The Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan will be on the Ojai City Council Agenda, Tuesday, April 13, 2010. (See article below or click here) http://www.ojaipost.com/2010/04/bicycle_pedestrian_master_plan.shtml
John van Houten, M.D., sent the following cover Letter concerning the City's Bike/Ped Plan to Ojai City staff and Council in September, 2009.
To the Ojai City Council members and the City Manager,
Attached please find a copy of a letter that I submitted to the Ojai Valley News that was published last week (September 18, 2009).
My motivation for writing this letter lay in the fact that my children are unable to safely ride their bikes to school despite living within a mile from both schools. Riding down any main street in Ojai is an exercise in weaving around parked cars, avoiding being “mirrored” by passing cars on the left and “doored” by the parked cars on the right.
Shortly after the letter was published, I was astonished to learn that the City of Ojai was presented with a Bike Plan nearly 10 years ago (adopted February,1999) that would have made our city a national leader in promoting cycling. Instead that Bike Plan has been put aside while money continues to be spent on improving our roads to accommodate the ever-increasing auto traffic that our congested valley suffers from.
It is time for Ojai to take a new look at the existing Bike Plan and make a real effort in promoting a culture of cycling. Children should have safe bike routes to our schools. Tourists should be able to ride bikes from our local inns to our downtown merchants on protected bikeways. Residents should be able to commute to work and go on local errands on their bikes knowing that the city of Ojai recognizes their right to be on the road and even encourages cycling as a valued form of transportation.
The cost of re-lining roads, painting shared bike lane markers, installing bike lane signs, educating cyclists and motorists alike, and increasing the number of bike racks downtown is minimal. The benefits to our environment, health, and economy are priceless.
Sincerely,
John van Houten, M.D.
Here's the attached letter
It's About the Bike: A Doctor's Prescription for a Healthy, Wealthy and Green Ojai
Guest Editorial by John van Houten, M.D.
http://www.ojaipost.com/2009/09/_its_about_the_bike_a_doctors.shtml
Related Articles cross posted on the Ojai Post and Ojai Valley Green Coalition website
http://www.ojaivalleygreencoalition.org/action-committees/transportation/
Posted by Suza Francina, Chair, Ojai Valley Green Coalition Transportation Committee
