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Elsewhere: London devotes One Billion Dollars to BikeSharing
posted by Joe on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - Permalink



Imagine Dr. Evil saying "one billion dollars" with a pinky in his mouth to make yourself laugh... it may keep you happy that London, England is devoting $1 billion towards a new bikesharing program (modeled on Paris' Velib) and here in Toronto the annual $100,000 to keep BikeShare going was too much:
London will adopt a bicycle rental scheme similar to a popular initiate in Paris under a $1 billion cycling investment package announced yesterday.

Under the plan, part of a series of environmental measures due in coming days, 6,000 bicycles will be available for rent from stands every 180 metres throughout the city centre.

London, which accounts for seven per cent of Britain's climate-changing carbon emissions and is at the forefront of efforts by major cities around the world to combat global warming, plans to cut carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2025.

More at the Star.

London is planning more than just a bunch of bikesharing bikes though:

It is a vision in which, for the first time, cycling will be fully funded and officially integrated into the existing transport network. The GLA says this will happen thanks to:
  • A London bike hire scheme, similar to the Velib operation successfully launched in Paris last year, which will make 6,000 bikes available to the public.
  • About a dozen cycling corridors providing safe, easy access to central London for commuters
  • Bike Zones in both inner and outer London aimed at encouraging the use of bikes for short trips to schools, shops and workplaces
  • On-line cycling information encouraging Londoners to make the switch to pedal power
  • Improved bike/rail integration with more cycle parking facilities at stations

More at BikeRadar.

[photo by dartar]

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Elsewhere: Bike Polo Hits New York City
posted by Joe on Thursday, February 07, 2008 - Permalink

If I knew more about polo, I'd make some polo-lingo joke about horses, or Prince Charles, and sound intelligent about it. But, since I don't, you get me going right to this article from New York:

Passing by the corner of Chrystie and Broome Sts., one could easily miss the hottest new sporting event in town. That’s because the arena is tucked below ground level in a funky, 7,000-square-foot asphalt pit. Here a bunch of daredevils in jeans and scruffy shirts play a lively game of polo on bicycles, as they circle and glide back and forth at a mesmerizing pace.

Each gripping a mallet with one hand and maneuvering the bike with the other, these athletes skillfully pass and control a street hockey ball in a balancing act that would send most cyclists crashing to the ground.

With this no-frills brand of polo, there is no need for the niceties of equestrian etiquette. These city renegades have custom-built bikes that are perfectly suited to the rider, rather than the horseman having to adapt to a horse with a mind of its own.

Although bike polo was a demonstration sport at the 1908 Olympics, it is only in the last decade that tournaments and teams have sprung up in major cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Ottawa, London and Berlin.

More from NYC's Downtown Express.

Yes, in case you are wondering, Bike Polo is alive and well in Toronto.

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Feb. 6: Cycling News from Around the World
posted by Joe on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 - Permalink

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto.

Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across in the last week:

  • Portland: Share the Road plate faces re-design
  • Can Bus Rapid Transit Encourage Bike Use?
  • World: Top 50 Biking Vacations
  • NYC: Congestion Pricing Plan Includes a “Livable Streets Lock Box”
  • Portland: More samples of the CRC's bike/ped design inspirations

Past Weekly Elsewhere Posts:

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Video: The Pedestrian Scramble or "Barnes Dance"
posted by Joe on Monday, February 04, 2008 - Permalink

Remember in the fall when City Council approved "Pedestrian Scrambles" for Bloor & Yonge, Bay & Bloor, Yonge & Dundas and Bay & Dundas on a pilot project basis?

A Pedestrian Scramble is when traffic lights in all directions are red so that pedestrians can cross in any direction (even diagonally) without fear of moving car traffic.

Streetsfilms has a new video that illustrates New York's only scramble:



Yeah, red lights in all directions means that cyclists have to stop too.

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Ellen Page: Halifax Actor, Oscar Nominee, and Cyclist
posted by Joe on Friday, February 01, 2008 - Permalink



This Oscar season, the actress of the moment is Ellen Page of Juno.

Turns out, Ellen is a pretty avid cyclist when at home hanging with her fellow Haligonians:
Ellen Page is desperately seeking a bike mechanic. Which might seem strange, because for weeks now she’s had a sedan, complete with tinted windows and a black-suited driver, at her beck and call. It’s just one of the perks of being a Hollywood awards season hopeful. Back home in Nova Scotia, however, her wheels are decidedly less glamorous. “I don’t own a car where I live,” she says. “The way I get around is by foot and by bike."

More at the LA Times.

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Jan. 30: Cycling News from Around the World
posted by Joe on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - Permalink

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto.

Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across in the last week:

  • USA: Presidential Bike Plans
  • NYC: City Numbers Show Highest Cyclist Death Toll in Eight Years
  • SF: BART graduates to 'smart' bike lockers
  • Bike-sharing in Tel Aviv
  • DC: New Pedicab Company To Start Operations
  • Portland: The Re-Birth of Critical Mass?
  • Mexico City to Build 186 Miles of Bike Paths by 2012
  • Norway: Planning for "Bicycle Tube"

Past Weekly Elsewhere Posts:

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In Montreal, Michel Dallaire will design the new Bike Sharing System
posted by Joe on Monday, January 28, 2008 - Permalink



Yes, it seems like every big city in the world is pursuing sustainable (ie. properly funded, via public-private partnerships) bike sharing systems... except for Toronto - although there are rumours of some re-incarnation of BikeShare - but I have yet to hear anything more than rumours.

Meanwhile, Montreal, who is basing their system on Paris' enormously successful one, is getting a famous designer to make sure everything looks pretty:

Now it seems that we will not only be able to borrow bikes for a small cost, we’ll be doing so in style. This week, Montreal’s parking authority, which will run the program, announced that industrial designer Michel Dallaire will design the bikes and docking stations. ...

Dallaire is really leaving his mark on the city: last fall, he was commissioned to design new street furniture for the downtown area. If the benches, lampposts, bike racks and garbage cans he designed for the Quartier international are any indication, we’ll be treated with a bike sharing system that is sleek, simple and beautifully functional.


More on Spacing Montreal.

[Photo Credit]

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Jan. 23: Cycling News from Around the World
posted by Joe on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - Permalink

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto.

Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across in the last week:
  • Bike Share Philadelphia Forum an Astounding Success
  • Montreal: Michel Dallaire will design the new bike sharing system
  • Denmark: Are Bikes the Secret to Danish Bliss?
  • Promoting bike-sharing in Philadelphia
  • NYC: A Bikes-Only Parking Lot in Midtown?
  • NYC: Bike Parking Lot, With Attendant, Is Planned for Midtown
  • London: Bike station planned for City commuters
  • DC: Update on SmartBike Program
  • Australia: Bikes Outsell Cars Down Under
  • LA: City Workers get Bike Facilities
  • Portland schools win Safe Routes Grant
  • LA: Huffy vs. Hummer


Past Weekly Elsewhere Posts:

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Vancouver: Awash in rental bikes.
posted by Joe on Monday, January 21, 2008 - Permalink



Here's an article out of Vancouver about an idea to follow Paris' lead in trading advertising rights in a city in exchange for the running and maintenance of a low-cost bicycle rental organization:

Earlier this year, Paris launched a massive bike-rental scheme involving more than 20,000 bicycles in hundreds of electronic racks around the city. A hit from the start, the Vélib' program attracts tens of thousands of riders each day.

Other cities such as Oslo, Barcelona, Copenhagen and Brussels are already in the mix, and Ladner hopes Vancouver will soon join that list.

"I think we're going to see this everywhere, and I would just love to see it here by 2010," he told The Tyee. "In fact, there's no excuse for us not to have it here by 2010."

More at The Tyee.

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Rules for Riding Bikes in Japan
posted by Joe on Monday, January 21, 2008 - Permalink


Cop ticketing kid in Japan. photo credit - blasdelf

Here's one downside to bicycles becoming ubiquitous on the streets: with more people using them, governments are more likely to legislate them.

Take this story from Japan:
Japan has new cycling rules come into force this spring that ban cyclists from from holding an open umbrella, listening to music, or talking on a phone. Kids have to wear helmets, and "triple riding"- riding with children in both front and rear seats- is now illegal. Oh, and constantly ringing a bicycle bell while riding on a crowded sidewalk is a no-no. All with fines up to 20,000 yen. (US$183)
Via TreeHugger.

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Big Plans for a New York City BikeStation
posted by Joe on Thursday, January 17, 2008 - Permalink


Here in Toronto, we keep hearing plans for BikeStations (secure spaces for cyclists to keep their bikes near workplaces or transit stations) for places like Union Station, Nathan Phillips Square and some subway stations.

Until then (I have no doubt they are coming, it's just a matter of time), we can look with admiration at a "private sector solution to problem of secure bike parking" coming out of New York City:
City officials have been trying to create more places where New Yorkers can ride their bikes safely, but finding secure places to park them is an enduring problem.

