Comments on: Senator Jim DeMint Wants to Eliminate Bike Stim Funds: Take Action!

By: Bear

Bear — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:02:01 +0000

Tom,

You, sir, you cause me to laugh when you say “misrepresenting the facts” but then do not explain which facts those would be.

Sir, why do you not warn the general public right up front that the torch is a highly biased forum where you don’t even enforce your own rules about name calling when it is done by the 4 or 5 folks who blindly agree with your every step? Also, sir, why not mention right up front that anybody and everybody who has ever strongly disagreed with you has typically been ganged up upon by one or more of your name-calling gang of blind mice while you sit smugly and passively back upon your self-appointed pedestal and allow it?

I feel sorry for you sir, because your personal vendetta against the community where you live may someday come back to bite you.

By: Tom Rotta

Tom Rotta — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:54:53 +0000

Bear/Disarm, I love you coming onto various forums and calling me an idiot, misrepresenting facts, and going off the topic du jour. For a complete synopsis of what this fine gent is talking about, go to the episodic Lawbreakers threads at http://www.ludingtoncitizen.ning.com
and look around more to find out what graft and corruption Bear’s friends in the Ludington/Mason Co. MI government are involved in.

By: Bear

Bear — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:15:32 +0000

Tom Rotta,
The law in Michigan is clear but you refuse to acknowledge the truth. The fact is; Bicyclists in Michigan have the same duties on Michigan roads as vehicles do. This includes stopping at Stop signs when oncoming traffic is within the immediate vicinity so as to cause a potential safety hazard.
Moreover, anybody except a total idiot would know that it is illegal to blow through a Stop sign directly in front of a moving police cruiser.

I wonder how many other firefighters in the state of Michigan, or for that matter .. how many in the entire USA …. would have quit serving as a firefighter after receiving such a minor civil infraction.
Kind of shows how selfish you were, .. doesn’t it?????

By: Tom Rotta

Tom Rotta — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:29:41 +0000

As much as I love the ideas of extra paths, DeMint is right, there is no reason to fund these projects in a stimulus package. This is not something I want the federal government to be involved in, because 99% of these paths and trails would not involve trails between two or more states. State governments need to step up, and get rid of the stupid laws on the books that negatively affect cyclists. It is a civil infraction in my state, and probably your state, to stand up on a bike, drink from a water bottle while riding, and brake or slow down without signaling. Wipe these out and adopt bills like the one currently going through Montana which includes common sense law that any biker would say ‘duh, why isn’t this the law already?’. More bike paths may become unnecessary.

By: CBrinkman

CBrinkman — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:45:36 +0000

I agree with Cap’n Transit – we rode the Murry to the Mountains rail trail about 1.5 years ago and the cyclists definately are good for the towns along that trail and the towns know it. Everywhere we stayed had cyclist friendly accomadations, with rooms to lock up your bike, washing machines to keep your clothing from getting too stinky – and food food food. Same with the rail trail we rode in NZ, the Otago Central – on that rail trail, the trail went in very shortly after the rail went out – the towns were shifting to a cycle tourist based economy – it was fascinating to see.

By: Cap'n Transit

Cap'n Transit — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:51:07 +0000

while bike and hiking paths may be desirable projects they will not stimulate the economy.

Oh ah?

By: Phil Rose

Phil Rose — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:58:56 +0000

I love to bike and wish more poeple did too but while bike and hiking paths may be desirable projects they will not stimulate the economy. Lets focus this bill on true stimulus and then when we can afford it go for a spending package for all the “good ideas”.

By: The Urbanophile

The Urbanophile — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 23:50:42 +0000

Some of the restrictions people have proposed are good. I don’t want stimulus dollars going to casinos, stadiums, or golf courses.

But thinks like bike trails are core infrastructure for cities in the 21st century. What’s more, they are easy to do as design/build so can be shovel-ready quickly, and have only minor environmental impacts to contend with.

There’s lots to cut out of the stimulus package, but biking isn’t one of them.

By: Larry Littlefield

Larry Littlefield — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:05:56 +0000

Is this about what or about where?

Borrowed money for the welfare states.

By: Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:00:31 +0000

BikePortland has a little bit more on this:

http://bikeportland.org/2009/02/06/senators-look-to-strip-bike-funding-from-stimulus-bill-blumenauer-responds/