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I'm callin Crossley This is the Cali costly show. HD Well said every time I see an adult on a bicycle I no longer despair for the future of the human race. Well if you were in Boston today he'd be downright euphoric about mankind. That's because today the city wheels out the old way Boston's bike sharing program operating along the same principles as Zip Car. There are now 600 bikes available at 60 depots across the city for a bike enthusiastic tourists and city slickers. Who prefer hopping on a bike to hailing a cab. This is a glorious day but in the minds of radical pedestrians and people driving trucks buses or cars the city needs help boy. Well like a fish needs a bicycle. Up next bikes in Boston are all the rage or road rage. First the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm from Howard. House lawmakers have begun a procedural debate over House Speaker John Boehner's debt plan will be considered. Wisconsin Republican

Representative Sean Duffy says the Boehner plan could be better. But he says it will hold off default. This is a proposal that gets I guess a little bit a little bit of a heartburn because it doesn't go big enough. But in the end we think it's a bill that will stave off a default. And also what the American people at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says a grand compromise is still possible. We continue to believe that cooler heads will prevail and that a compromise will be achieved. Next Tuesday is the deadline for raising the nation's debt ceiling. Most of the nation's largest metropolitan areas are seeing a sharp drop in foreclosure activity. New data from the foreclosure listing firm Realty Track shows 84 percent of the metro areas with a population of at least 200000 saw declines in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year. But NPR's Joel Snyder reports the slowdown is not a reflection of improvement in the housing market. RealtyTrac says the decline is mostly due to delays in the foreclosure process prompted by the documentation problems of first surfaced last fall. And since it's so

hard to sell a home in many areas the firm says banks are more willing to work with newly delinquent borrowers to avoid foreclosure rather than have a home sit empty. RealtyTrac says foreclosure activity declined a one hundred seventy eight of the country's 211 largest metro areas from January through June. The metro areas that saw the biggest annual declines are in states where the courts are involved in the process including New York Maryland Florida New Jersey Connecticut Massachusetts and Illinois. Joel Snyder NPR News Washington. Egypt's official state news agency is reporting that ousted President Hosni Mubarak will be brought to Cairo to stand trial next week. NPR's Mike Schuster reports Mubarak faces charges in the deaths of hundreds of protesters earlier this year during the revolution that ultimately toppled him. Mubarak has been confined to a hospital in the seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where he took refuge after he was ousted from power in February. Although Mubarak's trial has been scheduled to start on August 3rd it has not been clear it would be possible to hold the trial then. There have been conflicting stories about his health. He has been reported in and out of a coma recently

in the past few days there have been reports attributed to hospital sources or to his attorney that he's been refusing food and has been fed intravenously. The report that his trial will go ahead has been attributed to Egypt's deputy justice minister. But an appeals judge will have the final say because of the intense interest in the case the trial is expected to be held in a hall in Cairo's convention center. Mike Shuster NPR News Cairo. It appears that a strong jobs report is pushing some stocks higher today on Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 38 points currently at twelve thousand three hundred forty one. The Nasdaq composite index is up 29 points at two thousand seven hundred ninety four and the S&P 500 is up eight points at 13 13. This is NPR. In southern Afghanistan one thousand people have been killed and more than 30 others wounded by suicide bombers. NPR's Ahmed Shafi in Kabul says the targets were primarily government buildings. Among the dead are 10 children and a local BBC reporter. Afghan officials say seven gunmen wearing suicide vests attacked the governor's compound the police

headquarters on a local radio station intending Cote the capital of Oruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan. They say the attackers first exploded a motorcycle packed with explosives close to the police headquarters. Two suicide bombers then blew themselves up close to a government compound housing the governor. A gun battle ensued for almost six hours before Afghan security forces backed by NATO helicopters and troops killed the remaining militants. Or is gone is a remote and mountainous province north of Kandahar. The Taliban have long had a presence there. NPR News Kabul. One hundred eighty public school employees in Atlanta are receiving notices that they're being put on paid administrative leave as part of a widespread cheating investigation. A state report out earlier this month implicates employees in 44 schools for cheating on state tests. Officials say at least 41 individuals suspected of cheating have already quit or retired. Atlanta school superintendent Erroll Davis says he wants to begin

terminations proceedings as quickly as possible. And commissioners in Jefferson County Alabama are trying to find a last minute answer to avoid filing the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. The county is in the red to the tune of three billion dollars reportedly over a sewer financing project. County officials are trying to meet with Wall Street lenders today to reach a settlement. I'm Jim Howard NPR News in Washington. Support for NPR comes from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation helping NPR advance journalistic excellence in the digital age. To work on. Good afternoon I'm Kelly Crossley This is the Cali Crossley Show today the city is

wheeling out a hub wave the citywide bike system. Now residents and tourists get a chance to cycle around the city for a relatively small amount of cash. Joining me on the line for the lowdown on how this program works is Nicole Friedman head of the Boston bike program. Nicole welcome thank you. So is Hub way an idea whose time has come. I hope you know with the mayor's leadership when I went to the first cities in the United States to have a bike share program. But we're really looking forward to being a fantastic. So there are 61 locations. Give us the understanding of how it works. So it's a third generation automated bike rental. And people can take a bike for 30 minutes or less and it's free with a one day or an annual membership. And what really makes it effective is that station they're located very close together. There are 61 of them and there have been three four hundred yards. Today you can also do one way rental pick up from one location and return it to another

and you know the other quick trip. So it's very utilitarian. Now this is something that other cities in Europe have tried in other cities in United States Denver and Minneapolis among them to great success but there also have been cities that have tried it not to such great success. Why do you think Boston will be it will work out. Well we look at this as sort of the generation three B and Paris was an example where they had great success in terms of ridership. They had 50 more 54 million trips taken by bike. In two years they had the system where you think the equipment has really been upgraded. The walking mechanism is very secure. The equipment designed for you know put North American you really rugged up to the weather you know the bikes are really the band over this event and it makes all the difference in D.C. Denver Minneapolis with a little theft rate.