Now, a few business executives have dreamed up a private-sector solution: the city’s first bikes-only parking lot, complete with attendant. Already, they have cleared the high hurdle of finding available space in Midtown, on West 33rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues.

All they need is a corporation willing to pay as much as $200,000 a year to sponsor the idea.

“We’re really looking for a big number to build something quite spectacular,” said Daniel A. Biederman, president of the 34th Street Partnership. “We want this to be the premier bike parking facility in the country.”


Read more at the New York Times, or CityRoom, their NYC blog.

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The Battle for Britain's Roads
posted by Joe on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 - Permalink

From Streetsblog:
For 40 years, Britain's motorists have been the kings of the road, claiming their title through tax discs and fuel duty. But now the balance of power is shifting. There are new pretenders to the throne. Pedestrians and cyclists want equal rights on the road, and this has sparked a war. Our roads are now a battleground.

There are 27 million cars on Britain's roads, an increase of over 5 million in 10 years. But there are also 23 million bicycles fighting with them for road space.

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Cycling News from Around the World: Jan. 16
posted by Joe on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 - Permalink

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto.

Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across in the last week:

  • DC: Making Routes Safer for Cyclists
  • Wooden Bike Rental in NYC
  • USA: A bike box renaissance in America?
  • Portland: Bikes and the new race for mayor
  • DC: Councilman wants to improve bike lanes
  • NYC: How About Two Bike Lanes Per Street?


Past Weekly Elsewhere Posts:

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China: Minor Car-Bike Scratch Turns into Riot
posted by Joe on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - Permalink

A 3 cm scratch turns into a riot in China:


What happened to the Buick you see above didn't happen in the car accident. The woman driving this Buick through Nankai University campus bumped into a bicyclist, leaving her car with a scratch. That was the accident. She got out and demanded an apology, and then demanded payment for damages...

The police came. The driver's mother and brother came. Campus security came. Teachers came. And more -- a lot more -- students came. After the driver's brother assaulted a student who tried to further scratch the Buick, that's when things got, as they say, "blown out of proportion." The amassed students had their way with the car, and a 10-inch scratch turned into something more like a salvage title writeoff.
More on Autoblog.

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Video: Cycling Friendly Cities
posted by Joe on Thursday, January 10, 2008 - Permalink

Via ReadingToronto:
Want to know what a people oriented city looks like? Watch this film and find out. Here is a quote: “In a country where the average income is higher than that of the United States many citizens have chosen the bicycle as their means of transportation because they live better that way.”


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Cycling News from Around the World: Jan. 9
posted by Joe on Wednesday, January 09, 2008 - Permalink

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto. I try to link to this "Elsewhere" stuff in the sidebar of this page.

Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across since the last "Elsewhere" post back on Dec. 19:

  • NYC: Ghost Bikes Memorial Ride Marks Another Year of Loss
  • World: What a Year for Bike-sharing
  • Denmark: Cycling Nurses Help Thwart Hospitalisation
  • Portland: Media notices Congressman Blumenauer's bike-friendly ideas
  • Milan introduces traffic congestion charge
  • NYC: Sleek Bike Parking Facilities Appear in Queens and Brooklyn
  • NYC: Bike Share Program for Governors Island
  • USA: UPS and Postal Christmas Deliveries by Bike
  • Louisville, KY adopts a Complete Streets policy

Past Weekly Elsewhere Posts:

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Cycling News from Around the World: Dec. 19
posted by Joe on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - Permalink

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto. I try to link to this "Elsewhere" stuff in the sidebar of this page.

Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across in the past week:

  • Oregon: New Share the Road license plates
  • Louisville, KY adopts a Complete Streets policy
  • NYC: The Transportation Head Is a Cycling Radical
  • Danish cities go high-tech for bike safety
  • NYC: Daily News to Deceased Cyclists: “Your Fault.”
  • Portland: Mayoral Candidate Adams wants to triple bike funding
  • Global: On-line Public Bicycle System Inventory
  • Philadelphia: Bike Sharing Forum


Past Weekly Elsewhere Posts:

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Video: Ciclovia in Bogota, Columbia
posted by Joe on Tuesday, December 18, 2007 - Permalink

From Streetfilms:
On Sunday we spent the entire day - from 5 AM ’til nearly 5 PM - riding bicycles around the city courtesy of the Ciclovia, a weekly event in which over 70 miles of city streets are closed to traffic where residents come out to walk, bike, run, skate, recreate, picnic, and talk with family, neighbors & strangers…it is simply one of the most moving experiences I have had in my entire life.


It should be noted that the film makers were aided tremendously by Gil Peñalosa, Executive Director of Walk and Bike for Life.

Walk and Bike for Life is based in Oakville, Ontario.

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Video: Copenhagen Cycling Moments with Funky Music
posted by Joe on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - Permalink

Want a cool bike video from Copenhagen with a funky Eurobeat soundtrack with spoken lyrics in another language? It might be Danish, but I'm not sure.

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Video: Copenhagen Bike Rush Hour
posted by Joe on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - Permalink

What's it look like when about a third of a city's commuters go by bike? This video is of a major cycling route in Copenhagen that sees more than 25,000 cyclists a day (the entire city of about 1.7 million has more than 500,000 bike commuters).

Great bike infrastructure begets more people on bikes...

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Cycling News from Around the World: Dec. 12
posted by Joe on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - Permalink

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto. I try to link to this "Elsewhere" stuff in the sidebar of this page.

Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across in the past week:

  • NYPD Slaps Hit And Run Victim With A Ticket For Not Having Bell On His Bike
  • The latest on a more bike-friendly Milwaukee

  • NYC: Manhattan Bridge Bike & Ped Improvements Nearing Completion

  • London: "Very Important Pedestrian Day"
  • Seattle: Cyclists, skinny tires, streetcar rails — not a good mix
  • Portland: Color, legal issues remain for new bike boxes
  • Philadelphia: Ardmore To Experiment With Post and Ring Bike Racks
  • LA: Rodney King is shot while riding his bike


Past Weekly Elsewhere Posts:

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Miller Beer Ad Promoting Car-Free Lifestyle and Winter Biking
posted by Joe on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - Permalink

The last thing you may expect from a beer company:

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Cycling News from Around the World: Dec. 5
posted by Joe on Wednesday, December 05, 2007 - Permalink

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto. I try to link to this "Elsewhere" stuff in the sidebar of this page.

Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across in the past week:

  • Copenhagen Bike Ride
    • Cool video of a commute to work through Copenhagen
  • Portland: BTA unveils bicycle boulevard infomercial
    • I love Portland
  • November 2007 World Map of Bike-sharing
    • It's everywhere! (except Toronto... so far)
  • European-style bike-sharing programs head to US
    • Everybody's Sharin'... BikeSharing U.S.A. ...
  • Seoul's Jumping into BikeSharing By 2010
    • Yet MORE BikeSharing Goodness
  • Ciclovía: A Moving Experience in Bogotá, Colombia
    • What happens when a city truly embraces bikes
  • Paris Wins the ITDP Sustainable Transport Award
    • BikeSharing pays off for the Paris
  • Portland will pick bike-sharing vendor next week
    • MORE BikeSharing in North America!
  • NYC: Tell the City Where to Park It (Bikes, That Is)
    • Suggestions for BikeRack placement
  • Portland: Bike tour operator is latest entrant into mayoral race
    • Vote Early and often!

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TreeHugger: Stickers For Those Jerks Who Park in Bike Lanes
posted by Joe on Monday, December 03, 2007 - Permalink

Last week, TreeHugger paid some attention to the whole "parking in bike lanes issue" and brought attention to a new site called I Parked In A Bike Lane.org which takes the complaining about motor vehicles in bikelanes to a whole new level:


"I Parked In A Bike Lane.org is a humble movement aimed at raising driver awareness towards the problems associated with blocking bike lanes. Cyclists know how unsafe this can be, but something about being hulled up inside two tons of steel seems to lead to an obliviousness (or perhaps indifference) to these issues."


I like the mybikelane idea of taking photos of bikelane parkers, and the idea of putting a little flier on someone's windshield to educate them on what they are doing wrong, but wonder if actually vandalizing their car is effective at all.

Yes, there will be a lasting reminder of parking in a bikelane, but actions like this will just create animosity towards cyclists and their rights, not support.

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Cycling News from Around the World: Nov. 28
posted by Joe on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - Permalink

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto. I try to link to this "Elsewhere" stuff in the sidebar of this page.

Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across in the past week:

  • NYC: New Bleecker Bike Lane Already Blocked by Parked Cars

  • Portland: New mayoral candidate lays out a different path for bikes
  • Portland: 'I brake for people' campaign off and running
  • US: California bicyclist in line for national hero award
  • D.C. Bike Sharing gets International Coveage


Past "Elsewhere" Posts:

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Cycling News from Around the World: Nov. 21
posted by Joe on Wednesday, November 21, 2007 - Permalink

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto. I try to link to this "Elsewhere" stuff in the sidebar of this page.

Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across in the past week:

SF: Bike safety marketing examples



China: 40 Million Electric Bikes Spark Environmental Dilemma

Portland: Donations large and small kick-start bike safety fund

USA: Bicycle Neglect (Sightline Institute)

UK: Cars out as London mayor clears way for Paris-style plage and cycle boulevards



Portland: Concepts for bike boxes, intersection improvements



DC: More people biking to transit

NYC Installing Sleek New Bike Parking Shelters



NYC: The Green Prince Street Bike Lane Has Arrived

NYC: Stolen Bike Rescued by Online Geeks

Pittsburgh: Bicycle-Pedestrian Bridge over Monongahela River Opening

Portland: We Are ALL Traffic Rally



Past "Around the World" Weekly Posts:

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Cycling News from Around the World
posted by Joe on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - Permalink

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto (believe it or not!).

I try to link to this "Elsewhere" stuff in the sidebar of this page (scroll down a bit), but in case you missed it, here's a post about it. :)

Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across in the past week:
NYC: Crosstown Bike Lanes Remain in the Crosshairs



NYC: Fort Greene Bike Lanes & Traffic-Calming

When in Rome, Share Bikes

Amsterdam: Cyclists Always Get the Green Light

Washington, DC: Women's Garden Biking Tour



London: 10,000 New Bike Parking Spaces for London Schools



NYC: New Lower Manhattan Crosstown Bike Route



NYC: Gridlocked Streets Are “Not a Law of Nature”



NYC: For the Best in Transportainment, Try a Pedicab

Portland: Family cycling: The next Big Thing?

NYC: Shared Space on the Brooklyn Bridge

You can see last week's version of this post too:
Cycling News from Around the World - Wed. Nov. 7th

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Cycling News from Around the World
posted by Joe on Wednesday, November 07, 2007 - Permalink


New Yorkers are getting sharrows, bikeboxes and "buffered" bikelanes!
[photo from Streetsblog]

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto (believe it or not!).

I try to link to this "Elsewhere" stuff in the sidebar of this page, but in case you missed it, here's a post about it. :)

Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across in the past week:

Copenhagen: Bicycles Outnumber Cars During Morning Rush Hour

Proposed "Cycle Tunnel" in Norway

NYC: An Interview with Jan Gehl

Portland: The "Bikes vs. Cars" Debate

London: Did the Congestion Charge Drive us to Cycling?

Portland: New York Times notices Portland's bike culture

Netherlands: The Amazing Bike Dispensing Machine

NYC: Half of Manhattan Trips Could be Done by Bike

Bike Pittsburgh puts out new map for two-wheelers

NYC: New Bike Lanes and Sharrows Lead to the Brooklyn Bridge
NYC: Bicyclists Suing City Over Critical Mass Arrests

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Montreal is looking at "self-serve" bike rentals
posted by Joe on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - Permalink



Hot on the heels of Paris' enormously successful quick and easy bike rental scheme, comes news of the first Canadian city seriously looking at it too:
"Montreal wants to be the bicycle city par excellence in North America and this project will definitely help us get there," ... The idea is to encourage Montrealers and tourists to use the public bicycles instead of cars for short, inner city trips, allowing them to pick up a bike at one station, use it for half an hour or an hour, and then drop it off at any other station of their choice.

The city has commissioned Stationnement Montreal, a subsidiary of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, to design and execute the bike rental system. The company, which currently manages the city's paid on-street and public parking lots, will invest $15 million to get the project up and running, and expects to eventually recoup these costs.
I must say that it is inspired - getting the Parking people to run it - especially since it looks like it'll be a moneymaker.

I can see Toronto commissioning the Toronto Parking Authority to do it... can you?

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Elsewhere: Tax Breaks for Cyclists in America, despite Republican opposition
posted by Joe on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 - Permalink

South of the border, if you commute to work by bike now, you get tax benefits:
Last Saturday the House of Representatives passed Energy Independence legislation that amends a section of the IRS code to include “bicycles” in the definition of transportation covered by the qualified transportation fringe benefit.

Introduced earlier this year by Congressman Earl Blumenauer as H.R. 1498, the provision calls for a $20 monthly benefit for riding a bike to work.

It wasn't easy getting this passed down in the U.S. of A., as the provision was met with opposition and ridicule in the House of Representatives, not least of which was "Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) who said bicycles were a, “19th century solution to a 21st century problem.”"

Someone YouTubed (is that a verb) McHenry's speech in all of it's glory:


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Elsewhere: The Cycling Muscles from Brussels
posted by Joe on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 - Permalink

When is Toronto going to embrace bikesharing as a good and economic policy to encourage people to get out of their cars?

We hear about Paris' successful bike rental program Velib a lot... there's another in Brussels run by the same advertising company:

Brussels has embraced a project allowing residents and tourists to rent a bike for a modest fee. Beyond the environmental benefit, tourists find this an exciting and inexpensive way to discover the city.

The introductory project has about 250 bikes, located at 25 sites, with fees starting at about 0.50 euros for half an hour, rising to 1.50 euros for a day.

It's sponsored by JCDecaux, a billboard advertising company. The Brussels program piggybacks on other similar initiatives, including one in the French city of Lyon, where 2,500 bikes are available for hire.

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Elsewhere: Buffered Bike Lanes are Better in New York
posted by Joe on Friday, August 24, 2007 - Permalink



You've heard of physically seperate bikelanes, right? It's when the bikelane-makers put some kind of barrier on the side of a bikelane to make them nice and safe.

A good example would be the Quay to the City lanes from last summer, which is the photo above (when are these going to be permanently installed, already? Wasn't work supposed to start this summer?!?!)

New York has their own version of them ... they're buffered - with a diagonally striped section of road between the bikelane and carlanes... and New Yorkers LOVE them!
Bike lanes that separate bicyclists from motor vehicle traffic are safer and encourage more bicycling, according to a recent survey by Transportation Alternatives. The survey of 147 cyclists was conducted along the 8th Avenue bike lane in Manhattan, one of the few bike paths to integrate both “buffered” and “unbuffered” segments.

Transportation Alternatives found:
  • Buffered bike lanes are are perceived as being safer than conventional lanes.
    52% of respondents feel safe in buffered lanes, versus only 21% in conventional bike lanes. Conventional bike lanes are more dangerous than buffered lanes -- 44% of respondents find the conventional lanes dangerous or intolerable, versus only 19% of respondents surveyed on buffered lanes.
  • Buffered or not, bike lanes encourage more bicycling.
    Seven out of ten cyclists use 8th Avenue more often since the lane was installed.

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Elsewhere: Berlin's Bicycle Boom
posted by Joe on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - Permalink


When less than half the residents of a city own a car, there’s got to be folks looking for another alternative to hoofing it… And that’s precisely what’s happened with the bicycle in Berlin over the last twenty years, as it has become completely common for the average resident to ride a bicycle every day of the week. In fact, they’ve come to dominate the flow of traffic at intersections, as cars now even yield to bikes in that city!

And while it’s true that the city has invested a significant amount of energy in cycling lanes and the like to make it as bike-friendly as possible, the trend toward cycling has also meant there’s now safety in numbers. As filmmaker Ted White and bike designer George Bliss noted while spending time filming in China, at certain unmarked intersections cars just completely ignore cyclists on the side of the road waiting to cross until a certain “critical mass” of them accumulate. That critical number seems to make it safe for all of them to cross, as the motorized vehicles come to a stop and let them all head safely to the other side without a fight.
[via:: CBS News and treehugger, photo credit - zakkaliciousness]

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Spacing: Vancouver's Bike Infrastructure
posted by Joe on Thursday, August 16, 2007 - Permalink



Matt Blankett posted today about Vancouver's bike infrastructure, a great post that pointed out some easy things Toronto could be doing to make cyclists feel more valuable on our streets:
Vancouver does a number of smart and simple things to prioritize cycling that should the politicians and civil servants of Toronto feel jolts of shame. One of the first things I noticed was that the cyclist symbol was included on the button to trigger an intersection stop light to change ...

Cycling advocates like to use the phrase, “we are traffic!” when drivers accuse them of blocking their flow of traffic. To validate cyclists’ assertion that they are indeed part of road traffic Vancouver uses a bike waiting area at a few major intersections (photo below). It is reminiscent of what happens at intersections of major Asian cities where scooters make their way to the front of the traffic queue.
Great post Matt!

