WANTED: BICYCLE FRIENDLY FDOT SECRETARY
EUROPEAN CITIES DO AWAY WITH TRAFFIC SIGNS
FBA BOARD WINTER RETREAT
AND THEN SOME


WANTED: BICYCLE FRIENDLY FDOT SECRETARY

Governor Crist is looking to appoint a new FDOT Secretary, upon
recommendation of a candidate by the Florida Transportation Commission . 
 Shame on each of us if we let that decision be
made in a vacuum.

The Florida Transportation Commission will be conducting interviews for
the next Secretary based upon resumes delivered to the FTC on or before
January 10, 2007. Here is the link to the ad:
http://www.dot.state.fl.us/Secretary%20Ad.doc

May I suggest that each of you take a brief second and remind the
Commissioners, the Search Committee, and the Executive Director of the
FTC of the uphill battle that cyclists and pedestrians have had with
FDOT over the past 8 years?

The ad for the new Secretary states that the Governor is seeking someone
who is "forward thinking" and "personally committed to improving the
mobility and economic strength of one of the nation’s fastest growing
states through effective planning strategies that support the
utilization of innovative technology, finance and industry best
practices."

Rather than being just another political appointment, try to remind the
FTC and the Governor (the "People's Governor") of the important role
that DOT plays in our lives as cyclists and alternative users of the
roadways. The people to contact are:

Governor Charlie Crist: transition@cristtransition.com
FDOT Secretary Search Committee Chair, Earl Durden:
cathy.goodman@dot.state.fl.us

James Holton, FTC Chair: jholton1@aol.com
Janet Watermeier, FTC Vice-Chair: cathy.goodman@dot.state.fl.us
Marcos Marchena, Member: mmarchena@mgfirm.com
Sidney Calloway, Member: scalloway@shutts-law.com
Marshall Criser III, Member: cathy.goodman@dot.state.fl.us
Martha Lanahan, Member: cathy.goodman@dot.state.fl.us
Hon. David A. Straz, Jr., Member: cathy.goodman@dot.state.fl.us
Sally Patrenos, FTC Executive Director: sally.patrenos@dot.state.fl.us
Mark Reichert, FTC Deputy Executive Director:
mark.reichert@dot.state.fl.us
Dave Tassinari, FTC Manager of Finance & Performance Monitoring:
david.tassinari@dot.state.fl.us
Cathy Goodman, Executive Assistant: cathy.goodman@dot.state.fl.us

Here is a proposed letter to send; feel free to cut and paste as you see
fit:


To: transition@cristtransition.com
CC: James Holton, FTC Chair: jholton1@aol.com, 
Cathy Goodman, Executive Assistant: cathy.goodman@dot.state.fl.us
Marcos Marchena, Member: mmarchena@mgfirm.com,
Sidney Calloway, Member: scalloway@shutts-law.com,
Sally Patrenos, FTC Executive Director: sally.patrenos@dot.state.fl.us,
Mark Reichert, FTC Deputy Executive Director:
mark.reichert@dot.state.fl.us,
Dave Tassinari, FTC Manager of Finance & Performance Monitoring:
david.tassinari@dot.state.fl.us

Subject: New FDOT Secretary

Dear Governor Crist, FDOT Secretary Search Committee Chair Durden, FTC
Chair Holton, and members and staff of the Florida Transportation
Committee:

First, Happy New Year, and congratulations to you, Governor Crist, as
you begin your term as our new Governor.

As each of your embark upon the task of selecting our next Secretary for
the Florida Department of Transportation, I respectfully ask that you
please take a moment to understand that this position is much more than
an agency head.  This person will be THE guiding force for the future
growth of our State, to the extent that we can no longer cater to the
car-driving public to guide how our cities grow and how our resources
are assigned.  Our new FDOT Secretary must truly understand that
alternative modes of transportation, such as walking, cycling, and mass
transit, are not simply nice sounding buzz-words to be placed in
legislation and policy statements, only to be ignored by the Department,
but absolutely MUST be implemented.  While foreign oil dependence,
global warming, and obesity are national issues, we can and must act
locally to deal with these issues at home.  And our new Secretary of
Transportation will be at the forefront of each of these battles with
the decisions he or she makes.

