Parking it at UGA

The Red & Black compares UGA's parking facilities to those of its peer institutions.

“Parking is one of the biggest problems on most any large university campus,” [ University of Florida vice president of Business Affairs Ed] Poppell said. “On our campus we say, ‘We have enough spaces, but just not in the right places.’”

The saying is a result of one of UF’s initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and congestion on campus by enforcing certain regulations, such as the university’s “auto-free interior campus,” where only buses and service vehicles are allowed on the interior of campus from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“We have significant policies on our campus limiting what students can do and where they can park,” Poppell said. “We have also continuously increased the price of our decals, encouraging people to find alternative means of transportation.”

At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the parking is highly selective. With 16,000 total parking spaces on campus, the school allows only 3,900 of its 28,136 students to park on campus. Unlike the University, UNC does not offer parking to incoming freshmen.

“There are a lot of folks who prefer to utilize the transit system,” said Randy Young, spokesman for the UNC Department of Safety. “We’ve gone to inordinate measures to make sure that the congestion and dependence on single-occupancy vehicles are attended to here on campus. We have 6,000 people on the Commuter Alternative Program.”

The program offers students an incentive to walk, ride bikes or use transit on campus by rewarding them with prizes and merchant discounts.

The University has a similar program called the Alternative Transportation Program, with a student participation of 1,200.

The program allows students who walk or take the bus* to receive 22 days of free parking per year in specified parking locations.

*ATP is also available for cyclists. With its campus pedestrian malls, campus transit, and bike racks, UGA certainly leads the county in supporting alternative transportation infrastructure.

Still, more can be done to encourage alternative behavior among a student body overwhelmingly conditioned to drive enormous SUVs for 2 mile errand trips. Increasing ATP participation should be a top priority. Given the comparatively low levels of participation, UGA has a ways to go before it can say it has "gone to inordinate measures to make sure that the congestion and dependence on single-occupancy vehicles" are minimized.

Indeed, since its inception, the Alternative Transportation Program has grown more restrictive, due to concerns that the program was being abused. Instead of marginalizing a good idea, UGA ought to develop creative enforcement solutions and then widely publicize the program's availability and benefits. Fewer cars means less need for bond-financed parking decks, which means less congestion, both on our roads and in our air.

Unfortunately, other considerations tend to distort the University's thinking on these things.

HB 988: 3 foot passing law

Unfortunately, we hear all the time about folks who get buzzed and knocked off their bikes, scared, or seriously injured or killed. Despite what many Georgia cyclists believe, state law makes no specific statements about how cars should pass bicycles. The portion of the code that refers to passing (40-6-42) states only that

(1) The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle;

We must note of course that bicycles are vehicles under state law. Sixteen other states have laws that apply a 3 foot safe passing distance for cars passing bicycles.

This law works as an educational tool for drivers and as a standard for enforcement (how close is too close? "I didn't hit him -- he just fell down after I passed").

Based on Georgia's accident statistics from 2004-2006, more than half (55%) of recorded deaths from car vs bicycle crashes occurred when the car and bicycle were traveling in the same direction, when speeds tend to be higher and injuries more severe, highlighting the need for education and enforcement of a safe passing distance.

Georgia is now one of seven states with a proposed 3 foot passing law: HB 988 was introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives by Wendell Willard of Roswell. Please encourage your state representative to support this bill. Its passage will increase safety for all of our roads' users. For more information on the merits of this bill, please visit
http://bicyclecampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/White_Paper_3_Feet.pdf

* Thanks to Drew Wade with Savannah Bicycle Campaign for drafting the above statement!

Athens featured in March "Bicycling"

Bicycling magazine profiles Athens in its March issue.

Click the image below for a larger version of the hard-copy article.


Their link to Athens rides doesn't seem to be working yet, but we've developed a map of interesting locations and a suggested "Tour of Athens" route.

Democrats re-introduce T-SPLOST

From the AJC:

Citing a failure of state leadership to raise transportation funding, Georgia Democratic leaders on Thursday announced a proposal to allow regional referendums on a penny sales tax for transportation, and to dedicate part of the current gas tax for any transportation purpose, including operating a mass transit system.

Creating a long-term source of operating funds could clear the way to compete for federal grants to build new local transit projects, transportation officials said.

Almost all of the Georgia gas tax currently goes to transportation, but one cent per dollar goes to the state’s general fund. The part that goes to transportation can only be spent on roads and bridges, not mass transit.

GA loses out on even more transit funding

As if the loss of high speed rail funding wasn't painful enough, AJC comes in with this late hit.

The Federal Transit Administration on Tuesday published a list of 27 transit projects recommended for $1.8 billion in federal funding. Georgia wasn’t on it.

It couldn’t be. Georgia had no proposals up for consideration, FTA spokesman Paul Griffo said.

In contrast to the high-speed rail grants last week, these recommendations would fund development of local transit projects such as new bus and streetcar lines.
...

Rail advocates last week blamed Georgia’s loss of high-speed rail money on the state’s past indifference to rail transit.

"If you don’t have operating money, nobody’s going to give you the money you need to build lines," said Lee Biola, president of Citizens for Progressive Transit. "Other states are investing in other ways of traveling [than by car] and they are becoming competitors when it comes to luring businesses and high-tech workers to their states."

