Community Gathers to Recognize One-year Passing of Atip; Ghost Bike Memorial Returns

Friends of Atip gathered on the afternoon of Sunday, July 19, to commemorate the life and death of our fallen friend.

It was clear, judged by the turnout, that positive and loving memories of Atip remain omnipresent in the minds of his friends, community, co-workers, and fellow cyclists fortunate enough to have known such a positive-thinking and influential individual.

A Ghost Bike memorial returned to the corner of the deadly Park Blvd. & University Ave intersection; the site of the high-speed collision which took the life of our friend on July 19, 2008.

Above photo taken by Matt Lingo.

Following photos taken by Skyy:









Atip will never be forgotten.

One-Year Anniversary of Atip's Death is this Sunday

Atip's close friends are organizing a gathering to take place this Sunday, July 19, 2009 in recognition of the one-year anniversary of Atip's death.

The vigil will take place at 5pm at the Park Blvd. & University Ave. intersection; the site of the collision which killed Atip, and the site of his Memorial Ghost Bike which arose in response.

More details to come.

Giving Lecture on Bike-Planning in an Oil & The Future of America course @ UCSD

I've been invited to give a guest lecture/presentation in an Oil & The Future of America course held at University of California, San Diego.

This will be my 3rd time guest-lecturing in this course, since it's relatively new existence. And it's the first time since the horrible weekend of July 2008.

Topics to be discussed later this morning include the following:

-The U.S. youth bike movement, w/ a focus on San Diego.

-Proven methods/examples of improving bicycle infrastructure/conditions in urban environments.

-Effective encouragement programs, ranging from local group ride coordinating, to UCSD's Bike Commuter Challenge, to Bogota, Colombia's weekly Ciclovia bike/pedestrian day.

-A brief and modern history of auto-centric, sprawled planning in San Diego.

-Auto-centric biases in the Level Of Service (LOS) system which rewards "Traffic Engineers" (i.e. Automobile Traffic Engineers) for designing roads which serve the highest volume of automobile traffic but does not reward those engineers for the volume of cyclists or pedestrians their engineered-road may serve. Essentially, the faster automobile traffic goes, which thereby increases the risk of death for cyclists/pedestrians, the more points the engineer gets and the better his/her career does.

Equality on the road, between cyclists and motorists, cannot exist as long as this policy which rewards engineers for designing high speed auto-centric neighbhorhood streets is in effect; all while offering NO (zero) L.O.S. incentives for bike friendly nor pedestrian friendly roads.

Not surprisingly the Senior Engineers at the City of San Diego Engineering Dept. wanted Atip's bike removed because it slowed down automobile traffic.

Remove the bias. Modify the deadly LOS. Reward safe streets for pedestrians and cyclists. Strive for safer, more livable streets.

LOS, in its current state, is a true loss for communities that want safer, livable streets for all.

-Complete Streets Act: California's new state-wide law which calls for local municipalities to improve infrastructure to increase safety for bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders.

-In addition, I will specifically discuss the community's attempt to Save Atip's Ghost Bike, a functional form of public art, all while dealing w/ an auto-centric, car-first, out-of-touch, City of San Diego bureaucracy; where LOS-philosophy clashed w/ Livable Streets philosophy (of which, the latter, was backed by the SD Bike Coalition, and the North Park Planning Committee).

-Bicycling resources

-Ideas for the future

Note: This will be my first time discussing the Complete Streets Act, Atip's Ghost Bike, and LOS-philosophy in this course.

In my opinion, Oil & The Future of America is one of the most important courses offered at UCSD. I'm an alumni of this course, and I'm honored to be invited back to offer a guest-lecture.

Atip's Memorial in Latest Issue of Urban Velo Magazine

The widely-respected urban bicycling magazine, Urban Velo, has represented Atip's Ghost Bike/Memorial in their latest issue.

In Urban Velo's issue #11, the primary focus is dedicated to Ghost Bikes across America, as you can tell by the cover.

