I he ike CoCumn By Danielle Janes Early in this century, the United Parcel Service and Western Union delivered mail by bicycle. Some places like downtown St. Petersburg, Florida never found reason to gi'v!e up this efficient rµail delivery vehicle (saving about $5;000 per viable bike route annually). Others cities, like Longmont, Colorado with two mail carriers delivering by bike, are just rediscovering ttie cost savings and charm. One of Longmont's human-powered mailcarriers delivers on a white tricycle painted with red & blue stripes.and a US Postal Service emblem. The more experienced British Mail Department/Service recently converted their 35,000 carrier bikes from single-speed tu mountain bikes. Switzerland has also long·used bikes for mail delivery, . but it must have been the Swiss·Military Bicycle Unit, which recently updated their heavy artillery:.laden onespeeds to "light" mountain bikes, that inspired the growing numbers of US mountain bike police. I .haven't seen a modern firefighting bicycle, but in Denver, Seattle, Phoenix and Guilford (North Carolina), emergency medical technician teams on bicycles are cutting down response time in areas where ambulances can't travel to quickly. In Eugene, a friendly parking meter reader is now making the rounds marking and ticketing cars by recumbent (laid-back) tricycle, instead of by electric car. Now, that is one way to 1 make a lot of automobile drivers appreciate tricylists! Other city governments are getting foto the act of promoting bicycling. Vienna, a city known for its cafes and wide automobile~dominated boulevard (Ringstrasse), is also very suitable for bike riding because of its flat layout. Or so the city government thinks. They recently set up a system of 4,000 for-pay rental bikes a11 over the city. And not all news comes from wealthy countries. Last year, a pilot project in the suburbs of Santiago, Chile called "Pedal Against Smog" began. It already includes bikeways, bike parking at three metro stations, an educational program, and may soon include low-interest loans for a workers' bike-buying program. Page 38 RAIN Summer 1994 Volume XIV, Number 4 Advocacy Cffand&ooks Cascade Bicycle Club Government Affairs Comm'ittee Bicycle Transportation Policy & Advocacy Handbook was written ·specifically to help the Cascade Bicycle Club · (CBC) volunteers become more effective bicycle advocates. However, it is also useful for other bicycle advocacy groups. The Handbook lays out some of the possible goals and guidelines that should be included in creating your own vohmteer handbook..New CBC v·olunteers who read the handbook understand CBC' s projects more quickly and thoroughly. This guides the volunteers into their area of interest and encourages rapid progress into useful activism· work. It works better than if a veteran volunteer had explained all of the club's projects, goals and procedures. The Handbook gives important advice about using public meetings as 'an effective media outreach tool: "Speak early. On major hearings this may require coming 30 minutes to an hour before the hearing to sign up. The media usually ·leaves after 30 minutes of testimony....Always state your position in the first sentence, i.e. for or against''. David Mozer in the Velo Mondiale '92 Proceeding·says, "Since GAC began using the Handbook, regular attendance at meetings has increased as has the pool of people volunteer·- ing to work on projects and issues." The Handbook is available from CBC, PO Box 31299, Seattle, WA 98103. Price $5.00 + $1.40 postage. . A History ofthe Urban Bicycle Movement, by Bicycling Bob Silverman from Kokopelli Notes magazine (issue Winter '92) is.not a handbook, but an article that deserves attention. Bicycling is FU~, and Montreal's premier bicycle advocacy group (Le Monde a Bicyclette) makes sure bike advocacy.is seriously amusing! For bicycle advocates that don't want to always work through the bureaucracy, there are alternatives: public education French Canadian style! - Le Monde a Bicyclette took over a main street by placing coins in eleven parking meters and staying in the spaces with their bikes for three hours. - To bear witness·to bike discrimination on the subway, they painted fake bike-subway permits and carried baby carriages, ladders, sleds and skis alongside a bike into the subway. The bike was the only thing.stopped. They won a court case and now bikes are allowed on subways except during rush hour. - They painted bike paths on streets at night or rolled out · 40-foot-long carpet/bike lanes on a street where a bike lane battle was being fought. -They staged die-ins at auto shows. - They bicycled down streets with car-sized structures
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