Month: January 2010

by
Luke X. Martin,
Jan 20, 2010

The Chicago Police
Department is teaming up with Lincoln
Park business owners and residents to give new mobility
to local police efforts.

The Lincoln Park
Chamber of Commerce, along with the Clark Street Special Service Area, donated
18 mountain bikes to Chicago police this week. Police said the bikes
will help them stay more visible.

Sgt. Mike
Neckermann of Chicago police’s Central Command Group said the
bikes should hit the streets in a couple of weeks. He said the bicycles
will go to officers in the 18th, 19th and 23rd districts, which stretch
from the Chicago River to Lawrence
Avenue .  The districts are bound by the North
Branch Chicago River to the west and the lakefront to the
east.

“It’s more of what
we like to call a curb-to-curb approach,” Neckermann said. “In a car,
you’re somewhat limited as to your areas of patrol. Sometimes you’re boxed in in
a car. You miss out on things you can see, smell,
whatever.”

Neckermann, who
estimated the department already uses about 500 bikes, said the new
bicycles will provide a welcome upgrade to officers already patrolling on
two wheels.

Clark Street SSA
Director Bruce Longanecker Sr. said many business owners were looking for ways
to improve safety along the Lincoln
Park ’s Clark
Street corridor. The commission came up
with the idea of donating the bikes about six months ago.  “Talking to the police officers we found
that the bikes that they have were cannibalized,” or put together from parts of
other bicycles, he said.

Longanecker said
he hopes the new bikes help police protect Lincoln Park homes and businesses.  “It’s
to make the street more inviting for the businesses and for the residents,” he
said.  Cmdr. Ken Angarone said
bicycles also make police more mobile.  “A bike can move in and out of
traffic,” Angarone said. “If they have to, they can use the
sidewalk.”

Angarone, who
heads the police department’s 18th District, said the bicycles also help break
down physical barriers between police and those they protect.
 

”Members of the
community have no problem speaking to an officer riding by on a bike,” Angarone
said.  “Sometimes they’ll get information on a crime trend or something
that’s going on that they weren’t aware of.”

The
extra bikes also help police cover more ground.  Angarone mentioned Oz
Park, at the corner of Lincoln and Webster avenues, as one place police can
better patrol on a bike.

A press release
from the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce said the donation was valued at
$25,000.  The money came from Lincoln Park SSA’s 2010 budget, which is
drawn from the area’s property taxes.

“The commission
that oversees Clark Street SSA wanted to do something to improve security,” said
Loren Dinneen, director of special projects for the Lincoln Park Chamber of
Commerce.  “(The police) have had a tremendous need for additional bikes,
so we were happy to donate them.”

Continue reading “New bikes to make North Side police more mobile, visible”

Pittsburgh will soon offer a secure parking situation for commuters who cycle rather than drive into town.

The Bicycle Commuter Center has been built on the northern side of the Century Building in the Cultural District. The concept is simple: Two shipping containers have been converted into indoor bicycle storage with space for 26 bikes. The bikes in the facility will be safe from vandalism, theft, rain and snow–elements to which they may be vulnerable with on-street parking. Annual leases will begin April 1, and are available for $100, with a $10 key deposit. There are also 21 wall-racks and official BikePGH racks outside, available for free for short-term Cultural District parking.

Originally found at POPCity.com

At the unseen police officer in front?

Who are you honking at? from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo.

Continue reading “Dude! Who do you think you’re honking at?”

Since I am car free I plugged in my bike millage into the "True Cost of Driving Calculator." So if you are interested in what you are saving or what it is costing you to drive check it out:
Continue reading “I saved $8,000 by being car free”

Florida –
Killing cats = $249,000 bail and not to mention the accused having to wear a bulletproof vest when going to the hearing.
Killing a cyclist = $100,000 bail and not to mention the accused being DUI at the time, being a hit-and-run, trying to evade police and the cyclist was riding in the bike lane.
Have we become so callused that human beings are simply roadkill and is just an "accident"? Don’t get me wrong I am horrified by both crimes but the needless loss of a human life being less then half of that of cats is also horrifying.
Continue reading “Killing cats vs killing a cyclist”

-> According to a Jan. 5th Wall Street Journal article, "Physical activity has long been known to bestow such benefits as helping to maintain a healthy weight and reduce stress, not to mention tightening those abs. Now, a growing body of research is showing that regular exercise-as simple as a brisk 30- to 45-minute walk five times a week-can boost the body’s immune system, increasing the circulation of natural killer cells that fight off viruses and bacteria. And exercise has been shown to improve the body’s response to the influenza vaccine, making it more effective at keeping the virus at bay."
"’No pill or nutritional supplement has the power of near-daily moderate activity in lowering the number of sick days people take,’ says David Nieman, director of Appalachian State University’s Human Performance Lab in Kannapolis, N.C. Dr. Nieman has conducted several randomized controlled studies showing that people who walked briskly for 45 minutes, five days a week over 12 to 15 weeks had fewer and less severe upper respiratory tract infections, such as colds and flu. These subjects reduced their number of sick days 25% to 50% compared with sedentary control subjects, he says…"
Continue reading “THE HIDDEN BENEFITS OF EXERCISE”

A large assortment of interesting or cool bikes pics.

Continue reading “Imagine pedaling into the sunset, riding these cool machines”

Continue reading “When life imitates art”