my social production
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Viewing all posts tagged "cycling"
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Some day I’d like to make my own bike. As cool as this one looks, I imagine mine would be a more comfortable ride.
Note: Just realized these are classified as “bicycle art” and are not necessarily suitable for actual use.
Bike of the day:
Did a little sleuthing, turns out one of the guys downstairs in the shoe store made it, and he’s made tons more:
gaskill-art.blogspot.com/
This one is called “Josephine” - more pics here: gaskill-art.blogspot.com/2009/04/josephine.html. So cool!(via dbox)
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1 plays
Nice little podcast about New York City’s new transportation development strategy, in which bicycle traffic features prominently. You can listen to right here in your browser (click the play button above), or go here to read the full article for more info and to download it for yourself.
New York City Commissioner of Transportation Janette Sadik-Khan came to Toronto on Earth Day to speak at an event organized by Walk and Bike for Life. She spoke extensively about cycling (calling it not an alternative mode of transit, but something mainstream and ideally suited to the flat terrain of New York), but she also went much, much further. We feature almost her entire speech in this episode, and you’ve got to hear it to believe it.
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Survey Shows Increase in Toronto Cyclists but Also Safety Concerns
Really interesting survey results of people’s attitudes toward and practice of cycling in Toronto. Excerpts and graphic below; click through for full article.
The municipal government has released the results from an extensive survey that compares the state of cycling in the city 1999 and 2009. … Although overall cycling participation has increased six per cent since 1999, and 72 per cent of respondents think that the quality of routes and infrastructure has improved, there remains dissatisfaction. [Most] cyclists think that dedicated bike lanes on city streets would greatly improve cycling in Toronto. In fact, of the 40 per cent of recreational cyclists (those who ride solely for leisure) who would consider commuting to school or work, roughly half said they would do so if conditions were safer than they are now.
But perhaps the most telling of the many statistics to be found here is the overall quality rating of cycling in Toronto. Although the responses of non-cyclists indicate a noticeable improvement over the 1999 numbers, those who do cycle — regardless of their specific purpose — aren’t any more pleased with the experience of Toronto bike riding than those who responded a decade ago.
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Anyone care to use an elevated biking system? Check this out for a highly-detailed and ambitious project that puts cyclists above the streets.
From the Kolelinia website:
Kolelinia is a city fly attempt… a concept for riding our own bikes on a steel wire, a new type of bicycle-lanes…
Can this actually work?
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Left on red, extended amber lights for cyclist safety
While I’ve argued elsewhere that red traffic lights ought to be reserved for cars, I fully understand it’s difficult for a person with some authority to endorse cycling through red lights. But it’s high time people understand that pulling away from the lights along with all the accelerating cars is a dangerous operation, and possibly creates more danger than the act of cycling through the red light.
Sure, experienced cyclists ought to be able to pull away fast as a tiger well ahead of accelerating cars, what about inexperienced cyclists who don’t have the burst power or confidence to do so? And while it’s true that inexperienced cyclists might increase their risk by jumping red lights, why not make it optional rather than legislating against the entire cycling community?
Don’t forget that traffic lights were invented to aid traffic and pedestrian flow, not to increase safety. Since cycling through them does not affect traffic / pedestrian flow, the original reason does not apply to bikes. Some councils are starting to change the rules to accommodate bikes. In Hackney, cyclists are allowed to go both ways on one-way roads. Other councils are already considering allowing this and it is already common in Europe.
One of the quickest, easiest, cheapest (it’s free) legal measures that can be taken immediately is to allow cyclists to turn left at red lights, provided they give way to all other vehicles or pedestrians who have the right of way. Boris Johnson pledged in 2008 that, as mayor, he would allow cyclists to turn left at red lights. In early 2009, he even he wrote a letter to the DfT outlining his plan. But he never submitted a formal proposal to change the left-on-red law for cyclists, and the issue has pretty much died in London.
In Copenhagen, quite possibly the ideal urban cycling environment, there are dedicated cyclist traffic lights. A similar solution in London would be too costly to implement, but there’s a cheaper alternative: simply lengthen the phase of the yellow light before it turns green. The new rule would be, “Cyclists treat the yellow light as a green.” As little as 3-5 seconds would make a big difference and ought not to anger even the most impatient drivers.
Visualise the new traffic light phasing with an added amber phase following red:
green -> amber (current length) -> red -> pause for opposing traffic -> amber (extended length for bikes to get a head start) -> green
Red and green would continue to apply to all modes of traffic – bikes, cars, motorbikes, buses, etc. The only difference is the amber following the red: its extended length would provide cyclists a head start on motorized vehicles.
I’d love to start a campaign for “left on red for cyclists” or the extended amber light. Thoughts, anyone?
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