Bicycles in EMLK and Austin

These are just some viewpoints that I have come to believe and a lot of it is based on the foundation that “ access to transportation is one of the biggest form of equity” – you can contact me at pinaki@utexas.edu with you comments.

Rights of Cyclists – The rights of bicyclists are same as drivers of automobiles. Separation of a 4000-lb. automobile and 30 lb. bicycle in the same street with just a line drawn on the ground is often dangerous and impractical. In many countries bicycle lanes are completely separated by physical medians from automobile lanes. It has been universally accepted that due to the body mass difference between an automobile and bicycle it is a good idea to separate their lanes with physical barriers when the speed increases. (momentum is an incredible thing that we ignore in our design and perceptions). The pictures below will show how streets are marked or separated in Netherlands and France.

In Netherlands I allow my daughter to ride about 15 km of bicycle a day because it is safe route. In US my daughter does not ride her bicycle ever because a single mistake on 12th street or MLK or Manor road will be deadly for her. The right to a safe transportation is not something we can overlook. Riding bicycle in Austin at night (in fact in almost entire America) is dangerous if not impossible.

This little video will show my daughter, Damini, riding to school (link) – her confidence has increased many folds and she even visits her friends on bicycle. We live in Spankeren and my daughters school is at Brummen and our grocery is at Dieren. We use bicycles for almost everything rain or shine. So on any given day we bicycle for more than 10 to 15 kms. Also it is important to mention that we cross the rail-lines at-grade about 4 times during a day’s cycling efforts.

Transportation is a great equity builder. Today, the biggest challenges of trade in Africa is high cost of transportation where as in Germany the cost of transportation (using mass transport) is relatively much lower. If we can build a low-cost transportation system then it creates equity. If somebody can have the option of not owning an automobile and still be able to get to his or her work and grocery safely using a bicycle then he or she can save money towards their property tax or rent, which in turn allow them to keep their houses. In the current situation of housing crisis this is a very strong argument in East Austin where the younger generation cannot keep their houses for high property taxes or rents.

We must design for the future – almost entire Europe is moving towards electric bicycles. One of Netherland’s biggest bike manufacturer, Gazelle, is located very close to our house and they have almost entirely moved to electric bike. (We must remember that in conventional electric bikes with gear boxes from Shimano or Panasonic you still do bike – the electric motor only assists you to paddle but does not do the paddling) Electric bikes will be ideal for the Austin environment where there are small hills. I have already noticed 2 Copenhagen wheels in East NLK area. (I tried one and it was an amazing experience). Electric bicycles increase the age range of the people who can use bicycle in work related activities and not just for leisure. This year during my trip to Europe I noticed that France and Switzerland are also heavily adopting electric bicycles. A bicycle manufacturer, Cannondale, is setting various rental arrangement even up in the Alps.

In Europe for daily use most people augment the bicycle trip with another mass transit. As for example they take a bicycle to the train station, park it at the station and then take the train to their regular destination. Sometimes they take the bicycle with them (some of which are folding type). Almost every station in The Netherlands has very large bicycle parking lot which can be bigger than car parking lot. (bicycles can be secured too – in some areas bicycle parking are covered so that during rain or snow also it can be used.). This augmented mode of multi-modal transportation is most promising. In the mobility bond discussion, I heard that the design was mode agnostic which brings a much larger question to be discussed later.

One factor we often overlook in bicycle discussion is health benefits. Growing up in India as a kid I noticed bicycle was often the only mode of transportation and people were forced to use it – it had immense impact on the health of citizens because there was nothing called obesity. It’s a new phenom in India too since most cycle have been replaced with gas powered 3 wheelers for local transportation. Also, we should not forget that the rise of China was mostly driven in the 50 and 60s by bicycles as personal mobility so that every citizen could go to work.

We are essentially dealing with the future of next generations – we are building roads and putting the loan burden on the next generation instead of creating long term equity for them. The riding habit starts at early age – if you look at our schools less than 2% of the kids come to the school by bicycle.
Finally, local business thrives when you have bicycle users because bicycle riders tend to serve local business within 3-mile radius instead of large box shop 10 miles away. It’s also necessary that we provide bicycle renting facilities in East MLK area like we do in downtown. I am proposing that we create a bicycle renting hub in Mueller (preferably near HEB) and about 12 or 15 parking spots in East MLK area. This will dramatically improve the transportation situation in EMLK area. City can also subsidize the renting cost for people with economic disadvantage.