[photo credit: Spacing Wire]

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Around the World: Paris has "gone cycling mad"
posted by Joe on Thursday, August 16, 2007 - Permalink



Really cool article in the Guardian newspaper about the Paris Velib bikesharing program and what it's doing to Paris:
No doubt the Tour de France helped, but when my rather substantial friend Jean, who has never knowingly walked more than 100m without the promise of a four-course meal at the end of it, began to trumpet the joys of cycling, I knew something profound was happening to the Parisian psyche. One month after its launch, Paris's Vélib', or "freedom bike" scheme, has turned the city cycling mad.
...
But the increase in people cycling does seem to be boosting bike awareness and challenging the car mentality. Paris, with its wide streets, is already a better city for cyclists than London. And no, you don't wear shorts, helmet or pollution mask; most people prefer a suit or high heels. Blase cyclists can be seen negotiating the high-speed free-for-all that is the Place de la Concorde while puffing a cigarette and calling a friend.
It's being done in countless other cities, and it can be done here too.

[via Wheels of Justice, photo from Transit Miami]

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Around the World: Safety Features Removed in London, Street Becomes Safer
posted by Joe on Monday, August 13, 2007 - Permalink



There's always hysteria about how streets are dangerous, with many public safety advocates always, well, advocating for things like separating cars from bikes from pedestrians... which results in our streetscapes being overwhelmed by cars and trucks (since they can kill people) while cyclists and pedestrians are relegated to the sidelines to fight over the scraps.

But what anyone who has seen "public safety" features removed can tell you, it actually improves safety because drivers become more freaked out that cyclists and pedestrians could come out in front of them, and so they drive slower, as has recently happened in London:

Accident levels have almost halved in a London street where "safety" equipment such as guard rails, white lines and signposts were stripped out.

The redesign of Kensington High Street has been such a success that the "naked road" concept is set to be rolled out to other cities in Britain and around the world.

Engineers removed railings, scores of signposts and combined traffic lights with lamp posts to reduce clutter.

They cleared the road surface of superfluous white lines, re- aligned the kerb to follow the line of shop frontages and junked the different coloured surface materials used by other councils.

Now Kensington and Chelsea council aims to capitalise on its success by pressing ahead with a major new road scheme near South Kensington Tube station a key stepping stone towards a multi- million-pound redevelopment of Exhibition Road.

In spite of warnings from the Department for Transport that the scheme would worsen safety, figures obtained by the Standard show that the number of accidents in Kensington High Street has fallen from 71 a year to just 40 a drop of nearly 44 per cent.

Give motorists wide roads with barriers separating them from other modes of transport, and it seems they turn into speedfreaks.

Maybe David Engwicht is right about why bikelanes are inherently unsafe?

[story via and photo by: Streetsblog]

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Around the World: Paris not only embraces Bike Sharing, but "Microbuses"
posted by Joe on Monday, August 13, 2007 - Permalink


Really neat story from Streetsblog about "minibuses" being used in Paris:
Paris is also building new "microbus" lines that circulate through neighborhood streets delivering commuters to subways, trains and major bus lines. "The toyish vehicles," Nadal says, "are almost as fun as the old street cars." The have low floors and wide sliding doors that allow simultaneous boarding and alighting. The microbuses hold up to 22 passengers, 10 seated, 12 standing and room for one wheelchair.
Great idea for a cheaper way to get auto-free transportation to all those Greater Toronto neighbourhoods of crescents and cul-de-sacs.

[photo credit: Streetsblog]

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Around the World: Portland Seriously Considering Paris-style Bike Sharing
posted by Joe on Monday, August 13, 2007 - Permalink



The new Velib bikesharing program in Paris has been so successful that Portland OR is putting out a RFP (Request for Proposals) to get a similar thing going there:

The RFP description says Portland wants to,

“Evaluate the possibility of hiring a Contractor to operate a public bicycle rental service…The City is seeking proposals from firms, teams or contractors interested in the delivery and operation of a bicycle fleet for rent to the general public and stationed in the public right of way to further promote the City’s use of a multi-modal public transportation system with a focus on the City’s core area.”

New York is pushing for something similar too.

How about Toronto?

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Around the World: New York City Accelerates Bike Plan
posted by Joe on Friday, August 10, 2007 - Permalink

The City of Toronto keeps talking about accelerating the Bike Plan, but we'll see what happens. I am thinking positively about it. Other cycling advocates aren't happy with anything that happens, but I don't fall into that camp.

Meanwhile, New York's government is accelerating their plans for an environmentally friendly city. Along with making lanes on city streets bus only, planning on a congestion charge, increasing bike parking, they are also planning on doubling the amount of new bikelanes added in the next two years, from 200 to 400 miles:

As Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing proposal inches its way through Albany gridlock, the city has put on the fast track its Bike Master Plan by moving to double the number of city bike lanes to 400 miles from 200 over the next two years.

About 130,000 cyclists hit the streets every day, and the city is seeing an unprecedented surge in the number of bikers, according to statistics provided by Transportation Alternatives.

The number of daily commuters who ride bikes to work, however, is less than 1% of total commuters, a figure that city officials say they want to increase by making cycling safer and more appealing on the potholed, congested streets.

In case you're wondering, the 200 miles per year works out to 320 km/year.

Toronto has 28 km planned for 2007. Let's step up. :)

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Around the World: Madison, Wisconsin - BikeTown, U.S.A.
posted by Joe on Friday, August 10, 2007 - Permalink

A Canadian's impressions of Madison, Wisconsin... which seems to be right up there with Davis, California in terms of bike-friendliness:
For someone accustomed to a growing web of bike facilities at home in Victoria, Madison was a revelation. Fifteen years of U.S. federal gas tax funding helped Madison build an impressive network of trails and on-road bike lanes, with more bike racks than the Amsterdam train station.
Madison must be fantastic... the writer is from Victoria, B.C., which is supposed to be one of the most bike-friendly places in Canada.

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Around the World: Portland May Be Getting a BikeStation
posted by Joe on Thursday, August 09, 2007 - Permalink

I last mentioned BikeStations back in June (about an article about Toronto emulating Chicago), and I see they are now looking to open a BikeStation in Portland, OR:
White is especially excited by the recent interest of private developers.


She says the end result of all the discussions could range from a full-service, fully staffed facility to a partially or unstaffed and completely automated underground parking system.

White says BikeStation doesn’t push a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, they will work with Portland to come up with whatever bike-parking solution serves the city’s needs most effectively.

For instance, she wonders if it might make more sense to have a “hub and satellite system that all users can access,” instead of just one main facility.


No telling when the Nathan Phillips Square one will open.

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Around the World: Harvard Public Health Doctor Advocates for Physically Seperate Bikelanes
posted by Joe on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 - Permalink

Dr. Anne Lusk of Harvard's School of Public Health is so enamoured with what she calls "Cycle Tracks" that the Washington Post is writing about it:
She'd like to equip [American cities] with cycle tracks.

Cycle tracks? Does she mean the painted buffer lane for bikes you see on some streets? No! Those lanes are easily blocked by vehicles attempting to park. And they leave cyclists within inches of fast cars and monster trucks; if there's any error, you know who get hurts, often badly.

Cycle tracks, notes Lusk, are actually a separated part of the roadway yet distinct from the roadway, distinct from the sidewalk. In their purest form -- Odense, Denmark, where 50 percent of all city journeys are by bicycle -- the paths even have their own traffic signals.

What actually separates the cycle track? It can be a long, narrow curb. Or a line of cones or concrete barriers. Or metal stanchions. Or a line of trees and other vegetation (an on-street greenway).
The above photo is from Copenhagen, but similar things exist in Montreal too.

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Around the World: David Engwicht is a Bike Lane Agnostic
posted by Joe on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 - Permalink

David Engwicht has been called the father of traffic calming. This is the guy who set up his living room in the middle of the street. He has a ton of great ideas about making streets safer.

It may be surprising to you that he is not the biggest fan bikelanes, arguing that they don't make roads safer, but rather, more dangerous:

At first glance it seems self-evident that bike lanes automatically make streets safer for cyclists. It is common knowledge that the wider the traffic lane, the faster a motorist will tend to go…The narrower a passage way the slower we tend to go because there is not the same margin for error…

But there is a contradictory psychological impact of bike lanes. They deliver greater certainty to the driver. The driver knows exactly which is the cyclists’ space and which is their space. This increased certainty about where the cyclist will be in the roadway encourages the motorist to speed up…

But there is another interesting set of contradictory factors when it comes to bike lanes. Bike lanes change the perceptions of the cyclist. Cyclists feel safer because they no longer have to share a space with motorists. But…this is to some extent a false sense of security…when bike lanes are present, motorists impose greater risks on the cyclists, for example, driving closer to the cyclist when passing. Does this mean that accident rates go up after the bike lane goes in? Not necessarily. Because the cyclists feel safer, more of them cycle on that street.

It makes sense right up until the very last sentence. Although bikelanes may in fact be initially more dangerous for the false sense of security they give both drivers and cyclists, the fact that bikelanes increase cyclist numbers makes them safer. More cyclists on bikelaned streets means more cyclists on non-bikelaned streets. This forces drivers to be careful and more mindful of cyclists.

