Ray Atkinson started this blog in 2014 when he moved from his childhood home in Kannapolis, NC (Walk Score of 0) to get his Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from Portland State University (Walk Score of 100). He has never owned a car despite living in Memphis, TN. His email is gismap1@gmail.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayplans
Biking in Memphis has given me a new appreciation for the creative sharrows that I depended on for wayfinding when biking in Portland, OR. Since I have heard many bike advocates throughout the US dismiss paint as not safe enough bike infrastructure, I wanted to share how paint can actually be used to improve the safety of bike infrastructure. I have learned during my first seven months biking in Memphis that many people, especially “interested but concerned” cyclists, are unaware of safer neighborhood routes to avoid biking on dangerous highways. I believe a simple marking like a sharrow flower could provide the crucial, life-saving wayfinding that they need to find the safer neighborhood routes. Do you agree?
Sharrow Flower
I am trying to find an example of a sharrow flower in Memphis. Since I have not found a location so far, I am likely working on installing Memphis’ first sharrow flower. While I can’t share the location until the project is completed, I am excited to see how this project improves bike wayfinding in Memphis. I used to depend on sharrow flowers in Portland to direct me on how to stay on safer neighborhood bike routes, which are called neighborhood greenways. I want to create a similar neighborhood greenway system in Memphis. The low-hanging fruit to create this is to install sharrow flowers at intersections to connect the existing sharrows.
Another low-hanging fruit idea to create a neighborhood greenway system in Memphis is to add way-marking sharrows. These sharrows would help direct cyclists at T-intersections and other unusual wayfinding gaps in the bike network. Memphis usually puts straight sharrows on every block, so using way-marking sharrows would be a new approach.
Future Blog Post
I need to leave for an evening event. I plan to add more to this post later. Hopefully, I will be able to start writing more soon about the Safe Streets and Roads for All Safety Action Plan that I am managing.
I have been wanting to blog about happiness for a while. While I did not mention happiness in my new normal posts, I think discussing how to achieve a healthier lifestyle is close enough to discussing happiness. Did you know that today, March 20 is the International Day of Happiness?
International Happiness
The 2024 World Happiness Report was published today. I shared the video below for readers who do not want to read the report. Here is a summary version of the report. Since my blog frequently shows how the US could improve, I am not surprised to see that the US is declining. What do you think about the report’s findings?
Significantly, the United States of America (23rd) has fallen out of the top 20 for the first time since the World Happiness Report was first published in 2012, driven by a large drop in the wellbeing of Americans under 30.
World Happiness Report
Happy City
I recommend reading Charles Montgomery’s Happy City. You can get a taste of what Happy City is about through the video below. Since there are many ways to define happiness, do you agree with how Charles Montgomery approaches defining happiness? If not, how would you define a happy city?
I also recommend the below podcast episode about how to plan for happiness in cities. What do you think about Megan Oliver’s perspective?
Future Blog Post
I usually write longer posts during the weekend, but I did not want to wait until the weekend because I wanted to publish this post on the International Day of Happiness. Since I believe discussing happiness is important for Memphis to discuss as we create the Safe Streets and Roads for All Action Plan, I want to keep discussing happiness as I work on creating this plan. How do you think happiness relates to transportation safety?
“Cancun at Eye Level” is a reference to “The City at Eye Level”. I am in Cancun with my parents and twin sister (my brother rejected the invite) from Saturday, March 2nd through Sunday, March 10th. While I usually avoid tourist hotspots because I prefer to experience the local culture, my dad invited me to stay at his all-inclusive resort where his optometry conference is located. Hopefully, I will gain a few pounds from the unlimited food and alcohol. Yes, I am a weird American for writing that I am trying to gain weight.
Cancun Traffic Is Organized Chaos
I need to get some sleep before my next adventure tomorrow. The photo below summarizes my Cancun traffic viewpoint. I was riding the bus when taking the photo. Since my dad was overwhelmed by watching the bus driver in the traffic conditions, he was thankful that he decided not to rent a car. I was honestly surprised that my parents and twin sister were willing to ride the bus in Cancun because I do not believe they ever ride the bus in the United States. My mom has been experiencing dizziness, and the bus was standing room only, so it was a blessing in disguise that she decided three weather was too hot to join us for the trip to Downtown. Where is the traffic signal in this busy intersection?!
