Thinking of the Current Transportation System as a Health and Safety Issue

All I know is that first you've got to get mad.

You've got to say, 
"I'm a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!" 


Three vehicular events in the Silicon Valley area this weekend highlight the fact that we are all subject to property damage, trauma, critical injury and even death from vehicles.  With this weekends death of a solo driver in Los Altos, a hit and run pedestrian accident in downtown San Jose, and a hit and run accident involving two cyclists, we need to stop and seriously consider the pain and suffering these events cause.

I am acquainted with Ashley (Ashleigh), through work and we share several mutual friends.  Ashley was riding with her boyfriend  this weekend when she was struck by a car that drove into the bike lane.  As I have written before, death and injury has visited family members, a favored author (David Hallberstam's tragic death near the Dumbarton Bridge), three high school friends, a college friend, and bike riding buddies.  Many years ago, while riding my bike, I witnessed a accident victim's final seconds as the blood from his head flowed onto the asphalt, on that early spring morning.  I was stunned and helpless.  Unable to move the truck that had just slammed his head to the ground and was now pinning his body to the roadway, all  I remember was the color of  his face, and how it seemed to change color the more his blood drained from his motionless head.

Several years after witnessing speeding and erratic behavior by a driver on a southbound San Diego Freeway, I came upon the prostrate body of the driver in the middle lane; motionless as we drove by, suddenly making the connection that the driver had met his end in his own horrific way.

With almost two years of a car free lifestyle under my belt, people often ask me; "isn't bike riding dangerous?  I'm to afraid to ride my bike.  I think I'll just go to a spin class instead."  First, bikes can be dangerous, but not many people fail to consider the large number of car accidents every year; whether classified as solo vehicular accidents, alcohol related accidents, accidents due to youth and inexperience, or just sheer and utter stupidity.  We seem to just accept, "as if that's the way it's supposed to be.   

"We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone." 

Ask anyone who rides or walks and they will tell you horror stories of the streets.  Freeing yourself from the cocoon of your car you notice more.  In the two years since my own accident, I have witnessed four accidents involving a car running a red light ( myself  a victem as well).  Of those four, I was the first responder on three of them.  One involved a person trying to flee the scene.  Six victims required medical attention.  

 In the two years since giving up my car in favor of a lifestyle involving cycling, walking and public transportation as a means of mobility, I have kept tract of most of the accidents involving cars, whether solo, with other cars, with bicycles, or pedestrians.  Also motorcycle accidents; which seem almost to be predictable in rider age and accident location are document.

We strikes me and also troubles me the most however is the continued increase in hit and run accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists.  I have read somewhere that it may approach 50%.  That would be one out of two accidents involve a vehicle leaving the scene; an absolute disgrace on any measure of moral, ethic, or civic responsibility.

Anyway here are three Google Maps so far that I have put together.
(Blue - Vehicle, Red - Pedestrian, Yellow - Motorcycle, Green - Cyclists) Dot in the marker represents a fatality.

2007

2008 

2009

Pedestrian Friendly

La Rade by Yann Tiersen....Must be Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan ....Look at the size of the crosswalks and the signals are timed so pedestrians all walk (scramble) at once. At least the first scene was....

This Morning on My Bike

I am not always delight with bike usability in Cupertino, buth this morning there was room for optimism.  In travelling through Cupertino each morning I get a little frustrated with construction sites that take away bike lanes for weeks on end with no signage or the number of unsafe riders on cell phones or carry shopping bags on their hadlebars, or the crazy student drivers near De Anaza College. 

However this morning I felt releived that some form of bike justice was done.  I was travelling east on Stevens Creek Blvd. crossing De Anaza Blvd. just as the light turned green.  As the traffic started to pull away from the light a car decided to make an unplanned and unsignaled right turn (more popularly known as the right hook).  As he cut infront of me makeing his right, I pulled out my only weapon.....my middle finger.  Just as I was crossing the intersection, I noticed a Santa Clara County Sheriff motorcycle cop on the other side of the intersection.  Nice.  Score one ticket for the city of Cupertion and hopefully a safer driver in the futer.

The Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec

One of my original ideas about bike touring through French Canada was to plan a trip that would hit small artisan towns. Villages that specialized in some for of agriculture or food production; no different than tourist who flock to Napa, California each year for the wine; except without the car.

At the time I really had not though about the term Agritourism (AgroTourism) but I started seeing reference to it in some websites. I remember the early days growing up in Southern California, when Knott's Berry Farm was really a farm that grew berries. The rides were originally built just to get people to come and buy their berries. Dairy farms were located just outside of town. In fact the road to Tijuana which is now the beautiful Interstate 5 used to be lined with dairy farms.

Somehow we have lost our agricultural roots; tomato past made in giant factories, beef fattened up on feed lots, and beer made in Colorado. Most of the towns centered around local agricultural products, historical architectural heritage, and include vistas and access to water.

The idea for "the most beautiful villages" originally comes from France with over 32,000 certified villages. The idea is to preserve and display towns and villages which have preserved their geographic, historic and cultural characteristics.

As describe on their website the villages also expect a level of responsibility from tourists given their small character. Some guidelines include:

1. The Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec are ideally visited on foot or by bicycle. Consider parking your car at the entrance or at the centre of a village, and enjoy a leisurely tour.
   
   
2. Local businesses strive to preserve smaller, more approachable operations, allowing you to engage in conversation and to learn more about local life and history. Supporting artisans, artists, farmers and other local businesses not only ensures the survival of traditional village life, but also, and quite importantly, the pleasure of human contact and the authenticity of products.
   
