Fix City Dot Org

The good people of Brooklyn, NY now have a new tool at their disposal: FixCity.org. This crowdsourcing website (and its supporting organization) is all about taking small steps to “fix your city”. In this case the first project is to enable the public at large to suggest good locations for bicycle racks. As a part of the larger Open Planning Project and Open 311, FixCity is another effort to help citizens help government implement changes that they really want. 

Crowdsourcing – What?

I’ve talked about crowdsourcing on several occasions but for the uninitiated let me give my quick explanation. Essentially crowdsourcing is the term used for asking anyone (and I mean anyone) interested in participating in a process to provide their opinion/data/etc. based on some set of specific parameters. This is most often done via social media sites because it allows for maximum participation. The most famous crowdsourced project is, of course Wikipedia.org.

Fixing my ______

So what are the projects facing your community or organization? Do you feel like you really understand what your constituents and supports want? By crowdsourcing you may not get expertise (but you might get that too); what you will get is a chance to learn and honest feedback.

Crowdsourced solutions are like any other solution, if you aren’t asking the right questions you won’t end up with useful answers. To mitigate this issue follow these guidelines:

1. Create an environment of invitation – make your crowd owners of the process instead of outside participants.
2. Make sure that your questions are framed in the positive and require actionable answers.
3. Provide clear transparency of what is happening along the way so that participants don’t feel like they are talking to a wall or that their input is being misused.

There are other issues that need taken into consideration as well but I feel like this list is an excellent starting point. There is no need to be fearful of crowdsourcing – just take some time for thoughtful consideration about what your end goal really is and if you are ready to listen to the wisdom of crowds.

Pay it Forward

A big part of crowdsourcing is sharing; people giving to reach a common goal without outside incentives. When developing a crowdsourcing process use social media tools like Wiki’s or Blogs to share the process, the work, the lessons learned and hopefully the success story so that everyone can learn from what you’ve done. In this way you will be paying forward the good work you received.

If you want to explore this idea of crowdsourcing and how it might enhance a project you have in mind please feel free to contact us at Andrew Miller Consulting using this page. Thanks!

Sidewalks, bike lanes can help create neighborhoods

A couple of years ago I had the honor of hearing Traci Parks speak about her life and work at a Tri-Village Rotary meeting. Traci Parks is a Columbus photographer with a special story: she is legally blind. She spoke about the challenges that disabled individuals face when trying to navigate neighborhoods and other public spaces.

Traci Parks photographs deficiencies in sidewalks and other pedestrian infrastructure. Through her photography she documents the types of deficiencies that many able-bodied individuals find to be an inconvenience. For the disabled however, these deficiencies are much more than an inconvenience. The use of pictures as a way of showing the general public what she experiences — but cannot clearly see — is powerful.

Actually, it was powerful enough that I never looked at sidewalks the same way again. After the birth of our daughter I had even more reason to consider these issues as more than a mere inconvenience. How we choose to develop pedestrian infrastructure says a lot about our community priorities.

Upper Arlington currently has sidewalks along approximately 20 percent of its roadway. There are some streets where the shoulder has been lined to suggest a safe zone for pedestrians but not to mandate it. Bike lanes have been rejected by residents and, except for the lighted intersections, crosswalks are often barely visible and rarely respected by drivers. For many people they are just two faded white lines.

Some residents find this acceptable; they don’t walk much anyhow, don’t bicycle, don’t have kids or are able-bodied enough that the lack of infrastructure doesn’t pose a problem. For them, crossing someone’s yard or using the roadway is a minor enough risk to take.

The arguments from residents against sidewalks and the like tend to fall into the categories of either cost or aesthetics.

There certainly is a large cost associated with installing these amenities; but then, what is the cost of not having this infrastructure? And isn’t there beauty in neighborhoods full of people walking, talking and biking?

Many of my peers have questioned my move to Upper Arlington. While they think it is a nice suburb (and it is) they don’t see it as being alive the way other local communities are. There’s not the kind of vibrant street life you see in Grandview, Worthington, Westerville or old Dublin; not to mention places like Clintonville or the Short North.

Healthy, vibrant communities are ones where residents have a maximum opportunity for interaction. People out walking, riding bikes, using public spaces for all sorts of activities — these are communities that encourage neighbors to engage each other and to meet the needs of individuals from within. Local businesses and organizations thrive around high pedestrian activity because, when people leave their car at home, they rely on them instead of the megamall, etc.

