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When Cyclists Made Up an Entire Political Bloc



 
 
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  #11  
Old June 24th 19, 07:09 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
jOHN b.
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Default When Cyclists Made Up an Entire Political Bloc

On Mon, 24 Jun 2019 12:47:19 +0700, John B.
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Jun 2019 20:37:38 -0700 (PDT), Chalo
wrote:

The Good Roads movement started in the 1870s, when cars weren't even a carcinogenic toxin in their daddy's eye.


The Good Roads Movement was officially founded in May 1880 and in 1892
began publishing Good Roads Magazine.You can read volume I at
https://tinyurl.com/y6cy4cxm

And, the Model T Ford was first offered in 1909 when 10,666 were
produced and by 1916 some 501,462 were produced. The following year
some 735,020 the volume continued to increase until 1923 when
2,011,125 were sold. During the period of 1909 - 1916 some 1,315,849
Fords were on the road and by 1926 some 10,306,075 Model T Fords had
been marketed..

Federal-Aid Road Act of 1916 created the Federal-Aid Highway Program.
This funded state highway agencies so they could make road
improvements.

In 1909 there were 305,950 registered privately owned motor vehicles
in the U.S. In 1916 there were 3,367,889 and by 1926 there were
19,267,967.

In terms of population, in 1909 there was 1 motor vehicle per every
296 individuals, in 1916 1 per every 30 and by 1926 there was one
privately owned motor vehicle for every six people in the U.S.

Do you really believe that cyclists were the determining factor in the
building of better roads?


As an additional note: the current U.S. population (2018) seems to be
in the neighborhood of 327 million while some 272,840,000 private
motor vehicles are registered. A ratio of 1 vehicle for every 1.2
persons.
--
cheers,

John B.

Ads
  #12  
Old June 24th 19, 07:44 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Chalo
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Posts: 5,093
Default When Cyclists Made Up an Entire Political Bloc

Horatio Earle, who was known as "father of Good Roads", put it this way in 1929:

"I often hear now-a-days, the automobile instigated good roads; that the automobile is the parent of good roads. Well, the truth is, the bicycle is the father of the good roads movement in this country."

I do think that motorists sponged off the efforts and resources of others then, as they still do today-- abusing privileges and spaces intended for others and generating destructive externalities in the process.
  #13  
Old June 24th 19, 08:40 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
news18
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Default When Cyclists Made Up an Entire Political Bloc

On Mon, 24 Jun 2019 12:47:19 +0700, John B. wrote:

Do you really believe that cyclists were the determining factor in the
building of better roads?


Yes, but we just needed tracks and not a whole road.

"You wouldn’t know it now but in the 1890s Australia had the largest
bicycle path network in the world. As the long distance cycling centre of
the world for many years, Australia provides many of the most fascinating
stories from cycling’s early days. Wheeling Matilda: The Story of
Australian Cycling by Jim Fitzpatrick documents many of these stories,
with an account of almost 150 years of bicycling in Australia."

https://treadlie.com.au/wheeling-matilda/

And I've got a copy of the third edition of touring guide for motorists
produced in the early 1900's which was researched on a bicycle. The guy
was actuaslly producing them to selling as part of his business to sell
attire to eary motorists. Name escapes me atm.

  #14  
Old June 24th 19, 08:41 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
jOHN b.
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Default When Cyclists Made Up an Entire Political Bloc

On Sun, 23 Jun 2019 23:44:34 -0700 (PDT), Chalo
wrote:

Horatio Earle, who was known as "father of Good Roads", put it this way in 1929:

"I often hear now-a-days, the automobile instigated good roads; that the automobile is the parent of good roads. Well, the truth is, the bicycle is the father of the good roads movement in this country."

I do think that motorists sponged off the efforts and resources of others then, as they still do today-- abusing privileges and spaces intended for others and generating destructive externalities in the process.


Yes, Earle is quoted as saying that and he was a farm equipment
salesman.

In 1898 he was appointed by Edward N. Hines, Chief Consul of the
League of American Wheelmen (LAW) Michigan Division to chair a Good
Roads committee. And appeared to make that a political football that
he apparently used to promote himself.

1900: Elected to the Michigan Senate as an LAW candidate;
1901: Introduces a Michigan Senate Resolution which creates a State
Highway Commission and is subsequently elected as chair;
1901: Introduces a Michigan Senate Resolution which creates a State
Highway Commission and is subsequently elected as chair.
1902: Proposes the Federal Government create an interstate highway
system. Note the U.S. Interstate Highway system was authorized by the
Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956.
1902 founds the American Road Makers (later to be renamed the American
Road Builders Association (1910), and since 1977, known as the
American Road and Transportation Builders Association) which advocates
"strong government investment in transportation infrastructure".
1903: Appointed Commissioner of Highways by Michigan Governor Aaron T.
Bliss.
1906: Introduces legislation that creates the Wayne County Road Board
whose initial members are Cass R. Benton, Henry Ford, and Edward N.
Hines.
1908: Loses gubernatorial Republican primary.

