Take Back the Streets

How one Dutch neighborhood made streets safer for the whole world

Traffic calming has swept the world over the past 20 years. It’s based on the rather simple idea that cars and trucks don’t have exclusive ownership of our streets. Streets are shared commons that also belong to people on foot and bicycles, in baby strollers and wheelchairs. Reminding motorists of this fact, traffic calming uses design features such as narrowing roads, adding speed bumps or elevating crosswalks to slow traffic and assert pedestrians’ right to cross the street.

This idea has altered the literal landscape of urban life in the Northern Europe, North America and the rest of the world as people move about their communities with more ease and pleasure.

The origins of this ingenious idea trace back to Delft, Netherlands, where residents of one neighborhood were fed up with cars racing along their streets, endangering children, pets and peace of mind. One evening they decided to do something about it by dragging old couches, coffee tables and other objects out into the roadway and positioning them in such a way that cars could pass but would have to slow down. Police soon arrived on the scene and had to admit that this project, although clearly illegal, was a really good idea. Soon, the city itself was installing similar measures called woonerfs (Dutch for “living yards”) on streets plagued by unruly motorists.

Invented by neighbors in Delft, Netherlands, who were tired of cars speeding down their street, traffic calming is now spreading throughout the world.

One can only imagine the response of city officials if these neighbors had meekly come to city hall to propose the idea of partially blocking the streets; they would have been hooted right out of the building. But by taking direct action, they saved their neighborhood and improved everyday life in cities around the world.

—JAY WALLJASPER
Photo by Walk Eagle Rock under a Creative Commons license from flickr.com.

Editor: Another chapter in Celebrating the Commons: People Stories and Ideas for the New Year from Commons Magazine being presented each Sunday at EYNU.

Kook Gathering of Waving Supporters

Tony Kranz was out and about this week with Lisa Shaffer at meet and greets.  These 2 candidates have been going non-stop.  While in Cardiff on Friday Tony let interested people know that sign waving was going to be happening on Saturday.

Well, Saturday was a gorgeous day and a whole crowd showed up - working to perfect their "wave" routine at the foot of the Kook statue.  Honking brought the expected grins and cheers. The dozens of bikes clubs and crowds walking along 101 were especially fun.

Tomorrow morning and afternoon there will be supporters for Shaffer and Kranz on busy commute routes. See you there!

Along with candidates Shaffer and Kranz, Councilwoman Barth was again waving a giant hand at the people in traffic. The Kook location, her recommendation (Good idea) as she and her husband, Don, are proud of the Cardiffian community character.  Community character has grown in framing what is most important in this election.  Images below from Barths FB page.

Tonight! Our Way or The Highway or Another Way

In a spectacularly bad scheduling conflict (editor: for which I personally hold Jerome Stocks accountable), Caltrans is presenting at the Community Center, 1140 Oakcrest Park Drive from 6 pm - 8 pm; that is, during the same time frame as the City Council Meeting. 

"The meeting will provide additional information on lagoon studies that were not final during the circulation of the I-5 NCC Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) in 2010." Patch 

The graphic at the opening is to frame this event based on reality.  It shows that across all ideologies and parties the preferred method to reduce traffic is first and foremost public trasit followed by driving less.

This week we got a good laugh out of those Danes - where we know the bicycle riding in Copenhagen is like no other western metropolis.  The clip below isn't about cycling, it's about public transit - riding the bus and it is like no US promotion we have ever seen.

Suggest turning down volume and turning on closed caption (CC at bottom of screen).

For video clips with community members speaking out about the I-5 widening, Stocks and company defending, obscuring and confusing the issues go to encinitasyouneedus YouTube channel where some of the clips for I-5 are grouped.

Quote of the Day

I think every year:

-every driver should have to spend two weeks as a cyclist, and
-every customer should have to spend two weeks as a restaurant server.

Tongue-in-cheek comment at post on an innovative idea for including bike riding proficiency as part of a drivers license test. It's all about empathy and perspective.

Streets from Kids Eye View

Summer Fun on the 101

This weekend of music, sunshine, beach clean up and just walking around on the Leucadia portion of Highway 101 should be some fun.  It might be fun to imagine what it would be like without any cars.  That is exactly what the kindergarten children were asked in the following video.  What would you like to do if there were no cars?



And since Leucadia claim the distintion of Art and Soul. What if we joined with kids and painted the highway? Or at least all around the Roadside Park and Leucadia Blvd where it is so dangerous?

Reminder: Bike to Work May 18, 2012

Just what's needed after Wednesday night council meeting? How about a bike ride to a Thursday morning Yoga workout? Councilwoman Teresa Barth's routine being scrutinized during National Bike Month of May.

It is one thing to talk about the environment, purchase a bunch of "green" products or proselytize about a small carbon footprint. It is quite another to live what you believe with a sense of humor and some tolerance too.

Here's hoping everyone who rides a bike to work tomorrow has a good time doing it. Remember when you were a kid and you were your very own engine.

Update: Nothing on the city website for the Bike to Work Day.

But Teresa Barth passed along this map link and website link.

Bike to Work Pit Stops

El Camino Bike Shop
121 N. El Camino Real, Suite A, Encinitas, CA 92024.

We are a full service bike shop. Our pit stop will be open 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. Besides the morning shift, our pit stop will have a second afternoon shift from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

REI ‐ Encinitas 1590 Leucadia Blvd. Encinitas 92024.

Our bike tech at this pit stop will be happy to help lube chains, fix flats, help fit your bike properly to you and make any other adjustments needed to get you back on the road safe and comfortable! Our pit stop will be open 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.

