How do we go about getting bike lanes for 15th St?

[nathanm]

13th is a great street for biking.  Hardly ever busy, 4 lanes, and goes straight into downtown all the way from Lewis.  If Starship wasn't in the way and they had a rail crossing it would go all the way to 77th E. Ave.

If you're biking, you can ride through the parking lot just to the north of the tracks and across some grass back onto 13th, although there's not much point given how close 12th is.

[SXSW]

If you're biking, you can ride through the parking lot just to the north of the tracks and across some grass back onto 13th, although there's not much point given how close 12th is.

I've done that, would be nice to have a paved trail that crosses the tracks there if 13th was designated a bikeway. 

[Quinton]

Start paying the same taxes and license as a car would be a start.

[Hoss]

Start paying the same taxes and license as a car would be a start.

wow, and the kook chimes in...

[Ed W]

Yep, us bicyclists are a bunch of tax evaders.  Why, the simple act of riding a bike absolves us of paying income taxes, real estate taxes, and sales taxes - where the bulk of the money for roads comes from - and we simply refuse to pay gas taxes on the gas that we're not using. 

As for licensing and insurance, well, we evade them just as successfully.  Most of us own cars, but since we ride bikes too, we don't need licenses or insurance.  Of course, given the carnage that we cause on our nation's roadways, often amounting to maybe a dozen or pedestrians mowed down each year, it's surprising that the government hasn't cracked down on us.  If I recall right, last year motorists killed about 32,000, so it's only fair.

Seriously, Quinton, even the slow kids at the back of the classroom know that licensing, registration, and insurance go hand-in-hand with piloting a fast, heavy vehicle due to the potential damage that vehicle can cause.  Cyclists and pedestrians aren't subject to those requirements because they can't inflict similar damages.  Do try to keep up.

[Red Arrow]

Seriously, Quinton, even the slow kids at the back of the classroom know that licensing, registration, and insurance go hand-in-hand with piloting a fast, heavy vehicle due to the potential damage that vehicle can cause.  Cyclists and pedestrians aren't subject to those requirements because they can't inflict similar damages.  Do try to keep up.

No question that a bicyclist ends up on the loosing side of a collision with a fast heavy vehicle.  That doesn't mean that a cyclist cannot cause that incident.  Most adults are aware of the rules of the road, even if they choose to ignore them when on a bicycle.  Requiring young riders to go through some kind of test to verify they can control the bike and know the rules of the road is not such a bad idea. 

This subject comes up periodically.  The town where I was a kid required everyone to get a bicycle license.  It was cheap and was not intended to raise revenue.  The tags for the bikes were not large.  They were numbered sequentially, starting with 1.  Most of the kids tried to get the lowest number possible. The township police administered the riding test and asked a few questions.  After successfully completing the test, the rider got a new tag, good for a year.  Tags could be obtained any time during the year at the police station.

[nathanm]

So am I shirking my duty as a taxpayer because I drive an old car that costs me a grand total of $22 a year to tag?

[Ed W]

So am I shirking my duty as a taxpayer because I drive an old car that costs me a grand total of $22 a year to tag?

On one hand, Nathan, you're being selfish and un-American for refusing to support our national infrastructure by paying more in taxes and making regular car payments.  Each of us has a patriotic duty to see that large portions of our earned income go toward building more and bigger highways, employing more Americans in their construction, and employing even more providing those automobiles and the services they require. So you have a moral obligation to purchase and drive a behemoth-size motor vehicle, one that uses more gas and oil than most third world countries.  Or you could just get one of these:



Yep, it's the DARPA Flying HumVee, soon to be a status symbol for all those high-achieving but under-endowed folks in dire need of over compensation.

Or, as the inestimable Fire Sign Theater guys put it, "Shoes for Industry!" 

[Red Arrow]

So am I shirking my duty as a taxpayer because I drive an old car that costs me a grand total of $22 a year to tag?

My initial response was going to be yes.

Then I thought about the fact that most older cars usually need some kind of repair on a regular basis.  So, you are helping keep the automotive repair business in business.  That in-turn employs a lot of people, provides sales tax revenue and so on.  So on second thought, nope.  You cannot escape taxes.  You are just paying different ones by driving an older car.

[nathanm]

Or you could just get one of these:

That might actually get me into the new "car" market.  

Red Arrow: I know an Acura tech who fixes it for me at a very low cost. He needs a source of income his wife doesn't see to pay for his musical equipment and I need cheap repairs. Win-win.    Well, in reality he hardly sees any money because the effing thing won't break, mechanically. Seriously, I've had it for 10 years and put a grand total of $3500 into it (not counting fuel, but including the purchase price and scheduled maintenance), mostly in tires.

[Red Arrow]

That might actually get me into the new "car" market.  

Red Arrow: I know an Acura tech who fixes it for me at a very low cost. He needs a source of income his wife doesn't see to pay for his musical equipment and I need cheap repairs. Win-win.    Well, in reality he hardly sees any money because the effing thing won't break, mechanically. Seriously, I've had it for 10 years and put a grand total of $3500 into it (not counting fuel, but including the purchase price and scheduled maintenance), mostly in tires.

Looks like you got a keeper.

[Red Arrow]

I found a few of my bicycle tags from long ago.  The best I did in getting a low number was 11.  One of my friends got 1 at least once, maybe twice.  The second  white tag was probably my brother's. 

[Red Arrow]

Well, I got the file size down but need to figure out how to get the resolution down too.  (iMac)

[Red Arrow]

Yep, us bicyclists are a bunch of tax evaders.  Why, the simple act of riding a bike absolves us of paying income taxes, real estate taxes, and sales taxes - where the bulk of the money for roads comes from - and we simply refuse to pay gas taxes on the gas that we're not using. 

I believe a significant portion of the vehicle registration fee goes toward education.  How can you be against education?  If tax shirkers like you would pay up, we wouldn't need such draconian measures as SQ 744. 

Really though, the registration fee obviously does not support the roads to any significant amount.  It amounts to permission to use the roads we all fund.  Pay up.

[guido911]

Quinton's post was a bit harsh, but I agree with what I hope was the message. Someone needs to pay for any bike path--and yes I would be one of them since I am a cyclist.