A foot soldier sent me this, funny stuff.
As I have mentioned earlier today, both the Active Transportation Board and the Parks Board tabled the recommendation citing ignorance of E2 technology.
And that is FAIR.
As I told Councilor Neitzert after the first meeting, I would much rather have NO recommendation then one from a group of volunteers that don’t understand the topic.
While Greg wants to rework the ordinance, AGAIN, and bring it back, I told him to just bring it to the council as is. Councilor Starr agreed and further added that we gave these boards an opportunity to make a recommendation and they passed citing their lack of knowledge on the topic. So what would make you think they would become any wiser in a month or two?
I think the council has at least 5 votes to pass this, and there will be public opposition and support. Even if it fails, you can use the experience to figure out what needs to be reworked. Or better yet, pass the ordinance with an amendment that funds a year long study of the effects of E2s on the trails and speed limits. After a 12 month review the city council can come back and tweak the issues, or expand the availability. This isn’t rocket science folks. You could even put a 12-month cutoff on the temporary ordinance with the intent to re-introduce or make permanent.
One of my friends who recently moved back to Sioux Falls after living in the Southwest for the past decade is an E-bike fanatic and was really involved in her last E-Biking community and she was amazed by how far behind Sioux Falls is when it comes to regulating the technology. We are essentially 5 years behind the rest of the country (ironically when they passed this stupid ordinance to begin with).
We want to be big kids when it comes to parking ramps and hotels on the river but we play like tots* when it comes to modernizing city policies. I think I am going to start handing out binkies at these meetings moving forward.
*There was an ‘incident’ at the Parks Board Meeting that I will posting about in the near future.
Not sure if many people follow tiki artist, SHAG, but you can see his images here. SHAG was actually inspired by mid-century commercial artists that painted in a similar style. I love the style and have a bunch of SHAG prints. But the mural needs more tikis and martini glasses.
Not sure if Portz was inspired by SHAG, but now days nothing is original, and I certainly steal ideas from several artists, most notably, Andy Warhol.
During the video the mayor made the comment that they are ‘doing it the right way’. According to who? You? He also said that the image was ‘Non-Controversial’ though I do see a nod to this guy going on. As the mayor also said ‘Art is subjective’ and exactly the reason that we shouldn’t allow ONE person or special group of people to be selecting public art behind closed doors.
During the public input period at the Active Transportation Board I commented on the darkness of city hall and how I have never seen it this bad in 20 years. I told the board, until you have a transparent government you accomplish very little.
I feel bad for all the good people involved with this project, from the artist, to the donor to the city staff who have to tow the line of secretive government because that is what your master demands, but at the end of the day you can either feed at that trough or you can do the right thing and say ‘NO. This is wrong.’
The mural will ultimately be an improvement of what we have now, but golly, that’s a lot of lipstick!
I had several city government nerds call me in frustration during the city council meetings this afternoon and tonight because the live stream was NOT working in SIRE (the online meeting portal). This has been happening a lot recently and on and off over the past decade with no fix or solution. The irony is the meetings still stream in citylink, so I just watch them there now instead of waiting for the Model T version of the meeting software to warm up. And how does that work? The cameras are rolling and feeding to CityLink but not to SIRE? Hmmm? I think the city deserves a Sooperhero award for at least being consistent over the past decade and not fixing the problem.
BRIDGE DISCOUNT? WHAT BRIDGE DISCOUNT?
Remember how we got duped out of $20 million dollars for a bridge that is only having the decking replaced? Public Works Director Cotter told councilors during the run up to the funding that they will get a $1.5 million dollar discount because they changed the timeline of the project (extended it). During the budget hearings today he said that hasn’t happened yet and mumbled something about legal. In other words, it will be like the $1 million dollar EC siding settlement that was our money in a contingency fund. This administration and it’s lackey’s will stop at nothing to cross the finish line, including lying about possible cost savings.
ANOTHER CITY FACILITY WE DON’T REALLY NEED
Also during the meeting this facility was mentioned to be planned for in 2026. It is interesting that they have architectural drawings of a facility the public knows nothing about. Maybe I missed it, but this was the first I heard about this project.
UPDATE: The Active Transportation Board tabled their recommendation today saying they didn’t know enough about E2s to make a decision. Which is good.
As I have mentioned before, there is an Active Transportation Board meeting Wednesday morning at 8:30 AM in City Hall in the old commission chambers, 1st Floor, and at 4 PM a Parks Board meeting with a recommendation.
I ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO WANTS TO RIDE THEIR E2 ON THE SHARED USE REC TRAIL TO ATTEND AND TELL THE BOARD WHY YOU WANT THIS CHANGE!
The board will be taking action on the E2 recommendation from Councilor Greg Neitzert with some clarity with rec trail speeds and ADA mobility devices.
As I have mentioned in the past there is a lot of misinformation out there about E2s.
The Micro Mobility Device industry is one of the fastest growing in the world, most users in Sioux Falls are over 60 years of age and finding an E1 bike has become increasingly difficult and will probably be non-existent in 5 years. Police Chief Thum has told councilors that he supports the change and doesn’t see any issues with it, just more concerns about speed, which is addressed. The Parks Director (and probably the board) support the change also telling us at a recent meeting their hasn’t been any major accidents involving E2s on the trail in the past 5 years. I have heard about 2 major accidents, but didn’t get a lot of details.
Besides the health and mobility advantages for seniors, I like my E2 for commuting and can easily switch from the trail, to a sidewalk to a street, riding safe speeds on all (I can lock in certain speeds depending on level, essentially a cruise control).
The opposition is coming from the fact that E2’s can be throttled (I have suggested a no throttling rule on the trail) which is a shallow argument since most users only throttle when starting out or going up a hill. There is also the ‘what about the kids’ group, and I get it, I want kids to safely play along the bike trail, but when I am riding my bike ON THE TRAIL my main focus is my safety and the safety of riders and walkers around me. If your child suddenly decides to break free in a public park and jumps in front of my bike on the trail, that’s on the parent or caregiver. I have never had a close call with kids. WHY? Because parents ARE responsible and ARE watching their kids when in the parks. I have almost got into serious accidents when dogs off leash decide to run in front of my bike, maybe that is the rule that needs to be enforced?
Your attendance is crucial form informing the board about your experiences with your E2.
If you cannot attend, please call or email your councilors HERE telling them you support the change.