Here is a recent post from the Critical Mass news list.
cm-melb@yahoogroups.com
Lionel Boxer CD PhD MBA BTech(IndEng) - 0411267256
ICSB2006 Conference - Proceedings Compiler
Research Fellow -
lionel.boxer@rmit.edu.au
Centre for Management Quality Research
Read my book:
http://intergon.net/tsw
$45 see
http://intergon.net/rvrpd
>>>
cfsmtb@gmail.com 08/05/2006 9:59 pm >>>
Why Critical Mass cycles on
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=421206
By DAVID COLES. Posted: May 6, 2006
Read the headlines: Gasoline and oil prices at record highs. War in
the Middle East.
Global warming linked to carbon dioxide emissions and blamed for
hurricane intensification. Traffic congestion clogging roads and
highways.
Obesity rates skyrocketing. Automobile accidents a leading cause of
fatalities nationwide.
The solution? Bicycles.
Some will scoff, but most will admit that our current transportation
system - what has been termed a "car culture" - is unsustainable.
Bicycling can and must become a bigger component of our culture if we
are to address the aforementioned crises facing humanity.
Many developed and developing nations - from the Netherlands to
Denmark, Japan to Chile and beyond - have recognized this fact.
Biking in these countries represents a significant portion of the
transportation sector, and governments there invest substantial
resources in biking infrastructure.
Enter Critical Mass, the group bike ride that takes place the last
Friday of the month in cities throughout the world.
Different cities have taken different approaches to Critical Mass;
some actively promote it; some have a laissez faire attitude.
And others, like Milwaukee, have chosen to try to crush it.
Chicago had more than 3,000 cyclists ride in last July's Critical
Mass, while Budapest, Hungary, had an estimated 30,000 in September.
If Milwaukee wants to be viewed as a progressive, environmentally
conscious city, its leaders would be wise to embrace Critical Mass for
what it is: a positive movement to promote bicycling and its many
virtues.
As fellow cyclists can surely attest, being a biker in an
automobile-dominated world can make a person feel very small.
We are regularly honked at, told to get off the road, cut off and
otherwise put on the defensive.
Critical Mass is the one time each month when cyclists unite and ride
in a large group.
This idea grabbed me the moment I heard about it. It is truly
empowering to finally be noticed and respected as players in the
transportation realm.
For me, Critical Mass is about demonstrating in a very dramatic
fashion that bicycling is a legitimate alternative means of
transportation.
Admittedly, traffic violations do occur - red lights are ignored,
other traffic is sometimes impeded, etc.
When the size of the ride reaches a certain level, such violations are
virtually unavoidable and actually make the ride safer for everyone by
allowing the mass to stay together rather than being broken up by red
lights.
The incidental breaking of traffic laws is irrelevant when seen as
part of a larger movement to promote an important cause.
It is time for the Milwaukee Police Department to stop harassing
Critical Mass riders, step back and let the "velorution" roll forward!
David Coles is a Milwaukee native and a four-season bicyclist.
--
----------------------------------
You see things; and you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never
were;
and I say, "Why not?" - George Bernard Shaw
http://cfsmtb.blogspot.com
http://bicyclejustice.blogspot.com
----------------------------------
--------------------------------------------+
| __o CRITICAL MASS MELBOURNE |
| _`\;,_ 5:30 pm Last Friday Monthly |
| (*)/ (*) State Library, City |
| |
|
www.criticalmass.org.au |
--------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe: email
cm-melb-unsubscribe@egroups.com
List Archives:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cm-melb
SPONSORED LINKS
Business finance course Business to business finance Small business
finance Business finance consultant Business finance schools Business
finance schools
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
Visit your group "cm-melb" on the web.
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
cm-melb-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.