(Photo © J. Maus)
Here’s the news that caught our eye this week:
– London has officially launched their new bike-sharing scheme with a fleet of 6,000. Here’s a look into how the technology works.
– In Anchorage, Alaska a change in municipal code is being considered that would give the right-of-way to motor vehicles at roadway crossings and make people operating bicycles liable for being struck while crossing a roadway.
– In Montreal, public parks are increasingly banning bicycling from pathways, leading to frustration over the city’s limited amount of available carfree space.
– A seminary in Mumbai has reportedly issued a ban on women riding bicycles after age 13.
– Portlanders experiencing homelessness find increased freedom and mobility through owning a bicycle. (For more on this subject see our occasional Street Life series.)
– In Pensacola, Florida, a teenager died after a police officer tasered him while he was riding his bicycle. Warning, the video accompanying the story is graphic.
– In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a bicycle patrol officer was injured in a hit and run and his partner fired shots at the vehicle as it sped away.
– Commute by bike? Don’t…gasp…own a car? That might make you cool in Portland, but don’t worry, Hollywood still thinks you’re a loser.
– Meanwhile, an old cycling path is being widened in the Netherlands with minimal fanfare.
– The newest proponent of electric bicycles is none other than Pee Wee Herman.
– In NYC, after the third annual Papergirl gallery show, the art will be rolled up and delivered by bicycle to strangers on the street.
– And finally, a video: the Pedal Safety Song music video from the UK circa 1978 cheerfully and catchily urges you to “get yourself seen.”
thanks for the link to the film review on slate. excellent essay on mythmaking in popular culture.
The Slate essay makes it glaringly apparent why getting large amounts of mode share for bikes will be virtually impossible in the near term. The only chance beyond a sudden explosion in gasoline prices is that Millenials saddled with high college loan debt and poor employment prospects turn their backs on auto ownership due to cost considerations.
I have encountered the gentleman on the cover photo. He’s nice, but his rust-colored dog is the most lovely. Born the same week as Rasu, sort-of like brothers. Woof.
How do these homeless people acquire bikes? Just askin’…
Dutch bicycling super-highway at 44 km/hr! To heck with copenhagen bike fashionistas — this is my kind of infrastructure!
http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2010/02/inter-city-bicycle-superhighways-for.html
“How do these homeless people acquire bikes? Just askin’…”
They get them really cheap from some joker named Sabernar.
Many of the bikes are given to them via organizations such as JOIN and other NPO’s.
Having been born and raised in the same state that burdened our nation with Sarah Palin, I am not at all surprised to hear of their efforts to marginalize cyclists up there more than they already are. I see nothing has changed in the 10 years since I fled that cesspit.
“How do these homeless people acquire bikes? Just askin’…”
Perhaps they owned them before times were slim for them.
Or perhaps they saved up some money and bought one? A friend of mine purchased an old, beater mountain bike off of Craigslist for $10 to take to Burning Man, and it worked perfectly for quite a long time after.
Bikes, maybe. Burley trailers (etc), probably not. They’re much more expensive than beater bikes no matter where you get them legally. Unfortunately, trailers are a frequent target of thieves.
So the assumption is that because some guy is homeless, his possessions are stolen property? Nice.
I can only go from what the police told men, when my son’s Burley trailer was stolen. They’ll tell you from whom they recover nearly all such stolen trailers (when they recover them at all).
edit: “police told me”
Awww so *that’s* where my bike went.
A lot of them buy their bikes with money from their SSI check.
A pretty tragic death. The sentence at the end pretty much sums it up: the kid should’ve stopped, but he shouldn’t have died because he didn’t.
I’ve seen some amazing trailers built by the address-challenged.
Hey – that’s my missing bike & Burley trailer in that picture under the bridge….
PeeWee is a much under-rated and misunderstood bike hero.It is fitting and well that he be judge of 2-wheeled masturbation(oops!) *fabrication* contest!
Having just spent a few days biking around Montreal last week, I can see why some might get protective of their park paths.
The city is teeming with cyclists thanks to very bold infrastructure efforts, an amazing bike sharing program, and really pricey gas. Thanks to the Bixi bike sharing system, I think they’re probably seeing faster growth than Portland ever has. That’s got to be hard.
In fact, Montreal has more physical separation of bikes and peds than Portland does (both on-street and in parks). While the guards at McGill seemed a little unnecessary and it’d be sad not to be able to bike on the Mountain, at least Montreal is trying hard to address bike/ped conflict. I found myself wishing that Portland was as bold in their efforts.
Hollywood might think I’m a loser, but that doesn’t matter: They’re Californian.
Goodwill and Salvation Army both help out homeless people with clothing and other needs like bicycles…
Some truely good orginizations doing really great things