“Picture 11 miles of smoothly paved bike path meandering through the countryside. Largely uninterrupted by roads or intersections, it passes fields, backyards, chirping birds, a lake, some ducks and, at every mile, an air pump…”
— The New York Times
Here’s the news and other cool stuff that caught our eyes this past week…
– One of the victim’s in the horrific theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado was in the middle of a cross-country bike tour. Thankfully, he’s on the mend and just might finish out his ride.
– The much-anticipated launch of New York City’s bike share system has been pushed back a month due to concerns around the system’s software.
– There are those who thought it would never happen but a man riding a bicycle ran a red light and struck a car in Boise, Idaho.
– Bay Area-based Clif Bar celebrated its 20th anniversary by giving every single one of their employees a personalized bicycle.
– Despite Republican support for mass transit on the Tappan Zee Bridge, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has formed a partnership with anti-transit advocates who want to see the bridge built around the needs of what they’re calling “smartphones with four wheels”.
– If you’re new to riding with children you may want to have a look at this oldy-but-goody article from Totcycle on the safety of family cycling as well as this advice for cycling with children from Grist.
– We’ve seen a lot of folks in Portland using helmet-cams to document their daily commutes, now the NY Times has put the trend front and center.
– Back in May, a fun and functional squid-shaped bike rack was unveiled at the Seattle Center and you’ve got through October 21st to go and check it out.
– Speaking of Seattle, whether or not you rode STP last week you should check out these profiles of amazing people who made the trip from Seattle to Portland on a bicycle.
– Grant High School (and Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology) alumnus Adam Vollmer has received a lot of attention for his ‘Faraday Porteur’ electric-assist bicycle design. As of this morning Vollmer three-quarters of the way toward his $100,000 funding goal on Kickstarter.
– Students in London used an organized ride to raise awareness of a petition being circulated urging the UK’s National Health Service to create 5,000 new midwifery positions.
– As the dust settles on the new Federal Transportation Bill, some are concerned about a provision regarding federal land may force bicycle traffic off of the road onto side paths.
– A recent study by the British Medical Association has found increasing dependence on motor vehicles has negative impacts on public health while active forms of transportation, including bicycling, reduce the risk of premature death and chronic desease.
– Beaverton’s City Council is backing a proposal to build a mid-block crossing at Hall Boulevard and the Fanno Creek Trail, bringing a safer crossing on this popular route one step closer to reality.
– 20 MPH ‘slow zones’ began in a small section of the Bronx but are now expanding to 13 new sections of New York City.
– Although the opening of NYC’s bike share system will be delayed, some are already asking for an integrated fare system for bike share and public transit.
– Anyone interested in at-home cycle repair might want to check out MadeGood.com, a “guide to fixing bikes…for the first time.”
– The New York Times is singing the praises of Denmark’s “bicycle superhighway” and “karma campaigns” for people who ride bicycles while others think that NYC’s bike routes are already up there with other major bicycling cities’ like those in Copenhagen and London.
– In Chicago, bicycle transportation for students received support from 35th Ward Alderman Rey Colón who volunteered to cork traffic on a planning and Kidical Mass ride.
– Florida is “experimenting” with allowing bicycles on small stretches of formerly limited-access state highways.
– A mobile, solar-powered street light built from bicycle parts and soda cans is allowing people in rural Mali avoid the extreme daytime heat by lighting up nighttime activities.
– And finally, a video from Puerto Rico shows how people are finding fun, freedom, and “childlike…simplicity” in urban cycling:
Thanks for reading.
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IRT the Boise, ID article, which is the part that we thought “would never happen” – that after running the red light, the man riding a bicycle struck a car or that he received a ticket for running the red light?
I can’t believe this doesn’t happen more often based on the risks I see certain cyclists take daily.
Are you referring to seeing it happen more often in Portland or in Boise?
If you meant Portland, yes, I see your point. If you meant Boise, no it’s unlikely and this is definitely a rare situation.
Regarding bicycle-motor vehicle collisions, I’ve overheard a lot of people say “bikes don’t hit cars” or “people on bikes don’t run into people in cars”.
And people don’t bite dogs frequently enough to talk about either.
Ah, but when Man actually does Bite Dog it is usually a funny news story that gets broad distribution on the AP Wire.
That clif bar move is pretty freakin’ amazing.
Clif awarded its employees with a decent quality, practical, serviceable bike, a Public V3 with a special paint job and some other features. Much better bike than the BSO-‘bike shaped object’ employees of the Danish furniture retailer were awarded with a couple years ago.
http://publicbikes.com/p/PUBLIC-V3
I enjoyed the Puerto Rico video. I had a couple of business trips there and didn’t see many bikes on the streets. My friends there are around Aguidilla, well away from the San Juan urban area shown. Some of them are regular bicycle commuters and many ride the trails around Rincon. There are some avid riding groups and it’s good to see a push to add some accommodations and educate other roadway users. I’ll share this with my friends and see if they have comments.
NY Times article about Copenhagen envy:
Awww … the NYC bike scene is experiencing Portland Cycling Inferiority Complex.
Portland has come to Bike Snob:)
Brian Hansen, the head of Copenhagen’s traffic planning section:
“A typical cyclist uses the bicycle within five kilometers,” or about three miles”
Hmmmmm…
Wow, CLIFF, show’em how it’s done.
Wasn’t posted in the roundup, but over at the O, there was a link for an interesting solar-pedal powered EV:
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Organic-Transit-Elf-Hybrid-Vehicle,news-15949.html
http://www.organictransit.com/models.html
At 100lbs, it’s not particularly light, but electric assist can make that extra weight manageable. Styling looks good. Shelter from the rain is good. If the front window isn’t either removable or able to be tilted open, even with open doors, it seems as though the front of the interior would be like a greenhouse. No dimensions offered, but the pics have it looking a little wide to be riding on bike trails, as the copy suggests it’s slim enough for.
I’m pretty excited about the Fanno Creek trail – Hall Blvd crossing.
A yellow-red light signaled, mid-block grade crossing at Hall Blvd is destined to raise awareness of the park’s presence and the number of people visiting it, on people traveling the road by motor vehicle. Many of them may be traveling the road without even being aware they’re crossing over a park of substantial size.
I wonder what the length of time from when the walk button is pushed until it turns red, will be, and how many seconds will park visitors be allowed to cross; also, whether it will be a countdown-audio-tactile buzz type signal.
I’ve road the Fanno Creek Trail once before. I felt the crossing at Hall BLVD was uncharacteristic of the whole experience and it definitely threw me off.
I love the slow zone expansion in NYC! This will happen in other urban areas in the upcoming years.
The Puerto Rican video was amazing to watch.
ANOTHER MONDAY ROUNDUP ACED!!! GJ WILL!