The story itself was written by Portland's Rev Phil, who was in San Diego during the final week and final day in which Atip's Ghost Bike was present at the University Ave & Park Blvd. intersection, before it was dishonestly removed by Street Divisions, a department w/in the City of San Diego, who removed the bike despite wide public support and despite the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition and the North Park Planning Committee's official support for the presence of the Ghost Bike.

Rev Phil offers a somber conclusion, in his piece: "One behavior I have tried to curb is my referring to these incidents as "accidents." While I generally hope that most drivers are not trying to actively harm cyclists I feel that the automatic assumption of "best intentions" is wrong. Spilled milk is an accident. 43,000 deaths involving auto collisions is an epidemic."

Visit http://urbanvelo.org/ for more info pertinent to ghost bikes, bike advocacy, and bicycling culture in general.

Supporters Come Together, Make Advancements

Approximately 60 people gathered at the north east corner of Park Blvd. & University Ave. on Dec. 5, 2008 at 5pm, to raise awareness about the unjust removal of Atip's Memorial/Ghost Bike.

The Peaceful Demonstration, announced by Atip's closest friends Mike & Jena, brought concerned cyclists, friends, supporters, urban planners, and advocates together.  

In a public outreach effort we handed out fliers to locals, residents, and pedestrians to inform them about why planning-experts, livable streets-advocates and a wide body of the public support the presence of Atip's Ghost Bike.  


(Above, is the flier we handed out; a collaborative effort between Jena and I).


(Above, is the flier Jena made for the peaceful gathering).

The timing of the gathering was convenient in that thousands of people passed through the intersection on their way towards the Winter on the Prado event at the  nearby Balboa Park. 

When we asked pedestrians if they felt that the Park Blvd. & University intersection safely accomodated pedestrians, not one person believed that the intersection was safe enough. 

With Kathy Keehan, Executive Director of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, and myself, a UCSD-trained Urban Planner & Bicycle Planner, we discussed (long-term) infrastructure improvements to the deadly intersection, on site.

The core group of supporters came to a consensus on what we can do next. We agreed that an appropriate permanent solution would be to pursue a custom roadbike-shaped bike rack, dedicated to Atip.  We'll be working side-by-side w/ the SDCBike Coalition to make this happen.  In fact, the motion from the North Park Planning
Committee and Subcommittee already includes support for a 'permanent solution.'  We'll be returning to the Committees to do a follow up proposal on our confirmed permanent solution.

A highlight of the gathering included crossing paths w/ David Slattery, a wheelchaired pedestrian who I first met at the corner while doing a Site Plan for Atip's Memorial Bike in October. David expressed to me in October that he peronsally observed that the Memorial Bike slowed down 
speeding automobiles.  He was excited and supportive of the fact that we're moving forward w/ plans to raise awareness about the deadly
Park Blvd. & University Ave intersection.



We believe bicycle advocacy ought to be fun, too.
After the gathering, many of us rode our bikes together to a benefit show for the San Diego Bicycle Kitchen (Bikes Del Pueblo).  We danced and celebrated life to the sounds of some of SD's best local garage-rock and roots-rock bands.

75% of all the proceeds that night have gone to the SD Bicycle Kitchen.  The Bike Kitchen is present
every saturday at the City Heights Farmers Market for affordable bike repairs and loaner tools.

25% of the proceeds have gone to fund a permanent solution (discussed above) in memory of Atip.
It's a step in the right direction.  After a couple more benefits we'll have enough money for the bike
rack (approximately 500$) and for the Encroachment Removal Permit (500$) (these fees according to the SDCBC).

Overall, the evening was a success!  Thanks to all the supporters who came out to the intersection and to the Bike Kitchen. Thanks to those who organized the benefit show,  thanks to the bands, and to the volunteers making the Bike Kitchen a reality. We'll be keeping you updated on our advancements. Until then, we hope to see you soon, on two-wheels.