OK now the locations as you mentioned are close together for a reason so that people can get back and forth with some efficiency but there are those that would like to see more sites outside of the clustering that you have right now is that going to happen any time soon. Yeah absolutely we definitely want to expand the system for the integrity of the system. You have to keep station. But as we expand we can start increasing the radius from the center as we go along. What what doesn't work with a system if you have if you have stations really spread out. People can't get from one place to another. All right and what about Boston just as a location for this I know you're enthuse because you're a great cyclist and so many are. And Boston increasingly has grown its numbers of enthusiastic cyclists. But in fact it's just a very different town tiny streets crowded lots a reckless drive verse. That's the reputation anyway. Very different from maybe a wider open Denver or Minneapolis So how do you feel about that a lot of people are concerned that

that's going to be an issue. Well the mayor rolled out a safety education program in advance of like there and a lot of it is to educate people that want to start cycling about rules of the road how to bike safely. And we also had worked with the driver. We sent out 500000 mailing to all drivers in Boston with about how to bike safely in the presence of cyclists. We also have education classes that are on a website everyone by to take them. They're all free will have weekly starting next week. So you know if the mayor's done a tremendous job in working on infrastructure getting it by going and will continue to do so. All right final word from the bike czar that's you. Nicole Friedman what I want to say to people who are contemplating taking part in the bike share program. Well absolutely give it a try. When they memberships are just $5 and it's supposed to be fun and a great way to get around the city in a completely unique experience. So I hope to see everyone out there already.

Thanks very much for talking to us so far thank you. That was the cold Friedman head of the Boston bike program. And by the way if you missed the last time Nicole was on talking with us about the benefits of biking you can check it out at WGBH online slash Kelly Crossley Show. And now for my guest in studio to continue the conversation about cycling and the new hub weight program. Joining me in studio to talk through the prospect of 600 extra bikes and cyclists meet and what that means for the city are Pete Stedman head of the Boston cyclist Union and David Gordon Wilson professor emeritus at MIT. He's been a citizen biker in Boston since 1955. Welcome to you both. Thank you. Thank you Kelly. David let me start with you because you by your own description are kind of the guru of but I think by virtue of a bestselling well-known book about the science of cycling and your work at MIT building interesting bicycles in adapting those what do you think about this as an idea.

Well I was I'm delighted sometimes giving it a try of history as you implied a little earlier. A lot of people have tried to before and so often they've broken down because the bikes have been stolen or vandalised and things like that but they they certainly tried a high tech way of doing it which I think you have to have either that or live in some religious community where people burned at the stake if they steal a bike. Now you are obviously cycling in through Zia's What do you say to folks about the beauty of cycling and you know because we're presuming that this hard way program is going to encourage other people to try it. Biking is absolutely wonderful in the right circumstances and it's a pity that we don't often have it you know yesterday I gave way to a motorist and beckoned him on as I often do and the guide leaned out the window said thank you. That was fantastic. I haven't had that for weeks and I'm a very very curious bicyclist.

But I remember what it's like when I was working in Britain and the works were let out in about two or three thousand bicyclists become on the list and everybody was yelling to each other about their tomatoes and their wives and girlfriends and that sort of thing. And when people box themselves in the cars you know I just came up by Market Street here. You cycled over. Yeah it's done about 12 miles so far this morning and I have about 8 9 or 10 going home and I was on the right lane of the straight ahead group. And a guy suddenly I heard this loud horn and a guy going into the right lane which is illegal. Swerved around me and gave me this something like the finger on the way through and he was breaking the law. It's it's a pity because things can be really pleasant otherwise and you and your wife longtime cyclists as we said you are a long time cyclist.

At one time had a programme about role modeling behavior for cyclists. So how do you create that balance that you just talked about where you know people are following the law. You can ride safely the drivers can get to where they're going without feeling infringed upon by cyclists. Well I just it seemed to me and this is let's say that in the early 80s and it seemed to me that there was a kind of guerrilla war going on because if you asked anybody why he or she behaved in a certain way whether he was he or she would driving or biting. They were always be some story about what somebody had just done to him in you know in the same way as I'm talking about this driver out here. And it seemed to me you have to you have to do something a little more remarkable. That's point one and point two is that we have no role models here in Britain. I shouldn't sing the song of Britain too much but at least the policeman by perfectly. And so to members of parliament and things like that. And here we had it in Cambridge at the time we had a delightful Mayor Bob or somebody or other and she biked to city hall every morning and she came