Photo: Ray Atkinson
Future Blog Post
I may take time to write more Cancun posts during my vacation. What do you want me to write about?
My 99-year-old Grandma Stoodt, who was my last living grandparent, died last Saturday in Cleveland. Here is her obituary. I was hoping to have a grandparent at my wedding someday. At least everyone will be able to remember both of my grandmas through my blog. My twin sister, mom, and I video-chatted with Grandma Stoodt about six hours before she died. Since she struggled to speak and open her eyes, I am thankful that she is no longer suffering. I enjoyed having a longer conversation with her in late December. As I believe every grandparent asks, she asked for a dating update. This was always a struggle for me to share, so I enjoyed it when she shared about how different and easier dating was for her before the dating apps and more extreme hookup culture existed.
While I was looking forward to helping to organize and participate in her 100th birthday party in July (her actual birthday was August 28), I wanted to publish this post as a way to start her celebration of life. I published a similar post when Grandma Atkinson died in 2022. My family is planning her celebration of life during the same trip in July. Hopefully, I will be able to handle back-to-back celebrations. I wanted to share the below photos from my last trip to visit both of my grandmas in 2021. I used to visit them annually, so I feel awkward that I did not take the time to visit Grandma Stoodt in 2023. I was so focused on moving quickly from Petaluma to Memphis to start my new job. At least we talked and video-chatted several times.
While the above posts give the sense that I always visited Grandma Stoodt in the Cleveland region, I actually spent more time with her in the small village of Bellville, OH. As someone who usually prefers to visit big cities, visiting Bellville got me out of my comfort zone. Due to the perception that rural areas cannot have some density, which was actually asked about on my American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) exam, experiencing Bellville’s moderate density helped me to get this question correct. I enjoyed walking to Stoodt’s Market, which was co-owned by Grandma Stoodt. I am trying to find an article about how the opening of Walmart in Mansfield and the increased willingness of people to drive from Bellville to Mansfield caused Stoodt’s Market to become bankrupt. Due to Stoodt’s Fresh Market (new name when it reopened) being the only grocery store in Bellville, I am thankful it still exists after the bankruptcy.
As I continue scrolling through my Instagram account, I am thankful that I documented all of my visits. I have more photos from before I started using Instagram. Since I attended the University of Oregon for a study abroad course, watching them play The Ohio State University was difficult for me. At least the University of Michigan games were easier for me to pick a side and more important for everyone I know in Ohio.
I wanted to share the below 2016 photo because most of my memories involved playing card games with Grandma Stoodt. She was very competitive, which was overwhelming sometimes when I just wanted to have fun!
I am not seeing any more Instagram posts with Grandma Stoodt. Most of my memories came before I started posting on Instagram. While I cannot get the photo to upload properly (use this Facebook link), Grandma Stoodt met my high school senior exit project advisor, Margaret Andersen, during my 2013 graduation from UNC Charlotte. Since grieving was discussed at my church yesterday, I wanted to end my post by sharing that I found this sermon at the Church of the River helpful as I grieve. Hopefully, I will be able to function normally when I return to work tomorrow. I plan to use my bereavement days for the celebration of life in July.
Grandma Stoodt meets Margaret Andersen in 2013
Future Blog Post
I have been working on Memphis’ Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Action Plan. Since the SS4A grant requires that I keep the media informed about my work, I am confident that I will have media interviews to share in the future.
I published the first part of this series about two years ago. I wish that I could report that my goal to settle down was closer to being achieved. At least I now live in a city where I can afford to purchase my first home, which I plan to do later this year or in 2025. I had envisioned making this purchase with a partner, but dreams do not always come true.
