Departments of Parks and Sanitation

The joint Parks and Sanitation Departments' “Clean Team” uses a variety of large pickup trucks and vans for hauling and delivering equipment. Obviously, these city agencies often require large, heavy-duty vehicles. But just as often, a more compact human-powered vehicle would do the job at least as well. New York-based inventor George Bliss, a leader in human-powered vehicle innovation, has devised a variety of utility vehicles for small freight jobs (see Chapter 15: Freight Cycles). These bicycles and tricycles can be equipped with a half or whole cubic-yard capacity rubber dumpster.

Since Sanitation vehicles often have to stop in places with little or no parking, and since Parks vehicles often block the narrow pathways of parks, these small and agile vehicles are an appropriate as well as economical alternative to motor vehicles. Most parks are small enough to traverse by bike, and the Parks Department should be particularly sensitive to its vans and trucks that now mar park drives and pollute the air. Where the front-loaders are too bulky, large flat-bed trailers such as those designed by Mobility Resources would be a viable alternative for hauling barrels and other freight (see Chapter 15: Freight Cycles).

BIKES FOR OFFICE WORKERS

Office workers also use city vehicles; executives are often granted their own cars, and others have the option of signing up to use vehicles as needed. Often, the vehicle is used merely for a short trip from one office to another, or from the office to an event. In a city smothered by pollution and short on funds, city government would be wise to look into new, less wasteful ways to get its workers around. For short trips around town, employees should be given the option of using a bicycle. This would not only reduce time and hassle, it would also cut gasoline and maintenance costs and free up garage space for more productive uses.

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