Robert Leistra
Jeff Cornelius, who bikes to work on a regular basis, crosses the intersection of Main Street and 2nd Avenue in downtown Davenport on Thursday, May 1. May 10-16 is Bike to Work Week, sponsored by Quad-Cities Transportation Advocacy Group. More photos from this shoot
The weather outside may be frightful, but it doesn't have to stop you from riding your bike. Just ask Jeff Cornelius, spokesperson for the Quad Cities Transportation Advocacy Group (QC TAG).
In 2006 QC TAG started out as a group of bike enthusiasts, Cornelius says. The group "works towards the improvement of the quality of life in Quad-Cities communities by promoting a balanced approach to transportation that encourages walking, biking and public transit," according to its mission statement. The group encourages people to use a bicycle for trips of two miles or less. Typically, bike commuters have a work commute of five miles or less, Cornelius adds.
In 2008 the group worked with Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., to create Project Pedal, a program that provided bikes to incoming freshmen who promised to leave their cars at home while they were in school. Project Pedal is just one program that helped QC TAG to turn more people on to other modes of transportation.
In spring of 2007 and 2008, the group promoted Bike to Work Week, which had good participation, Cornelius says. This year the group might change the name to Alternative Transportation Week to "create a more balanced approach."
The growing group promotes both the physical and environmental benefits of biking, walking and using public transportation. Whether you aim for better health or a lighter carbon footprint, alternative forms of transportation, not just biking, might be the way to go.
"Bike commuting is not an option for everyone," and people can take the bus or walk as well, Cornelius says. "We didn't want to promote too heavily on one mode of transportation or the other."
He also practices what he preaches. He rides his bike to work almost every day, and when he doesn't, he takes the bus. If he drives a car, it's the car he and his wife share. Owning and operating just one car saved them about $5,000 last year, according to his calculations.
Yet the aim of QC TAG is not to stop people from driving completely.
"We are all still car drivers," Cornelius says of the group. "We're not anti-car or anything like that." Instead the group's goal is to encourage people to utilize alternative forms of transportation besides the car, especially for shorter trips.
Though biking in winter is possible, it does require some preparation. Chuck Oestreich, a member of QC TAG, suggests riding a mountain bike that has tires with treads. He also likes plastic fenders that keep water and snow on the road from splashing the rider.
"You have to be more alert during the winter," Oestreich says. "If there's a lot of snow, you shouldn't be out there. Obviously you won't go as far or as fast as you would during the other seasons."
The preparation is worth it. "You can see things that you can't normally see because the leaves are gone," he says. "If you use the trails, the eagles are wonderful to see."
City buses also can make winter biking easier. Many buses have racks that hold two bicycles. In the Quad-Cities, "it's pretty easy to be able to bike and bus," he says.
To make alternative transportation more convenient, QC TAG is working with city officials and transportation experts in the Quad-Cities to develop Complete Streets, a plan to develop sidewalks, bike lanes, signs and other elements to make a variety of transportation options available.
"We're just excited at the momentum in the community and interest in Complete Streets," says Dan McNeil, chair of QC TAG.
John La Plante of T.Y. Lin International of Chicago, who spoke last January at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, says that streets don't need to be rebuilt to become complete.
"These are things you can do in the existing right-of-way," Le Plante says. Ideas includes reducing speed limits, adding raised medians for safer pedestrian crossings and shortening times for pedestrians in the crosswalk.
In August 2008, Illinois passed a Complete Streets law that requires the state Department of Transportation to include safe bicycling and walking facilities in all projects in urbanized areas. So far, the new law is being implemented on a city-by-city basis.
In the future, Cornelius hopes that the group will have more opportunities to work with area schools and local universities to get more Quad-Citians to hang up their keys and hit the pavement.
For more information about QC TAG, visit quad.cities.tag.googlepages.com.