 

Efforts To Save Atip's Memorial Getting Attention From Livable Streets Advocates Around The Country

The Streetsblog Network, a valuable and informative resource for sustainable transport, smart growth and livable streets advocates and planners across the country, have learned about our efforts to  save Atip's Memorial and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists in the deadly Park Blvd. 
& University Ave. intersection.

The Los Angeles chapter of Streetsblog.org has written a review on our blog and on the processes involved to preserve Atip's Memorial.  The full article can be seen here:
http://la.streetsblog.org/2008/11/24/san-diego-activists-incensed-over-removal-of-ghost-bike/

It's nice to see that the support from bicycling, sustainable planning, smart growth, and livable streets advocates is growing, not just in San Diego, but beyond it as well.

We didn't originally contact StreetsBlog about our blog, but the fact that they somehow found out about this case is encouraging.  We know that the supportive network is growing.

Cyclists, pedestrians, disabled people, children, and the elderly deserve safer, more livable streets.  The dangerous Park Blvd. & University Ave. intersection, the transit, social, and
cultural center of San Diego, is an ideal place to apply the ideas of the State of California's new Complete Streets Act.

We're working, in parternship w/ the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, and the backing of
the North Park Planning Committee, towards a real, permanent solution at this deadly intersection.  
Advocates all over the country are fighting similar battles.  Read about them at StreetsBlog.org

Street Divisions Returns Atip's Bike, Yousef Ignores Request For Apology

After a series of hard-hitting emails to Street Divisions Deputy Director Hasan Yousef, requesting (1) an apology over Mr. Yousef's decision to prematurely ruin Atip's Memorial, an important and functional form of public art, requesting (2) an apologetic recognition that Mr. Yousef lied to the public about the removal date of the Memorial Bike ,
and (3) requesting Street Divisions return all the items that were prematurely taken away, Yousef has met one of our requests by agreeing to return all of the Memorial Bike items.  

Under Mr. Yousef's direction, Street Division employees have returned all of the items that were present on the north-east corner of the deadly Park Blvd. and University Ave, including locks, flowers, bike, pictures, Atip's wheel, etc. 

We will be handing the bike back to Atip's best friend, Mike, who technically owns the bike. In addition, we will be handing back the other items to Atip's close friends who request them. 

The bike known as the '2nd Ghost Bike' which was put up by members of the public a few days after the premature removal of the original Memorial/Ghost Bike, was removed a few days later. The '2nd Ghost Bike' has been returned as well.  
Though we did not specifically request that this bike be returned
Street Divisions handed it back anyways.

However, instead of cutting the lock of the 2nd Ghost Bike, Street Divisions cut the entire seat tube of the bike's frame in half; thereby ruining the bike and preventing it from ever being ridden again.  

(Note: the seat tube of this previously-rideable bike has been unnecessarily sawed in half. CORRECTION: I originally stated that the 2nd Ghost Bike was locked w/ a cable lock. However, I've been informed that it was locked w/ a U-Lock. Regardless, rather than destroy the lock, Street Divisions destroyed the bike, because it was present at the site for only a few days. One less bike.)

Apparently, if you lock a bike to this public pole and Street Divisions decides that it is somehow associated with Atip, they believe they have the right to destroy your frame and saw the seat tube in half.

We've contacted Street Divisions to learn about the guidelines they use to draw the line which determines whether a bike is subject to removal.  When Mr. Yousef responds, we'll let you know what he says.

Keep in mind that there are no bike racks at either corner of the Park/Uni. intersection. Feasible alternatives are currently non-existent. We're working to change that.  Read the next blogs to learn more.

While we're satisfied w/ Mr. Yousef's decision to return all of the items at Atip's Memorial Site, we're disappointed that he ignored our request for an apology in regards to Street Division's premature removal of the functional form of art.  We're also disappointed that he decided to ignore our request for apologetic recognition that he lied to the public about the removal date of the memorial bike. And we're disappointed that he ignored the motion by the North Park Planning Committee, to improve livability in the area.