OK, you convinced me!
Just slap some paint on it
Well, there's a 'well-designed' bike lane.
And I'm willing to bet that people who drive like this are the same sort people who (without a hint of irony) complain about money spent on bike lanes that cyclists don't use. [twitterer]
But then again, if a bike lane is done properly it can reduce traffic. Wait. What the…? Can it be true?
But bike lanes are so ugly though.
Ah sod it, just paint a line on the road!
"Won't somebody please think of the children!"
CityLab on the link between kids who walk or bike to school and concentration:
According to the results of a Danish study released late last year, my Dutch friends are giving their daughter a less tangible but more lasting gift along with that bicycle: the ability to concentrate better. The survey looked at nearly 20,000 Danish kids between the ages of 5 and 19. It found that kids who cycled or walked to school, rather than traveling by car or public transportation, performed measurably better on tasks demanding concentration, such as solving puzzles, and that the effects lasted for up to four hours after they got to school.
This is an interesting justification:
But many other parents drive their kids because it's easier, or seems to be easier. They often frame it as a kindness to the child to spare them "trudging" all the way to school, even if that trek is only half a mile long. As these short driving trips become the societal norm, it gets more and more difficult for families to deviate from them. School traffic begets school traffic.
Related, ABC News:
A study of parental attitudes about children's security on the streets has found the more walkable a neighbourhood, the more likely parents are to give their kids some independence.
And here's the kicker:
"On the flipside, when they perceived there was more vehicle traffic about, they tended to be more fearful for their children."
I, for one, find this very sad…
Perhaps we should look at the infrastructure, as the Heart Foundation and Cycling Promotion Fund did in this Investment in Active Transport Survey:
If cycling and/or walking infrastructure for travelling to and from school was improved, a significantly high proportion of parents reported that they would allow their child(ren) to walk and/or ride to school.
Safety and separation of bike/walk paths were the two biggest issues, that, if improved, would lead to parents being more likely to allow kids to ride or walk to and from school.
And still more, from the Canberra Times Fewer ACT children riding bikes:
Some time ago a large number of children in Canberra stopped riding their bikes.
It is a mystery for the city's cycling lobby Pedal Power, all the more baffling because in all other categories in a national participation survey for cycling, Canberra comes out on top
And yet, it is really such a mystery? [twitterer]
Compulsory #quaxing
The Centralian Advocate reports:
Visiting medical specialists to Alice Springs do not get private access to fleet cars — and must instead do their shopping and explore the town on supplied bicycles.
Is that quaxing by contract?
AMA NT president Dr Robert Parker said other jurisdictions normally provided cars for visiting doctors' private use.
"I would think if they (doctors) are looking at their emails and see in Queensland they are given a car and in the Territory they get a bike, I know where I'd be going, unless you're an exercise fanatic," he said.
Bike share
The Washington Post asks are bike share programs successful?
"Bike-share's performance in replacing motor vehicle trips has been less than most expected, and future efforts to transfer trips previously done by car to bike-share will help underpin the potential benefits of bikeshare," Fishman wrote.
The good wood
New prototype wooden bicycle to be used as a test for structural techniques and is actually a not entirely unattractive looking bike:
Italian designer AERO has created a prototype wooden bicycle frame from layers of birch to test timber structural techniques that can be applied to architectural construction projects
AERO's prototype frame
Words + actions
Streetsblog USA invited you to meet a police chief who actually says reckless driving won't be tolerated:
Koss said he has been haunted throughout his career by driving deaths that were the result of senseless risk taking. He said his department has "zero tolerance" for that kind of behavior and felt guilty the police department hadn't done more to prevent Marshall from driving.
Up you and yours
#youandyours went apeshit on Twitter when BBC Radio 4's Call You and Yours phone-in topic was: Do you think it's time to ask cyclists to take a test before they're allowed on the roads?
In response Bez brought some perspective. [Recommended read of the week there]
But not wanting to miss out on the "reaction" that a bit of good ol' cyclist bashing can bring, @itvthismorning:
Today's cycling debate got a lot of reaction
It's all about the "reaction", isn't it? Yes indeed, those bloody selfish cyclists.
Burns fat, saves you (and society) $$$
It is six times more expensive for society - and for you individually - if you travel by car instead of cycling. This has been shown in a Lund University study of Copenhagen, a city of cyclists. It is the first time a price has been put on car use as compared to cycling.
Related, Mark Treasure discussed who the real Space Invaders are on the road:
What I am driving at here (excuse the pun) is that the quality of the driving experience actually depends on large numbers of people not driving. One might even go so far as to say that the urban motorist is to some extent a freeloader; his or her driving convenience is actually purchased thanks to other people’s willingness to walk, to cycle, or to take public transport – often in less than ideal, or hostile, British conditions.
[Another highly recommended read there]
Conflict resolution
Vienna has a dangerous intersection on a popular cycling route, so after much consideration the "solution" is to change the signs and give priority to rat-running cars. A @Bob_Gunderson solution is ever I saw one. [twitterer]
It's the infrastructure (1)
More gems from the Heart Foundation/CPF Investment in Active Transport Survey:
More than 70% of people would support the increase of Government funding to help fund infrastructure for cycling, walking and public transport.
In fact, for those who have never cycled or used public transport, more than one in two would still support additional Government funding for cycling, walking and public transport infrastructure.
The community feels it is important to increase funding on infrastructure making bike/walk paths safe for users, separating bike/walk paths and improving the accessibility and reliability of public transport.
Close to one in three people believe there should be a reallocation of funds from roads to walking infrastructure, with one in four also holding the view that Government should shift funding from roads to cycling infrastructure.
And so on…
It's the infrastructure (2)
Likewise, Copenhagen was not Copenhagen. [twitterer]
Calling Captain Obvious
Now, I don't claim to know much about bike racing or feminism, but even I can see that this was a monumentally stupid idea:
The organisers of the Flanders Diamond Tour have apologised after bikini-clad podium girls flanked cyclists in post-race pictures.
And who exactly thought that would be a good idea at a women's bike race? And did they really need it explained to them?
I've wondered before which major professional bicycle race is going to be the first to abolish podium girls. I mean, what century are we in, FFS? It really is time for podium girls to go—and no, introducing podium boys to women's races is not the answer either.
Hmm, I wonder to what extent sexism is hurting the sport of cycling?
Thanks, but no thanks
road.cc reviewed the Seasucker Talon Bike Rack an:
Ingenious rack sticks your bike on just about any car, and it's very quick and easy to use too
Twelve-word review nails it
They seemed to like it but I kinda prefer Chris Gerhard's twelve-word review: "There are no circumstances where I would trust my bike to this."
On transformation and inspiration
And finally, I'd like to leave you with a reflection from chasing mailboxes on transformation and inspiration:
I then added bicycling to my routine. I rode primarily as a way to familiarize myself with the city, but discovered that I really liked riding. It was rewarding to reach a new place that seemed relatively far away under my own power. I was enticed to keep doing it…
The people I’ve known– and continue to meet– through riding and running encourage me to stay on the course I have chosen. They don’t evangelize an active lifestyle; they just live it, and help me believe that I can live it too.
[Go on, make sure you read the whole thing]