While the below Dense City podcast did not make me feel more hopeful about achieving this goal, I wanted to share it because I think it covers some of the barriers that I am encountering as I struggle to settle down anywhere in the United States. I am concerned that changing what people, especially my dates, think about my car-free lifestyle and their travel behavior is very tough and slow. I doubt these changes will happen fast enough for me to settle down. I should clarify that I am hoping that American society shifts how it views car dependency and the need to own and drive a car to be attractive to a potential partner.
I think trying to change my future girlfriend’s desire to date a man who owns and drives a car would be a red flag for her. Due to how stressful this would be for me, I also see this as a red flag for me. I have resisted when my dates have tried to change my car-free lifestyle, so I feel it would be unfair to expect my date to change for me. What do you think it will take for American society to shift how it views car dependency and the need to own and drive a car to be attractive to a potential partner? When do you think this shift will happen?
Future Blog Post
Hopefully, the third part in this series will be more promising. While I keep feeling pressure from my family and many friends to buy a car and start driving, I know even these people are pressuring me because they want me to settle down with a loving wife. Since I am not getting any younger, I am honestly feeling closer to succumbing to the pressure than at any other point in my life. I may have to decide between continuing my car-free lifestyle and buying a car to attract my future wife. I sometimes wish that I had been born before the car was invented because I would not have had to make this tough decision.
I have been asking myself about how self-driving cars could impact my car-free lifestyle. I wanted to write this post to document this thought. I am curious to see whether I will look back at this post someday and be amazed by actually owning a fully self-driving car. Since I currently avoid buying a car because I do not want to drive, I feel the availability of fully self-driving cars could result in me feeling comfortable enough to buy a car. As you may know, fully self-driving cars do not exist yet.
While I do not want my future girlfriend to pressure me into buying a car, my previous dates have asked me what it would take for me to buy a car. I usually answer them by saying that I do not plan to buy a car, and I am not open to changing my car-free lifestyle. Since not having a car is viewed in American culture as being poor, which is frustrating when other cultures do not have this viewpoint, I clarify that I can afford to buy a car. I just choose a car-free lifestyle. Due to the potential of self-driving cars, I have been changing my answer to sharing that I may purchase a fully self-driving car when it is available to purchase. Do you want to buy a self-driving car?
Could this be a photo of Ray someday?
My friend, Parisa, and I nerded out about this video today. Parisa shared the video with me. Since she is from Iran, I have also enjoyed learning more about Persian culture from her. She has enjoyed learning more about American culture from me. She is a PhD student researching AI technology at a university in Memphis. I enjoy having friends who want to have nerdy conversations with me. While I realize that AI technology is not perfect, I want to at least give AI experiments a chance. What do you think it will take for American culture to support self-driving cars as a way to achieve Vision Zero?
Future Blog Post
I have been working on the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Action Plan. Since the SS4A grant requires that I keep the media informed about my work, I am confident that I will have media interviews to share in the future.
I have been so focused on thinking and writing about The City at Eye Level that I forgot to write a self-care post. This basically summarizes how much I focus on taking care of myself. As my dates and employees frequently tell me, I need to have a better work-life balance. I have found it tough to prioritize work-life balance when I am passionate about my work and volunteering when I am not at work. Yes, I need to get better at saying “no” when asked to volunteer. I feel the need to volunteer because I am concerned that no one else will step up to volunteer. Hopefully, the below self-care book’s daily practices and inspiration will help me set a healthy balance between helping other people and taking care of myself.
Can I get in a habit of using this self-care book enough to create a healthier work-life balance?
I decided to start reading the book in advance of January 1st. In case anyone else gives me a gift that starts on January 1st but says that people can start at any time during the year, please encourage me to not wait until January 1st to use the gift. Brandie mailed me the book last February when I was experiencing a mental health breakdown, but I felt weird about not starting the book from the beginning. As page 1 from the book wisely suggests, I am not seeking to share a stereotypical quantifiable New Year’s resolution. Due to the high percentage of resolutions that fail, I think quantifying and placing the pressure of a deadline are big mistakes that many people make with their New Year’s resolution. Instead, I am seeking to focus on a long-term journey of healthy living. While it can be tough to trust in this process when the results likely will not make a fast and big splash. I have to trust that the small ripple effect of self-care will eventually show itself in measurable ways as well, but without the guilt or pressure of deadlines.
