Fresno County Bicycle Coalition

Archive for June, 2008

Healthy Air Living is a new initiative from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District for improving the health and quality of life of all Valley residents through strategies that clean up our air.

One of those initiatives is Healthy Air Living Week. The first is going to be this July, from July 7th to July 13th. As you know riding a bicycle is good for the air! The Fresno County Bicycle Coalition plans to support the Air District as much as we can. Mark your calendar; on one of the days during the week (probably Tuesday or Wednesday) we’re going to participate in a fun group ride, and we hope you’ll be there too! It will be modeled after our fantastically fun and incredibly successful ride during Bike to Work week, from the Manchester Center to the Fulton Mall. As soon as we know more details, we’ll let you know.

In the meantime, check out the Healthy Air Living Web site and find out more about how you can be part of the solution for healthy air in the San Joaquin Valley.

FRESNO, CA – With high gas prices on everyone’s mind, the City of Fresno, Department of Transportation/Fresno Area Express (FAX) announced today that it will join with other public transportation systems nationwide to participate in the third annual national Dump the Pump Day on June 19. Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the 2008 National Dump the Pump Day is a day that encourages people to ride public transportation to save money, conserve gasoline, and help reduce greenhouse gases.

“Using public transportation is the quickest way to beat high gas prices,” said Ken Hamm, Director of Transportation. “If gas prices are too high for you, then “dump the pump” and take a bus on June 19.”

Households with two workers and one car that use public transportation save $6,200 every year, compared to a household with no access to public transportation.

“Public transportation also has an important role to play in helping to reduce greenhouse gases,” said Ken Hamm. “If you leave your car behind to take public transportation, you will be helping to combat climate change.”

According to a new study prepared by ICF International and titled Broadening the Connection between Public Transportation and Energy Conservation, public transportation reduces our nation’s carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons annually, equivalent to the electricity used by 4.9 million households.

“By participating in the third annual national Dump the Pump Day, we hope people who have never used FAX will decide to give us a try instead of driving their car,” said Ken Hamm. “We will welcome new riders and thank our regular riders on National Dump the Pump Day.

For more information, the public may call 621-RIDE.

Tonight at 6:30 PM come on down to Tower Velo for a Fixed gear/single speed conversion class taught by Ed Lund. $10.

Here is an interesting talk given by the father of vehicular cycling, John Forester, to employees at Google in Mountain View, California. This video is well worth an hour of your time, and will be sure to help you understand the issues around this very controversial topic.

Central to John Forester’s message is the idea that cyclists fare best when they behave as and are treated as drivers of vehicles. John addresses the history of urban development in the United States from 1950 on, and explains why he believes we cannot realize the car-free Utopian vision of bicycle advocates.

We can, however, enjoy all the many benefits of cycling on the roads as they exist in safety and comfort, if we diligently learn the skills necessary to do so, and follow the vehicle code as it is equitably applied to all road users.