The Monday Roundup
Posted by Elly Blue (Columnist) on March 8th, 2010 at 7:15 am
- Statistically speaking, what's more distracting than talking on the phone while driving? Adjusting the radio while driving. And what's even more distracting than that? Driving with children.
- Speaking of distracted driving, what about those digital billboards? The NY Times takes a look.
- In Washington, DC, the local transportation department, DDOT, has issued a bold "Action Agenda" that builds on the district's existing bicycle and pedestrian master plans and goes much farther, calling for the creation of a new Progressive Transportation Services Administration.
- A bill up before the California Senate would extend the state's handheld cell phone ban to people on bicycles.
- In Amman, Jordan, mass installation of sidewalks and benches is transforming the city, and residents are loving it.
- Rotterdam, the Netherlands is experimenting with a new kind of bike infrastructure called the Evergreen Wave—green LEDs embedded in the bike path show you how fast to approach an upcoming intersection in order to catch the green light.
- Yes, there is even an emerging bike movement in wintry Iceland.
- Trek Bicycles' trademark lawsuit against Trek Winery has been dismissed by a Wisconsin judge.
- In Los Angeles County, Metro is the agency that provides public transportation. Besides bus and rail, it also helps pay for bike paths and, apparently, spends $27 million dollars a year towing private automobiles that have broken down on the freeway. (Hat tip to the Bus Bench)
- The history of bike polo is one of the few stories that include both Portland and Prince Philip.
- New inventions in bicycling: A grop of Yale students created a bike with a spokeless rear wheel, and a pedal powered lawn mower made a splash at NAHBS.
- A reader forwarded this excerpt from her local public radio station's newsletter:
When the Washington Post editorialized in favor of building a highway atop the C&O Canal in 1954, Supreme Court Justice and environmentalist William Douglas challenged the authors to hike all 185 miles of it with him. They did, they changed their tune, and today the wild beauty of the C&O Canal is preserved as a national park.
- Finally, the video of the week is actually only an audio track: a hip hop ode to urban bicycling.
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That spokeless rear wheel bike is awesome!!! Just like the motorcycle in the new Star Trek Movie! I don't see any reason why you couldn't do it with the front wheel too.
Biggest advantage: no spokes!
* Muggers can't throw a stick through your spokes to jump you.
* Dogs can run right through the middle of a wheel instead of crashing into you!
* No spokes means true lateral compliance with vertical rigidity (or something). A stiffer ride anyway!
RecommendedAmman, Jordan
Amman, Jordan
"Those shop owners did not care to have a lot of young people of modest means hanging around. It intimidated their customers, they complained, and the city promptly removed most of the benches. "
RecommendedFunny thing about the first article and driving with children being distracting.
RecommendedI'm a teacher and I see numerous parents still talking on a hands held cell phone or texting with kids in their car around our school zone. I've been on my bike commuting home, too, and I cross a busy intersection where the nearest middle school is located. What do I see? Parents leaving the school on a hands held cell phone and / or texting. Reminding parents via school newsletters have not helped much.
Here's another good one that just went up today: $16M slated for better biking and walking in the Twin Cities
Take that tidbit with you to city budget hearings to talk about the $7 million we look to be getting for bike facilities in Portland with you this year.
RecommendedElliot,
i like your point... but it's not really valid. That money in MN is federal money budgeted in the 2006 transportation bill.
RecommendedLooks like the site broke my html link(?)
Trying again: $16M slated for better biking and walking in the Twin Cities
Or just in case, copy/paste it yourself: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/03/08/biking-walking-improvements/
RecommendedOops! Thanks for catching that Jonathan, I didn't realized they were wrapping the federal NTPP money in there...
That said, I wonder what the exact breakdown is. NTPP is $25M over 3 years - if it were spread evenly, that'd be about $8M/year, which would imply a hefty local match of $8M as well.
But I bet you're right, and they saved the most expensive (infrastructure, rather than planning) projects for the last year (this year), which would probably mean local funding amounts this year is $5M or even less, compared to our Portland's $7M... I withdraw the comment.
RecommendedUnfortunately, copenhagenize doesn't include any information about the distracted-driving study they reference -- we don't know what the authors actually claim for their results, how extensive it was, how valid the methodology was, even whether it was a reviewed research project versus an undergraduate class paper. It would be helpful to be able to take a look at it directly, to help better understand its implications.
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