In 1909 he apparently claimed to have created the first mile of
concrete road on Woodward Avenue in Detroit. Unfortunately several
others have claimed the same thing and are born out by history: In
1891, the first concrete street in American was built in
Bellefontaine, Ohio. But perhaps the Bellefontaine road wasn't quite a
mile long?

Or if one prefers a bit older road we have "The first concrete
pavement in the world was built in Inverness, Scotland, in 1865. Some
of the concrete pavement laid in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1872 is still
in use today".

In his later years he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Detroit in 1912
and in 1920 he lost the Republican primary for Governor.

He was vice-president of the Detroit Newsboys Association for 25 years
We have a fellow here that appears to have embarked on a similar path
by advocating bicycle paths and makes similar grandiose statements...
--
cheers,

John B.

  #15  
Old June 24th 19, 10:31 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
jOHN b.
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Posts: 2,421
Default When Cyclists Made Up an Entire Political Bloc

On Mon, 24 Jun 2019 07:40:49 -0000 (UTC), news18
wrote:

On Mon, 24 Jun 2019 12:47:19 +0700, John B. wrote:

Do you really believe that cyclists were the determining factor in the
building of better roads?


Yes, but we just needed tracks and not a whole road.

"You wouldn’t know it now but in the 1890s Australia had the largest
bicycle path network in the world. As the long distance cycling centre of
the world for many years, Australia provides many of the most fascinating
stories from cycling’s early days. Wheeling Matilda: The Story of
Australian Cycling by Jim Fitzpatrick documents many of these stories,
with an account of almost 150 years of bicycling in Australia."

https://treadlie.com.au/wheeling-matilda/

And I've got a copy of the third edition of touring guide for motorists
produced in the early 1900's which was researched on a bicycle. The guy
was actuaslly producing them to selling as part of his business to sell
attire to eary motorists. Name escapes me atm.


And I read that of the some 913,000 kilometers of roadways in
Australia some 353,331 Km of the roads are paved (:-0)
--
cheers,

John B.

  #16  
Old June 24th 19, 03:22 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
JBeattie
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Posts: 5,870
Default When Cyclists Made Up an Entire Political Bloc

On Monday, June 24, 2019 at 12:41:33 AM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
On Sun, 23 Jun 2019 23:44:34 -0700 (PDT), Chalo
wrote:

Horatio Earle, who was known as "father of Good Roads", put it this way in 1929:

"I often hear now-a-days, the automobile instigated good roads; that the automobile is the parent of good roads. Well, the truth is, the bicycle is the father of the good roads movement in this country."

I do think that motorists sponged off the efforts and resources of others then, as they still do today-- abusing privileges and spaces intended for others and generating destructive externalities in the process.


Yes, Earle is quoted as saying that and he was a farm equipment
salesman.

In 1898 he was appointed by Edward N. Hines, Chief Consul of the
League of American Wheelmen (LAW) Michigan Division to chair a Good
Roads committee. And appeared to make that a political football that
he apparently used to promote himself.

1900: Elected to the Michigan Senate as an LAW candidate;
1901: Introduces a Michigan Senate Resolution which creates a State
Highway Commission and is subsequently elected as chair;
1901: Introduces a Michigan Senate Resolution which creates a State
Highway Commission and is subsequently elected as chair.
1902: Proposes the Federal Government create an interstate highway
system. Note the U.S. Interstate Highway system was authorized by the
Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956.
1902 founds the American Road Makers (later to be renamed the American
Road Builders Association (1910), and since 1977, known as the
American Road and Transportation Builders Association) which advocates
"strong government investment in transportation infrastructure".
1903: Appointed Commissioner of Highways by Michigan Governor Aaron T.
Bliss.
1906: Introduces legislation that creates the Wayne County Road Board
whose initial members are Cass R. Benton, Henry Ford, and Edward N.
Hines.
1908: Loses gubernatorial Republican primary.

In 1909 he apparently claimed to have created the first mile of
concrete road on Woodward Avenue in Detroit. Unfortunately several
others have claimed the same thing and are born out by history: In
1891, the first concrete street in American was built in
Bellefontaine, Ohio. But perhaps the Bellefontaine road wasn't quite a
mile long?

