BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

« Back to Archive
1015

The out-of-town news thread

We have so many stories from out of town, so rather than have one thread for each, I thought I'd start one we can add to, every time we come across happenings from elsewhere.


This one's from Boston MA:

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/newton/2012/09/newton_cyclists_doored_inciden.html


stuinmccandless
2012-09-09 20:29:13

“Have you ever drifted? Have you ever looked off the roadway?” Mark Stevens asked jurors. “That's what people do. It doesn't mean they're criminals when they do it.”


Eye witnesses testified that he was speeding too.


rsprake
2012-09-11 00:27:27

Yeah, I just read that via your Twitter. So stupid.


“Have you ever drifted? Have you ever looked off the roadway?” Mark Stevens asked jurors. “That's what people do. It doesn't mean they're criminals when they do it.”


Why yes, it does mean they're criminals when they do it.


salty
2012-09-11 00:27:47

This, by the way, is apparently part of the original news item, which you can find as the caption to picture #23 in the slideshow at the top of the article:


Gregory and Alexandra Bruehler were southbound on the shoulder of Texas 16, about three miles north of Helotes, when a pickup struck them from behind, said Deputy Ino Badillo, spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.... He said the accident occurred when a maroon Ford F-150 veered off the highway as it also traveled south on Texas 16, striking the bicyclists. He said it appeared the driver of the truck veered off the highway at least once before the cyclists were hit, but investigators don't suspect alcohol played a role in the collision. Badillo also said the truck dragged the bicycle for about 200 feet after striking it. The truck driver was identified as 40-year-old Gilbert John Sullaway Jr. of Helotes. Badillo said Sullaway wouldn't be cited for any traffic violations, saying the collision was an accident.


The line at the end is especially telling, and I have to wonder if it had any effect on the whopping two-hour jury deliberation.


epanastrophe
2012-09-11 01:12:19

It really is disgusting that he considers that an accident. It was preventable. Unless a tumbleweed or armadillo flew across the street and the drier tried to avoid it, it was the driver's lack of attention that caused their deaths.


rsprake
2012-09-11 01:16:27

Well, it's more disgusting that the judge let him make that argument and that 12 people apparently agreed with it. I think I can venture a guess how many of them were cyclists.


salty
2012-09-11 01:36:26

There was another particularly egregious ruling in a horrific case in Mississippi a number of months ago: http://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/2012/02/28/adding-insult-to-injury/


Bob Mionske writes, "I’d like to say that the way Jan Morgan was treated was unusual. But unfortunately, I’ve seen it many times in my own law practice, in cases all across the country. As I explained in Bicycling & the Law, from the moment a cyclist is hit, there’s a social bias working against the cyclist. At every step, from witness perceptions, to police reports, to insurance-company claims adjusters, to the legal system, the cyclist is blamed for what happened. Sometimes called the “windshield perspective,” this bias even extends to media accounts of what happened."


It's safe to say that we're seeing this "windshield perspective" at work in the Texas case.


fjordan
2012-09-11 01:51:57

It's been a rough couple of months in Ohio as well: http://www.ohiobikelawyer.com/bike-law-101/2012/09/three-dead-in-one-week/


In this post, Steve Magas provides an interesting discussion of Andrew Gast's death last month: http://www.ohiobikelawyer.com/bike-law-101/2012/09/andrew-gast-ohios-11th-cycling-death-of-2012-hits-close-to-home/


He also makes the following point about Ohio laws—if only they applied everywhere: In Ohio, unlike many states, careless, stupid, negligent driving which leads to the death of another can be deemed criminal misconduct. If this crash had occurred in New York City, it likely would not have even been “investigated”- it would have been considered an “insurance” matter. In other states, a “pay-out” ticket for a rear-ender may have issued. Here, police and prosecutors have the option of looking closely at this crash and determining if serious manslaughter, or homicide charges are justified.


fjordan
2012-09-11 02:09:52

Apparently Virginia is having trouble, too. I'm not sure of the details, but here's an excerpt from the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation e-newsletter:


"This week is Virginia Bicyclist and Pedestrian Awareness Week. Unfortunately, cycling safety has been in the news a lot lately because of a spate of recent bike fatalities in the region. Emotions are running high in the ongoing tensions between cars and cyclists, with both sides appearing more polarized than ever. From angry name calling to conspiracy theories, drivers and riders are focused on demonizing the other. We're firmly on a third side.


Most people reading this are both a motorist and a cyclist, and understand the issue is less about bikes and cars, than it is about people. Bad decision makers, law breakers, distracted people, and thoughtless jerks use roads, whether they're driving, walking or pedaling on them."


kbrooks
2012-09-11 15:43:11

I think the difficulty in prosecuting these cases lies in the difficult distinction between criminal intent and criminal behavior.


Caring, normally considerate people can find themselves, through the unhappy coincidence of inattention and physics, responsible for causing the death of innocent people. I'm sure the flip-flop kid is one of these.


There is something innately abhorrent about the idea of being personally responsible for something that happens "in the blink of an eye". Brain surgeons and air traffic controlers, yes - average joes, no. Yet our society is built and operates around the perceived (and at times true) requirement for all adults to put themselves in the position of piloting several tons of metal around each other at high rates of speed daily.


' "Have you ever drifted? Have you ever looked off the roadway?” Mark Stevens asked jurors. “That's what people do" '


Either we're all a blink of the eye away from being killers, or we allow the delusion that we are not responsible for the occasional "collateral damage".


I believe we are responsible. I believe as a species and as a culture we are capable of doing better. I also believe we're headed in that direction of wider acceptance of personal responsibility, extinction bursts and blowback and outliers and all.


But it still pisses me off to see arguments like that hold water in the eyes of those who could provide some measure of justice. I suppose, given that it's Texas, we should be happy that charges were brought at all.


ejwme
2012-09-11 19:30:55

I'm surprised in the Texas case, the prosecutors didn't take the positiion "No the guy isn't a criminal at heart, but YES, we need to keep him from driving for a while."


mick
2012-09-11 22:29:48

New York is brutally tough on drunk drivers (if they bother to test them), but their enforcement is all over the map. A cyclist was recently struck and killed on Route 250 near Rochester—a road I know well from having trained on it as a college student in the late 80s.


The cyclist was a teacher at a local school. She was initially struck by a man who swerved onto the shoulder on a motorcycle. She was then thrown onto the road, where she was struck by the man's girlfriend. Both have extensive criminal histories, neither had a license, and both are now up on vehicular homicide charges.


However, a fellow I knew from my racing days in the 80s was killed on Route 5 and 20 near Lima, again a road I know well. By all accounts, Jon was doing everything right. The visibility was good, the weather clear, and he was riding 2 feet to the right of the white line. The woman who hit him never explained how her car drifted onto the shoulder.


She was charged with crossing the white line, a minor offense.


Admittedly, there was no indication of intoxication, she was cooperative and she stopped immediately, so it's a very different story than the recent case on 250, but there is a striking similarity with some of the other cases where drivers receive minimal—or no—penalties for taking a life through inattention, carelessness or other behavior deemed as "unavoidable" in our culture.


Ejwme's point about brain surgeons and air traffic controllers is a good one; we hold them responsible in large part because we can, because the vast majority of us will never operate on a patient or direct a plane, but most of us drive, and drive frequently. Mark Stevens was telling jurors, "It could have been you driving that car. If you convict, you'll be setting a precedent that could come back to haunt you in the end, and we all know it would be impossible (and undesirable) to regulate this behavior because that's what people do."


fjordan
2012-09-11 23:55:57

Drifting left, over the yellow line, and causing a head-on collision where people die, yeah, that's a problem. Press charges.


Drifting right, over the white line, and causing a rear-end collision where people die, no, just an accident. Carry on.


stuinmccandless
2012-09-12 00:05:30

Better news, this time nationally, from The Economist (http://www.economist.com/node/21562252)


Transport in cities

Vive la révolution - A cycling renaissance is taking place in America


MORE and more Americans are taking to the road on two wheels. Between 1977 and 2009 the total number of annual bike trips more than tripled, while the bike’s share of all trips rose from 0.6% to 1%. Commuting cyclists have also increased in number, with twice as many biking to work in 2009 as in 2000.

Cities are increasingly vying to be bike friendly......


....The growth comes thanks to cycle-friendly policymaking and increases in government spending. In Portland, which brought in a comprehensive programme, cycling levels have increased sixfold since the early 1990s. In Chicago the motivation is to improve the quality of life, and thus encourage both businesses and families to move there.


In a forthcoming book, “City Cycling”, John Pucher and Ralph Buehler argue that the bike boom needs to be expanded to a broader cross-section of people. Almost all the growth in cycling in America has come from men aged 25-64. Rates of cycling have actually fallen slightly among women and sharply among children, most probably because of nervousness about safety. But in fact cycling is getting safer all the time. According to a paper* by Messrs Pucher and Buehler with Mark Seinen, fatalities per 10m bike trips fell by 65% between 1977 and 2009, from 5.1 to 1.8. In their book, the authors claim that the health benefits of cycling far exceed the safety risks.


(there's more....just follow the link above)


swalfoort
2012-09-12 15:15:31

From a FB friend:


Mikael Colville-Andersen is a riveting speaker. Here he is telling us how Seville, Spain, went from 0% cycling modal split to 7% in less than 7 years. A high-quality bike share system and a low-stress bicycle network played a large role.


swalfoort
2012-09-12 16:18:35

ejwme There is something innately abhorrent about the idea of being personally responsible for something that happens "in the blink of an eye". Brain surgeons and air traffic controlers, yes - average joes, no.


Well...


Neurosurgeon culture is that "you come to the hosptial - if you aren't sick enough to be a patient, you operate." And, trust me, people die from that.


Now, often physicians are held responsible for things that were beyond their control, partly because they have deep pockets. On the other hand, the malpractice situtation is one of the more benign of the predictable consequences of physicians failing to police their own ranks.


mick
2012-09-12 16:58:37

Swalfort, is Colville-Anderson (and yr friend) at the conference in San Diego?

Man, if you had MC-A, Gil Penalosa, and Jan Gehl at the same time, it would be like the Three Tenors of biking. :)


edmonds59
2012-09-12 17:16:26

I suspect that is exactly where he is, but his FB page did not say so explicitly.


swalfoort
2012-09-12 17:26:29

Philadelphia Inquirer reports that as biking becomes more prevalent, accidents decreased.....


More bicyclists means fewer accidents, Phila. finds

September 16, 2012|By Paul Nussbaum, Inquirer Staff Writer


As the number of bicyclists on Philadelphia streets has risen, cyclists and city officials have seen a counterintuitive result: The number of bike crashes and deaths has declined.

This "safety in numbers" phenomenon has been documented elsewhere, and safety experts believe it is because motorists become more alert to cyclists when there are more of them.

Since 2002, the number of cyclists on many Center City streets has more than doubled, according to tallies at key intersections, and the percentage of bike commuters has also doubled. In 2002, there were six bicyclists killed in accidents with motor vehicles; last year, there were two such deaths.

Traffic crashes involving bikes in Philadelphia have fallen from a high of 1,040 in 1998 to 553 in 2010.

"Where cars expect to find bicyclists and pedestrians, drivers are more cognizant of cyclists and pedestrians," said Alex Doty, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. He cited a study in Portland, Ore., that found a doubling of the number of bicycles reduced the crash risk by one-third.

"I know I get better treatment now than I did 10 years ago, or even five years ago," Doty said. "Drivers have a better idea what to do. Though there is still quite a bit of room for improvement."

The correlation was reported in 2003 by the medical journal Injury Prevention, when it published what it called an "unexpected result" of a safety study: The likelihood of a cyclist or pedestrian being hit by a car "varies inversely with the amount of walking or bicycling."

The journal's study concluded that "policies that increase the numbers of people walking and bicycling appear to be an effective route to improving the safety of people walking and bicycling."

In Philadelphia, the Nutter administration has created dozens of bike lanes and bike routes, trying to carve out more space for cyclists in a city not known for its bicycle bonhomie.

The safety in numbers phenomenon "is really playing out" in the city, said Stephen Buckley, director of policy and planning in the mayor's Office of Transportation and Utilities. The city has about 220 miles of bike lanes, he said, and the administration hopes to increase that to about 300 miles.

The city's goal is to boost the percentage of commuters who travel by bike from the current 2 percent to 5 percent by 2020 and to reduce injuries and fatalities by 50 percent.

If more biking means safer biking, safer biking is likely to produce more biking.


swalfoort
2012-09-17 14:15:27

@Salty

1) that strikes me as more of a mental health issue than the "normal" harassment of cyclists.


2) If it were me riding, I would pull over and stop - probably after the third or fourth honk. I'd probably prepare to lock up my bike, even (puts the large U-lock in my hand.)


mick
2012-09-18 22:16:42

wasn't sure whether to post this here or in the good news thread, but it seemed like this thread could use some good news: city of buffalo decides to install cycle track! got this from my sister's facebook, and i am eager to see it become a reality.


i was just asking someone, and it seemed like buffalo (my hometown) was lagging behind pittsburgh a good bit when it came to cycling advocacy. but this is a fine step in the right direction. i am eager to see what this "complete streets ordinance" is.


edited to add: actually, the complete streets ordinance is in my link, and it looks pretty damned sweet, at a glance.


hiddenvariable
2012-09-26 03:50:21

@salty do it!


dmtroyer
2012-09-26 12:20:38

^ seconded!


melange396
2012-09-26 12:34:28

A no-brainer, dude.


edmonds59
2012-09-26 13:06:01

The New York Times carries a story today of a cyclist killed in Queens by a Hit and run driver.


What I find most interesting is the three comments that have been posted since the article appeared mid-morning. Very different from Pittsburgh comments of late.


Here's the article, followed by the three comments:


September 25, 2012, 10:53 am


Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Cyclist in Queens


By ANDY NEWMAN


The police are looking for a driver who fatally struck a 38-year-old bicyclist on Queens Boulevard on Tuesday morning and drove off. The collision occurred around 6 a.m. near the intersection of Hoover Avenue in Kew Gardens, the police said. The cyclist, whose name was not immediately released, was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. No information about the driver’s vehicle was immediately available.


3 Comments

Share your thoughts.


o Melissa

o East Brunswick

The mans name was Alex Martinez and he was a great person . Please speak up if u know anything. He has kids a wife, family and friends who loved him very much

o Sept. 25, 2012 at 11:10 p.m.


o Westernqueensland

o New York

Eastbound? or Westbound?/

Which way was he pedaling/

When he was murdered/

#haiku


o Realist

o new york

I'm sure there were witnesses. Speak up, don't let such murders get away. If Bloomberg plans to have the bike program in effect next spring, the laws for "hit and run" should be toughened. There will be a lot more bicyclists on the roads.

o Sept. 25, 2012 at 2:39 p.m.


swalfoort
2012-09-26 16:58:32

the menu part of that site looks quite similar to that of another site I frequent.


rubberfactory
2012-09-26 19:42:51

There's something spooky about this. Like all the DJ's got instructions one day "Make fun of bikers," or something.


mick
2012-09-26 21:49:42

Those links from Pseuda are from 2003/04. I guess they havent learned their lesson.


Edit: @dennis. Wait, an elitist millionaire on a bicycle?


marko82
2012-09-26 23:14:12

Much like president #43.


Bikes are political vehicles. Lends the elitist millionaire the common touch, I suppose.


dennis
2012-09-27 03:01:18

:(

http://urbanvelo.org/teen-driver-kills-2-cyclists/ in San Francisco.


Dad and his 9-year old riding bikes on the sidewalk. The driver, a 17 year old, was not drunk nor texting, but was traveling around 72 mph in a 45 mph zone


erok
2012-09-28 14:45:57

I think my brain just exploded.


The idea of a really rich conservative riding his bicycle to see the prime minister on business? Wonderful.


"F*cking Plebs"??? from a guy on a bike?


Excuse me, I have to go untwist my underwear.


mick
2012-09-28 14:58:09

adjusts his Grammarnazi hat


c'mon, guys, get "reckless" and "wreckless" straight. They're related, but not the same thing.


What's done is done, but the real problem is in driver licensing. Much, much tougher licensing standards are needed, not just here but everywhere. This case is just the latest instance of Flip-Flop Boy Syndrome.


stuinmccandless
2012-09-28 16:05:11

Ugh, I found this article which contains a comment from the (32 year old) driver's mother that is infuriating on multiple levels.


"This morning she was late. She was trying to get her daughter to school. The reason for going around and going to the side was to give that bus plenty of room," said Toni Hardin.


http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/bizarre&id=8810432


salty
2012-10-03 06:34:22

Um..maybe she should leave earlier?

If I'm running late, I usually just accept it and be late. It's not worth putting anyone's life in danger to be less late.


rubberfactory
2012-10-04 20:02:04

/THIS/


cburch
2012-10-04 21:21:04

Of the people who were given citations (ed-16 in one day), many said they did not see the decoy festooned in the bright outfit.


I'm inspired to create a giant penis^H^H^H^H^H hot dog costume and go cycling down Penn with a big sign reading "Can you see me NOW?!?"


I wonder if Franktuary would sponsor?


reddan
2012-10-09 15:43:59

Great program. If some of those people were actually stupid enough to say that they didn't see the human sized traffic cone, they should get a little additional bonus fine just for being idiots.


edmonds59
2012-10-09 16:25:19

@Edmunds


The 3 without valid licences indicat (to me,at least) that they are't bright enough to form the thought, "I have to drive carefully. I'm illegal and can't afford even a minor citation."


mick
2012-10-09 17:07:44

@reddan - I've ridden down the street wearing a "Can U C Me Now" message. Out of town, too.


I leave the finding of the photograph of that to the students as a homework exercise.


stuinmccandless
2012-10-09 18:23:45

From the same list serve as the post above, this time from the Dutch Consulate re: Think Bikes......


(As an aside, do our esteemed Dutch visitors need a geography lesson? I see a reference to an earlier Think Bike session in Philadelphia and a number of other cities, but not Pittsburgh....)


Austin, Dutch Officials Come Together to Improve Cycling throughout City


News article | October 26, 2012


The City of Austin and the Royal Netherlands Embassy join together this week with Austin business leaders and transportation experts to come up with sustainable solutions to bicycling infrastructure and cultural changes in the city.


They will present those solutions in an open presentation tonight at City Hall.


Ambassador Rudolph Bekink started the ThinkBike Workshop by welcoming participants with comments about the Dutch way of life as it pertains to cycling, and how the infrastructure can complement the cultural shift to riding as a way of transportation.


“In the Netherlands, bicycle riding is a crucial element in our system of sustainable transportation. I am pleased to join Mayor Leffingwell and the people of Austin as they work to increase bicycle use in this great city," said Dutch Ambassador Bekink.


Austin is the latest American city to partner with the Netherlands to develop ways the city can become more bike-friendly by learning from Dutch transportation experts in the Think Bike program. The Dutch are recognized for their expertise in sustainable transportation. In the Netherlands, nearly 30% of trips up to five miles in distance are made by bicycle.


Recently, City of Austin officials went to the Netherlands through a grant from the Green Lane Project of the Bikes Belong organization. Council Member Chris Riley, City Manager Marc Ott, Director of Public Works Howard Lazarus, and Bicycle Program Manager Annick Beaudet all spent a week with Dutch officials and experts in transportation planning to learn better ways to implement cycling into infrastructure and culture. Now the Dutch are here in Austin to help our community find solutions for our transportation network.


Workshop participants will break into two groups to work on projects, find solutions and present those in a public presentation on Friday evening at 5:30 p.m.


One group is studying the South Lamar corridor for ways to incorporate biking and pedestrian integration into the streetscape. Another is planning a network of cycle tracks and green lanes throughout the city’s urban core to help alleviate congestion and open biking opportunities for more riders through safe infrastructure. A third group looks at policy issues for safe cycling in Austin.


The Dutch Cycling Embassy sponsors these workshops to bring their knowledge and expertise to the cities involved, and helps them find the unique solutions to fit their unique cultures, geography and current infrastructure.


Council Member Chris Riley said of the workshop and the trip to the Netherlands, “The Dutch have an amazing wealth of cycling experience to share. Their culture is one of people on bikes, enjoying biking as a mode of transportation and a way of life. Here in Austin, thoughtful planning of our networks can create a more joyful and efficient way of getting around, which would yield a number of benefits for our whole community.”


Follow the conversation on Twitter! Use #ThinkBikeATX


City of Austin:


City of Austin Twitter: @austintexasgov

Austin Bicycle Program Twitter: @coabikeprogram

www.facebook.com/austintexasgov

www.facebook.com/cityofaustinbicycleprogram

Dutch Embassy:


Embassy Twitter: @DutchEmbassyDC

Ambassador Bekink Twitter: @RBekink

Dutch Cycling Embassy Twitter: @Cycling_Embassy

www.facebook.com/ThinkBike

Storify: DutchEmbassyDC

About ThinkBike

Through a multi-city initiative, Dutch experts and companies are working with cities in the U.S. and Canada to look at safer conditions as bicycling use continues to increase. Toronto was the first Canadian city to host such an event, while Chicago was the first U.S. city to host a bike workshop, followed by Washington, DC, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Los Angeles.


Resource links

• Cycling in the Netherlands 2009 Transportation Report


• City of Austin Bicycle Program Website


• The Netherlands Embassy in Washington, D.C.


swalfoort
2012-10-31 15:31:57

So we are seen riding around with helmets on and hoping for the best as well as reading about all the cyclists being creamed on the road and we want people to cycle more and/or become cyclists? I don't think we get it here in the US. Not a very uplifting thread. If anything, it makes me want to give up and just drive a car.


2012-12-26 00:46:52

I think it's important to note that on average biking is getting safer as it's getting more popular.


Not fast enough, that's for damn sure and it takes nothing away from the sadness and horror of these stories, but does mean that I won't let them scare me off the bike.


To the thread as a whole, can we please do a little better than rebroadcast with the same bad new bias as the local news? With numbers rising surely there's more good news to report.


2012-12-26 01:33:23

A couple of happier-than-usual-for-this-thread stories from out of town:


(This one was posted elsewhere on the board, but it's a nice story and fits here, too...)

Cleveland ministry starts bike-rack manufacturing business to employ homeless & others who have trouble finding jobs: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/01/growing_bike_rack_business_run.html


(Forget where I found this, probably on twitter somewhere, thanks either to scott or rsprake...)

The Best Bike-Sharing Program in the United States: How D.C., of all places, made it happen. http://www.slate.com/articles/life/doers/2013/01/capital_bikeshare_how_paul_demaio_gabe_klein_adrian_fenty_and_other_dc_leaders.single.html


epanastrophe
2013-01-09 03:43:14

That is just a giant bowl of awesome Stu. Thx.


edmonds59
2013-01-15 14:49:51

@ stu-


That is a really fun story, but those things lose their credibility to me once they start with exaggerated claims. From Wiki:


In 1860 Étienne Lenoir used an electric spark plug in his first internal combustion engine and is generally credited with the invention of the spark plug.


There is no mention of "bicycle" in Étienne Lenoir's Wiki entry.


In other good out-of town news (found while looking up spark plugs): Today's Wikipedia featured entry is the Hudson Valley Rail Trail, with a totally cool winter pic that makes me want tire studs.




mick
2013-01-15 15:44:28

From Streetfilms comes this report on actor Hugh Jackman:


...How'd most of the bicycling world miss this?


You know bicycling has hit the big time when Golden Globes winners start talking about it during their acceptance speeches.


Megastar Hugh Jackman (who won the Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy) had his bike stolen while auditioning for Les Miserables.


How do we know this? During his acceptance speech, Jackman said the following to the A-listers in attendance:


To the guy or girl who stole the wheels off my bike while I was auditioning for Les Miserables, we're all good.


Firstly, how nice is it that he didn't assume the gender of the thief?


Afterwards he followed up that comment saying if the thief also wanted his frame, he would leave it leaning up in the same spot "tomorrow".


Geez, what I wouldn't do to be able to do a Streetfilms profile of Hugh Jackman. The guy rides frequently and looks cool doing it.


swalfoort
2013-01-16 15:01:45

i bet he'd get a 4' clearance wearing the Wolverine claws too. :)


2013-01-16 15:22:11

Cool. How awesome would it be to have some sweet adamantium claws for those not observing the 4 foot law? Mmmm.


edmonds59
2013-01-16 15:27:40

No comments on this one so far, though there are a couple in the article.


Road diets in Rochester NY


stuinmccandless
2013-01-17 17:29:13

Good. Rochester has way more road infrastructure than it needs these days. It's a shell of its former self.


