[dc-critmass-list] Philosophy of Critical Mass vs WABA

Wed May 11 15:55:10 GMT 2005

I've talking with Jim about that rule change for years. 

-----Original Message-----
From: dc-critmass-list-bounces at lists.mutualaid.org
[mailto:dc-critmass-list-bounces at lists.mutualaid.org] On Behalf Of julie
eisenhardt
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 10:51 AM
To: dc-critmass-list at lists.mutualaid.org
Subject: RE: [dc-critmass-list] Philosophy of Critical Mass vs WABA

"And finally we were the inspiration behind the removal of the brake
requirement that will make fixed gears legal.  That will not effect Julie,
however, because she has a brake on her track bike.  Ha Ha Ha. "

Oh, Eric, how quickly you forget who actually proposed that change in the 
BAC.  :)
And I haven't used the brake yet-- so take that.

Man, this is the same debate you and I have had every year, and neither of 
us are yeilding.  Thus it stands.  I'm just glad that we're both mature 
enough individuals to respect the differing viewpoint and still be able to 
hang out from time to time.

screw this.  it's lunch hour and i'm outta here.  maybe i'll see you on 
haines point.

j

>From: "Eric Gilliland" <gill at waba.org>
>Reply-To: Washington DC Critical Mass E-Mailing List 
><dc-critmass-list at lists.mutualaid.org>
>To: "'Washington DC Critical Mass E-Mailing List'" 
><dc-critmass-list at lists.mutualaid.org>,<rcourtland at gmail.com>
>Subject: RE: [dc-critmass-list] Philosophy of Critical Mass vs WABA
>Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 11:39:29 -0400
>
>I was not going to respond to this series of emails about WABA and CM, but
>now that Julie mentioned me by name, I'll throw in my two cents.
>
>I strongly disagree with the characterization that WABA is exclusively 
>about
>trails and about recreational cyclists.  If anything, I'd say that we bend
>the other way and have been criticized by other cycling orgs for not doing
>enough for trails.  Yes, the Metropolitan Branch Trail is a big priority of
>ours.  Census data show that the presence of trails will lead to higher
>bicycle usage and the NE area of DC (where the MBT will run) is one of the
>areas of the city most effected by childhood asthma, obesity and diabetes
>and currently lacks any trail facilitites.  Once complete, the MBT will be
>the final link in the bicycle beltway connecting to the Mall in the south,
>the Capital Crescent in the north, and Anacostia Tributaries trail system 
>in
>the east, greatly expanding the non-motorized transportation and recreation
>amenities in NE as well as PG and MoCo MD.
>
>While we certainly promote the development of additional trail facilities
>(the Anacostia Riverwalk and Trail, Muddy Branch, Matthew Henson, Oxon Run,
>ICC trail, etc), the reality that we acknowledge is that trails will only
>get you so far.  I mean this both in terms of access to work places and
>entertainments centers, but also in terms of the development of skilled
>cyclists that will be more likely to commute or run errands by bike if they
>had more experience in city riding.  Riders like Julie, Rachel and others
>(including myself) that are transportation cyclists, feel perfectly at home
>on city streets.  But how do you get Dick and Jane Commuter, who drive
>everywhere for all things, to get out of their car, dust off their hybrid
>that's been sitting in the garage collecting dust, and go for a ride?  The
>solution is multi-faceted.  You need both bicyclist and driver education,
>better on road facilities, access to transit, and yes trails.  The best 
>way,
>in my opinion, to convert the causal weekend trail rider of which there are
>many, to people like Rachael and Julie is to provide on road accomodations,
>whether in the form of bike lanes, wide out side lanes, or paved shoulders
>and to educate drivers, and yes cyclists, on proper behavior, and to
>increase the enforcement of traffic laws in the city.  Such improvements
>will get Dick and Jane riding past the end of the CCT and WABA's advocacy 
>is
>directed toward this end.
>
>Aside from trail work, we have spurred the revisions to the DC bicycle
>master plan which calls for a network on on-street routes, reconstituted 
>the
>DC bicycle advisory committee of which Julie is a member that gives 
>citizens
>a great voice in the transportation planning process, worked with DDOT, the
>Downtown BID and Golden Triangle BID on installing parking racks at over 
>500
>locations throughout the city.  We also produced a truck and bike safety