   
3. Our villagers are gracious hosts, proud of their homes, and honoured by your visit. It is their pleasure to engage you in conversation: let them share a bit of themselves with you, and share a bit of yourself with them. However, please refrain from creating a disturbance by speeding, parking outside designated areas, or excessive noise. Also, please respect private property.
   
   
4. Heritage buildings and their surrounding property are generally not open to the public. Access is limited, except with authorization.
   
   
5. Our villages offer a wide range of inns, bed and breakfasts, and farmhouse accommodations that will allow you to spend some time with the townspeople. Please feel free to ask them questions about local life, village history, and things to see and do.
   
   
6. Generally, villages to not offer as wide a range of products as in large urban centres, and the cost of supplies may vary accordingly. Please take this into account when planning your stay.

The province specializes in cheeses, ciders, herbs, sugar shacks, and pasture fed grazing animals. The website for Agritourism in Quebec offers an interactive way to plan you trip.

The Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec
Agrotourism in Quebec
The Most Beautiful Village of Quebec - Google My Maps

Day 9 Trois Rivieres to Quebec City

La Route Verte 2007

Day 9 August 30, 2007, Thursday
Trois Rivieres to Quebec City


Trois Rivieres
Having spent some time in Trois Riveries about 10 years prior I had a sense of where some things were in town. Trois Rivieres Having settled into the Hostel in town we did some sightseeing the day before and walked down the Boulevard Rue des Forges (photo at left: Claude Boucher, Wikipedia). The whole central district is easily walkable and although not as touristy as Quebec City, there area plenty of restaurants on the main boulevard. It is not totally evident from the photo but Boulevard Rue de Forges is lined with all types of Restaurants from Spanish to Greek, from casual to formal, from pubs to bistros.

What amazed me however was that in a town of just over 100,000 on a Thursday night all the restaurants were busy both inside and out on the street. I tried to imagine any comparable U.S. city that would have such a crowd out walking and dining, and you know I just couldn't name one. Any suggestions out there?

What was nice about staying a the hostel and being so centrally located we could just leave the bikes and walk to the restaurant district, amble around and watch the people with out having to lock up our bikes. Riding's fun but it's nice sometimes to just get off the bike and stroll. We would also have that opportunity in the old town area of Quebec City.

As I had stated in previous posts if you cannot find a tourist office (? information touristique) in any Quebec town or village, well your just not looking. Look at the photo at right not only are there signs on lampposts but also in the street and signage informing you that you can park for 30 minutes for free if you use the office.

Lucky for us we found a fantastic Belgium Bakery, known as Nys (Patisserie Belge Artisanal Nys). After some palmiers and some espresso we ordered a couple of baguettes, wrapped them and stuffed them in to the back pockets or our Jerseys and were on our way.

Trois Rivieres to Quebec City

The trip today would be about 90 miles which is definitely doable, especially with the flat route along the St. Lawrence River. But with an early morning cool rain storm and a nice headwind it would definitely be challenging. Now that we were traveling along the St. Lawrence what little history I read about the region was beginning to make sense. The first European exploration of New France (Quebec) was by Jacques Cartier in 1534. The first permanent settlement of the area would be located in Quebec City some 50 years later by Samuel de Champlain (Lake Champlain).

These small fiercely french villages still retain much of the flavor of the old country. The grid based land and urban system so typical in the United States is not present here. In fact looking at Google Maps or Google Earth look at upstate New York with its grid or square and rectangular farms and grid based town maps. In Quebec you will notice that abutting rivers, landowners had a small frontage but the land extended back from the water in large strips.

Most of the development on the lower St. Lawrence takes places on the south-east side of the river, so the ride to Quebec City along the northern side is prettier and more direct; skirting closely to the side of the river without substantial truck and auto traffic exiting the provincial freeway. The road enters many small towns with a decent amount of farmers stands to stop for produce and food.

One small town (small being less than a hundred buildings) Deschambault, which is built a small knob sticking in to the Saint Lawrence had this great little bistro. The owners; a husband and wife team built the restaurant in an old converted two story Victorian era house. The wife, who is an artist, redid and outfitted the whole house in stunning antiques and works of art, while the husband focused on the food.

I order a smoked salmon bagel with an additional wrap. Just as we were wrapping up our lunch, a couple from Toronto mentioned that they were on their way to Quebec for the --get this--, "Accordion festival". Before you knew it Dave grabbed the restaurant owner's guitar and started playing some improvisation right there on the spot.

It sure made for an entertaining rest from the rain and the wind just an hour prior. But now we had about another 40 or 50 miles before entering Quebec, so it was time to say our goodbyes and hit the road.

An hour and a half into the ride and I was already feeling somewhat tired. As we passed a town (although it look more like a typical American freeway stop) just off the highway, I noticed; strewn over the roadway paper cups, wrappers and bags courtesy of McDonalds. I was a little shocked because I had not seen the typical scene of hyper-litter that now is present on most American roads. It had been over a week now and I really didn't recall seeing any litter until now. This is one of the few; in fact I think the only McDonalds we had seen in Quebec, and as a reminder we were now being blessed with an unsightly roadway garbage to make us feel at home.

Well the afternoon was getting late and I was completely drained of energy. I didn't remember Quebec City being so large. As a tourist you think of the city as that which is within the fortress walls but it has expanded outwards about 20 miles from the walls along the river. I knew that if I just follwed a general path along the river I would reach the auberge. Finally at around 8:00 PM I reached the gates to the "old city". The next few days would be focused on rest, relaxation, and tourist

Publish Post

activities.

It was an end to a long day.

Car Wash for Car Crash Victims

This isn't the first time I have seen car washes held to raise funds for car crash victim's. The article states that the young victims loved cars, only to die in a car.
Friends, family pitch in to aid young San Jose crash victims-San Jose Mercury News

with permission from A. Singer