Fred Rogers, famous for his own Neighborhood, wrote, “There’s a world of difference between insisting on someone’s doing something and establishing an atmosphere in which that person can grow into wanting to do it.” Providing people with an atmosphere and infrastructure that encourages greater community engagement invites just that type of growth.

Walkable communities, as they’re often referred to, provide a focus on the implementation of complete streets as a way of supporting multiple transportation options. They bring walking, cycling and public transportation up to the same level of importance as the personal automobile.

As society re-embraces the wisdom of cities, those communities that reject this pedestrian orientation are finding it harder and harder to attract new residents and maintain their community identity. The generations that built our suburbs created the right community infrastructure for the time, but that time is passing.

To be fair, I am not without personal motivations here. I bought a home in Upper Arlington and want to make sure it remains a good investment. Now, several years on, Upper Arlington is losing population and its median age is rising. Even our excellent schools and libraries have taken some lumps.

If Upper Arlington is to remain a premier community, I believe it must offer superior amenities. The financial restrictions on making this happen are real but there is an opportunity to be innovative while remaining fiscally responsible. Holding neighborhood meetings, using grants, taking advantage of lower construction costs, and re-striping streets that can accommodate it are all examples of innovative and responsible ideas at work.

I put forward the challenge to residents and city leaders alike to find ways to enhance the pedestrian experience. My family and I look forward to sharing some conversation and space on the sidewalk, path and bike lane with you soon.

Commentary by Andrew Miller

The other night my wife and I hosted friends for dinner. They live a couple miles from us and arrived via bicycles. My family and most of my friends are avid cyclists, not just for environmental or economic reasons but because it is a very social form of transportation and a bit romantic.

During dinner Dan made an observation about a recent trip to a craft store. Why do so many people purchase model villages, complete with pedestrians and quaint shops but not an SUV or Wal-Mart in site? There is some sort of desire in them to reminisce about a time when we were much more social and community focused; when we lived locally.

As we face the energy and banking crisis – not to mention poisonous vegetables from our broken food system – isn’t it time that we stop fantasizing about those days?

My family spends a lot of time bicycling and walking around our community, taking advantage of everything it offers. The exercise hasn’t hurt us any either.

We don’t worry much about the bacteria in our food because we grow much of it and buy the rest from local farmers. At one time we had to justify the local organic produce; remind ourselves how it is cheaper in the bigger picture. Now, thanks to the current economy, the local organic farmer is actually dollar for dollar cheaper than the salmonella roulette megastore bio-food.

Getting around by foot, bike and bus allows us to stop and talk to neighbors and explore things we might otherwise have just driven right by. When you slow down like this you have a chance to appreciate what is available to you right outside your door. We also don’t worry much about the gas prices.

So what do we do with all of the extra money we’re saving? Well like most American’s we don’t actually save enough of it, but we do invest it. When it was time to get my daughter a new life jacket for canoeing we went to the local outfitter instead of Target; it may have cost a few more dollars but having local businesses stay in business is a bargain to us. Local merchants generally invest 50% back into the local economy while national chains barely scratch 15%.

For entertainment we find that there is no lack of community activities to take part in. When there isn’t an activity then we have been known to take it upon ourselves to create one. This has allowed us to get to know more of our fellow residents – at least the ones who are also taking advantage of living locally.

The silver lining of the economy and energy crisis is the way it is forcing more people to stay close to home. The more people that participate in living locally the better your locale will become. Put away your miniature village and take advantage of what living local can do for your wallet, your waist-line and your social life.

This design creates functional public art that will be used for the purpose of securing bicycles. The three dimensional shapes will be eye catching and will draw curious individuals towards them. This will meet the ultimate goal of creating desire to use the bike rack sculptures. These unique bike rack sculptures will be yet another attraction to the newly re-invigorated Gay Street. The general theme I am trying to focus on is “Play” which I represent with sculptures depicting the child’s game “Jacks and Ball”. While I have only included two Jacks in my rendering I would expect that up to five could be created with one ball complementing the set. With multiple locking points on each Jack and Ball anywhere from 3-5 bicycles could easily be locked and supported to each object. Figure 1 shows the general measurements. The Ball will be 48” diameter on all three axis (spherical). The Jack will have a total of 6 24” radius axis for a virtual diameter of 48” to match that of the Ball. Each end sphere on the radii of the Jack will have an 8” diameter on all three axis (spherical). Figure 2 and Figure 3 show basic layout and usage ideas. The components will be placed to give the felling that the Jacks and Ball on the sidewalk mimic a game in progress.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

I’m thrilled to see so many people out on bicycles today either as a daily mode of transit or especially for this 2008 Bike to Work Week. I just rode up from the Statehouse and I am glad to report to you that today, like everyday, is a wonderful day to be on two wheels. I want to thank the organizers for this opportunity to speak about a few things close to my heart.

