0Tic ^ifec Cpfumn By Danielle Janes Secure bike storage at public transit stations dramatically increases the number of people who can conveniently use each station. This can be seen both in Japan, where all train stations have huge, well-used bicycle parking lots, and in Holland, where all 351 train stations have bicycle parking, some of which are guarded. The Dutch seem to think of everything: you can even rent bikes at the station for a small fee, so you can bike wherever you need to go. Special train and bus/bike holders combine public transit with decentralized “ride right up to the door” bicycling. This summer the Scottish rail system added trains with special removable stands with hooks for bikes, as part of their “Young Explorer” promotion. After much activist cajoling many U.S. transit systems now have bus/bike racks, let bikes use the bus wheelchair accessible space or open the last car of the train to bikes. One U.S. organization working for bicycles on trains is the National Association of Railroad Passengers. For more information, write them at 900 Second St. NE, Suite 308, Washington, DC 20002, membership $20/year. One of Holland’s ‘new towns’ (Houton) improves bicycling safety by paving bike lanes with slightly elevated, purple asphalt to keep cars off the bikeways. Eighty percent of the people use bikes for daily transportation. In Amsterdam (Holland’s largest city), a March 1992 popular vote closed the city center to auto traffic. It was sensible to ban cars, given the city's dense mix of businesses and residences. Housing near businesses help car-free areas survive. Holland also administers an “excessive driving tax”. Denmark has a 200% sales tax on all car purchases and a $ 1000/year automobile registration fee which helps fund public transit and bicycle facilities. (See Resources Section for more on Danish bicycle planning). In the U.S., a fine (based on a percentage of income) for excessive driving might provide more financial incentive for change. While cities in the First World use the lack of funds as an excuse for not providing alternative transportation, many parts of the Third World seem free to experiment with new transportation systems. In Bogota, Columbia over 56 km of streets are freed from cars every Sunday, the work of a program called “The City for the Citizens.” Possibly you saw Curtiba, Brazil on your screens during the Rio Earth Summit. The city has 150 miles of dedicated express bus lanes and a city center with a 49 block network of auto- free streets. They also deserve attention for their enclosed, elevated plexi-glass bus stops, which make for a quieter and less polluted wait. In the past year, Cuba's speed in embracing the bicycle for transportation was astounding. When Cuba depended on cheap Soviet oil, the bicycle was considered a toy. Today, it is seen as a means to self-sufficient transport and survival. This rapid change of heart by the government is evident in its distribution of hundreds of thousands of Chinese bicycles, forty miles of freshly marked bike lanes, five new Cuban bicycle Page 48 RAIN Spring 1993 Volume XIV, Number 3
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