Monday Afternoon Commute - Agenda 21

Good afternoon.

• An Ohio man, after originally pleading no contest, tries to have his "driving under the influence" charge dropped because he was riding a bike. But he filed his paperwork late, so the issue of whether the law applies to him was never considered.
• I guess this article isn't aimed at me since my answer to the opening question "Ready to trade in your car for a bike, or maybe a subway instead?" Is an emphatic "yes", instead of a horrified "no".
• "A 2008 follow-up report recommended replacing LOS with an entirely new measure known as "auto-trips generated," or ATG. Instead of asking how much congestion a project creates, ATG looks at how many new automobile trips it produces. Since bike lanes or bus-rapid transit or the like don't generate any automobile trips, those projects would no longer be subject to a full environmental review. "
• A Salon article also hits on the Agenda 21 fear that bicycling seems to scare up in the tea party set. "Adam Sternbergh argued in the New York Times that there’s a whiff of the Tea Party in the anti-bike backlash: “the specter of bureaucracy run amok,” in which a subset of society forces lifestyle changes on the majority." But the article is primarily about why cyclists are incorrectly viewed as smug and elitist. Citypaper asks "Do you buy the argument that some of the burden for being a positive advertisement for bicycling is on you?" My answer here is summarized as yes, but really we should be safe and polite for reasons that are bigger than public perception. And if someone is being safe and polite but not legal...what really is the problem there?

Comments

[antibozo]

What's especially hilarious about the article that wasn't meant for you is the way it goes on about how the policies will suppress housing supply and drive up home prices. A lot of people who are currently underwater on their homes would surely appreciate (pun intended) that if it were true...

[Greenbelt]

I'm not elistist at all, but I am a little smug about my bike commute I guess. Sorry.

[JJJJJ]

I find it hilarious that on the same page, this:

"Agenda 21 is a voluntary plan adopted at the 1992 United Nations"

Can be followed up with "OMG, what can we do to stop it!"

Yes, because a voluntary plan adopted in 1992 is clearly waiting in the wings to ruin lives in 2012. All part of the master plan of those sneaky UN types.

[Purple Eagle]

Some of the ideas being promoted on these "anti-agenda 21" websites are frightening. They argue, for example, that preserving land from development (for conservation/recreation purposes) is part of a UN plot to take over US sovereignty. What planet do these people live on?

[oboe]

@Purple Eagle:

A planet where arguably the most influential political party manages to hold on to power by gulling the credulous and maximizing the economic gains of the very, very wealthy.

Watch out for black helicopters, and be sure to vote for the elephant guy.