Category: People

Bike shops’ social responsibility

February 5, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Bike shops have a responsibility to teach their customers safe cycling.

This is because the bike shop salesperson has the customer’s attention, and it’s when the customer will be most receptive to tips, advice, and training. The bike shop salesperson, in many cases, will be the first and last person the customer talks to about biking. Lastly, it’s because the bike shop is a community center with a wealth of knowledge and experience – all of which should be shared.

The customer’s family is probably not a good resource and websites and friends can only teach them so much. But a bike shop salesperson has two advantages over other friends, family, and the internet: the customer’s time and trust.

Each bike shop should take it upon themselves to teach each new customer how to ride safely and legally on the street, the local laws regarding its operating and accessories (buy some lights, please!), etiquette for multi-use paths (like Chicago’s Lakefront Trail), and proper locking techniques.

  1. All bikers will, at some point, have to ride on the street in mixed traffic.
  2. It’s unreasonable to expect cyclists to know the laws applicable to cycling when they’ve had very little experience cycling and when there are no widespread institutions that teach cycling.
  3. Multi-use paths are fountains of rage and dangerous commingling. 
  4. The cyclist will be in a situation that requires them to secure their bicycle.

No matter how adamant the customer is that they won’t be riding in the street, they will. The sidewalk is illegal territory in so many communities, and isn’t safe for the cyclist themselves or the pedestrians they might run over. On sidewalks or on multi-use paths, they will have to cross streets with automobile traffic. It’s a little different than being a pedestrian and crossing these streets because you are operating relatively heavy equipment and you move at a different speed. Eventually, this cyclist will graduate from scaredy-cat to coffeehouse comfortable, biking to a café down the street. Talking one on one about these things, using diagrams from a brochure will influence the new cyclist that safe cycling matters – for themselves and those with whom they’ll interact. Then show them how to read a map.

Bicycle laws are not handed to 16-year olds in high school (actually, they most likely are, but who reads that?). That might have been 10 years ago, and they won’t remember that a front headlight but only a rear reflector are required for post-dusk riding. Or that red lights are for all street users (and really dangerous to disobey). Don’t forget that some bicyclists were taught to ride against traffic, facing cars down on the wrong side of the street.

Those customers who might be telling the shop salesperson that they won’t be riding in the street probably think they’re only going to ride on the multi-use path. These customers need trail etiquette stressed to them. They need to know when it’s safe to pass, what to say to those they’ll pass, the right speed to travel, and when to stop or slow down. The trail is not a speeding zone; rollerbladers, children, strollermoms, teams in training, walkers, and in some places even horses and their riders, will all be groups with whom the cyclist must interact and take care of – this mix is fun to watch and be around, but path users must pay attention to each other. 

Real locking techniques may be one of the most useful things you can teach any cyclist. They won’t be cyclists if they can’t keep their bike! The City of Chicago offers a guide on theft prevention and proper locking, two unique but related concepts. You shouldn’t do one without the other, because they enhance the overall “theft-proof-ness” of a bike. The salesperson can spend five minutes demonstrating to the customer cross-locking, and then having the customer practice. They can also quiz the customer on appropriate locking locations. What structures are secure and which ones aren’t? Why or why not?

Preface this lesson to the customer that “in 20 minutes, you can become a bicycling expert!” The bike shop-customer bond will strengthen and you’ll have proved to them your service is necessary and appreciable. Because you took the time to show a customer how much you care about them, their new bike, and the sport or utility of bicycling, they’ll spread the word and come back.

Getting people out of cars

November 17, 2007 / / 0 Comments

Gas prices are only one of the costs associated with car ownership. It comprises a large part of yearly expenses for one’s automobile, but it only accounts for 20% of the “true cost of ownership.”

Edmunds.com has figured that with a new 2007 Toyota Camry LE with automatic transmission, fuel will cost an average of $1676 per year in Chicago for the next five years. That’s 21.5% of the total amount of money the car’s owner will spend and lose for the next five years.

So why do people continue to let their cars ruin their personal financial stability, regardless of how well they can argue its necessity?

One reason is that people haven’t considered the alternatives or, if considered, believe taking the train or bus, walking, biking, carsharing, or vanpooling won’t work for them. But it obviously works for millions of people everyday. Do they know something we don’t? Do they live a block from the commuter train station at home and work one block away from the end station? Are their legs in better shape than others’?

I think that governmental and non-profit agencies that have the mandate and authority to reduce vehicular traffic, congestion, and ownership, can use better marketing tools that will assist car owners to find ways that make their vehicles less relied upon and less used, period. By having car owners drive less, they will become more financially secure, probably experience reduced emotional and physical stress, and reduce their impact on the earth and the atmosphere.

In return, infrastructure would improve because money for highways and roads would be spent on projects and systems that have a better return on investment; transit agencies are able to serve more people (riders) than can highways serve singular drivers and their vehicles. Simply put, driving is a very selfish act which, combined with millions of other selfish drivers, creates a dysfunctional and inequitable transportation arrangement.

