Sent to you by Andy via Google Reader:
My recent trip to Portland wasn't just about drooling over a panoply of family biking options. The main draw, for me, was a Family Biking Solutions workshop that Oregon Manifest was hosting, featuring Martina from Clever Cycles, and a number of invited "content area experts".
The goal was to:
Participate in lively discussions to share ideas for product innovation and improved bicycle riding conditions with bicycle manufacturers, organizations and community members. Ultimately our workshop will create a manifest that reflects the needs & ideas of Oregon's cycling families.
Or Washingon's cycling families? Why not. To my delight, I got to meet some other cycling parents that I already felt I knew in that internet sort of way. Namely, Sarah Gilbert (a "family biking evangelist" on CafeMama and other sites) and Marion Rice (the family biking columnist for BikePortland.org).
I also got to meet something else I had great affection for from afar:
Ah, the beer bike. The cause of, and solution to, all of our family cycling problems.
Don't mind if I do.
The workshop started with opening invited speakers (my new BFFs!). Here's a sampler, from another venue (before you watch, download the pdf with all the lovely photos!):
Marion shared her thoughts as well, and struck a chord with many of us as she described things she'd cobbled together to make family cycling more practical: a sippy cup bungee cord (no more dropped cups!), and rain poncho with an elasticized hem and high-vis triangle on the back that makes a stellar Bobike child seat raincover.
We then split into 3 groups and rotated through the content areas of Products, Community, and Infrastructure. Each of those tables were anchored by two folks with expertise in that area, with a scribe, who collected notes that will eventually form a document for bike industry and government type folks. Between having others taking notes, and the Hopworks beerfiets, I can't claim to have an complete or accurate representation of the excellent ideas from the workshop, but here's some of what I do remember, and what thoughts I've had since ...
Products
- I've noticed that the ideal family cycling setup seems to change every 2 years or so in the life of a young family. That said, you can certainly get a lot of use out of a bakfiets, Xtracycle/Mundo/MADSEN, or even bike trailer. It'd be nice to see more products with the flexibility to take families from one infant to multiple young kids come onto the market, especially ones with infant capability.
- Anja noted that many European companies that have this issue considerably more sorted out refuse to distribute in the US market due to our legal/regulatory climate. Arghhh ... but kudos to those that do.
- There was a lament about not seeing any user research in the family cycling product market. My brother-in-law is a user research guy, and it would be nice to see that incorporated into the process. I do hope the increasing level of competition in the family/cargo bike market will bring on some nice refinements and new options, however.
- Better rain/shelter options for kids on bikes would be welcome, as would kids bikes that don't suck.
- I've also noticed that in the US, there's a tension between what families contemplating biking with their kids think they want, and what they end up being happiest with. In the US, it seems that new biking parents and average bike shops end up focused on what they think is safest: bike trailers and big plastic bathtub rear child seats. But the more enclosed the child, the less enjoyable family cycling becomes (less social, less to see), and the safety benefits aren't proven. In general, I think bike trailers are likely to confer some safety benefits over child seats, but I would argue that front seats may be safer than rear seats, and that family cargo bikes handle better than bike trailers, which can be prone to tipping. So the "safe" and easily available options may not be what's best for a particular family, and may not be as fun or practical, limiting their use.
- So what follows is that it would be nice to see family cycling promoted here in a positive way that emphasizes fun, shared interaction, ease of use, and practicality, without getting so hung up on safety features. Because when safety becomes the main marketing point, the underlying implication is that cycling is inherently unsafe. I think Xtracycle is doing a lovely job of this in their marketing materials.
Community
- A recurring theme in this area was helping families new to cycling a la familia find support, advice, and a sense of normalcy in our car-dominated culture. Kidical Mass rides, Portland neighborhood barbeques, ciclovia-style street closures, demo days (like this one), Safe Routes to School programs, and the like are excellent ways to encourage family cycling in your community.
- Being part of a far-flung internet community of cycling families has been an important part of our family cycling as well. The Fahrners, Stouts, and CarFreeDays families, among many others (see the cycling families blogroll in the left column), have been virtual mentors and inspirations for me, and I can't help but feel that I've been shamelessly imitating their exploits.