As a planner who is focused on creating key performance indicators (KPIs) with the pressure of deadlines, I expect to struggle with trusting a process that asks me to trust that the process will eventually help. While I do not want the public to get nervous about the following comparison, I believe my struggle to trust the self-care process is similar to the public’s struggle to believe that our planning efforts to create a safer transportation network will be successful. I am sharing this perspective as initial feedback that I have received even before the $800,000 Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Action Plan process that I am managing publicly starts in 2024.
I think another big mistake that many people make when they try to do self-care practices is think that the self-care process is as simple and easy as checking a box. This reminds me of how some organizations think that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work just involves checking a box. I could write a whole post on my concerns about DEI work. I want to keep this post focused on how I will prioritize self-care in 2024. I am actually breaking Dr. Shaw’s “pressure of deadlines” advice by including 2024. As I am sure self-care experts likely know, improving self-care is a lifetime process. I am glad that I enjoy being a lifelong learner!
Future Blog Post
I am not sure how much I will share about my self-care process in future posts. I mostly wanted you to know that I am trying to improve my self-care practices so you can help to hold me accountable when I do not prioritize this in the future. While I was about to write that I wish that I had a wife to hold me accountable on a daily basis, I need to be able to hold myself accountable. I believe achieving this accountability will make me more attractive to future dates and show coworkers that I can achieve a healthier work-life balance. Since I know that I am not the only person struggling with prioritizing self-care, I want to wish everyone good luck with this as 2024 approaches!
I am going to filter what I share in this post more than usual because I am nervous that I could disclose something that I would regret. Since I value the friendships that I have with some of my previous dates, I do not want to lose these friendships by sharing something that could make them feel uncomfortable. I realize people usually write about their dating thoughts in a private journal. I am deciding to publicly share my dating thoughts in hopes that it spurs more discussion and encourages people to feel more comfortable sharing their own dating thoughts. Due to the national mental health crisis and how psychiatrists keep telling me that they are too busy to schedule a new patient until February, I hope that this post can help someone find a place to discuss what they are thinking as they wait to meet with a psychiatrist.
As I have shared in previous posts, I have struggled with dating and improving my work-life balance. My car-free lifestyle already makes dating in the car-dependent US challenging. While my family and many friends have encouraged me to buy a car to improve my dating chances, especially since I can afford to buy and maintain a car, I have so far resisted their advice. I am holding out hope that I will marry a woman who is attracted to my car-free lifestyle. I actually went on dates in Memphis, Portland, DC, and the San Francisco Bay Area with car-lite women who supported my car-free lifestyle. I am still friends with some of them.
Due to the mental and physical health benefits of walking and biking, I honestly find it surprising that some of my previous dates have viewed my car-free lifestyle as a red flag. Yes, I realize driving is faster than walking or biking in most places in the US. As someone who values slowing down and trying to live in the moment, I wish more people in the US would understand how slowing down our lives can improve our personal health and the health of our communities. In case you are wondering how slowing down can improve the health of our communities, I recommend reading this post that I published.
Why is dating a demisexual viewed as a red flag?
Informing my date that I identify as demisexual feels like another red flag because few of my previous dates have enjoyed finding out about this preference. I originally thought women would view dating a demisexual as a green flag due to how important I thought creating a strong emotional bond is to having a healthy, long-term relationship.
My dates have been more interested in rushing to have sex than creating a strong emotional bond before having sex. Since a woman has never wanted to discuss the possibility of having sex with me, it felt good to finally (yes, I am 33) have a woman say that she was attracted enough to discuss our sexual preferences. Despite being emotionally and physically attracted to her, I did not want to rush having sex. I wanted to develop our emotional bond further. I am very thankful that she was willing to be honest with me about how we did not have good enough chemistry to have sex.