up the long wrong way up one way streets and go through red lights and things like that so. And and here I haven't seen a cop on a bike yet you know how to be the rules. So there were no role models. So we thought it would be good to have some role models and there were a lot of people bicyclists like us who didn't like the way other bicyclists were spoiling the of the atmosphere. And so we decided to think about the idea of having a role model business and I was friends with census Saltonstall who had a fund that came from the his daughter was killed biking down to the Cape. And so we had a fund that came from that and he bought 60 blue helmets for us. Ellen my wife drew a reflective badge showing up bicyclists with a halo and that burned on the back and then we had a big presentation down here on the common by Sansa saw and saw all of the helmets to 36 volunteers who were going to behave perfectly and be courteous everyone else. But we

couldn't get anybody to give it any public city you know I said Rich news releases off to all the TVs and WGBH and both people enthused about it whether or not you got published it when they heard what you were doing where they they didn't hear what we were doing. Oh no we don't want you know a guy driving riding about in a blue helmet with a badge on abating the rules you know that didn't make any sense. I think you might have to bring it back with the whey program let me turn over here to Pete's demand of head of the Boston cyclists Union Pete this is something your group is really excited about the introduction of the hardway program. Yes definitely and why. Well we think it's a great way for people to have a gateway into biking you know to try it for a day or you know use it for a short trips downtown as they're working going to luncheon and so forth. So a kid really. Expand the enjoyment to cycle of cycling to a wider crowd. Professor Wilson David Wilson has just pointed out though that there has to be some codes of behavior and some following of laws so that everybody can get along are you concerned about

just people not actually having knowing how to write well and so that will actually poison the atmosphere about the cyclists on the road. Absolutely although I would say that it's hard to poison Boston streets as they are now I mean it's already pretty bad out there. And I think I like the what do you mean by that how banner that let's talk about that. Well I like the way that David described it as a guerrilla warfare I don't think it's like that now it's gotten better in the last four years. And I think one of the big reasons is because the city is beginning to really pay attention to cyclists and build facilities like bike lanes and such to where bicycles feel more respected. So you know in the past when the city really didn't wasn't doing anything about cyclists I think cyclists begin to feel like they were not respected on the road. You know oftentimes you'd be honked at or told to get off the street right on the sidewalk because people didn't understand you could be there. And you just sort of develop this self

defensive style of writing and that often can come off as kind of aggressive. OK so what can help wait do then to make any change in sort of the attitudes on both sides if you will. And also remember I'm thinking the Hubley program though it's focused on people who live in Boston primarily use it. Hey it's going to be in places where a lot of tourists invokes. They don't know Boston from anything else they're just coming to visit. How is that going to impact of this ongoing relationship. Well I think I mean new cyclists are the most hunted. So I don't I don't think we're going to see I mean we will see people maybe who are a little shaky on the wheel and that sort of thing. But I don't think we're going to see you know tourists new to cycling racing through red lights and that sort of thing because it's dangerous and it's kind of obvious that it's dangerous to do that. So I think more so more we'll see people being really careful out there. What do you hear about your group of course already cycling they've got their own bikes whatever what do you hear from

folks as they've been learning about this program. Well I think when it first came out we organize in every neighborhood in the city. So we really get out to those places as you were talking about before that would like to see bike share in their community as opposed to all downtown. You know a few places in Roxbury. So at first people are saying maybe we should put the money in the neighborhoods and that sort of thing but as people learn more about it and thought about the impact of having more cyclists on the road and the responsibility that the city is taking on by putting more cyclists on the road which goes along with building more facilities safer facilities for cyclists everybody I think thinks most people think it's a good thing a good development. Nicole Freedman bikes are from Boston mentioned that there is a parallel bike safety program going on. You know professor was this a hard time getting anybody to role modeling what he was trying that some years ago today.

Well people pay attention to bikes if you do people just assume they think they know because it's going to make a difference whether or not you're running a red light or coming up the wrong way on the road. Now with 600 new bikes on the road through this program. Yeah I mean I think the city is making as big an effort as they can and they have to have a good amount of funding towards us to offer free bike safety classes as Nicole mentioned. And you know to how many sort of subsidized price at various locations around the city. We do a buy to market program for instance that we go to 16 farmer's markets around the city and roughened by comments for $5 at all those places so anybody that's looking to do the hard way can stop by. And so you just teach people how to navigate safely and well. Yeah we do that one on one with we have like in terms of volunteers that stands just talking to people about everything actually looking for a way so that we can make the neighborhood safer with you know little local knowledge about a cut through

that we could incorporate into a bike route and those sorts of things. All right well we've got much more to talk about. This hour we're talking about the subway program I'm Kelli Crossley and we want to talk about continue to talk about what it means for the city to have potentially an influx of bikers on our streets bike paths and roads. We're opening up the phone lines. You can join the conversation at 8 7 7 3 0 1 8 9 7 8 8 7 7 3 0 1 8 9 7 8. Is this a good thing for the city. Is this going to endanger more people bikers pedestrians and drivers. And what do you think about hub way 8 7 7 3 0 1 8 9 7 8 8 7 7 3 0 1 8 9 7. You can send us a tweet or write to our Facebook page. We'll be back after this break. Stay with us. See some. Support for WGBH comes from you and from circus Marcus. The youth