cburch
2013-01-17 23:27:42
Nice find Stu. The road in the article looks like the perfect road to ride -- I wonder if that's a 45mph country road or a 25.
justray
2013-02-04 13:14:09
That is great. I've been hearing about that situation for a while. I wonder what group took that to the Co Supreme Court.
edmonds59
2013-02-04 14:20:54
ugh
pseudacris
2013-02-14 19:11:11
Holy hell is that horrifying and depressing. (referring to marko's article, not that it doesn't apply to the one about the british cyclists - which as I commented on FB is horribly similar to the crash that killed Don Parker)
salty
2013-02-19 21:20:42
^since when does the WSJ compete with the Onion? Maybe their owners played (Ausy-rules) football when they were kids? (if you don't know who owns them, look it up)
marko82
2013-02-21 10:03:39
Geez, there's an enormous shoulder there. And the article says they were to the right of the line. If they have video and a plate, there should be an open-and-shut prosecution.
stuinmccandless
2013-02-23 17:04:08
How about this one... http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_0701-0750/ab_738_bill_20130221_introduced.html
830.7. (a) A public entity or an employee of a public entity acting within his or her official capacity shall not be liable under this chapter for an injury caused to a person riding a bicycle as defined in Section 231 of the Vehicle Code while traveling on a roadway if the public entity has provided a bike lane on that roadway pursuant to Section 21207 of the Vehicle Code or Section 891.8 of the Streets and Highway Code. For purposes of this section, "bike lane" is as defined in Section 890.4 of the Streets and Highways Code. (b) The immunity set forth in this section is applicable regardless of whether the bicyclist was within the bike lane at the time of the accident. This immunity is also applicable regardless of whether the reason the bicyclist was not using the bike lane was in accordance with the exceptions listed in Section 21208 of the Vehicle Code.
rice-rocket
2013-03-06 13:47:23
Am I reading that right? Any public employee or someone working for a public employee is immune from prosecution for clobbering a cyclist if there is a parallel path, even if otherwise at fault? Sometimes the law is wrong.
stuinmccandless
2013-03-06 14:04:53
@rr, the mind reels. So the city has complete immunity if a cop runs down a cyclist in a bike lane? Edit: OK, reading the linked text and thinking about it, I think this is saying that injuries resulting from the presence of bike lanes can't be pursued against the public entities that created the bike lanes. In other words they're trying to encourage public entities to create bike lanes by saying that when you do, no cyclist can say because there was a bike lane here, instead of a road, I was injured. But I really wish a lawyer would weigh in on this because I could be totally wrong. Edit again: the key phrase I'm getting this from is "under this chapter". It's referring to liabilities under this chapter, which presumably refers to building bike lanes. It's not complete immunity.
jonawebb
2013-03-06 14:10:56
Cyclist could be in the bike lane or not. As long as it's painted on the road, the public employee is immune. It's been introduced, hasn't hit the house or senate yet. http://openstates.org/ca/bills/20132014/AB738/#actions jonawebb, you're trying to be rational. It isn't rational. It's exactly how it reads. My guess is someone took a look at how the state was bleeding money, and said, "if we didn't have to pay liability suits for bus drivers/cops hitting cyclists, we would save X million dollars!"
rice-rocket
2013-03-06 14:20:06
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/worlds-most-expensive-car-market-just-got-pricier-1C8707526 "All new cars sold attract an ownership tax of at least 100 percent of the cost price. On top of that, anyone who wants to buy a car in Singapore has to first obtain a certificate of entitlement (COE), which gives them the right to own and drive a car for 10 years. The measure was introduced to limit the number of cars in the city that has an area of just 276 square miles." sigh, if only...
jaysherman5000
2013-03-06 15:04:46
Booby traps on Baltimore trails: Be careful people, after Sunday's trail work a fellow rider stopped by the parking lot and dropped these booby traps off which were found on a trail in the Watershed. Besides 2 flat tires he stepped on another device when he was walking out. The boards have razor blades embedded in them and are buried in the ground so they are hard to detect. http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20130307210851934
erok
2013-03-08 10:51:01
There are some sick f*cks out there.
stuinmccandless
2013-03-08 14:35:12
seriously
erok
2013-03-08 15:13:47
When I was volunteering for the Rail-to-trail sojourn, they were telling me that one year some jerk put thumbtacks all over a trail that was being used outside of Erie... If my memory is correct, I think they said there was something like 50 flats. I really don't understand some people.
headloss
2013-03-08 16:15:56
Flats are one thing. Getting your dog's paws torn up is something else again. Or getting your own feet punctured while jogging. This isn't a whole lot different from shooting off a .22 from the side of the road. You're not real likely to kill someone, but you might (like going headlong at 20 mph with a front blowout and land on your neck), and certainly are going to cause significant suffering. Flats are the least of it.
stuinmccandless
2013-03-08 17:31:45
As someone who has had a nail attached to a board go at least an inch up into my foot... I'm not disagreeing with "flats are the least of it." What the two scenarios have in common is an intentional act with total disregard to the consequences. In the case in MD, it clearly goes the extra mile becoming (without question) a criminal act. Either way, some people actually do deserve to have their hands cut off so that they can't use them to harm others...
headloss
2013-03-08 19:28:54
I always felt that the cutting off of hands (actually done in some countries) was rather excessive, especially for the crimes they were for. I suspect the results of said action would not be good- creating a ward of the state due to inability to earn a living, and generating a lot of ill will that might be able to be acted upon even without hands.
helen-s
2013-03-09 10:32:25
I said "deserve", I didn't say that it was the best option for society. Likewise, I believe that careless drivers deserve to crash their car into a tree, totaling it. However, I don't wish for anyone to actually crash into a tree. None the less, your point is noted.
headloss
2013-03-09 14:06:36
I felt bad for Joel, who seemed to crash into something after every little distraction.
helen-s
2013-03-14 11:59:09
Saw this on Wimp, had to share. From the land down under, something pleasant for a change: http://www.wimp.com/thirstykoala
stuinmccandless
2013-03-17 17:27:52
This part of the SD resolution is great: "WHEREAS, on many South Dakota highways with little or no highway shoulders, the exposed nature of walking and bicycling to motor vehicle traffic is high" So nice of the people responsible for setting the construction standards and paying for construction to notice that their product is missing this important bit. Of course, to be fair, space in SD is extremely, extremely tight.
jonawebb
2013-03-20 15:31:10
Edit: woops. repost.
rice-rocket
2013-03-21 10:17:00
This is very cool; "With Key Biscayne's main road in a snarl Saturday night, Williams borrowed a bike at her hotel, rode to her match and beat Ayumi Morita in the third round of the Sony Open, 6-3, 6-3." Huffpost Miami
edmonds59
2013-03-26 12:29:24
What a f'n mess... cagers showing up to boo a proposal to remove parking spaces to create bike lanes in SF. Also sucks that they bring up the example of the cyclist who killed a ped as an example of why there shouldn't be bike lanes. If they want to use that logic I guess that means it's time to remove all the car lanes since they kill way more people. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sf-bikes-vs-cars-20130326,0,3851677.story Only a few of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's 12,000 members seemed to be in attendance, and they remained largely silent — "intimidated" was how several attendees described it. The bike proponents who did speak were met with disdain.
salty
2013-03-27 13:05:46
@salty Everyone knows that bicyclists are very aggresive...
mikhail
2013-03-28 07:29:06
In Cleveland; "Wild Ride is an after-hours event offering visitors the opportunity to cruise the Zoo on their bicycle! Animals will be out on exhibit and exhibitor booths will be set up on the Welcome Plaza. The bike community in Cleveland is exploding and in keeping with the Zoo’s mission to connect people with wildlife, we’re inviting the members of this growing community to see the Zoo on two wheels rather than two heels. No other zoo in Ohio has an event like this!" I'm not sure how they're going to deal with the loose wandering peacocks.
edmonds59
2013-03-29 10:29:31
I am loving the hell out of Peter Sagan victory wheelies, here at Gent-Wevelgem, showmanship;
edmonds59
2013-04-03 10:12:37
@edmonds59: I'm a big fan of Sagan (minus the immature backside pinch on the podium last week). He had a separate "celebration" for each of his 3 TdF stage wins last season. Very good sprinter and looks to be improving into an all-around type rider who can compete for the classics.
sew
2013-04-03 10:57:45
USDOT to Host Bike Safety Summits (2) U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Monday two USDOT-hosted bike safety summits will take place in April. The summits, LaHood said, are meant to share ideas and discuss ways to make the nation's transportation infrastructure more bike-friendly and safer for all users. LaHood announced the summits via his blog, Fastlane.dot.gov. The first summit will take place in Tampa on April 11 and the second in Minneapolis on April 29. "We're going to learn from communities what works and what doesn't work," LaHood wrote in his blog. "And once we figure out what the best practices are, we're going to team up with the bicycling community to help ensure that when cities, towns, states, and counties think about creating new bike infrastructure, they’ll have the tools to implement those practices and keep all users of the roads as safe as possible." LaHood said he is looking for participants from across the board, including "federal, state, and local officials, planners, designers, engineers, law enforcement, educators, health and safety experts, and others throughout the bicycle community." Registration for the summit in Tampa is available here. Participants for the Minneapolis summit can register here. These summits, LaHood said, will help to keep the public safe when using the nation's transportation infrastructure. "When I say safety is this department's number one priority, there's no exception for bikes," he wrote. "With more bicyclists on our streets, helping them ride safely is not a luxury; it's part of our obligation." Additional information on the bike safety summits is available on LaHood's blog here.
swalfoort
2013-04-05 12:39:16
yikes, molotov cocktail? that's one of the craziest yet.
erok
2013-04-05 13:22:30
http://wisconsinbikefed.org/2013/04/15/our-pr-problem-self-righteous-spandex-wearing-scofflaws/ "When I was the Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for the City of Milwaukee Dept. of Public Works, part of my job was to investigate complaints about speeding on neighborhood streets and when people said they had trouble crossing a street at a crosswalk. Before I could respond with a solution to these complaints, I needed facts so we did studies to check for speeding and to see what percentage of people failed to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. I also did bicycle counts at intersections where I checked to see how many people obeyed the traffic signals. So what did these studies find? Get ready for a big shock, but my studies found that in general, people riding bicycles tend to be more law-abiding than people driving cars..."
headloss
2013-04-17 14:49:23
94% of motorists failed to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. ... The best result he got was 23% of motorists yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk at Oakland and Olive. But at two study locations, none of the cars yielded to pedestrians. ... I actually think this is a bigger problem than anything cyclists face, and certainly pedestrians die in far larger numbers than cyclists. Some asswipe in a gigantic SUV did his best to run over myself, my wife, and my dog as we were legally crossing Negley Ave last night while he was turning left from 5th. After he managed to stop, he immediately hit the gas and cut in front of us while blaring his horn. It would have been bad enough if it were accidental, rather than the act of a selfish asshole who clearly thinks he was entitled to do what he did.
salty
2013-04-17 20:58:56
*sigh* I don't know what it is that happens when people close that door... Dr. Jekyll/Mr.Hyde. Glad you and the family are unscathed beyond the stress and annoyance.
headloss
2013-04-18 11:04:50
@ SEW Lots of stats but I didn’t find the article very useful. Uninspired journalism. It reads like the Mets box score. I am posting in case some one else can draw useful information or a Pittsburgh parallel from it. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/nyregion/study-details-injuries-to-pedestrians-and-cyclists-in-new-york-city.html?_r=0 Excerpt And as New Yorkers brace for contact, an unexpected factor may protect against serious injury: being overweight. We got that covered. New Yorkers don't even understand how to put French Fries on sandwichs or anything.
mick
2013-04-18 11:15:01
Also, thanks @drewbacca - I only wish it wasn't such a commonplace occurrence. That one was scarier than most because I didn't really expect it to happen. At least we were crossing in the opposite direction and able to see him and stop walking.
salty
2013-04-18 19:30:02
Very interesting link buried in the comments on that Bike Portland article: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/guidance/accessibility_guidance/bollards_access.cfm FHWA Accessibility Guidance: "Bollards, Gates, and other Barriers"... I've been thinking about the ones on Junction Hollow in particular a fair amount, especially since the cyclist who died after running into one on a trail in Ohio last year. Was nice to be reinforced with federal guidance text like "Bollards are often a hazard to trail users, who can crash into them, possibly resulting in serious injury or death" and "If installed, bollards...Must be easily visible, especially in low light conditions" (which the ones on JHT aren't). After a couple years of thinking "I hate those things, I wish they were gone", I wrote a 311 request to ask the city to actually do that...
epanastrophe
2013-04-22 20:57:20
DC: A car veered onto a Connecticut Avenue sidewalk and struck a woman and a high-rise building Tuesday, before the vehicle careened back into the street and hit two cars, D.C. police said. Not mentioned in the article, but added by the headline editor--the woman died at hospital. (No word on the condition of the building or the other cars.)
epanastrophe
2013-05-02 19:52:22
buffalo buffalo wrote:Not mentioned in the article, but added by the headline editor–the woman died at hospital.
@sharrowsDC "It appears the condition of the woman who died yesterday on Connecticut Ave has been upgraded to alive."
epanastrophe
2013-05-03 07:35:44
Funny you should mention that at the very moment I resurrected the Things Pampered European Cyclists Get thread. This got a mention in that thread a while back.
stuinmccandless
2013-05-08 12:04:17
StuInMcCandless wrote:Funny you should mention that at the very moment I resurrected the Things Pampered European Cyclists Get thread. This got a mention in that thread a while back.
That's pretty sweet.
ka_jun
2013-05-08 20:31:25
This, from the same news organization that put up the sucky story the other night about cyclists.
stuinmccandless
2013-05-19 11:09:48
@edmonds, Man the comments at the end are very reasonable compared to most articles, which can only mean one thing - Cleveland drivers are illiterate
marko82
2013-05-25 08:45:01
Ha!
edmonds59
2013-05-25 09:23:02
NYC seems ahead of us in many ways like bike lanes and bike share, but at least we don't have to deal with a newspaper like this: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/cyclist-killed-bensonhurst-article-1.1355753 Puts the blame on the cyclist (was he wearing a helmet before the motorist ran over him) and bike share (even though the accident had nothing to do with it). Not a word about what the driver may have done wrong, except a pat on the back for not going hit-and-run. Shameful.
jonawebb
2013-05-28 10:48:18
Bill Cunningham covers New York City biking fashions in his great lighthearted style (narrated slide show): http://nyti.ms/11uzWtK
paulheckbert
2013-05-31 23:38:21
Friend of mine just came back to Moscow from Munich, Germany. He was impressed by number of people using bikes for commuting. A lot people from subarbia come on elictric powered people movers (not an LTV like our T but on heavy rail vehicles similar to what Chicago has) and then got on bikes to get to work. City has special bike roads/lanes with special bike traffic lights. Rail stations have a special covered vertical parking but not enough.
mikhail
2013-06-10 00:48:09
About bike sharing & safety: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/bike-sharing-can-mean-safer-biking/ excerpts: "the presence of a bike sharing program is a boon to the safety of all bicyclists" "a personal injury lawyer in Chicago who exclusively handles bicycle-related accidents, said that a large majority of his cases involve “dooring,” .... Incidents like these, along with drivers’ failure to give bikers the right of way, account for nearly half of all bicycle-vehicle accidents."
paulheckbert
2013-06-13 07:02:57
Last week, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance doubling the fines for people who open doors in cyclists’ path: now $300 when the move interferes with a bicycle without incident, and $1,000 when it causes an accident.
Hm, I like it. should we propose to do the same to our officials? >
mikhail
2013-06-13 11:03:30
A bicyclist at the monthly D.C. Bike Party (an event that promotes fun and safe cycling in Washington DC) gets hit by a taxi while running a red light near Logan Circle. The bicyclist escaped with a hurt ankle and some road rash. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC8LOdG5xOo
headloss
2013-06-21 00:00:25
^Dutch article: the city will invest $135 million to improve the biking infrastructure, including the creation of 38,000 bike parking racks “in the hot spots.” “We don’t think there’s a crisis; we want to keep it attractive,” Mr. Koorn said. He paused, then added, “You cannot imagine if all this traffic were cars.”
marko82
2013-06-21 07:10:49
Marko82 wrote:“You cannot imagine if all this traffic were cars.”
+1,000. That's some right thinkin'.
edmonds59
2013-06-21 07:15:36
The problem is, from an economics point of view, that use of this free resource will expand until parking is overwhelmed again, no matter how many spaces they add. This is the tragedy of the commons, the same reason adding more roads doesn't reduce motor vehicle congestion in the long run. What they should do is implement a system of paying for parking (parking elsewhere being illegal). But the Dutch don't like other folks telling them what to do, so it might take a while for them to do this.
jonawebb
2013-06-21 07:36:01
Those lazy Dutch riding one person per bicycle... a proper economic incentive will get them all on tandems. ;) I don't know @jonawebb, I think your incentive would only encourage people to leave bikes at home and walk. If there isn't enough parking space then you end up with a sort of bottle-neck. I don't see how paid parking is any better... it just shifts the responsibility away from the gubmint and to the private sector.
headloss
2013-06-21 08:57:31
You don't have to make the price so high that people don't use their bikes. Just high enough so they don't cache extra bicycles all over the place so they have one if they need it. Think of it like congestion pricing, or the carbon tax. You have a "free", over-exploited resource. By putting a price on it, even a subsidized price, you prevent its over-exploitation.
jonawebb
2013-06-21 09:01:10
In principle I like pricing, but I think the overhead required to charge for bicycle parking is often greater than the value of the real estate the bicycle occupies. In those situations, what you need is just a low overhead way of periodically clearing abandoned bikes. I like low frequency sweeps. Put a highly visible sticker on the bike parked at the rack asking "Is this bike abandoned? Remove this sticker if it is not. Bikes left here more than X days become the property of ". If the bike is there, sticker on, when the next sweep occurs in X days, time to take it away.
byogman
2013-06-21 10:09:03
@byogman, there doesn't have to be a lot of overhead. Say, an annual sticker that gives you the right to park in the city. I would be willing to bet that if they implemented this system, even with a low price for the sticker, the problem would be solved right away, because all the abandoned bicycles could be easily identified and removed. But if it wasn't, and there was still over-exploitation of public parking space, you could add more parking / raise the price of the sticker, until you got a balance. It's just not that hard a problem to solve, really. The only issue is that people are going to get mad that they have to pay for something they used to get for free.
jonawebb
2013-06-21 10:20:04
jonawebb wrote:The problem is, from an economics point of view, that use of this free resource will expand until parking is overwhelmed again, no matter how many spaces they add.
In very abstract form I would agree with you. In reality I would not. They are talking about 152 bike parking lot. Now imagine we convert 5 story high garage at my work into pure biking garage. It has 780 cars capacity with space between parking rows enough that two cars go in different directions can go around one walking person. Each parking space could easily accommodate 4 bikes in a rack and provide space to walk around rack filled with bikes. Ans extra row of racks could be installed just in the middle those two lane passage plus 20 corners with 8 bike racks. So the same structure would serve 780*6+20*8=4840 bikes. This is enough to handle almost all people on a Technology Drive. And we have open car parking lot for another 80 cars. I think three-five multilevel garages in downtown converted to pure bike parking would cover all people working in downtown area (http://www.pittsburghparking.com/garages-and-attended-lots): 1. The Smithfield Liberty Garage is situated between Smithfield Street and Liberty Avenue Downtown. The garage capacity is 596 vehicles. 2. The Ft. Duquesne and Sixth Street Garage is situated between Ft. Duquesne Boulevard and Sixth Street Downtown. The garage capacity is 920 vehicles 3. The Grant Street Transportation Center Red Garage A: 428, Blue Garage B: 563. 4. The Mellon Square Garage capacity is 798 vehicles. 5. The First Avenue Garage and Station has 1,243 spaces. 27288 bikes right on the spot. what is interesting, parking price per car for around $12 per 24 hour. You can put 6 times more bikes and price would be $2 per bike to keep the same revenue. Taking into account that bikes cause much less damage, do not need that level of reinforcement of floor maintenance is much lower. So I think Dutch people could multilevel parking to resolve their problem. http://www.the-village.ru/village/situation/abroad/114221-idei-dlya-goroda-veloparkovki-v-yaponii -- this is a russian blog from one of the person visited Japan and she was amazed how they implemented it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vK9C9VtCypE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcZSU40RBrg
mikhail
2013-06-21 11:18:29
@Mikhail, it sounds from the article that they're already doing that, and getting overwhelmed. But if, in fact, they can just build their way out of this problem (note that building in Amsterdam might be harder than you think), I'm fine with that.
jonawebb
2013-06-21 11:30:53
I was wrong in my calculations. Look at the picture in our garage (I took it 15 minute ago on my way back from lunch ride): With plenty of space so rack could be placed further from wall and it would provide normal access to the rack on other side. And if to make rakes share two parking spots... It would be 20 bikes per spot in our garage and the same is true for middle row. So it would around 15 bikes per car spot in our garage or 780*15+20*10=11,900 bikes per our garage...
mikhail
2013-06-21 13:26:14
it sounds from the article that they’re already doing that, and getting overwhelmed. But if, in fact, they can just build their way out of this problem (note that building in Amsterdam might be harder than you think), I’m fine with that.
John, I never saw underground bike parking there. But I was there about 20 years ago. I'll ask my friends to look for it when they are going to visit. PS From what I've heard it took some courage and non standard thinking to start building underground car parking in Paris . Probably, it's a case here too.
mikhail
2013-06-21 13:29:49
One of the responses to my post on the NYTimes site mentions underground parking:
F.i. In Groningen, thé student-city in the North of The Netherlands, the "dungeons" of the new library offer free bike-parking. Many big corporations re-furbish their cellars so employees can park their bikes there.
but I don't know if the issues are different there than in Amsterdam. Oh, the article mentions they're building underground parking at the train station:
By 2020 the number is expected to be lifted to 17,000, in part because of the construction of a $27 million underground garage in front of the enormous red brick building. A decade ago, a three-story parking garage designed for 2,500 bikes was erected; it now often accommodates almost 3,500.
My guess from the article is they're running into the same problem that makes adding new highways not work for solving traffic congestion: people just use more of a "free" shared resource. So they can build all the bicycle parking garages they want, and they'll just fill up as people buy extra bicycles. The N+1 problem on a city-wide scale. With traffic congestion the solution is congestion pricing, but that drives motorists nuts. Here the solution is charging for bike parking, but that drives the Dutch nuts. So until they get their act together and decide it's more important to have some order to bike parking than not to pay for it, they're going to have this problem.
jonawebb
2013-06-21 13:34:03
If people are willing to pay $500 (say) for an additional bike, requiring them to also pay an annual fee to park that bike won't work unless the fee is comparable. With a $50 annual fee, you're just making bikes slightly more expensive. Since the number of bikes is already limited by the price of a bike, they just need to build sufficient bike parking for that limited number. It's not like a public grazing area where you can use public land to feed your sheep to make money to buy additional sheep, ad infinitum. The problem of abandoned bikes is separate, and can be solved with stickers, as byogman said. No need to penalize everyone by artificially raising bike prices with a parking fee. (Parking fees could be useful to get cyclists to park in one place, not another, but it sounds like that's not much of an issue for them. And those would be location-specific of course.)
steven
2013-06-21 14:41:48
Steven wrote:The problem of abandoned bikes is separate, and can be solved with stickers, as byogman said. No need to penalize everyone by artificially raising bike prices with a parking fee.
Well, I like Japanese system since: 1. Bicycles are protected from elements. 2. No other person has access t your bike (hard to mock bike or even steal it). 3. It's easy to see if bike is abandoned by account info. 4. The price is small -- something like 90 yens per day and there are normal monthly passes. If we have here something like this I would gladly pay those 80 (?) cents per day.
mikhail
2013-06-21 17:48:30
There are definitely underground and multi-level bike parking garages in The Netherlands. I didn't take pictures of any of the ones in Amsterdam, but there are plenty of pictures on the net: general image search: http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=amsterdam%20bike%20garage underground parking at zuid: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesbondsv/sets/72157625678594503/ somewhat old article about bike parking: http://www.bakfiets-en-meer.nl/2007/06/14/bike-parking-in-holland-installment-1/ Here are a couple parking facilities I saw in Leiden... maybe those estimates above could be doubled :)
salty
2013-06-22 08:54:22
Holy crap that blog is awesome.
edmonds59
2013-06-25 09:41:45
Brooklyn: "Man Allegedly Smashes Bike Under His Car In Bed-Stuy, Then Drives Away" -- cyclist waiting for red light hit from behind by texting driver. Maybe. This one admittedly has a bit of a tabloid flavour to it I'm not sure I like the taste of. However, this one from DC is definitely legit: "A driver hit me on my bike, and the police refused to believe it wasn't my fault" http://ggwash.org/19284 Driver, witness both claimed cyclist ran red light before running into a car turning into a parking lot. PD camera clearly shows rider passing on green, being cut off.
I returned to the Third District police station, where a supervisor told me that only the officer who wrote the report and the ticket could change it. He asked me to tell my story again. "Wait, you mean, you were biking and you want a ticket canceled?" he said, incredulous. "We all know how bikers behave. It must have been your fault. C'mon. You are a biker." When I suggested that he review the video, he refused. The supervisor said he'd contact the officer but that I shouldn't expect anything to come of it, as I was a bicyclist.
(Sidebar: "@ggwash How many ways will people find to blame a cyclist for a crash even with video evidence? We're still counting..." http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/19284/it-must-have-been-your-fault-cmon-you-are-a-biker/#comment-190275 )
epanastrophe
2013-06-28 07:55:20
Holy shit. This happens, thought you should know. Man I hope all those people aren't logging their endomondo miles. Watch for the hand slap at about 1:30. Beautiful. http://youtu.be/Dyc6k2L5yoE
edmonds59
2013-06-30 06:22:19
I don't like CM and this video just shows why. :( Two lanes, over yellow lane, etc.
mikhail
2013-06-30 07:49:32
Yeah, CM's about screwing the rules, but... 546 riders! We just don't have rides that size around here, outside of the Keg Ride. Your average Flock ride tops out at about 75, and that goes for every pre-Flock CM ride I was ever in here. Same for the Undies ride the other night. The 2011 Philly Naked Bike Ride was about 2,100 riders, only in its third or fourth year. We're doing wondrous things for advocacy here, but we're not getting 500+ riders to go down the street all at once, and there's something wrong with that. Also, I mainly see white faces on the Cleveland ride, maybe 20 non-white out of 546 riders. What's up with that? Same goes for all our rides. Where are all the non-white cyclists in Pittsburgh? If they won't hang with us, fine, but why aren't they hanging with each other? Is bike riding something only white people do?
stuinmccandless
2013-06-30 10:10:57
StuInMcCandless wrote:Yeah, CM’s about screwing the rules, but…
And this is a reason I am not going to participate in those.
546 riders! We just don’t have rides that size around here, outside of the Keg Ride. Your average Flock ride tops out at about 75, and that goes for every pre-Flock CM ride I was ever in here. Same for the Undies ride the other night.
Well, not all the time but last year BikePGH festival got much more (I believe I've heard above 2,000). And 12 bridges got around 70(80?). Team Decaf rides on a regular basis get 65-70 people. Tour the Montour tops 100 for last three years. Three state ride last year got 65 people. And there are two keg rides. :)
The 2011 Philly Naked Bike Ride was about 2,100 riders, only in its third or fourth year. We’re doing wondrous things for advocacy here, but we’re not getting 500+ riders to go down the street all at once, and there’s something wrong with that.
We don't have 500 at once in one place. I believe we have much more in a day in different parts of Pittsburgh and around. What is wrong with it? In my opinion -- nothing.
Also, I mainly see white faces on the Cleveland ride, maybe 20 non-white out of 546 riders. What’s up with that? Same goes for all our rides. Where are all the non-white cyclists in Pittsburgh? If they won’t hang with us, fine, but why aren’t they hanging with each other? Is bike riding something only white people do?
Hm, what about ladies? I don't see a lot of ladies on most rides. Tuesday's Team Decaf rides -- if we see 10 ladies out off 40 riders then it's really high number. Janie tried to organize ladies only ride on trail last year -- no luck. There is Barbs' ride in Murrysville and not that many ladies shows up.
Thursday, July 11 6:00pm Ride with the Barbs When: Thu, July 11, 6:00pm – 8:30pm Where: 4121 Sardis Rd Murrysville, PA 15668 (map) Description: We will meet at The Sloan Elementary School parking lot in Murrysville at 4121 Sardis Rd Murrysville, PA 15668 Ride will be 20-25 miles with hills. Be ready to ride a 6:00 PM sharp. Rain Cancels. Contact rwbbarnes@gmail.com, 412-760-2743
mikhail
2013-06-30 20:52:46
@bill That video reminds me of what I remember of our critical masses But that's all anarchy of course...
sgtjonson
2013-07-01 00:27:09
J Z wrote: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2013/0630/The-bike-boom?nav=87-frontpage-entryInsideMonitor
Quotes from that Christian Science Monitor article: The Dutch use their bikes for 26 percent of all their trips compared with 1 percent of Americans. Danes use bikes for 19 percent of their travel, while the Germans tap them for 10 percent. Waters writes "Bicycling is part of the solution to every problem our society faces be it health, environment, economic, or social." [that's a bold claim!] I was disappointed that the article didn't mention that only 25% of American bike commuters are women.
paulheckbert
2013-07-01 11:16:20
Great NPR story. I've been following Ms. Davis on Twitter for three years. Also, her sister is in Pittsburgh, a physician at UPMC, and occasionally makes the news.
stuinmccandless
2013-07-02 06:08:14
The comments on Marko's link sound eerily reminiscent of those around Pittsburgh -- license plates, cyclists running stop signs, and ultimately that the majority of cases end up being driver error.
stuinmccandless
2013-07-07 09:45:36
At least there was not a section for inane comments as we get in our media.
helen-s
2013-07-07 12:26:51
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/business/in-cargo-delivery-the-three-wheelers-that-could.html "So bike-centric is Portland that its residents can have any of the following delivered to their doorsteps by cycle: a pizza, a keg of pilsner, plumbing services or a hot tub. ... a company that delivers produce, baked goods, coffee beans, bike parts and office supplies to restaurants, bike shops and other businesses throughout Portland’s downtown area using electric-assisted tricycles that pull 60-cubic-foot cargo boxes with a 600-pound capacity."
paulheckbert
2013-07-09 22:31:32
^hit-and-run & unlicensed driver. I wonder how often these are correlated? While we need to prevent crashes from happening in the first place; I wonder what punishment it would take to have these drivers FEAR leaving the scene more than the punishment they get for stopping and giving aid?
marko82
2013-07-10 09:50:53
I've said it before -- we should implement a system for checking for unlicensed drivers, i.e., traffic stops, like they have in California. Not doing this is killing people because of the false belief that we all have the same right to privacy in our cars as we do in our homes. As it is now, if you're unlicensed, you face no punishment unless you are stopped for something else and are highly motivated to flee the scene of an accident.