If it wasn't clear before, it's clear now: Georgia's old boy network of back-slapping car dealers, sprawl builders, and road pavers will keep us mired in gridlocked traffic, smog, and ugly landscapes until we demand something better.

Bus ad revenue lower than expected

Banner-Herald reports:

Athens-Clarke County is cutting short its contract with a local firm that sells advertising on Athens Transit buses because the program is making less money than officials expected.
...

The Athens-Clarke Commission is likely to vote tonight to opt out of a two-year contract with The Summit Agency on June 30, after just one year.

The deal guarantees the county at least $75,000 per year in revenue, with the county and the agency splitting anything over that amount. After seven months, the agency has sold only $33,000 worth of ads, Athens Transit Director Butch McDuffie said.

...

The economy and a restrictive policy on what types of ads Athens Transit will accept are responsible for the poor sales, McDuffie said.

The county does not accept alcohol-related, sexual, political or religious advertising.

Commissioners adopted the policy on Athens-Clarke Attorney Bill Berryman's recommendation to head off potential lawsuits if they turned down a controversial ad to avoid the appearance that the government is endorsing a religious or political message.

...

When the county's contract with The Summit Agency ends June 30, the commission could opt to stop selling ads, hire another agency to sell them or sell them in-house. [Commissioner Kelly] Girtz said he favors continuing to sell ads.

Is the county policy too cautious? Isn't some money better than none? This is the first time this strategy has been attempted with Athens Transit, so it's to be expected that there might be some hurdles, especially in the current economic conditions.

Plenty of transit systems successfully utilize bus ads to supplement their operating budgets. We hope the commission and Athens Transit can address the challenges and continue exploring this needed funding opportunity.

Let the Commission know your thoughts on the matter.

Back to School Bike Sale!

BikeAthens' Bike Recycling Program is having a Back To School Bike Sale this Sunday February 7th at the Bike Recycling Program Shop in the Chase Street Warehouses off Tracy St.

We'll have 20 freshly refurbished bicycles for sale including something for just about every type of rider. All bikes have passed a 78 point inspection and are in excellent operating condition. We've got road bikes, mountain bikes, touring bikes, hybrids, cruisers, and kids bikes for sale. Treks, Cannondales, Schwinns, Shoguns, Specializeds, and Giants.

Prices range from $50 to $500. Stop by and check out our supply this Sunday from 1 pm to 3 pm.

Directions to the sale here.

Photos of available bicycles below:

Sidewalk biking debate continues

Local Reps. "Doug McKillip, D-Athens, and Ed Lindsey, R-Atlanta, introduced House Bill 965 this week, [which] would give local governments the option of allowing bicycles on sidewalks," reports today's Banner-Herald.

I stated my opinion publicly, but I'll reiterate it by re-posting a comment from the ABH website:

Sidewalks might be ok for kids and folks wishing to putter, but there is no way a sidewalk is safe for even for the speeds a newbie on a road bike can make. Most road bike groups are going to average 14-18 mph, maybe a bit slower on hills, but that is pretty close. Elite groups will be faster, and some riders will be slower. While bikes may delay you a few seconds on your journey, it is safer for pedestrians, pets, and the bikers themselves, to have them on the road at those speeds than on a narrow unregulated sidewalk.

By definition, bikes are "traffic" and have the same rights to the road as slow drivers, garbage trucks, busses, postmen, etc., and any other vehicle that might slow you down. Share the road works when everyone is respectful and considerate.

While I agree with the above 100%, I recognize my opinion is informed by my experiences on Prince, Milledge, and Lumpkin. Any thoughts from other commuting corridors? I'd like to hear both cyclists' and pedestrians' perspectives.

If you don't want to comment here on the blog, respond to the poll on the right!

Bad news/Good news

The bad news:
Our great state's short-sighted, issue-neglecting leaders have squandered the chance for millions in high speed rail money.

Georgia appears to have won as little as $750,000 from the $8 billion pool of high-speed rail grants.
...
Last fall, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told a number of states, including Georgia and Florida, that they had better get their act together on rail transit or risk losing out on the high-speed rail grants.

In a special session weeks later, Florida voted additional annual funding for one transit rail line and expedited buying track for another.

What did Georgia's legislators do? Not a thing. And what are they doing now? Talking about more tax cuts for big business (and campaign contributors) and ethics re-form.

All of which nets us, the traffic and air pollution-beleaguered residents of the state, with .0094% of the federal funding available for high speed inter-city rail.

The good news?

Maybe folks will finally get fired up about the ridiculous priorities of our state government and demand some actual governance, the kind that faces reality and seeks informed solutions to our common problems.

Gov. Perdue sure likes talking the talk. Will we ever see any action? That's largely up to us. We'll have to drag our highway-loving legislature kicking and screaming, but we can make it happen.

Let your legislator know how disappointed you are!

Share your commute

Inspired by this bike commuter diary, we're looking for some show-and-tell from Athens' bike, transit, and pedestrian commuters.

Send us a narrative, photographic, and/or mapped description of your commuting route in Athens, and we'll share it here on the blog and on our website. We encourage you to share your thoughts on the route, including ways it could be improved, what you like about it, interesting experiences, etc.

Please submit to chair[at]bikeathens.com

We look forward to hearing your story!

UPDATE
We have one submission in the comments below! And, here's a short video of my walking commute from New Town to campus. The intro has a 3-4 second delay for some reason. Enjoy!