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Re: "SF Cyclists Facing Backlash" article in NYT
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owen howlett
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Nov 06, 2009 21:30 PST
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Bob, I think your observation is right. Things are clearly changing out there. At least in San Francisco the number of militant bicyclists seems to be growing, and bicycling is becoming a unifying activity for people who feel alienated and hopeless about society's failure to react to environmental and social crises. Their attitude seems to be that drivers aren't worthy of their respect, because anyone who drives is being selfish and probably roasts baby seals for dinner over a coal fireplace.
I think we have some responsibility to contribute to this cultural debate, for instance by reminding the cycling community that many people who drive are doing so because they can't afford to live in a place where they can bicycle or walk to work, or because their kids are forced to travel miles to a mega-school. And that, in surveys, most people say that they would like to drive less but don't feel able to.
Of course, we shouldn't let drivers off the hook completely. A lot of people do drive to big box stores when they could perfectly well buy their food and supplies locally, or drive to work when they could combine a transit and bike trip, or drive their kids two miles to school.
It would certainly help if fewer journalists thought it was a great idea to write articles that drive a deeper wedge between cyclists and drivers.
Owen.
________________________________
From: Bob Shanteau <RMSh-@gmail.com>
To: sa-@topica.com
Sent: Fri, November 6, 2009 12:25:01 PM
Subject: Re: <saba> "SF Cyclists Facing Backlash" article in NYT
Instr-@aol.com wrote:
I posted that article to the CABOforum and CBC mailing lists with this comment: "It looks like support for bicyclists following the rules of the road is now politically incorrect. How do we turn this around?"
Bob Shanteau
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