[*BCM*] MassBike Victory: MBTA Buses to Get Bike Racks

[Lee Peters]

Wait a second !  Parking enforcement costs money???  I captured 60 pictures 
of double parked automobiles in 3 hours, and I even ignored the commercial 
vehicles.  Can I keep the $2700 that I could have made during that 3 hour 
period?

I am not flaming, is it possible that I a missing the big picture?

Those bus racks are great for flat tires and surprise rain storms or when 
you are just too drunk to ride.  They are installed in Gainesville, FL where 
I used them occasionally.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Thomas John Vitolo" <tjvitolo at bu.edu>
To: "Boston Critical Mass" <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2005 1:03 PM
Subject: Re: [*BCM*] MassBike Victory: MBTA Buses to Get Bike Racks


The flip side is that the money is being spent on a capital improvement. 
That
is, once the money is spent, those racks will remain in service for a long 
time.
 Sure, some time and money will be needed to maintain the racks should they
break, transfer them from a retired bus to a new bus, etc.  But, in general,
once the money is spent the improvement will be around for a long time.

That's much different than, say, enforcing no parking in bike lanes.  Once 
the
money is no longer being spent on enforcement, the old problems will just 
come back.

So personally, I'd rather money is spent on capital improvements and other
things that will have a small but long lasting impact on bicycle quality in 
the
city.


  - stomv

Support a few technologists in Washington.  Go to:
http://actblue.com/list/stomv

Quoting Ari Pollak <ajp at aripollak.com>:

> Let's not also forget that some bus routes that go outside of Boston
> &
> Cambridge travel routes that wouldn't normally be very safe to ride
> on -
> narrow roads, highways, etc. So this would be a safer way of
> bypassing
> those areas.
> Granted, it seems like a lot of money to be spending on something
> that
> may not get such high usage, especially if they could spend that
> money
> to actually improve service.
>
> Rachel Elizabeth Dillon wrote:
> > There are a bunch of reasons this is a good thing, in my opinion:
> >
> >  * It demonstrates a commitment to cyclists in that it's money
> going
> >    towards making the city more bike-friendly. While it may not be
>
> >    what we would like to see most, it's something, and I think it's
>
> >    a good thing.
> >
> >  * It's great for casual cyclists who may be trying to choose
> between
> >    driving somewhere and not doing so --- say you're trying to go
> from
> >    Somerville to Waltham. You might say "I don't really want to
> walk
> >    15 minutes to the T, ride the T for 15 minutes, walk to a bus
> stop,
> >    wait for the bus, ride the bus for a half hour, and then walk
> to
> >    my destination.  I will drive." (This is even almost
> reasonable.)
> >    However, "I can bike to the bus stop, and then bike the bus
> route
> >    until it catches up with me, and then hop on" is much more
> >    appealing, and also encourages people to use mass transit.
> >
> >  * It's useful for people like me (and, presumably, many on this
> list)
> >    who would be happy to just bike to Waltham as well. If you
> start
> >    feeling ill, get tired, find that the weather is more than you
> >    bargained for, pop a flat and don't have your tools or, God
> forbid,
> >    get in an accident, you probably want to get to either your
> destination,
> >    a bike shop, or home, and trying to do that with a
> non-functioning
> >    bike or rider is very difficult. Being able to bring your bike
> with
> >    you on public transit it always a good thing --- even if you
> only use
> >    it once a year, if every cyclist in the city uses it once per
> year,
> >    that adds up.
> >
> >    (I got hit by a bus in Harvard Square a couple of months ago,
> and
> >    was fine but my bike wasn't ridable; I was very happy I could
> hop
> >    it on the T rather than just leave it locked up in a
> high-traffic
> >    area. Had I not been fifty feet from a Red Line stop, I would
> have
> >    been in a lot more trouble.)
> >
> >  * It makes bikes more visible to drivers and people who use mass
> transit.
> >
> > So, while I might like to see more money going into enforcing "No
> parking
> > in bike lane" or something like that, I think this is valuable.
> >
> > But it's possible you were just trolling. :)
> >
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