Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
162483945_9b303e237f.jpgA Caltrain car packed with bikes. Photo by richardmasoner via Flickr.

Too
often, in the struggle for meager financial resources, progressive
transportation advocates can become divided -- and the division
sometimes leaves bicyclists on one side and transit boosters on the
other. Today, Streetsblog Network member blog Cyclelicious
makes the case that not only do bikes need transit, transit needs bikes
to increase efficiency and ridership, giving the example of Caltrain in
the Bay Area:

According
to San Jose Transportation Director Jim Helmer (with whom I ride a bus
into San Jose every day), the most utilized city parking lots are those
next to Caltrain and VTA light rail stations. These
parking lots are filled to capacity every day. BART has similar parking
capacity issues. $200,000 will buy about four parking spots in the Bay
Area -- those four spaces will be used by one person each day. Caltrain
will spend about $200,000 over the next eight weeks adding almost 300
bike spaces on its bike cars, each of which can be used by three or
four people if you consider round trip travel. Transit needs bikes to
cost-effectively get passengers the last mile to and from the transit
stop.

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Milwaukee Rising is pointing out some twisted thinking on spending priorities in that state:

State
government would be cut by $125 million over the next two years, but
highway workers would be exempted from threats to their jobs, as would
those with public safety gigs, such as cops or
firefighters.

Oh, yeah. The first $300 million in federal stimulus money would go to highway projects.

So still no way to connect jobs to workers without cars, but plenty of cops to roust and bust them if they become homeless.

Or are they all supposed to find jobs as road builders?

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

New Metro Subway Railcars Started Service Today

Streetsblog got a special preview ride today. Have you ridden Metro's new "HR4000" heavy rail cars yet?

December 21, 2024

Metro Closes Out Last Round of Outreach on Underwhelming Vermont BRT Proposal

To truly improve conditions on Vermont, much more must be done

December 20, 2024

Cemeteries Push to Bury Forest Lawn Drive Safety Improvements

Forest Lawn and Mount Sinai reps call scaled-back city street improvements a "bad plan" and "permanent traffic disaster"

December 20, 2024
See all posts