So first things first, why should we all hop on bicycles instead of walking, busing, driving or maybe someday taking the train? Don’t all of these forms of transit have their place?

Absolutely they do. Unfortunately our society has put such a stigma on all of these forms of transportation EXCEPT for driving that the others have been neglected. This week is all about removing that stigma from bicycling – although obviously walking and riding the bus deserve to have that stigma removed as well.

This year we’ve seen an amazing response to the call for people to ride on Bike to Work Week. There is one very real reason for this – gas prices are already pushing the $4 a gallon mark which suggests a reality of them reaching up over the $4 a gallon mark during the summer. Over the past 7 years we have seen oil prices soar while investment in public transit and alternative transportation options plummet. We must turn this trend around. I suggest we look for the opportunity in what otherwise might feel like a helpless situation.

The prices are now at such a point that the neediest of our community have hit the brick wall; they literally can not pay for gas at this price and are going to start falling deeper into social systems or worse yet, through the cracks in these safety nets. Many people have chosen to believe that this is a personal responsibility issue; that it isn’t a concern of theirs because they can still pay $4 a gallon.

As our social institutions overcrowd there will be greater burden placed on everyone; services that the broader public rely on will also become burdened and all along fuel costs will continue to rise. Abatement of fuel taxes will, at best, only provide for very short term relief. Eventually, perhaps as soon as next summer, we will be looking at $6 a gallon. At that point many of the people sluffing off the $4 a gallon gas will also be hitting that brick wall.

For this reason let’s make time work for us all. Instead of waiting to hit the brick wall; waiting for that morning you wake up and realize you can either put gas in the car to get to work or else you can feed yourself or family; let’s start making some options for ourselves.

When I started riding my bicycle to work a few years ago it was difficult. I weighed 250 pounds and had recently given up smoking. I wasn’t sure how to deal with freshening up for the office and I wasn’t good at fixing my bike on the road if I broke down. I didn’t have any friends in my same situation; I just had a desire to get healthy again and save money. I’d always enjoyed bicycling and thought it was a natural fit. Waking up at 6am, dragging myself into the shower, and then getting onto a bicycle for the 30 minute ride into work was extremely tough to get used to. I found that one way to ease myself into the routine was to pedal a mile or so to the bus stop, put my bike on the front, and ride the bus into work. That way I didn’t have to worry about being too sweaty when I got to the office and I could get a good ride in on the way home from work.

After a month or two of this I realized that I was fit enough that, by wearing appropriate riding clothes, I could ride into work faster than I could bus in. I also figured out some very simple strategies for cleaning up when necessary once I got to work. With this I found it was simple enough to get along even on days when there is inclement weather. Wet from sweat or wet from rain are very similar at that point and riding in the rain can honestly be fun sometimes, particularly on a warm spring or summer day.

Now, my job takes me off site from time to time which requires some planning but that doesn’t mean it is impossible. In most situations meetings can be scheduled to make for fewer trips back and forth between locations, often other people are also traveling to the meetings which makes for carpooling opportunities, and in worst case scenarios I will ride my motorcycle instead.

I tend to broadcast my commitment to cycling. Everyone at work knows that I bicycle commute and while I have plenty of environmental stances that favor bicycling I don’t stand on that platform as my main reason for riding. I’ve found that, when trying to convince others to ride, they are already thinking of ways to evade your line of reason. Labeling you as a “crazy environmentalist” is one way for them to easily write you off. I’m not saying that is fair, just realistic. I think the best way to win people over is just by letting them see you live a normal life; without a car.

