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Two-wheel mafia


The Other Paper
August 07, 2008
By By LYNDSEY TETER Published: Thursday, August 7, 2008 12:07 PM EDT


hey're fitter. They're happier. They're more productive.


While the rest of you suckers can't stop hitting refresh on columbusgasprices.com, cyclists arrive at work at least financially and emotionally richer, if not a bit dampened by a deserved sense of accomplishment.

Yes, two-wheeled types are clearly far superior to the rest of car-happy Columbus, but you can't exactly go around saying that without getting yourself run over. So how does the two-wheeled solution speak to the petroleum problem? With lots and lots of consideration. And the strategy is working.



Mock all ye want from your climate-controlled autos, Columbus, but bikers are steadily reclaiming the streets.


 


To cycling advocate Jeff Stephens, the message is simple: Consider Biking.


This gentlemanly-yet-ominous approach is not only the name of a local organization, it's good advice. Seriously. Consider it. Because thanks to some good friends in government, the rising price of crude oil and maybe even a warm summer breeze or two, bike advocates are getting everything they're asking for. And by all accounts, their numbers are growing.


Described by riders as everything from a "simple machine" to "one of the most efficient vehicles whose limitation is only based on imagination," the humble bicycle has captured a lot of attention this summer.


That's largely because in May, after two years of work, Columbus City Council passed a 288-page 20-year plan, which commits about $167 million toward making Columbus a biking utopia.

"It's a state-of-the-art plan," said Stephens, who happily went full-time as a biking advocate for Consider Biking this spring.


With the support of Mayor Mike Coleman, whom advocates have dubbed "Bikin' Mike," and longtime pedal-pusher and Councilwoman Maryellen O'Shaughnessy, Columbus dropped a quarter-million dollars to draft the Bicentennial Bikeways Master Plan. The two-wheeled mega plan includes a $20 million price tag for its first phase of implementation—a chunk of which must be approved as a part of the city's Bicentennial Bond Package that goes on the ballot in November.


"The mindset of city leadership and those in the transportation department has changed dramatically in the last year or two since we worked to put this together," Stephens said. "Getting cars from here to there used to be the focus, but there has been a dramatic mind shift."


That mind shift is manifesting itself in the city's list of 13 recommended steps, including progress made in recent weeks toward converting a road in Clintonville to a "bike boulevard," where the city says cyclists are given priority over vehicles. They've dedicated millions to new bike trails, and have committed personnel to biking issues even as the city announced it would cut 100 jobs. Bike advocates promote the mantra that multi-model transportation should be offered as a basic city service—not an afterthought. The city appears to be taking their concerns to heart.


The administration does not seem embarrassed to be in the pocket of Big Bike.


"A few years ago, people might have sneered at bicyclists, but they're looking a lot smarter now," said Dan Williamson, a spokesman for the mayor.


The trifecta of rising oil prices, an increasing environmental awareness and a new emphasis on a healthy, active lifestyle will be enough to get more of Columbus on two wheels, he said. And the mayor's office is unashamedly on board with changing the car-centric culture of Columbus.


"Any car replaced with a bike is a good thing," Williamson said.


 


That's welcome news to Andrew Hulvey, a member of Columbus's CarFree living movement. A recent OSU grad, Hulvey is looking forward to ditching his auto when he moves Downtown this fall.


His motives are largely financial. It costs between $10,000 and $12,000 annually to operate a car, Hulvey said. And since he's scaled down to a CarLite lifestyle, he's shed pounds, saved money and developed a "more intimate relationship" with his commute.


"It's more stressful driving a car now," he said. Cycling doesn't lend itself to multi-tasking that often takes place in a car, whether its cell phone use or eating a meal, he said. Plus, it's a mode of transportation with a rich cultural history.


"Bikes have always been a catalyst for social change," Hulvey said, citing an article that credits the machine for the early independence it provided women as they launched the suffrage movement.


Despite having been clipped by an oncoming car and had coins thrown at her while riding—maybe drivers want her to put money toward a car, she said—28-year-old Tina Matthews still advocates the lifestyle to her friends.


"I've noticed way more bikers out on the road, and it's really awesome," she said. If bikers are more visible and drivers are more likely to see them, there is safety in numbers.


"But I try not to be too pushy with it," Matthews said. "You don't want to come off as judgmental."


Yes, you can't preach anything to anyone, said Chuck Hootman, owner of Tip Top—the quintessential two-wheel hangout on Gay Street—who also is a bike messenger.


"Everyone's got to have their own epiphany," said Hootman who remembers the day—July 5, 1998—he fell for cycling when he began working as a bike messenger. And when you fall for cycling, you fall hard, he said.


"They might even go so far as to sell their home and move closer to their workplace. Cycling enriches your life."


 


Many a discerning Columbus resident has been lulled into submission by the bike advocates' soothing, siren-like approach.


"They're not militant at all," said one city hall source, who jokingly said he was motivated to launch Consider Driving as a response to the recent surge of power. "They're all pretty level-headed."


Armed with a state-of-the-art plan drafted by one of the premiere biking development pros in the nation, Columbus drivers would be wise to consider that these aren't just dudes who ride bikes.


In fact, when Councilwoman Charleta Tavares introduced bike helmet legislation for children that didn't jive with the bike plan, bicycle advocates were there to gently nudge the city back onto the proper path.


"In a nutshell, we supported the concept of encouraging children to wear helmets," Stephens said. "But the way the proposal was written, it updated a few of the traffic codes in a way that did more damage than good."


One of those changes would require that some bikes ride on the sidewalks, said John Ivanic, council spokesman.


The issue is a contentious one for bikers, who emphasize their right to the take the lane. At the 11th hour, Stephens said, council members listened and stripped the ordinance of all the traffic code stuff.


"Tavares' intent was honorable," but the brouhaha kicked into place a four-month review of the traffic code, as the bikeways plan intended, he said.


 


Stephens, who once lived in Detroit, attributes that city's current hellhole circumstance to the "fast, mean streets" that connect its sprawling suburbs, and warns that Columbus could follow if they continue in an unsustainable pattern.


"We've got to really adapt and reverse some of these land-use and development patterns we've been so high on last 30-plus years," Stephens said.


But he'll be the first to admit that Columbus is, in fact, sprawled over 226 miles. The infrastructure wasn't built with bikes in mind, and there's no rage-inducing congestion like there is in Chicago or New York, where frustrated drivers are more likely to trade in their SUV for something more susceptible to inclement weather.


Regardless, bikers prophesied the end of the suburban model, when residents would migrate back to the urban core of Columbus.


"Americans are insane to think we're entitled to cheap oil," said Stephens. "This happy motoring culture is not sustainable."


Cyclists like Grove City resident Kevin Cash, however, preach temperance, suggesting that bike advocates shouldn't be in a hurry to ditch their automobiles altogether. The anti-car sentiment could turn off potential new converts, he warns.


"It can't be a one-or-the other issue," Cash said. "If anything, we need more conscientious drivers behind the wheel."


"We'll always have to deal with cars," said Hulvey. "We'll never get rid of them completely, but we can give people options."