>brochure that is being mailed to over 30,000 regional truckers, conducted a
>Safe Streets campaign that targeted aggressive drivers, taught over 6,000
>kids bike and ped safety in DC and MD public schools, supported the recent
>law change that requires cars to stop for peds, offered confindent city
>cycling classes to adults who want to make biking part of their routine,
>expanded hours of access on Metro rail and got bike racks installed on 
>Metro
>buses.  And finally we were the inspiration behind the removal of the brake
>requirement that will make fixed gears legal.  That will not effect Julie,
>however, because she has a brake on her track bike.  Ha Ha Ha.  That 
>bicycle
>commuting rates in DC have increased by over 70% in ten years is no
>accident.
>
>Cyclists are as different as the bikes they ride and to keep the momentum
>going it will take all of us, WABAer and CMer alike, to get it done.  We'd
>appreciate your support.
>
>Eric Gilliland
>Executive Director
>WABA
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: dc-critmass-list-bounces at lists.mutualaid.org
>[mailto:dc-critmass-list-bounces at lists.mutualaid.org] On Behalf Of julie
>eisenhardt
>Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 8:36 AM
>To: rcourtland at gmail.com; dc-critmass-list at lists.mutualaid.org
>Subject: RE: [dc-critmass-list] Philosophy of Critical Mass vs WABA
>
>I couldn't agree more.  I'm not a WABA member, and don't intend to ever be,
>because I don't feel like WABA represents riders like me-- people on the
>streets every day, either for transportation or for work, that need more
>enforcement against cars, more education for drivers, and a generally more
>sane traffic city.  I could care less about trails.  Sure, they're fun for
>the whole family, and all that, but building a trail won't keep people like
>me alive.  (Also, Eric, I know you're reading this, and I hope you know 
>it's
>
>not at all personal...)
>
>I respect what WABA does for the people it does represent, but I think it's
>audience is small, its agenda palatable, and its tactics far less 
>grassroots
>
>than I personally prefer.  Then again, look at the size of WABA vs. CM.
>(Then again, maybe if we had a budget, staff, etc...)
>
>I do want to point out that there's a city-wide Bike Advisory Committee 
>that
>
>sets bike priorities for DDOT and the Council, and there are two 
>vacancies--
>
>ward 2 and at-large (Mendelson).  if you're interested, let me know, I'll
>get you the info.  I sit on the BAC and I can't tell you how put off I was
>when, after I rode to a meeting on a cold, dark, windy winter day, two
>fellow committee members told me they "can't believe you rode in this
>weather."  Ugh.
>
>
>
> >From: Rachel Courtland <rcourtland at gmail.com>
> >Reply-To: Rachel Courtland <rcourtland at gmail.com>,Washington DC Critical
> >Mass E-Mailing List <dc-critmass-list at lists.mutualaid.org>
> >To: dc-critmass-list at lists.mutualaid.org
> >Subject: [dc-critmass-list] Philosophy of Critical Mass vs WABA
> >Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 17:11:34 -0400
> >
> >Hi all,
> >
> >Does anyone have any thoughts on my thoughts?
> >
> >I went to the Washington Area Bicyclist Association's (WABA)'s annual
> >meeting a couple weeks ago, and I was surprised to find that there were
> >very
> >few people in attendance who did not either work for WABA or were 
>accepting
> >an award that night.
> >
> >WABA seems like a much different organization than CM -- it's extremely
> >top-down, has a platform (some of which I disagree with), and yet it has
> >made some great strides for cycling in the region, especially trail-wise.
> >
> >CM seems very bottom-up and to be all about taking the road (both very 
>good
> >things), but does this translate into any sort of political presence in 
>the
> >city? Aside from raising awareness on the road, what can/has CM do/done?
> >
> >Is this a recreational vs. urban warrior bicyclist distinction? Organized
> >multi-million dollar development efforts versus a daily battle for 
>rights,
> >recognition, and safety? Ostensibly, WABA stands for both.
> >
> >I run down the middle -- half my commute is on the trail and the other 
>half
> >is spent riding between cars and taking lanes when I feel like it. I feel
> >like there should be a happy medium between the two orgs, and it's kept 
>me
> >from both of them.
> >
> >Thanks,
> >Rachel
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