Category: Biking Elsewhere

from Streetsblog Capitol Hill by Tanya Snyder

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Mayors are speaking out against ineffective transportation funding mechanisms that direct scarce resources to sprawling highways and away from urban transit and safer streets for walking and biking.
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He was talking about a new survey of 176 mayors showing that 93 percent of mayors want greater control over federal transportation dollars, which normally flow through the states, shortchanging metro areas.

In the words of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which sponsored the survey:

Metropolitan areas account for 86 percent of employment, 90 percent of wage income, and over the next 20 years, 94 percent of the nation’s economic growth, but they are saddled with the nation’s worst traffic jams, its oldest roads and bridges, and transit systems at capacity. Simply put, these areas are receiving significantly less in federal transportation investments than would reflect their role and importance to the nation’s economy.

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Three-fifths of mayors also said the lack of funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects was a problem. “These aren’t gimmicks anymore,” said Reed. “They’re part of a having a high quality of life in the cities where we live.”

The mayors also made clear they wouldn’t favor a gas tax increase if transportation funds were allocated in the traditional way, but that 70 percent would support it if a share of the funding were allocated directly to local governments, and with more money going to bike and pedestrian infrastructure.
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Continue reading “Mayors Rebel Against State-Controlled Highway Expansion, Fight For Transit”

For more: https://freeassociationdesign.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/circuits-beneath-the-freeway/

from Streetsblog Capitol Hill by Tanya Snyder

Got five minutes to help strengthen and refine pedestrian advocacy? America Walks has put out a survey on walking habits, and they hope the answers will advance understanding of why people walk and what would motivate people to walk more. The survey explores, among other questions:

• What motivates and sustains avid walkers? What deters others?
• How did they start walking, and what are their routines?
• What makes a neighborhood walkable or not?
• What do walkers believe are the psychological and physical benefits?

America Walks is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to the rights of pedestrians. After 15 years of advocacy, it’s in the process of reinventing itself, partnering with organizations from AARP to the National Associations of Realtors to get more people “up off couch and walking out the door.”

The survey closes in early June. Click here to start.

Continue reading “How Much Do You Walk? …And Other Questions From America Walks”

Company Says Car’s Tires Can Be Upgraded For Shag Carpeting
via the Onion

“This is the perfect car for an active family,” said 36-year-old Anna Cavallo of Towson, MD, who test drove a Reside prototype for six months in her duplex townhouse. “I just pull right into my kids’ rooms in the morning, honk them awake, and drive them over to get breakfast in the kitchen.”
Continue reading “Chrysler Introduces New Midsized Sedan For In-Home Use”

a b s t r a c t
This study determined the rate and associated factors of red light infringement among urban commuter cyclists. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using a covert video camera to record cyclists at 10 sites across metropolitan Melbourne, Australia from October 2008 to April 2009. In total, 4225 cyclists faced a red light and 6.9% were non-compliant. The main predictive factor for infringement was direction of travel, cyclists turning left (traffic travels on the left-side in Australia) had 28.3 times the relative odds of infringement compared to cyclists who continued straight through the intersection. Presence of other road users had a deterrent effect with the odds of infringement lower when a vehicle travelling in the same direction was present (OR = 0.39, 95% CI 0.28–0.53) or when other cyclists were present (OR = 0.26, 95% CI 0.19–0.36). Findings suggest that some cyclists do not perceive turning left against a red signal to be unsafe and the opportunity to ride through the red light during low cross traffic times influences the likelihood of infringement.
Continue reading “Riding through red lights: The rate, characteristics and risk factors of non-compliant urban commuter cyclists”

from Commute by Bike by Ted Johnson

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3. Adapt Your Pitch For Each Potential Convert

For each person who wants to know more–if anyone does–the first part of your pitch should, It’s fun. Oddly, most people like fun.

But what comes next should vary from person to person, based on what you know about him or her.

It’s fun, and I get in a good workout.

It’s fun, and I’m saving the planet.

It’s fun, and I’m sticking it to the Saudis.

It’s fun, and I’m saving a bunch of money on gas.

It’s fun, and I don’t have to hunt for parking everyday.

The International Bike Fund has a page “60 Benefits of Bike Commuting” with many advantages that can be stuck on the end of, It’s fun, and…

(#61 is, It’s fun.)

2. Tell A Personal Story, But Don’t Be A Windbag

If you have a story of how your commute makes you feel, and why it’s worth the extra preparation and learning curve, tell it. But be alert for that glazed look in their eyes. Maybe practice your story until you can get it down to 30 seconds.

1. If Possible, Don’t Be Seen In Spandex This Month.

And if you do wear spandex, for Pete’s sake, don’t rave about the joy of cycling while wearing it.