I am adding this paragraph on February 27, 2024. I am still close friends with the woman who broke up with me on Christmas Eve. Since I am 33 years old, like the man who shared his straight sex experience difficulties in this article, I am thankful to my friend that she did not have sex with me to just be kind. I honestly do not know if I would have had the courage to break up with her to prevent us from experiencing what the couple in the article is experiencing. Getting a taste of being physical with her was an amazing experience. Hopefully, someday, I will meet a woman who feels the same way. I definitely do not want to be the only person who has an amazing experience when being physical. We are enjoying our friendship, which may not have been possible if she did not have the courage to tell me that she wanted to be friends instead of lovers.
I feel that my previous dates’ desire to rush to have sex meant that they only wanted to have a short-term relationship with me. I thought we were on the same page about wanting a long-term relationship. While we could have been on the same page, I find it interesting how differently we approached nurturing the long-term relationship. I do not want to embarrass my previous dates, so I am just going to share that we agreed to be friends instead of lovers. Thankfully, some of my previous dates have become close and supportive friends. What do you think of me being a demisexual? Since many people do not seem to really understand what it means to be demisexual, do you understand what a demisexual is?
Due to how important I thought creating a strong emotional bond is to having a healthy, long-term relationship, I related to what is written in this post. I hope to someday meet a woman who desires me for being a demisexual. We can be nerds and do fun, non-sexual activities together as we strengthen our emotional bond before discussing sex. I honestly have never had a dating relationship last long enough to create a strong emotional bond. I wish I knew how much time I would need to create a strong emotional bond with a date. Maybe I will learn this about myself in 2024!
I added the below Instagram post because it relates to how I am feeling about my previous dating experiences. I enjoyed reading the supportive comments below the post. I am glad to see I am not alone in wanting to use this approach to dating.
Due to how much I relate to the nerds in The Big Bang Theory and their dating struggles, I am not surprised that I found a relevant clip about postponing sex. The relevant part starts in the second half of the clip, but the entire clip is funny. Do you think a woman that wants to postpone sex like Leslie Winkle exists in real life?
I actually found a more extreme dating situation from Sheldon and Amy’s date night experiment. I realize this experiment just shows actors, but I like how patient Amy was to plan this type of non-sexual date two years into dating Sheldon. Yes, even I laughed at the idea of not having sex with someone after dating for two years!
I plan to return to my normal blogging style in the future. I am excited to share more about the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Action Plan process that I am managing. I hope 2024 brings all of us personal and professional things to love and care about!
“Memphis at Eye Level: Part 2” is a reference to “The City at Eye Level”. I finally volunteered with the bike riding portion of the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry‘s program, which happens on Wednesday evening and Saturday morning. Since I am not an early bird, I was struggling for weeks to motivate myself to wake up early enough to volunteer with the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry. The Saturday morning program starts with cooking at 7am and delivers the food at 7:30am. I previously helped to cook for the Wednesday evening program. I wanted to deliver the food, but I needed to prioritize eating my own dinner. The program is during dinner time on Wednesday evening. The program celebrated eleven years this weekend.
As someone who was raised (felt forced to attend) in Bethpage Presbyterian Church, which is located in North Carolina, and now attends the Unitarian Universalists church called Church of the River in Memphis as I continue to evaluate my religious beliefs as an agnostic in the South’s Bible Belt, I actually find the video below to capture my viewpoint on religion more accurately than any traditional church video. I prefer to be outside the church walls helping my community rather than stuck inside the church walls just talking about how I could help my community. I also love how the organizer accepts anyone from any religion to volunteer. This is what a welcoming church environment should mean. I get frustrated when I see churches say that they are welcoming to only find out that they are only welcoming to people who agree with their viewpoint. I strongly believe churches should be a place where people can discuss and argue about controversial topics. Unfortunately, churches are all too often places for groupthink. I believe groupthink is how some wars were started and why some current wars have no end in sight. I hate groupthink!
