Instead of screaming into the void of Twitter, I bring you a weekly highlight reel of what it’s like going places in Greater Hartford when one is gloriously car-free. These posts are on a slight time delay because nobody needs to know exactly where I am when I am there. 

I thought I would try to get back on my bike and do some recreational riding before attempting any long road trips.

I thought.

The sign at least explains what I was noticing a month or so ago, seeing the trails at that time a little overgrown.

Now, they are a lot overgrown. The path that’s usually most clear was blocked by a down tree not one minute in, and it was the kind of tree that’s not easy to lift a bike up and over, so I ditched that and tried another path.

I didn’t get far on that one either, and if you’re reading this, send some thoughts and prayers that I don’t wind up with poison ivy, thanks.

To do any recreational riding, I still had to get out on roads, and because I had put in that effort, I was going to be out on paths for awhile, dammit! So, I went up and around to the North Meadows dike. I thought I’d take that to the end and then come back on the lower gravel path.

I thought.

There are newer signs up here near police shooting range. The previous ones basically said that if red light was on, to stop and turnaround. The new ones, though, are rude.

First of all, the dike is not property of the Hartford Police Department, according to property records. Second of all, why is a shooting range next to a park. Third: Your aim should not be so bad that you’re missing the target entirely and endangering someone walking or cycling on the dike. And four: how hard is it to create a small window of time that the shooting range is used and post those hours so park users are not inconvenienced 24/7 for something that might occur one hour each week?

And one more thing: there is a Hartford Gun Club and it’s in East Granby. How about go there?

So, rather than have cops come out and harsh my mellow, I turned around without completing a single trail in the North Meadows. I forgive the Riverfront — they have to let nature go wild temporarily. And they have the cool water bottle refill stations now in the park. Can’t stay mad.
But the police? Not impressed.

THE STREET PROJECT
The pic below was taken about half an hour before the film premiere at Real Art Ways last week. Maybe now that they own the building they will install another couple bike racks.

What’s great is when at events like this there is a strong showing of people who actually bike, walk, and bus — even if it’s hard for others to imagine that this is not performative and is simply the way we get around.

Being on the panel, I was able to preview the documentary, and while impressive, it is subject matter that feels specialized (even though it should be understood as relevant to everyone) and I was not sure what to expect for attendance. The theater filled and they brought in extra chairs. A large number stayed around for the panel discussion– again, something that is not standard. I was thrilled that this film and discussion had such a large and engaged audience.

What I appreciated learning is how originally this was supposed to be a documentary about how distracted walking has increased pedestrian deaths, but the film maker quickly learned that pedestrians were not texting and walking into cars, and therefore needed to change course.

This is also what I appreciated about being on this particular panel: the humility of those involved, who were able to contextualize current approaches against previous ones, acknowledge when something had not worked and decided to move in another direction.

If you missed it, you missed it. You can watch the film here.

The one thing I do want to talk about though was a question that came up, that we hear again and again, and will likely hear for awhile longer — but I can do my part to try to stop that. Someone asked (I’m paraphrasing) if it wasn’t irresponsible to show cyclists in the film riding without helmets. All panelists, plus those involved in creating the film, had nuanced responses to this. I didn’t want to hog the mic, so here’s my more complete response:

I am not going to Helmet Shame anyone.

Unlike masks, which keep others safe, helmets only (possibly) keep the wearer from incurring more extensive damage.

I want to be careful with my words. A helmet does not keep a person safe in that it does not prevent a crash. My goal is to reduce serious collisions. I want our attention to be on that, and not on what someone was wearing when they got assaulted.

People inside of vehicles suffer from head injuries in crashes. We do not ask if a driver or passenger was wearing a helmet when they were in a car crash. We only do this with those on bicycles and motorcycles, as if trying to find a way to exonerate the driver of the other vehicle  involved, or to straight up blame the victim.

Do helmets help prevent more extensive head injuries? Sometimes. If you’re hit by one of those obnoxious compensation trucks driven at highway speed, do you honestly think a helmet is going to save your ass? If you’re hit at lower speeds and land in a particular way — yes, gory detail, but people get physically thrown in collisions — then the helmet may help reduce head injuries.

Growing up, I had family members who raced motocross and I can tell you that their gear went well beyond only a helmet. Maybe that’s all they wore when doing practice laps, but when it involved other people at high speeds, there were chest protectors, goggles, protective boots, elbow and knee pads, and probably other stuff that I’m forgetting– and riders still got injured. No, I am not suggesting that cyclists trying to ride to the grocery store don full battle gear. There are many ways to get significantly and fatally injured. We could ask everyone — everyone, including those inside vehicles — to dress themselves in body armor, or, we could focus on reducing the causes of crashes by looking at system change.

If you’ve been following along here for awhile, you know what sorts of things I have in mind for system change: speed governors on all vehicles that aren’t actual race cars and race tracks, ignition interlock devices as a standard feature in all vehicles, Complete Streets treatments to arterials/stroads in urbanized areas, sidewalks FFS, barrier-protected bike lanes on at least one desired east-west and one north-south route in every town. . . to start.

That’s where I want to spend my energy, not on someone’s choice of gear.

SLOW STREET

To visit my favorite street in Hartford I have to walk down Bartholomew Avenue, and so I recently encountered a bunch of changes on the dodgy end of the street.

If you’ve never been on the segment between Hamilton Street and Olive Street, it had been mostly abandoned-looking, between the actual vacant buildings and the street that felt forgotten, even if people were still living over here.

The street has been modified to be less of a straightaway, with updated pedestrian crossings and a newly installed sidewalk (that’s under the overgrown vegetation).

Is it effective? I only saw one vehicle use it when I was there, and the driver was going faster than 25, which is bizarre because what are you rushing to on a dead end street where there’s a massive illegal dumping site? Hmm.

Anyway, they — whoever they are — are also renovating buildings on the street. If you have an appreciation for factories in various stages of decay, go see the sights now before they become something unrecognizable.

I’ve included some of the treats here for those who can’t make it over that way for awhile.

You might be asking, why did Olive Street close?
When in doubt, blame 84.
Which is to blame, in this case.
There are no photos of Olive Street here. It still exists, but the construction of I-84 took away homes and buildings.

Does that mean Olive Street is an old school pedestrianized street?
Something to think about.


PROGRESS AT PARKVILLE MARKET 

After two years, Parkville Market finally added bicycle parking.

Hooray! And it should not have taken that long, but I guess this is better than the more than a decade wait for The Bushnell to install some after cycling patrons began nagging them.

They’ve added planters to make the parking lot less of a hellscape for pedestrians.

Maybe next we’ll see them promote themselves as being across from the CTfastrak Parkville Station and make changes to the front entrance so that it is more pedestrian-friendly.


NSFW

And one more, for those of you with a boot fetish


SHOULDA WORN YA HI-VIS, BUILDING

What’s this grainy pic? Just a snap from my porch of a (probably stolen) vehicle that “some kids” (according to neighbors) crashed against a building, before they ran off. There was damage on the driver’s side too. The building was there since the 1800s, but maybe the driver didn’t see it because it wasn’t wearing a reflective vest.

WHAT NEXT

If you’re experiencing urban flooding and your town/city has not worked with UConn for stormwater runoff recommendations, ask them what’s up. Large paved areas provide no place for excess water to go, and this means sidewalks and roads flood, even if the rivers are not overflowing their banks. It’s a good time to question the practice of putting paved surface lots right up to the edge of rivers.