circus coming to Waltham July 28 through 30 first end of Sandwich August 1st through 3rd teen star on high wire trap peas and more information at 8 7 7 smirk a sense Markus dot org. And from National Geographic encouraging you to explore the Boston Harbor Islands. You can plan your escape today with their new richly detailed map available at fine outdoor retailers. Marine suppliers and independent booksellers throughout Metro Boston. The next FRESH AIR we talk with C.J. Chivers who has been covering the war in Libya for the New York Times traveling with the anti-Gadhafi forces watching them suffer the consequences of inexperience and bad leadership. He's also been investigating what weapons are being used by each side and what that reveals about the weapons trade. Joining us. This afternoon at two on. Point 7 the EGD ate. Every second on eighty nine point seven WGBH is powered by listeners of one get one member at a time. Here's just a few of the reasons those members chose to

give. I've been listening to Eric Jackson for over 20 years. Now I'm a jazz deejay at my college radio station. He's the reason why. I've been listening to WGBH since I was in a car seat. My dad seemed. So happy to be able to get that. So what's your reason. Let us know when you get online at WGBH dot org. It would be because his bones to the world he has he wouldn't keep him informed of his wrong instantly on the deficit game by luck. Coming up at 3 o'clock on eighty nine point seven. WGBH. Good afternoon I'm Cally Crossley. This is the Kelly Crossley Show. If you're just joining us we're talking about the hard way this hour. Today marks the first day of the citywide Bike program where residents and tourists can pay a minimal fee to hop on a bike.

I'm joined by Pete Stedman head of the Boston cyclists Union and David Gordon Wilson a professor emeritus at MIT. He has been a citizen biker in Boston since 1955. You can get in on the conversation at 8 7 7 3 0 1 89 70 8 7 7 3 0 1 89 70. Will this mean more people going to the E.R. does this mean healthier and happier residents who don't own a car and don't want to wait for a train and drivers are you worried about more cyclists on the road. 8 7 7 3 0 1 89 70 8 7 7 3 0 1 89 70. And you can send us a tweet or write to our Facebook page. All right. I just have to make the point that everybody is so thrilled with this program. All of my guests today are bikers. Professor Wilson you're a biker Steadman you're a biker and ical Freeman who was on earlier is a biker everybody's a biker and they appreciate what one gets from biking and the benefits of it.

But I thought that Brian McGrory the Boston Globe columnist had something important to say about this as he was commenting and thinking about what it would mean to have these 600 bikes on the road with various folks I'm just going to quote from his column and then we'll get a response from you all. He says here's the biggest problem with urban bicyclists. Their personalities they exude a sense of superiority as they sip vitamin water and an afternoon breeze. Well I just for argument's sake may be tucking into a filet o fish in the sealed confines of my car quickly abandoning hope of finding parking near my gym. That superiority leads them to blast through red lights and stop signs with no hesitation swerve into traffic with the entitle expectation that everyone else will screech to a halt glide the wrong way down streets across sidewalks through protester in malls constantly yelling watch it dude. I gotta say Professor Wilson he kind of captures some of what we see on the road some of us who are driving with various bicyclists. How do you respond to that.

Well I I feel the same way myself frankly. There's something like two thirds of the bicyclists behave very badly and and I get annoyed with them because they are the they make motorists in turn behave badly towards me and so. In Cambridge we I and my butt is got together with the police and said you got to do something about it. And so we had a police bicyclists Committee and the police started ticketing bicyclists and after that the fifth Cambridge put in some bike lanes on the main street and I thought the whole thing got much more. Much much better after this fair and better behavior on the some of the bicyclists so bike lanes. You agree with Pete's didn't make a difference you think. They certainly do they. When I'm in a bike lane as I am every morning coming into MIT when I can indicate which I suddenly feel I'm here you know I don't have to worry in looking over my shoulder for a few minutes.

One of the last deaths we had in Cambridge was a young woman on a bike lane and and somebody opened the door sharply into a bus which is very very sad. So they're not perfect but I was right on the left of the bike lane so the doors have a decent chance of missing me. All right well I recognize I have callers lining up here but I do want to get Eric Berger into this conversation. He joins us from Arlington he's a bicyclist member of the East Arlington Concerned Citizens Committee and he's opposed proposals that would add new bike lanes in his neighborhood. Now remember he's a bicyclist himself. Eric Berger welcome. Thank you Kelly It's a pleasure to be on. Thanks for having me on. Just quickly David Wilson just made the point that bike lanes are helpful but he also made the point that a young woman was killed in a bike lane. And your concern is about where the bike lanes are positioned that they're not the be all in doll everywhere. Well that's true that's true Kelly we were fighting in Arlington. We have thousands of

people residents and. Four percent of the business is on a one mile stretch here in Arlington where the selectmen want to remove two of the four travel lanes on mass. The major highway through the town the main arterial they want to take away half the roadway for a third of a mile and a quarter of the roadway for the other for the other two thirds of a mile to put in a bike lane. And we don't have any problem with bike lanes. But putting him on I'm State and Federal Highway 1 2 blocks away approximately is the Minuteman bikeway a wonderful place to ride the bike which is where I ride it. It's ludicrous and taking away these bike lanes. I mean putting in these bike lanes Cali is going to inconvenience 99 percent of the users. This roadway. I mean there's transit bus riders thousands of motorists who use this roadway they depend on it to get to work to take their kids to school and 1 percent of the people that approximate the used mass have now issued

