How Do You Fight When You Know You'll Lose?

This blog post may be a little different than the previous, and have a few extra spelling and grammar problems, because I'm putting it together at 2am...

When I got to work a couple of hours early today (6am) I had envisioned leaving a couple hours early (5pm), but I had forgotten about the City Council Meeting. They were taking public testimony about the St Luke's Expansion requiring the closure of Jefferson St for the first time and the meeting was sure to run late into the night. 

I almost didn't go. Feeling exhausted and wondering, "what difference would it really make?" But I turned around and arrived at City Hall just in time to sign the #131 spot on the sheet to take public testimony.

After the first 3 hours of testimony, mainly from folks who worked for St Luke's in support of closing the street to all traffic, I knew I was fighting a losing battle. So many doctors, so many folks representing big money and development in Boise, so few representing safety. But each time someone testified in favor of the closure, I felt an even bigger calling to offer a different perspective. This is why I needed to be there. 

After 7 hours and countless testimonies at least 75% in favor of St Lukes, my name was called to approach the podium. The last testimony of the evening. It was 1:20am, so I can't remember exactly what I said, but it went something like this. 

"Mr. Mayor and City Council, thanks for waiting it out with us tonight. My Name is Jimmy Hallyburton, I live at 3025 N Crane Creek and I'm the Executive Director of the Boise Bicycle Project. I'm also a League Certified Bicycling Instructor, I'm one of only a hand full of folks certified to teach bicycle safety to adults and kids in the State. 

It is my job to advocate for people who ride bikes, but more importantly, it is my job to advocate for those who don't have a choice, whose only option is to walk or bike. Those people, for what ever reason, aren't always able to come down to  represent themselves.  That is the perspective I'd like to bring to the table tonight. 

I'd like to thank St Luke's for the opportunity to work with their board, staff and designers on their street plan and revision of the street plan. Everyone I worked with was extremely impressive and I support St. Luke's vision and mission for Boise. That said, I've maintained from the beginning that there is no possible way I can support something that is not as safe or safer than what already exists with Jefferson open. 

I'm hear tonight to tell you I do not believe their proposed alternative provides the same level of safety. 

I'm a big fan of safety in numbers, and usually I'd be completely on board for things like cycle-tracks and multi-use paths. I advocate for them all the time, because when designed properly, they provide real and perceived safety. People like to be separated from traffic, that's why people like riding on sidewalks, but we know that statistically, riding on the sidewalk can be more dangerous than riding on the street. The problem is, these cycling-tracks can't just be retrofit into any situation. When installed poorly and not planned carefully, they don't work as good as they look on paper. They don't work as good as they would in a grid system.  

It's like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The peanut butter and jelly looks delicious, but without the bread, without the structure, without the grid system, it just doesn't work. 

Not only do I think the proposed alternative isn't as safe as what currently exists, I think it creates some really dangerous situations. Any time a bicycle goes from being a vehicle to a pedestrian (transferring from the road to a separated path), and then back to a vehicle, you are creating major problem areas and major safety hazards. 

We're talking about getting rid of grid system here that works, not only works, but has the potential to be great. 

A couple of years ago Jeff Speck (one of the leading minds in mobility) was hired to do a walkability and bikeability study for Boise and this what he said. 

“Downtown Boise benefits from a quite small block size—about 300 feet square—and almost none of these blocks have been consolidated into superblocks, which tend to decrease walkability by focusing traffic on fewer streets, causing them to become too wide. The logic of small blocks suggests that no further block consolidations should be allowed, such as the one currently considered at St. Luke’s, which will significantly undermine the effectiveness of the street grid in that location.”

He sited St Luke's and the street closure specifically as something that would have a detrimental affect on that area of Boise. 

I can't support something that I believe puts people who ride bikes in danger. 

I do hope, whatever the result of tonight, that I can help in the process and everyone can help in the process to make it better. I hope it's maintaining the grid system so it can be something great instead of trying to make the best of a bad situation. 

Because of this, I can't support St Luke's Master Plan and the street closure."

Because it was 1:30am, the City Council postponed voting until next week. They are not allowed to be influenced by any additional testimony. 

I don't think I won tonight, but I believe in what I said 100%. 

#RideOnBoise! You gotta fight!