bike lanes

HIT AND RUN BREAKS BACK OF BICYCLIST

October 1, 2016 by Charlie London

Please write to nopd1stdistrict@nola.gov if you have any information or a photo of the license plate of the vehicle in the video below.

By Richard Rainey, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

A cyclist in Bayou St. John suffered cracked ribs and a broken back Tuesday (Sept. 27) when a white sedan hit her before speeding off, according to her attorney, Charlie Thomas.

A video from a nearby house shows a cyclist, who Thomas identified as Michelle Phillips, in the distance riding towards the Mississippi River on Esplanade Avenue. As she crosses Crete Street, a white sedan drives through the intersection, striking her to the ground before speeding off.

There is a stop sign on Crete at that intersection.

In the video, the driver passes in front of the house with the camera.

New Orleans police confirmed they responded to a call about a hit-and-run at 6:09 p.m. They arrived to find a cyclist had been injured.

Thomas said Phillips was rushed to a hospital by ambulance and treated for cracked vertebra and ribs. She was released Thursday.

The crash comes on the heels of an arrest in another hit-and-run on a cyclist earlier this month.

Rebekah Abernathy was struck from behind Sept. 12 as she traveled on Magazine Street in front of the World War II Museum. The driver, Michael Foley was arrested Wednesday after turning himself in.

Magazine and Esplanade both have dedicated bike lanes.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/09/video_cyclists_back_broken_in.html

Bike Racks Abound in Faubourg St. John

October 28, 2015 by Charlie London

article and photos by Charlie London (except as noted)

Bike racks are nothing new in Faubourg St. John. Terranova’s has had one for over 30 years. There is a story about the one that is by the store now. A few years ago, two N.O.P.D. officers arrived at Terranova’s on horseback, entered the store and asked if it would be ok to tie up their horses to the bike rack. The always affable Terranova family agreed.

The officers secured the horses to the bike rack then proceeded on foot. Before they could get more than a few yards away, a car backfired causing the horses to rear up and pull up the bike rack out of the cement. The bike rack was destroyed. Not long after the incident, a Terranova’s customer indicated that a bike rack was under their house and they would be willing to donate it. Paul Laplace installed the bike rack still in use today.

Canseco’s Supermarket has a bike rack too!

Several years ago, then owner of Fair Grinds, Robert Thompson installed a bike rack in front of the coffee shop. There was much discussion about the use of an on-street parking spot for the bike rack. The bike rack at Fair Grinds gets regular use by patrons of the area.

A few months ago, several bike stands were put up at the bus stop on Esplanade near the corner of Grand Route Saint John. The bike racks are part of the “Where Ya Rack” program and were donated by the Friends of Fortier Park and the Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association.

David Armond captured this photo of the bike racks by the bus stop right after they were installed.

Last Saturday, a large bike corral was installed by Fortier Park on Mystery Street near the corner of Esplanade. It too is part of the “Where Ya Rack” inititiative. The bike corral was donated by friends and family of Bill Kraemer.

Michael Ward wrote this about Bill on the neighborhood Yahoo group:
Bill was a good friend of ours. He rode his bike from Albuquerque to New Orleans. He would come out to stay with us every Jazz Fest and Mardi Gras. Most of time for Halloween too. He loved New Orleans and one year while he was staying at my house for Jazz Fest, he took ill and was diagnosed with blood cancer. He died the next year. We miss him greatly. His widow and friends contributed for a bike corral through the “where ya rack” program with the YLC. It was installed Saturday on Mystery street and Esplanade in the marked off no parking corner in memory of our friend Bill.

While bike racks abound in Faubourg St. John, there are still those who chain their bikes up to whatever is convenient. Hopefully, they will notice the abundance of bike racks soon.

The Fortier Park beautification project is the brain child of Bobby Wozniak. It is an urban oasis worth bicycling from anywhere to visit.

A bird stops by Fortier Park to enjoy the splendor.

BIKE SHARE PROGRAM

February 15, 2013 by Charlie London

Article courtesy NOLA DEFENDER. Click on the bikes for more.

NOLA has buses, and plans for streetcar expansion are underway. Nonetheless, with less than 1400 cabs in a city of more than 360,000, it’s hard to get around in the Crescent City. Thanks to Bike Easy, the EPA, and city officials, public transportation could soon become a little easier with a new bike share program. The initiative is still in its infancy, but the first step marks a major jump for New Orleans as she makes plans to join the ranks of 22 other major American cities.

Next time you see a drunken tourist with a hand grenade, put on a friendly face. He or she could be subsidizing cheap, eco-friendly public transportation for us locals. Over Super Bowl weekend, Bike Easy and the City teamed up to implement a weekend-long bike share program that served over 500 people in five days. Under the long term bike share plan, tourists will be able to buy a $5 pass that will allow them to use their bike for 30 minutes at a time for free.

NoDef spoke to Bike Easy Director Jamie Wine about the plans. “There are two different fees, one for residents and one for tourists,” explained Wine. “The tourists are subsidizing the residents’ use of the system.”

A local can buy an annual pass for $65-$85, the cost is still to be determined. “It’s less than the cost to ride the bus,” said Wine.

Wine said the program fulfills their nonprofit’s core goals.

“That’s the thing about biking, it touches many different pieces. There are four major pieces [in Bike Easy’s philosophy]. Transportation equity, environmental improvement, traffic congestion reduction, and physical activity,” said Wine.

The program is already in effect in a number of American and European cities. One of the federal funds New Orleans may be able to tap is the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ). For years, New Orleans’ air quality was actually too good to receive such a subsidy. However, the feds upped their standards for clean air, and New Orleans is now eligible.

“There are less dirty standards now, so New Orleans might be able to qualify for CMAQ money,” explained Wine.

The city has already received what is called a “Technical Assistance Grant,” from the EPA. Wine clarified that the grant is “not money. They bring experts in to walk the city through the process. At this point the number of kiosks is not determined yet.”

The overall cost of the “phase one” system will total an estimated $1.5 million, which is cheap for public transportation systems. Wine explained that said amount would cover “300 yards of highway,” and said, “for three city buses, you could have 200 bicycles.”

Bike advocacy carries a lot of environmentally friendly lagniappe, but the bike share program’s universal selling point is its economic sustainability. Although the initial cost sounds substantial, the program will pay for itself in the long run. “No other type of public transportation will actually make money,” said Wine.

The first set of bike kiosks will be placed somewhere downtown. Wine explained that the “core” is established by determining “the biggest daytime population.” Once that location begins to make money, other bike share sets will be built in various locations across New Orleans.

Wine thanked the City of New Orleans for pedaling up to the plate. “The thing about this that’s so great is that it indicates that the The City is on board. They’re doing a really great job with this,” said Wine. The Director doesn’t know when the Bike Share program will go into effect. However, he said 2014 is a realistic estimate.

http://www.noladefender.com/content/new-orl34eans-test-d78riving-bike-share-program