<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=ProgId content=Word.Document> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 10"> <meta name=Originator content="Microsoft Word 10"> <link rel=File-List href="cid:filelist.xml@01C679FB.E8E4D1A0">  <style>  </style>  </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='tab-interval:36.0pt'> <div class=Section1> Todd Edelman wrote on this date with ref to the letter of our knowledgeable Greek colleague K. Tsourlakis and his pertinent comments on motorcycles (see below) as follows:<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> >> I suggest we move this discussion off the Carfree Cities as it is my understanding that carfree definately means motorcycle-free in the view of the owner of the Carfree Cities list, with no discussion possible.<<<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Fair enough Mr. Owner. But I just want my colleagues here in our fine Sustran group and in the New Mobility Agenda that I really like the “no discussion possible” bit. It tells us a great deal about the real world relevance of this point of view and I must conclude the forum itself.  But what is great about the web of course is that there is plenty of space out here for utopian thinking, and it is only right that they set their own agendas. What is apparently most important in this case is not the untidy world in which we live and have to work with, but the pristine ones that some of us have in our heads.  Life is sweet.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Okay, why do I bother you all with this? It is more than just an opportunity to share a wry grin with you.  To the contrary, it is to encourage more critical discussion and idea mongering on both these fora of precisely the motorcycles in cities dilemma.  It’s a huge reality (you know, reality).  For those of us who have lived and worked in Asia, we can only see that this is a situation which is profoundly out of control and which, as it happens. Deal with phenomena and practices which have entirely escaped both planners and policy makers.  To take just one point of the untidy real world: there is a growing population of people for whom two wheels bangers are cheaper and “better” than even the cheapest bus.  Well, what do we do then?<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> So if the “no discussion possible” comments do nothing other than to activate further discussions and work on this here, well they would have made a real contribution.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Eric Britton <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div style='border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt;padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm'> <o:p> </o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> <pre>Motorcycles may be "little guy" in Czechia, but Czechia (or perhaps North<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>America) is not the whole world. In many South European and Asian cities (and in<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>an ever growing number of African countries) motorcycle traffic is an important<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>part of motorised traffic (and in many cases - e.g China or Vietnam- a first<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>step towards car motorisation).<o:p></o:p></pre><pre><o:p> </o:p></pre><pre>In Athens for instance, 1 million motorcycles pollute freely the city, besides 2<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>million automobiles - without any (unlike cars) exhaust gas and noise controls.<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>Motorcycling is deliberately promoted (instead of biking - Athens lacks even 1<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>km of bike lane) in order to maximize motorised traffic. The corrupt<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>administration favours motorcycling because they don't compete cars, but use<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>mostly pedestrian spaces and other free spaces (parks, squares etc) - they have<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>also recently granted them legally free access to dedicated bus lanes. They use<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>under police immunity sidewalks and other pedestrian spaces and act more<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>aggressively than cars, being a major component of the violence and oppression<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>pedestrians experience in Athens in everyday life, and an important (although<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>unrecognised) part of the pollution of the most polluted capital in Europe.<o:p></o:p></pre><pre><o:p> </o:p></pre><pre>You are not right: they don't only cause damage to the motorcyclists themselves,<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>but they also kill pedestrians and bicyclists. Even the damage they bring about<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>to themselves shouldn't be confronted with indifference, given the efforts the<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>motorcycle lobby makes to lure inexperienced and aggression inclined people to<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>the motorcycle ideology. However I agree with you that fines and efforts should<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>concentrate more to the damage they cause to others (like speeding or pedestrian<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>rights violations) than the harm they cause to themselves (like helmet use -<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>advising rather than penalties are more appropriate in this case).<o:p></o:p></pre><pre><o:p> </o:p></pre><pre>Although carfree cities is a worthy prospect, perhaps a completely carfree world<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>is still far away, but a motorcycle free world is already feasible (and may<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>become a first step towards the carfree vision). For a more thorough discussion<o:p></o:p></pre><pre>about motorcycles look at<o:p></o:p></pre><pre><o:p> </o:p></pre><pre><a href="http://www.geocities.com/pezosgr/motocbust.rtf">http://www.geocities.com/pezosgr/motocbust.rtf</a><o:p></o:p></pre><pre>or<o:p></o:p></pre><pre><a href="http://www.geocities.com/pezosgr/motocbust.htm">http://www.geocities.com/pezosgr/motocbust.htm</a><o:p></o:p></pre> <o:p> </o:p> </div> </body> </html>