On 9/1/2014 8:05 PM, jbeattie wrote:


By the way, the census information for calculating mode share is based on one question:

How did this person usually get to work LAST
WEEK? If this person usually used more than one
method of transportation during the trip, mark (X)
the box of the one used for most of the distance.

The questionnaire is completed in April -- not a great commuting month in Portland
since it is so wet. I don't know what the sample size is.

I'm not sure of your point, Jay. Would you suggest they ask the
question in December? Yes, I imagine bike mode share is higher in (say)
June or July, but it's certainly lower in the dreary winter. April
seems about midway.

And it's theoretically possible to ask more detailed questions every
month, or every week. But someone has to pay for that.

I've stated my observations on PDX. I think there is no time that 6% of
the vehicles in motion - or stopped on the gridlocked streets and
highways - are bicycles. Polling only city residents gives optimistic
answers, applicable only to those who have chosen the trendy Portland
inner-city lifestyle. IOW, suburban commuters don't count in the
surveys, but they dominate on the ground.

I do know that my commute from Southwest has gotten busier -- a lot busier.
I took a hilly-ish route from downtown last week during rush hour (earlier
than I usually leave for home), and it was full of cyclists. I drag raced
this one kid just because I can't help myself. I'm seeing a lot more
cyclists
in my part of the town, which is more challenging than the close-in east
side
from whence most cyclists commute.

Your observations may be accurate, and increases in bike mode share - if
any - may be the beginning of a sea change. OTOH, they may just be the
tides of fashion, as permanent as love beads or leisure suits.

--
- Frank Krygowski