roadway. Our advanced level cyclists and that's fine great. But they say that the city's people would you know the government here is taken over by the bike lobby. All right we don't understand it. You know they did they did a report Kelly that just came out from the U.S. Department of Transportation statistics that said over 90 percent of Americans believe that major roads and highways that access and serve a community are the most important element in a livable community. And that explains only things anger. We want this community to stay livable. He would take away two lanes on a major highway through the town and it becomes less livable and not to mention unsafe because is you going to have ambulances it's going to take longer to get there. We're out of it you know. Eric Berger of the East Arlington concerned citizens committee I want you to hold just a minute to take a call. I believe our caller agrees with you. Mark from Arlington Go ahead please you're on the callee Crosley show. Eighty nine point seven.

Thank you. Great great show today. Yeah I do agree with Eric. Most of the playschool zealots that are promoting this whole subway program still have multiple bike like themselves I don't understand why either favor ranting. And again the bike Fadiman 1075 about 10 years. We don't know how long this one's going to last. So to take bike to take shared travel lanes over the bridges between Boston and Cambridge put in by cooling is going to be a waste of space. Shortly. Do you think it will lead to accidents. Are you concerned about that. Well you know the statistics and research shows that bike lanes I know safe are then shared based on roadways so you know accidents don't figure in to it that much. OK I do fear drunk bicyclists so what we have to see are drunk drivers too so that's not quite. They are just on the cycle as I have to say right when the to shut down.

Yeah you know somebody faced with paying cab fare or getting on a bike on a subway bike. Oh right home to a bike. I got your point thank you very much for the call Mark. Thank you. I'm Michael from Boston Go ahead please you're on the Cali Crossley Show eighty nine point seven. Yeah yeah I mean there's going to be and you have your oh my call your line we can hardly hear you. Well I'm going to have to let you go if you can call back on a better line I'd be happy to take your call. But we cannot hear you at all but I just want you in the coming time we show you. I Pete. So we're talking about the bike lane situation and Professor Wilson has said it's not the panacea but certainly it alerts people that there are cyclists on the road and I know your group the cyclists Union is really actually working to get more bike lanes. So do you disagree with what Eric is saying. Well I'd like to make a clarification on his point about the evidence. Basically the research has been inconclusive of whether it's safe or not but it does

give cyclists a feeling of status mentioning empowerment on the road a place to be. It organizes traffic and allows cyclists to get traffic jams for instance which is nice. But as someone who grew up next to I-70 I wouldn't consider. Highways to be a major component of a livable community as Mr. Berger was mentioning. I think you know livable communities is about more than just being a Having having a way to get to conveniently by car to work or home. It's about health and you know the more people we can get on bikes and walking the healthier people are going to be it's kind of an obvious thing and it's actually backed up by the research. Well that's what I love I just don't understand it. Yeah I just don't understand. You know if if we keep designing roads for a car what is the

vision for the future there. I mean where were we going with that because we all know that you know fossil fuels are not going to be around forever and I say I'm not one of those peak oil people that's alarmist about when it's going to end but we know it's not going to be there forever. And we also know that the country is facing an obesity crisis now and actually around the world we're looking at an obesity crisis. And one of the ways that we can battle that is by getting. People to do more physical activity and biking is a way that people can do that habitually You know instead of going to the gym and having the motivation to do that. You're just going to work or are you just going to the store. It's a part of your life just yeah every day. Yeah that's controlling but I think it comes down to this. The ongoing underlying part of this is the coexistence between the bikers and the and the folks who are driving the cars. Let me take another Carl or Carlos from Lincoln Rhode Island Go ahead please you're on the Cal across the show.

Yes hi how are you. Oh I go but I listen to it pretty much every time you guys are on the topic I mean I'm a bicyclist I grew up to put a RICO or you know I think it's the cycling. I still feel good cycling now and it's interesting you talk about bicycle down in Cambridge where you have to say I play for a company and by might they be driving an 18 wheeler. But it. And I have to drive to Cambridge and my shop manual with a big 50 foot trailer in the back and everything. Many blind spots and sometimes these people they just you know they just riding around you and have no regard and don't realize the danger they put an elephant billon into the position they put me in and I think they were in you know unfortunately and through education is the only way to you know we're going to be able to overcome that in the meantime you can have a million people want stop complaining about it and another million people and give you a favorite and that's just the way it is.

