matt@icycle
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Francisco Rios was struck by van and killed on old - 2007/12/31 23:38
The cyclist killed 12/28/04 was Francisco Rios,"Cisco," and a friend and customer of I Cycle Bike Shop. Cisco was a really cool guy, twenty five years old. He rode a KHS mountain bike and we had just installed new cranks and tuned his brakes. He was the kind of guy who insisted on tipping the mechanic. He worked as a caterer. He was really interested in bicycles and talked about getting a part-time job at a bike shop because he loved bikes and riding and said cycling was his passion. I guess it's good that he died doing something he loved, but cycling should not be deadly and he had a lot more rides to do. I would like to know the circumstances of the collision. Francisco was not a reckless or careless guy. He was talking about moving to Washington State with his girlfriend and looking forward to living in a more cycling friendly place.
This sort of tragedy really makes me angry at ridiculously slow pace and incompetent job the City of Houston has done in implementing any sort of bikeway plan. We have heard over the years and years about a bike path going on the old MKT rail line though the Heights to connect the White Oak Bikeway to Downtown. Delays and bullshit and a lot of nothing are what we have so far. The bike lanes that the city put on the roadways are a complete and utter failure. The stripes are all but worn off and in many cases they painted right over huge cracks and potholes. The bike lanes don't lead anywhere anyone wants to go and start and stop with no apparent reason. All the trash and road debris is swept into the bike lane- the surest way to get a flat tire is to ride in the bike lane.
A fifteen year old kid was also recently killed on Huffmeister while riding home from a friend's house . These tragedies did not have to happen.
There are federal tax dollars available under the ISTEA Act to fund alternative modes of transportation, namely bicycle paths and sidewalks. The city has tax dollars at their disposal to build bike paths and yet they can't get off their asses and make it happen. Oh, they always have good reasons for the delays. Right of way issues, blame it on TXDOT, blame it on the railroad...
Leaders get thing done, there are always obstacles to progress but leaders overcome and make worthwhile things happen. Losers make excuses and delay and that's what we have when it comes to the City and a bicycle mobility plan. We have already paid for these projects through gasoline taxes. The money will be spent by other cities that have real leaders who are wise enough to build bikeways for their citizens who want to get out of cars and ride bikes for transportation. The City is in non-compliance with the pollution reduction plan mandated by the Clean Air Act. They have to ask for a waiver of their legal duty to reduce air pollution because they are too much of losers to meet their goals.
There are people who would like to ride a bicycle instead of drive a car for many trips around town. I talk to them every day at my bicycle shop. Many are afraid to ride a bicycle on the street in traffic- for good reason. Many people would love to make trips by bicycle on safe, separate from cars bikeways that actually go somewhere and are connected to a network that you can actually get around town on. I don't think I know anyone who would like to carpool or ride a Metro bus to get somewhere. We need a real comprehensive system of bikeways, separate from cars, throughout the city and we need it now. We need it so we don't have more Franciscos in the paper and we need it to have fewer kids choking on the pollution from all our cars. It's not rocket science- we can build some bike paths.
The city has built two massive stadiums in the time span between the unveiling of the supposed bikeway plan and now and yet the bikeway is mostly undone or badly done. Go ride the bike lane on Clay Rd. and tell me that's a great resource.
I'm asking every one I can to call the Mayor's office, call your councilmember, write a letter and tell them that you want the city to build some useable bikeways sooner rather than later. Tell them you would ride those paths instead of driving if they were safe and actually went somewhere.
Francisco Rios lived on W18th, less than a mile from the White Oak Bayou Bikeway that currently ends at 11th St. The MKT section of the future, maybe never, bike path should run pretty much parallel to where he was riding.If the City of Houston did what they promised to do years ago and built that Bikeway into Downtown, then Cisco would have been on it and still be alive today.
Rest in Peace Francisco Rios.
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kf5nd
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Re:Francisco Rios was struck by van and killed on old - 2008/01/01 23:20
Matt, I feel your pain, 100% of it.
But I don't think it's even possible to conceive of "safe, separate....bikeways that actually go somewhere and are connected to a network that you can actually get around town on."
That kind of setiment gives fuel to the cultural belief that you've probably heard 1000 times yelled at you out of a car window by a JAM*... "get on the sidewalk!" Yes, on the sidewalk is a seperate and safe facility (if you act like a pedestrian and go 3 MPH at every driveway crossing and every intersection).
John Forester talks about a time back in the 60s and even into the 70s when bikes were banned from the roads in many parts of the country. Mandatory sidepath laws. We never, ever want to go back to those days.
I mean... where else would you put this seperate facility for bikes? Are we talking about condemning private property and buying out existing landowners, as in the case of the Katy Freeway project, in order to get more right-of-way? That whole process was a nightmare, and unbelievably expensive.
As for carpooling and METRO... thousands of people per day use carpools, vanpools, and METRO, many more than bike commuters. I ride the #46 bus to work, with my bike on the front of the bus, and I have to point out that bike commuting is not going to work for the 75 year old lady walking with a walker, or the mother with two young kids and a baby. But its not an either-or situation as you point out. We need bikes, we need METRO, and we need to make METRO compatible with bikes, which is exactly what BikeHouston is working on.