I have one tool in mind that can sway people out of their cars. My idea goes beyond slinging simple to understand quotes and statistics that all fail to motivate (for example, and this is not totally accurate, “80% of all car trips are less than 2 miles from the point of origin.”). What we need are individuals who are passionate about the alternatives to car ownership, those who, themselves have chosen a car-free or reduced-car lifestyle. These people would be used to listen to drivers who express some interest in jettisoning their driving habits or reducing their dependence on cars and determine some personalized options to accomplish this.

It would all start with a website. This website would have two purposes: to inform and to connect. The information on car ownership costs and how to reduce one’s car dependence is already out there – that would just be copied. The connect section of the website would invite visitors to submit their name, and either an email address, IM name, or phone number. One of the passionate individuals I asked for above would contact this person and become familiar with their car routines and suggest small ways to meet the driver’s goals.

Obviously, connections would need to be made on a local scale so helpers can be more effective and knowledgeable about the advice they give.

Getting people out of cars and using alternative modes of transportation almost always starts with one-on-one dialogue. It’s a goal that requires a lot of knowledge and some planning. I’m sure there are many readers who have been able to design a plan for at least a few people they know; sometimes it’s just a personal example that is needed to show how easy the change can be and how beneficial it is for more than themselves.

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The creative class

November 14, 2007 / / 0 Comments

Thank goodness Chicago has a stable creative class. We’re a more interesting city because of it. Or maybe we were a more interesting city first and the creative class followed.

It doesn’t matter for us anymore – the creative class is here and it’s not leaving as long as Chicago doesn’t drastically change its policies and attitudes that are welcoming to the creative class. Changing the policies to instigate such a dramatic change as an exodus of knowledge workers and artists would be economical suicide and would be antithetical to one of this city’s foundations and strongpoints: diversity.

The comments following will make more sense if you’ve read Richard Florida’s “The Creative Class.”

I think that Chicago definitely did not have to go through the processes of attracting desired creative-class workers as Pittsburgh is doing now, or other cities before it. Chicago had some already existing features and elements that are universally attractive to all people, let alone the creative class. These features are ethnic enclaves, extensive parks and recreation systems, well-known museums and cultural centers, an independent arts and music scene, and lots of diverse shopping (just another attraction to the city – superficially, this doesn’t seem like a make-or-break interest, but for those who have money to spend, they need a place to spend it).

Florida mentions how Chicago is unique because of how the working class and creative class coexist. He attributes this fact to a political and cultural solution that the city and the current Mayor Daley devised. I think the city’s existing dynamics (local, long-standing, universities; history as a national hub for business and transportation; enormous variety of people; and a plethora of “stuff to do”) were at the right levels and the systems of the city were making the right connections and this naturally made Chicago a great place to foster growth of the industries which are heavily supported by the creative class, or which grew to accompany them.

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Five favorite places in Chicago

November 12, 2007 / / 0 Comments

jackson park 1. This is Jackson Park, the Columbia Basin, and the East and West Lagoons. This is a beautifully landscaped park, originally built for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. The Museum of Science and Industry was built for this show and was called the Palace of Fine Arts. Unfortunately, it is the only surviving building from that festival, but my god, it is gorgeous as is the entire park – designed by one of the world’s premier landscape designers, Frederick Law Olmsted, who left a legacy in Chicago as well in New York City.

The park, ideally, should be biked or walked to. One must visit the Japanese Gardens in the park on the Wooded Island in the lagoon.

2. Lower Wacker, Michigan and Columbus. The lower levels of these three streets (plus many intersection others) are very intriguing and unknown to most, if not all, visitors to the city. They can only be explored by walking or biking (except for Wacker which is too narrow and high-speed vehicle traffic makes it dangerous). It is home to loading docks for so many downtown buildings, and also to many homeless Chicagoans. For a short length, there is even a lower lower Wacker Drive. There are a handful of other things that can be accessed on these lower levels: the Randolph Street Metra station, an independent stage theater, and the city’s towing pound. Looking at the bigger streets above from below puts one in the scene of one of many futuristic movies. The support beams for the streets and skyscrapers show the importance of these lower levels of Chicago.

3. Not Millennium Park. The amusement park on the lake is quite a fantastic place. The Pritzker Pavilion could not have been better designed or featured in the city. However, Millennium Park is not a place in or of Chicago that makes the city what it is. It’s only been around for four year, but it’s also not something that city residents themselves are quick to brag about. The artistic playground is just one itty bitty parcel of the interestingness of the city.

4. Roosevelt Rd. bridge over the South Branch of the Chicago River. This bridge is the largest viewing platform for trains in and out of the city. Come rush hour on a summer weekday, you will spot Metra after Metra after Metra, all leaving Union and LaSalle St. Stations. It is a fantastic opportunity to fill up a camera’s memory card with train after train after train. There won’t be much variety of compositions or subject matter, but you will have enough practice time to get the perfect shot.

5. Madison St. after the workday is done. Madison St. just happens to be one way east of Des Plaines. It’s a major exodus route for buses, taxis and private vehicles. Its sidewalks are also teeming with commuters walking or rushing to the train stations. Ogilvie Transportation Center sits on Madison St., but Union Station also has a Madison St. annex, and the main platforms for the busier station are only two blocks south of Ogilvie. In a two-hour window, more than 100,000 people will make their way to either train station and take Metra home. It’s a fantastic sight to see so many people walking in the same direction to the same place. And it only happens once a day.

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