This is my final paper for writing class.
Edward Ellsworth
Professor Longoria
WRC 1023
21 November 2008
A Proposal for Local Bike Lanes
About a month ago the author of this paper left his home at the corner of Hausman and Bandera for the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) campus. His wife had taken his car keys leaving him no alternative but to bike to class. He arrived at the campus visibly shaken and stressed. He vowed never to bike to class again and walked his bicycle home. The author may be overreacting, but considers what happened on November 23 of this year. The report for mysanantonio.com says, "Bexar County medical examiner’s investigators have identified a bicyclist who died Sunday night when he was struck by two vehicles as Danny Zamora...Zamora was pronounced dead at the scene" (par.1). Danny was twenty two years old, with a long life to live. Now his family has a funeral to plan instead of Thanksgiving Dinner.Zamora's accident was in an area downtown, but it reminds bicyclers of the real hazards involved. Because there are five major apartment complexes close to UTSA, college students have the option of traveling by bicycle, but not under safe conditions. There are no shoulders or bicycle lanes on Hausman, Babcock, or UTSA Blvd. Though the area has a growing student population there has not been any effort to make it safe for local students to travel by bicycle. UTSA students need bicycle lanes because they provide safety and promote the use of clean affordable transportation.
There are many benefits to bicycle travel. The article "Two-Wheeled: WONDER" from Sierra magazine says, "A human on a bicycle is more efficient (in calories expended per pound and per mile) than a train, truck, airplane, boat, automobile, motorcycle, skateboard, canoe, or jet pack"(par. 1). The article also points out that "at zero pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, versus a car's one pound per mile, a bike does not alter the global climate" (par.3). In addition to saving the environment, students benefit from traveling economically. USA Today Magazine sums up the list in their article "Redesigning Urban Transport", by saying, "It [the bicycle] alleviates congestion, lowers air pollution, reduces obesity, does not emit climate-disrupting carbon-dioxide, reduces the area of pavement needed, and has a price within reach for the billions of people who cannot afford the automobile" (par. 7). Many students at UTSA favor these benefits, but lack the confidence to travel down UTSA Blvd.
The city San Antonio needs to build bike lanes around the UTSA area to make it safer for the increasing number of student bicyclists. The UTSA area consists of three major roads, namely Hausman, Babcock, and UTSA Blvd. On each of these roads there is a constant flow of traffic, and during rush hour the streets get congested. Without bicycle lanes bicyclists are forced to ride dangerously close to the edge. Large amounts of debris collect on the edges of these roads. By providing bike lanes, bicyclists could travel these streets without having to worry about colliding with traffic or being thrown from their bicycle by some foreign object.
Construction of the bicycle lanes would not require a lot of restructuring. The bicycle lanes require a minimum of three feet with clear markings. Hausman is a poorly maintained road that has room for expansion. UTSA Blvd. has enough space for almost four lanes. Babcock has portions of road that are like Hausman and other portions that are like UTSA Blvd. The city can provide the bicycle lanes when they repair streets that are currently in poor condition. The city can also redraw the boundaries on the streets that are in good condition.
A single off road bike path is the only existing bicycle accommodation for the UTSA area.In order to get the city to act, UTSA students need to show support and desire for the bike lanes. Without student or local support the city will not recognize the need for bicycle safety measures in the UTSA area. If the students of UTSA sign a petition that clearly states the need for bicycle lanes and their location the, city will respond. By making the need well known, and pleading with the citizens of San Antonio, the students can rally enough support to speed the process of getting the bicycle lanes approved.
It is important to recognize that there are organizations attempting to make San Antonio a safer place for bicycling. In 1977 the San Antonio-Bexar County Urban Transportation Study was designated as the local Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). The mission statement from the MPO web site says, "The MPO's mission is to provide comprehensive, coordinated, and continuous ('3C') transportation planning for safe and efficient movement of people and goods consistent with the region's overall economic, social, and environmental goals"(sametroplan.org, “What is a Metropolitan Planning…”). The MPO has an extensive plan for developing San Antonio's bicycle network. Future plans stretch out as far as 2030, and there is no indication that the UTSA area is on schedule for bicycle lanes any time soon.
It might be suggested that bicycles should be contained to off road paths. This is too restrictive. How would a bicyclist get from their house to the path? There is no way unless the bicyclist drives an automobile to the path, and that would defeat the purpose of riding the bike. Off road paths are nice for recreation but they are impractical for normal transportation.
The city has put up warning signs in many areas. This is a cheap and ineffectual method of providing safety for bicyclists. First, the assumption is made that drivers will see and heed the signs. Second, signs do nothing to prevent the cars from getting to close to the bicycles. Bicycles, like other vehicles, need space to maneuver in the case of an emergency. When movement is restricted the bicyclist’s life is put in danger.
By having bike lanes around UTSA, the city would not only be providing a safe environment, but it will also be providing a clean environment. As the students in the area turn to their bicycles for transportation much of the automotive traffic in the area will decrease. Andrew Curry from the U.S. News and World Report says, "And simple solutions-from funding bike lanes and bike racks to requiring bigger mirrors to help trucks see bikers-combine to make riding more appealing" (Par. 2). The number of students on bicycles could potentially double if the students felt safe.
Students are drawn to bicycles because they are not as expensive to purchase and operate as cars. A used car in very poor condition can cost around two-thousand dollars. For the same amount of money a student can purchase a top quality new bike. The maintenance costs of bicycles are minimal and fuel costs do not exist. When safety concerns are removed students will immediately see the benefit of reducing their costs.
UTSA is a growing campus. As the campus grows, so does the student population. The campus already has great difficulties providing parking for all their students. UTSA has installed several new bike racks to encourage students to use bicycles. The main source of discouragement for UTSA students is the failure of city planning to provide them with bicycle lanes. Without the protection of proper lanes, UTSA students will never be safe.
Works Cited
mysanantonio.com. “Cyclist fatally struck by 2 SUVs identified”. 27 Nov. 2008. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/traffic/Cyclist_fatally_struck_by_2_SUVs_identified.html
"REDESIGNING URBAN TRANSPORT." USA Today Magazine 137.2759 (Aug. 2008): 16-16. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. John Peace Library, San Antonio, Tx. 1 Dec. 2008
http://libweb.utsa.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=33627261&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehostlive&scope=sitesamtroplan.org.
“Bicycle Master Plan Document”. 01 Dec. 2008.
http://www.sametroplan.org/pages/Committees/BMAC/BMP/Regional%20Bike%20Plan%20Aug%2031,%202004.pdf
sametroplan.org. “What is a Metropolitan Planning Organization?”. 01 Dec. 2008. http://www.sametroplan.org/pages/About_MPO/whatismpo.html
"Two-Wheeled: WONDER." Sierra 93.2 (Mar. 2008): 49-49. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. John Peace Library, San Antonio, Tx. 1 Dec. 2008 http://libweb.utsa.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=31195587&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live&scope=site
2 comments:
YOU GO GUY,
REsponsible drivers get upset at having to have the fear and worry that a bicyclist might fall, swerve, or otherwise fall into your area of road when there are not any shoulders or lanes for the cyclist to drive on. Out in the country it gets scary sometimes, like the time a cyclist got tired and toppled off his bike just missing a car going by.
MOMe
Absolutely couldn't agree more!
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