Wednesday Morning Ride - 3 feet

If at first you don't succeed...

• Virginia State Senator Ryan McDougle and Delagate Toscano will introduce the 3 foot passing law in the new legislative session.
• Bike lanes make Dr. Gridlocks list of biggest stories from 2010. Capital Bikeshare does not.
• LA's new bike plan calls for the Department of Recreation and Parks to study allowing mountain bikes on area trails, but backs away from plans for a pilot program. Jim Hasenauer, a Cal State Northridge professor who volunteers for the International Mountain Bicycling Assn., said equestrians fear that cyclists will have "negative impact on animals, rip up trails, kill native plants … but that's not what the research says." The association cites data showing that cyclists cause about as much damage as hikers and less than horses.
• New Congressional rules about how to spend the Highway Trust Fund could be a challenge for bike advocates. 
• Grist has a list of items for the year ahead in cycling. 
• Despite the conclusion of OHSU about bike commuting and safety, the "risk of serious injury being incurred while bicycle commuting is actually very small."
• CaBi is In

Comments

[contrarian]

"New Congressional rules about how to spend the Highway Trust Fund could be a challenge for bike advocates."

The problem with spending HTF money on non-highway projects is it creates a great talking point for the automotovists: "Motorists are taxed to pay for cyclists and pedestrians." While this is true, the logical conclusion isn't: that motorists are overtaxed -- in fact, motorist taxes and fees pay for about half of highway spending, with general revenue -- income and sales taxes -- paying for the rest.