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Around the World: The New York Congestion Charge
posted by Joe on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 - Permalink

I've been sort of following the whole congestion charge issue that's being discussed in New York via Streetsblog. Basically, it boils down to New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and a lot of community groups arguing for a congestion charge (to alleviate traffic congestion, spur economic activity, raise money for the transit system and help the environment) against politicians and community groups who whined about parking problems outside the congestion zone and the "taxing of the poor" (although if you know anything about New York, you know that the poor are not driving cars in Manhatten).

>Anyways, after the Congestion Charge seemed to be dead in the New York State Assembly in Albany, the Mayor and his opponents came to a kind of deal, which basically allows for New York to install a congestion charge, given that they get lots of "okays" from the State Assembly at various points in the process.

Toronto desperately needs a congestion charge to alleviate congestion, spur economic activity, raise money for public transit and help the environment. It would be so easy to do downtown, within a 10 minute walk of all the downtown subways stations... $2, say, to drive your car into the congestion zone.

That $2 gets put into running and expanding the TTC. What a concept.

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Around the World: ReadingToronto Reports from Copenhagen
posted by Joe on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 - Permalink

ReadingToronto is one of my favourite Toronto websites. Not only for the quality of writing about Toronto-centric issues, but for the variety of information it covers. Still one of my favourite blog posts ever is Escape Velocity... about the feeling of escaping gravity as one rides through a city.

Back in July, Robert Oulette of ReadingToronto visited Denmark and Sweden and has an excellent post about the bike-friendly infrastructure there:

In Sweden and Denmark civic authorities have done something exceptional: they designed cities for walking and cycling. This image is of a biking and walking path down a boulevard in Gothenberg. Cyclists have their own lanes on roads - real lanes with real stop lights of their own. Imagine.



I'm jealous.

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Around the World: Free Bike Bells Encourage Courtesy in Portland
posted by Joe on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 - Permalink

Ahh, Portland. The city government there co-ordinated a bunch of "Share the Path" events to educate cyclists, rollerbladers and pedestrians about sharing pathways with other road users:

Near the intersection with SE Grand Ave., Janis McDonald, Margaret Weddell, Stephanie Routh and Thomas Rousculp held up signs with messages like, “Don’t be a silent passer,” and “Bell free? Free bells ahead.”


On the west end of the bridge, employees of the Bike Gallery gave cyclists free tune-ups, installed “I love my bike” bike bells, and offered hot Peets coffee and muffins.

The Bike Gallery crew worked with the precision of a NASCAR pit crew; pumping up tires, adjusting brakes, and screwing on new bike bells.

What a great idea. Multi-use paths in Toronto can be disasters (try the Beaches on a holiday weekend!), between spandex cyclists doing time trails (which is totally inappropriate on park paths) and adults, kids and dogs all over the place (especially when there are sometimes seperate pedestrian-only paths).

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Around the World: Buffalo is a great town for cycling
posted by Joe on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 - Permalink

Ever wonder what was beyond the mist and haze of Niagara Falls?

It's Buffalo, and it's a great cycling city, according to the Buffalo News:
As I was heading home on my 10- speed, looking out at a gorgeous sun setting over the Niagara River, I grumbled at how Buffalo never makes those magazine lists of perfect cycling towns. It’s their loss.

It’s true we don’t have a lot of bicycle commuters. Our winters are too long, our springs too short – summer and fall are just right – and while we have a growing number of bike paths, far too many are strewn with broken glass.

But from my house near Delaware Park, it’s a short trip to ride along the mighty Niagara, extend it to take in breathtaking views of the rapids and the falls themselves or do a loop around Grand Island.

[The original article seems to have been taken down, so thankfully the BikeBlog from Buffalo copied the article]

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Around the World: Carless in Los Angeles
posted by Joe on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 - Permalink

Good looking new movie about surviving (and thriving?) in Los Angeles without a car is on it's way. Hopefully it'll get a big distribution deal so it'll be seen by lots of people.
Katie’s eighty days finished on January 1, 2007…No carbon was emitted into the atmosphere during the production of this film – not by Katie, not by the cast, crew, or producer. Everyone involved rode the bus, carpooled, walked or biked, gear in hand, or in backpack!
[via Treadly and Me]

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Around The World: The Helmet Debate Rages in Portland
posted by Joe on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 - Permalink

Jonathon Maus over on BikePortland.org has a great forum on the site, and there's a pretty active thread about wearing / not wearing helmets while biking:

from “wsbob”:

“…cyclists chances of coming out of a fall or crash in better condition while wearing a helmet seem likely to be far better than without one…”

from “tfahrner”:

“…I don’t wear a helmet often because I don’t believe that non-sport-oriented bicycling on quiet routes about town is sufficiently dangerous to warrant such precautionary measures. I am particularly averse to instilling or reinforcing in the minds of others the ideas that (a) bicycling thus conceived is dangerous enough to require body armor and (b) any dangers that exist in public space are the responsibility of the potential victims to compensate for…”

from “aaron”:

“..if there is going to be a helmet law, then the helmets should be made better and car drivers and passengers should also be required to wear them too…”

Go and check it out for lots of pro and anti arguments about helmet use.


[photo credit: BikePortland.org]

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Around the World: How To Find Your Bike at Amsterdam Central
posted by Joe on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - Permalink



I think every cyclist has a yearning to go to Europe, to see what bike-friendly cities look like first-hand.

The Amsterdam Central Train Station Bike Garage (Architecture Week article) is probably the most photographed parking garage in the world. It was designed specifically for parking 2500 bikes.

But what happens when you can't find your ONE bike in that 2500? The Star has re-printed a Washington Post article about that.

Mary Frances Cullen – Irish, 63, with dyed auburn hair and quick green eyes – sees the lost-bike frenzy dozens of times a day.

Unlike automobile drivers, cyclists don't have keys with panic buttons. At Amsterdam Central, they have Cullen and her crew of bike attendants.

Cullen, who wears a neon lime-green vest, works out of a yellow box on the first floor to help bicyclists in distress. Before this job, she spent eight years causing bikers distress: She was on the city squad that rounded up illegally parked bikes from bridges, lampposts and sidewalks and hauled them to the bicycle pound outside town.

Anyone else thinking that Union Station needs something like this? All those commuters coming in on GO Trains can hop on a bike to get to their downtown office jobs.

[photo credit]

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Around the World: Bicycle "Deathmatch" in Berkeley
posted by Joe on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - Permalink

I originally saw this on SFist (sister site of Torontoist) - but it looks like the YouTube video has been taken down, so I tracked down another version of it for you. Apparently a car driver drove right into a Critical Mass crowd, crushing 3 bikes and injuring 2 people.

It's rather disturbing, but if you want to watch:



Especially disturbing is the fact that although the cyclists asked police to press charges against the driver, the police refused. The police also refused to interview other drivers who said the driver was at fault and only interviewed other people in the offending vehicle.

I just noticed that this happened back in mid-May... but the Bicycle Civil Liberties Union has a lot of media links about it. Apparently, most coverage was not favourable towards the cyclists.

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Around the World: ESPN says Bicycles are the new SUV
posted by Joe on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 - Permalink

Jim Caple of ESPN (which is apparently known for poor cycling coverage) has a piece called 10 reasons you'll want to watch this year's Tour de France. Number 10 is Bicycles are the new SUV:
More importantly, it's good for you, good for the environment and good for the country. Who is more patriotic, the person who commutes to work on a bike, or the guy who slaps a U.S. flag decal on his SUV that gets 12 miles per gallon?
Buying gas gets soldiers killed.

This counts for Canadians in Afghanistan too. We're there because terrorists drove planes into the World Trade Centre, because they've long been upset that western countries have been stationing troops in their countries for easy access to oil.

[via Commute by Bike]

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Around the World: Self-Appointed Saint Cyclists in England
posted by Joe on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 - Permalink



Interesting article from the BBC yesterday about cyclists acting morally superior over in England. This is in no doubt spurred on by the cycling-friendly policies of the larger cities like London.
But has cycling become too politicised? Might government-funded campaigns that flatter cyclists as "heroes" give rise to "conviction cyclists" - people who ride their bikes with an air of moral superiority.

...

But cyclists who may have a "holier-than-thou, high-handed sense of superiority" are in a small minority, says Matt Seaton a cycling columnist for the Guardian and the author of two books about cycling. The vast majority take up bike-riding for practical rather than political ends, he says.

"People who turn to cycling are really thinking about the money they will save, the convenience of being able to get from door-to-door quite quickly.

It's understandable that non-cyclists would get upset at cyclists who go through red lights or ride on the sidewalk... I'm not saying that cyclists should adhere to the same rules as cars, but that responsibility is essential to make sure everyone gets where they're going safely.

However, I don't like people finding out I'm a cyclist and then telling me about some courier who spit on their car, or some schmuck who almost ran over a kid while riding on the sidewalk... it's like they have let those bad experiences pigeonhole all cyclists into an "irresponsible lawbreaker" category.