OK I take your point. Yes I take your point Carlos. I mean that's what we're talking about here is trying to figure out the balance of this Eric. Thank you very much for the call. Eric what do you have to say to that. Well I have no problem with trying to improve the health of Americans and increasing the number of people with a bike that's better great. I am all for that. That makes a lot of sense. My issue is and the thousands of residents in Arlington and business owners issue is that the context of where you put a bike lane is important and this is a major highway. It's a national and federal highway. There's that many stores along this place. There's three bus route 12 16 bus stops cars parking and on parking trucks and everything. I don't want to bring novice bikers out there in a false sense of security and say leave the Minuteman bikeway which was the town spent thousands of dollars on to read to

to make a beautiful connecting. Bike waited with that promotes biking. Go there with your family it's safe. You don't have any during issues. You don't have to worry about riding close to the traffic so you avoid the doors of cars that are opening their doors and you don't want to write this is not a pastoral setting and I don't imagine that this is not a side street Kelly as you know well know this is a major highway. And and as I said before in over 90 percent of Americans believe that the roadways serving their town the major roadways now and talking about help make it livable. It appears but. People that are getting on transit bus routes you know the one that goes from Arlington Heights all the way down to Harvard Square and back again is one of the 10 most ridden bus routes in MASH. So we have thousands of people. When you add a mother day after day after day you meet these bus routes and then you deficiency. All right so what you want and really what you're saying Eric is you know be thoughtful about where this happens that you can't just expand willy nilly that you have to think about the community's

needs at the moment and even though there may be a global benefit for riding a bike perhaps in Arlington and in the area that you're talking about it does not make sense I don't think that's off from what Professor Wilson is saying he's sorry I guess the ressurection is correct you know let me let him weigh in with Professor was not doing well. The point point one of the points about that I'd like to make Eric is that when somebody points and paints and straight stripes in the road and say this is a bike lane nobody's stopped from using it. If an ambulance was to get there we get through and everything else seems to go through I had to get around some 18 wheelers or something pretty big parked on the bike lane on the way in this morning. So that's point number one. The point the second point is that this whole guerrilla war really comes about because of the enormous subsidies which we as a community give to to motorists it's equivalent I got some figures here about 33 billion dollars a year given to road building and that's supported by only 60

percent by taxes is 85 billion dollars a year is given for free parking to induce drivers 10 billions of dollars a year for effects of road pollution have kind of apparition $50 billion dollars a year. This is from a report in 1970 to 1992 that's was for the half the cost of security in the Middle East. Since when we've had a big war and that's largely due to keep motorists on the road so well while they're being hugely subsidized and they say my routine my driving is very important. And look they have very few bicyclists were the reason a very few bicyclists is because they're being subsidised out of the out of the riding. Well when they make a change then. Because the these bikes you're programs would seem to go in the other direction I think so and I think when you're talking about the increase in bicyclists this is a vanishingly small number of the moment the ones that I know unfortunately are behaving very badly and give us give the rest of us a bad name but All right well let's take some calls that some callers on the air.

So Dave from Dennis Port Go ahead please. You're on the Kalak roster. Yes go ahead. I want to make a few brief comments. The first is that I was just recently down in Washington D.C. for a week and they have a program that's been going on for a few years now and it was actually really fantastic use and in fact it was much it was quite safe because they have a pretty well-developed bike lane system and also it was it was actually much quicker than a lot of the public transit to get around because there are public transit especially the subway was built over so many different decades that you could you also often have to go a very roundabout way to get. To a place you know that will take you. It will take twice as long to go by double a right and the other point I wanted so I really enjoyed that experience even as an experienced cyclist using those. There was very convenient The other point just related to the Allington way I just want to make is that it seems like there's a lot of polemics sort of being thrown around here and

I think they're pretty well developed models to figure out what traffic flow would be like. Given these and I think that bring in a consultant that would do that kind of modeling as they do in a number of cities would probably be very helpful and sort of reduce the polemic elements of the debate. Well I think you make two excellent points Dave I do want to say sadly that the Washington DC program known as smart bike shut down for are now saying no. Well actually that's it was reported by the Herald. Yeah really. Some lazy journalism going on there because smart bike was the original program and had a hundred twenty bikes and it was closed down and replaced by Capital Bikeshare which is now the largest bike share in the one of the most successful in the country. So maybe that's what Dave. Yeah chance they have. There's a letting hundred cyclists and that's actually run by the same company that is going to be running. I was here in Boston. All right well then you brought it to us thank you. Thank you Dave for the call.

Michael from Boston Go ahead please on the Kelly Crossley Show. Hi Cali. I love your show. I've wanted to point out that I think everybody's right. Basically you need to stripe the road and you need to have dedicated tabs. And I only won one over the other I just don't. I think you need everything. What's what concerns me however in Boston that the hard way program is great it will make bicycles immediately available for people to ride and use these facilities. But what's needed are more dedicated bike ways and bike paths. I spent many years advocating for a project that would connect Boston's Jamaica Plain and Southend districts down to the Fort Point Channel and the and the harbor. But this is a project that seems to be moving in slow motion. I applaud Nicole Friedman and all the efforts to get the city city streets striped and in some cases they have decals so that they actually didn't put in a lane they put in a

decal which I think helps would help in the situation in Arlington. But we do need to complete paths like the South Bay Harbor trail. And I just don't understand why it's moving so slowly but I do applaud the efforts that have gone forward. I don't know if any of your guests have comments but that's where I'm coming from as a cyclist. And someone who'd like to see more dedicated pass because I'll just add that that's what families need that's what younger people need. It certainly doesn't interest me that I don't think that way they can. Yeah in that way they can get acclimated with the city they get to know what it means to ride in the central city. They're not necessarily riding in the street but they're on a dedicated path that in many ways is more of a work of landscape architecture than Then necessarily transportation planning device. I don't know if your guest said comments but great show and I'll take your comments off the air. Thank you so much for your comments and from Michael from Boston I appreciate it. We're going to get my guests to weigh in on this on the other side of the break. We'll be back in a minute. We're

