Share the Road . . . With Sharrows!

I've been giving some thought to bicycling in urban traffic. I just completed the excellent StreetSmarts Road One course offered by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB), and it gave me a different perspective on the various options being discussed in urban planning and bicycling circles. In addition to expanding the terrific web of recreational trails we have in this area, there is serious discussion about adding bike lanes downtown as well as considering the installation of "Complete Streets" throughout the urban core. It's good that this discussion is finally taking place in earnest, but we need to be careful what we wish for. Bike lanes, for example, if not properly engineered could be more dangerous than not having them at all. Complete Streets can be expensive and may not be appropriate in all circumstances. Another alternative, less costly and more in tune with treating bikers as vehicle drivers and not as pedestrians, is the concept of "sharrows."

A 2008 Wish List for Dayton

The week between Christmas and New Years is usually a time for reflection, goal setting, and dreaming. In that spirit, I've put together a 2008 "wish list" for Dayton. Granted, I don't expect many of these things to happen in 2008; but, hey, you gotta start somewhere. Feel free to add to the list.

“Shots All Around”

The Foundry nightclub has (at least had) one often quoted element of their nightclub. “Shots all around” referred to their swirling barber chair/“shot chair” where a lucky (paying) participant gets a mouthful of liquor provided by the “shot girls.“ Something tells me that “Shots All Around” means something ENTIRELY different this week at The Foundry.

Safety on the River Corridor

You can consider the recent story about the arrests in Triangle park in a positive light – saying kudos to the police for their ongoing efforts to keep this area safe at all hours of the day. You also can be disgusted, thinking about the fact that it is a public space, at a time of the evening when children could be present. I am pleased that the police are out there and successfully stopping such inappropriate behavior.

Applause to the police and the MetroPark security. The efforts to clean up Triangle Park and Island Park have been ongoing for numerous years and the team effort has resulted in significant improvement. When we moved here, we were told that Triangle and Island Parks had once been quite unsavory areas – even during the light of day. This is a success story for the police – the offenders were arrested and there was media recognition for the on-going law enforcement effort.