A small percentage of cyclists are idiots, just like a small percentage of car drivers are idiots. I know that while there are car drivers who drink and drive or streetrace, it doesn't mean all of them do.

[photo credit - BBC]

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Around the World: New York City Is Falling Back in Love with Bikes
posted by Joe on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 - Permalink

Cool things happening in New York... lots of new "brass" at their Department of Transportation are extremely bike and transit friendly.

Here's a few links for you... one about the filming of a pro-bikelane commercial, and a Streetfilm about car parking behind taken out in favour of bike parking. Also, a Streetfilm about Brooklyn's Critical Mass - Manhatten's always gets a lot of (police) attention, but the Brooklyn one is also huge and has been running problem-free for years!

Streetsblog: BikeLane Media Blitz Forthcoming

Laura Conaway at the Village Voice caught the filming of a bike lane-related television ad near Lafayette and E. 4th Street yesterday. We're guessing that either MyBikeLane brought in some venture capital funding and is going big-time or the Dept. of Transportation was filming a public service advertisement.

StreetFilm: Trading Car Parking for Bike Racks

In a historic first for New York City, the Department of Transportation has removed on-street car parking spaces in favor of bike racks:

Related: New Bedford L Stop Bike Racks Very, Very Popular (Gowanus Neighbourhood Blog)

Streetfilms: Feel the Love: Brooklyn Critical Mass


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Around the World: Paris launches massive cheap bike rental program
posted by Joe on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 - Permalink


When Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe pledged to cut car traffic in the City of Lights by 40% by 2020 (and subsequently car-based emissions, accidents, etc.) he wasn't fooling around. This past Sunday marked the start of Velib, a cheap bike rental program that has 10,000 bikes around Paris (to be up to 20,000 by the end of the year), with 13,000 people already owning annual memberships.

The program is financed by an advertising company, which finances and runs the program in exchange for exclusive access to the city's billboards.

This seems like a way better deal than the whole Street Furniture debacle here in Toronto. It would've been creative of the politicians to add the continued funding of Bikeshare to that deal.

Here's some news articles about the new Paris enlightenment:

Paris peddles bike service to curb traffic jams, pollution (CBC)

"In the morning, you can go to work in the tram and come home by bike; it depends on the weather, it depends on your mood and on your friends," said Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe Sunday. Delanoe aims to cut car traffic in the city by 40 per cent by 2020.

A French Revolution: This One On Two Wheels, No Guillotine (Streetsblog)

The key, Mr. Aidenbaum said, is to make it easy. "What this initiative does is to take away some of the inconveniences of owning a bike in Paris," he said, "the lack of storage space in Paris buildings, the issue of theft and the hassle of maintenance." First indications are positive. Even before the docking stations opened, 13,000 people had bought annual subscriptions online. On Sunday, some docking stations were so popular that they temporarily ran out of bikes.

A New French Revolution’s Creed: Let Them Ride Bikes (New York Times)

About a dozen sweaty people pedaled bicycles up the Champs-Élysées on Sunday toward the Arc de Triomphe, as onlookers cheered. Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image Alastair Miller/Bloomberg News Two tourists rented bicycles Sunday at City Hall. These were not the leading riders of the Tour de France racing toward the finish line, but American tourists testing this city’s new communal bike program.

Bicycles built for vous (Globe & Mail)

Parisians awoke yesterday to find more than 10,000 sturdy bicycles available for their use at 750 locations around the city. It cost next to nothing to take one for a spin. A swipe of a credit card for the deposit, and a 22-kilogram, pearly-grey bike, complete with basket and chain lock, was ready to ride.

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Elsewhere - Mon, July 16th
posted by Joe on Monday, July 16, 2007 - Permalink

Streetsblog » New High-Visibility Bike Lanes in Brooklyn

Could be that the NYC Department of Transportation actually listened to groups like Transportation Alternatives, which advocates painting bike lanes a solid color in order to improve visibility and curb blockage by motor vehicles.

Streetsblog » London Releases Its Fifth Annual Congestion Pricing Study

An increase in cycling within the zone of 43 per cent. Congestion Charge generated provisional net revenues of £123m in 2006/07, which will be spent on further improvements to transport across London, particularly bus services.

Streetsblog » An NYC First: On-Street Parking Spaces Replaced by Bike Racks

The new bike racks have been installed at the Bedford Avenue L subway station in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. As the Dept. of Transportation announces in today's press release, "The facility marks the first time car parking spaces have been removed to accommodate bikes".

BikePortland.org » Tour of Tomorrow will put policy makers in the saddle

For the third year, a who’s-who list of regional bigwigs and policy makers from Portland and Vancouver will escape from their cubicles for an up-close look at the highs-and-lows of our regional bikeway network.

BikePortland.org » Bike theft on the rise, is RFID the solution?

One idea that holds promise comes from bike theft guru and founder of StolenBicycleRegistry.com, Brian Hance. He recently published an article titled, “Open Source Bike Recovery - On The Cheap” that details the use of radio frequency identification tags.

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Elsewhere - Wed, July 11th
posted by Joe on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - Permalink

NY Daily News: International urban whiz would ban cars in Times Square

Mayor Bloomberg is trying to recruit a world-renowned Danish architect who wants to ban most cars from Times Square - and raise the price of street parking.

Streetsblog » It’s Getting Better All the Time

Clarence Eckerson put together a really nice little StreetFilm featuring some of the public space improvements that are now underway in various parts of New York City:

Bike Lane Diary: One Less Car

Seattle Times: Life in the bike lane

Cycle tracks, notes Lusk, are actually a separated part of the roadway yet distinct from the roadway, distinct from the sidewalk. In their purest form — Odense, Denmark, where 50 percent of all city journeys are by bicycle — the paths even have their own traffic signals.

Bike Snob NYC: Worst/Best of NYC Craigslist: Bike Love

you rode by me with your hat on and on a pretty orange bike with white wheels. your arm muscles were so nice. i want you to hold me. i see you all the time. next time i will yell, but what name should i yell?

TreeHugger: Bike City Berlin

Two years ago, the Berlin Senate decided that bikes should make up 15% of city traffic by the year 2010. Results released from the newest traffic study of the Berlin Development Administration show that the goal could be reached early: the number of bicyclists has more than doubled in the last decade to 400,000 riders daily, accounting for 12% of total traffic.

Vancouver: Vancity Bike Share

Vancity Bike Share wants to see you to get on a bike, share it with others and spread the word about cycling. It is a chance to try alternative transportation, increase your daily exercise and share with your community.

New York Times: A Vision of Free Bicycles

Imagine walking to a sidewalk corner and finding a public bicycle. With a cellphone call or swipe of a card, you unlock it from its bike rack and ride it across town. Once at your destination, you steer to the closest bike rack and, with one more call or card swipe, return the bike to the public network. You pay less than $.50 for the trip, and the bike is once again available for the taking.

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Elsewhere - Mon, July 9th
posted by Joe on Monday, July 09, 2007 - Permalink

Biking Bis: A virtual ride through London's Tour de France prologue route

The 2007 Tour de France opens on Saturday with a 4.9-mile prologue through the city of London. Bicycle racers will start individually at Whitehall, pedal past the Houses of Parliament, loop through Hyde Park and finish on The Mall.

Streetsblog » 17 Reasons to Make Transit Free

The Tyee, an independent online pub in British Columbia, weighs in with the first in a series of editorials making the case for free transit in the province.

TheWashCycle: Bike racks on taxis

RPUS points us to this story about a "green" taxi company in London that carries bike racks in the cab.

Commute by Bike: Green Transportation Specialist To Workers: “Get off your bikes”

Jacobs Babtie is one of Britain’s largest engineering companies. Their clients include Transport for London, which has a target of achieving a fivefold increase in the level of cycling by 2025. Jacobs’ advises local authorities on sustainable transpor

With Deadline Looming, Mayor Pushes Congestion Pricing Plan - City Room - Metro - New York Times Blog


BikePortland.org » Belmont bike parking an instant hit

Last week, the Belmont neighborhood welcomed two new on-street bike parking facilities to SE Belmont Street. I published photos from Bill Stites the day they went in .... Bill says crews hadn’t even finished installing the racks and people were already

London Cycling Diary: Cycling in Belgium: a photographic exhibition in London

London's gone bicycle crazy in the lead up to this weekend's Tour de France.

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Elsewhere - Fri, July 6th
posted by Joe on Friday, July 06, 2007 - Permalink

Streetsblog » Ninth Street Earns Its Stripes

The debate is over, and as of today the Ninth St. bike lanes are swiftly becoming a reality.

BikePortland.org » Congressman Blumenauer listens, learns at bike roundtable

“I think that you’re going to see an adoption of our version of world-best practices…everything from separated bicycle paths to much more aggressive bicycle boulevards.”