In fact many people at work wouldn’t know that I bicycle to work if I didn’t mention it whenever it seemed appropriate. I think that’s one key to selling the idea to people. Most people feel like they are going to have to make a radical change in their lifestyle to use primarily alternative forms of transportation but that just isn’t true. Granted, there are people who have chosen to live way out in the exurbs which have committed themselves to driving a car for now – but the bulk of central Ohio’s population lives here in Franklin County and thus is well within the range of using bicycle and COTA for their travel needs. The biggest struggle is for people to change their minds, to decide that now is the time to explore their travel options, not later when they are too far invested in car culture to change.

I want to sort of wrap things up by talking about what changes I’ve noticed this week. On any given day I can count on having at least 2 near misses due to cars not paying attention to me on the road. This week I had 4 on Monday alone, one of which I am certain was intentional. The thing is that, well, over this week those were the only near misses that occurred. Whether it was the media push about bike to work week, the gas prices finally getting to people, or just dumb luck I’m not sure. I can attest to the fact that I’ve been getting passed by people more respectfully this week. I’ve also seen a ton of new riders out there which has been great. As a team lead for my office’s bike to work weak team I’ve heard from a couple of the participants that they’re already looking forward to next week when the weather is supposed to be even nicer. These are people who prior to this event hadn’t ever ridden to work on their bicycle and now they’ll be doing it daily. That’s an amazing change of mind right there.

The news this week continued to cover the fact that gas prices are climbing and they continued to provide cheats for how to increase mileage in your car. What was finally on the table along with that though was an actual call for people to start cycling. There wasn’t a lead in to the story about being the oddball bicyclist, there was just the reality that bicycles are transportation – and they even pointed out that bikes are meant to be in traffic, not on the sidewalks.

All of these changes, all of these changes of mind. I think this is what can happen when we all get together and show our community that we can be that change we want to see. I encourage everyone to continue using alternate transportation until the day comes that we can drop the word alternate and just call it transit.

Bike to work week is a catalyst, it is an event, or group of events, which can create such change that someday we’ll all just know of it as bike to live life.

This weeks commentary for WOSU.org:

Tired of Paying High Gas Prices? Try Something Else
Andrew MIller, WOSU Commentator

COLUMBUS, OHIO (2008-05-08) Much is being made about the cost of driving today. Whether you drive to the store, to work or drive to get to your vacation spot; the question remains, what effect is driving having on you and others? Are there other options?

I bicycle year round- not just on weekends but nearly every day – to work. Yes, I’m one of those crazies bike commuting in January.

I’m often asked how I do it. How do I avoid being run over and clean up for my professional job? After responding, I always hear the same thing; Oh I could never make that work. Obviously not everybody can. Truck Drivers can’t – but most people aren’t truckers. Riding your bicycle is only one alternative to your personal car. There’s the bus or carpooling or even walking. All of these require something very difficult – a change of mind.

Driving to work offers you with one thing, the ability to carry loads of baggage. That’s great if you’re going to the lumber yard but what about all of the baggage we don’t realize we’re carrying? The amount of money we have to earn to pay nearly $4 a gallon for gas, the pollution created by emissions and the manufacture of our vehicles. There’s the road rage and stress, the loss of green-space to parking lots and expanding highways, the fat that hangs off our bodies; the list goes on and on.

Debate continues over whether Columbus should build a downtown streetcar line. Columbus resident Walker Evans points out that the $103M project could break out to $59 for each of the 1.7M residents in Central Ohio. At current prices this would buy you one tank of gas for your car which, on average, will last you a week, plus a bag of chips and a soda to help with your weight gain. On the other hand the streetcars would provide tourists and us the opportunity to enjoy High Street, spend money at locally owned businesses, and create hundreds of jobs that don’t exist today but will remain long after the project is completed.

Resident Jeff Johnson started what he calls the COTA Challenge back in January where he traveled almost solely by COTA bus for a month. He found that his car was costing him almost 4 times what riding COTA cost him. That’s just in the real out-of-pocket expenses without factoring in the social savings. He also found he had more time for relaxing and didn’t really miss out on anything

Petroleum and Biofuel costs are raising the cost of Milk and Bread. Of course this may be the only way people will lose weight since we are getting much better at feeding our cars than ourselves. But instead of wasting all of that fuel why not change your mind and try something new? Take the COTA Challenge or take part in next weeks National Bike to Work week. If nothing else give us cyclists and pedestrians a little extra room and a wave as you go by.

Bike To Work Week Website

COTA Challenge Website

Andrew Miller writes the blog Elephants on Bicycles

© Copyright 2008, WOSU

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