REDUCING THE AUTO ADVANTAGE * DAVE MOORE AT UPTOWN BILL'S * ANOTHER AUTUMN SONG * Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter * Vol. 11 * Oct. 2, 2010

STREETS BELONG

TO EVERYONE

WE'VE got to change the idea that the streets of our communities belong only to cars. Our streets belong to all of us, whether we're driving or not.

But changing the idea that cars are the top priority won't be easy.  Most city planning is based on the premise that streets belong to cars and that improving the speed and efficiency of auto driving is the top priority.

This has been a topic before in this Newsletter. Over the past decade, there have been a number of conversations about how to reduce the advantage cars have in our cities. For example, two issues in April 2005 included discussions about how to improve the "pedestrian experience" in downtown Iowa City. One reader recently asked me if I'd seen any improvements in the years since then.

Yes, there have been some small changes. For example, two blocks of sidewalk along Burlington have been moved away from the edge of the street. So walking on those two blocks is a bit more pleasant. And "counters" have been added here and there to walk signs. These are more than cosmetic changes, but nowhere near the major changes needed to improve  the climate for pedestrians and bicyclists in Iowa City.

Here are four ideas for reducing the auto advantage:

1. Reset "walk" buttons on traffic lights so they change the light when pushed. This is especially important on streets like Burlington with a significant amount bike bike and pedestrian cross traffic. Right now, the lights are set in a way which gives a significant advantage to cars. Resetting the "walk" buttons would reduce this advantage and have the added bonus of slowing down auto traffic.

2. Build "bike and pedestrian impact" questions into every new project. For example, the university wants to build a new music building at the corner of Clinton and Burlington. What will be the impact of this new building on bikers and pedestrians? Equally important, what steps will be taken to improve the bike/pedestrian experience around this new building? (Will there be adequate bike racks? Will there be awnings or overhangs for pedestrians?)

3. Experiment with closing streets to cars. For example, why not create a much larger "ped mall" downtown on football game days and Sunday afternoons. This zone could be 12 blocks instead of four. There are many other places in the community to try similar experiments.

4. Work on ways to systematically slow down traffic in Burlington and Gilbert. So many projects on those two streets during recent decades have been geared to speeding up traffic. The result is streets which are less safe for pedestrians and bicyclists. Let's start a series of efforts to "calm" traffic.

This is a list to get the conversation started. Now it's your turn. What do you think can be done to give bicyclists and pedestrians equal access to our city streets? Send your ideas to tomgilsenan@gmail.com. Or just click replay and start writing. We'll include your ideas in a future issue.

HOPE IS WHAT

SUSTAINS YOU
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.
--Emily Dickinson (submitted by Dave Leshtz)

MENTAL ILLNESS

AWARENESS

Oct. 3-9 is Mental Illness Awareness Week. For information, look for a link on the Facebook page for Uptown Bill's

AUDITIONS WEDNESDAY

FOR 'GOOD EVENING'

Would you like to be in a play at Uptown Bill's? Tryouts for "Good Evening," a radio drama, are being held on Wednesday, Oct. 6

at 6:30 pm. There are more than a dozen roles in the show for both men and women. At the audition, you'll be asked to read from a

scene in the show. For more information, call Tom G. at 339-0401. 

OPEN MIC ON

FRIDAY NIGHT

Do you sing? Play an instrument? Would you like to perform before a friendly audience. Come to Uptown Bill's for Open Mic Night on Friday, Oct. 8. 7 to 9 pm. Sign up beginning at 6:30.

DAVE MOORE PLAYS 

AT UPTOWN BILL'S

Singer songwriter Dave Moore plays Saturday, Oct. 9 at Uptown Bill's. His concert is from 7 to 9 pm. It's one in a series of Saturday Night concerts this fall at Uptown Bill's. For more about Dave Moore, click this link to Red House Records: http://www.redhouserecords.com/Moore.html. For information on other concerts, check the website at: www.uptownbills.org.

ANOTHER SONG

FOR AUTUMN

Thanks as always for the inspiring newsletter. (Sept. 24 issue). 

After many years of enjoying September Song (it was, believe it or not, the first song I ever learned on the banjo), I heard the verse. It has a much simpler melody, is usually sung conversationally, out of tempo, and gives the rest of the lyrics a more specific meaning (though the generalized application is one of its strongest points, as I see it):

When I was a young man courting the girls,

I played me a waiting game.

If a maid would refuse me with tossing curls,

I'd let the old earth take a couple of whirls,

And ply her with tears instead of pearls.

And as time went around, she came my way,

As time went around, she came my way.

Then the "oh" at the beginning of the chorus becomes "But".

The second time through, the second half has these lyrics:

And the wine dwindles down

To a precious brew,

September, November.

And these few vintage years, I'd share with you.

These vintage years I'll share with you.

     -- Kerry Ashmore

COFFEE & TEA
QUOTATIONS
Coffee in England always tastes like a chemistry experiment -- Agatha Christie
Espresso is to Italy what champagne is to France -- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
I always fear that creation will expire before tea time -- Sydney Smith

LOOKING BACK IN THE
BILL'S NEWSLETTER
Nine years ago (2001): Barry Morrow visiting Uptown Bill's
Seven years ago (2003): Fall moving in like a slow tide
Five years ago (2005): Tales from Mondays at Bill's Coffeeshop
__________________________________________

Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of the spirit and legacy of Bill Sackter and the Bill's Coffeeshops. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is distributed via email to more than 500 readers. 

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the Unievrsity of Iowa. It has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. Located in North Hall, the coffeeshop is open weekdays from 8 am. For more information, call (319) 335-1281. Visit the coffeeshop web page at www.uiowa.edu/socialwk~bills. Also check the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook.

Uptown Bill's is the crosstown cousin of the original coffeeshop. Now located at 730 S. Dubuque, it includes a bookstore, performance venue and other businesses in addition to a coffeeshop. Uptown Bill's is open every day from 8 am. For more information, call (319) 339-0401. Or check the website at www.uptownbills.org. On Facebook, look for Uptown Bill's Small Mall.