Or if one prefers a bit older road we have "The first concrete
pavement in the world was built in Inverness, Scotland, in 1865. Some
of the concrete pavement laid in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1872 is still
in use today".

In his later years he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Detroit in 1912
and in 1920 he lost the Republican primary for Governor.

He was vice-president of the Detroit Newsboys Association for 25 years
We have a fellow here that appears to have embarked on a similar path
by advocating bicycle paths and makes similar grandiose statements...


The Good Roads Movement had some impact in certain cities, including Portland, but it was entirely eclipsed by the introduction of the auto and the funding of roads with gas taxes rather than private dollars (landowners were assessed for road improvements in the city) or taxing bicycles for the construction of "paths." Here's a quote from an Oregon case striking down the bicycle tax:

The legislature passed 1899 Or. Laws p. 152, which imposed a tax on bicycles in certain Oregon counties for the purpose of building bicycle paths. When the taxpayer failed to pay the tax, the sheriff seized his bicycle. The taxpayer filed an action seeking the bicycle's return, alleging that the statute violated Or. Const. art. IV, § 23(7), art. IX, § 1, and art. I, § 32. When the trial court overruled the sheriff's demurrer and found in the taxpayer's favor, the sheriff sought review. On appeal, the court affirmed the judgment. The court found that the statute violated Or. Const. art. IV, § 23(7), which prohibited local laws authorizing highway construction, and Or. Const. art. I, § 32 and art. IX, § 1, which required that all assessments be equal and uniform. The court found that the statute was a local law because it affected only 10 Oregon counties, and determined that a bicycle path fit the legal definition of a highway. The court found that the tax assessment was unequal, noting that the tax imposed a uniform levy on property of unequal value. Moreover, the court found that tax constituted double taxation because the bicycle had previously taxed as personal property.


Ellis v. Frazier, 38 Or. 462, 464, 63 P. 642, 642 (1901). Plaintiff had his bicycle seized for non-payment of the tax. The case was decided two years after the first car made it to Portland. I think all of the old paths became paved roads ultimately. At least I don't recall riding on any history bicycle paths in Portland. I'll check.

-- Jay Beattie.


  #17  
Old June 24th 19, 05:49 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Chalo
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Default When Cyclists Made Up an Entire Political Bloc

To the best of my knowledge, fuel taxes and motor vehicle fees have never come close to covering the cost of road infrastructure. They certainly don't now, and we're not building a whole system of paved streets and roads from scratch.
  #18  
Old June 24th 19, 06:41 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
JBeattie
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Default When Cyclists Made Up an Entire Political Bloc

On Monday, June 24, 2019 at 9:49:44 AM UTC-7, Chalo wrote:
To the best of my knowledge, fuel taxes and motor vehicle fees have never come close to covering the cost of road infrastructure. They certainly don't now, and we're not building a whole system of paved streets and roads from scratch.


Here's an old PhD thesis on the Good Roads Movement in Oregon:
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc...=rep1&type=pdf

Note page 153 et seq. discussing the role of cyclist. Interesting background on the movement and the creation of "sidepaths." More history. https://bikeportland.org/2018/12/04/...g-roots-292740

Gas tax and related fees have paid most if not all road construction and maintenance costs in Oregon after the 1920s -- and in most states. Same with the interstate highways. https://www.history.com/topics/us-st...highway-system Before that, many of our oldest and most extensive unpaved roads were private toll roads. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barlow...arlow_road.jpg Great place to ride and CX ski. https://ridewithgps.com/ambassador_r...ney-to-bennett Downtown paving was paid by merchants through assessments, IIRC.

With waning gas tax revenues, general fund dollars are now being used to fill gaps and for specific purposes, often maintenance. Park money and other budgets often cover bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Transportation financing in general has gotten pretty creative in the last few decades with less gas tax revenues to spread around.

I think there are studies showing that gas tax and the weight-mile taxes do not cover the damage caused by commercial trucks. There are way too many trucks on the roads, probably due in part to all the e-commerce. I've always thought more cargo needs to be moved by rail.

-- Jay Beattie.

  #19  
Old June 24th 19, 10:05 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Jeff Liebermann
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Posts: 4,018
Default When Cyclists Made Up an Entire Political Bloc

On Sun, 23 Jun 2019 18:16:01 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

So far, there hasn't been serious consideration for publicly
owned (or built) 5th generation telephone service.


Worse. It's been shot down by our Fearless Leader:
"Trump says he opposes nationalizing U.S. 5G network"
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-wireless-trump/trump-says-he-opposes-nationalizing-u-s-5g-network-idUSKCN1RO1WC

The
shareholders[1] of the various providers/networks/operators
have been willing to invest and they will either make or
lose money. Like I care.