BikePortland.org » Local firm lands contract for Dubai bike plan

Given Dubai’s penchant for the extravagant, Birk and Jones expect the bike plan possibilities to include fully separated, shaded and mist-cooled bike paths (like Qatar will have), and “Cadillac, state-of-art” bike parking.

Commute by Bike: Cycling Article in House & Garden Magazine

“Here in Vermont, we have to get our satisfaction in other ways. Like slowing down to smell our neighbor’s lilacs as we go by them, and getting in a workout when we go for the mail, and lightening our carbon footprint by using less gasoline. We may never pass any cars, but even so, we’ll surpass them all.”

TreeHugger: Beijing To Drive One Million Cars Off the Road Next Month

Beijing will ban one million cars—a third of its autos—for a two-week test of its smog-control measures this month.

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Elsewhere - Thurs, July 5th
posted by Joe on Thursday, July 05, 2007 - Permalink

Australia "Bike Bus" website

A bike bus is a group of people who cycle to work in a group. It’s called a “bus” because there is a set route and timetable so it can pick up more “passengers” along the way. Cycling is a quick, fun way to get to work while keeping fit and healthy. A bike bus adds sociability and comfort.
The [Australia Government's] Department of Environment and Water Resources, through the Low Emissions Technology and Abatement – Strategic Abatement program, has funded this project to develop and promote bike buses.
This is right up BikeFriday's alley! :)

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Elsewhere - Wed, July 4th
posted by Joe on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - Permalink

BikeShare for New York - You Can Make it Happen (TreeHugger)

New York is itching to get a piece of the action, so this month the Forum For Urban Design, in concert with Storefront for Art and Architecture have organised a “splashy exhibition of European bike-share programs, running a free-bike-rental experiment,

Spacing Wire » Cycling-only streets in Winnipeg

Spacing photographer Bouke Salverda was recently in Winnipeg and snapped this shot of a street sign indicating it’s a cycling-only street on Sundays and holidays.

Streetsblog » Quebec Makes Bold Cycling Statement

The province of Quebec doesn't mess around when it comes to cycling. A 250+ mile long route will be completed this August, making it the longest such route in North America.

Biking Bis - Mexico City's bike plan getting results

Remember back in April when Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard ordered all his city's bureaucrats to set a good example by riding their bicycles to work the first Monday of every month?

Dave Moulton's Bike Blog: Road Cyclist’s Ten Commandments

The Vatican recently issued a set of Ten Commandments for motorists. I thought it appropriate that road cyclists have their own.

Streetsblog » Berlin’s Bicycle Boom

Committed to making cycling a viable form of transportation, the Berlin Senate measures the success of that city's bicycle network by the prevalence of cyclists in the overall traffic mix -- rather than the way New York's DOT does, by the miles of bike lanes...

Streetsblog » Rage on the Bikeway

The Boston Globe ran a front-page story yesterday about confrontations among users of the super-popular tree-lined Minuteman Bikeway in Boston. Police have already filed more reports of clashes between users of the bikeway this year than the previous two...

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You Don't Have To Be A SuperHero To Save The Planet
posted by Joe on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 - Permalink



Inspirational video from the UK.

[via Spinopsys]

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News from Elsewhere - Tues, July 3rd
posted by Joe on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 - Permalink

News from Amsterdam

A new transportation plan aims to reduce fine particle and NO2 emissions by 15%. One of the proposed measures is to promote the use of bicycles for inner city distribution

Chicago and the end of Critical Mass - Cycle-Licious

As the rides have grown, some feel that Critical Mass has strayed from its original altruistic roots and has become 'just another big bike-a-thon'. Others have been offended by public drunkenness, nudity, noisy sound systems and ill manners that now are all too common on many mass rides.

BikePortland.org » Blog Archive » Women gather to improve conditions (for everyone)

If women on bikes are the barometer of a bike-friendly city, a grassroots effort to improve conditions for and understanding of female cyclists hopes to increase the pressure.

BikePortland.org » Blog Archive » Wheelmen club launches family-friendly, easy ride series

The Portland Wheelmen Touring Club (PWTC) wants to encourage families and novice riders to explore local bike routes and get more comfortable on group rides and they're doing it by offering a series of short, slow-paced rides that are perfect for families

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News from Elsewhere - Wed, June 27th
posted by Joe on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - Permalink

Streetsblog » Rediscovering the Romance of the Bicycle in Paris

On July 15th, Paris will introduce a citywide system of public bike rentals called Vélib, intended to give pedal power to the people

Streetsblog » Permanent Congestion Pricing Gets Green Light in Sweden

The toll was operated on a trial basis last year and exceeded expectations of a 10 to 15 percent reduction of cars entering and leaving the capital, registering instead an average fall of between 20 and 25 percent.

Commute by Bike: It starts with us

The future of the American commute includes a lot less cars and a lot more bikes, however it takes a lot of work and resolve to make that happen and it has to start somewhere. So it starts with you and me.

Streetsblog » Free Bike Helmets for Delivery Workers Today

In anticipation of two new laws that take effect in July, DOT is handing out free helmets to commercial cyclists. One law requires businesses to provide helmets to employees who use bicycles as part of their work, and to make sure their workers wear them.

The Slowmotion Revolution: Bogata Traffic Taming

Enrique Peñalosa promoted a city model giving priority to children and public spaces and restricting private car use, building hundreds of kilometers of sidewalks, bike paths, pedestrian streets, greenways, and parks.

Cycle-Licious: Lindsay Lohan's tricycle

Apparently, bicycle and tricycle riding are part of her drug rehabilitation. We agree that exercise and sunshine are good for your mental health and well-being!

BikePortland.org » Master Plan intro sheds light on potential, challenges

The Office of Transportation has published the first bit of their Bicycle Master Plan online. It’s a draft of an introduction to the Existing Conditions Report and it sheds light on how the city sees Portland’s cycling future.

TheWashCycle: Bicycle commuters still uncommon

The U.S. Census reports that in 2005 0.4 percent of commuters used bikes, just as they did in 1990 and 2000.


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News from Elsewhere - Tues, June 26th
posted by Joe on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 - Permalink

BikePortland.org » Is "Idaho-style" stop sign law the way to go?

Since 1982 Idaho has had a law in the books that allows cyclists to treat stop-signs as yields. In 2005 lawmakers went one step further and passed legislation that said stop-lights can be treated like stop-signs.

Treadly and Me » Bike path congestion: it's here

According to a report in today’s Herald Sun, bike commuting is booming to the point that Bicycle Victoria was now hearing complaints about congestion on cycling routes

BikePortland.org » Vehicular homicide bill introduced in Salem

The bill would create the crime of vehicular homicide and make it punishable by a maximum of five years improsinment and/or a fine of up to $125,000.

The Green Life: Car-Free Convert

When Chris Balish put his SUV up for sale, he wasn't trying to change his life. He just wanted to save money on gas.

Spacing Wire » In Budapest, the President rides in Critical Mass

Some 50,000 Hungarians, 20,000 more than last year (and including President László Sólyom for the second time) participated in the Critical Mass bicycle protest ride on Earth Day 2007, Sunday, Apr 22, to promote cycling as a healthy, fast, cheap and en

Streetsblog » Londoners Take to the Streets — on Cycles

Via the blog of Stuart Hughes, a BBC journalist who lost part of his leg in Iraq while on assignment in 2003 and who is an avid cyclist, come a few interesting links regarding cycling in London. First, a BBC story on the skyrocketing popularity of biking.

Spinopsys » Sydney's Bike bus

Recently, the ABC’s excellent Catalyst science show featured a full evening of programming on energy, environment and solutions, including a People Power segment on Sydney’s bike bus initiative .




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News from Elsewhere - Mon, June 25th
posted by Joe on Monday, June 25, 2007 - Permalink

Bill To Protect Cyclists From Careless Drivers Passes | Planetizen

The Oregon Legislature has passed a bill that will increase penalties to drivers who carelessly injure or kill pedestrians, cyclists, and other "vulnerable" road users. Convicted offenders could face a one-year license suspension.

Streetsblog » Q&A; With Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan

How was your trip to Copenhagen to meet with Jan Gehl? Had you ever been before? JSK: Never been. SB: What did you think? JSK: I thought it was spectacular. The experience of riding a bicycle in a city in which the car is not the priority was really inspiring...

BikePortland.org » PDX Airport will get new multi-use path

With ample and secure bike parking, a dedicated bike path directly to the terminal, and with a staff that responds to bicycle concerns, Portland International Airport is known as the most bike-friendly airport in the U.S..

Streetsblog » Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff: Bike Commuter

"It's the most environmentally friendly way of commuting other than walking," Mr. Doctoroff says. "It contributes to our efforts to reduce air pollution and global warming."

Streetsblog » StreetFilms: A London Driver Discusses Congestion Pricing

In this StreetFilm by Nick Whitaker, level-headed London motorist Barny Crocker talks about how congestion charging has effected London traffic and his own driving habits: "There was massive resistance to the congestion charge when it was first brought in...