jonawebb
2013-07-10 10:12:59
paulheckbert wrote:Looking Smart on the Pedals – what shoes to wear while riding a Citi Bike in NYC: “Among the winners: wedges, anything strappy and classic high heels, the stiffer the better.”
How the heck does one ride a bike in a mini skirt and stilettos?
rustyred
2013-07-11 07:40:23
It would be easier to bike in heels than walk in some of the shoes I see on women downtown. As they teeter along, sometimes I just want to walk up and ask these women "What the FFF are you thinking??".
edmonds59
2013-07-11 12:49:10
@ed, you're looking at the wrong part.
jonawebb
2013-07-11 13:03:47
@ paulheckbert How the heck does one ride a bike in a mini skirt and stilettos? Stillettos have stiff soles and good foot position for pedalling. Not bad for biking. Clearly not built for walking. But then, maybe no worse than cleats. @ Edmonds - For reasons that are kinda twisted, I'm guessing women would be extremely offended if you asked them what they were thinking of when they put on those shoes.
mick
2013-07-11 17:56:07
I'm not sure if anyone's posted this yet, but here's a flying bike. Take that, da Vinci!
jaysherman5000
2013-07-12 10:10:10
As a woman with pisspoor walking-in-heels abilities, I can confirm that I can ride in heels significantly more gracefully than I can walk in heels.
lizzimac
2013-07-12 11:42:31
Buried above was the mention of the winning of the Sikorsky Prize- here is another with video. The "bikecopter" is barely recognizable as a helicopter, but the bike frame appears stock with interesting gearing. Note the rider (pilot?) was not wearing a helmet. If planes and boats can have pilots, why are we not all bike pilots? We supply the power and the navigation, much more than those "riding" planes and boats. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10898078 I personally thought the video was pretty thrilling.
helen-s
2013-07-15 12:04:56
@stu, just saw that on facebook and you beat me to the post. That gave me a good laugh. I frequently pick up hitchhikers and haven't had any surprises (for better or worse). I did have a guy named Scooter that looked miraculously like George Carlin once... he lives in Atlanta.
headloss
2013-07-15 12:42:18
@Marko, bad link... they changed it from "local" to "cities" http://www.king5.com/news/cities/seattle/New-bicycle-electronic-lockers-roll-out-in-King-Co-Metro-park--rides-215672941.html I like the idea... when I was out there for six years, I never had the opportunity to try the old lockers; the card system sounds like a perfect opportunity to make use of the locker without any hassle at all. Still, who wants to park and ride when you can just commute all the way to your destination! :D I wonder if the fact that Seattle's current mayor is a cyclist played a part in this.
headloss
2013-07-17 11:59:05
This nice historical video about "How the Dutch got their cycle paths" concludes: "To sum it up: What caused the changes in the Netherlands [resulting in so many bike paths]? There were the problems of cities that couldn't cope with the increasing traffic that led to demolitions and to a public outrage over the amount of space handed over to motorized traffic. An intolerable number of traffic deaths that again led to mass public protests. An oil crisis and an economic crisis that led to gas shortages and high prices of energy. A solution was found in the political will on a national and municipal level with both decision makers and planners to deal with the situation. By turning away from car-centric policies and making way for alternative transport, like cycling. Cycling is now an integral part of transport policies." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuBdf9jYj7o
paulheckbert
2013-07-18 20:49:07
[pdf report] Sunnyvale, CA considers new bike lanes on El Camino Real. I thought the report was interesting from a documentation perspective. They're proposing removing 134 on-street parking spots to accomplish this, and they have data about current utilization and nearby alternatives. Plus they sent a survey out to local residents and businesses (snail mail and online) to gauge support. Maybe that is a good path to getting similar changes done around here? FWIW, the best thing I could compare ECR to is McKnight Rd. It's a pretty major thoroughfare, lined with strip malls and other things involving huge parking lots. So, it would be pretty cool to see bike lanes on a road like that. The vote is tonight - we'll see...
salty
2013-07-23 16:46:01
Cleveland, July 2013 Critical Mass. 858 riders. Regardless of your opinions of CM, that's something.
edmonds59
2013-07-29 09:55:48
What are they doing right? We had three last Friday. THREE. But if it ends up getting one asshat driver a ticket (as it well might, I haven't heard at this point), then it's worth it. I'd love to have a turnout of 250+, whether Flock or CM.
stuinmccandless
2013-07-29 13:42:08
If I had to throw out a wild assed guess as to the why, Cle probably had only very weak CM's in the 90's, and probably none to speak of in the 00's, thereby avoiding the nastiness and negative connotations associated with the event in it's later days, as here. So the whole concept may be fresh and mostly untainted up there. But I am to a large degree making that up. Nonetheless biking is blowing up in Cle. Also, surprisingly, Ohioans do like to party.
edmonds59
2013-07-29 14:07:00
StuInMcCandless wrote:What are they doing right? We had three last Friday... I’d love to have a turnout of 250+, whether Flock or CM.
Where do they advertise their rides, and how? Where do we advertise our rides, and how? I've only seen either Flock or CM advertised here and on Facebook, though I admit I don't get out much...
epanastrophe
2013-07-31 23:50:32
Be it in Seattle or Chicago, all the CM rides came to me by word of mouth. It may just take time to build up momentum...
headloss
2013-08-01 00:34:35
Well, I posted the cm thing because I think it's awesome for Cleveland. But I wasn't necessarily thinking we need to reproduce that here. Realistically, here I would rather see Flock strengthened, and energy focused there. I think if a particular place has one strong ride/activist action a month, that would be fantastic. Don't diffuse the energy. Imagine an 850 person Flock. Plus, from what I have seen, the Cleveland event rolls with an atmosphere similar to Flock anyway, a fun friendly party vibe with a destination gathering at the end, not the inyerface aggro we are traffic! approach of later day CM.
edmonds59
2013-08-01 06:10:27
A radio story: Vehicle-Clogged Rome Turning to Bikes. Roberto Vavassori, President of ANFIA, the Italian automotive association says: “I see this tendency where youngsters, people under 30, are not necessarily wanting to have a driving license,” he says. “And this is not only true in big cities such as London, Paris, Frankfurt, but also Milan or Rome. We have more than 10 percent of youngsters not getting a license because they feel it is no longer necessary to own a car or even use a car.” He also sees parallels with the United States, where the amount of young people with licenses has been steadily declining for decades.
paulheckbert
2013-08-01 08:11:26
if only every bike theft got a news helicopter in the air... I've seriously considered doing the gps thing in my headtube, gives new meaning to "family plan."
headloss
2013-08-02 12:03:52
"Well, this is just great news for anyone who's ever had a bike stolen in San Francisco (which is everyone with a bike in San Francisco, basically): The San Francisco Police Department has started a new Twitter account intended to help victims get their trusty steeds back. What's more, they've just started outing known bike thieves with the twitpic version of Wanted posters." http://sfist.com/2013/08/09/sfpd_is_now_shaming_bike_thieves_on.php
headloss
2013-08-12 13:14:52
I think the take-away here is that cameras work. "This photo came from a concerned cyclist." The other piece that matters is that the bikes themselves need to be identifiable. To that end, kudos to Bike-Pgh for running the photo campaign, which has already proven itself multiple times.
stuinmccandless
2013-08-13 11:25:44
i guess i should say that his charges were upgraded to murder after the discovery of the tweets.
erok
2013-08-16 10:01:47
Yippee! Seattle considers a protected bike lane on a stretch I used to ride regularly. I'm surprised, as I never noticed a lot of bicycle traffic on the particular stretch. I guess they are trying to connect Green Lake with the Burke-Gilman Trail (so, definitely a lot of *potential* use). Local business owners aren't so happy... :( http://kuow.org/post/cycle-track-plan-worries-business-owners-ravenna
headloss
2013-08-19 14:18:32
I can't explain why the f*** this would be the case, but apparently not: "Law-enforcement sources said the cabbie who hit her, Mohammed Himon, was likely to be slapped with multiple summonses for the crash but not criminally charged."
salty
2013-08-20 19:44:02
So far he's gotten a summons (i.e., a traffic ticket) for being unauthorized to drive that particular cab, and the cab company has gotten one for having an unauthorized driver, and that's about it. Meanwhile, this story also dropped today, although the incident was in July: NYPD officer knocks woman off her bike in the middle of busy intersection to give her a ticket: http://gothamist.com/2013/08/20/cop_allegedly_knocks_woman_from_bic.php
epanastrophe
2013-08-20 23:59:22
That's F'd up! I like this statement from her lawyer - "If she ran a red light and he pulled her out of the car, it would be crazy," he said. "Why, if she was on a bike, would it be any different?"
marko82
2013-08-21 06:58:03
Some lame-ass NIMBY (NIMFS's) in Chicago don't want bike share near their condos: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-divvy-bike-sharing-lawsuit-20130821,0,2389271.story Some of the typical comments you know and love from bike articles, although the cyclists seem to have largely gotten out in front of this one. My personal favorite: "And nobody asked me if they could park their ugly cars in front of my building, hogging precious limited street space with their private property. Yes somehow we live with it."
salty
2013-08-22 00:08:36
CEO of Giant gets into cycling. The article notes: Mr. Liu’s transformation, and that of many of his cycling compatriots, was motivated somewhat unexpectedly by a 2007 film, “Island Etude,” about a young man who bicycles around Taiwan. “With some things, if you don’t do them now, you might never do them in your life,” was its most often repeated line. I like that an abstract idea might lead people to do good things for themselves and for the world. Dismayingly I expect it would work in less benign directions as well...
ahlir
2013-08-31 10:35:51
Bike Cleveland got some amazing bus wraps done. I would link to the article where I saw this but it is a really craptastic site (The Plain Dealer) that I would not direct anyone to. Plus the anti-bike comments on there are unbelievable, beyond anything I have seen locally recently. Seems like we have made some progress.
edmonds59
2013-09-01 07:50:37
I really hope that the bike got all the way there on its own two wheels!!! I shipped my bikes back via ABF, but I wish I would have used pedal power. Perhaps I'll ride a Chicago Divvy bike to Pgh. LOL
headloss
2013-09-03 21:39:19
The sheriff is right. Florida law is still "as close as practicable". The article does mention unsafe conditions as a reason to take the lane.
jonawebb
2013-09-07 10:00:51
California, not Florida. (San Diego County, specifically.) And, the sheriff is dead wrong; again, read the comments, especially Bill Davidson's, which specifically references several sections of the CA Vehicle Code.
epanastrophe
2013-09-07 10:57:22
From The Atlantic Cities, quote from Minnesota state senator S. Scott Dibble regarding a new $5 mill ped/bike bridge. A public official gets it - remarkable! "There’s been some criticism about the amount of money we spend on these facilities, particularly when they’re off-road facilities and dedicated trails. But when you do the head count and you really do the cost/benefit analysis, and compare that to how much money we put into the transportation infrastructure for cars -- and you look at the benefit, in terms of transportation, in terms of connecting communities, in terms of livability, quality of life and just how it makes people feel about where they live -- it just can’t even be compared." http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/09/eight-more-brilliant-pieces-bike-infrastructure/6803/
edmonds59
2013-09-07 12:11:53
helmets aside... (har har, couldn't resist), Victoria BC is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places to ride a bicycle that I've ever had the pleasure of exploring... it should really be on everyone's bucket list.
headloss
2013-09-08 21:12:45
Here's a funny!
lizzimac
2013-09-21 13:00:48
Another story about London. In some areas they have narrowed the roads, in the process eliminating bike lanes, in an effort to widen sidewalks (or "pavements", as they call them). And they're forcing cyclists to take the lane and using them for traffic calming. It's an improvement for pedestrians but a failure for cyclists, who are now avoiding this area. http://cyclelondoncity.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/more-road-narrowing-coming-to-city-of.html
paulheckbert
2013-09-22 19:34:04
This happened. Then NH Driver Arraigned in Crash That Killed Cyclists which is somewhat encouraging, but there's also this: "Police say Hess had been stopped on the same road eight hours before the crash and ticketed for driving without a license." So driving without a license doesn't mean you can't, say, drive, even if they catch you. It just means you get a ticket. Edit: I see in the earlier story that the police didn't let her drive, she had to wait until a friend arrived to drive her away. But then she borrowed a friend's car and killed people in the same spot. Because that's what true friendship is all about, lending cars.
jonawebb
2013-09-25 11:43:32
jonawebb wrote: “Police say Hess had been stopped on the same road eight hours before the crash and ticketed for driving without a license.” So driving without a license doesn’t mean you can’t, say, drive, even if they catch you. It just means you get a ticket. .
to be more exact , the first article says: "Because she has never had a driver's license in New Hampshire" It implies that she had DL from other state and just did not followed procedure to exchange DL after certain period of time.
mikhail
2013-09-25 12:03:05
Jon, some good quotes from another article http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20130924-NEWS-130929879 *The charges theoretically could be upgraded to vehicular manslaughter, but that would require the state to prove “criminal recklessness,” rather than the lower charge of “criminal negligence,” Reams said. *Witnesses are still being interviewed, Reams said, noting investigators “ended up with a lot more witnesses than you’d imagine” because a large bicycling event involving about 1,500 riders was going on at the time. *Reams said Hess was driving a friend’s vehicle at the time of the crash. He said it’s illegal to knowingly allow an unlicensed person to drive, but there no charges have been brought against the owner of the vehicle, since he doesn’t know the facts surrounding how Hess got those keys. *Reams said although Hess was driving nearly twice the speed limit when she was first pulled over, that wasn’t enough to have her car towed. “That wasn’t considered a crime to take her off the road,” he said. “They were both criminal violations, not crimes.” I assume this will get elevated to more serious charges. I hope it also leads the state to change the laws surrounding driving without a license, but I doubt it will happen.
marko82
2013-09-25 12:13:31
What a charming human being.
edmonds59
2013-09-25 13:17:55
WBEZ-NPR asks: Is biking in Chicago a risky proposition? "A Curious Citizen wanted a point-by-point comparison to other modes of getting around. But just how close can we (or should we) get to that?"
headloss
2013-09-25 18:25:59
Well, how about some good bike news from out of town! This one, from St. Paul MN: Amber Dallman gave birth after riding [rental bike] to hospital [link] Photo caption: Amber Dallman has the 2013 Hardcore Biker of the Year award locked up, as far as we're concerned. Comment: This has to be the busiest, most ad-filled webpage I have seen in a long while.
stuinmccandless
2013-09-25 21:32:33
Via Streetsblog: San Francisco rabbi trades pickup truck for city's first pedisukkah
epanastrophe
2013-09-29 12:58:18
Idiocy from Georgia: Rep. Carl Rogers, R- Hall County said he has heard it over and over from constituents, fed up with slow bike riders taking up lanes on country roads. Rogers and two colleagues have introduced house bill 689. It would require bikes to buy and display license plates, forbid riding side-by-side, allow only four riders in a single-file group and even let counties ban bikes from some roads. http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/lawmaker-wants-bicyclists-buy-license-plates/nbGKP/
michaelcycle
2013-10-05 18:28:03
If it weren't for precedent, I would not give a shit what happens in Georgia. Ultimate Redneck shithole.
edmonds59
2013-10-05 20:20:36
Pure ignorance and I agree it would be a terrible precedent.
salty
2013-10-06 00:23:09
Oh, to have a passport. Oh, to have a government I can acquire a passport from. I wonder what will become of 3000+ frames after this installation is taken apart. Will it travel? Can they be separated intact? Will they be sellable or give-awayable? Or just scrap?
stuinmccandless
2013-10-09 13:38:27
Cleveland cyclist speaks out after hit-and-run, prays for the driver to come forward: www.cleveland.com/brett/blog/index.ssf/2013/10/cylist_mindy_mayno_injured_in.html "God took care of me, took care of my side of the deal that night. I have no anger. I would thank him for having the courage to show up." But she'd give the driver a lecture. "Do you pay attention when you're driving? Will this have an impact on you? Will you put down all the distractions?" Meanwhile, Maryland woman charged w/ negligent manslaughter and texting while driving, faces up to ten years in prison for crash that killed cyclist: http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/10/08/woman-20-accused-of-texting-while-driving-faces-up-to-10-years-for-fatal-crash/ “This is big wake-up call to everyone to knock it off and drive your car,” said Kevin Davis, Anne Arundel County police chief.
epanastrophe
2013-10-09 14:00:32
I never really thought of carrying an ice pack with me when I ride. Apparently some people do. The first one is almost certainly the "slam to activate" type, not the refreezables that would condense all over your pannier. The second might be either type, as he was carrying chilled samples at the time. Do any of you carry an ice pack on a regular basis? Here's the story, from the Metropolitan Diary of the NY Times: Victim Becomes a Cycling Samaritan By NANCY BROUS Metropolitan Diary More Reader Tales From the City » Dear Diary: Late on the evening of May 30, I was in a pretty serious cycling accident on the Williamsburg Bridge: a hit and run. I was left with smashed bones in my face and a profusely bleeding gash in my forehead. Against all odds, a good Samaritan on his bike happened past with an ice pack in his backpack. It helped stop the bleeding and may have just saved my life. Three months later, while cycling down the West Side greenway with samples for a citizens’ water quality testing program chilling in a cooler, I came upon a downed cyclist, also the victim of a hit and run. I gave the guy, a tourist, my ice pack for his swollen wrist. I knew I was lucky the night of my accident, but I never expected to pay it forward quite so literally.
swalfoort
2013-10-15 08:52:25
Swalfoort wrote: Do any of you carry an ice pack on a regular basis?
I do. Every workday. Not because I am smart but because I am type II diabetic. The re-freezable one (I have a lot of them, somehow I cannot through them away when I get my insulin in mail). I would hand it out without problems.
mikhail
2013-10-15 15:36:40
ahhhh Texas "That is when Clark began to drive to the left running the cyclist to the shoulder of the road. Another cyclist, then came around Clarks right side in an attempt to go around. That is when Clark slammed his brakes on causing cyclist Rick Sauvageau to slam into the back of Clark’s truck. " Then he gets out of the truck and waves a baseball bat around. He also runs over a bicycle before leaving the scene... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQVtN496JBk http://montgomerycountypolicereporter.com/man-engages-cyclists-video/
headloss
2013-10-18 22:10:11
I wonder what they were selling from their bikes at 25 mph?
andyc
2013-10-21 08:18:52
A debate in the NY Times: Should the laws and infrastructure be altered to recognize differences between bikes and cars, or should cyclists and drivers be treated the same? http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/10/21/cyclists-drivers-and-the-rules-of-the-road excerpts: "Since the 1920s American car culture has carried on a campaign to make motor transport the highest priority for streets and highways. [The campaign is] based on three arguments: 1. Roads are made for motor vehicles. 2. Cyclists must stay close to the edge of the roadway, or off of it if there's a path, because the greatest danger to cyclists is same-direction motor traffic. 3. Cyclists cannot be expected to be capable of obeying the rules of the road. ... Both of motordom's scientific claims were proved false. Turning and crossing movements are the cause of 95 percent of car-bike collisions and only 5 percent of accidents are the result of same-direction motor traffic. Cyclists are fully capable of obeying the rules of the road; they fare best when they act, and are treated, as drivers of vehicles." "Bicycles should not only be for the brave young men on their way to work, but also for the children on their way to school. We’ve also seen that improving bicycle infrastructure at crossings and along congested stretches has empowered cyclists and improved safety. Over the last four years, Copenhageners who have reported that they feel safe while cycling has increased from 51 to 76 percent. Only 5 percent of them now feel unsafe." "Let's ban private cars downtown; while continuing to allow commercial vehicles, taxis and shuttle and bus services. Cyclists should be permitted to roll slowly through stop signs like in Idaho, and they should also be granted free, secure parking."
paulheckbert
2013-10-22 20:26:34
Economic Impact of (Katy) Trail discussed in recent Voice of America news item: Abandoned US Railroad Tracks Find New Life SEDALIA, MISSOURI — The morning sun shines like gold on the two rails of train tracks that run through Sedalia, Missouri. An automobile rumbles over the tracks then disappears up the street. A clanging crossing gate drops, allowing a lone engine to chug by pushing a single boxcar. When trains were king Ten blocks away, three dozen tourists dressed in bicycling clothes, gaze up at a train museum that looks like a palace topped by a towering, green tiled roof. Tour guide Kathleen Boswell says this historic depot dates back to the 1860s, when trains were king. Hundreds of trains stopped at the depot along the Kansas-Missouri-Texas Railroad, also known as the Katy, each week. However, by the 1970s, so many trucks and planes carried freight and people, that the train tracks were largely abandoned. In the 1980s, private donors worked with government officials to turn this stretch of track into the tourist attraction it is today. New way to ride the rails The former Katy railway is now one of longest recreational trails in the National Rails to Trails Conservancy. It was also one of the first. The tourists hop onto their bicycles and take to the trail, gearing up for a week of biking up to 80 kilometers a day. They'll be pedaling along a car-free trail that winds through hardwood forests and train tunnels, past corn fields and beside the expansive Missouri River. The group is among the nearly half-million people who use the Katy Trail every year. More than 20,000 of them come from out of state. “I love biking. That’s why I’m here," said Stacy Heikes, who is from Colorado. "I love biking in new places. Right up the road, I hear, there is a burr oak that’s a state champion in size.” A tour agency called Road Scholars organized this group’s itinerary, and it encourages side trips to train museums, vineyards and the Missouri state capital. The historic murals at the capital building in Jefferson City captured California resident Alice Frost's heart. “The one mural in the senator lounge was just magnificent," Frost said. "I had never been to Missouri before and I had put it on my low list of places I might like to go, but after seeing it, I see there’s many good things for vacationing, and I’m enjoying it.” Paying off The Katy Trail cost $6 million to build. Today, the state of Missouri spends a small fraction of that each year to maintain the 390-kilometer long trail. Katy Bike Rental owner Todd White says the resulting tourist traffic means the investment pays off. "The economic impact study says that $18.5 million every year [is] getting sprinkled along this trail," White said. "Two hundred and fifty thousand meals and, of course, the bike shops and different support services along this trail as well. Many Missouri cities now require major roads and bridges to include a bike lane, and for residential areas to add bikeways that link up with the Katy Trail, according to White. Since beginning with the Katy in the 1980s, the Rails to Trails program has helped convert 32,000 kilometers of abandoned train tracks into recreational paths. The group's ultimate goal is to create a nationwide network of connecting trails. Three minute video: http://www.voanews.com/content/abandoned-us-railroad-tracks-find-new-life/1778545.html Source: Voice of America News
swalfoort
2013-10-29 08:21:50
This is a little cool, a little freaky: From The Atlantic Cities, http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/10/britain-experimenting-glowing-seemingly-self-aware-bike-path/7413/ Britain Is Experimenting With a Glowing, Seemingly Self-Aware Bike Path The spectral blue glow emitted from this British bike path looks like it should be pulsing off of magic crystals inside some miles-deep cavern. But if it saves a rider from road rash or fractured bones, then more power to the folks who made it: Let's get even more parts of the cycle infrastructure lit up like Marie Curie's lab table. The so-called "Starpath" is a type of solar-enhanced liquid and aggregate made by Pro-Teq Surfacing, a company headquartered southwest of London near the awesomely titled town of Staines-upon-Thames. It's in the prototype phase, with a test path running 460 feet in a Cambridge park called Christ's Pieces. (The British and their delightful names!) The material works by absorbing UV rays during the day and later releasing them as topaz light. In a weird feature, it can somehow adjust its brightness levels similar to the screen of an iPhone; the path gets dimmer on pitch-black nights "almost like it has a mind of its own," says Pro-Teq's owner, Hamish Scott. The company patented this curious substance to suit the needs of certain thrifty municipalities, which are trying to cut back on their nocturnal electricity bills. Here's more about the Starpath from its makers: It is certainly a sustainable surface, perfect for cyclist and disabled access and has a high safety margin with its anti-slip properties. It can also help to reduce the risk of collisions between cyclists and pedestrians at night without having to resort to artificial painted centre lines. The aggregate is a non-reflective light source, the lack of any glare off the surface further enhancing its acceptance in more populated areas. (eg: if this product were to be laid on a driveway in a private residence, there would be no adverse impact on neighbouring properties). Pro-Teq is hoping that governments will embrace its self-aware, supernatural-looking pathway for its energy-saving elements and the ease in which it goes down. The installation is fairly quick (the Cambridge job took about 4 hours), and because it's a resurfacing technique doesn't involve the burdensome disassembly and disposal of existing pathways. "The main bulk of the U.K. path network is tarmac, where perhaps it's coming toward the end of its useful life," says Pro-Teq pitchman Neil Blackmore in the below video. "We can rejuvenate it with our system, creating not only a practical but a decorative finish that's certainly with the Starpath also very, very unique." Photos on the website make it worth clicking on the link. Sort of reminds me of the poppies scene in the Wizard of Oz. Except these "poppies" are blue.
swalfoort
2013-10-31 09:11:01
Mayor elect of NYC Bill de Blasio was the only one of 3 mayoral candidates to respond to Transportation Alternatives questionnaire regarding transportation, repeatedly calls for (continued) expansion of bike facilities and the bike share system in the city. This is wonderful. http://transalt.org/getinvolved/vote/survey?nosplash
edmonds59
2013-11-06 17:07:54
I spent 3 days visiting a friend and bicycling around Toronto earlier this month. Here are some impressions of cycling in Toronto. 1. Cycling is common. I saw lots of people on bicycles: men&women, young&old, with&without hats and gloves (even though it was cold and windy: 5-10C and 15km/h). I saw lots of bicycles locked on front porches of houses and on balconies of high-rise apartments. Many people have bicycles and they use them for short-distance trips. Mostly hybrids. The fraction of people in spandex was small. Here are bikes locked up in front of a restaurant. 2. Cycling is easy. I saw more bike lanes than in Portland OR, for example. Not as easy as Amsterdam, however. Lots of bike racks. Drivers seemed to accept the cyclists. 3. Subways and trains accept bicycles, outside of rush hour. Here we are lifting our bicycles onto an evening train back to downtown. No racks, no extra fee, no fuss. (This is just like the trains that run every 30 minutes from Monroeville to downtown Pittsburgh for $5 - you know that train, right?) 4. There are nice paved bike trails that follow rivers upstream away from the lake, through the parks, and also along the lake (comparable to Pittsburgh's network). Here is a bicycle/pedestrian bridge across the Humber River. 5. They have bike share, but I didn't try it.
paulheckbert
2013-11-27 17:34:21
Cool report. Thanks!
edmonds59
2013-11-27 19:14:50
yeah, sounds cool - here's hoping they can get rid of their crack smoking mayor and get back on the right path there...
salty
2013-11-27 22:04:45
^ I hope the LEOs dashcam video shows what happened. Looking at the roadway it's hard to imagine that it is anything other than distracted driving (cell phone, computer, etc.). Tragic.
marko82
2013-12-09 09:45:34
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/62804-young-philadelphians-driving-less-raising-kids-outside-of-car-culture Young Philadelphians driving less, raising kids outside of 'car culture' excerpt: Young city dwellers are trading in the car keys for a SEPTA pass, bicycle or sneakers. Some Philadelphians are continuing their voluntary car-free lifestyle even after having children. "Between 2001 and about 2009, 16- to 34-year-olds dropped 23 percent the number of miles that they were driving per year."
paulheckbert
2013-12-11 23:59:12
Note the sub-sub-heading: "Chief Clark Takes Steps to Eliminate Deaf and Partly Blind Drivers From Denver's Streets". There's also something about fainting and epilepsy. But I love the front page editorial cartoon:
jonawebb
2013-12-12 12:49:27
NYC Christmas 2013, getting there:
edmonds59
2013-12-21 12:14:11
SkyCycle, yeah. But the argument about needing existing streets for auto traffic falls apart when you take into account traffic generation. Adding more streets increases auto traffic. So if you were to reallocate space reserved for private auto traffic to mass transit + bike lanes you would move people more efficiently through the city, while at the same time reducing pollution, increasing health, making the city more livable, etc. There's no need for extra infrastructure in the sky reserved for bicycles. That is merely a way to avoid the politics of change the use of streets.
jonawebb
2014-01-03 13:29:43
I didn't see any statement that they were taking anything away from cyclists to do this. In general, I think segregated facilities are nice. And they encourage ridership in ways on street facilities don't. The only reason I'm not loud about the need for big vision big ticket items is that I don't see them happening here. But I hope I'm wrong. For sure, someone else wants to show what's possible... yay! This takes advantage of a natural advantage of bicycles... they're light. So while crazy it's perhaps not as crazy as it seems. Plus, you ride OVER the city. I mean, come on, who hasn't dreamed of doing something like that! Magical griffon indeed.
byogman
2014-01-03 13:59:50
You know there are some abandoned rail road tracks that all they would need is to put down some gravel and they could be made into multi-use trails at very low cost & they could be built really quickly... -GAP started 1986 -GAP Last mile (which really isn't) 2013 I don't see sky ramps in our future.
marko82
2014-01-03 14:35:19
They are trying to accomplish something along these lines in Chicago http://the606.org/
headloss
2014-01-03 15:09:59
Dere's wunnadem elvated ramps dahn by Station Square onna Sahside, takes you inta a a long tunnel, nobody uses it. You could eat a jumbo sammitch inna time it'd take ya tsee a car go by inn'ere. Put a roof overdat ramp, there's your Sky Cycle, & 'at.
stuinmccandless
2014-01-03 15:32:29
From one of the comments on that article, an excellent little quote: "Cycling is also the lowest cost per mile in the shortest time per dollar spent."
stuinmccandless
2014-01-08 17:21:43
I keep seeing this same AP photo being used in news articles about the Iranian nuclear situation (new york times, etc.). It's such a good photo because it clearly shows a big solution to the energy problem - unfortunately not the N-bomb problem.
marko82
2014-01-13 09:28:29
Marko82 wrote:It’s such a good photo because it clearly shows a big solution to the energy problem – unfortunately not the N-bomb problem.
As an out of work nuc-tech, I approve! ;)
headloss
2014-01-13 14:37:34
Marko82 wrote:I keep seeing this same AP photo being used in news articles about the Iranian nuclear situation (new york times, etc.). It’s such a good photo because it clearly shows a big solution to the energy problem – unfortunately not the N-bomb problem. >
I think I could carry the N-bomb in my B.O.B. trailer...
mick
2014-01-15 15:33:07
^Wow! Them cops are real d*cks. Let us know how this turns out if you hear anything.
marko82
2014-01-15 22:20:18
There is enough of this shit in various locales around the country that it seems plausible to fund a Kickstarter campaign, or some such thing, that would finance defense of harassment charges such as these. One guy, fighting a corrupt sheriff's office or self-important loonies, has at best a two-in-five chance of winning, and like the story says, he's out a lot of money just for taking a leisurely bike ride. But if we had a mechanism to play whack-a-mole, financing the "good guys", we could beat back the stupid. I think.
stuinmccandless
2014-01-16 21:19:36
StuInMcCandless wrote:There is enough of this shit in various locales around the country that it seems plausible to fund a Kickstarter campaign, or some such thing, that would finance defense of harassment charges such as these.
I would kick in for that.
edmonds59
2014-01-17 07:45:56
Does "South Pittsburgh" have a reputation for corruption?! The one commenter used that as an example of what Marion County doesn't want to become. That took me off guard.
sew
2014-01-17 08:15:30