Source: Urban Bicycle Food Ministry
Ray’s Experience Volunteering
While I wish it did not take a special day to motivate me to get up early to volunteer with the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry, I finally motivated myself to wake up early when I felt the need to help veterans on Veterans Day. Unfortunately, veterans are more likely to be homeless than other Americans. I was impressed by the program’s operation. The homeless people and other struggling people that we encountered on Main Street were very aware of the program’s existence. They lined up to get a meal from me and the other volunteers. Since I was busy giving out the meals, I did not have time to get their permission to take photos. The organizers said I could take photos if I got permission from the people we were helping.
I may have broken this rule when taking the photo below. The kid got on the adult bike, and I did not have enough time to ask their parent for permission to take the photo before their kid got off the bike.
Involving Homeless People in Public Outreach Process
As I was volunteering, I kept thinking about how I rarely see homeless people in public outreach processes. While I will admit that I want biking and walking to be viewed as something that everyone does and not just low-income people, I realize that currently biking and walking for transportation in Memphis appears to be mostly done by low-income people. I should clarify that I specifically included “for transportation” because I have mostly seen wealthier people in Memphis bike and walk only for exercise. I usually see these people drive for transportation. I hope my work encourages these people to also bike and walk for transportation and view biking and walking as normal modes of transportation. I enjoyed seeing this when I studied abroad in Denmark and the Netherlands. Most people in these countries viewed biking and walking for transportation as normal parts of their culture.
As I try to change the walking and biking cultures in Memphis, I am concerned about how to get homeless people and others struggling on the street involved in my public outreach processes. Since they likely do not have computer or internet access, they likely are not aware of public outreach meetings. I likely will have to go to them instead of expecting them to come to a usual meeting room. Due to my limited budget, I am not suggesting that my program will always be able to do special engagement activities for people living on the street. I mostly wanted to share how this population is often excluded by typical public outreach approaches. Do you think that my program could partner with the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry to organize mobile public outreach activities?
Future Blog Post
I think a great opportunity to experiment with innovative public outreach approaches will be during the City of Memphis’ Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Action Plan creation process, which kicks off this month. Since the USDOT website publicly shares the grant amount, I can share that this action plan has $800,000 worth of federal and local funds. I view the homeless population and other vulnerable low-income street users as critical people to be involved in this planning process. I doubt the typical email and snail mail notification approaches and public outreach strategies will be effective at involving this population, especially due to the fact that they do not have an email address or physical mail address. Have you seen innovative approaches to notify and engage homeless people in your planning process?
“Memphis at Eye Level: Part 1” is a reference to “The City at Eye Level”. I want to highlight my favorite Memphis bike route so far. I realize that I have not explored every Memphis neighborhood yet, so I may find a new favorite route. As I stated during my interview with Tulio from the Memphis Hightailers Bicycle Club, I have been pleasantly surprised by Memphis’ bike infrastructure across the Mississippi River at the Big River Crossing and between Downtown and Shelby Farms Park.
I am thankful to work with coworkers who value my passion for active transportation. I treasured receiving this handwritten letter from Matthew more than receiving an email.
Handwritten letter from Ray’s coworker
Ray’s Favorite Memphis Bike Route
I wish that I had stopped to take more photos while biking because my usual “The City at Eye Level” post is not going to be as visual as I prefer. At least I can share a map of my favorite Memphis bike route. Yes, it takes about 90 minutes. I usually stop on the way for a meal and to do errands. I enjoy the variety of bike infrastructure, which starts with speed bumps on Front St, protected bike lanes on MLK Ave, bike lanes on Peabody Ave and McLean Blvd, low-volume side streets on Jefferson Ave and Tucker St to more easily access Overton Park, wooded car-free roads in Overton Park, multi-use trails called the Hampline and Greenline, and ends with wooded trails in Shelby Farms Park.
Ray’s favorite Memphis bike route. Source: Google Maps
Yes, I wish Peabody Ave connected directly to the Greenline when I am in a rush. However, I do not mind the extra distance through Overton Park too much because I enjoy forest bathing in Overton Park. As this map shows, there are plans to extend the Greenline closer to Peabody Ave. The Shelby Farms Greenline Western Extension should be connected to the South Memphis Greenline Phase 1 someday. An on-street connection will likely be needed to safely connect these future extensions to Peabody Ave. I should clarify that this is my personal opinion and not the opinion of the City of Memphis’ Bikeway and Pedestrian Program, which I manage. Do you see the South Memphis Greenline Phase 1 in the bottom left corner and how it could someday connect to the Shelby Farms Greenline?
