策劃、編譯■李威撰、謝雯伃

美國芝加哥政府大力推廣自行車的替代運輸方案，

不僅增設更多單車專用道，

也逐年擴大單車共享計畫的規模。

台灣幾個主要都市有類似的公共自行車出租服務，

但利用率不高，

國外經驗值得好好學習。

■在4年的時間裡，芝加哥市長易曼紐預計要另外增設1百英里（約160公里）的單車專用道，用欄杆或其他隔離物將單車與汽車分隔開來。易曼紐決定在明年夏天以前，將推動芝加哥歷來規模最大的自行車租借計畫，剛開始將提供3千台自行車。新市長易曼紐有意將芝加哥打造成全美對自行車騎士最友善的都市。（圖文／路透）

芝加哥新任市長易曼紐希望將芝加哥打造成全美對單車族最友善的城市，該市提倡單車騎乘的傳統可追溯到19世紀。

New Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to make Chicago the most bike-friendly place in the United States, building on a long pedigree （1）of bike advocacy in the city that dates to the 19th century.

1897年，市長候選人哈里森二世成功以「單車族鬥士」為競選口號。而本身就是單車族的市長戴利，在22年任內將單車通行道增加至115英里。易曼紐的計畫意圖超越戴利及其他單車友善城市。

In 1897, mayoral candidate Carter H. Harrison II successfully campaigned as "the cyclists （2）' champion." Bike-riding mayor Richard M. Daley expanded on-street marked bike lanes （3）to 115 miles in his 22 years in office. Emanuel plans to outdo both Daley and other bike-friendly U.S. cities.

未來4年內，他希望能設置100英里的單車專用道，不是如戴利任內單純在現行馬路上劃幾條標示線區隔，而是用欄柱或其他分隔物來隔離汽車交通，專供單車通行。他希望在明年夏天前，能啟動芝加哥市第一個大規模單車分享計畫，提供3千台租用自行車。

In four years, he wants to create 100 miles of protected bike paths -- not just painted lines on the street but paths separated from car traffic by posts or other dividers. By next summer, he wants the city's first large-scale bike-sharing program, starting with 3,000 bikes.

芝加哥市運輸局局長克萊因表示：「我們會以低成本讓每個人更安全，讓人們從汽車跳出來，改爬上單車，這是一個聰明且簡單的方法。」他本人就是騎單車上下班。

"We're making everyone safer at a very low cost and getting people out of their cars on top of it -- that's what you call a no-brainer," said transportation commissioner Gabe Klein, who rides his bike to work.

克萊因希望單車運輸量能由2％以下增加到5％；目前米爾瓦基大道在尖峰時段的單車流量約為22％，米爾瓦基大道連通芝加哥最時髦的偉克公園和羅根廣場。

Klein hopes the percentage of trips taken by bike will rise from under 2 percent to 5 percent -- it's already 22 percent at rush hour on Milwaukee Avenue, which runs through the hipster neighborhoods of Wicker Park and Logan Square.

但克萊因和單車倡議者都表示，芝加哥需謹慎推行這項計畫，並設想各種延伸方案，以預防芝加哥出現像紐約市行人和駕駛的反彈聲浪。紐約布魯克林區有部分居民提出訴訟，要求停止增設單車道。

But both Klein and bike advocates said the city will have to proceed with care and lots of outreach to avoid the kind of pedestrian and driver backlash （4）seen in New York, where some residents of a Brooklyn neighborhood sued to stop a bike path expansion.

專用道之外，易曼紐也計畫在一處舊鐵路基地建造單車及行人專用公園，但這些計畫在經濟衰退階段要付諸實現是較為困難的。

Protected paths, as well as Emanuel's plans for a new park for cyclists and pedestrians on an old railroad bed, may be a tougher sell in a down economy.

「單車專用道是很好的想法，人們一定會喜愛這些專用道，但當下人們需要的是工作和讓生活更好的改善方案，」代表上訴人控告公園坡單車道的紐約律師瓦登表示：「對大多數城市而言，單車道並不是市民可行的移動方式。」公園坡單車道的訴訟案已被一名州法官給駁回。

"Bike lanes are a wonderful idea and people certainly enjoy them, but right now what people need are jobs and ways to make their lives easier," said New York attorney Jim Walden, who represents plaintiffs in a suit against the Park Slope bike path, which was dismissed by a state judge. "For most big cities, bikes are not a practical way for people to move."

俄勒岡州波特蘭市單車運輸聯盟執行長薩多斯基，曾任芝加哥單車倡議團體領導人，就他觀察，大多數的反對聲浪是來自於經濟情況較差的社區。

Rob Sadowsky, executive director of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance in Portland, Oregon and a former head of the Chicago bike advocacy group, said that most of the backlash he sees comes in struggling neighborhoods.

「這是都市仕紳化的象徵。」薩多斯基表示：「重點不在於你們為何要在此地設置單車道，而是在我沒有工作的時候，你們為什麼要花錢蓋單車道？」

"It's a symbol of gentrification （5）," Sadowsky said. "It's not why are you putting a bike lane in, but why are you spending money on bike lanes when I don't have a job?"

克萊因表示，若將完工後在公眾健康及安全上所能得到的回報列入考慮，興建單車道的成本很低。全長100英里的單車專用道預估興建費用為2,800萬美元，目前已完工半英里，使用頻率相當高。芝加哥市已申請聯邦清淨空氣補助金來支應，興建單車道的計畫也與其他類似道路重鋪等計畫一同執行。

Klein said the costs were low considering the returns for public health and safety. The full 100 miles of bike paths could come in at around $28 million, with a half mile already done and getting heavy use. The city has applied for federal clean air funding, and is combining bike path construction with other projects, like resurfacing.

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