HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/4/2018 Item 15, Ayral
From:
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Broad Street Bike Boulevard
Mayor Harmon and Council Members,
The Broad Street Bike Boulevard controversy involves three different groups: 1) a group of healthy and mostly
young cyclists who want safe conditions when they are riding, and insist that protected bike lanes in an old
neighborhood is the only solution. 2) a group of elderly residents who want to see safe riding, but also want to
keep safe parking by their home because they--and their visitors--are getting more physically challenged every
day. 3) in the middle, a group of seasoned cyclists who have tested the so-called "Lincoln alternative" for many
years, and view it as the perfect path when combined with traffic calming measures. The elderly residents agree
with this third group.
Lincoln is a very safe street that sees little car traffic, and this system should have been chosen right away over
other possibilities because it is safe, it helps everyone and harms no one, and it is by far cheaper than
protected bike lanes. Its limitation: one extra minute ride, and this one minute is the root of the refusal of the
first group. Every other argument is solved by the Lincoln alternative: less contribution to climate change, safe
for children, empowers children to ride their bikes, interaction with the people who live on Lincoln, exercise,
less obesity, etc.
Refusing this solution under false pretexts, and mostly because of the one minute difference appears to be
irrational, especially when it causes harm to people who have been weakened by age. I view it as a case of
ageism, and I believe it is high time to address this issue before it gets completely out of hands. In case you
doubt what I am saying, I will let the World Health Organization speak for me:
Ageism is the stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against people on the basis of their age. Ageism is
widespread and an insidious practice which has harmful effects on the health of older adults...
Ageism is everywhere, yet it is the most socially “normalized” of any prejudice, and is not widely countered –
like racism or sexism. These attitudes lead to the marginalization of older people within our communities and
have negative impacts on their health and well-being.
Health and well-being are determined not only by our genes and personal characteristics but also by the
physical and social environments in which we live our lives.
Environments play an important role in determining our physical and mental capacity across a person’s life
course and into older age and also how well we adjust to loss of function and other forms of adversity that we
may experience at different stages of life, and in particular in later years. Both older people and the
environments in which they live are diverse, dynamic and changing. In interaction with each other they hold
incredible potential for enabling or constraining Healthy Ageing.
Creating environments that are truly age-friendly requires action in many sectors: health, long-term care,
transport, housing, labor, social protection, information and communication, and by many actors –
government, service providers, civil society, older people and their organizations, families and friends. It
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also requires action at multiple levels of government. The following key approaches are relevant to all
stakeholders:
combat ageism;
enable autonomy;
support Healthy Ageing in all policies at all levels.
Like any other prejudice, ageism is insidious, and most people would loudly deny that they are discriminating
against old people (what? my mother is old, and I love my mom!) but things are not so simple. To quote
professor Karl Pillemer from Cornell University: “This is the most age-segregated society that’s ever
been. Vast numbers of younger people are likely to live into their 90s without contact with older people. As a
result, young people’s view of aging is highly unrealistic and absurd.” Professor of psychology at Princeton
Susan Fiske, known for her work on stereotype and prejudice, has suggested that stereotypes about older people
often relate to how younger people expect them to behave. She lists three stereotypes: succession,
consumption, and identity.
1. The first stereotype she describes relates to succession. Younger people often assume that older people
have "had their turn," and should make way for the younger generations.
2. The second stereotype relates to what Fiske refers to as consumption. Younger people frequently feel
that limited resources should be spent on themselves rather than on older adults.
3. Finally, young people also hold stereotypes about the identity of older adults. Younger people feel that
those who are older than they should "act their age" and not try to "steal" the identities of younger
people, including things such as speech patterns and manner of dress.
I believe that the first couple points clarify the attitude of cyclists demanding protected bike lanes in old
neighborhoods. The older people have had their turn with their cars and their parking, and now it's our turn
with our desire for protected bike lanes, and too bad if they feel threatened. With the second point, cyclists
believe that spending one million dollar on protected bike lanes is only fair because older adults have had
money lavished on them for years. As a result, they are totally blind to the physical and emotional
upheaval they are planning to inflict upon their elders.
The American Psychological Association suggests that ageism is a serious issue that should be treated the same
as sex, race, and disability-based discrimination. It is not by chance that the Broad Street boulevard controversy
separates people by age. The aged ones, already weakened in their health and mobility, and now further
threatened by the loss of easy access to their homes; the younger ones, unaware and uninterested in the daily
activities of the others (and oblivious that they will also become old at some point), and calling them "nimbys."
It is high time to recognize that ageism is rampant in San Luis Obispo, and to do something about it. I hope you
will pause in your enthusiasm for protected bike lanes in old neighborhoods, and see them for what they truly
mean, which is another threat added to already weakened persons. There is no doubt in my mind that respect
for one another, and especially for the elderly, dictates that you choose the Lincoln alternative. The arguments
for this solution are clearly argued by commissioner Dandekar, and I could not agree more with her.
Sincerely,
Odile Ayral
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