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Monday, June 22, 2009
Get involed with new bike theft program
Lee Davila of the APD sent out the following request to several people in the bike community. If you’ve ever had your bike stolen, this could turn into a good resource.
The City of Austin, Austin Police Department and the Public Works Department are in the process of implementing an educational campaign to foster camaraderie between the cycling communities and to assist in the safety awareness to cyclists, citizens and motorists.
City departments have begun to examine ways to implement a voluntary web-based program that would be accessible to all users containing information on reporting bicycle thefts, registration, and safety procedures.
Your assistance is needed to provide an open dialogue and alternative options for this campaign. If you are interested, please email Austin Police Department Constituent Liaison, Lee Davila, with your contact email address and business/group association at Leander.Davila@ci.austin.tx.us as well as when you would be available for meeting (i.e. day of the week and time that works best for you).
You can cc-me if you’d like, we will be working on this together. The more of you that get involved, the better the feedback, and the better the program overall, so we’d really like to hear from as many of you as possible.
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We’ll just have to try again next year
Aren’t state politics great? I used to take a lackadaisical approach to Gepetto and his elected puppets. The longer I’ve lived in Austin, the more interest has taken hold. It’s sometimes disheartening to discover which bills failed during the legislative session and the consequences that follow.
Take our governor and his refusal to pass the safe passing bill. One report says “The governor mistakenly thinks that the bill puts all of the responsibility on the motorist.” Really? Isn’t it his job to know the details of every bill that comes across his desk? Kind of like the general public probably expects a journalist to know how to spell. It’s pretty basic stuff.
The worst news is for those of us who cycle daily on these streets. There is no three-feet clearance law. Not that it would make much difference to those of you who drive while talking on your cell while eating and trying to find a good song. One of the benefits from the law that never passed is that it would have helped put some legal onus on the inattentive driver who veers into a cyclist.
Maybe with more support and a more unified voice, the cycling community can help Gov. Perry read the fine print next time.