TheWashCycle: Amsterdam Central

We, and I mean I, often talk about how great Amsterdam is for cycling...and it is, but as this article in the Post show, that brings it's own set of problems.

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What "Bike Friendliness" Looks Like
posted by Joe on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - Permalink

Great article on Grist over the weekend, looking at what is needed to make city roads "bike friendly", looking at European cities (who are centuries ahead of the North American counterparts) and cities in the Northwest (Portland, Seattle, Vancouver) who are decades in front of Toronto:

Bike friendly means a complete, continuous, interconnected network of named bicycle roads or "tracks," each marked and lit, each governed by traffic signs and signals of its own. It means a parallel network interlaced with the other urban grids: the transit grid on road or rail; the street grid for cars, trucks, and taxis; and the sidewalk grid for pedestrians. It means separation from those grids: to be useful for everyone from eight year olds to eighty year olds, bikeways on large roads must be physically curbed, fenced, or graded away from both traffic and walkers. (On smaller, neighborhood streets, where bikes and cars do mingle, bike friendly means calming traffic with speed humps, circles, and curb bubbles.)

Picture a street more than half of which is reserved for people on foot, bikes, buses, or rail; on which traffic signals and signs, street design, and landscaping all conspire to treat bicycles as the equals of automobiles. This is what bike friendly -- what Bicycle Respect -- looks like.

Oh, and today is a smog day in Toronto. Ironic.

(link via Take the Tooker)

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Bike News from Other Cities
posted by Joe on Monday, February 05, 2007 - Permalink

Paris rolls out free bikes in bid to cut smog

David Miller wants to cut smog emissions by 20% by 2012... a great way to do it is to get 20% of Torontonians using bicycles instead of cars.


China: Kingdom of bicycles no more

Apparently, there's somewhat of a pro-bike movement re-emerging in China due to global warming concerns, but this article is kind of scary, considering 20% of the world's population is in China and they are just starting to adopt cars...


Copenhagen: Traffic Signals Timed for Bicycling
The green wave is the first of its kind and traffic light is adjusted to give cyclists a continuous ride if they travel 20 km/h. "It is a rational and sensible speed to pedal, as both children and elderly can keep the pace."

Norway: Bike Lift 'Trampe' Stimulates Cycling
At the bottom of the steep 130 meter long hill cyclists place their right foot on the lift and receive a push which transports them upwards at a comfortable speed of 2 meters per second. Since its introduction in 1993, 'Trampe' has assisted more than 220,000 cyclists.

Portland, OR: Bakfiets Arrive!

Dutch cargobikes are hitting Portland Streets... they are those bikes with a nice big box between the handlebars and front wheel - perfect for moving groceries and/or children.

I've seen a couple in Toronto... have you?

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Bike News From Other Cities
posted by Joe on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - Permalink



Los Angeles, CA:

She's L.A.'s pedal pusher


In the last few years, without really trying, 31-year-old Howe, tall and blond, has become the voice of the emerging urban bicycling culture of Los Angeles.

London, UK:

Holiday Bonus for U.K. Ikea Employees: 9,000 Free Bikes


New Orleans, LA:

New Orleans Bicycles Book

A cool book about bike culture in the big easy, mostly pre-Katrina. Thanks to the Spacing Wire and be sure and check out Rannie's great collection of great Toronto bike pics.


New York, NY:

Physically Separated Bike Lanes in ‘07

In this outstanding Streetfilm New York City cyclists, planning and policy experts and even the former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia make the case that the designers of New York City's bicycling infrastructure need to do more than just paint lines on asphalt. Like all of the world's best bike commuting cities, they argue that New York needs to design and build more and better physically-separated bike lanes.

Perth, AU:

Perth Happy Snaps

Really cool pics of cycling infrastructure in Perth, Australia.


Winnipeg, MB:

Winnipeg's Bike to the Future

I just found this really cool biking news site based in the 'Peg. Love the title graphic.

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Bike News from Other Cities
posted by Joe on Monday, December 18, 2006 - Permalink



New York, NY

It's wheel simple - bikes go here
The city has installed signs and painted biker silhouettes on blacktop in Times Square and two other locations to remind drivers they must share the roads with cyclists.

SUV Attack

All the time, he is continuing to jam on his horn. I get off my bike to make it clear that I don't intend to move until he talks to me. He then turns his wheel sharply and from a complete stop guns the engine and drives straight through my bike.

Holy Rollers
“It’s the next big fight,” a biker who has been agitating to get cars permanently banned from the Central Park loop said recently. “I really think I’m doing God’s work.”

Chicago, IL

Chicago: A City Whose Mayor Cares About Bicycling
One reason it might happen is that it has the powerful support of the city's longtime mayor, Richard M. Daley, a biker himself. Chicago is a city where the mayor usually gets what he wants, and bicycles, along with health and environmental improvements, have been a near-obsession for Daley over the past several years.

Portland, OR

Portland Police to distribute bike lights, safety brochures

This is a great example of what’s possible when community groups, the city, and the police all come together for a common goal of making our streets safer!

Seattle, WA

Bicycle Master Plan for Seattle

So far the proposals include 21 mile (34 km) of bike trail and five new bicycle overpasses. There are also ideas for lane marking to allow autos and bikes to better share existing road space.

Washington, DC

Bike Station Design Meeting
The Bicycle Transit Centre will provide bicycle parking, rentals, repairs and accessories in a new state-of-the-art building at the west end of Union Station.

Beijing, China

Foreign Auntie Challeges Rule-Breaking Vehicle
At around 8:50am on October 20, 2006, on the road from the Zhaoyang East bridge towards the Blue Island Building, a funny episode occurred: a foreigner acted as traffic police and made a small sedan which had gone into the bicycle lane move back out into the car lane.



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Bike News from Other Cities
posted by Joe on Wednesday, November 15, 2006 - Permalink



New York, New York:

New Bike Markings For Brooklyn’s Fifth Ave. This Month
The markings are an interesting innovation for New York City in that they direct motorists and cyclists to share the middle of the road as equals. Drivers aren't supposed to blast their horns at cyclists riding in the travel lane and cyclists aren't supposed to try to slip in and out of the door-zone between moving traffic and parked cars.


Cyclists and Pedestrians: Fighting Over the Scraps
Pedestrians and cyclists are crammed into the margins fighting over the scraps of public space that have been left to them. The real problem are the rows of parked cars hogging up street space throughout the city.


Birth of a Class III Bike Route


These Shared Lane stencils are an entirely new type of bike lane marking for New York City. They are modeled after San Francisco's "Sharrows."


Gridlock Sam Tells the Story of NYC’s First Bike Lanes
It seems to be a good moment to check out this short interview in which Gridlock Sam Schwartz tells the story of how New York got its first bike lanes in the early '80s and why Mayor Ed Koch ultimately ordered that they be taken away.


New Bike Stencils Completed on the Lower East Side
As on Brookyn's Fifth Avenue this weekend, it looks like DOT has finished installing the new Class III bike route stencils on Clinton and Delancey Streets.


Amsterdam:

Dutch Parents Get Behind New Bicycle Trend
Jennifer van den Broeke tried toting her son and daughter around Amsterdam on her old bike with two child seats, but the weight buckled the wheels and the stand snapped. That was when she decided to join the growing Dutch army of pedaling parents using so-called transport bikes. The transport bike — called a bakfiets (pronounced backfeets) in Dutch — is making a comeback decades after butchers, bakers — maybe even the odd candlestick maker — first began using them to carry their wares around the narrow streets of this nation’s towns and cities.




Danish Bike Cargo Photo Gallery
How do you measure a city's bike-friendliness? Do you count the number of lane miles, daily commuters or annual injuries?


Copenhagen:

Notes on Bicycling in Copenhagen
there are bikes everywhere. Thirty-six percent of Copenhageners commute by bicycle. It's an astonishing number considering that this isn't exactly Miami Beach. It is cold and rainy for much of the year. The city is, however, extraordinarily flat.


Beijing:

Beijing’s "No Car" Days: How to Win Friends and Not Influence Traffic


San Francisco:

Take the Lane, It's The Law

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Cycling Soldiers
posted by Joe on Thursday, November 02, 2006 - Permalink

A Korean newspaper reports:

Nothing is more exhilarating, efficient and enjoyable than getting on a bicycle zipping through the crowded streets of New York City, provided the rider does not mind assuming the role of transit pioneer and cycling soldier… there is a daily battle taking place on the streets of New York City between automobiles and bicycles.

Photo: Cody Lyon, Ohmy News International
Via Streetsblog.

I've been feeling like I've been more and more at war with the car drivers of this city, especially over the last week. Dangerous passing, inattentiveness and general being selfish slaves to their cars have "put my back up" lately.

After checking out the newmindspace event on my way to work this morning, I paced another cyclist up University from King to College and effectively took the lane with his help, screwing any drivers behind us.

It felt good.

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