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thursday, October 29,1981
daily nebraskan
Bicycle wheel tax discussed by advisory council
By Eric Peterson
A wheel tax on bicycles was one of several alternative
sources of bicycle project funding discussed at a public
meeting of the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council Tuesday
night.
The wheel tax would be an annual fee to each person
registering and licensing a bicycle. Currently, $1 is charged
for a permanent license, said Veryl Herr, Bicycle Advisory
Council chairperson.
Other possibilities for funding include continuing to
use general revenues, using state gasoline revenues and
sponsoring a bicycle raffle or bike-a-thon, said Rick Ha
den, a member of the bicycle council and employee of the
Lincoln Traffic Department.
Funds will be used for bicycle safety improvements,
and for accommodating and encouraging bicycle traffic,
Haden said. The most extensive of these improvements
will be bicycle curb ramps and bikeways on Lincoln's
busiest streets, including Vine, Holdrege and Y streets,
Haden said.
"We're going to need something more, because federal
dollars are becoming tighter," Haden said. The U.S. De
partment of Energy has granted Lincoln $112,000 for
bike programs to improve downtown bicycle access and to
encourage alternatives to the single-occupant vehicle, he
said.
Federal government grants will be harder for the city
to come by in the future, Haden said. He suggested all
possible funding and bikeway route ideas be explored.
"Public input is very welcome," he said. "Some of the
routes built in the past were vastly improved because of
bicyclist input."
Safety for bicyclists is the council's main concern,
Herr said.
"The Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council was started
about 10 years ago during the bike boom, because the
city felt bike safety needed to be better protected," Herr
said. One major safety problem is that some bicyclists
don't view themselves as part of the traffic, Herr said.
"A lot of people don't remember that they have to
obey all the laws pertaining to motorists," Herr said. The
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And we'll kick in with a little student aid. Just buy a case of Old Milwaukee
or Old Milwaukee Light and send us the proot(s) of purchase with this coupon.
We'll send you back a buck. Meanwhile, take a refresher course with two
of the best -tasting beers around. Old Milw aukee and Old Milw aukee Light.
Get 1.00 back when
you buy one case of
Old Milwaukee or
Old Milwaukee Light.
Please
Print
Name
Address
City
State
Zip
To receive your $1 00 rebate send this coupon with proots ot
purchase from the Old Milwaukee Beer andor Ok) Milwaukee
Light 24 can loose pack, two 12 packs or tour 6 packs to
College Refund Oiler
Post Office BoiNB 959
El Paso. Texas 79977
Proot ot purchase on the 24 can loose pack and the 12 pack is
the Universal Product Code (UPOM4 On the 6 pack the proof
of purchase is the 0M on the plastic hi cone carrier Otter void
where taned or prohibited by law You must be ot legal drinking
age in your state ot residence at the tirne ot submission And this
coupon must accompanyproot ot purchase and will not be
honored it duplicated or reproduced Limit SI 00 per tamily
Otter enpires December 31 1981
most frequent violation called to the council's attention is
bicyclists going through red lights and stop signs because
they don t know tney musi oocy wem, uni ww.
Sgt. Gary Hoffman of the Lincoln Police Department,
a member of the advisory council, showed slides of simu
lated bike accidents on Lincoln streets and stressed the
importance of safety education, especially for children
"Half of the bicycle accidents involve children 15 years
of age or under," Hoffman said. In terms of accident sta
tistics, Hoffman said, "In general, the older you get, the
safer you are."
Hoffman said bicycle theft is a major problem at UNL.
"A lot of students aren't familiar with how to safe
guard their bicycles because they come from smaller com
munities where theft is not a problem," he said. Students
should lock their bikes with more than just the frame to
the bike rack, and buy the $1 license to register the bike,
he added.
Hoffman said that of the 776 bicycles stolen so far this
year, 249 were returned to the owners.
"All of those 249 were registered with the city," Hoff
man said. Recovered bikes with no license or other identi
fying information are sold at police auction, Hoffman
said.
Thief taps vending machine
UNL police reported the theft of $666.55 in
change from vending machines in the Administra
tion Building over the weekend.
Police said the theft occurred sometime Friday
or Saturday when coin-operated vending machines
and a change machine were raided. The machines
are in the building's basement.
Believe us:
it's
better to
give blood
than receive.
Good thro Saturday
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