I'm thinking something like a cyclist's legal defense fund, not a Kickstarter project. It's not something with a definite launch date that delivers a payoff to the contributors, it's a resource that cyclists can draw on over time. Quite a bit of it would be advice etc., I would think, not necessarily just paying for lawyers. There is a fund like this in the UK (http://www.cyclistsdefencefund.org.uk/) and there was/is one associated with Critical Mass in NYC (http://www.bicycledefensefund.org/). It might be worthwhile to start one here or nationally.
jonawebb
2014-01-17 09:13:18
@Marko82 - thanks. It's not often that you see people add an 'h' when talking about pittsburg/pittsburgh. The commenter did type "Pittsburgh", good catch.
sew
2014-01-17 10:40:59
Here’s a story from my old state. A friend of a friend: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/jan/15/as-terrifying-as-riding-a-bike/ why does my hometown always seem to make cycling-related news for all the wrong reasons? I really hope the Detective working the case can sort it out and charge the bastards with everything, but I'm not holding my breath.
jaysherman5000
2014-01-17 10:41:02
Wow, talk about news of the weird: http://www.wpxi.com/ap/ap/strange/bicyclist-stuck-in-windshield-talks-about-accident/ncwWQ/ Here's the START of the story: A Wisconsin man who became lodged in the windshield of a car that struck him said he turned to the driver and said, "Hello, I'm the guy you hit on the bicycle." The driver did not respond, but continued on, running a stop sign and hitting another vehicle before he arrived home, the cyclist, Steven Gove, told HTR Media about the Saturday incident (http://htrne.ws/1bI58jh ). The man finally noticed Gove when he stopped the car outside his home. "He looked at me and said 'Who are you? What are you doing in the car?'" Gove said. "He started freaking out: 'I'm going to jail, I'm going to jail.'" The man then locked the car doors and went into his home. Gove, whose body had gone most of the way through the windshield, then pulled his knees and feet into the car. "I righted myself and got out," he said. "I unlocked the passenger's side door and started walking down the street." (more in link)
swalfoort
2014-01-24 16:29:07
That guy should be happy to have walked away after that. I would think the driver in that mindset would be just as likely to murder the witness and throw the body in the woods.
andyc
2014-01-24 17:23:08
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/nyregion/snow-ice-and-wind-no-issue-for-citi-bikes-die-hards.html excerpt: [New York City's bike share] program, unlike those of some cold-weather counterparts, remains open all year. And in the throes of an especially unforgiving winter, the system is confronting perhaps its greatest test yet: negotiating the expected nose dive in ridership, scrambling to protect its stock from storms and showing that a program powered in large measure by novice cyclists can endure a season of black ice and face-whipping wind. What has emerged is something of an urban survival sport, the ranks thinning but never disappearing as the temperature dips. On peak days in the summer and fall, cyclists took more than 40,000 rides. Of those, about one-fifth typically used 24-hour or seven-day passes — popular options for tourists. From Jan. 1 to Jan. 26, the system averaged about 9,600 riders per day, with a vast majority being regular die-hards.
paulheckbert
2014-01-29 07:54:38
More on the Vancouver incident: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/01/27/vancouver-bike-lane-cyclist-driver-fight_n_4676461.html "Cyclist Edward Hoey claims he was making a left turn in downtown Vancouver when the motorist behind him started honking his horn and yelling at him about not being in the bike lane, reported CBC News. Hoey claims the man was trying to swerve into him, causing him to crash onto the sidewalk. When he approached the driver, Hoey says the man pulled his hand into the car. When Hoey managed to free his hand, he pulled some papers out from the passenger side seat and scattered them on the sidewalk, reported CBC."
paulheckbert
2014-01-30 15:32:11
I know we're all the-bicyclist-can-do-no-wrong here, but which scenario sounds more likely: 1) Bicyclist is mad, approaches passenger side of car, reaches in, pulls some stuff out, scatters it. 2) Bicyclist approaches car for reasonable conversation, infuriated motorist reaches across to bicyclist at passenger side window, grabs bicyclist's hand and pulls it in car, somehow bicyclist's hand becomes engaged with papers in motorist's car, bicyclist pulls hand back while still engaged with papers, bicyclist finally manages to free hand from papers sticking to hand, scattering them on the street.
jonawebb
2014-01-30 15:50:47
From the behavior in the video and the news snippets, it appears to me that the most likely sequence was: 1) cyclist does something that annoys driver (making a left turn? whether the cyclist was acting legally or reasonably here is hard to guess); 2) driver threatens cyclist, steering into him, causing cyclist to fall off his bike; 3) cyclist is angered, approached driver's car to yell at him; 4) driver gets aggressive, pulling cyclist's hand into car; 5) cyclist reacts angrily, grabbing stuff in car and scattering it, banging car mirror and then getting away; 6) driver tails cyclist, driving his car into bike lane and into the cyclist at low speed; 7) driver exits car and assaults cyclist. I base that timeline on this: "Hoey alleged that, after he put his hand on the car, the driver pulled his hand through the open passenger-side window and tried to injure his wrist. As he pulled his hand out of the car, Hoey tossed some papers on the passenger seat onto the sidewalk." http://www.straight.com/news/574311/vancouver-cyclist-fight-driver-disturbed-police-response and https://www.facebook.com/lucille.austero.5/media_set?set=a.10150360045319997.1073741829.501039996&type=1 among other sources. I don't believe that "cyclists can do no wrong" but in this case it seems the driver is the out-of-control aggressor. My daughter is moving to Vancouver later this year, so I care about safety in that city.
paulheckbert
2014-01-31 11:34:45
Just a few more days away...
marko82
2014-02-05 09:58:35
Marko82 wrote:Just a few more days away…
Excited for curling, I take it?
headloss
2014-02-05 12:42:30
From the bike list at work. The driver was an 18 year old girl, speculation that she was drunk or drugged up, at 7am. Fortunately she got caught, but unfortunately they didn't find her victim quickly enough to save his life. http://ranchosantamargarita.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/fire-chief-finds-downed-cyclist-aids-in-search-for-suspect “He turned around to investigate and found a 21-year-[old] bike rider that had been struck,” wrote Senior Fire Communication Supervisor David Paschke. “Both the victim and bike may have never been located for several hours or until this lone riders family/friends reported him missing, as he had been flipped over the guardrail into the brush.”
salty
2014-02-05 14:13:26
Cleveland. <3 <3 http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/oh-cuyahoga/winter-bicyclists-take-to-the-streets
edmonds59
2014-02-07 06:16:49
I don't know if this story was posted here earlier. It has a bit too familiar of a ring to it - cyclist gets hit by drunk driver who leaves him for dead. In this case, the driver drove 2 miles with the cyclist stuck in the rear window, then tossed him into the woods behind a dumpster. http://www.wsvn.com/story/24666967/family-of-cyclist-left-for-dead-speaks-out The victim has no insurance and is looking for donations to cover care, if you're so inclined: https://www.helphopelive.org/find-a-patient/profile/index.cfm/patient/F4978F2D-A582-7D54-4C6024B1179A8731/
salty
2014-02-09 22:13:17
Man what a difference a few weeks makes. I was going to say, why doesn't he have insurance, but he was hit Dec. 16, before Obamacare started. Donating now...
jonawebb
2014-02-10 08:28:52
Hubway (Boston's bike-share program) asked locals for help analyzing the data and giving a visual representation... here's what people came up with. http://hubwaydatachallenge.org/
headloss
2014-02-11 12:10:43
Lolo Jones with Dutch athletes at the Olympic village in Sochi:
edmonds59
2014-02-11 13:12:06
I just had the above letter recirculate back to me from an acquaintance (who doesn't have anything to do with biking!) by way of a friend of his from Michigan. Viral doesn't begin to describe this. That dude is getting roasted.
edmonds59
2014-02-13 13:33:22
I updated his Wikipedia page yesterday. It's still up.
jonawebb
2014-02-13 13:47:13
Oh snap. But you don't mention his true identity;
edmonds59
2014-02-13 14:08:20
Funny thing is, bikesnob mentions that he actually voted for complete streets legislation in suffolk county. Great job on the follow through.
benzo
2014-02-14 14:18:01
If the All-Powerful Bike Lobby can't defeat this guy in the next election, it doesn't deserve the name.
jonawebb
2014-02-14 14:41:27
^NY story in one sentence: "They may be right, but we're not wrong."
stuinmccandless
2014-03-06 07:34:35
Columbus bike lights about to debut. http://www.columbusridesbikes.com/2014/03/odots-first-ever-bicycle-warning.html I am curious to see how these will work. I had not heard of this sort of thing before. From the article: "ODOT's Public Information Officer Don Hamilton says the four signs cost the agency $180,000." That's chump change, folks, to make the streets safer.
stuinmccandless
2014-03-09 13:04:33
Mexico City is getting better for bicycles: http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-03-18/best-way-get-around-traffic-clogged-mexico-city-may-be-bike "He told me about a new commuting contest here between a car, public transportation, a motorcycle and a bicycle. He said they do it to show how fast the bike is. The bike always wins. The Bicitekas aren’t saying Mexico City is cycling nirvana: They mark cycling deaths here by putting up “ghost bikes,” bike frames painted white, memorials for killed riders. Last year they built two — tragic, but still a very low number for a megacity. [21 million people in the metro area] ... You actually don’t need to pass an exam to get [an automobile] license in Mexico City; testing so was corrupt they did away with it. ... the City’s new bike lanes. The city now has nearly 40 miles of these lanes, half of which was implemented last year, and plans for more. Concrete dividers separate bikes from cars. ... the city’s bike infrastructure was modelled on Copenhagen, arguably the most bike-friendly city in the world."
paulheckbert
2014-03-19 09:46:48
2 deaths in a city of 21 million is really impressive. We had 3 in greater Pittsburgh last year.
jonawebb
2014-03-19 09:54:44
It will be interesting to see how this turns out: "Who's to blame when a Syracuse cop in SUV and bicyclist run stop signs and crash? Jury to decide " The housing for a mirror from Cordone's vehicle was found on North State Street, more than 180 feet away from the crash scene. so I guess speed might also be an issue.
marko82
2014-03-25 13:48:11
Oakland (CA) law would let cyclists, pedestrians sue abusive drivers By Matthew Artz Oakland Tribune POSTED: 03/25/2014 04:26:23 PM OAKLAND -- Abusive drivers who take aim at cyclists and pedestrians might soon face retribution far more severe than a middle finger. Councilwoman Libby Schaaf introduced legislation Tuesday that would make Oakland the nation's fourth city to allow aggrieved cyclists and pedestrians to take their vehicular tormentors to civil court. If victorious, Oakland law would let cyclists, pedestrians sue abusive drivers plaintiffs would be entitled to at least $1,000 and attorneys fees. Bicycle advocates and Schaaf, who is running for mayor, acknowledged that cyclists are not always docile victims on the streets of Oakland. But they said the additional protections were warranted because both cyclists and pedestrians are far more vulnerable to serious injury. A report from Schaaf's office found that 184 pedestrians and cyclists were killed by cars in Oakland between 1992 and 2011. "The idea is to de-escalate the aggression from all parties and hopefully we'll make everyone safer," Schaaf said during a new conference Tuesday announcing the bill. The law would prohibit motorists from assaulting or intentionally inflicting emotional distress against cyclists or pedestrians -- and provides the victims with an opportunity to seek civil damages. Motorists also would not be allowed to intentionally pass cyclists and pedestrians in an unsafe manner. Both motorists and cyclists would be prohibited from intentionally failing to yield to a pedestrian. The proposal, championed by the organization Walk Oakland Bike Oakland, is modeled on a law first passed three years ago in Los Angeles. Berkeley and Washington, D.C., have also passed versions of the law, although no civil suit has been filed under the law in any of those cities. Proving abuse would be difficult without camera footage or witnesses, advocates said. Christopher Kidd, an Oakland native who worked on the Los Angeles law, said he has been the victim of abusive drivers in both cities, although he said Oakland drivers were nicer. Nevertheless, he said the worst incident occurred last year in Oakland. A driver, who had shouted at him on the road, later intentionally struck him with his car door near the intersection of San Pablo and Stanford avenues. "When I tried to take a photograph of his license plate, he threatened to get a gun out of his truck," Kidd said. Edward Erving, a Berkeley resident, who happened upon Tuesday's news conference, said he's been on the wrong side of over-aggressive drivers and cyclists. He was open to the proposal, but feared it might punish drivers for lapses of concentration. "What if I'm driving and I didn't see that person and end up cutting them off?" he asked. "Can they turn around and say I had a mean look on my face and I was intentionally trying to harass them?" Contact Matthew Artz at 510-208-6435
swalfoort
2014-03-26 08:16:27
That sounds like a Cyclist dream to take every "Real Man" in a big bad pickup to court, but it would definitely need to have sufficient evidence. Otherwise we would really be tampering with the fire in the legal system. I wish I could have caught the guy on camera who felt the need to approach me after getting out of his Silverado, only to back down to instead use his bigger more bad weapon of choice to break check me in a bike lane. Even in PA that hillbilly maybe could of been fined if I had a helmet cam of it.
shooflypie
2014-03-26 12:02:34
BTW, Peduto's the keynote speaker at the Ontario Bike Summit this year. He really seems to be serious about this bike stuff.
jonawebb
2014-03-28 09:37:56
jonawebb wrote:BTW, Peduto’s the keynote speaker at the Ontario Bike Summit this year. He really seems to be serious about this bike stuff.
I doubt he himself is a cyclist, but I like his progressiveness on many things so far. I stated this same case on many Post Gazette articles that brought out the anti-cyclist neanderthals; Cities that put bike infrastructure as a priority and are more cyclist friendly tend to be the ones that lure young educated techies that have a higher income to tax. Turning Pittsburgh around isn't just diversifying the economy but providing a quality of life to the people who work there, and bike infrastructure is important in that.
shooflypie
2014-03-28 10:00:52
Dogs and pedestrians going the wrong way in the bicycle-only lane, cool.
jonawebb
2014-03-29 06:36:05
^Now you're getting like me, lol. Don't get like me.
edmonds59
2014-03-29 07:02:50
ShooFlyPie wrote:Turning Pittsburgh around isn’t just diversifying the economy but providing a quality of life to the people who work there, and bike infrastructure is important in that.
Excellent summary of the situation. Also, I am rejoining the Allegheny County Transit Council, now that the transit funding tide has turned. I am hoping to bring some new blood and new ideas to the table. More on that later.
stuinmccandless
2014-03-29 15:50:54
Excellent news, @stu. On related matters, I drove through the Wabash Tunnel today (I'd never been through there on bike or in a car) and it seems completely obvious to me it should be a bike pathway. It's two lanes! Only one of which gets used. There is plenty of space for a cycle track, leaving a full lane for cars. It wouldn't inconvenience motorists at all, and create a great link for people in the South Hills to get downtown. You wouldn't need to do much at all on the downtown side.
jonawebb
2014-03-29 16:40:24
News out of Philadelphia, seen on a private group on Facebook. Could be bad news for cyclists. Who do you know in Philly? I can't find an independent verification of this, so take this with a grain of salt (and in particular I find the references to dates to be wrong), but without further ado, I will copy/paste verbatim, in case there is validity to it... Yo!! ...if you bike in and through Philly, you've likely come to appreciate the VERY cool South Street Bridge...that coolness is on the verge of being taken away...unless WE act!!! If you cycle or walk the South Street Bridge, you know it's really one of the region's best bridges for cyclists and pedestrians. Now all that is in trouble. Children's Hospital is planning a big office tower on the east bank of the Schuylkill, right next to the bridge. CHOP's board has directed the planners to make the site as car-friendly as possible, with riverfront land used to park cars, and a big garage in Phase One. They want to provide subsidized parking for 500 (later 1,000+) employees, saying that transit, walking and cycling are not viable methods. This despite multiple transit connection minutes from the site. The local neighborhood residential streets can't handle the kind of traffic CHOP says they need for a "world-class" facility. No problem, say the planners -- we'll just punch a big ramp from our garage right into the South Street Bridge on the south side. This will mean 500 cars (in Phase One alone) crossing the eastbound sidewalk and the bike lane, so that private car users can get onto I-76 in a jiffy. CHOP's dedicated driveway will feed cars across the South Street Bridge westbound lanes so that drivers can get onto the northbound lanes of the Expressway as well. Their planners don't seem to have asked how that many cars can feed down the "merge-or-die" ramps at South Street, nor what the effect will be when 500 cars enter/exit the ramp daily--blocking bike and pedestrian traffic for about 30 minutes of each rush hour. If you live in the area and try to do the right thing by using transit, walking or biking, tough. This puts drivers who need to get back to the 'burbs at the top of the food chain. This Tuesday, Jan. 2nd., CHOP is having a meeting to win the zoning variances they need to put this monster into the neighborhood. After half a dozen meeting with the community, they haven't budged an inch on their plans to use riverfront land as a gigantic car storage facility, and run their private driveway across the bike lanes. Since the first meetings, they've actually reneged on connections to the river path, and added more parking for more cars. Please be at the meeting to show opposition to this over scale, 1970s-suburban style project. Tuesday, April 2, 5:40 pm the Philadelphia School, 2501 South Street. also, please email the Bicycle Coalition tonight to ask that they show their opposition to this project, which threatens to erase all their hard work on the South Street Bridge.
stuinmccandless
2014-03-31 05:17:14
Here's a neighborhood association's page about the project, and here's an article about it. Given the time and money the hospital's put into this project (they've been talking to the neighborhood about it since 2009, purchased the land, and presented the new building's design), getting any changes at this point sounds very difficult.
steven
2014-03-31 11:21:05
Not "news" per se, but noteworthy... I was listening to the Pirates game on the Chicago AM station that carries the Cubs and while discussing the upcoming opening day at Wrigley Field, they suggested that you might want to ride a bike and leave it with the official bike valet! http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/chc/ballpark/transportation/index.jsp?content=bike Get with the program, PNC!
headloss
2014-04-01 12:32:12
http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/historian-uncovers-the-forgotten-protected-bike-lane-boom-of-1905 excerpts: Did you know that there was an American protected bike lane movement in 1905? Wagons, carts, and horses were excluded from the paths. They were to be a separate network, set apart from foot and vehicle traffic, solely for bicycles. The movement had its own national magazine, "Sidepaths," with a circulation of 5,000, published in America's bike capital: Rochester, N.Y. Sidepaths, Longhurst writes, had more success in some cities than in others and "briefly flourished in Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland, and elsewhere." The basic problem for sidepaths, Longhurst shows, is that after an initial burst of enthusiasm among bike advocates faded, there wasn't enough public money in place to build and maintain them. Where sidepaths were hobbled from the start by a weak and fluctuating funding stream, [historian Christopher] Wells observes that the interstate highway system was successful because of the ingenuity and invisibility of its financing, hiding the cost from end users and protecting it from the depredations of marauding legislators. When it comes to infrastructure, it seems, the funding mechanism is destiny.
paulheckbert
2014-04-02 09:52:11
paulheckbert wrote:the ingenuity and invisibility of its financing, hiding the cost from end users and protecting it from the depredations of marauding legislators
Well, Robert Moses had a hell of a time building highways in NYC well before the interstate highway system came into existence. They were largely funded by tolls, which is hardly hiding the cost from end users. More like smacking them in the face. And I don't think any funding source is safe from legislators. Almost anything one legislature can do, the next can undo (the exception being contracts). The real secret of the success of highway funding is that people are willing to spend a lot of money on their cars, and they like having roads to drive on (and there's a lot of money to be made building them).
jonawebb
2014-04-02 10:07:35
*makes note to check out Goodwill's tweed collection sometime soon*
stuinmccandless
2014-04-02 18:39:14
StuInMcCandless wrote:*makes note to check out Goodwill’s tweed collection sometime soon*
I just found a nice Burberry jacket at my local goodwill! ;) Now I have an excuse to wear it! :D :D :D Not sure if I'll make it to this, as I'm still hashing out my end of month plans. I hope to make it and say hello to the other side of the rustcup.
headloss
2014-04-02 18:47:45
Cyclocable: "The first prototype was installed in Trondheim, Norway, in 1993. Since then, it's become a popular tourist attraction that's powered more than 200,000 cyclists up a 130-meter hill, with no accidents recorded. ... Now, POMA Group, the French cableway company behind the CycloCable, wants to sell the idea to other cities around the world. ... Pittsburgh has also considered the lift. According to Stephen Patchan, bicycle/pedestrian coordinator at Pittsburgh's Department of City Planning, the cycling community sees the steep terrain as an amenity, not a challenge." Yes, let's do it! 200,000 cyclists and no known accidents! Pittsburgh should jump at the chance to be the first American city to install one of these! http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2014/04/bike-elevator-take-you-steep-hills/8774/
paulheckbert
2014-04-03 23:17:43
Heartily agreed. Those who want to ride up the steeps can still do so. A relatively small number of these, strategically placed, would make a very big difference to the approach-ability of cycling here.
byogman
2014-04-04 07:11:14
As Patchan said in that article, Pittsburgh cyclists consider the hills an amenity. But maybe not everybody.
jonawebb
2014-04-04 07:49:06
But maybe not everybody.
I would say hardly anybody, especially at the outset. We're a very, very narrow group of weirdos here. I say that in the most loving way possible. But it's an important perspective.... to bring this thing we love to the masses, we have to acknowledge how weird we are, and make the required level of weirdness much, much lower.
byogman
2014-04-04 08:27:53
McArdle would be a perfect spot for this. Straight, you'd get tourist traffic, and the neighborhood would probably support it.
jonawebb
2014-04-04 11:47:06
1. Joncaire/Boundary up to Frick Fine Arts Bldg. 2. Armstrong Tunnel to Duquesne U. 3. Above James St behind Allegheny General Hospital. 4. Negley Ave south of Fifth. 5. Frazier/Greenfield up to Bigelow St. 6. Dead-end of Saline St up to Greenfield/Pocusset. 7. Base of S.18th up to Pius St. 8. Planet St off Steuben. 9. Jacob St in Brookline, both sides, from the Central stop on S.Busway. 10. Glenmawr St in Sheraden off W Carson.
stuinmccandless
2014-04-04 11:48:50
I like Joncaire too. Shorter than McArdle, high traffic. But McArdle is good because it extends bike infrastructure towards the South Hills, which really needs it, and it's a route people will take to go to the restaurants and views.
jonawebb
2014-04-04 12:25:13
I think Danny Chew's criteria for choosing the most punishing hills for dirty dozen (close in, steep, a lot of vertical (except Canton which is too short)) are roughly a perfect match to where this would would get used and be a welcome relief to saner folks. Negley isn't bad enough to be a DD hill, but it being kind of in the middle of an existing cycle-heavy area, for sure it would get a ton of use. I really like the mention of things that aren't roads though... this could certainly be used on narrow-ish paths yet to be built like "6. Dead-end of Saline St up to Greenfield/Pocusset." I want to see something built for the folks in the Hill District, connect to downtown or the strip.
byogman
2014-04-04 13:41:11
I was tapping out that response on my iPhone, so didn't want to get too wordy. Now that I have a keyboard at my disposal, I can explain my choices a little better. Mainly I was trying to match potentially heavy bike traffic at the bottom of a hill with a neighborhood at the top of the hill that seems it could be well suited for a bike commute if only there wasn't a big honking elevation change on the way home. I tried to work from first-hand knowledge of both cycling and transit infrastructure. I tried to stay within city limits. Most of these I've used at one time or another, or wished I could. Nobody has given any numbers for what these cost, but $200K a copy seems a reasonable thumbnail guess. That puts it in the same ballpark as a traffic light at a typical intersection. They, too, have design and installation costs, as well as operational costs, and must be upgraded or replaced every couple of decades, as I suspect these will. It's a fair comparison, I think.
stuinmccandless
2014-04-04 19:49:00
Temple's campus bike program have organized a panel discussion on how bicycles and buses can share the road and improve communication, featuring SEPTA and the Mayor's Office of Transportation and Utilities: http://bike.temple.edu/events/bike-safety-septa-panel-discussion Maybe someday we can get something similar featuring PAT, Stephen Patchan/City Planning, and Bike Pittsburgh...
epanastrophe
2014-04-08 16:31:50
Saw this on reddit today. PA cyclists buy billboard space. Nice going franklin county cyclists.
benzo
2014-04-15 14:34:59
Say goodbye to panniers, tents, and sleeping bags. Say hello to the new and improved future of bike camping! How handy would this have been for Crush The Commonwealth?
smarchit
2014-04-27 21:48:39
I suspect side winds would be a problem.
stuinmccandless
2014-04-28 05:31:55
StuInMcCandless wrote:I suspect side winds would be a problem.
The profile is a bit high. And it seems like it could get a bit heavy, even with two people pedaling. But then again, you'd get some protection from the elements too. An interesting premise at least, even if the practicality issues haven't quite been worked out.
smarchit
2014-04-28 16:56:42
@jonawebb. Yes, they blessed bicycles at a church on the North Side last week. It conflicted with the steel city crit so I missed it even though I was only a few blocks away. I'm not religious, but I've gone to these in the past to show thanks to the kindness of the organizers.
marko82
2014-05-05 07:57:16
I missed the 2014 blessing, but attended the 2013 event. I believe it is the U.U. church on North Avenue, not far from the Aviary.
stuinmccandless
2014-05-05 11:29:05
Yes, Allegheny UU, North at Resaca. Look for the rainbow Pride and African Heritage flags. (The bike-blessing, and a similar blessing-of-the-animals service, are usually across the street in the park, though.)
epanastrophe
2014-05-05 11:33:33
Meanwhile, in Idaho...: Boise PD unveils 'cycling safety awareness' patrol car, complete w/ 3-ft-to-pass bumper decal and modified city seal with bike on steps of city hall: http://buff.ly/1kFukbE (via @bikinginla)
epanastrophe
2014-05-05 12:00:30
Also in Idaho, a couple of clicks from the article above: What are those blue lights on traffic lights? http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/64291897.html From the article: Blue lights have been added to 40 traffic signals around Ada County, and are used to help police officers catch drivers who are running red lights. Here's how it works: As a driver approaches a red light at an intersection, a blue light shines on the back side of the traffic signal. An officer can safely sit on the opposite side of the intersection and wait. If the driver runs the red and zooms through, the officer would see the blue light and could safely pull over the driver without having to run the light as well.
stuinmccandless
2014-05-05 12:22:22
^Yeah, but what does Alec Baldwin ride? :)
ka_jun
2014-05-13 15:24:19
Some throwback out of town news On This Day In History.... (starring our hero, Bicycle Roundsman Schuessler)
smarchit
2014-05-20 17:29:19
58% of the student body! Woa!
edmonds59
2014-05-22 19:46:14
That article said the SFPD printed ~30k "Is this a bait bike?" stickers; where can I get one? Can bikepgh make some? Even if PPD isn't using a bait bike program, I'd still put one on my bike. After all, how informed are bike thieves when it comes to which jurisdicitons are using bait and which ones aren't?
jaysherman5000
2014-05-28 10:54:07
People live in Delaware? I thought it was just a tax shelter for corporations and a place to collect toll and ticket money for people trying to get from NJ to MD.
rice-rocket
2014-05-29 16:49:26
^It's worth posting a pic of the road the cyclist was traveling on in the Delaware case. Does that cop really expect a cyclist to "share" that lane?
marko82
2014-05-29 17:02:21
Although I did not partake, it looked like a great ride- a lot of coverage locally. http://wivb.com/2014/05/31/cyclists-bike-for-first-ever-skyride/ Some parallels with Pittsburgh having experienced a population loss coinciding with the reduction of the local steel industry, leaving roads less traveled and ripe for diets making them more cycle friendly.
helen-s
2014-06-04 07:37:28
Some people just plain crazy and should not be allowed to live among normal people. :(
mikhail
2014-06-04 10:51:25
A-ha! I knew Buffalo must have a bike advocacy organization, and there it is, mentioned in that Skyway article. http://gobikebuffalo.org/ And here's their article on that particular ride.
stuinmccandless
2014-06-04 14:49:50
Honk as you pass cyclists in WV if new law passes. Some good stuff in the bill too, but this seems somewhat counterproductive to me. The Bicycle Safety Bill (HB-4304) requires bicycles to generally travel in bicycle lanes or as close as practical to the right edge of the roadway. This new law also requires drivers to give bicycle riders an audible signal when passing. Drivers must also pass on the left at a distance of not less than three feet. http://fabb-bikes.blogspot.com/2014/06/in-wv-honk-before-passing.html
benzo
2014-06-09 10:38:01
http://www.npr.org/2014/06/11/321049308/being-a-pedestrian-in-fl-is-dangerous-orlandos-trying-to-change-that Orlando Steps Up To Make Its Streets More Pedestrian-Friendly excerpt: Semoran Boulevard in Orlando, lined with gas stations, strip malls and bus stops, is a good example of what's wrong with the roads in this busy Florida city. It's the most dangerous street in a city that ranks No. 1 in the nation for pedestrian accidents, according to a recent national study. There have been 28 crashes involving pedestrians — and six deaths — on this stretch of road over the past seven years. According to the urban planning group that conducted the study, Smart Growth America, Florida is the most dangerous state in the country for pedestrians, with four Florida cities leading the nation in pedestrian deaths per capita. Orlando tops the list, thanks to its layout, road design and the culture of its drivers. (The other three are Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami.)
paulheckbert
2014-06-12 13:44:31
Weird-ass story from Vancouver... apparently the shooter was a former employee of the bike shop, and there were some other connections as well. http://cyclingmagazine.ca/sections/news/vancouver-bike-shop-owner-paul-dragan-shot/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/woman-police-officer-suspect-injured-as-gunfire-erupts-in-busy-yaletown/article19100547/ Vancouver bike shop owner, Paul Dragan, shot On Tuesday, Paul Dragan, the owner of the Reckless Bike Stores chain was shot in the abdomen. The 52-year-old had left his Vancouver bike shop to run across the street for a coffee. The shooter then fled by bike. When he arrived at Science World, there was an exchange of gun fire with police. One officer was injured, and so was the shooter. The Globe and Mail reports that the shooter is a 61-year-old man, who is now in hospital. Dragan was also taken by paramedics after they administered CPR.
salty
2014-06-16 21:40:49
The comments from Stu's link are about everything you would expect from "Fox Sports". Infuriating. Very nearly enough to cause me to go full on open carry whack job on drivers.
edmonds59
2014-06-17 10:36:43
Bicycle South Central PA strives for more bicycle and walker friendly community [organization centered in Harrisburg] http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/07/bicycle_south_central_pa_striv.html my comment there: Wow, freeways cost 300 times more, per mile, than bike trails!? (And bicycling is good for health, economy, community, obesity prevention, economy, clean air, cooler planet, less noise ...) Let's build more trails! The next time a state legislator comes out for some boondoggle that would waste taxpayer money enriching the construction industry (e.g. extending the Route 219 freeway near Somerset), let's instead spend the money to a) build a bunch of bike trails, b) fix some bridges, sidewalks, and sewers, and c) build some schools.
paulheckbert
2014-07-09 20:45:34
Maybe soon you’ll be able to enjoy the comfort of a bicycle seat while you fly?
The graphic looks remarkably like an arrangement of galley slaves.
reddan
2014-07-15 14:51:03
Reminded me more of roller coaster type seating. Of course the galley seating might make sense for the ultra-super-saver "flight" from Venice to Athens... Stroke... Stroke...
andyc
2014-07-15 16:02:47
Pro cyclist cheats death.... twice. Racing for a Malaysian team, Maarten de Jonge evidently flies Malaysian Airlines often. He was scheduled on MH370, the flight that disappeared in March, but decided to take a different flight an hour earlier that did not include a stopover in Beijing. Last week, he was scheduled to be on MH17, but discovered a later flight with a different connection would be cheaper...
epanastrophe
2014-07-21 13:39:02
Bicycle Anecdotes from Amsterdam video: http://vimeo.com/77084110 this brings a smile to my face
paulheckbert
2014-07-21 15:39:56
^ Awesome! Seems to be in Skokie, Illinois - NW of Chicago
marko82
2014-07-24 11:04:25
Suburban St. Louis... Sunset Hills mayor accused of intentional hit and run against an apparently quite experienced cyclist. St. Louis Post article Naturally, it has turned into a battle of conflicting stories, as the mayor looks to protect himself.
smarchit
2014-07-30 16:14:02
