October 25, 2013 – With the upcoming election on November 5, 2013, Cycling Utah is gathering information on the candidates’ views on bicycling.
We have so far polled the two candidates – Lisa Ramsey Adams and Kevin Poulson in district 7 (Sugarhouse) in Salt Lake City. See the questions and their answers below:
Lisa Adams responses:
1. What is your position on bicycling in Salt Lake City?
I think bicycling in Salt Lake is great, but I worry that it has been pushed a little too heavily. I think some of what has been done is disproportionate for the number of commuter cyclists there are. As I knock doors and talk to people in District 7, many think bikes are given too much consideration. I understand that thinking, but don’t fully agree. I think there are some significant safety issues when cyclists are mixed in with busy traffic, downtown and on major thoroughfares.
2. What programs or policies would you support to make cycling better in Salt Lake City?
I would like to see more identified “safe routes.” I think there are many less busy streets that could be utilized to the advantage of both cyclists and motorists– safer for both. I want to see more cycling routes on the westside and routes that lead from the westside to downtown. We have many people who work in service jobs downtown and don’t have transportation other than a bike, but we have very few safe routes for them to use. Bike commuters aren’t just those in fancy kits and we need to look to meet the needs of those people.
3. Will you support increased funding for bicycle and pedestrian programs in Salt Lake City?
I would look to spend money for bike routes on the westside and I am a big fan of “hawkeyes.”
4. Do you currently ride a bike for commuting or recreation?
I cycle for recreation. When I lived in France, I cycled as my main form of transportation (though not in the snow.)
5. What biking and walking improvements would you like to see in your district?
I am really excited to see the Draw completed and the trail down the streetcar corridor. I am pleased that bikeshare has been such a success downtown and would like to explore expanding it to Sugar House. The hawkeye coming on 21st South at 12th East will be a major help. I also like the idea of making the monument area into a pedestrian plaza.
See www.vote4lisa.com for more information.
Kevin Paulson’s Responses:
1. What is your position on bicycling in Salt Lake City?
I love cycling and I think it is important to health and for so many other reasons, plus it doesn’t pollute : )
2. What programs or policies would you support to make cycling better in Salt Lake City?
I am in favor of organic based solutions (not public private partnerships) that make us more eco friendly. I am advocating a program I call Plan 4 Zero (see my website www.kevinpaulson.com) – a paradigm shift in thinking about clean air that could get us to zero emissions in a decade… Seriously, it is possible. I’m a mechanical engineer and I can elaborate. But dirty air doesn’t help with cycling. And if we could break our power generation monopoly and our transportation monopoly, i think we could free up our streets and have more electric vehicles too. It’s a long story, but I’m happy to share.
3. Will you support increased funding for bicycle and pedestrian programs in Salt Lake City?
I believe that government programs are inadequate and they almost always favor large companies or friends of the council members. I would love to share more about how organic – market based solutions can cure our automobile ills. I really don’t think that city funding is the answer to fix this.
4. Do you currently ride a bike for commuting or recreation?
Recreation – I mountain bike occasionally. I have an old beat up mongoose, but it works for me.
5. What biking and walking improvements would you like to see in your district?
I’d like to see zero emissions and a more tightly knit city so that it wasn’t built around cars. This transformation can happen without force from above. It needs to be an organic, citizen led change, which can happen if the barriers to local planning and zoning are lifted so that local people can make more of those decisions on a contractual basis. This way there are no surprises and no unfair treatment of property owners. I will just quote Jane Jacobs who wrote “the Death and Life of Great American cities” : ““Automobiles are often conveniently tagged as the villains responsible for the ills of cities and the disappointments and f utilities of city planning. But the destructive effects of the automobiles are much less a cause than a symptom of our incompetence at city building. Of course planners, including the highwaymen with fabulous sums of money and enormous powers at their disposal, are at a loss to make automobiles and cities compatible with one another. They do not know what to do with automobiles in cities because they do not know how to plan for workable and vital cities anyhow – with or without automobiles.”
By removing the barriers to citizen led zoning and planning, I believe with all my heart that so many of the ills that beset us would be diminished, as we, the informed citizenry, would be free to plan our own way and bicycling would be an integral part of that.
See www.KevinPaulson.com for more information.