Matt, if you really want to honor your friend Cisco, you'll engage some of your energy and get involved with BikeHouston, and get involved in politics in general and work for and support candidates and parties who support the kinds of projects you want to see built.
The 2008 election year is going to be pivotal, there will be many changes and surprises from top to bottom, from President on down to County Judge and School Board. You need to get involved, you need to make things happen.
Christof Spieler of Citizens' Transportation Coalition wrote, and I agree, that the Harris County Judge election is the most important race in 2008. This is Ed Emmett (R) versus David Mincberg (D). The County is directly responsible for much of the bike-unfriendly roads and streets in our area. Also, the Harris County Commissioner elections are very important.
* JAM = Jerk A-hole Motorist
Post edited by: kf5nd, at: 2008/01/02 08:21
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matt@icycle
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Re:Francisco Rios was struck by van and killed on old - 2008/01/02 22:16
I don't agree that it's impossible to have a "separate from cars bikeway network." When I say, "separate from cars" that can be as simple as a bike lane next to the car lane with a curb between the bikes and cars. This configuration is common in Southern California. Curb protected bike lanes could be done with minimal engineering.
Every bayou in this town should have a bike lane on the bank. There should be few right-of-way issues as the flood control district owns most of that land.
Houston should be like Amsterdam, a totally bicycle friendly community. We enjoy good riding weather year round, and it's flat- ideal conditions for getting
around by bicycle. There is no good reason to not have more dedicated bike paths. The powers that be just need to be shown that there is a constituency
for cycling projects.
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kf5nd
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Re:Francisco Rios was struck by van and killed on old - 2008/01/02 23:10
Ah, a bike lane protected by a curb. That's still considered an on-road cycling facility. So we're in agreement.
So, what actions are you going to personally take in 2008 to make this happen?
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matt@icycle
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Re:Francisco Rios was struck by van and killed on old - 2008/01/03 02:36
I intend to address City Council on Tuesday when they have public comments time.
I'd also like to investigate the procedure for getting an initiative on the ballot, maybe for the November election, calling for a comprehensive bikeway plan.
It's a transit/mobility issue, it's an environmental issue, and a quality of life issue for all the residents of Houston. Even if you don't or won't ride a bike for transportation, if the infrastructure is there and other do ride then that's fewer cars on the road and less pollution.
Your challenge is valid and I do want to do more to make Houston a more bike-friendly place. It seems an exercise in futility to try to get thing done.
I recall attending public meetings where the city/txdot/metro unveiled the current bikeway plan and thinking that things were getting better for cyclists in Houston. That was over ten years ago ! They did manage to build a 5.2 mile long bike path on White Oak Bayou and I'm thankful for that. Now let's see that path finished all the way into downtown as promised and see that effort duplicated on every bayou in town.
Why has the city let the bicycle/pedestrian coordinator position sit vacant for almost a year ? Do you think the city would go without a police chief or IT Director for that long ? Of course not. It's simply not a priority for them and we've let them slide by doing nothing by not lobbying intensively enough.
I'm sure Lilibeth Andre (former bike/ped coordinator for Cof H) probably quit in disgust at the glacial pace of progress on bike issues. She probably hated to hear me on the other end of the phone asking about the MKT path, although she was always gracious and polite.
I bet a bunch of you guys out there helped assemble and dole out 18,000 free bikes for kids over Christmas for Elves and More. What a great gift for a child- a free bike ! Let's give them another great gift- safe places to ride those bikes throughout the city.
Next Tuesday, I'll be a city hall to address City Council. I'll have to think of intelligent, persuasive things to say to make the case for bikeways when I'd really just like to curse and yell.
Go to Portland, Oregon. They have bike lanes all over the place, most with a curb between you and the cars, and it all connects with the commuter rail.
We can do that here.
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wspeer
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Re:Francisco Rios was struck by van and killed on old - 2008/01/03 03:30
Matt,
I hope you can join us at our next BikeHouston meeting. We’re meeting at El Meson next Monday. Hope you can come. We need folks like you with a passion for advocacy. Please join us. Trying to do bike advocacy work by yourself is bummer as burnout can rapidly occur without a support group. Those of us who have been at cycling advocacy for a while have come to accept that change happens slowly but persistence is the key. I got involved with cycling advocacy when METRO refused to let me place my bike in the cargo hold of a P&R bus back in 2003.
I hope the city fills the Bike Coordinator job by early March. Given the salary package, the city should be able to attract a strong candidate. I think Lilibeth announced her departure in late July 2007. Your right, its been a slow process. I hope the reason is that they are trying to find an outstanding candidate.
Bike commuted into downtown this am and given the mornings chilly start, I was shocked to see five other bikes beside my own in the bike rack at 5:30 PM. I wonder if a few extra folks made a commitment to commute by bike for the new year! With the signal light synchronization in downtown, it’s not quite as scary as the overall speed seems reduced by 6-10 mph.
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