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Continue reading “It’s Bike Month: Get Out There and Proselytize!”

“NHTSA, AAA join together for National Bike Safety Month with new “Roll Model” campaign” reads the headline from Secretary LaHood’s blog.

Ohhh, I have a brilliant idea, lets get the pro-motoring groups together to tell bicyclists that they need to ride to the right, out of the way of cars or you are not setting a good example. And remember dear cyclists you need to wear a helmet because we are going to incorrectly tell motorist where you “need” to ride and if you are not they just might act out and if you are riding right they might feel they do not have to adjust their position on the roadway, it’s a lose, lose situation for cyclists. And of course they are not going to consult with the League of American Bicyclists.

And they have the gall to use a sign that has not been accepter by the standards committee and is not in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

Seriously, NHTSA and AAA you need to be the role model and involve the national experts on bicycling safety and stop making up rules that are a very poor summery of laws as well as safety advice.

Feel free to leave a comment on NHTSA, AAA join together for National Bike Safety Month
with new “Roll Model” campaign and ask if ever NHTSA and AAA are going to consult with the League of American Bicyclists?

So far no comments have appeared on LaHood’s blog but Facebook comments seem to be getting through: https://www.facebook.com/sec.lahood/posts/146321035437828?ref=notif&notif_t=like (I hope that link works.)

by Kavitha Cardoza

Doctors may need some education too

Even when obese children finally make it to the doctor’s office, however, their physician might not have all the answers.

“Most physicians are up a tree when asked what to do about a heavy child,” says Dr. Jack Yanovski, a pediatrician and researcher at the National Institutes of Health.

Many pediatricians haven’t been trained to treat children who are 300 or 400 pounds, he says. A doctor might suggest exercise, but it isn’t that simple.

“Because of their extra body weight, they reach their maximum exercise at an earlier stage,” says Yanovski. “So that means for very heavy folks, exercise programs have to be designed to involve a very slow progressive rise in the amount of exercise so that they can learn to tolerate more and more physical activity.”

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In search of sustenance in D.C.’s ‘food deserts’

What aggravates the situation further is that his healthy food options are limited because he lives in the District’s Ward 7, which has been designated a food desert. With so few grocery stores selling fresh produce in the area, fruits and vegetables aren’t easily accessible.

“If your choices are taking two or three buses and then paying someone $20 to get home to go to the grocery store versus a couple of dollars to eat in your own neighborhood, the choice is obvious for someone operating on a very limited budget,” says Kristen Roberts with D.C. Hunger Solutions, the group that authored the food deserts study.

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Neighborhoods can hinder exercise

Saquont’e knows on top of eating healthy foods he should be exercising as well. But he isn’t sure how much, or what calories actually mean.

Saquont’e signed up for martial arts classes, but he had to take two buses and a train to get there so he stopped. And walking around his neighborhood after school isn’t a safe option. Just a few months ago, there was a shooting right inside the apartment complex where he lives.

“A black van pulled up and just shot up this whole area trying to get this one person,” says Saquont’e. “My mom was there but ran to the laundromat.”

No one was killed, but people were hurt. Now, he stays indoors after school, either sleeping or playing video games. That’s the reality for many children, but some groups are trying to provide more options.

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Continue reading “For Teens, A Healthier Life Is Not Always In Reach”

By Elizabeth Vandenburg
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"We need help to convince parents and kids to ride the bus or walk or ride a bike to school," said Dean Tisdadt, FCPS chief operating officer and head of facilities and transportation services.
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At Bull Run Elementary School, the car line climbs to 200 some mornings.
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But in an April 7 letter to Griffin, Dale said emphasis should be made on changing parents’ attitudes about driving their children to school so sidewalks and other construction projects would not go to waste.
"Parental and student behaviors remain an obstacle to this goal," Dale said.
Dale’s letter included results from a 2008 online parent survey on Kiss and Ride to show the unwillingness among parents to have their children ride the bus or walk to school:
* 60 percent of designated walkers and 39 percent of designated bus riders were driven to school.
* Of the designated walkers, almost 30 percent said they will continue to use Kiss and Ride even if safety improvements are made.
* Some reasons listed for why Kiss and Ride will continue: heavy backpacks, convenience, inclement weather and letting the kids sleep later.
When asked what would be required to consider getting their kids back on the bus, 61 percent did not choose one of the available responses, leading the school system to conclude there is nothing the schools could do to convince parents not to use Kiss and Ride.
"We can’t even get the current [designated] walkers out of cars," Tistadt said. "We don’t want to build trails to nowhere."
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Continue reading “Traffic Nightmares During Schools’ Arrival, Dismissal”

I wish there was more.

found via Copenhagenize.com