You should care. If they lose money, or give the appearance of losing
money, the government will surely apply the necessary corporate
welfare to insure that they lose less money. The magic buzzwords are
"rural broadband", which is FCC and congressional lingo for
subsidizing the cellular providers:
"A Team of Researchers Just Showed How the FCC Wastes Billions on
Rural Broadband"
https://www.insidesources.com/a-team-of-researchers-just-showed-how-the-fcc-wastes-billions-on-rural-broadband/
To the best of my knowledge, the only government money spent
specifically for 5G is about $100 million/year by the NSF (National
Science Fiasco)
"Advanced Wireless Research @ NSF"
https://www.nsf.gov/cise/advancedwireless/
"17 Companies Receive NSF Funding for 5G Services" (from 2016)
https://www.rrmediagroup.com/News/NewsDetails/NewsID/14475

European seems to have their governments invest in 5G:
"Public funding of 5G R&D, including trials"
https://5gobservatory.eu/public-initiatives/public-funding-of-5g-rd-including-trials/

Big misunderstandings abound after spectrum allocation
(which has become an exemplar of dirty politics).


The term is "5G Hype". The problem isn't the hype, lies, distortions,
and general lack of sanity. It's the various articles and YouTube
videos claiming to clarify the situation by adding additional hype.

The fast
download protocols of 5G are not well suited to the current
tower systems[2]. Comparable coverage would require some
large increment of the present number of towers/repeaters.
That is unlikely. More probably urban areas will rely more
on WiFi fed by fiber and other pipes with lower coverage
density as one leaves densely populated areas - just like
now but a sharper curve to non-service.


I presume you're talking about the 24-38GHz mmWave frequencies. Using
the rather hastily thrown together hardware available at trade shows,
the usable range is about 1500 ft. That puts the 5G small cell poles
about 3000 ft apart, or about 4 poles per square mile. However, that
assume line of sight with no obstructions. My guess(tm) is more like
9 poles per square mile. For example, the City of Portland OR is 145
square miles, which would require at least 1,350 5G poles to cover.
I'll round up to 1500 poles.

However, the number of poles is not the problem. It's the backhaul
from the poles to various hubs and exchange points that's the real
problem. If 5G is going to deliver very low latency and gigabit
bandwidth, then the backhaul must be fiber optic run some form of DWDM
(Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) to allow daisy chaining).
Making that work is where much of the research money is currently
being spent. DWDM hardware is very expensive. For example, the cost
of urban dark fiber is about $400 - $1,000 /mile/month.

Do you know about a serious proposal to make a government
built or operated network?


"Here's What You Need To Know About That 'Nationalized 5G' Proposal"
http://fortune.com/2018/01/30/national-security-council-nationalized-5g-proposal/

"FCC Creates $20 Billion Rural Broadband Fund"
https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/04/fcc-creates-20-billion-rural-broadband-fund/156307/
Note the tag line "rural broadband", which should offer a clue as to
how the money will be spent and how much good it will do.

None of the telecoms like the idea of a government run 5G network,
even though they're the likely candidates for building such a network.
Oddly, the winning contractor would likely have included AT&T[1],
which is currently in the process of laying everyone off and
outsourcing everything to contractors:
"Trump administration's idea for government-built 5G network met with
loud resistance from U.S. telecoms"
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/01/29/trump-administration-considering-government-takeover-5-g-network-report-says/1074159001/

So, what duz this have to do with cycling and political blocs?
Probably nothing. There's far more political and financial pressure
behind 5G than there ever will be for cycling infrastructure. Worse,
I can't think of a way to improve the situation for cycling. Methinks
the best that can be done is to sell the cycling vote to the highest
bidder, and take whatever crumbs they can offer if elected.


[1] AT&T is currently building and managing the national first
responder radio network (FirstNet):
https://about.att.com/story/2019/fn_expands_coverage.html
https://www.firstnet.com
--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
  #20  
Old June 25th 19, 12:00 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Frank Krygowski[_4_]
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Posts: 10,538
Default When Cyclists Made Up an Entire Political Bloc

On 6/24/2019 1:41 PM, jbeattie wrote:

Gas tax and related fees have paid most if not all road construction and maintenance costs in Oregon after the 1920s -- and in most states. Same with the interstate highways.

Huh.

Voters in this village were asked to pass a special levy for road
repaving a couple years ago. The mayor stood in the middle of my street
for the large photo in the newspaper.

The levy passed. The mayor's street was the first one paved. Mine is
still in the same horrible condition, and isn't scheduled for paving
this year.

I try to look on the good side and pretend it's natural traffic calming.


--
- Frank Krygowski
 




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