baltimorespokes

from TheWashCycle by washcycle
CM Mendelson had a hearing on Friday about the enforcement of traffic laws, specifically with an eye on keeping vulnerable users safe. He heard some stories where vulnerable users were hurt or killed, but the driver was not even ticketed, or worse, the cyclist or pedestrian was without being interviewed.
Sometimes, victims testified, they haven’t been interviewed about the accidents in which they were injured.
Washington Area Bicyclist Association Executive Director Shane Farthing said the city’s police officers "often lack a basic understanding of cycling in the District." He cited examples of a cyclist fined $100 after a taxi rider opened his door into the biker.
…
Continue reading “DC Bicyclists ask for better enforcement of traffic laws”

by Boston Biker

Lets make one thing crystal clear. Cyclists are not slowing you down. You read that correctly, cyclists are not the reason you are not going as fast as you want to go.

“But what about when they ride in the street!!!!!11!!!”

No, stop it. Listen.

C Y C L I S T S A R E N O T T H E O N E S S L O W I N G Y O U D O W N.

This is not a matter of opinion, this is a simple math problem. I can prove this with a piece of paper and a pencil. I can tell by the look on your face that you don’t believe me. You think I am just another smug cyclists using your road and slowing you down.

Ok lets do a little thought experiment. Every day while you sit in traffic and wonder why traffic isn’t moving, I want you to take a good look at what is in front of you, and take another good look at what is behind you. Keep a little note book, write down what you see. After a month or two, add up your results. I am going to guess that “cyclists” = 0 and “other people in cars” = a whole fucking bunch. Cyclists are not the ones slowing you down.

Need more proof, how about we use some more math. A person on a bicycle takes up 8-10 sq foot of road, a car takes up 100+ square feet of road. Road space is limited…do the math. Cyclists are not the ones slowing you down.

“But one time this guy on a bike got right in front of me and I had to go around, slowing me down!!!!”

You know one time I found a ten dollar bill on the ground, you know what happened the other 99.99% of the time, I didn’t. Cyclists are not the ones slowing you down.

You want to know what is slowing you down? You are. You are the problem. Every day you get in your car all by your self and you drive to work. You take up all sorts of space on the street just so you can move yourself (and no one else) a couple miles down the street. You are getting in everyone way. You are taking up space on the street that another car driver could use. You speed up too fast, and then have to slam on your brakes because you don’t pay attention to the timing of red lights. You are taking up parking spots, you are blocking that driveway, you are are keeping the bus from making that turn. You didn’t let that guy merge in so he is blocking both lanes. You stopped half way into the intersection. You are slowing you down.

…

Ever wonder why car commercials always show empty streets with only one car speeding around? It’s because they don’t want everyone else to see you! You getting in their way. You causing traffic. You slowing everyone down.

Just because they lied to you, and you swallowed it hook line and sinker doesn’t mean that you have the right to be a dangerous jerk bag on the streets to the only vehicles without metal armor (cyclists). If you really want to get mad at someone for all that traffic, tilt your review mirror down till you can see your own reflection and scream till you feel better.

Continue reading “Lets Make One Thing Clear, I Am Not Slowing You Down”

By Dr. Janet Horn and Dr. Robin Miller
When you first saw the title of this article, you immediately thought it was hogwash, right?
You were a bit disappointed, too, because doctors are supposed to be honest, and discuss only the treatments that have been scientifically proven to work; and everyone knows that there is no such thing as a miracle treatment that keeps you healthy as you age. But, here’s the thing: we are telling you the truth.
First, let us tell you what this miracle treatment can do. It can help you to retain your memory, and possibly even prevent dementia, or at least postpone it for years. It can prevent you from falling, the most common cause of injuries to those of us who no longer even count the number of candles on our birthday cakes. It can, in some cases, keep you from getting arthritis in your knees, and if you already have it, keep you up and moving. It can keep your heart healthy, and if you already have heart disease, it can get you back to feeling great. It can prevent some cancers. If you have diabetes, or high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, it can, in some cases, make them go away, and at the very least, it may allow you to lower your dose of medication for each of these three. It can help you to breathe easy. It can keep you buff and help your sex life. It can help you sleep better, suppress your appetite, and even increase your metabolism. And it can improve your sense of wellbeing, keep your mood positive, and increase how long you live.
We know you’re still doubtful because if such a thing really existed, it would be on TV constantly and all over the internet, and you would’ve probably bought a huge amount of stock in it. But in fact, it not only exists, but all of the effects mentioned above of our miracle treatment have been scientifically proven!
Human beings were meant to move. Every aspect of our bodies’ functioning is geared toward that. On the flip side, movement and mobility are very important to the quality of life. What does this have to do with the miracle treatment? Easy — the miraculous new treatment for all our ills, particularly those accompanying the aging process, is movement. Because of all the negative connotations, we won’t call it exercise or any of those other clinical-sounding names, like “workout” or “physical activity.”
Continue reading “The New Miracle Treatment for Women in Midlife and Beyond: a True Magic Bullet for Staying Healthy and Feeling Good”

This Grist article raises some good questions, do we need more roads, smart growth or new metrics? An excerpt from the Article:
The solution is less sprawl, not more roads: The keenest criticism of the report is that it unjustly penalizes densely-packed cities, which are better than sprawly ones in basically all other ways. Greater Greater Washington explains:
The TTI report narrowly looks at only one factor: how fast traffic moves. Consider two hypothetical cities. In Denseopolis, people live within 2 miles of work on average, but the roads are fairly clogged and drivers can only go about 20 miles per hour. However, it only takes an average of 6 minutes to get to work, which isn’t bad.
On the other hand, in Sprawlville, people live about 30 miles from work on average, but there are lots and lots of fast-moving freeways, so people can drive 60 mph. That means it takes 30 minutes to get to work.
Which city is more congested? By TTI’s methods, it’s Denseopolis. But it’s the people of Sprawlville who spend more time commuting, and thus have less time to be with their families and for recreation.
Continue reading “New report quantifies just how much a car commute crushes your soul”