talking about the subway this hour. Today marks the first day of the citywide bike program. There are now 600 bike station at 61 kiosks across the city for sure and they will be. I'm joined by Pete Stedman head of the Boston cyclists Union and David Gordon Wilson a professor emeritus at MIT's been a citizen biker in Boston since 1955. And on the line is Eric Berger from the East Arlington concerned citizens committee. Is this a good thing for the city is it going to endanger lives cyclist pedestrians drivers of taxis buses and cars. Call us at 8 7 7 3 0 1 89 70 8 7 7 3 0 1 89 70. We'll be back after this break. Support for W H comes from you and from National Geographic encouraging you to explore the Boston Harbor Islands. You can plan your escape today with their new richly detailed map available at fine outdoor retailers Marine suppliers and independent

booksellers throughout Metro Boston. And from the Joan and James Vernon Cancer Center at Newton Wellesley hospital striving to provide patients with expert Cancer Care innovative services and treatment options information at NWA dot org slash cancer. I'm Lisa Mullins next time on the world political leaders in Egypt's capital are calling for unity this Friday. Many feared demonstrations planned for Tahrir Square could become a street battle. Our story from Cairo coming up next time. Coming up at 3:00 here at eighty nine point seven WGBH. This summer you and your family can enjoy a personal island with trees without leaving New England. Register to win a trip to the beautiful star island retreat center. As featured in Yankee magazine's best of healing. Enjoy a round trip ferry transportation from Portsmouth to the island. A three night stay with meals included for four

people. Explore the island take a swim or just relax. It's easy to do online at WGBH dot org. Join Eric Jackson in Oak Bluffs at this year's Martha's Vineyard Jazz Festival August 6 through 13. Will be book signings film screenings and live performances. For more details visit M.V. Jazz Fest dot com. I have a little bicycle riding. To win from. And when I see that big green light I know it's time to go. Good afternoon I'm Kelly Crossley This is the Kelly Crossley Show we're talking about hub Wei this hour. Today is the first day of the citywide bike plan. Now people can pay a small sum to ride a bike around the city. I'm joined by Pete Stedman head of the Boston cyclists Union and David Gordon Wilson a professor emeritus at MIT and the author of Bicycling Science. Also on the line is Eric Berger from

Arlington. He's a member of the East Arlington concerned citizens committee. You can get in on this conversation at 8 7 7 3 0 1 8 9 7 8 8 7 7 3 0 1 89 70. And on the line with us right now Alicia from Boston Go ahead please. I carry. My question is concerning helmet. First of all are you going to be required. Helmet which I think is a good idea but if you go are you going to be helmets with the bike. And if not what are we supposed to do. You know people who have your own bikes probably have a helmet but people who are traveling probably are traveling with a helmet. First I should say that the law in Massachusetts is that if you're 16 and under that you must wear a helmet. And now I'm going to let Pete Steadman of the cyclists union take up the rest of your question. Yeah actually it's a it's a thing actually the city thought about I believe in leading up to this but looking at the bike share programs that were around the world there is a bike shop in Melbourne Australia where they have actually

how much law everyone must wear a helmet at all times. But that program has been suffering because of a lack of ridership for the same reason the caller mentions that people travelling around don't often have helmets the way the city is trying to address this is by offering subsidised helmets a number of locations around the city I'm not sure where all those I know that were part of the. We do farmers markets around the city as I mentioned before and that's available on our website bus and cyclists Union dot org. But as I said it's difficult for the program to succeed with that sort of regulation. So before right now you need to have a helmet or have access to one if you're going to participate in this. No you don't have to it's not required but it's definitely heavily recommended and the city is making every effort to make helmets available at locations near the Hwei stations.

OK well that's good to know. We have a Facebook comment that I wanted to interject into the conversation and I also want to give you a chance to respond to our earlier caller. But Zachary wrote in I think it's too expensive it's useless to me because I can afford it and that's just wrong so it's like the hell with that. I could care less about whey and I love bikes. I want to say for the record you can join now for years membership for $60. The regular year membership is 85. You can use a bikes one a 24 hour pass for $5 and for a three day membership it's 12. But Zachary says it's too expensive. Pete Yeah I actually heard this from a few people. It's it is you have to remember that the first 30 minutes are free so you can think about if you're using this for short trips and five might be the only thing you pay for the year. And I think by and by the minute charges are pretty nominal after that first 30 minutes. But. I have talked to head way about this issue and I do believe they're considering or thinking about some some low income

discounts or things that can help people get into the program. Now if you now so know you wanted to jump in with a comment from one of our callers that you want to add something well you have a safe harbor trail. Yeah I understand that there's property ownership issues along the way and I've complicated it and also that has taken it off and on again with the track for federal and state funding. But the caller is exactly right that we need to be building more bike paths and protected bike lanes or cycle tracks. They just run. Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Chicago just announced that he's going to be building 100 miles of protected bike lanes throughout Chicago and they have that they have a one on Kinsey's street. I was just there actually last week and they have basically it's a bike lane like we see here except for there's a little striped buffer about two feet wide to the left and to your right is the sidewalk and then beyond the stripe buffer on the left is maybe parked cars

and in the straight buffer there are flex posts little plastic posts. That actually physically protect you from the traffic and this kind of thing is something that you could safely ride with your family. Very common in Europe in places like Copenhagen Netherlands the places that we consider the big bike cities. And I just want to mention that when you do build this kind of infrastructure. I was just actually meeting with someone from Denmark earlier this week running red lights is unheard of over there. She the way she expressed it is we don't do that because that would cause chaos. So I think the more you respect cyclists and give them a place to be. I mean pedestrians have sidewalks in the system of walk signals. Cars have lanes where they're supposed to be bicycles don't have an infrastructure. And the more you do that the more we're going to get people paying attention to the rules. That sounds fantastic but they have bigger streets and we have to go I have to just say it's true.