- Bike shops can (and probably should, from a business perspective) nurture communities of cyclists too. In Seattle, we've got Dutch Bike Seattle, which carries mostly Dutch bikes/seats, and has hosted a number of barbeques, soirees, and rallies, but a bit more from the cycle chic perspective than the snotty-nose and diapers perspective. Aaron's Bike Repair also has a lot of family/cargo bike expertise, and hosts cargo bike rides for every season, but while families are welcome and do participate, they're also not quite the point. I'd love to see a Seattle bike shop carry a wide array of family cargo bikes and seats and embrace/educate/support cycling families, including events and demo days. I don't mean to sound critical of those two shops, both of which I really like. It's just that my fantasy LBS would have more family gear options and events, and be easily accessible by bike (West Seattle is a trek for most of us).
- I also think Seattle needs a middle ground of bike culture, somewhere in between the Dead Baby Races/Critical Mass (drink drink drink, we're a proud/angry subculture, antagonize motorists) and Cascade events (helmet helmet helmet, sign a waiver, safety over spontaneity). Like Portland's Pedalpalooza, a 2 week celebration of "bike fun" with volunteer-created bike events posted on a community calendar, with some big-ticket events on the weekend. And like our "Fiets of Family Cycling" event!
- Another "bike fun" stunt that might highlight the fun and convenience of family cycling would be a family modal challenge similar to the commute challenges where 3 commuters race by bike, car, and transit. Ours would have a family cargo bike versus a Suburban, from house to preschool. I think we could take 'em, when you include traffic near the school and parking. It'd highlight how the perceived ease of car trips is offset by aggravations, and that kids are happier on bikes. Alert the media.
Infrastructure
- Greg Raisman (Portland transportation guy) and Todd Boulanger (recently of Vancouver, WA transpo) held down this table, where we discussed congestion around schools. Apparently, "slower is faster" when it comes to traffic engineering for school dropoffs. Slow but steady keeps things moving more than roadways that invite a lot of cars to "hurry up and wait", if that makes any sense. What can I say? This was my third table, and not my first trip to the Hopworks bike.
- Onstreet parking for cargo bikes was requested, since even with Portland's popular on-street bike "corrals", longtails and such stick out too far. We didn't come up with anything nearly as cool as this, however.
- I asked if they'd solved the "road diet" problem of taking 4 lanes of traffic down to 2 lanes, center turn lane, and bike lanes, without positioning the bike lane too close to parked cars. They haven't.
- There was a lot of support for continued expansion of the bicycle boulevard network. Amen! If I have but one wish for our newly elected bike-commuting mayor (and county exec, and council members ... that's right, Seattle is now run by cyclists), it's to aggressively move forward on a bicycle boulevard grid in neighborhoods like Ballard. Our bike lanes tend to be in door zones of arterials, so the vehicular cyclists don't use them, and the newbies either shy away from those busy streets, or end up positioned for a "door prize". I rode on a buffered bike lane that day in Portland, and loved it, but they require the political gumption to take away lanes of traffic or parking. Bike boulevards parallel arterials, are aggressively traffic calmed, have signs/signals that favor bike throughput, and are attractively marketed to cyclists, resulting in safety in numbers advantages. Win-win, across the cycling age/experience spectrum. Our street grid (in many neighborhoods) would be well-suited to this approach, and other than handling crossings of busy streets, they're relatively cheap.
And then we wrapped up, sharing each group's ideas via scribe, and continuing the conversation. When all this is written up and posted on their site, I'll let you know. Big thanks to Oregon Manifest, Martina, and the participants! The trip home on Greyhound and Tikit was lovely (empty city streets and canal path at night), and I collapsed into bed at 1:30am.
What would you like to see happen in terms of Products, Community, and Infrastructure where you are? And for the locals, is Seattle ready for such a summit? It would sure be nice to share the perspective of family cyclists with our new bicycle overlords in city/regional government.
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