Last week, TBAG sent the following letter of support for the Neighborhood Circulator to City of Tempe Mayor Hallman and Vice-Mayor Hutson, as well as each of the city councilmembers:
Dear Mayor Hallman and Tempe City Councilmembers:
The Tempe Bicycle Action Group (biketempe.org), an organization that advocates making bicycling a prominent, safe and convenient form of transportation, strongly supports the proposed Neighborhood Circulator routes, including the one along College Avenue. The proposed routes will improve cyclist, pedestrian, child, and driver safety while improving community sustainability.
We see the College Avenue Circulator as a complement to cycling. College Avenue is already an excellent North-South bicycle route through the City of Tempe. The Circulator provides a complementary mode of transit for those who bicycle commute on College Avenue. This free and frequent bus provides a great option on those days when weather precludes cycling, or when a cyclist wants to take a day off from riding. It further promotes bicycle commuting by allowing cyclists to place their bicycles on the bus rack. For those residents who live a few miles beyond the proposed route, the Circulator may allow for a combined bicycle/bus commute.
We and other cyclists in Tempe are accustomed to riding in the bicycle lanes on College Avenue. The College Avenue Circulator will make that experience more pleasant by reducing vehicle traffic on the road and contributing to a reconception of College Avenue as a pedestrian and bicycle friendly route. Several of us live or have lived along the 5th Street Neighborhood bus route. We have found the bus drivers to be extremely courteous to cyclists and pedestrians. The neighborhood buses, combined with traffic calming, have created a safe, walkable and bikeable environment for 5th Street residents. We have all seen children use the bus to get to the local park, families use the bus to travel to the store, and college students use the bus to commute to ASU.We have NEVER seen college students park in the 5th Street neighborhood to take the bus, nor have we seen children taking the bus to skip school – two concerns raised by some College Ave residents regarding the proposed circulator.
We are very concerned about the disinformation campaign that a few College Avenue residents have launched in opposition to this project. One of us lives in the College Avenue neighborhood and has seen flyers depicting ASU’s “Sparky” driving a bus that runs down cyclists. We have all received emails from concerned residents regarding the buses’ supposed negative impact on the cycling route. We believe that these concerns are unfounded, and that most of those expressing concern are not themselves cyclists. We fear that these unfounded bicycle-related concerns are being used unfairly. The emails and flyers opposing the bus route do not reflect an understanding of the current cycling environment on College Avenue. The majority of the recreational and commuter cyclists with whom we have spoken strongly support the College Avenue Circulator project.
We look forward to cycling alongside the College Avenue Neighborhood Circulator buses and we urge you to move forward with this great project.
Sincerely,
The Tempe Bicycle Action Group Board of Directors
Chris Crosby, Kate Darby, Stan Klonowski, Mark Neff, and Scott Nowicki
