[Publisher’s note: Thanks to the non-profit Community Vision and their annual Harvest Century (October 8th) for support of the Monday Roundup! – JM.]
Here’s the news that caught our eye this week:
– “Why are American’s driving less?” asks the Washington Post/Bloomberg business blog. It’s important food for thought for transportation planning.
– A new report details the potential economic benefits of the UK being more bike-friendly, including over 2 billion pounds a year saved in missed work days and up to 56 billion in health spending due to reduced car emissions and increased physical activity.
– A bicycle company in India will begin providing loans to help rural customers buy their bikes, and is working out a plan to provide health insurance coverage to its customers as well.
– In Israel, proposals to ban bicycling on some roads leads to comparisons between the country’s social stratification and transportation hierarchy.
– From DC, a interesting look into some of the varying reasons behind opposition to bike lanes.
– A proposed street redesign in Savannah, Georgia would newly accommodate both bicycling and car parking, and may even be politically feasible.
– The legal challenge to a separated bike lane by a cast of wealthy and influential neighbors in New York City has been thrown out of court, to nobody’s surprise.
– Also in NYC, a hard look at a hit and run incident that left a young artist seriously injured and still hasn’t been investigated by the police.
– And yet again in NYC, lawyers arguing bicycle-related cases have to deal with a confusing morass of laws that few seem to be familiar with.
– Bike traveling is a fun, affordable way to get out of town, says the New York Times.
– In Virginia, bike trails are seen as providing a long term benefit for local economies—“You can’t ship a trail to China.”
– Should cities install short-term bike parking in high-density residential areas? Some already do, but others don’t prioritize it.
– In Minneapolis, bike sharing seems to be boosting the business of bike rental shops rather than competing with them.
– Bike sharing and mandatory helmet laws don’t mix, according to this analysis.
– In London, a “bicycle library” on a double-decker bus rents bikes to try out before deciding what to buy.
– From the racing side of the bike world, an interviewer asks a group of cyclocross racers about their experiences as women in the sport; elsewhere, some pointed advice for the men.
– Video of the week: Danny MacAskill’s latest display of incredible bike handling skills, this time in an abandoned ironworks factory in Scotland…
