Here’s the news that caught our eyes this past week…
– A local ordinance in the small town of Hull, Wisconsin has been widely misinterpreted as a bike ban says the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. But the story spread so quickly that it even reached The Onion, where it’s fodder for this headline, Town Seeks to Criminalize Walking and Biking.
– Reports from the first morning of “Viadoom” up in Seattle show that once again, fears of massive traffic jams with the closure of a major downtown freeway are often over-hyped. Traffic seems to be moving along — and of course there is lots of bike traffic!
– A fabulously informative takedown of an economics-based rant against bike lanes in the New Yorker.
– The South Bay Bicycle Coalition is adding their voice to the list of groups upset at Governor Jerry Brown’s veto of a safe passing law.
– If you haven’t already seen it, hot off the presses this week is Los Angeles County’s Bicycle Master Plan.
– As winter settles in, it’s good to remember that cold weather doesn’t preclude the bicycle as a viable means of transportation.
– Electric-assist bikes are becoming a more frequent sight on the road, but are steam-powere bicycles the next big thing?
– The State of Washington is considering a law, similar to one signed into law in Oregon, that would allow cities to lower the speed limit in residential neighborhoods from 25 MPH to 20 MPH, and Seattle’s Mayor likes the idea.
– And the fight for safer, greener streets doesn’t end at our shores; a group in the city of Amedabad, India rallied for safer access to bicycling and public transit.
– Speaking of protests, Bolivian president Evo Morales has bowed to pressure from indigenous groups who fought the massive “Amazon highway” project.
– Elsewhere in India, the city of Bangalore is using a pilot bike share program to help citizens travel “the last mile” to their destinations.
– If you have a sweet tooth you might have trouble resisting this delicious-looking bicycle covered in Skittles.
– In Indonesia, the city of Jakarta has installed its first dedicated bike lane as a way to deal with “acute” traffic problems.
– A news anchor in Utah is returning to work after her bicycle impacted a car that cut her off and gave her a concussion. She asumes the driver will not be caught and brought to justice.
– Is your hair clean? You might need to thank a former bicycle messenger.
– Recently-installed sharrows are providing a preview of things to come for one city in Texas.
– Add Berlin to the list of cities where bicycling is on the rise — and where some are concerned about the safety consequences of all the bikes on the road.
– Bicycle businesses help local economies, and not just here at home. A company in Zambia is thriving by making bicycles almost entirely from bamboo.
– Those who are not satisfied simply riding a bike to work will like this desk that lets you ride your bike while at work.
– If you’re in Detroit you can now tour the city’s spookiest haunts by bicycle.
– That spare water bottle cage can help keep your bike safe by carrying a water bottle-shaped bike lock.
– And an old map from 1896 shows California’s network of bicycle routes.
Did you find something interesting that should be in next week’s Monday Roundup? Drop us a line.
Thanks for reading.
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Hope to see the steam bike at the next Manifest?
Wow, bizarre to see a California with that many regional bicycle routes. Besides CABR 1 (aka proposed USBR 95 through California), I’m at a loss to find any state cycleways in California these days.
The steam powered bicycle is certainly inventive. It reminds me of the woodgas fired motorcycle. But his machine also drives home the absurdity of complicating something so beautifully simple.
Considering the creator’s age I think this was more a historical hobby bike than any attempt at practicality.
Maybe he also meant it to troll the Steampunk whippersnappers who now will have to bow to his functional piece of real life steam tech.
Crazy old guy FTW.
Some excellent links in the first article about Hull, Wisconsin, including one reporting on a statistical comparison of law breaking activity between cyclists and drivers, and from the bottom of that link, another exploding the myth that cyclists don’t pay their fair share (or any share) of road costs. Some of the best facts I’ve seen on these subjects. Go team!
Two points about the Hull article. The minor one first: I think Will’s synopsis implies that The Onion’s headline is satirical. But it’s not. It is from one of their American Voices articles, where the headline is from real news, and the “man on the street” responses to that news are what’s for laffs.
Now the article from BFW wants to dispel the notion that Hull will crack down on walking and cycling. But BFW admits that the new ordinance is intended to make it clearer that the town is allowed to do that. And so it will be faster and less controversial if it ever attempt to do it.
To persuade us, BFW offers nothing more than its personal reassurances about the town’s intent. But we know how that goes, right? With the proposal of every draconian law, we hear, “I have the word of this good man that this law will not be abused,” after which it’s soon abused. History shows that to prevent abuse, a law must not be adopted in the first place.
Indeed, the story regarding the Town of Hull is real. I live in the small city of Stevens Point, WI, and the Town of Hull lies on the other side of the northern border of the city.
Many of us who live in this area have been sharing info with each other and communicating with leaders of Hull. We would prefer to see Hull focus on educational outreach to create safer roads for all road users, rather than to pass an ordinance with language of prohibition and permit requirements which is likely to inflame the “bikes vs. cars” false dichotomy and result in making roads less safe.
A Hull task force unveiled a first draft of the proposed bike/ped ordinance in September. The next meeting was last week and it was well attended with many of us speaking out to keep the town roads freely available for all road users. The final meeting of the task force is scheduled for November, at which time recommendations for the Town Board, if any, will be made. So there is still a process before any bike/ped law would be passed by the Town Board.
The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin has kept themselves informed of our local issue and has been helpful to our cause. All of us are aware of the potential undesired outcome that Noah, in his response above, expresses concern about.
So far, Hull leaders have publicly spoken words of cooperation, and the Chair of the Town Board is quoted as saying that enforcing prohibitions and permit requirements would be an “extreme measure”. This is encouraging. Our challenge now is to hold Hull leaders accountable to those words and to observe the degree to which their actions match their stated intent.
I feel confident in saying that if Hull’s actions start to betray that stated intent, if Hull tries to create and enforce any prohibition or permit requirement on any town road that threatens to restrict the free movement of legal vehicles along the public right-of-way, that such action will be extremely controversial. I suspect the reaction, both local and national, that Hull has already gotten after merely drafting a proposal will pale in comparison to the reaction it would get if it tries to adopt and enforce such an ordinance.
I am not in a position to speak for the BFW, but I would be surprised if they didn’t share this sentiment.
Check out the commentary in today’s O:
Transportation Funding
Transportation Systems Drive our Future
By Neal R. Peirce
Why should we spring for the multibillions of hard-to-find dollars that the experts say are necessary to patch up America’s essential — but often deteriorating — public transportation systems?
It’s straightforward, argues the New York-based Regional Plan Association (RPA). Transportation, it asserts, isn’t just a question of patching a few potholes or cleaning dirty subway cars. It’s a matter of the national future — whether our economy hums or shrinks, carrying our standard of living down with it.
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/10/transportation_funding_transit.html
It’s hard to take care of our infrastructure when their spending priorities are all screwed up. Maybe if the prisons are so full they have to let them out, then maybe they can be out there fixing roads. 3=8 hr shifts, or 2=12 hr. whenone crew leaves then the next crew has a place to sleep. when the roads are fixed they can pick up the trash next to it….
Why give a prisoner that job when we can put a free man back to work? It’s not like labor is in short supply.
Regarding the news anchor in the collision. She regrettably says she doesn’t think there was a crime committed by the driver that sent her to the hospital.
a) The driver didn’t yield to her before cutting into traffic and cutting her off
b) He didn’t stick around after she hit him hard enough to knock herself unconscious and break multiple bones.
How was a crime not committed?