Milwaukee has announced the opening of their small (10 station) downtown bike share program. http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/city-bike-share-stations-to-launch-downtown-in-coming-weeks-b99325758z1-270192351.html This would cover a 3 sq. mile area focused on downtown. Suburban communities are looking to create their own "matching" system. Shorewood is a lakefront community about 4 miles north of downtown, just on the other side of the large University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus (my alma mater, similar in size to Pitt); Wauwatosa is a bit further from downtown, due west. Probably six miles from the eastern border to downtown, but then extends north and west from there for several miles in each direction. That was all part of my old stomping grounds as a kid. It's exciting to see this launch in Milwaukee. And, for the curious, "bubbler" is a local term for a "drinking fountain." Is it apparently used primarily (and perhaps exclusively) in Milwaukee and somewhere in New England. No good reasoning as to why. But, a Milwaukeean will be stymied by a request for directions to a water fountain (check the front of City Hall) or a drinking fountain. A request for a bubbler, on the other hand, will enable you to quench a thirst like a native.
swalfoort
2014-08-07 09:38:09
Cleveland Pushes Bicycle Avenues (Cycle Tracks) http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/08/cleveland_bicycle_expressway_c.html CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A big, bold way to connect Cleveland neighborhoods, pump up businesses and add tree-lined bikeways to miles and miles of city streets is hiding in plain sight. The paved-over tracks of Cleveland's once-extensive streetcar network left some of its main avenues far broader than needed for the traffic they're handling. Bike and community advocates say that buried transit system can be transformed into "the Midway" -- a center-of-the-road, two-way bike lane protected on either side with boulevards, with a lane of traffic and a parking row on either side of that. Members of Bike Cleveland, St. Clair Superior Development Corporation and Bialosky + Partners Architects have been working for two years on plans to reimagine some of the wide, low-traffic streets that branch to all corners of Cleveland and to the Emerald Necklace fringing the city. As a start, the Midway team proposes a one-mile stretch of boulevard-buffered bikeway along St. Clair Avenue between East 55th Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. That would put Cleveland in the ranks of a young but growing movement among U.S. cities to build protected lanes, also known as "green lanes" or "cycle tracks." There are about 200 protected lane projects nationwide. But the Cleveland design doesn't stop there. Far from it. Planners see a bicycle expressway fanning out across 50, 80, even 100 miles of roads that once were streetcar routes. If accomplished, it would put Cleveland at the very forefront of urban areas with non-car connections. "We would like to lead the country, not follow," said Jacob VanSickle, Bike Cleveland executive director. Protected lanes = bike-friendly routes The mid-street path would be like a sidewalk for bikes --- a zone that is a practical way for more people, not just brave urban bike messengers, to make trips of a few miles. "There are all kinds of people who say, 'I'd like to bike, but I don't feel safe.' When you put in protected facilities there is really an uptick in use, especially among women and children," said Barb Clint, a board member at Bike Cleveland. Wide streets that have more room than needed for their flow of traffic encourage cars to speed, and leave pedestrians scurrying across before getting a blinking Do Not Walk signal, she said. Seventy-one percent of Americans have expressed interest in biking more often but find it too scary in busy traffic, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The bike advocacy group PeopleforBikes says 1 percent of U.S. trips are made by bike today, even though 50 percent of trips are a bikeable three miles or less, and 60 percent of all people say they're interested in biking more. The Midway proponents say cyclists wouldn't be the only beneficiaries of a Cleveland network. At eight feet wide in each direction, bike lanes would have room for runners and walkers. The buffer medians could have benches, gardens, planters and trees to make alluring linear parks on streets down which winds and cars now barrel. Some of the sections of the landscaped path would follow 19th and 20th century streetcar connections to the Cleveland Metroparks. Residents once rode streetcars out to the parks to escape smoggy city days. Metroparks architect William Stinchcomb, "always talked about the need to provide sanctuary from the industrial core," said the park system's current chief executive, Brian Zimmerman. Using protected bike lanes to link the parks with more neighborhoods makes a lot of sense, he said. To Clint, the Midway is about just such elements of "social equity" and health, in a city where half of households in some low-income neighborhoods don't have a car. The director of community health and advocacy at the YMCA of Greater Cleveland says the guiding question is "For whom are we designing our city? Currently we think the balance is tipped a little in favor of cars." Tapping broad streetcar routes The bike network would be overlaid on streets like St. Clair, which is 72 feet wide along much of its length. Traffic counts show it has fewer than 15,000 vehicles a day while designed for triple that. Conceptual drawings for the Midway show such streets with 8 feet of parking on both sides of the road, 12-foot-wide driving lanes, and then the central causeway: a 16-foot-wide path for bikes (eight feet in each direction) separated from traffic by 8-foot-wide boulevards. Because of their middle vantage point and the slight crown in roads, bicyclists would be better able to see traffic, while being more visible themselves to motorists and to pedestrians using the Midway's boulevards as a landing zone when crossing wide streets. Traffic signals would safely separate cyclist and motorist turns. Preliminary plans by Bialosky's Ted Ferringer -- the designer of numerous maps and renderings to explain how the Midway would work -- show the planted zones shrinking in size to allow left-turn slots for drivers. Intersections would be carefully engineered and signaled to separate bicyclist and motorist turns. The Midway has been given a soft launch in meetings with Zimmerman; Grace Gallucci, head of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency; University Circle Inc. President Chris Ronayne; Deb Janik, senior vice president, real estate and business development at the Greater Cleveland Partnership; and foundation officials. "As a planning agency, particularly one interested in insuring that all residents have transportation choices, I think it's a great idea," Gallucci said. Enthusiasm is spreading, and the Midway team sees its idea gaining traction. The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is assigning a staff member to see how the boulevards could help filter and regulate storm water. Representatives of a national foundation visited Cleveland in July to gather Midway information. "We are talking to funders about this and we have strong interest," said Michael Fleming, executive director of St. Clair Superior Development Corporation. Before a shovel goes into the ground there would be a lot of public input in the form of community meetings and focus groups. "This is an important piece of infrastructure that you don't just plop down somewhere," Fleming said. "We've done outreach, but not at the massive community scale that you need." A spark for businesses Cities with bike networks have discovered a curious feature about them. Protected lanes translate into more cyclists running errands on two wheels. And that in turn creates the ideal kind of retail customers: regulars. 'They stop by often and spend as much or more per month as people who arrive in cars. Plus, 10 customers who arrive by bike fit in the parking space of one customer who arrives by car," said a recent report from PeopleForBikes and the Alliance for Biking & Walking. The study cites findings by the New York City Department of Transportation that Ninth Avenue in Manhattan had a 41 percent increase in business after protected bike lanes were installed. Nearby streets had a 3 percent increase. In Portland, people who traveled to a shopping area by bike spent 24 percent more per month than those who traveled by car. Studies found similar trends in Toronto and three cities in New Zealand. "As city dwellers prioritize dog-walking and bike-riding over sitting in traffic, investment is flowing towards streets that are built for connectivity and comfort," the study's authors said. The city of Cleveland has announced it add 70 miles of dedicated bike lanes, trails and pavement markings by the end of 2017, and other plans are also rolling to make the city more bike-friendly. Proponents of the Midway say adding in a network of protected lanes that put a physical buffer between cyclists and motorized traffic would be huge, making Cleveland one of the most livable cities in the country. Search for dollars The project would cost $1.2 million to $1.7 million per mile with planted boulevards. An intermediate option at about $350,000 to $400,000 a mile shows dedicated central lanes for cyclists but no protective barriers. Bike advocates say that version may not go far enough in providing the sense of safety needed to boost cycling. It's expensive, but nothing compared to other mid-street conversions: Light rail costs $15 million to $100 million a mile. Heavy rail, like RTA's Red Line, can be $50 million to $250 million a mile. The Midway team will apply this fall for a Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative grant from NOACA, seeking about $250,000, Clint said. That would allow things to move from the conceptual stage to a further digested idea that starts to pin down routes and features, VanSickle said. TLCI projects are supposed to blend transportation and land use in a way that strengthens community livability. The Midway not only fits the goals of the program. It pushes the envelope by offering a big-picture view of connectivity, Gallucci said. Key to project finances would be a federal TIGER grant. The Department of Transportation grants go to projects based on their safety, economic competitiveness, state of good repair, livability and environmental sustainability. "All five of which would be accomplished by the Midway," said Clint, who has probably done more than anyone else to push the network forward. Since 2009, Congress has allocated more than $4 billion for TIGER grants, including $153 million for 12 bike and pedestrian projects. TIGER funding has become well-known and cities compete fiercely for the money. But Clint figures Cleveland can make a compelling case to snag an award. All you have to do is stand on a corner of St. Clair to see why. The Midway plan "ruins you for life," she said, because you'll never again be able to look down some of Cleveland's big wide streets and not picture them being different.
swalfoort
2014-08-07 09:41:12
That dooring story is scary & maddening, especially the comment from the cop that 'he doesnt know what either of them could have done differently.' How about LOOKING before you open your car door?! BTW, this bike lane is much nicer than some here in Pgh. like on Friendship headed west. Don't ride next to parked cars!
marko82
2014-08-21 12:21:59
I was on Liberty between the Bloomfield Bridge and 40th St, going both directions, within the past week. Both are DZBLs. I rode about six inches to the left of the left edge of the bike lane. If I have one beef with the new bike lanes, it's that they exist at all. There's a philosophical split here in some of the bike community. The "People For Bikes" folks, who are helping put these new lanes in place, promote bike lanes. Then there are those who say we don't need bike lanes, we have bike lanes already, they're called traffic lanes, and you should always just take the lane by default. There's something to be said on both sides, and there are likely additional ways to look at it. Right now, since I have to deal with a lot of roads that will never see a painted bike lane (that makes any sense), I tend to side with the latter camp. The Durham incident would not have happened had the cyclist just gotten out into the lane. DZBLs are worse than no lane at all.
stuinmccandless
2014-08-21 14:11:38
"The Durham incident would not have happened had the cyclist just gotten out into the lane." I see many cyclists still riding in the door zone anyway when there is nothing to entice them there and pressure for them to 'stay out of my way' when a car is following them. Liberty ave bike lanes are not the safest design, but they are way better than the situation the preceded them IMO, because if you take them out, a lot of cyclists wouldn't even give a damn and just ride in the channel anyway (just like the good old days). This is especially risky for new riders who don't even know that they don't know how to ride safe. It would also deter a lot of folks from even biking through here. It could be better, but I'm happy to have what we've got here based on the constraints that limit us.
benzo
2014-08-21 14:25:17
Of course, non door zone bike lanes are always much better but generally I have a very different feeling about DZBL's uphill vs. flat and downhill. Liberty is a perfectly fine example. In the latter two cases I don't like them and try to avoid riding in them except when riding quite such as when filtering up to a light or the first few pedal strokes after a stop. I'll even take a different road (say, Penn) to avoid a DZBL. Uphill I'm not going fast enough that I feel it's very likely I won't have time to respond, and even if I do get doored it's a very, very different thing at 5-10mph vs. 20-30.
byogman
2014-08-21 14:44:14
I believe I've read that in PA if someone opens a door and another car slams into it right a way then it's this someone's fault and someone's insurance is going to cover all damages since this someone should observe traffic before opening door. If door has been opened for a while then driver of slamming vehicle is at fault. I think the same rules should be applied when bicyclist hit a opened vehicle door.
mikhail
2014-08-21 15:04:53
I don't worry about running into a door while I'm going slowly uphill. I do still worry that a door could open directly adjacent to me and push me into the traffic lane.
andyc
2014-08-21 15:05:54
Ontario tries to catch up to Quebec on bike trails: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/is-canada-missing-the-boat-on-cycling-tourists-1.2717129 "Quebec is internationally recognized for its extensive 5,000-km cycling network, La Route Verte, which criss-crosses most parts of the province, making it North America's longest bike path. But in the two decades since the Quebec government and non-profit Vélo Québec first began work on the route, it remains an anomaly in Canada, even as other countries and regions seek to cash in on the booming trade in cycle tourism."
paulheckbert
2014-08-25 11:48:59
"What's an Emmy nominee to do about downtown traffic on awards night Monday? Well, one could limo-pool, depart at 2:30 p.m., or use the valet at a nearby hotel — or hail an Uber or brave freeway gridlock like an average commuter. Then there's Tom Smuts' way: bike it. The writer, who is nominated for Outstanding Drama Series with the rest of the producers of Mad Men's seventh season, will lead a 15-person bike ride to the awards ceremony." http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/emmys-meet-nominee-biking-an-727288
marko82
2014-08-25 12:35:25
Amusing little doohicky, but 19lbs is overweight for what it is. Should be half that. It would be so easy to make that much more compact/easy to roll than they did.
byogman
2014-08-26 15:47:45
Looks like it was a really fun engineering project to build but as a practical solution to anything - eh, not so much.
andyc
2014-08-27 07:46:13
Halfbike? Way less comfortable and less useful than something we've had forever, a brompton (or any traditional folding bike). They run about 23-25lbs.
benzo
2014-08-27 08:01:55
I don't know cycling empty flat wide barren streets would seem boring to me. I saw a few other articles that kind of stated the same thing about how great it is to rule the road with little cars. I kind of like maneuvering with traffic as part of the fun of urban cycling. If I just want to pedal and day dream I head to the GAP or Montour. I guess though exploring the empty parts of the city would be fun in a weird kind of way.
shooflypie
2014-08-28 22:58:19
"I saw a few other articles that kind of stated the same thing about how great it is to rule the road with little cars." What I heard: LOL. I find it hard to believe the Apple commercial hasn't been linked, I didn't check, but it's awesome. So great. Makes me want to visit Detroit: https://www.apple.com/your-verse/organizing-a-movement/
edmonds59
2014-08-29 06:06:29
"The posts divide the bike lanes from traffic, they tell people to slow down & respect the space…It looks great." --former skeptic, on new bidirectional protected bike lane near an Austin, TX, elementary school (also a Green Lane Project facility). http://buff.ly/XZfrfu
epanastrophe
2014-08-29 16:02:24
"Video catches hit-and-run. Cops are handed evidence. Driver is ID'd. Cops refuse to even question perp." http://nypost.com/2014/09/08/cops-havent-had-time-to-speak-to-hit-and-run-driver/
Shortly after the Aug. 7 crash in Brooklyn, witnesses not only gave cops the car’s plate number but told them where it was parked, about two blocks away. When she failed to hear from the cops, she called “and the detective told me he would contact the [car] owner if he had time,” said victim Dulcie Canton, 38.
epanastrophe
2014-09-08 16:38:43
coked-up driver parks truck in Las Vegas casino: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/11/ryan-brown-_n_5807058.html "Police say Brown told officers he was wanted to jump off the 1,100-foot Stratosphere tower, which resembles Seattle's Space Needle, and that he was excited to be making news." Charges were to include "felony cocaine possession and misdemeanor DUI and reckless driving" ... (via @PedestrianError, one of my favourite sources for this stuff: https://twitter.com/PedestrianError/status/510200281112797184)
epanastrophe
2014-09-13 15:04:14
"If cities wish to encourage citizens to be more active and cut down on driving, they must remember that if they build it, we will come. Robust public transportation networks with reliable, frequent schedules and bike trails allowing bikers to easily get around will bring results — especially when driving and parking options are lousy and limited." http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/26119-build-it-and-bikes-will-come
paulheckbert
2014-09-13 15:31:24
Wait. Did Portland just admit defeat? Does this make Pittsburgh the new hipster capital of the world?
lizzimac
2014-09-18 12:24:28
That's awesome! Oops, I mean, Pittsburgh sucks, don't move here!
edmonds59
2014-09-18 12:29:45
I posted this to that bikeportland article: Michael Andersen is suffering from “grass is always greener on the other side” syndrome. Yes, Pittsburgh has a number of nice qualities (I’ve lived here for 22 years), but it’s not the nirvana that Andersen makes it out to be. Weather? It’s gray a lot. If you need lots of blue skies, Pittsburgh may not be your place. On the other hand, both times I visited Portland, I got rained on, so maybe Pittsburgh’s not so bad. Government: Pittsburgh has a good mayor in Peduto, as of this year, but much of Pennsylvania politics is a corrupt old boys’ club. Our county executive, Rich Fitzgerald, just OK’d fracking in one of our county parks! Yes, Pittsburgh has cleaned up a lot from 100 years ago, when it was choked with steel mills and people dared not swim in its polluted rivers, but the extractive industry du jour, natural gas, is leading to a new round of environmental degradation. Pittsburgh’s rivers have been cleaned up a lot since most of the steel mills closed in the 80s, and we have a growing network of bicycle trails. The best ones, such as the marvelous Great Allegheny Passage, are primarily recreational. Bicycle commuting in Pittsburgh was horrible a couple decades ago due to intolerant drivers, narrow streets, potholes, and hills, but things have improved a lot. It will still take a generation to flush out the “get off the road, spandex asshole!” attitudes of many older “yinzers”. Yes, indeed, the Bike Pittsburgh group does a great job of promoting bicycling in the city. Overall, Pittsburgh is certainly not in the class of Portland or Toronto or Amsterdam when it comes to bicycle-friendliness, but we’re getting there. Pittsburgh’s public transportation system is pathetic. Pittsburgh’s universities, museums are excellent and its arts scene is pretty good. I’m highly suspicious of these statistics for median age of Pittsburghers. Maybe these stats are skewed because most college students live in the city of Pittsburgh, while Pittsburgh city is just a small fraction of the metro area, which is notoriously old and undereducated? Pittsburgh is highly segregated, with a history of police problems (google Jonny Gammage and Jordan Miles). On the positive side, Pittsburgh’s economy has diversified a lot since the days of steel, glass, and coal. Sports teams: yeah, we have several, but who cares?
paulheckbert
2014-09-18 13:53:51
Also I think Cleveland is beating us in the Rust Belt challenge. And we don't have and iPad commercial like Detroit. We have a long way to go.
edmonds59
2014-09-18 13:57:43
Pittsburgh? Sep 15 2014 at 6:46pm # “HOLY C***!*T!!! HOLY F**K ! ! THIS BIKE LANE! ! ! HOLY SH@T!! BIKE LANE! THIS BIKE LANE!!!” I'm pretty OK with Pittsburgh right now.
mick
2014-09-19 00:13:41
Pittsburgh’s public transportation system is pathetic. It has its problems, but the percentage of people who commute by transit here is quite high, a good deal higher than in Portland, and ranks at 16th of all cities with 100,000+ population as of 2010.
steven
2014-09-19 00:26:19
I don't think I'd call transit pathetic. Sparse service in many places, with a costly and outdated fare structure, but in the areas that had service in 1945, it's actually pretty good.
stuinmccandless
2014-09-19 01:15:26
It has its problems, but the percentage of people who commute by transit here is quite high, a good deal higher than in Portland, and ranks at 16th of all cities with 100,000+ population as of 2010.
Also good news, the ACS update for 2013: Pittsburgh is now ranked 11th in bicycle cycling commuting! (Specifically, not just all transit.) Portland may be #1, but 11th isn't bad for us.
lizzimac
2014-09-19 09:37:55
Sad case - and aremeinder that bicyclists occasionally get hurt or even killed without a motor vehicle being involved. http://news-briefs.ew.com/2014/09/08/molly-glynn-dies/?xid=outbrain 'Chicago Fire' actress Molly Glynn dies at 46 According to the Associated Press, Glynn was on a bike ride with her husband, Joe Foust, when a storm rolled into the Chicago area on Friday. As a result of the storm, a tree struck Glynn during her ride through a forest park. Foust called 911 just before 4 p.m. to say his wife had been injured. Glynn was then taken to NorthShore Evanston Hospital, where she died on Saturday.
mick
2014-09-22 10:36:25
Cyclist kills pedestrian in Central Park. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/wife-of-cbs-senior-vp-hit-by-bicyclist-dies/ I am sick over this. Not as much about the death of the woman, but because of the unimaginable amount of work cycling advocates have put in to make cycling "mainstream", that is now eroded by this one racer boy wannabe asshole. As much as I have railed against inattentive and careless drivers killing cyclists, to be ethically consistent, I have to be (I don't have to be, I am) just as outraged by this careless cyclist.
edmonds59
2014-09-22 12:21:01
You know if you have time to yell "get out of the way" you should probably have enough time to at least slow down if not completely stop. The news clip shows plenty of cyclist and pedestrians wandering all over the place - so unless the crash happened differently than reported - the cyclist should not have been traveling so fast in a congested area. It's a shame that someone is dead because someone else wanted to go faster.
marko82
2014-09-22 12:52:58
BSNYC has been all over this, BTW. His column on Friday discussed the role Strava played in this (remember the killing in SF also involved a rider using Strava). He called for a moratorium on Strava for the weekend, out of respect for the family. And he has more thoughts today. http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/
jonawebb
2014-09-22 14:41:12
From the Pittsburg* Morning Sun: “Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.” -Susan B. Anthony In recognition of the role the bicycle played in achieving modern women’s rights, the Southeast Kansas chapter of the National Organization for Women hosted their second annual Sunflower Suffrage Ride Saturday morning. http://www.morningsun.net/article/20141004/News/141009910#ixzz3FOHOu229 *Pittsburg, Kansas
paulheckbert
2014-10-06 13:26:42
Note the reference in the article above to the proposed floating trail in London, also mentioned in the pampered-European-cyclists thread. Really, though, the solution may likely take a form similar to what we did from the 40th to the 31st St Bridges on the North Shore Trail. Beyond that, I think something similar to connect the West End to the Wabash Tunnel would also be worthy investments. Short version: Put the trails on stilts, high enough to avoid floodwaters.
stuinmccandless
2014-10-09 15:47:35
It would also be a solution to route the North Shore trail around the sewage treatment plant by McKees Rocks Bridge. Or connect it to Neville Island. Or both. One can dream...
rainbow-dog
2014-10-09 15:52:19
The Philly solution (or the North Shore Trail solution, which is probably cheaper) could probably work here at Alcosan, where we've got similar constraints, including the rail line (and the need to provide access from a bridge). It's the sort of thing that should probably be a last resort, though, for several of the reasons pointed out by CityLab, which called the London proposal "hilarious and insulting", as well as "[not] just wrong[, but] a whole club sandwich of wrongness, made up of many delectable layers of stupid." http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/10/a-proposed-floating-cycleway-on-the-thames-is-hilarious-and-insulting/381235/
epanastrophe
2014-10-09 23:20:16
If I were to do a scaffolding project, it would be to make the bike look like a backhoe and front-end loader. Motorists seem to give them plenty of respect, and cyclists typically go the same speed, or faster.
stuinmccandless
2014-10-10 11:12:47
http://gizmodo.com/6-freeway-demolitions-that-changed-their-cities-forever-1548314937 about freeways that were removed, resulting in safer, more accessible cities. Pittsburgh has a lot of freeways that were never completed, especially in the suburbs. I'd take out the Triboro Expressway and the Industrial Highway to start, but more to the point of the article, what could we take out downtown? I nominate the Boulevard of the Allies. Remove it and create a sweet safe connection between Downtown and Oakland. Add some light rail. Oh, yeah, also the Birmingham Bridge. Absurd. Implement Bike Pittsburgh's plan for an open walking space between Oakland and the South Side.
jonawebb
2014-10-15 07:37:14
I'd like to put a roof over I-279, all the way from East Ohio St to the East Street overpass. There'd be space for an 18-hole golf course. I don't much care for golf, myself, but we'd be the only major city in the country with a full size golf course adjacent to downtown.
stuinmccandless
2014-10-15 09:35:47
There was a lot of debate surrounding the Alaskan Way viaduct in Seattle... the choices were to a) leave as is but repair, b) lower it and put walkways over it, or c) eliminate it all together. I'm glad they went with option (b), as removing it altogether would have been a bad approach imho. Seattle is already a narrow channel of land between Puget Sound and Lake Washington. If they would have made the already super condensed I-5 the only N-S thoroughfare, things would have gotten ugly. Interesting side note, there was a planned second interstate route along Lake Washington that got shut down by protests in 1969. Up until the recent redesign of the WA-520 bridge, the "on-ramps to nowhere" for the never-built freeway remained as a reminder of the never built road. They were a fun local spot to dive into Lake Washington. Thank goodness for the new bridge, however, as it was designed with a shared light-rail line in mind as well as facilities to collect environmental pollution from cars that drive over it. Back to the Alaskan Way, I'm also glad they didn't go with option (a) which would have been a lost opportunity to better connect the city with it's "shore." One thing to keep in mind, regarding budget, is that a lot of the money for the project came from the needed repairs for the sea-wall. The other pressing need was that the previous Alaskan Way (WA-99) was that engineers determined it unlikely to survive an other earthquake... it was a time bomb. So, there was a pressing need to do something and the only challenge to option (b) was finding the cash flow; the state wanted Seattle to fund the difference if they wanted option (b). I like Stu's idea of a golfcourse over top of Pgh's freeways. Although, honestly, I don't think Pgh could afford such a thing. I think building a southern bypass to get to Robinson and the airport with an agreement to change the freeways through the city into light rail and bike/ped pathway would be a more likely possibility.
headloss
2014-10-15 12:14:16
1. The Birmingham Bridge is the way it is because our politicians contrived to label it an Interstate project to get at those funds. Of course the bridge had to be built to interstate spec. Nothing wrong with that, other than the lingering confusion. 2. I like the idea of covering the below-grade bits of 376 downtown with pedestrian friendly space. It could become a new entertainment district (restaurants, bars with a view). Columbus has a nice example of this idea.Or just commercial or residential. (If it's a park no one will go there. Nothing to do, unless it goes down to the water somehow.)
ahlir
2014-10-15 19:39:23
I think the biggest civic design tragedy in the city is the way 376 cuts the riverbank off from downtown. I recommend you visit Cincinnati and see their riverfront park: large, wooded public spaces for walking, talking, relaxing. If we didn't have 376 in the way, then our downtown could connect to the Mon the way Northside connects to the Allegheny. I'm looking forward to the Wood Street ramp to the Mon Wharf http://www.pointpark.edu/news.aspx?id=532 and the Birmingham Bridge switchback ramp to the Mon Wharf. They will help.
paulheckbert
2014-10-15 22:12:30
^I agree that southern downtown being cut off from the river by 376 is horrendous. But to keep things in context, if you look at pics of town prior to WWII, the river and everything adjacent to it was pretty much a combination open sewer, industrial waste disposal, trash dump. Not exactly where you would want to take a stroll anyway. A couple of months ago, some River Queen boat thingy was docked on the town side of the Mon, basically at the end of Market Street, and you could clearly visualize how, prior to the highways, Market followed the slope down to the bank. I could almost hear mules pulling carts of what-not off the boats and up the slope for distribution in town. ^Also, the Wood street connection proposal linked looks massively overblown and pretentious. Vast amounts of aesthetic frittery, while still relying on a lame, unimaginative, switchback stair. Money spent in the wrong places. Mostly demonstrative of our society's abject unwillingness to do anything that would negatively impact motorized vehicles to the betterment of human beings.
edmonds59
2014-10-16 06:34:31
The 376 monstrosity downtown at least has a point, connecting to the south and east. But the 10th Street bypass is utterly senseless. Let's get rid of it and open that side of the city to the Allegheny. It's hard to get a sense of what the Mon Wharf connector will do without a design drawing. But I see a lot of bits about stairs and pedestrian access, and nothing about cyclist access, which is weird because there's a bike trail running along there. At least they put a cyclist in the cartoon.
jonawebb
2014-10-16 07:30:50
Birmingham Bridge switchback ramp? Did you mean the Smithfield St Bridge? I'm not sure much can be done for the north side of Birmingham Bridge until we convince county health to shut down the putrid paving company/trolls underneath the bridge there.
rgrasmus
2014-10-16 08:50:14
http://vimeo.com/67666565 A nice video about bicycle infrastructure improvements in Cleveland: * the proposed Red Line Greenway to the west (could be their High Line) * extension of the Towpath Trail to Lake Erie * protected bike lane on a major bridge * number of cyclists up dramatically * trails, lanes, & racks are attracting people to the city
paulheckbert
2014-10-16 12:34:12
New 'Get The Fuck Outta The Road' Program Aims To Increase Pedestrian Safety http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-get-the-fuck-outta-the-road-program-aims-to-in,2442/ Not real news, but too close to reality for comfort. Especially when the next article I see: Should hi-viz clothing be mandatory when walking on public streets? Some people think so. http://www.treehugger.com/walking/should-hi-viz-clothing-be-mandatory-when-walking-public-streets-some-people-think-so.html
benzo
2014-10-17 07:57:49
I think we need require from drivers: 1. To wear helmets (make it a law). 2. To wear bright spandex (also make it a law). 3. Forbid car usage outside of Freeways after sunset and before sunrise. Special service (police, FF, ambulance, utilities, delivery) and public transportation to be excluded. :)
mikhail
2014-10-17 12:36:11
I think it is important to remember that there is seriously solid evidence that helmet wearing in automobiles actually saves lives. The evidence for bike helmets is ambiguous.
mick
2014-10-20 11:24:36
Woman ticketed in mMaryland for driving 2 miles under the speed limit in the left lane. http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Laurel-Maryland-Ticket-Driving-Too-Slow-197285901.html She say that wind condtions caused her to slow down. No doubt the officer who gave the ticket will soon be promoted to a position where he'll make official statements to the effect that "The accident was caused by weather conditions..." when the truth is more like "The f***ing idiot drivers refused to slow down to a sensible speed for weather conditions."
mick
2014-10-22 13:48:24
heh.. Jenkintown is another one of my former haunts (I've lived in way too many places). That's great news! Thanks for posting!
headloss
2014-10-23 18:35:34
Here is a nice "but why is this news, shouldn't this already be happening" story out of Washington, D.C. DC Requires Equal Detours at Construction Sites for Blocked Walk or Bike Paths The District of Columbia's Department of Transportation adopted final rules requiring construction sites that block normal sidewalks and bicycle paths to provide equal accommodations for walkers and bikers around the blockage. Under the rule, the alternative passage must be clear of obstructions and hazards like loose gravel or uneven surfaces. If an original bike path that is blocked by construction was physically separated from vehicle traffic, contractors must make sure the alternative bike path is likewise protected. The rules also define "safe accommodation" and require signage for the detour paths to contain messages specific to pedestrians or bicyclists. In announcing their adoption, DDOT Director Matthew Brown said "implementation of these new regulations will ensure that all users of the transportation network are provided safe passage as the District continues to grow and develop."
swalfoort
2014-10-28 10:45:49
