(Image: Bike Delaware)
Here are the bike-related links from around the world that caught our eyes this week:
Killing “share the road”: A new study has verified that people don’t understand the road sign, but they understand “bicycles may use full lane” signs perfectly.
Walkability shortage: More people live in yard-and-driveway neighborhoods with but yearn for walkably attached homes than the other way around. That’s one finding from a recent survey about active transportation and real estate preferences.
No you first: An Austin fixie user figured out how to halt and bewilder a Google car: a track stand.
More trucks: The pullout of two big shipping companies from the Port of Portland this year has put 1,700 more trucks on local roads.
Mountain biking: Ski resorts are turning to the sport for revenue since it doesn’t snow very much any more.
Folding bikes: London manufacturer Brompton will open a new consolidated factory with double its current floorspace.
Sydney backpedals: The minister of roads in New South Wales is about to remove a much-ridden protected bike lane over the protests of Sydney’s mayor.
Pedestrian vs. bike: After a UK woman on a bike failed to yield to a person walking in front of her in a crosswalk (and possibly flipped him a finger) he ran after her and pushed her over.
Federal clarification: A bunch of the excuses that conservative engineers use for not building bike lanes are myths, according to a new memo from the Federal Highway Administration. (Portland’s top signals engineer, Peter Koonce, is quoted saying this could allow more bike signals.)
Speed limits: Another myth: that cities must base speed limits on how fast people drive.
Market shift: The U.S. auto industry is focusing on its base, Bloomberg says: “old people.”
Electric cars: All BMWs will be hybrid or emission-free within 10 years, the company says.
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Montreal’s secrets: Here are eight from Canada’s longtime biking capital.
Vision Zero LA: The latest city to sign on to the goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2025 is Los Angeles.
Vision Zero NYC: One year after New York made it a criminal misdemeanor to fail to yield to someone walking or biking with the right of way, the city’s police seem to have used the law a grand total of 31 times.
Normal violence: Eight-year-old Jadann Williams was playing in a Brooklyn cul-de-sac when Reginald Auguste killed her with his car. Ryan Romans, an acquaintance of Williams, then punched Auguste. Police have charged Romans with assault and Auguste with nothing.
Niceness in numbers: Rude bike riders are really annoying, says New York Magazine’s Justin Davidson. The only solution is to build protected bike lanes until normal people outnumber rude ones.
Biking in India: It’s way cheaper.
Bikes on Amtrak: Roll-on access (usually with reservations) was just allowed on four new train lines.
Washington advocacy: Washington’s statewide advocacy group may merge with the Seattle-focused Cascade Bicycle Club.
Sadik-Khan book: The former NYC transportation director (now leading an international effort funded by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg to save cities from cars) has published a book about her work.
“Crash” vs “accident”: I’m going to quote a passage in full from the Washington Post’s summary of the merits of changing the public language about street collisions:
Before the labor movement, factory owners would say “it was an accident” when American workers were injured in unsafe conditions.
Before the movement to combat drunk driving, intoxicated drivers would say “it was an accident” when they crashed their cars.
Planes don’t have accidents. They crash. Cranes don’t have accidents. They collapse. And as a society, we expect answers and solutions.
If you come across a noteworthy bicycle story, send it in via email, Tweet @bikeportland, or whatever else and we’ll consider adding it to next Monday’s roundup.