Of even greater concern, your constituents should not have to resort to
lawsuits to have FDOT faithfully execute the laws created by the
Legislature relating to mandatory bike lanes, sidewalks, and other
non-vehicular transportation options for our state, as is currently
pending before FDOT.  Our new Secretary must have the strength,
integrity, and vision, to do what is right for each and every resident
and visitor to our great State of Florida, not only what is desired by
the select few with influence and access. 

I was encouraged by your inauguration speech where you promised to solve
problems, not politicize them, to put the common good above partisan
politics, to work together to do what is right, and to reject labels -
red, blue; liberal, conservative; Democrat, Republican. As you
emphasized, there is only one label that really matters - it's
Floridian.

With the bar set to a goal that is lofty but reachable, I pray that each
of you undertake the responsibility to nominate and select the next
Secretary of FDOT with the utmost of seriousness, fully appreciating the
gravity that this specific nomination will have upon our collective
futures.  Unlike other Secretaries appointed by the Governor, this one
will truly have an immediate impact upon all of our daily lives.

God Bless and much luck to us all in this New Year.

Best regards,

[Your name]
[Your City]


EUROPEAN CITIES DO AWAY WITH TRAFFIC SIGNS
By Matthias Schulz

Are streets without traffic signs conceivable? Seven cities and
regions in Europe are giving it a try -- with good results.

European traffic planners ... want drivers and pedestrians to
interact in a free and humane way, as brethren ...

The utopia has already become a reality in Makkinga... Stop signs
and direction signs are nowhere to be seen... There aren't even any
lines painted on the streets...

"The many rules strip us of the most important thing: the ability to
be considerate. We're losing our capacity for socially responsible
behavior," says Dutch traffic guru Hans Monderman, one of the
project's co-founders. "The greater the number of prescriptions, the
more people's sense of personal responsibility dwindles."

... one of the insights of traffic psychology: Drivers will force
the accelerator down ruthlessly only in situations where everything
has been fully regulated. Where the situation is unclear, they're
forced to drive more carefully and cautiously...

The plans derive inspiration and motivation from a large-scale
experiment in the town of Drachten in the Netherlands, which has
45,000 inhabitants. There, cars have already been driving over red
natural stone for years. Cyclists dutifully raise their arm when
they want to make a turn, and drivers communicate by hand signs,
nods and waving.

"More than half of our signs have already been scrapped," says
traffic planner Koop Kerkstra. "Only two out of our original 18
traffic light crossings are left, and we've converted them to
roundabouts." Now traffic is regulated by only two rules in
Drachten: "Yield to the right" and "Get in someone's way and you'll
be towed."

Strange as it may seem, the number of accidents has declined
dramatically. Visit the following link for the complete article. 
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,448747,00.html

Submitted by Kimberly Cooper, St. Petersburg


FBA BOARD WINTER RETREAT

The FBA Board of Directors meets quarterly including a Winter Retreat to
develop plans for the year.  The 2007 Winter Retreat has been planned by
FBA vice president Dan Moser of Ft. Myers and will be held in
conjunction with the Tour de Cape (a two-day running and biking event
January 13-14 in Cape Coral) January 12-14. We invite you to join us for
any or all the festivities. Board meetings always include bike rides and
the Winter 2007 retreat is no exception since we’ll be riding or
staffing an FBA booth at the Tour de Cape January 14. The weekend
schedule of events includes the following:

Friday, January 12: Meet FBA Social from 6:30-8:00 pm at a Ft. Myers
bar/grill TBA
Saturday, January 13: Meeting from 9:00-4:00 at the Calusa Nature Center
(go to http://www.calusanature.com for directions)
Sunday, January 14: FBA booth at the Tour de Cape, presented by the Cape
Coral Parks and Recreation Dept.

FBA will also have a booth at the Pedaling for Pathways Bicycle Brunch
in Naples January 14., presented by the Naples Pathways Coalition. 


AND THEN SOME

"Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something
you design for the present." -Jim Rohn

The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine." ~John
Howard

"I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without
it."   -- Michael Rennie as spaceman Klaatu  -- "The Day the Earth Stood
Still"

"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does
anything."  - Teddy Roosevelt

"I try to learn from the past, but I plan for the future by focusing
exclusively on the present. That's were the fun is." -Donald Trump

For your own collection of bicycle quotes, visit
http://www.quotegarden.com/bicycling.html.