We need something like this in pittsburgh. See intersection of bigelow and bayard st right now. Pedestrians told they have to cross the street 3 times to detour around the building construction, but nobody does, they just walk in the street, and it's not safe.
benzo
2014-10-28 15:54:40
NZ town to remove bike-path bollards after crash http://m.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11349268 These are not the flexible plastic posts of the new bike lanes, but solid metal barriers, similar to the ones that stand at the ends of our Junction Hollow trail, or the big plastic poles on the Jail Trail near the bike rental. An rider was killed when he ran into one that he didn't see in Ohio a year or two ago. I asked then that the city consider removing ours, and I intend to ask again.
epanastrophe
2014-10-28 22:04:35
There are a couple of those on the North Shore Trail, too, notably at either end of the structure between the 40th and 31st St Bridges.
stuinmccandless
2014-10-29 07:04:48
Turns out the rebel Ebola nurse is also a cyclist: "BREAKING: Nurse defies state's forced quarantine, goes for bike ride with her boyfriend in Maine." Figures. (Good for her.)
jonawebb
2014-10-30 08:54:10
@BicycleLobby: As per our instructions.
epanastrophe
2014-10-30 09:00:06
@ buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo That's the first thing that has made me want to sign up for twitter. I presume this is Dorothy Rabinowitz's "all powerful" nemesis? I think I might have a new omni-potent diety to worship!
mick
2014-10-30 09:56:31
The Diane Rehm show (on WESA locally) had a one hour episode on biking today. http://thedianerehmshow.org/ It was mostly focused on protected lanes etc. Not too much bike hating, but there was too much emphasis on helmets etc. for my tastes.
marko82
2014-10-30 10:11:00
I caught the tail end of it. I agree there was a bit much about the helmets.
andyc
2014-10-30 10:17:11
JSYK, the @bicyclelobby Twitter account is parody.
stuinmccandless
2014-10-30 11:25:17
@ Jonawebb So, 2.3 miles of infrastructure / year should fix the problem. In a town with about a quarter of the population of Pittsburgh, if the 2.3 miles is chosen well for maximum impact - and indeed done every year - it just might fix the problem. At least they haven't passed a resolution to ban bikes or harshly punish scofflaw bicyclists.
mick
2014-10-30 18:29:22
Forbes between Braddock & Dallas.
jonawebb
2014-10-31 11:04:57
Baum, nearly its entire length. Portions of Brighton, Allegheny, East North, and California Aves on the North Side.
stuinmccandless
2014-10-31 11:49:35
Perhaps the police piled on excessively once he was caught, though. (We don't want another Jonny Gammage case (cops kneel on suspect, killing him...) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonny_Gammage)
paulheckbert
2014-11-02 22:51:39
-
edmonds59
2014-11-03 07:24:00
movie showing today and Nov 13 The Human Scale - http://3rff.com/films/human-scale Showtimes * Melwood Screening Room, Sat, Nov 8, 4:30pm * Harris Theater, Thu, Nov 13, 7:00pm (discussion following this showing) Fifty percent of the world's population lives in urban areas. By 2050 that number will increase to 80%. This compelling documentary makes an excellent case for designing cities around people instead of automobiles and traffic flow, which has dominated city planning since the 1960s. In it, we meet thinkers, architects, and urban planners across the globe and we look at cities – from New York to Chongqing – that demonstrate the various problems, solutions and possibilities for urban development. Andreas M. Dalsgaard | Denmark | 2012 | 83 min
paulheckbert
2014-11-08 11:09:34
Civil Asset Forfeiture: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/10/us/police-use-department-wish-list-when-deciding-which-assets-to-seize.html In the sessions, officials share tips on maximizing profits, defeating the objections of so-called “innocent owners” who were not present when the suspected offense occurred, and keeping the proceeds in the hands of law enforcement and out of general fund budgets. and In defense of the practice, Gary Bergman, a prosecutor with the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, said civil forfeiture had been distorted in news reports. “All they hear is the woman was left on the side of the road and the police drove off with her car and her money, no connection to drugs,” he told other prosecutors at the session. “I’m not saying that that doesn’t happen — it does. " "In defense of the practice..."? Wow! That convinces me! In a city like this, with no effective process of civilian review of the police, wouldn't it be a great idea to also free the hard working police from budgetary constraints imposed by nanny-state-liberal elected politicians?
mick
2014-11-10 12:15:44
Conceptually I like it, but man, I would love it if the police would just enforce, ticket, and fine drivers in the means that are already at their disposal.
edmonds59
2014-11-10 12:23:38
redirecting from elsewhere: > Slightly OT, but didn’t BMW introduce a line of badged bicycles a couple of years ago? Anyone know that worked out? On a (tenuously) related note: >@SierraClub shills for BMW electric cars with photo op in bike lane: https://twitter.com/miller_stephen/status/531609511728263171 (they've updated http://www.sierraclub.org/compass/2014/08/bmw-i3-subtle-and-sublime-revolution, removing and apologizing for the photo, but the thread at the twitter post above is still worth reading.)
epanastrophe
2014-11-10 19:02:40
BSNYC tweeted this: it's a hilariously stupid Kickstarter idea. The SmartHat: http://www.smarthat.info/ Combines all the idiotic ideas about cycling dangers in a hat. Edit: I guess it's not a Kickstarter project. But if it's a parody it doesn't give itself away so far as I can see.
jonawebb
2014-11-13 09:13:15
Doug Gordon (@BrooklynSpoke) went off on Treyger pretty hard on this Tuesday. Rightly so, it's an idiotic idea. Here's the blog-post-facto: http://brooklynspoke.com/2014/11/11/why-im-against-a-texting-while-cycling-law/ (As an aside, Gordon Wednesday was assaulted by a driver who attempted to hit him with his car, then got out and ran after him and punched him in the face. He didn't call police because---aside from the fact that the man claimed to be a cop, not that Gordon believed him---NYPD already have a long and storied history of blaming the victim and making things worse, not better. NYC has a long way to go before needing to worry about things this petty....not that it stops them entrapping cyclists at red lights....)
epanastrophe
2014-11-13 11:10:27
@bison bison As an aside, Gordon Wednesday was assaulted by a driver who attempted to hit him with his car... We need to get laws formalizing this as assault with a deadly weapon, because it is. Any one who gets convicted of it should never drive again.
mick
2014-11-13 11:42:43
That smarthat is hilarious - kind of a cross between DEVO and glasshole. I wonder how much that monstrosity weighs, and how badly would it cut up your nose in a crash?
paulheckbert
2014-11-13 12:02:16
I've wanted to do a "die-in" here sometime. I don't think Sunday is the right time or place, though.
stuinmccandless
2014-11-14 19:26:49
It would take virtually nothing other than political will to drop the speed limit by 10 or 15.
stuinmccandless
2014-11-21 12:35:07
The problem is that we live in a democracy, and most folks drive. So whoever did that would get voted out of office, and then the speed limit would get raised again.
jonawebb
2014-11-21 12:49:18
and yet, NYC is implementing Vision Zero concepts, reducing speed limits, increasing enforcement, and measuring fatalities as performance outcomes. We need Bono to get run over at Station Square and to remind enough people how much it sucks when it's somebody you love. Sort of like, do you know somebody who is (__________) and then it's personal for them. When we're saving their relative's life, instead of slowing their car down and taking their time away, it'll happen very quickly. (I think)
vannever
2014-11-21 12:56:56
^^Except no one at PennDot is elected. They just have no reason to diverge from their car-centric status quo. A few people dying a year, peds, bikes, and cars, is just the cost of doing business. Like the advocate in the article said, it's a mindset. That and the PennDot rep is just lying through his teeth.
edmonds59
2014-11-21 13:08:23
This is why we need our elected officials to intervene on our behalf to make structural changes to steering committees and departments they have control over. Like bill peduto nominating scott bricker to the SPC board. Maybe the new governer elect Wolf has some influence in areas like this as well. It will take some time to replace the old guard, and there will be resistance, but hopefully we can keep the forward progress moving.
benzo
2014-11-21 13:20:26
Millions/mile my ass... maybe if they tore up the entire road just to rebuild it but not if they think ahead and incorporate bike-friendly design when the roads are already torn up for some other purpose.
headloss
2014-11-21 13:22:29
"and yet, NYC is implementing Vision Zero concepts, reducing speed limits" Regular readers of BSNYC know that they're also enforcing laws as strictly as they can versus cyclists, and doing nothing about drivers running over kids in crosswalks. And not enforcing the speed limits. So, let's call it a mixed bag. Anyway, I definitely think we can make progress in this area. But starting with something like lowering the speed limit overall is just going to backfire.
jonawebb
2014-11-21 13:28:00
Regarding that Cleveland "Kickstand" video, someone posted this comment, which I think is accurate: Jason Moore via Google+, 1 day ago Someone's making a video about bicycling in Cleveland. The trailer is cinematically well done, but makes it out like people actually bicycle here, which isn't really true. Unfortunately, it also has a very hipster vibe. Focusing on fixed gear riders and contention between motorists and bicyclists isn't going to help anything. I hope the content of the actual film doesn't follow the theme in the trailer.? From my visits to Cleveland, Cincinnati, and other cities, I've concluded that one of Pittsburgh's bike community's strengths is our diversity: we have commuters with fenders and panniers on the streets, we have parents, kids, and retirees with their tagalongs and recumbents on the river trails, we have hipsters with fixies, we have road bikers in spandex doing the Dirty Dozen, we have mountain bikers doing singletrack in Frick Park, and we have loaded-down bike tourists pedaling for days on the GAP trail. Maybe we need more bicycle cinematographers, to show off all that we've got?
paulheckbert
2014-11-24 08:41:38
Huh, it's like somebody watched an entirely different video. Quote from the trailer; "We're at a tipping point...and whether you're in a car or on a bike, we're all in this together..." Also, people do actually ride bikes in Cleveland. Quite a lot. (See "Rust Belt Trophy...") Never believe comments.
edmonds59
2014-11-24 09:13:24
If you listen to the video rather than watch it, there is actually precious little about Cleveland. This could be anywhere.
stuinmccandless
2014-11-24 13:18:27
From someone named "noneya" in the comments: The officer lied on his report. Gabriel and his wife were explaining to the officers what had happened with the employees when an officer saw his pocketknife, which he later claimed was a "weapon" but under Florida law statute 790.001(13) it explicitly states that a common pocketknife is not considered to be a weapon. But the officer tried to sneakily unclip it from Gabriels beltloop and fumbled with it. Gabriel and his wife were not being aggressive at all and he had his arm relaxed at his side. He attempted to move his arm out of the way to allow the unclipping (just so as not to have any "trouble") when the officer panicked and grabbed Gabriel's wrist, jerked him around, pulled him on top of his bike and slammed his head into the concrete, badly bending his glasses and bloodying his forehead. The officer then lied on his report to try to make his actions seem rational and didn't take the wife's statement because she was a good witness. The officer in question's father is also a cop in New Smyrna Beach - the police investigator. Now he has the entire world believing his lie simply because we have a predisposition to think cops MUST be the good guys. They are scarier than criminals because most people don't suspect them at all. Congrats on your contribution to the sheeple. ...and from a later comment: Also if you read the actual report instead of just copying other false articles...the report says the taco bell employee thought the pair were intoxicated. Police never confirmed this through interrogation or a breathalyzer. ...and when queried as to his/her relationship to the man: I can't give details on my identity but you can believe me or not. You can claim I wasn't there which may or may not be true. But I can tell you for sure the person that wrote this article wasn't there.
stuinmccandless
2014-11-24 20:29:49
Go Gabby Go!
marko82
2014-11-25 22:37:35
BTW this pic from Ferguson caught my eye -- can you see why?
jonawebb
2014-11-26 09:50:08
Surreal.
edmonds59
2014-11-26 11:32:35
Yea I noticed that too and was going to post it.
neilmd
2014-11-26 11:33:35
Reminds me of the G20 here. Thousands of peaceful protesters with maybe a dozen non-local idiots intent on vandalism - then the cops feel free to treat everyone like they are from ISIS.
marko82
2014-11-26 19:36:56
uh... let me see: --- Boarded up storefront (were the windows smashed?). --- Suburban police in tactical assault getup, shooting randomly. --- Citizens fleeing for their lives (off-screen). --- One unscathed bicycle rack. Conclusion: Those racks must be really well-made. We should get us some.
ahlir
2014-12-02 19:22:36
A video, How Bikes Make Cities Cool - Portland: https://vimeo.com/38385810 I like the bike train, to get kids biking to school. Pittsburgh needs those.
paulheckbert
2014-12-03 18:46:05
Uh… let me see: — Boarded up storefront (were the windows smashed?). — Suburban police in tactical assault getup, shooting randomly. trying to protect law-abiding citizens from destructive monsters — Citizens fleeing for their lives (off-screen). Thugs & scumbags destroying the livelihoods of innocent business owners, citizens, and community leaders — One unscathed bicycle rack. fixed that for you.
jaysherman5000
2014-12-03 20:54:25
Well, sure. I mean, by definition, who else but "thugs & scumbags destroying [...] livelihoods" would have the temerity to manifest on city streets, for whatever reason? Real citizens could never contemplate such action. Right? Anyway, the bicycle stand still stands. And that's all we need to care about.
ahlir
2014-12-03 22:38:50
http://woub.org/2014/12/08/red-light-cameras-still-debate-ohio Rutland OH, population 393, has speed cameras, and the locals don't like it. Poor babies. From the article: “All it does is catch the people who have been speeding in the village for years and years,” [Mayor Lowell] Vance said.
stuinmccandless
2014-12-09 15:19:54
Has the City of Pittsburgh ever considered installing these cameras? Back home, they were installed sometime in 2013. Over the course of the year, almost 92,000 (!) speeding tickets were issued, in a city where the general speed limit is 60 km/h (~37 mph). The main justification behind the installation of the cameras was improved road safety (they claim 45% reduction in car accidents as a result) but at $100 a pop, that's a good chunk of change going into the city's coffers.
chrishent
2014-12-09 15:54:36
PA's legislature gave Pittsburgh permission to install red light cameras in 2012. In 2013, Pittsburgh's city council authorized them. The city has been "studying" the issue since then, but apparently hasn't yet gotten around to even doing the trial run they were planning. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh got some of the revenue from Philadelphia's red light cameras, and will use it to "upgrade and replace the traffic signal at the Bartlett Road-Greenfield Road and the Panther Hollow Road-Hobart Street intersection".
steven
2014-12-09 22:44:33
I hope if they're upgrading/replacing the traffic signals at that intersection I sure hope that they do so in a way that makes the pedestrian path through the meadow safer/smoother to get on and off! Otherwise major blown opportunity. Who do you nag?
byogman
2014-12-10 06:30:47
@ J Z it's good the law there takes that seriously.
mick
2014-12-15 14:21:08
here is a bike lane in St Louis right click on it to enlarge
erok
2014-12-15 17:18:00
^ please tell me that's someones idea of a joke.
marko82
2014-12-15 18:02:34
@ erok: Get my "Bike or die!" T-shirt on, then ride tha lane at night!
mick
2014-12-15 18:05:18
I can't seem to find the article I read a few months ago, about a NW St Louis County woman whose walk to work frequently includes more than a half-mile along the shoulder of a local equivalent to Rte 28---often in the dark, in black or grey uniform shirts. I did, however, find this from last year: St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic spokesperson to reporter: “We’re a highway department; we’re not a bicycle department.” (NextSTL via Streetsblog) Same spokesman, previously: “As a matter of policy, we don’t build dedicated bike lanes. St. Louis County salutes the bike-riding community, but we manage our system in the knowledge that motor vehicles comprise the vast majority of our customer base. The ground and money aren’t available to provide ‘Bike Only’ travel lanes.”
epanastrophe
2014-12-15 18:57:32
Marko, that is real. Here's another shot of the approach.
erok
2014-12-16 10:05:37
I don't think Enrique Peñalosa would approve of that as "8-80 acceptable", i.e., would you let your 8-year-old child or your 80-year-old grandparent bike on that? btw, confirmed. Here's the StreetView link.
stuinmccandless
2014-12-16 12:18:29
@erok - Is that near Ferguson?
mick
2014-12-16 13:48:21
10 miles from Ferguson, MO. Google's satellite cameras caught a truck getting into that bike lane:
paulheckbert
2014-12-16 14:02:17
@mick (re: the law taking it seriously) definitely, considering he ran after striking the cyclist, then subsequently violated his probation after being put on house arrest. "two-year house arrest sentence came after he served 22 months in prison for pleading guilty to the fatal hit-and-run. He was able to work and attend school while on probation"
ka_jun
2014-12-17 09:32:40
I'm OK with a non-delberate evil-doer spening ove a year in prison for a crime. It's not an-eye-for-an-eye and 22 months gave him a bit of time to think about it. The house arrest should have made him think some more, but evidently did not. TBH, I'm not sure that sending him back to prison will help anything.
mick
2014-12-17 12:55:54
A ghost bike in Sante Fe Springs, Ca was hit by a car.
erok
2014-12-17 14:48:44
re: "The Growing Importance of Bicycle Infrastructure" Sounds reasonable except for the bit about bike corrals. I'd much rather lock my bike to a u-tube next to a business than place it in a bike corral even a 1/2 block away. I find it annoying to arrive at a tube with a couple of bikes on it already and forcing me to go find another one (a 1/2 block away). What can I say? It's human nature. Corrals make sense in front of maybe a bar, but not really on a normal business street. Which just needs more u-tubes.
ahlir
2014-12-28 20:22:44
Now above the "fold" on the NYTimes website: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/10/us/baltimore-bishop-charged-in-hit-and-run-case.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news My impression is that the majority of bike / vehicle accidents are not associated with vehicles overtaking bicycles, in fact that this is quite a small fraction of total accidents. However, it seems like overtaking is disproportionately lethal. Am I right, or full of it?
neilmd
2015-01-10 13:36:35
Actually, while you're right about the percentage of accidents involving cars running down cyclists from behind (Forester estimates it at 3%, I think -- not counting accidents where the cyclist was riding in the country without a light) you're wrong about lethality. NOT to start a helmet war, but the biggest single identifiable situation where a cyclist dies is when there is head injury when the cyclist wasn't wearing a helmet. This can be from a wide variety of causes.
jonawebb
2015-01-10 20:39:46
I think I've shown a picture of my shattered helmet from this summer, so no worries there. That actually answers a different question. Let's control for helmet and light use, as I wear a helmet and use lights -- by "disproportionately lethal" I mean that if 3% of the accidents are overtaking, way more than 3% of the lethal ones are. If I think of the fatal accidents in Pittsburgh over the past couple of years, plus this one in Baltimore, a lot have been overtaking cars traveling in the same direction as the bike. Not all, but a lot. Even with the (fortunately relatively limited) small number statistics, it seems like the frequency exceeds what would be expected from a 3% rate by a statistically significant amount.
neilmd
2015-01-11 07:02:10
I'd guess there just aren't good data on that. I haven't seen it.
jonawebb
2015-01-11 12:43:19
I would really like to see a good analysis of motorized vs pedal vehicle crashes, broken down by: a) Cyclist salmoning b) Cyclist on sidewalk or in a crosswalk c) Cyclist on sidepath (like our new bike lanes) d) Cyclist in traffic lane but far to the right e) Cyclist in traffic lane and taking the lane. ...and with all that broken down, was the driver: A) impaired by alcohol or other substances (legal or not) B) texting C) speeding D) doing something else illegal, like passing improperly E) doing something else inadvisable, like driving too fast into the sun I contend that if cyclists are fully taking the lane, and are otherwise visible and obeying the law, and motorists are sober, awake, paying attention, and driving at or under the speed limit, then chances of collision are minimal. If there are other problems, such as speed limits too high (never mind ambient speeds exceeding them), those are separate issues. But let's get those others under control first, shall we, hmmm?
stuinmccandless
2015-01-11 13:03:05
Austin, TX, bat racks.
edmonds59
2015-01-13 14:04:36
^very nice. Which leads to the question, why don't we have Mr. Rogers's neighborhood themed racks? Trolley, Daniel's clock, etc.
marko82
2015-01-13 20:11:32
Well, Mr Rogers lived in squirrel hill (Bartlett street) so theoretically that could be ground zero. And I like the idea, but I'm not sure how you do metal tubing sticking out of the ground to really clearly suggest those things. The squirrel bike racks aren't hard to figure out, and look pretty good.
byogman
2015-01-13 20:51:33
Bartlett seems too residential to need very many racks. It might be better to focus on areas that really need racks. How about schools and playgrounds and such? Mr. Rogers seems a good fit for those. Or maybe T stations? The Cultural Trust is doing a second round of artist-designed racks. I bet if they asked for some that related to Mr. Rogers in some way, they'd get some good designs. But I think they're mostly concerned with the cultural district.
steven
2015-01-13 22:38:29
Anderson playground? Are there any bike racks there?
stuinmccandless
2015-01-14 12:36:45
A small note: The Congress Ave Bridge in Austin hosts an enormous bat colony (apparently spaces in the structure are just the right size for bats). In the evening you can hang around and watch clouds of bats take off for the night. I lived there for a while, a long time ago. I do not remember it as a bike-friendly place. Looks like that's changed...
ahlir
2015-01-14 13:43:15
re: Anderson playground. Yes, there are racks, but they are unadulterated crap. They are the wooden bollard style with a drilled hole intended for use with cable locks. Zero utility. Probably the closest racks with any utility are Schenley pool, or at Schenley Cafe.
ka_jun
2015-01-14 14:19:21
I'd be surprised if there isn't a GPS chip embedded in the bike.
stuinmccandless
2015-01-15 12:22:31
@marko82 Man caught on camera stealing Philadelphia officer’s police bicycle from building lobby Stealing a cop car is the ultimate juvenile deliquent fantasy. This might not be a profit-motivated crime.
mick
2015-01-15 12:26:50
Is there a Monday Night Velodrome in the cards? Will it have been cross-bred with Thunderdome?
ahlir
2015-01-19 18:18:06
In August, 2013, Amelie Le Moullac was right-hooked at an intersection and killed by a truck driver on the streets of San Francisco, while she cycled on a bike lane. A jury just ordered the truck driver's employer to pay the woman's parents $4 million. http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Jury-awards-4-million-in-San-Francisco-6018990.php Police initially blamed the victim. In May, prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against truck driver Alcantar, saying they could not prove that Le Moullac died because of his actions. But Le Moullac’s parents, Denis Le Moullac and Jessie Jewitt, filed suit. The police failed to locate surveillance video, but the SF Bicycle Coalition went to nearby businesses and in 10 minutes of legwork, located video of the incident. "SFBC noted that had Caswell not discovered the footage on that day, it would have likely been deleted before the next morning, because the camera footage is only stored for a week." SFBC wrote: “It is shocking that a sergeant took the time to verbally harass and physically endanger people at the site where a woman was just killed; yet the SFPD could not take the time for a thorough investigation, and nearly missed critical evidence that was steps away from the site.” http://sf.streetsblog.org/2013/08/23/sfbc-finds-what-sfpd-didnt-video-of-crash-that-killed-amelie-le-moullac/
paulheckbert
2015-01-20 17:56:11
I saw that elsewhere, great news. From what I read in general, the SFPD seems to be second only to the NYPD in terms of piss poor "serving and protecting".
edmonds59
2015-01-21 09:05:30
I am shocked, awed, and saddened by death march this man puts himself on for a job that pays barely better than minimum wage (the extreme mileage makes the headline, but the sleep deprivation is real killer). His case is so extreme it's almost beyond belief, but there are a ton of people juggling low level part time jobs to pay bills who struggle with being on time to them and get to other longer term investments in their lives because it just takes too much damn time to get from A to B and that crowds things out. Bicycles aren't the only answer, but they're often the most practical one. How to be empowering without being patronizing?
byogman
2015-02-02 16:59:56
Occasionally, I think about walking the 10-ish miles home. It would take me about four hours. It doesn't take much to convince myself that would be a bad idea. OTOH, I've walked the three miles to or from West View many times, including once already in 2015. With no Perry Highway service and only hourly service on the McKnight bus (that itself is a 20-minute walk on top of an hour bus ride), it really is the best option. So I can identify with this guy.
stuinmccandless
2015-02-02 19:57:34
It's really bizarre that the story never mentions bicycling. It's such an obvious solution, within his budget, perfectly viable. The only options are the bus and a car. Even though Detroit has racks on (some) buses for just this purpose, it never comes up.
jonawebb
2015-02-02 21:23:16
If the bus works, great, but even without. At barely over 10mph, say 2 hrs, 15 minutes for the 23 miles, he'd STILL net 6 hours a day with this approach. Given that he's home for only two hours right now, I don't know I'd want call that mission accomplished, but holy hell what an improvement!
byogman
2015-02-02 23:15:28
It's odd to me that people would collectively donate a two or three years pay to get the guy a car for him to get to his job. That pays how much? This is Detroit we're talking about - he could use that money to buy place a mile or two from where he works. A bike. Probably some bus connection he's neglecting. Hard to imagine Detroit not having decent jitney service.
mick
2015-02-02 23:31:53
"...Probably some bus connection he’s neglecting..." Hahaha no. Detroit's suburbs have done about all they can to prevent transit; Oakland County in particular only grudgingly accepts that transit exists at all. Stories like this aren't a bug in the system, they're a feature. As a SE Michigan native, really the only thing that surprises me about this story is that it's blown up like it has. (Though see Sarah Goodyear's take in CityLab: http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/02/its-easy-to-see-why-this-mans-grueling-commute-went-viral/385083/) this year-old profile of Brooks Patterson, who has been Oakland's County Exec since the 1990s, may be illustrative: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/01/27/drop-dead-detroit
epanastrophe
2015-02-02 23:57:33
Imagine if Pittsburgh had continued growing territorially to envelop Homestead, Braddock, Wilkinsburg, Penn Hills, Millvale--all the older industrial suburbs. Now imagine Monroeville, West Mifflin, and Cranberry had their own bus system, completely separate from the City's and entirely uninteroperable with it, which as much as possible refused to even *enter* the city--they go most of the way around it, but all but a couple routes turn back at the city line, and those few run express to Market Square, refusing to pick anyone up in the middle. Meanwhile, the City's buses are prohibited from traveling outside its borders. _That_ is public transit in Detroit.
epanastrophe
2015-02-03 00:15:00
That's the value of the step-through right there.
jonawebb
2015-02-03 08:48:39
@bb, that Patterson profile reads like it MUST be fiction. Scary that it's not.
marko82
2015-02-03 09:25:30
I get that it's an advocacy story about the Detroit metro area's crappy public transportation system, and that the response "get this man a car" misses the point; also that "why doesn't he ride a bicycle" isn't really the point either. They are trying to get people to care more about public transportation, and that is sorely needed. But still, it's such a glaring hole in the story (to us) that I'm amazed that it didn't seem like something the reporter would feel the need to address. As if the reporter had never heard of bicycles, or thought they were made for use only by children.
jonawebb
2015-02-03 09:47:44
@jon, I agree. And I wonder why the guy hadn't thought of it either. Or maybe he did but dismissed it because of dangerous road encounters or something. The guy who sometimes gives this man a ride says something about helping the guy manage this money; maybe there is a cognitive/M.H. issue here as well.
marko82
2015-02-03 10:07:17
That line of thinking where bikes are never considered as transportation options always reminds me of all these post-apocalyptic TV shows and movies, where people seem to live in a world where bicycles were never invented and are always struggling to find gas for their vehicles. Has anyone ever seen someone riding a bicycle on The Walking Dead?
chrishent
2015-02-03 10:22:21
Max Brooks's "Zombie Survival Guide" recommends bicycles for post-apocalyptic transport. You can easily outdistance a zombie on a bicycle, and they're quiet so they don't pique the interest of the undead. But I've never seen them on "The Walking Dead."
jonawebb
2015-02-03 10:30:17
> The guy who sometimes gives this man a ride says something about helping the guy manage this money; maybe there is a cognitive/M.H. issue here as well. I'm really not seeing even a little bit where you're getting that; the word 'money' doesn't even appear in the original story. The followup does discuss the guy who sometimes gives this man a ride (who, btw, works for an investment bank; helping people manage their money is his job) 'assembling a board of advisers to take charge of the rapidly mounting donations earmarked for Robertson, including offers of new and used cars. Robertson is not in a rush to receive any money because "he sees the need to manage this," Pollock said.' Hell, if you suddenly dropped $180K on me, I'm not sure what *I* would do with it, either.
epanastrophe
2015-02-03 11:57:25
@bb, I do. Brompton Ti Folder, baby! BTW, as to your comment about crappy bus service, here's the absurd route he would have to take from the point where the SMART bus drops him off to work: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Somerset+Collection/42.6399548,-83.1709939/@42.6088194,-83.2000046,13z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x8824c6947200304d:0xe892c3380d29e25b!2m2!1d-83.182838!2d42.559343!1m0!3e3 The bike commute is pretty bad too, he has to ride at some point on Crooks Road. I would do it, but I can see an inexperienced rider wanting to stay away from that. There are biking clubs in Detroit; I wonder if any of them have anything to say about this.
jonawebb
2015-02-03 12:11:33
@bb, I've read a half dozen stories by now so I'm not sure which article the money statement was made in, but the impression was implied more than overt. I also dont think it makes any difference in the overall lack of transportation for this whole community (but it may have an impact on this individual).
marko82
2015-02-03 12:51:35
Did someone say Zombies? rick grimes on a bike (Totally lame that a bike was only seen briefly in the first episode and never again)
rustyred
2015-02-03 13:10:43
Given the unrelenting cultural fascination with the zombie apocalypse and the practical realities of that scenario, it's pretty amazing and sad bikes haven't figured more visibly. You could do some low budget awesome silliness with a few go-pros. And someone on these boards had a chainsaw if I recall, which would be a definite plus.
byogman
2015-02-03 13:32:54
Wow, I forgot that zombie girl from that first episode had a bike.. Now that I think about it, I think one of the reasons (if not the main reason) for this emphasis on car use, at least in The Walking Dead, is money: haven't you noticed that the characters are always driving some pristine-looking Hyundais? They sponsor that show. There was also a not-so-good show called "Revolution" where the main premise was that there was a global blackout and therefore vehicles with any electrical components wouldn't work. Bicycles were, again, not a visible form of transportation. If I recall correctly, that was actually an aspect of the show that received some criticism (along with poor acting and writing, obviously) and the show's producers caved and put some people riding bikes in the background in response to that. But I don't think the main characters ever traveled on two wheels
chrishent
2015-02-03 13:58:47
If I could get Critical Mass Pittsburgh's mission to go nationwide, to send Mass out on actual real roads where people need to go, and just take the friggin' lane, THAT is the message that would need to be sent. I've never stood up in Detroit, let alone ridden a bike in its suburbs, but I see that as being the real solution. Hey, whoever has any say over Critical Mass Detroit, have this guy and 4,000 others ALL ride bikes down the center of the right lane of every 4-lane road in the area, and not all at once, just one a minute, for an hour once a month.
stuinmccandless
2015-02-03 14:03:48
The lack of bike in TV show is pretty trivial, IMO. I mean, I expect it - bike manufacturers are not buy superbowl time or anything, and it's pernicious, but no so horrid.. The main issue I see is under reporting - and badly reporting - the massive number of auto deaths.
mick
2015-02-03 14:52:58
Good news for the future: Survival of the fittest will ensure that, when the zombie apocalypse comes, the predatory action of the Z's will keep the population of non-cycling humans in check.
paulheckbert
2015-02-03 16:05:41
Bogotá, Colombia will have a car-less and motorcycle-less day tomorrow from 5:30 am to 7:30 pm: http://www.dinero.com/pais/articulo/dia-carro-bogota-febrero-2015/205298 The city has 160k daily car trips and 424k motorcycle trips. The point of these days, which they do at least once a year, is to reduce vehicle emissions and encourage more bike trips. We're a very long way from doing something like that here...
chrishent
2015-02-04 12:39:13
