Making Personal Stories for eBikes

FROM CAREY:

Thanks to Ben and Tom for the stories. I’m convinced we need to make this as personal as possible since talking to people about class 1 and class 2 makes their eyes glaze over.

The best thing you can do right now is  make contact with the Greenways Commission members.  Email them and tell your story because they need to hear us.  Some of them probably can’t  be convinced but we should try.  We’re quietly trying to make a few personal contacts via people who know the members.

If you know any member of the commission personally contact them.  If you know someone who knows someone reach out.  I asked a friend if I could call a member he knows and  drop his name and he quickly said “No, I’ll call her”.  Either he doesn’t  trust me or he doesn’t want people to find out he knows me. 😊

The BCycle request and the report were on the agenda at the Parks Board yesterday but were deferred. There were no questions or comments from board members and Cindy Harrison didn’t say anything.I was asked why the Greenways Commission is a big deal since they have no real power.  If they make a negative recommendation it will be cover for the Parks Board and some councilmembers to continue this effort. Ben is absolutely right this a waste of time and taxpayer money that could be used on other things. It’s probably best to avoid saying that to commission members. 

Carey

https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2022-01/Greenways-Commission-Members.pdf?ct=1643134636

The next meeting will be held on February 9 at 11:30 pm in the Parks Board Room, 2565 Park Plaza. It will be streamed on metro tv but they refused to move it to a larger room.

I suggest five talking points to emphasize to the Greenways Commission for recommendations

1. Approve the BCycle request
2. Make no changes to current law about e-bikes on greenways
3. There is no need for an expensive consultant or a pilot project
4. Do not create a costly and unnecessary third bike share program
5. Begin a discussion about what is and is not a greenway

From: Benjamin Rosenblum, Sent: Feb 2, 2022 To: Tom
Subject: Re: Update on Parks Department E-Bike Study

Hi all, 

Not sure what is needed from me but a bit of context that we can perhaps share to support our belief that this is a pretty mindless, wasteful discussion:

1. I ride my non-electric road bike on the greenways. I can confirm that it is possible to ride over 25 MPH on a road bike for extended periods of time. The only thing preventing me from riding 25 MPH on Greenways (at least in sections) is the posted speed limit. The bike is good for it. My e-bike tops out at 20 MPH - so yes, my road bike is significantly faster.
2. It's almost impossible to tell that my e-bike, a VanMoof, is in fact an e-bike. And if I turn off the pedal assist, it's no longer an ebike. So this makes the ban almost completely unenforceable.
3. I ride my e-bike to work every day, and I also use it to tow my ~80-lbs worth of children. If I'm not mistaken, towing your kids in a trailer is more or less exactly the kind of activity the greenways are designed for. Without the e-bike, getting my kids up hills that are more than a few percent incline becomes quite difficult, and I'm an avid cyclist. If I struggle getting them up Nashville's hills, that doesn't bode well for the rest of the population. 

So I'm aligned with everyone here and am happy to support as needed. For all of the reasons I stated above, this is a mindless discussion and a waste of city resources because it's a law that is both unenforceable and counterproductive.

Anything I can do to support please let me know.

PS here is my bike. As mentioned, nobody can tell it has a battery + motor. 

- Ben