In addition to improving the active transportation networks in Memphis, I am also looking forward to improving the City’s bike map to make it more user-friendly. For example, I want to make it easier for people to find safe routes and bike shops that will work on e-bikes. As an e-bike owner, I recommend All About Bikes. In case the bike shop is located too far, I also recommend Velotooler, which is a mobile bicycle service. I am located far from All About Bikes, so I have been trying to improve my bike repair skills. Since it is tough to change an inner tube without help, I was thankful to have a Memphis friend help me when I got a flat tire. I now carry everything on my bike that I need to change an inner tube without needing to stop at a bike shop. I still support bike shops, especially local shops, but they are not always nearby when I get a flat tire.
I also want to spotlight the importance of signals in creating safe active transportation networks. While the above map does not show bike-specific signals, I have found these signals helpful. The below bike signal is in Memphis on the Hampline at Tillman St as it crosses Sam Cooper Blvd. I would love to take this signal to the Dutch standard by adding a wacht signal (wacht is Dutch for “wait”). As I showed in this 2015 post from when I studied abroad in the Netherlands, the wacht signal allows people biking to see how long the wait time is for the signal to turn green. Since the Dutch standard is usually not legally allowed in the US, I was excited to see Portland (OR) install a wacht signal in 2015. I was actually in Portland when this signal was installed. I got to experience using it when I biked in Portland. I realize that Memphis has a unique culture and may not want to copy what Portland does. I look forward to collaborating with Memphians to create a unique approach that accomplishes the same goal of improving bike signals in Memphis.
Do you see the “bicycle detected when illuminated” signal on the Hampline at Tillman St as it crosses Sam Cooper Blvd? Photo: Ray Atkinson
The “bicycle detected when illuminated” signal coordinates with the bike signal on the Hampline to cross Sam Cooper Blvd in Memphis. Photo: Ray Atkinson
My favorite artistic part of the Hampline is the upcycled tires that are found on Broad Ave, which is just north of Sam Cooper Blvd. The photo below does not show the upcycled tires well, so I need to take a zoomed in photo when I bike on Broad Ave again. The upcycled tires are produced by locals at the Binghampton Development Corporation, which has an inspiring process of hiring at-risk locals. I got to tour their process during the Binghampton Tour. I tweeted (does X still call them tweets?) from the Bike Ped Memphis account during the TAPA Conference.
Photo of upcycled tires on the Hampline during the Binghampton Tour. Photo: Ray Atkinson
Improving How Ray Navigates While Biking
Even though I majored in Geography at UNC Charlotte and love studying maps, I will admit that I sometimes struggle to navigate Memphis without looking at a map. Due to this issue, I decided to back this $700 Kickstarter for Minimis’ augmented reality (AR) glasses. Assuming the glasses are shipped on time, I should receive them by next summer. I am looking forward to publishing a blog post about my experience using the expensive glasses!
Minimis Glass Prototype video. Source: Minimis
Since I prefer to socialize when biking, I am thankful that I have been invited to participate in several slow group rides in Memphis. The below ride along the Greenline was unique because it was the first large group ride organized by City of Memphis employees. While I did not feel comfortable taking photos of kids during the Carpenter Art Garden’s kid-friendly group bike ride, I also had an amazing experience helping to lead this weekly group bike ride along the Hampline and Greenline. One of the kids actually hugged me after the ride to thank me for helping!
Hopefully, someone took a high-quality photo!
Biking the Greenline in Memphis. Photo: Ray Atkinson
Future Blog Post
I was originally planning to write about my experience volunteering on the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry’s weekly bike rides. Since I have not participated in the Wednesday evening or Saturday morning ride yet, I will need to postpone blogging about this experience.
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