I am looking for independent verification on the bishop's story as to whether the cyclist was in a designated bike lane when this happened. I caught wind of that being a possibility somewhere along the line, but so much attention has been focused on her that I saw no further details about how the collision occurred. This in no way would exonerate her, but it would point out that there are inherent problems created by them. Again, I need more info and don't want to draw conclusions based on supposition.
stuinmccandless
2015-02-05 09:01:48
Photo gallery: What a "car-less" and "motorcycle-less" day looks like in one of largest cities in the world (Bogotá, Colombia) http://www.eltiempo.com/multimedia/fotos/bogota2/dia-sin-carro-y-sin-moto/15200057 Note that taxis and "official" vehicles were still allowed. Also, to anyone that's ever complained about overcrowding on PAT buses, note the huge lines to enter Bogotá's bus rapid transit system. These lines were not that much worse than usual during the car-less day
chrishent
2015-02-06 08:21:49
London plans a bicycle superhighway: Describing the superhighway, [mayor Boris] Johnson said, “My flagship route will run for at least 15 miles, ... It will, we believe, be the longest substantially segregated continuous cycle route of any city in Europe. ... The Westway, the ultimate symbol of how the urban motorway tore up our cities, will become the ultimate symbol of how we are claiming central London for the bike.” “I want cycling to be normal, a part of everyday life,” he said. “I want it to be something you feel comfortable doing in your ordinary clothes, something you hardly think about. I want more women cycling, more older people cycling, more black and minority ethnic Londoners cycling, more cyclists of all social backgrounds–without which truly mass participation can never come.” http://ecowatch.com/2015/02/09/worlds-first-bicycle-superhighway/
paulheckbert
2015-02-11 00:20:41
There are really cool programs in the UK called 'cycle schemes' which allow you to effectively get a payroll deduction pre-tax and paid over the course of 12 months to lease a commuter bike. After the rental period you have the option to buy it (about 12% to 25% of the bike value), extend the lease, or return the bike. http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/
benzo
2015-02-11 12:43:57
Here's a link for a radio program from yesterday discussing a proposal for a helmet law in California, in addition to many other safety issues. http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201502170930
kelw
2015-02-18 09:25:07
A good idea out of San Francisco: ...the [safety] video and training program, which will be mandatory viewing for any drivers who work for the city or contract with the city, and available to any other drivers who work in the city. (FedEx and UPS have already said they will share the curriculum, when available, with their drivers.) http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/truck-drivers-pedestians-crashes-san-francisco-training Can BP forward this idea on to Peduto and Fitzgerald?
marko82
2015-02-20 11:13:18
Can we get the content of this video and training in to CDL training curriculums everywhere?
benzo
2015-02-20 13:03:37
haha... FY != fiscal year
stuinmccandless
2015-02-26 14:50:42
@Stu haha… FY != fiscal year Yes, I'm sure that is what I must have meant.
mick
2015-02-27 13:23:51
That's exactly what happened to @Stu, except that he defused the situation and the driver got scared and drove away instead of continuing the fight. BTW I hope Stu's police report has resulted in some action.
jonawebb
2015-03-03 10:00:46
Beijing has far more cars than parking spaces, so the bike lanes get used as parking spaces. This is from "Under The Dome", a documentary about smog in China, that received 200 million views in a few days before the video was banned in China. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6X2uwlQGQM subtitle: this is our bicycle lane
paulheckbert
2015-03-14 17:24:02
John Kerry takes bike ride in Switzerland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxu-BI3dN0g They were taking a much needed break from the Iranian negotiations, but I couldnt find a source listing who the other rider were.
marko82
2015-03-16 21:03:53
Some economic benefits of bicycling, around the USA:
paulheckbert
2015-03-16 22:00:12
Benefits of cycling to health & community:
paulheckbert
2015-03-16 22:01:50
I thought Arnold Schwarzenegger was a Conservative, what’s he doing on a bike?
Heh, I saw that today too. Told 'im to go buy a helmet at a 7-11... I always appreciated what Kent Peterson's son Peter once said: "I don't ride my bike because I'm a damn hippie like you, Dad. I ride because I'm fiscally conservative."
reddan
2015-03-17 09:31:22
He should've asked the Iranians for help, I hear they're really handy at building stuff.
jonawebb
2015-03-18 10:09:30
Cool -- how many of us would put our carbon frame bikes with carbon wheel sets down on the ground and more or less sit on the wheel for a photograph!?
neilmd
2015-03-19 10:55:01
Cool explanation of the analysis, or lack of it, behind speed limits: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-the-rules-of-the-road-arent-enough-to-prevent-people-from-dying/ (tweeted by Mikael Colville-Andersen). "When cars were first becoming popular at the beginning of the 20th century, terms like “road hog” and “joy rider” were called out at “speeding” vehicles, which in urban areas tended to mean they were going faster than 10 mph." Ah, the good old days...
jonawebb
2015-03-21 07:41:07
@jonawebbg When cars were first becoming popular at the beginning of the 20th century, terms like “road hog” and “joy rider” were called out at “speeding” vehicles, which in urban areas tended to mean they were going faster than 10 mph.” Ah, the good old days… I shout at speeders. Don't you? If not, why not?
mick
2015-03-24 11:19:51
I shout at speeders. Don’t you? If not, why not?
Nope, I don't. Partly because there's no way they'll hear me, so it's useless and I look silly, and partly because I try to maintain a Zen-like attitude while I ride. Giving in to yelling at people is destructive to this. Better to treat them as meaningless distractions the way you do with thoughts in some forms of meditation.
jonawebb
2015-03-24 11:43:02
Fair enough. I have had people straighten right up when I've yelled "Slow down DRUNKARD!" But that is pretty rare. Any bad driver is a dunkard in my book. Mainly I do it to promulagate the idea that speeding is bad.
mick
2015-03-24 12:07:00
.
ka_jun
2015-03-24 15:18:52
Zen. Silence. All things, including cars, must pass. And they better give me four feet of room.
stuinmccandless
2015-03-27 04:56:11
Bikeyface inspired a lengthy discussion on the pros and cons of protected infrastructure (in addition to her excellent drawing): http://bikeyface.com/2015/03/19/a-zoo/
jonawebb
2015-03-31 11:04:27
Drivers and some store owners in Cincinnati are frustrated that a new bike lane caused a road that was 6 lanes (2 sometimes used for parking) to be shrunk to 4 car lanes (2 sometimes used for parking) plus 2 semi-protected bike lanes. Some say that parked cars "belong" along the curb, not bikes. And bollards cost $50 each! http://www.local12.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/Bike-lane-mistake-City-officials-considering-changes-105380.shtml Streetview: https://goo.gl/maps/3mnDN
paulheckbert
2015-03-31 11:47:19
@marko82 “A visionary plan to construct a 1,600-mile, 5-state trail system that travels along the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath” Whenever I see this kind of thing, I think about how much we need a bike trail from town that connects to the Panhandle tail.
mick
2015-04-01 11:00:24
In North Charleston, South Carolina, “bicycling while black” is an excuse for police harassment: “State law requires anyone riding a bicycle at night to have proper lighting … Of the 44 improper-lighting tickets that went through the city's municipal court during the newspaper's 21-month review period, 39 went to blacks and four went to whites, a ratio of about 10 to 1. http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20111016/PC1602/310169932 The police there have some blacks “arrested for not having horns on their bicycles”. And this week, in North Charleston, a cop pulled Walter Scott, a black man, over for a broken car taillight and then killed him. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/10/us/south-carolina-police-shooting-seen-as-crime-fighting-gone-awry.html Do people see “bicycling while black” police harassment around Pittsburgh?
paulheckbert
2015-04-10 03:50:22
Do people see “bicycling while black” police harassment around Pittsburgh? I'm told that it happens regularly in Edgewood. Traditionally Edgewoold is a very pretty little community that has a seriously genteel variety of racism, so it's believable. IIRC, there were people here that tried to get a gate to "Edgewood Towne Center" opened. It was obvious to me that was a no starter- there would be black people would use that gate. (aside: the concept of a "Towne" center.)
mick
2015-04-10 16:17:31
I was one of the people that approached the Edgewood Borough Council to get the Laurel St gate opened. We met opposition from some nearby residents. Some of the justifications sounded racist, e.g. "we don't want a lot of people from Wilkinsburg going through here". Then a year or so went by and the gate got opened, fortunately. I don't know why it was opened when it was.
paulheckbert
2015-04-10 19:36:28
That was a really good column by Eben Weiss! Other news: Free bicycle-powered vehicle service helps elderly in Japan. Users call the transportation service station located in the shopping area. The drivers are volunteers or shop owners, and use the vehicles to pick up the shoppers. ... The service is primarily for, but not limited to the elderly — it is also used by mothers with infants. The vehicles have seats for two passengers attached to the front part of an electric bicycle chassis, making for a three-wheeled machine. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-wp-yomiuri--bc-japan-transit14-20150414-story.html
paulheckbert
2015-04-17 20:26:38
More racism by cops: "In the past three years, Tampa police have written 2,504 bike tickets — more than Jacksonville, Miami, St. Petersburg and Orlando combined. … Eight out of 10 are black. … They searched 33-year-old Artis Hancock, and when he tried to flee, a scuffle ensued. Hancock wound up on the ground as an officer punched, kicked and choked him to unconsciousness." http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/how-riding-your-bike-can-land-you-in-trouble-with-the-cops---if-youre-black/2225966
paulheckbert
2015-04-19 09:23:31
In Yaletown, Vancouver, you can find senior citizens being pedaled around on tandem tricycles, also called "duet bicycles". It's like a rickshaw with the passenger in front. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/duet-bicycle-takes-yaletown-seniors-for-ride-around-seawall-1.3036584 . In Copenhagen, there are models with room for two passengers. http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/bicycles-make-a-big-difference-at-any-age . Pittsburgh needs this, eh?
paulheckbert
2015-04-27 10:01:43
If you search around you can find more information on the Hinesburg deaths. Maybe the police weren't releasing the names at first. Anyway, the cyclist was "47-year-old Richard F. Tom of Hinesburg. Tom was employed by VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations of Bristol. He was less than a half mile from his home when he was struck and killed, police said." (http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2015/04/26/two-dead-hinesburg-crash/26411619/) The motorist, who apparently was speeding but not DUI, was a student at Champlain Valley Union High School, Joseph Marshall, 17.
jonawebb
2015-04-27 10:10:44
Bicycles play an oddly prominent role in the Baltimore riots: Including the arrest of Freddie Gray: bicycle cops chased him down:
jonawebb
2015-04-28 11:18:25
@ J Z Great article!
mick
2015-04-29 12:38:13
@Mick interesting research, for sure.
ka_jun
2015-04-30 08:17:17
Somebody want to send that link to Zappala??
edmonds59
2015-05-01 12:28:41
From the article Jonawebb posted: "In that case, an officer found Cook in the middle of the night driving on three tires, " ? ? ?
mick
2015-05-01 12:47:28
It's not going to make any difference to him. The first thing he did when he was elected DA was to refuse to prosecute officers for the brutal videotaped beating of Evan Gross (http://old.post-gazette.com/forum/19981007edevan2.asp). What we need to do is to replace him with someone like Ms. Mosby.
jonawebb
2015-05-01 12:50:05
Flying into Seattle-Tacoma with a bike will get easier. http://www.portseattle.org/Newsroom/NewsBlog/default.aspx With May designated as National Bike Month, the Port of Seattle is unveiling a new bicycle assembly/disassembly station, along with other updated bike amenities available to cyclists traveling to and from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The new assembly/disassembly bike station includes tools and a bike pump enabling individuals to more easily assemble and disassemble their bikes before and after their flights. Additional amenities include new bike racks, storage options (both short- and long-term), improved signage, and an updated bicycle resources webpage. More info at the link. (courtesy Seattle Bike Blog on Twitter)
stuinmccandless
2015-05-06 18:33:08
*snort* Best comment: "My town put in these awesome new brick handles."
stuinmccandless
2015-05-07 12:26:44
The new Premier-elect of the Alberta CA provincial government, Rachel Notley (where the tar-sands oil comes from). Whether or not you have been following along, this is a "good thing".
edmonds59
2015-05-09 06:49:08
Swedish filmmaker made a movie "Bikes vs Cars": "This film’s message – from the streets of São Paulo to Los Angeles, via the toxic situation in Toronto – makes it plain that a war is exactly what it is: cities are designed for cars and are hostile to bikes." See trailer: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/03/bikes-vs-cars-film-war-cyclists-drivers-fredrik-gertten-interview We need to get this film to come to Pittsburgh! http://www.bikes-vs-cars.com/screenings
paulheckbert
2015-05-11 11:46:10
^ Wow, heck yes we need that film. The question is, how do we get the people who most need to see it, to see it, and not just "the choir"? Also, re: ..."But for all that, at the end of the film, it’s the car-drivers you feel really sorry for..." Uh, no. Sorry. Not having seen it, I imagine it would simply reinforce for me what a stupid, destructive, species humans are.
edmonds59
2015-05-11 12:17:40
Seen today: A woman turning at a corner, while talking on the phone and with a cigarette in her other hand (yes, the latter was resting on the wheel).
ahlir
2015-05-11 19:12:21
The bottom 11 last year are the bottom 11 this year. One of them is West Virginia.
stuinmccandless
2015-05-12 10:54:44
Very surprised Hawaii is in the bottom 11 but not so much the other truck nutz states.
shooflypie
2015-05-12 12:04:38
Regarding this ranking of bicycle-friendly states, a commenter wrote: Linda Marshall I live in town of 4,700 people in Oklahoma. I like to ride a bicycle for exercise but anybody in town that walks or rides a bike (if they're older than 12) is thought to have lost their driver's license for drunk driving. When I ride my bike, men on bikes stop me to talk about their jail experiences. I guess since I'm on a bike they think I'm a drunk driver, too. When I walk for exercise, cars pull over and the drivers ask me why I'm walking and do I need a ride. Several have asked why my husband won't let me drive. The idea of walking or biking for exercise is beyond their belief. I was walking in the park once and an officer followed me across the park, asked me why I was walking and looking at stuff, and then asked if I had drugs or weapons on me. I'm a little old lady and just walking or riding a bike around here makes the population suspicious of me. Can you imagine how I felt about being stopped by the police because I was walking in a park? I have a dog now and I walk him. When I walk without the dog, people don't understand. http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/05/12/406162988/2015-rankings-list-most-bicycle-friendly-u-s-states#comment-2020752965
paulheckbert
2015-05-12 23:27:50
Several have asked why my husband won’t let me drive. OMG.
mick
2015-05-13 10:47:13
OMFSM. ...and, wouldn't you know, Kansas is #48. (For those scratching their heads, Pastafarianism came to be in Kansas.)
stuinmccandless
2015-05-13 11:41:53
Idaho Stop in Velo News.
neilmd
2015-05-21 12:12:12
Roundabouts look scary but the work pretty well for bikes. Merging traffic is required to stop, and while circling you simply take the lane. I base this on my experiences biking in Paris. The easy thing to do is stay on the peripheral lane until your street shows up; drivers are basically aware of you and, overall, the speeds are relatively moderate. After a while you figure out that moving towards the center is not a big deal, since, again, the drivers pay attention. Just stay away, if you can, from those motorcycles. Also taxis.
ahlir
2015-05-21 18:15:24
@ stu The bottom 11 last year are the bottom 11 this year. One of them is West Virginia. I'm not srue why this would be. They have a great system of bike trail - example the whole length of the mongehela in WV has a bike trail. OTOH, the old curvy mountain road might be a little bit difficult to share with pickups that drive 25 mph over the speed limit.
mick
2015-05-22 11:11:13
...and the WV requirement that you have to honk at a cyclist before passing. There are some truly stupid laws still on various books.
stuinmccandless
2015-05-22 15:18:49
Burlington VT police chief writes an article about a driver who killed a cyclist and himself: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2015/05/21/hinesburg-chief-reflects-fatal-crash/27741133/ Chief says, if he'd survived we'd charge driver with cyclist's murder Family doesn't get it, it's just an accident, he was only 18, the first accident is just supposed to be a learning experience: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2015/05/23/marshall-family-reacts-koss-column/27809395/
vannever
2015-05-23 20:12:26
My hometown of Buffalo NY has begun an annual event known as the Sky Ride -- a bike ride on the Skyway, a long elevated bridge connecting downtown to the former industrial area along the waterfront to the south. 1,400 riders, according to the Buffalo News story. Coverage from WIVB, Channel 4. Static story from WKBW, Channel 7. I've driven on the Skyway a bunch of times when I still lived there, but haven't been on it in a while in a car, and of course never on a bike. The closest thing we have to that here is Blvd of the Allies past Mercy Hospital and Duquesne U, outbound. Also, I love this typo: After the ride, bikers celebrated with fiends, families and supporters at the Flying Bison Brewery. Note the small sign under the big sign.
stuinmccandless
2015-05-31 03:35:45
Kerry breaks femur trying to ride TDF climb. He is described as being in "good spirits". I would not be in good spirits after breaking my femur -- I remember when Joseba Beloki broke his femur and LA went cyclocross, and Beloki was definitely not in good spirits. On the other hand, Kerry was going slowly and Beloki was not.
neilmd
2015-05-31 14:11:54
Why would WPXI report a violent 2:00 AM stabbing Seattle locally? There is a lot of violence in this country. There are a lot of stories about children dying from playing with their parents unattended loaded guns. Yet they make a point to bring up a story about a violent guy who just happened to be on a bike in Seattle? Why not all the violent stories from LA, Kansas City, St. Louis, NYC, Philly, Boston, Etc? Oh, cause this had a bike and they have an agenda.
shooflypie
2015-06-01 10:08:40
I'm still trying to figure out how he broke a femur hitting a curb. Maybe his hip replacement hadn't healed well? The femur is a strong bone.
jonawebb
2015-06-01 13:17:48
Yea, the only way I can reconcile "broken femur" "resting comfortably" and "hip replacement" is to assume that some sort of chip or fracture occurred near the replacement, certainly not the sort of displacement fractures that are so horrific.
neilmd
2015-06-01 14:53:54
Minneapolis, made the top 20 in Copenhagenize's list of top biking cities (http://copenhagenize.eu/index/18_minneapolis.html). Their advice on how to improve is also good for Pittsburgh: "We know Minneapolis is proud of their winter and we love that an American winter city is the one who makes the Top 20. Better infrastructure maintenance during the winter is key. Prioritise snow clearance on the bike infrastructure above all else. What will help the city, however, is to stop talking about the winter and to focus on getting a massive rise in ridership during the rest of the year. Minneapolis would do well to increase their commitment to protected infrastructure and to focus on making the continent's best on-street network - and the first city to NOT feature sharrows. It's hard for American cities to think out of the box regarding transport, but somebody has to do it. Why not Minneapolis." Why not Pittsburgh?
jonawebb
2015-06-02 08:35:22
@ rainbow dog It seems things are differnt in England. Judge Anthony Bate said Dray, who received a Queen's commendation, was a "decorated soldier of previous exemplary character". He had no option but to jail her, he added.
mick
2015-06-03 15:39:43
From Tennessee: "3 feet or else: Chattanooga police use ultrasound technology to enforce law for cyclist safety" http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/jun/07/3-feet-or-else/308339/ Interesting note:
BSMART (Bicyclist and Safe Monitoring Applied Radar Technology), made by Austin, Texas-based Codaxus, LLC, bounces ultrasonic waves off passing vehicles and calculates for distance. It's a brand-new technology, developed by friends of Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher. Chattanooga is the first city in the country, and possibly the world, using it. "We are proud to be the first users of this innovative technology," Fletcher said. "Our partners in Austin, Texas, worked for years to perfect this technology. The deployment of this technology in Chattanooga affirms our place as a technologically progressive city which includes the police department."
(via https://twitter.com/jessicaroberts/status/608281625395265536)
epanastrophe
2015-06-09 13:50:26
@ many buffalo - it would be great if we could convince Pittsburgh Police to use that technology!
mick
2015-06-09 13:55:19
I don't suppose I could borrow that thingamajig and ride around for a while?
stuinmccandless
2015-06-09 17:20:13
it would be interesting to find out what it costs (which would include training for the officers, maintenance, etc) and then crowdfund it for Pgh.
vannever
2015-06-09 18:11:25
Delaware Police Investigating Blocked DC Bike Lane Video. http://6abc.com/news/delaware-police-investigating-blocked-dc-bike-lane-video/776593/ I think this cops attitude is what bothers me the most. He could have just as easily explained what he was doing in a non-confrontational manner. Also notice that he ignores the cyclist for at least ten seconds or so while looking in his direction until he sees (I assume) the cyclist get on his phone to report the illegally parked vehicle. It will be interesting to see if the Governor gets any push back on this.
marko82
2015-06-10 15:06:41
Correct link. It looks like the driver who hit the child was going faster than the other cars.
steven
2015-06-13 10:25:02
It's cool that there are 8 times as many people who want her off the road, than who want cyclists off.
jonawebb
2015-06-17 09:09:28
Re: the Earlysville, VA duelling petitions - as of now 4,700+ people signed to get the driver off the roads, 741 people signed to get bicyclists off the roads. Local news station describes HER petition as "gaining traction". Nitwits.
edmonds59
2015-06-19 11:46:24
So, when someone asks how long the trip from A to B takes you, you can say honestly... in the end, it's really no time at all.
byogman
2015-06-22 10:34:05
" in the end, it’s really no time at all." Actually, it's negative. Because you were going to spend some time getting from A to B anyway. With biking, you get the time back.
jonawebb
2015-06-22 10:51:28
10 years ago in Germeany, I told a hotel clerk that there might be a total of half a dozen hotels in the entire US that offered loaner bikes. The clerk was pretty sure I was kidding.
mick
2015-06-26 10:40:52
I spent a few days at a small hotel just south of Provincetown MA a few years ago that had a small fleet of loaner cruisers, complete with small combo chain lock and helmet. It was a great service- I was able to ride as often as I wanted. They seemed to get a lot of use.
helen-s
2015-07-01 09:37:51
http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/tri_state/west_virginia/w-va-ranger-critically-hurt-in-cycling-accident/article_aac4ee2a-2291-11e5-86a6-033d581ae5e4.html HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. — The chief ranger for Harpers Ferry National Historical Park remained in critical condition Saturday in a medically induced coma after suffering a head injury in a cycling competition accident on Thursday, according to a park official. Levins was still in critical but stable condition, and was put in the medically induced coma to help his brain heal, she said. The cycling race in Northern Virginia was part of the 2015 World Police & Fire Games, which end today, according to the event's website. Brazilian Carlos Silva, whom media outlets report was a police investigator, died after the cycling crash that left two other men critically injured, according to a news release on the Prince William County (Va.) Police Department's Facebook page. The police department's Crash Investigation Unit responded to Prince William Forest Park around 12:20 p.m. Thursday for a crash involving multiple cyclists, the release said. While heading downhill, a front tire on one of the bikes blew, causing a chain-reaction collision, it said. Silva, 48, died at the hospital on Thursday afternoon, police said. Harriett confirmed Levins was one of the other cyclists who were critically injured. He was airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., she said.
vannever
2015-07-04 22:12:37
In Virginia, their new 3 foot law (up from 2 feet) "led to a modest increase in enforcement during its first 12 months on the books. Statewide, police wrote 12 tickets for drivers passing too close, according to data provided by the Supreme Court of Virginia. During the 12 months before the change, officers in the state wrote two tickets." http://www.richmond.com/news/local/article_68dc785d-11f9-51b5-88fe-97169f66854a.html
paulheckbert
2015-07-06 01:26:16
From Science Friday radio program: “Why Do Cyclists Break The Rules?” http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/07/03/2015/why-do-cyclists-break-the-rules.html Study & survey by University of Colorado researchers found: pretty much everybody (car drivers and cyclists) breaks the law in small ways. When a car driver runs a red light (about 8%), it’s to save time; when cyclists run a red light (also about 8%), they say they’re doing it to be more visible and for safety. http://www.ucdenver.edu/about/newsroom/newsreleases/Pages/More-cyclists-on-road-can-mean-less-collisions.aspx says “we are beginning to find that cities with a high level of bicycling are not just safer for cyclists but for all road users”.
paulheckbert
2015-07-06 16:36:40
My comment to that Science Friday story: Why do cyclists commonly fail to stop at stop signs? Two physics reasons: bicycles become unstable at very low speeds, and it requires energy to decelerate and accelerate. And a perception and risk assessment reason: cyclists are generally alert, they have to be, but the risks they face are mostly to themselves, not to others. A bicycle is hard to steer at low speeds, and will fall over if you don’t put out your foot or balance actively. For those using clipless pedals, their shoe clips into the pedal and it requires an extra movement to release their foot from the pedal if they are going to get out of the seat and put a foot on the ground. An older friend of mine broke his hip when he stopped, one time. He failed to twist his foot out of the pedal, and fell to the side. At very low speeds, a cyclist must weave more in order to maintain balance. Weaving increases the risk of a collision with cars to the left. Cars do not risk falling over when they come to a stop. Obviously, it is less effort for a cyclist to coast through a stop sign than to decelerate, stop (perhaps putting a foot out), and accelerate back to previous speed. If you’re biking to work in nice clothes, say, you probably don’t want to work up a sweat while bicycling, so accelerating is something you’re trying to avoid. Car drivers don’t work up a sweat pressing the accelerator pedal. Comparing the typical cyclist’s environmental awareness to that of a typical car driver: the cyclist can hear vehicles around him, while a car driver cannot due to closed windows, and the cyclist’s survival (like a motorcyclist’s) depends on alertness to passing cars, cross traffic, car doors, pedestrians, potholes, and other hazards, while the car driver can ignore much of that without worry that he will go to the hospital; he only worries about getting his car scratched or dented. If a cyclist is inattentive, he’s more likely to injure himself than to injure others (at typical biking speeds), but if a car driver is inattentive, he can easily kill others. How many people do you know that have been struck and killed by a car? How many people do you know that have been struck and killed by a bicycle?
paulheckbert
2015-07-06 18:01:22
Ok, good point.
edmonds59
2015-07-10 08:54:27
Philly rider killed by hit-and-run driver this weekend: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Hit-and-Run-Philadelphia-Bicyclist--314390801.html Driver apprehended several blocks away and questioned, then released. Victim had no ID; Philly police are asking for help identifying him: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Hit-and-Run-North-Philadelphia-2nd-Street-John-Doe-314596201.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_PHBrand Meanwhile, in New York, whose Vision Zero plan Mayor Peduto has held up as the model Pittsburgh should follow, a rider was killed in Brooklyn near Barclay Center, the new basketball arena. http://gothamist.com/2015/07/13/barclays_cyclist_crash.php#photo-1 NYPD have suggested the driver suffered a 'seizure' or 'medical event', according to reports, despite witness statements that he was able to back up and go around a car he'd hit prior to running over the cyclist. (The New York victim is also unidentified. Carry ID, y'all.) ETA: Already over a hundred people have been killed in traffic in NYC this year. New York's Families for Safe Streets tomorrow will hold a vigil for #VisionZero in Union Square. Nearly a thousand people have pledged to attend.
epanastrophe
2015-07-13 15:14:03
How the F**k are these drivers not in jail immediately?! They even have video in the Philly crash. =================== Re bb's ID comment: I'm a cheap s.o.b. so instead of buying a "road ID" for $40 I instead bought a (literal) metal dog tag from a pet shop for around three bucks and sewed it to a piece of elastic I use as a wrist band. The tag allows for three lines of text - which can be anything. So I have my name, two emergency phone numbers and my PA drivers number listed. In the ER the most important thing is for the trauma team to contact a family member, I doubt that they would pay much attention to (unverifiable) medical information from a third party like road ID - so that aspect of their product is questionable. I know even the military ignores the blood type on their own tags and will retest the person before giving whole blood. So if you've been putting off getting road ID type identification because of its cost, it doesn't get much cheaper than pet tags.
marko82
2015-07-13 16:24:27
You know who else is installing bike lanes? NORTH KOREA! http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/14/us-northkorea-bicycles-idUSKCN0PO06Q20150714 Though the situation there sounds like a driver's utopia. Maybe some of the commentators on letters to the editor should move there: "North Korean cyclists are not supposed to ride on urban roads and have for years used an unmarked narrow strip of pavement shared with pedestrians, residents and visitors said." "They are not the most common form of transport for the average Pyongyanger, and many people I have spoken to about bikes there - mostly men - have scoffed at the idea that they would ride a bike," said Cockerell, whose company offers bicycle tours of North Korea.
jonawebb
2015-07-14 08:52:38
I wear a dogtag w/ name, city, emergency contacts on there. Cheap and useful for an "in event of" incident for loved ones and emergency responders.
ka_jun
2015-07-14 11:16:02
Stu asked about zigzag ramps and such. I didn't find prices for these. Here are some examples: Helical ramp, (people call this a "spiral" but the proper term is "helix") Chambly, near Montreal (about the area) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO-f0Ex_k9w Helical ramp, Morrison Bridge, Portland, OR (about bridge) Zigzag ramps and bridge over RR tracks, Gatineau Hydro Corridor Trail at Tara Ave, Toronto Zigzag ramps at southeast end of Herr's Island, Pittsburgh (bridge specs)
paulheckbert
2015-07-26 15:43:44
I've been on the helix in Portland; it works really well. The problem is that these need space, while zigzags are nice and compact (and cheaper). I find zigzags annoying: a) sight lines can suck (e.g. Ft. Duquesne Br), b) You're never sure that traffic coming round a turn will leave enough space (so I usually just stop and wait).
ahlir
2015-07-28 09:52:53
Cars never have to do the almost-stop-hairpin-turn thing when they get on and off exits or bridges. Or so close to "never" that the exceptions are notable. I can't think of one, offhand. They would never make the Hot Metal Bridge so that a car had to go the slow and make the steering squeek to get on or off. Like a parking garage. At this point, I'm happy to have any infrastructure, but this kind of thing will have to change, eventually.
mick
2015-07-28 11:00:12
.
benzo
2015-07-28 11:18:33
Cars never have to do the almost-stop-hairpin-turn thing when they get on and off exits or bridges. Or so close to “never” that the exceptions are notable. I can’t think of one, offhand.
Highland Park bridge, exiting toward Aspinwall northbound or either direction southbound. I-79 northbound, exiting toward SR-65. Liberty Tubes outbound, exiting toward 51 south. Parkway West inbound, exiting toward 51 north. The intersection of 51 & 837 at Elizabeth Bridge. that's just off the top of my head...
epanastrophe
2015-07-28 11:28:23
Not bridges, per se, but there are plenty of places where hairpin turns are necessary: * Bottom of 28th St onto outbound Liberty. * US19 Perry Hwy at Township Rd in West View (near-180-degree turn to go essentially straight, no stop sign, occupied building smack up against road edge on outside side) * Beechwood Blvd at Forbes outbound * Steubenville Pike inbound to Baldwin Rd outbound, by the Thornburg Bridge * less well traveled but Sylvan/Waldeck Street, by Bigelow St, opposite the Frazier St Bridge, is a pretty tight turn
stuinmccandless
2015-07-28 11:43:01
@ buffalko buffalo that’s just off the top of my head My impression is that those interesections are mostly places where cars might have to slow down to the 25 mph speed limit. With exceptions for the places with lights. Can you think of any where a car would havge to slow to the 5 mph or so necessary to navigate the South end of the Hot Metal Bridge by bike?
mick
2015-07-28 15:55:35
Can you think of any where a car would havge to slow to the 5 mph or so necessary to navigate the South end of the Hot Metal Bridge by bike? There's probably more of these around, but if you start up Greenfield Ave then turn R onto Sylvan (to get to Bigelow and beyond) you will have to negotiate a genuine 180° hairpin turn. Maybe some of the locals have learned how to do it at >5mph, but I wouldn't try it. This is not a main road but, hey, people use it all the time.
ahlir
2015-07-28 16:21:59