I think that I mean Boston streets are challenging but there are ways to deal with it. There are engineering ways to deal with it. And actually the city is looking at a master plan for the back network now and figuring out how much of that might come to pass. Yeah. Well to from Somerville Go ahead please you're on the callee Crossley Show eighty nine point seven. Hi thanks for taking my call. I had the chance to experience the French system in Paris called sleep and extremely simple to use very efficient and less rigid. To do that and of course in the city it's extremely tense. So you don't you don't often have shown by plane anymore but for the most part it was really perfect. So you're glad the whey has come to Boston then. Absolutely I don't see why it wouldn't work in Boston. Absolutely because both of the subway it's not perfectly efficient. So if you want to get from let's say some of those two to Fenway it's much quicker by bike than it was in the subway.

All right well I guess you'll be taking part in the plan then. Thank you so much out of the limo. Thank you Walter for the call. Professor Wilson what you ride sometimes. One hundred twenty miles a day day I mean this is you're just it is not my wife. You see Helen is a visiting nurse and she does she often bike 40 a few miles doing visiting her patients every day she goes to bikes to some a villain picks up a lot there and then. She What am I trying to say. Well one of the features about it is aspects about that is that she said to us the other day hey I got three tickets for Tanglewood and I said when foreign she said Thursday of next week and I said oh great we can start out after lunch she said after lunch Monday we're biking there are we bike to Tanglewood and the road was hideous I must say Rue 20 but. But you're right let you do it a lot and you're a long distance cyclist is my point. In my youth when I was your age I used to do ten thousand miles a year. But nowadays it's quite as easy.

What do you say to somebody who's thinking about maybe become you know taking up cycling and this might entice them. Think about the beauties of writing about I think that the beaters are very good and I am I never try to persuade anybody to ride a bike because it's kind of dangerous I got hit by my ninth vehicle last year and it was very painful. OK well you're not an ambassador right now. But I'm very keen on people doing that. May I just make a comment about callers from Rhode Island because he drives an 18 wheeler and that's another aspect I agree with what Peter said on this. Was it worth that in other countries people don't do silly things like we do here. I wrote I did for two years in Northern Nigeria. Never saw anything like this and the idea of riding around the right of of a big truck with the with it has it's right signal going so that when you get when it turns right it's going to impact a bicyclist right there. That's that's half the bicyclists falls at least half the bicyclists from what we're talking about here because

it's just talked about what they're doing in Chicago is that it's just really all about developing the bike culture and that program like up way inevitably will do that because there is be more cyclists on the road more people talking about the issues that we that have been raised here both by you my guests and by the callers. And they'll be better possibilities to figuring out how to solve some of these problems. Yeah yeah I mean it would add to David's point that you know it might be half the cyclists fault and half the truckers fault but also maybe it's a third each way and part of the problem is the designers fault for designing the street in such a way that the trucker wouldn't be aware of the possibility of a bike coming up on the right side and side. And you know one of the ways people saw the design and saw that as a bike box which allows cyclists to get out in front where they can be seen at every intersection. So I think you

know the bank shares an opportunity like this show for instance an opportunity to talk about it and that's coming out of the way already. But also I think it makes the city really focus on the infrastructure. I don't know that they have some ideas at least for new bike lanes and stuff in the downtown area to help out the BikeShare people. I think Subway suggest that Boston now. However your view of the program is really a bicycling town. I mean would it not be part of the those towns that are considering considered to be cities for cyclists. Yeah it's becoming competitive actually the East Coast. We have a few cities including Boston now they're in the 2 percent biking to work range and we're all sort of commuting to Philadelphia for instance. We're all sort of competing to see who can be you know start reaching the heights of Portland Oregon or some of it in Minneapolis some of the other biking cities in the country. All right well we'll be seeing what happens. First day pretty soon 600

bikes on the road I thanked all of you my guests for coming in to talk about this very interesting new program. We've been talking about how whey the city's new bike sharing program I've been speaking with Pete Stedman head of the Boston cyclists Union and David Gordon Wilson and professor emeritus at MIT and the author of Bicycling Science. He's been a citizen biker in Boston since 1955. Also joining me was Eric Berger from the East Arlington Concerned Citizens Committee thank you all so much. You can keep on top of the Calla Crossley Show at WGBH dot org slash Calla Crossley follow us on Twitter or become a fan of the Calla Crossley Show on Facebook today show was engineered by Antonio only are produced by Chelsea murders. Will Rose live and Abbey Ruzicka hour in turn is Sara Ward's career production of WGBH radio. Let's see.