See: http://insiderlouisville.com/news/2013/12/30/tale-two-bridges/ The last sentences of that article apply equally well to the Riverwalk. Keep the park elegantly simple, commit (as opposed to plan and then shelve the plan – remember the light rail plans?), be transparent. Oh, and Greg, if you are going to talk about local, act on it....
by Bike Courier | Feb 11, 2014 | News
Mayor Greg Fischer!! According to Metro Public Works, Louisville has 3047 lane miles of road. Greg Fischer has touted 28 lane miles, costing $300,000 for bike lane stripping as “major evidence of sustainability”. On a road percentage basis that’s 28 / 3047, which is less than one percent. On a budget basis is far worse $300,000/$528,000,000 = 0.0006 and that’s 0.06%. “Major evidence of sustainability”. Really? Do any of our lanes look like these? http://sf.streetsblog.org/2010/05/10/san-francisco-gets-its-first-green-bike-lanes-on-market-street...