RIDE Cyclery – Encinitas with Equinox Center In front of our store on the 559 S. Coast Highway 101 in Downtown Encinitas

Work and Errands

Teresa Barth continues her bike riding this month, National Bike Month.  Besides this shot of her at the Seaside Market in her own neighborhood - easy biking challenge - her rides to city hall continue.  Tuesday her red bike was spotted in the shadows at city hall with the ride to work day three days away on May 18, 2012.

Still Biking!

Just a quick look at our Councilwoman Barth's bike spotted yesterday at the Lumberyard.  She challenged herself to ride to work as often as she could.  Don't know the tally, but that red bike has been spotted in lots of locations. Just noticed the flowers on the seat and the frame.  Does anyone know if she has a name?

Goathead Thorn Warrior

A year ago Russell Levan single-handedly took on the noxious weed, the puncture vine aka goathead thorn that plagues all bike riders along Leucadia's rail corridor.

Remarkably, eighty volunteers took part in this goathead thorn eradication event.  It is the first of many more in the years to come. Change comes slowly when a real menace has taken hold.  This is a fair metaphor for negatives that take root in our community while we weren't paying attention.  Amirite?

Levan is a former Parks & Recreation Commissioner,  is a Leucadia family man, business owner who takes his civic engagement very seriously.  His activism is the hand-on kind, but he also attends City Council meetings, Environmental Commission meetings, Encinitas Union School District Green Team and all the General Plan Update workshops, open houses, etc.  He is a real hero when it comes to citizenship in practice.

For his two daughters and the community this man is the über volunteer with a life long commitment to the common good.  Here is one organizing suggestion we offer Levan. There seems to be over representation of women and children in these volunteer activities in tree planting, coastal cleanup and school gardens. 


Goathead thorns are known as Tribulus Terrestrs. Maybe you should recruit this testosterone crowd. Maybe this is the hook for crowds of men to volunteer for goathead thorn harvesting.

Tribulus Terrestrs L has been used for some time by Bulgarian strength athletes, especially during the last 10 days prior to competition. Active components are reported to be effective plant steroids, flavonoids, alkaloids, and glycosides. Tribulus Terrestris L has been shown in at least one study to increase levels of testosterone, lutenizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone and steroids without any harmful side effects. Some may find increased stamina beneficial for developing muscle size and strength.

Bodybuilders are pumped up about Tribulus Terrestris L and may have just stumbled across the next hot herb of the year. Bodybuilders use it because they believe it is a safe alternative to anabolic steroids. It appears to help increase stamina and has been used in studies for treating infertility in women and impotence in males.This extract has been long used in Asia as a stimulant to help treat sexual "deficiency". To study the natural hormonal treatment of dysfunction and anomalies, research was conducted by the Chemical Pharmaceutical Research Institute in Sofia, Bulgaria was developed. These studies indicated positive effects on some key reproductive functions.

Better than VIAGRA! The great news is that Tribulus Terrestris L is not just for bodybuilders and athletes. There are many people who could possibly benefit from Tribulus Terrestris L as it offers new hope for infertility and libido enhancement for the sexually-challenged, as well. In males, it has been reported by some to increase libido (sexual desire), improve strength of erection and spermatogenesis (formation and development of sperm) and shown to increase testosterone levels in studies in mice (Chemical Pharmaceutical Research Institute study).

Because this research is totally scientifically true (it is not).  Stay tuned as Russell Levan will provide more verifiable thorn control options along with weeding sessions in good time.

Green Lane Project

The Green Lane Project is a new effort that will work closely with six U.S. cities to help them build world-class cycling networks on city streets. These will be cities that are poised to make significant progress over the next two years in installing cycle tracks and related improvements, which we’re calling Green Lanes. The Project will facilitate a partnership between the cities and provide them with resources and technical assistance, while expanding the knowledge base and sharing it widely.

I can't, It's too sweaty

If you have ever imagined what your work day might be like if you rode a bike daily instead of driving a car you no doubt struggled with the inevitable questions:

1. What about sweating?
2. What could I wear to ride, then change?
3. Where to store bike at work.
4. What if I got a flat or other broken part?
5. What if I have to stay late or leave my bike?

 

The example in the above clip is for a huge population in one of the biggest urban centers. Encintias would be considerably scaled back like the Bikestation in Santa Barbara. Imagine being able to check off all of the concerns at the opening of this post with a convenient spot to secure a parking place for your bike, to shower, to change for work, to fix a flat and even leave your bike overnight or pick it up after regular work hours?

This is called removing obstacles to quality of life choices. The mayor pushed hard for his electric car to have a charging station at the town's center. In all of San Diego County there are a small percentage of electric car owners. Conversely, there are potentially hundreds of thousands of bike riders in San Diego County, with more each year. This bikestation concept represents a creative solution that fulfills quality of life goals of healthy living, economic opportunity (for small business), affordability for commuters, flexibility, resilience, sustainability, lowered carbon dioxide emissions, traffic congestion and parking congestion.

About that parking problem in Encinitas, did you know that 14 bicycles fit in one car parking space?  And that traffic congestion? Eight bicycles that fit into one car road space. Even just a beginning of a shift in choices from daily car use to biking would be felt in our parking lots and busy main arteries.  Safety is the other leading deterrent to biking and that will be a different post.

There is a longing in this community for innovative planning and visionary leadership. In fact, Encinitas is falling far behind communities all across the state and the nation.  How we all get around is just one more challenge we can look to our candidates for office to hear our ideas, look to other leading examples and step away from approaches that belong to another era whose time has passed.