baltimorespokes

Continue reading “Street Networks: Traffic and Travel Mode Choice”

A $23 million award of stimulus funds Wednesday will make commuting by bike easier in Philadelphia and getting from Cooper River Park in Camden to the City of Brotherly Love by foot or bike a reality in 2012.
The grants — $17.2 million for Philadelphia and $5.8 million for Camden — are part of $1.5 billion awarded from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program on Wednesday.
…
Continue reading “Philadelphia and Camden win stimulus funds for bike trails”

The Virginia Bicycling Federation discussing problems with their 3′ law:

…Here are some of the objections raised, with my response to each:

“Bicyclists are often law breakers, unworthy of any added protection under the law.”

Don’t many drivers fit this category too? Yet they receive protection.

“Bicyclists are inconsiderate when they delay drivers from getting to their destinations, especially in narrow lanes or roads.”

Drivers delay other drivers too. To get on a major arterial near my house in a car, I am often am the only vehicle tripping the traffic signal. This stops upwards of 20-30 cars for 30 seconds or longer. Everyone waits patiently while I get on the highway, then we all travel together about a half mile or so down the road where the process repeats itself. No one honks, screams obscenities, or throws things at me. Yet bicyclists often receive harsh treatment for allegedly impeding a single motorist by far less. This same heat and intimidation was evident in each of the hearings I attended.

The public roads are just that — public, available on a first come, first served principle.

“A 3 ft. passing rule would inconvenience and hazard motorists by requiring them to move into the adjacent or oncoming travel lanes.”

As any experienced cyclist will tell you, this is already a frequent case under the existing law. The new law would have had little to no impact on the vast majority of drivers who pass us safely already. It’s the ones who don’t understand what a safe passing distance is that we are most concerned with. In addition 3 feet accounts for the typical wobble of many cyclists and children, and helps to prevent crashes where a cyclist gets startled and loses control. In short, the changes were not totally about the spandex mafia, though that’s how the legislation was portrayed by opponents.

“Bicyclists should police themselves before coming in asking for added legal protections.”

“Policing ourselves” clean before any headway can be made in bike safety legislation is an impossible standard to meet. It’s unfair too — we don’t ask drivers to police other drivers. Can you imagine AAA warning and cajoling red light runners and speeders? Yet that is what we are being asked. If people are breaking the law to the extent that it is a concern, it should be up to the police to enforce those laws.

Those were the main arguments against. If you are thinking, “Where’s the beef?” you are not alone.

Continue reading “Do we need a name for anti-bike-ism?”

ATTORNEYS and judges may be sticklers to the word of the law but it seems they are not quite so adherent to the rules of the road, topping a list of the the top 10 most dangerous drivers by profession.
A study by online US insurance company insurance.com found 44 per cent of attorneys claimed a prior accident when looking for a car insurance comparison quote from insurance.com.
The findings were based on accident claims as a percentage of quotes in which drivers need to give details of their driving record.
Second in the list came financial professionals followed by government workers while the study found the least dangerous drivers were athletes, with only 17 per cent reporting prior accidents and homemakers at 24 per cent.
"Professions that demand multi-tasking – being on the phone, moving fast on a tight schedule – are prone to more distractions and, from there, more accidents," insurance.com vice-president Sam Belden said.
"Though the job of a homemaker demands multi-tasking, young children are often along for any car ride and when children are involved, people tend to take their time and use greater caution."
He added that homemakers and athletes also tended to be off the road during rush hour.
The Top 10 most dangerous drivers by profession are:
1. Attorney/Judge
2. Financial professionals
3. Government worker
4. Bartender or waiter
5. Business professionals
6. Dog groomer
7. Marketing/advertising professionals
8. Barber/stylist
9. Coach
10. Nurse
Continue reading “Judges most dangerous on road – study”

Continue reading “So cool”

From the League of American Bicyclists
…
Some disappointments:
Portland, OR applied for 21 different grants and had big ambitions for bicycling projects, but only one got funded – it will add a streetcar line and bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
Kansas City, MO/KS put together an excellent application. You can see how they calculated the miles, trips, benefits, and cost in the appendices using resources on the economic impacts of investing in bicycling. They calculated a ten to one return on investment for their proposed project. Kansas City received badly needed funds for sidewalk access to bus stop in what they call a Green Impact Zone. Unfortunately, the bicycling component was stripped out. Brent Hugh from Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation believes Kansas City’s focus on recreational riding hurt their application’s chances.
The good news is there are now dozens of strong projects conceived of and proposals written that can be worked on in the future.
Read more below to see the successful applications that include bicycling components.
Continue reading “TIGER grants fund bicycling (but not here.)”

…
[An excerpt from the 1958 Disneyland TV Show episode entitled Magic Highway USA.]

In his first post on the topic, Avent framed the problem this way:

Every weekday, tens of millions of Americans get into vehicles that are
full of passenger space which won’t be used, with engines capable of
horsepower and speeds that won’t be attained, holding fuel tanks that
could power the car for distances that won’t be traveled. The result of
all this over-engineering is that cars cost way more than a vehicle for
daily commuting need cost, and they consume way more energy than a
vehicle for daily commuting need consume. This all adds up to a
remarkable waste of resources, even before you begin talking about
things like congestion. Why are we stuck in this wasteful equilibrium?

…
Continue reading “Still Looking for That Magic Highway?”