Last week there seemed to be a theme in the cycling news I came across: "problems and solutions". I liked how all the ideas spoke to problems we have here.
Reclaiming the street in Dhaka, Bangladesh:
If we loved our kids more than our cars
Even though car owners are very much the minority, children's freedom has been greatly curtailed by those cars cars. Those whose parents do have cars are driven everywhere; those whose parents do not, unless they are very poor, are escorted by adults, and strictly prohibited from playing outdoors. It sometimes seems the only children in the city who have the opportunity for wholehearted pleasure, and who have confidence and skill in negotiating the streets, are the slum children.
...a few months later, a couple of my colleagues came into my office and announced that on that very afternoon, they were starting a cycle training program. A what? We have been working to promote cycling, and fighting with transport officials on the issue of cycle rickshaw bans in Dhaka; ...
Bike Boxes in Portland, Oregon
After Six Deaths, Portland rolls out plans for 'bike boxes'
The boxes reserve a spot in front of cars at red lights, Burchfield said. When the light changes, the position gives bikes "some measure of priority. They're able to move out of the intersection first, ahead of cars."
Parking in Queens and Brooklyn, New York
Sleek Bike Parking Facilities Appear in Queens and Brooklyn
2008 quickly bring good news for commuters in Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City, Queens. Eric Chang of Transportation Alternatives' Queens Committee snapped these photos of the new covered bike shelter ...
Winter Commuting in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Ultrafit: A two-wheel winter commute
With the right gear, riding your bike to and from work in the winter can be a lot more enjoyable than it sounds. Here are some tips on doing it right.
Comments
Treadly and Me (not verified)
Bike boxes--good
Wed, 01/09/2008 - 22:43In Melbourne we've had bike boxes at intersections for some years now and they are really effective. They give riders the confidence to roll to the front where visibility is much better.
You really notice it when you come to an intersection that doesn't have a bike box!
darren
bike boxes please
Thu, 01/10/2008 - 10:57I'm afraid bike boxes are something that makes a lot of sense to cyclists, but won't go over well with motorists.
Interesting that Melbourne has them. Vancouver has them too (which contradicts the Portland article). More good experiences with them will help make their benefit clear to everyone.
-dj
Luke Siragusa (not verified)
It's amusing to hear
Thu, 01/10/2008 - 08:41It's amusing to hear colleagues and friends remark that year round cyclists are 'extreme' or 'hardcore', as if a drop in mercury transforms a mild mannered middle aged office worker into a radical urban velo-warrior. I wonder what would be their reaction upon viewing the video of the Minneapolis cyclists; the commuters featured therein are remarkable precisely because they are so commonplace, encompassing different social statuses, ages, colors, and sexes -- just like us!
And the reasons behind their all season cyco-commutes are, again, unsurprisingly familiar: it's environmentally benign, fun, healthy, cheap, etc... When these commuters are deemed completely unnewsworthy and mundane -- as motorists presently are -- they will have gained their rightful place on the road and in the perspective of the public.
The article focusing on kids, bicycles and cars in Dhaka resonates deeply: I agree Darren, it underscores the universality of the experiences and challenges faced when integrating autos into urban cultures. Same themes: the degeneration of neighbourhood streets from a public domain spawning all manner of social interactions into a sterile sewer of cars (OK, perhaps that's overly dramatic :-); that seminal moment in childhood, when after finally mastering riding a bike, the jolt of freedom and mobility pushes back one's horizons.
One hopes the developing world will learn from our, the West's, mistakes but at times it's clear that it's intent upon learning from its own blunders. As it rushes to embrace symbols of success and progress, the automobile being the most conspicuous among them, Beijing is emblematic of transit policy struck in reverse: once a mecca for cyclists, they're now banned from many main streets; the city is now commonly enshrouded by toxic smog and paralyzed by traffic jams as its rising middle class, gripped by affluenza, is snapping up cars in record numbers.
Imagine that: a practical, clean and healthy solution rejected in favour of a dirty and burdensome problem. People really are the same the world over.
darren
Dhaka
Thu, 01/10/2008 - 10:51Well said, Luke. The article/essay from Dhaka was a valuable read. The fact that people are giving the children and organizers a hard time on a dead end street really shows how people's priorities get warped toward traffic flow. They're just going to a parking lot.
And I'm glad the video worked. I thought it was a good one, but because of their registration I couldn't open it up again to link to it.
-dj