In recent weeks I've noticed three things that are going on in the Pacific Northwest that might eventually help make the streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.
One is a national conference, another is an Oregon-based campaign and the third is a Seattle newspaper's Q&A.
The one with the widest scope is the Pro Walk / Pro Bike '08 conference that is meeting at the Westin in Seattle from Sept. 2-5.
On-site visits
The hundreds of bicycle and pedestrian experts, advocates, public health practitioners and transportation planners are meeting to discuss ways to make communities “more walkable and bicycle-friendly places.”
There are workshops on bicycle master plans, pedestrian action plans, and intersection design, as well as “mobile workshops” where participants get out for first-hand looks at road diets, lane diets, traffic calming facilities and more.
Reps from the Adventure Cycling Association will join international experts to discuss national bike routes and the work being done on the US Bicycle Route System.
Eye-to-Eye
Something else that caught my eye was the launch of the “Eye to Eye Campaign” sponsored by Oregon's Bicycle Transportation Alliance.
Officially, Eye to Eye “is a multi-city campaign to foster a culture of awareness and respect on our shared paths and roadways and to make the streets of our communities safer for everyone.”
It will involve public service announcements, bike rides and public workshops through the fall. In addition, police will hand out front/rear lightsets to cyclists riding at night without this required equipment.
Newspaper Q&A
After a violent confrontation at July's Critical Mass, the Seattle Times sought questions from readers about who gets the right of way — bikes or cars — in certain situations. A policeman, Cascade Bicycle Club advocates and a City of Seattle bike transportation specialist made up the panel that answered the questions.
I thought this was a great idea and a great public service. In addition to informing the bicycling and motoring public about how cars and bikes can legally share the streets, it also replaced the name-calling debates that so often occur on newspaper comment pages.
Entitled simply, “Bikes and cars: Who gets the right of way,” I hope the Q&A gets a lot of attention.
Maybe these three things — a conference, a campaign and a newspaper Q&A — won't make widespread and immediate improvements for those of us who prefer to walk or ride our bikes, but I think they're steps in the right direction for improved traffic planning and more considerate road use.
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