@ahlir, @mick - See my list. I mentioned the one. The others also qualify. To which I can add: * coming off Pine Creek Road in McCandless, turning onto southbound Perry Hwy, is only a 90° turn, but it's unnervingly tight. * South 18th, the right onto either Quarry St or St Patrick St is pretty tight. The best example is the West View one, as it's technically a straight, on a U.S. Highway.
stuinmccandless
2015-07-28 18:34:25
If you think bikelash is bad in the United States, check out Australia. (via bikesnobnyc). The advice of this video, for both cars & bicycles: don't be a wanker.
paulheckbert
2015-07-29 21:58:31
There’s probably more of these around, but if you start up Greenfield Ave then turn R onto Sylvan (to get to Bigelow and beyond) you will have to negotiate a genuine 180° hairpin turn. Maybe some of the locals have learned how to do it at >5mph, but I wouldn’t try it.
Oh yeah! Been there, done that. Both on bike and in car You have to slow down.
mikhail
2015-07-31 07:24:02
I love that Sylvan/Bigelow climb. One of my favourites in the city, and one of the hardest you can find on the East End. I also kinda love the fact that it's supposed to be a two-way street
chrishent
2015-07-31 07:41:01
Another is the Greeley/Gomer/Sterling climb from Josephine near 22nd to Mission. Not quite as sharp, but more of a climb. (i was initially thinking specifically of highway ramps, though. There's quite a few of those around that require a pretty sharp deceleration, even if you don't have to actually stop.)
epanastrophe
2015-07-31 07:45:36
I wish the city could build a multi use bike/pedestrian path along the old sylvan ave right of way to connect hazelwood and greenfield. It's currently an overgown mess. It could be a great alternative to the closed off hazelwood trail.
benzo
2015-07-31 08:38:58
I've grumped before about biking on Irvine St eastbound, which is really unpleasant. Given 2 lanes inbound and 1 lane outbound, with 95% of inbound traffic using their left lane (part of what makes the outbound cycling so unpleasant), it would be fantastic if the city could manage to reconfigure it as 1 in 1 out with bike lanes, at least for the next few years while ALMONO gets figured out.
neilmd
2015-07-31 08:44:24
The Columbus, Ohio, counterpart of Bike Pgh! Takes a team of 8 engineers from the Ohio Department of Transportation on a ten mile bike tour of city streets. (le sigh) http://yaybikes.com/2015/07/odot-ride/#more-4966
edmonds59
2015-07-31 14:24:58
This bike zipline in Ecuador allows you to use your own bicycle. Maybe this is what we need for cyclists traveling from Mt Washington to the Point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyiJiuPnN3Q
paulheckbert
2015-08-01 23:10:55
Kinda sorry I missed this. I would have tried to make the trip.
stuinmccandless
2015-08-03 11:16:44
Minneapolis has an extensive network of bicycle greenways, trails, lanes, boulevards, and "sharrowed" roads. One can get from nearly anywhere to nearly anywhere else on the bicycle infrastructure network. During Monday (8/3/15) afternoon rush, I was fortunate to have been able to ride, with a friend, on the Midtown Greenway and film it. The film is close to 18 minutes long but I believe worth watching, especially if you've heard all the hype about the Twin Cities but have not been able to get there yet. I filmed some other aspects of the Minneapolis Bicycle Infrastructure, which I would be happy to post. Hope you enjoy the film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8USJwZD-GQ
fultonco
2015-08-06 18:31:05
Amish bishop now allows use of bikes "I don't know exactly how many bikes we have now, but I know it is quite a few," added Gabhart. "I believe we have around 10,000 Amish in the county. That's the last figure I heard, so the bicycles are rampant out there and the bicycle techniques are perhaps less than desirable. It just seems like there is a safety issue." http://www.washtimesherald.com/news/local_news/amish-on-bikes-creating-safety-concern/article_206f363d-b752-5d09-bed6-c3c4587684d1.html Ignore the skills issue for a moment (they'll learn quite quickly I'm sure), can you imagine how positive an impact adding possibly thousands of regular cyclists will have on biker/driver behavior? I hope some organization is taking notice and conducting surveys etc. to document the transformation. There's a unique experimental opportunity here.
marko82
2015-08-12 09:53:16
Well, to mash up the last two headlines, when are these intersections coming to Lancaster? Seems only fair that a city poised to have a high bicycle mode-share should get some decent infrastructure! In other news, bike lanes by this can get a new association... humble folk trying to get around in a way that accords with their beliefs. I've never understood trying to angle for bicycles using the "young urban professional" line... yes a lot of stats skew that way, but it's so much larger and there's so much smugness painting it that way that's really off-putting. Related, but can we please revive safe routes to school in this state??
byogman
2015-08-12 10:50:27
LA Times via @BikeLeague: "L.A. will add bike and bus lanes, cut car lanes in sweeping policy shift" http://lat.ms/1WiF04L
City Councilman Mike Bonin, a major backer, said the changes are needed in part because the city has a “legacy of shame” when it comes to the number of automobile fatalities involving children and senior citizens. “This is a document that helps us prioritize public safety so that those who are walking and bicycling and trying to get around [without] a car don’t get killed,” Bonin said.
epanastrophe
2015-08-12 11:05:34
Amish bikes: interesting. I remember on CtC seeing an Amish kid paddling along on a bike (no chain). Also an Amish woman on Rollerblades, carrying a basket of vegetables.
jonawebb
2015-08-12 19:22:25
@jon, my understanding of the issue of whether Amish are allowed to ride bikes or not is a local bishop decision. In Lancaster, PA the bishop says no to bikes, but push-scooters and rollerblades are ok. In eastern Ohio bikes are allowed but they shouldn't be fancy. And still some technology is ok at work (computers, phones, nail-guns, etc.) but not ok to use otherwise.
marko82
2015-08-12 23:11:18
@Marko: that's correct. Actually, AFAIK, in some cases the decision to allow a specific technology in a community is a conscious experiment, to evaluate the impact of said tech on a single community for a decade or two, before deciding whether it should be prohibited or encouraged on a wider scale.
reddan
2015-08-13 07:22:59
To put some positive news out there, I just got back from Virginia Beach, a quick end of summer jaunt, and the place has been infested with bikes. Since last I was there, a decade ago, they have built a bike-only-lane adjacent to and the length of the beach walkway, and it is heavily used, AS WELL AS putting sharrows on the main drag. These are not mutually exclusive, rather, complementary. Pic 1. Pic 2, normal people riding bikes on streets. Pic 3, at one point there was a band with an immense party/gathering at which a large number of people had arrived by bike. Pic 3a, gathering. Pic 4, This is the "main drag" directly out from the gathering in Pic 3. There are 1,000+- live partying human beings just east of this photo. On my previous visits, this was a car-glogged pedestrian nightmare. I am hesitant to attribute direct causality, but worth considering. Aside from the bikes, drivers are now noticeably deferential to pedestrians, stopping well in advance of people in crosswalks. Mildly remarkable.
edmonds59
2015-08-13 09:19:41
News flash - Rush Limbaugh hates bike lanes. [edit] see bb's link below I don't encourage anyone to click on the link and drive ad$ to his sight, but lots of folks listen to this blowhard while actually driving their two ton pollution machines, so be careful today in case one of his "followers" takes him seriously.
marko82
2015-08-14 08:53:47
> Using donotlink.com instead of linking to questionable websites directly will prevent your links from improving these websites' position in search engines. http://www.donotlink.com/gc3y will take you to that rush limbaugh page (and your favourite ad-block and tracker-suppression extensions should do most of the rest).
epanastrophe
2015-08-14 09:14:16
Bike Boulevard, 40th Avenue E, in Minneapolis, MN - 5:33 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlxQXcl8jdg Might've floated through a couple of stop signs, as seemingly most others were doing. Since I've returned to Pittsburgh, I've learned that there is a bit of an uproar out there over cyclists not obeying the rules of the road. So, if you go, follow the rules, as you do here in Pittsburgh. You will see some Female Somali Pedestrians during the video. This part of Minneapolis has large Somali Community.
fultonco
2015-08-14 16:35:42
I biked in Montreal last week. A few observations: Lots of bicycles. As a rough guess, perhaps 5 times the rate of cycling there as in Pittsburgh. Lots of bike commuters. Their bike share system (Bixi) is big (5200 bicycles) and very popular (2014 stats). There were lots of women bicycling, lots of families biking. Most cyclists wore no helmet, and no special bike clothes, except on weekends. Most had no light, even at night. (It seemed unsafe, but apparently car drivers have learned to deal with it.) It was very rare to see cyclists all lit up, with reflective vests and multiple lights. I saw cyclists running red lights sometimes, probably at a higher rate than in Pittsburgh. Most cyclists used the bike lanes and obeyed the traffic lights, same as in Pittsburgh. Car drivers appeared to accept bicycles. I was never buzzed or honked at, and I didn't see other cyclists get harassed by cars, either. Doing a similar ride in Pittsburgh, I would have been buzzed and honked at.
paulheckbert
2015-08-19 12:50:47
^I had a similar experience back in May, very positive. One of the factors that I found that I believe has a huge impact is that in the city limits of Montreal, right turns on red are NOT allowed, as they are in the rest of Quebec. As a result, on a multi-lane street, a cyclist can take the right hand lane at a red light and there is NO pressure from an automobile to squeeze to the right - they can't turn anyway. City centers everywhere need to seriously consider shit-canning rights-on-red. Also, contrary to the concerns of vehicular cyclists (which I myself have shared) the existence of bike lanes in the city does not seem to have increased the tendency of drivers to demand that cyclists get in bke lanes. On non-bike-laned, non-sharrowed streets, there are nearly as many bikers, and drivers seem to have just learned to "deal with it". My guess is that the bike lanes and sharrows have increased the total numbers of cyclists, drivers see them everywhere anyway, and drivers are more acclimatized to their presence.
edmonds59
2015-08-19 14:55:36
The right-on-red rule has been around a while, but those of us with long memories can recall the days before it existed, roughly mid-to-late 1970s. The impetus for creating the exception, IIRC, was to lessen fuel use, as prompted by oil embargoes and steep increases in the price of gasoline. The 55 mph national speed limit was implemented at about the same time for the same reason. I hadn't thought about the idea of rescinding that rule in city centers. Slippery slope time, though: Where do you draw the line? Golden Triangle, seems pretty obvious. Various corners along Baum Blvd, do they qualify? It's city, but higher speed, wider, and has a lot of bikes.
stuinmccandless
2015-08-19 15:19:06
Having had drivers squeeze past me, or gun their engines or outright honk at me for not making a right on red, at various locations throughout the city, I'd say, yes, absolutely, _everywhere_. Locations outside the Triangle may be higher speed, but that's where it's often even more dangerous to make such a turn, both for drivers and pedestrians. After all, if you're busy looking for a car that you may be about to cut off at 35+ mph, you've less time to look for the pedestrian that might be trying to cross from your right. Meanwhile, intersections along, say, Butler Street might be lower speed, but they're also more likely to have cars parked in such a manner as to make it more difficult to see what's coming. I've seen numerous near-accidents caused by drivers making a right-on-red onto Butler St in front of greenlit drivers that were hidden behind parked cars. Right on red is suitable for high-visibility, low traffic intersections, where you can see that there's no traffic coming that you need to wait for--and most of these should probably just be downgraded to stop signs.
epanastrophe
2015-08-19 15:41:27
The Golden Triangle area is full of "no turn on red" signs, and understandably so. There's a few that are activated depending on the time of day. That drivers disregard these signs is a different matter
chrishent
2015-08-19 16:49:10
With so much trail activity at the end of the hot metal bridge that there was constant conflict for users trying to cross on the crosswalks to continue on the trail. I noticed the new no right on red signs there. Glad we got this fixed.
benzo
2015-08-20 08:44:47
@benzo, the real fix would be to narrow the four lanes down to two right at the bridge. There is no need for the extra lanes for that small stretch (100 feet?) from the light to the bridge deck. You could also eliminate the left turns at this intersection by having turning traffic use the next intersection. If you are a car coming off the bridge into SS and wanted to head to the sports complex you would go to the second light, turn right, and loop back to the water street and proceed to your destination. This would make crossing there a lot safer for everyone and have the added benefit of preventing cars from sneaking up the right lane and cutting off drivers getting onto the bridge heading toward Second Ave. Stand here during morning/evening rush and watch how often this happens. It's amazing.
marko82
2015-08-20 10:34:29
This fellow was the brother in law of a close friend and former housemate of ours. Ugh.
neilmd
2015-08-20 17:34:23
^what a shame, my condolences on the loss of your friend.
marko82
2015-08-20 18:41:07
Of particular interest to women, this story from the UK about getting pushed off the bike by a pedestrian but using the experience as empowerment.
stuinmccandless
2015-08-30 18:25:15
Migrants fleeing Syria to Norway via Russia, partly on bicycles. [link]
stuinmccandless
2015-08-31 21:18:52
^here's the JAMA link (though you can only see the first page) http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2432153 bottom line: Injuries increased from 96 per 100,000 to 123 per 100,000 (population, NOT cyclist only) Hospitalizations increased from 5.1 per 100,00 to 11.2 per 100,000 (population, NOT cyclist only) So you have a 0.01% chance of being hospitalized? Horrifying! And from what I can tell the study does not take into account that more people are cycling now than in 1998 - they just found that more injuries are occurring within the total population.
marko82
2015-09-02 08:11:53
I think the article is fair and not scare-mongering. It's just pointing out that there's been an increase in injuries and death. It discusses things cities are doing to make the streets safer for riders.
jonawebb
2015-09-02 08:38:02
There's an op-ed anti-bike column from a Boston Globe journalist making the rounds on the Twitters. I'd link it, but I've not read because it's probably the same crap that we have heard a thousands times before. Apparently there's even references to the All-powerful Bicycle Lobby! No need to generate ad revenue for that.
chrishent
2015-09-02 09:04:05
Got potholes? The app works with a phone’s internal accelerometer to measure sudden changes in the bike’s motion, and record the offending pothole’s location and “intensity.” It then triggers the mounted paint dispenser to physically mark the spot in the road, using water soluble paint that washes away after a few days. http://magazine.good.is/articles/auto-complain-bike-pothole Edit: I don't think we would have enough paint
marko82
2015-09-03 09:02:24
@RustyRed Yay, LA! Their mayor says: “The old model of a car-centric, different-neighborhood-for-every-task city is in many ways slipping through our fingers whether we like it or not,” Mr. Garcetti said. “We have to have neighborhoods that are more self-contained. People want to be able to walk or bike or take transit to a movie.”
mick
2015-09-08 12:05:35
Big things may also be coming soon for California as a whole. Via Streetsblog: "A bill was introduced [Friday] to double the funding available for projects and programs that encourage people to walk or ride bikes by making streets and paths safe and comfortable for them."
epanastrophe
2015-09-08 12:39:54
A Los Angeles Plan to Reshape the Streetscape Sets Off Fears of Gridlock. The City Council has approved a far-reaching transportation plan that would reshape the streetscape over the next 20 years, adding hundreds of miles of bicycle lanes, bus-only lanes and pedestrian safety features as part of an effort to nudge drivers out from behind the wheel. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/us/a-los-angeles-plan-to-reshape-the-streetscape-sets-off-fears-of-gridlock.html
paulheckbert
2015-09-08 16:48:33
@paulheckbert That is all ducked up.
mick
2015-09-10 12:50:07
Tragic news out of Ventura County, CA. Emmy winning bicyclist and a motorcyclist killed by probably-distracted driver. Cyclist was riding on wide shoulder; motorcyclist headed in opposite direction on other side of street. link Edited to add: The story says the driver was going 55 mph. Prior to that corner, the road is posted 40. After that corner, there is no speed limit sign. So I don't know if it's 40 or 55. But at 5:30 p.m., it was broad daylight. And the road is a posted bike route.
stuinmccandless
2015-09-13 15:43:19
@jonawebb We've discussed about how exceptionally bad driving is nto a criminal offence - even with fatal consequences. But we should be able to forbid people from ever driving again for a non-criminal event like that one. One advantage of it being non-criminal is the proof beyond a reasonable doubt would not be required.
mick
2015-09-15 13:44:34
I've been following a Facebook thread discussing this, which includes the man behind this supposed goof-up. It actually makes a good bit of sense, if you're into building bike lanes. Here is the reasoning: The approval was given to put the road on a diet and install a buffered bike lane. The plan was to put the striped buffer between motor traffic and the lane, but this was intentionally switched. Why? Because the approved plan would put cyclists up against the curb, where glass, debris, carrion, etc., accumulate, an inherently unsafe place to ride. So, painting the "debris lane" causes cyclists to stay away from the curb. Meanwhile, cyclists will naturally stay a ways away from moving traffic, if they can. Second meanwhile, motorists will tend to stay in their own lane. Cyclists will generally ignore the stripe paint in terms of navigation, and ride along the left edge of the striping, placing them both away from moving traffic and the debris zone, which also makes them a bit more visible to cars entering the roadway from driveways and parking lots. The inherent problem with this and any bike lane is at intersections, where there is a much greater chance of being right-hooked. You can bike on paint. You can't bike through parked cars. And getting flats on broken glass sucks. Notable about the Facebook thread, if you can see it, is that it contains several diagrams describing how to, and how not to, design bike lanes.
stuinmccandless
2015-09-20 09:22:44
^ great logic, except that broken glass rarely kills people.
marko82
2015-09-20 10:33:28
in a world of terrible non-intuitive design, they're claiming that there's a debris lane (rather than sweeping/maintaining the road) and so they put the bike lane next to the cars? So we're buffering the cyclists from trash and not from automobiles? Hoping the cyclists will ignore the stupid design and look out for themselves? I want some of what they're smoking. On second thought, maybe not.
vannever
2015-09-20 10:53:51
Quoting one of the comments on the Fb thread, "As the cyclist in the photo demonstrates, there's a monochrome buffer on the left, and a two-tone bike lane on the right. It's not backwards, it's just a different color scheme." Glass can indeed kill you. A blowout of a front tire at some speed can cause you to lose control, topple left, and immediately get crushed by a passing car. So they should get left, some, but not all the way over into the "monochrome" area. More succinctly, the entire width of both is effectively the bike lane, and cyclists will and should use the line they are most comfortable taking. We should not be talking about this so much as the intersection transitions, which are far more important than the width or color of the edge space.
stuinmccandless
2015-09-20 11:31:59
SanFran: After cyclists staged a "Stop-In" to oppose the SFPD crackdown a few months ago on ticketing cyclists for stop sign violations, A proposed ordinance from Supervisor John Avalos would make cyclists who yield at stop signs the lowest enforcement priority. http://www.sfexaminer.com/avalos-to-introduce-bike-yield-law-today/ Lampooned by one of my favorite blogs: http://dearestdistrict5.blogspot.com/2015/09/bikers-may-finally-get-their-ultimate.html ‘Wiggle Stop-In’ Cyclists Bring San Francisco Traffic To A Standstill: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/07/30/wiggle-stop-in-cyclists-bring-san-francisco-traffic-to-a-standstill-wednesday/
rustyred
2015-09-22 09:02:46
He rode almost 900 miles from Chicago to Richmond VA to watch a bike ride. He may RORO back. The article says he came through Pittsburgh on his way here. Does anyone recall seeing him? [link]
stuinmccandless
2015-09-24 10:28:55
"Troopers reported that Williams blew a 0.193 on a portable breath test, more than twice the legal limit for blood alcohol content while driving." ...
epanastrophe
2015-09-25 14:13:19
Commenter Nate Cazier on the Lotoja article has one of the better summaries of how drivers get away with criminal driving and how journalists help with that: How is this not attempted vehicular manslaughter? She was drunk. She hit a cyclist with her vehicle. She then _flees_ the scene and is only apprehended because a Samaritan was good enough to follow her until the police catch her. AND SHE'S ONLY CHARGED WITH MISDEMEANORS? I'm no fan of legislators - but I can't believe this isn't a felony. Also, would Ms. Breysse be so kind as to define "minor injuries" for me? Because if being hit by a car so hard that you have to be stretchered off onto an ambulance and to the hospital is "minor," I'd hate to see what constitutes "major" injuries! Also, where is the cyclists' side of the story? Simply reporting that the drunk driver "felt really, really sorry" (for almost killing a woman) turns this into more of a tabloid piece than any sort of informative journalism. The cyclist had the right to use the entire roadway if she wanted. After the tragedy on that bridge in 2012, I wouldn't blame her if she did. But even if the cyclist didn't choose to take the full lane, Patricia Williams was required to give her 3-feet of space while passing. But I guess Ms. Williams didn't care. You know, because she was drunk. And to be honest, she probably doesn't care that much right now either - because without any legitimate penalty for the attempted murder, there's no reason for her to stop drinking and driving into people. This legal disdain for cyclists is abhorrent. Hopefully the DA's office treats this as seriously as it is, refuses any plea, and starts protecting cyclists' lives.
stuinmccandless
2015-09-27 08:21:08
Bravo.
edmonds59
2015-09-28 08:31:17
From the Outspokin' Wheelmen, Youngstown, Ohio: OSW cyclists: As you may remember, the Ohio Bicycle Federation has been working with the Ohio legislature to pass House Bill 154 and the identical Senate Bill 192. These bills would do two things: 1) Specify a minimum passing distance of three feet whenever a motor vehicle passes a bicycle; and 2) permit any vehicle operator (including a bicyclist) to treat as defective a traffic light that fails to turn green because it fails to detect the waiting vehicle. This allows the operator to proceed when safe, rather than waiting a long time for someone else to trigger the green light. These are simple and practical changes to Ohio law that will improve cycling in Ohio. It's time to contact your state representative and senator once again, to ensure that they know these laws are important to us. To do this, you can start by going to each of these sites: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/members/district-map http://www.ohiosenate.gov/members/senate-district-map Clicking your home's location on those maps should open a window showing your representative or senator. Clicking the person's name will take you to his or her web page. (Note that House District 59 is now represented by John Boccieri, since Gerberry was removed from office. Gerberry never responded on bicycle issues anyway!) From your representative's or senator's web page, you can click "Email xxxxx" and send a message on the form that appears. Tell them why you support these changes to the law, and ask for their support. Remember, they take such messages seriously! They figure that for every voter serious enough to contact them, there are many other voters who also like the idea. So please, do your part to help the Ohio Bicycle Federation's efforts! Thanks in advance for your help. - Frank Krygowski Fellow OSW Members: More about Senate Bill 192! Yesterday, I asked OSW members to help the Ohio Bicycle Federation's efforts to pass House Bill 154 and the identical Senate Bill 192. These bills would require three feet clearance for cars passing bicycles, and allow safe and responsible behavior at defective traffic lights. I learned today that the Senate version of the bill has been assigned to the Senate Transportation, Commerce, and Labor Committee. It's very important that the committee approve the bill and send it to the full Ohio Senate. It turns out that Capri Cafaro is the ranking minority member of that committee! I know many OSW members are in Ms. Cafaro's district. If that includes you, your email to Capri Cafaro is especially important. Please do contact her and ask her to support these rational changes to Ohio laws. - Frank Krygowski
fultonco
2015-10-04 07:41:43
Clearly the PA legislature et al. need to work on their new-law distribution efforts. Nearly three and a half years after it became part of the vehicle code, even the sheriff of the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania "was not aware of" the four-foot passing law. WTF?
epanastrophe
2015-10-05 12:49:19
One more time: If people had to take a written test on changes to the law as part of their license renewals -- even if we supplied an answer card they could look at while they took the test -- then people, including sheriffs, would know what the law actually said.
stuinmccandless
2015-10-05 17:26:46
A few lessons that could probably be applied here.... Atlantic CityLab: "How Montreal and 27 neighboring municipalities came together to coordinate city planning" http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/10/in-the-montreal-area-82-municipalities-begin-to-think-and-act-as-one/409489/ (only 27?! well, the actual headline, rather than the twitter edition, says "In the Montréal Area, 82 Municipalities Begin to Think and Act As One" ...though that's still 1/4 less than Allegheny County, in a much larger geographical span... )
epanastrophe
2015-10-08 17:11:20
For some perspective, Grand Montreal is actually huge. I looked at the maps. Imagine an area extending from Beaver to New Stanton, and from Washington to Kittanning. (Or perhaps half the surface area, accounting for shape and the St. Laurent.) There's *way* more than 82 municipalities around here. Our region is one of the politically most fragmented in the country. (Also, a couple of decades ago, the Quebec government was aggressively consolidating towns into larger units.)
ahlir
2015-10-08 20:04:00
This is not necessarily bike related - but it's very disturbing & could easily have been bike related at any point Lakeland Police Department: Woman arrested after drunken driving, streaming live video on Periscope http://www.theledger.com/article/20151012/NEWS/151019904
marko82
2015-10-13 09:02:07
There were two incidents last year where people crossing streets in Central Park were hit by roadies training at high speed. Commenters, however, are saying that those are the first they can remember since 2009, when a pedestrian was hit by a wrong-way food-delivery rider in Midtown. This article, written shortly after the second Central Park incident last year, quotes a similar number: http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2014/09/23/341363.htm "From 1996 to 2005, 11 pedestrians across New York City died after being struck by bicyclists, according to a report by four city agencies."
epanastrophe
2015-10-22 16:48:43
Putting people in the hospital for an overnight stay seems a better measure of cyclist culpability than deaths. People dying is a level removed from that, and due in great part to the efforts of medical treatment. OTOH, whether you die or not, if you got busted up badly enough to spend a night in the hospital, from being run over by a bike, that would be a more accurate measure. You could be trampled by a horse and suffer serious injury or death, too.
stuinmccandless
2015-10-23 12:37:51
I think a little less than one death per year from bicyclists in a city as large as NYC seems to be in the right ballpark. It's quite possible for a cyclist to hit somebody and kill them, for example if the person who got hit suffers a major concussion and dies as a result.
jonawebb
2015-10-23 12:47:52
Who needs trains when you have bicycles: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34602208 Migrants cycling into Norway from Russia. Weirdly, they're riding across the border because they're not allowed to walk for some reason. So they take a taxi there, then ride across.
jonawebb
2015-10-23 13:29:15
Relevant to Susan Hicks' death and Forbes Ave in Pittsburgh, Akron is giving some of its streets a road diet: ""Currently, the pavement is so wide people are having weaving accidents, turning from incorrect lanes," says Mike Teodecki of Akron's Bureau of Engineering. "There's four and five lanes throughout this corridor and that's what gets confusing for the traveling public." In a three-year span, there were 585 crashes, more than half of which were "categorized as sideswipe-passing," data from the city's communications director, Stephanie York, shows. "This results from vehicles attempting to turn right or left from an inside travel lane and striking a vehicle traveling in the curb lane. This is the type of crash that is the direct result of having too many lanes..." The plan includes "right-sizing" the number of through lanes to two, adding bike lanes and street parking." http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/local/akron/2015/04/15/akron-plan-targets-dangerous-roads/25809767/
paulheckbert
2015-10-25 21:57:28
The story is from April. Any follow-up or fallout?
stuinmccandless
2015-10-26 07:47:46
Here's an article about Oakland experimenting with a "super sharrow": http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2015/10/can-the-least-loved-bike-infrastructure-be-improved/412180/ I really like this design, in theory at least, for places where a protected bike lane isn't too feasible. I'm thinking West Carson St. from Station Square to the West End Circle, and then on to McKees Rocks. I like the design for two reasons. First, it tells drivers that cyclists belong IN the right lane, NOT on the far right edge of the right lane (with the broken glass and debris). Second, it encourages cyclists to get out of that same area.
doublestraps
2015-10-26 12:24:46
I didn't find an answer to your question, Stu, but I found other interesting articles. Several Ohio cities (Akron, Toledo, Columbus, ...) have red light and speeding cameras, but Republican legislators in Ohio's state house passed a law financially penalizing cities that did so. Proponents of the law said their goal was to "vindicate the right of intrastate travel". http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2015/07/11/Toledo-asks-court-to-intervene-over-traffic-cameras.html
paulheckbert
2015-10-26 12:46:06
[we may need to reboot this thread, it seems to be having issues with resolving links to individual comments] Comment from Prinzrob, who says they are "the Oakland District 1 bike/ped commissioner representing this part of the city":
We have also been told by city staff that the 40th Street super sharrows treatment will not be repeated elsewhere, contrary to what was stated in this article. I personally will oppose any use of sharrows except in single lane neighborhood "bicycle boulevard" routes with significant traffic calming. Traffic-calmed, narrow neighborhood streets plus physically protected bikeways on wider arterials is the type of family-friendly bike network we are planning for the future of the city. Allowing things like supersharrows just provides an excuse not to do the harder work and compromises involved with creating better facilities.
epanastrophe
2015-10-26 16:36:21
Why Business-as-Usual Bike Planning Fails Low-Income Cyclists https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/inclusive-bike-planning-low-income-cyclists "The late nights and early mornings were meant to accommodate people traveling to and from restaurant jobs and other shifts that didn’t follow 9-to-5 hours." “What really struck me was how unaware people were that the city was starting to do things for cycling safety,” she says. “The city has been promoting [the bicycle plan] but a lot of it has been through Facebook, social media and email. Many of the people I spoke with don’t use Facebook.”
marko82
2015-11-04 12:31:03
That article @Marko82 cited above is relevant to Bikepgh's request, at last night's membership meeting, for suggestions on improving diversity in the bike community.
paulheckbert
2015-11-04 20:30:53
Florida man who claims to be blind in one eye and takes drops in the other eye drives into 7 year old girl cyclists in crosswalk 8 seconds after the light turns red. Florida man's blindness was even further affected by the number of trees on the road. Don't worry, he received a $200 some dollar ticket, and will be continue to be able to drive his minivan around. http://www.wesh.com/news/redlight-camera-captures-crash-involving-7yearold-girl/36102038
shooflypie
2015-11-04 22:24:05
This idea is from Brooklyn Spoke:
Really amazing how well this worked. Grab three cones and do your block. pic.twitter.com/ek4vHySpZ9— Brooklyn Spoke (@BrooklynSpoke) November 7, 2015
Just grab a bunch of cones and set them up. Traffic is immediately tamed.
jonawebb
2015-11-07 22:03:16
West Boca Raton, FL: Woman tracks down bike thief, holds him until authorities arrive. link
stuinmccandless
2015-11-10 19:03:49
Guardian has an extended article on the expansion of cycling in Mexico City: http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/nov/11/viva-la-revolucion-mexico-city-cyclists-fight-right-safety
Inspired by the efforts of Bogotá mayor Enrique Peñalosa, in 1998 the [Bicitekas] collective started a weekly Paseo Nocturno, a Critical Mass-style ride where a group of cyclists meet up on a weeknight and take a four-hour trip around some of Mexico City’s busiest roads, staying safe through sheer force of numbers. It was revolutionary at the time but now the city hosts an official Paseo every Sunday and a government-organised night ride once a month on closed roads; last month’s for Day of the Dead attracted a record 95,000 cyclists.
This sounds familiar, if worse than we experience, however:
[Riders are] hopeful a new traffic law, about to come into force, will make cycling safer…But the tougher traffic laws will only work if the police make them work. “You need consequences for bad driving,” says Baranda. “The police need to enforce the law.” That point is echoed by Agustín Martinez, the president of the Bicitekas collective. “Not everyone is studying traffic law like we are – drivers need to be educated and we need enforcement. A car can jump a red light right in front of a traffic police officer and he won’t do anything – the law is very flexible in Mexico City.”
epanastrophe
2015-11-11 19:03:57