Poorly Located Bike Rack Outside Chicago Whole Foods

Last weekend I was in Chicago.  Passing by the Whole Foods at Cicero & Peterson I spotted a poorly located bike rack:

So what makes this “poorly located?”  First I should note this type of rack, the inverted-U, is my favorite rack. I also like that the rack is highly visible.  But this rack is designed to hold one bike per side — two per side if they don’t mind being locked together.  But the distance away from the wall makes using the back side difficult.  The raised planter to the right is going to make it hard to secure the bike with both wheels on the sidewalk. Centering the rack on a portion of the wall took priority over function.  Bike racks should be functional before anything else.

– Steve Patterson

Readers Think The Tour Of Missouri Was A Good Use Of Tourism Dollars

Last week 181 people voted in the poll:

Q: The 2010 Tour of Missouri has been canceled due to zero funding from the state, which of the following best describes your thoughts:

1. The Tour of Missouri has been a great event, bringing money into the state economy each year — a good use of tax money 97 [53.59%]
2. The Tour of Missouri has been a victim of fighting between Republicans and Democrats 36 [19.89%]
3. The Tour of Missouri has been a money pit, costing more than it made — a good decision to cancel 22 [12.15%]
4. Other answer… 14 [7.73%]
5. Unsure/no opinion 12 [6.63%]

The (14) other answers were:

1. If it’s so successful, they should plan for it’s financial viability.
2. screw the bicyclists. when do I get my own lane to drive in?
3. Killed by Nixon for a petty political vendetta. Politics at its worst.
4. Sad…
5. Even the Tour de France commentators said its a shame it got canceled
6. What a shame. Where was the money spent instead? What was the return?
7. This happened MONTHS ago. Why are you only addressing it now?
8. Jay Nixon needs to go for this! What a joke!
9. B and C
10. Not sure why this can’t be privately funded, the state gave it a good start
11. The Tour of MO should be able to fund itself by corporate donations and sponsors
12. Tourism should have cut back to $500K or so.
13. Not necessarily the best way to spend state money.
14. When the economy is bad, nonessentials get cut.

– Steve Patterson

Missouri didn’t support the Tour of Missouri for 2010

The task of the Missouri Division of Tourism is to attract tourists to visit Missouri  — and leave behind some of their money in the process.

Without $1 million dollars from the state, the organizers had to cancel the 2010 Tour of Missouri. The tourism budget is roughly $13 million.  The poll this week seeks your opinion on the canceling of the Tour of Missouri.  The poll is in the upper right corner.

– Steve Patterson

Forced into the street again

Last week I posted about being forced into the street to reach the bus stop on 14th Street between Washington Ave and Delmar.  The issue was a major lack of wheelchair curb cuts at 14th & Lucas, the alley/street to the north of Washington Ave.  So Friday when I wanted to take the same bus from the same stop I knew I need to approach from another direction.

I crossed Washington Ave to the north at the crossing at 16th Street.  One block east on Washington and then north on 15th one block to Delmar. Heading east to 14th it didn’t take long for me to see I was going to have issues crossing 14th Street.

The SE corner where I was headed has a curb cut.  Interestingly, neither street – Delmar or 14th — has a curb cut to correspond with the SE corner. So again I was back in the street, in drive lanes instead of crosswalks, to reach the bus stop.  Trust me, “driving” a wheelchair on the road is not a comforting feeling.

Yesterday I caught the same bus south of Washington Ave, next to the main library. Much easier access! All bus stops should be accessible. Remember, my access issues are not the fault of our transit agency, Metro – the city has failed to ensure access by missing curb cuts in a few places.

– Steve Patterson

Readers support the rights of cyclists to use the roads

Readers that voted in the poll last week clearly favor the rights of bicyclist to use public roadways and thus opposing a proposed ban in St. Charles County on cycling on some state highways in the county.

Q: St Charles County is considering banning bikes from some state highways:

1. Bikes are vehicles and have just as much right to use public roads. 114 [60.96%]
2. Bikes are fine on local roads, but not on state highways lacking shoulders. 52 [27.81%]
3. Bikes belong on sidewalks or trails, not roads. 13 [6.95%]
4. Other answer… 7 [3.74%]
5. Unsure/no opinion 1 [ 0.53%]

However, nearly 28% think cyclists have a right to the roads, but not highways lacking shoulders.  Almost 7% think cyclists belong on sidewalks and trails.  Seriously? Public roads are for vehicles and a bike is a vehicle.

The “other” answers were:

1. Ban Cars
2. Ban the cars and solve the obesity problem
3. Daft Wankers!
4. stl bikers need education on the laws – until they stop at stop signs ban bikers
5. If a bicyclistg wants to risk life and limb on a state highway, go for it.
6. They are state roads…St. Charles has no jurisdiction in banning bikes on them.
7. Reduce speed limit to 35 from 55mph for the cars – why do the cars go so fast?

I’ll be interested to see how this issue plays out.

– Steve Patterson