Critical Mass Tonight and more

Critical Mass SE Corner of Downtown meet @6:30 ride @ 7pm

Sunday Vintage Ride Meet @ 1:45 ride @ 2pm ( it leaves on time so don't be late) Huntsville Middle School

Polo and Tea 3pm Lincoln and Green

Al Jazeera English - Live Streams - Watch Now - Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera English - Live Streams - Watch Now - Al Jazeera English

How Portland Is Planning to Become the First World-class Bike City in America

Portland may be the only large city to earn the League of American Bicyclists' coveted platinum status as a bicycle-friendly city, but they have even bigger plans.


It’s become a cliché that Portland is America’s most livable city, a hotbed for innovative ways to support green policies, public spaces, pedestrian amenities, transit, and, of course, bicycles.  In fact some people are growing weary (and the rest of us envious) of hearing about how great things are in Oregon’s largest city.

When it comes to bicycling, at least, the cliché is true. Today Portland sports the highest share of bicycle commuters (6-8 percent) of any large U.S. city.  It’s also the only large city to earn the League of American Bicyclists’ coveted platinum status as a bicycle-friendly city.

But Portland wasn’t born with bike lanes. “No one in the 1970s or ‘80s would have singled out Portland as a great town for biking,” admits city Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller. Its current success is the result of 20 years of transportation planning with bikes in mind.

That knowledge makes the city pretty ambitious about what it can accomplish over the next 20 years.

Earlier this year, the city council unanimously approved the 2030 Bicycle Master Plan, which envisions Portland as “a world-class bicycling city” with three times the bikeways it has now.

Meanwhile, Metro, a government body elected by the entire metropolitan area, is enacting a plan to triple the number of people who bike over the next 30 years. Their goal is for 40 percent of all city and suburban trips of three miles or less to be done atop a bicycle by 2040.

“In some neighborhoods in Portland, 10-15 percent of people already bike each day,” notes Lake McTighe, manager of Metro’s Active Transportation Partnership, “which means that we could bemaking parts of Portland into a mini-Amsterdam or Copenhagen.”

I recently spent several days exploring Portland as part of a transportation workshop, sponsored by the Bikes Belong Foundation, for city officials from around the country. We wanted to find out what Portland could teach us about promoting biking in our own cities: Chicago, Houston, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City.

read more here

More Riders Wanted In Metro Bike Share Program

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010, by Anne Marshall

A new program allowing Davidson County residents to borrrow bicycles to ride is supposed to make Nashville healthier, but reaching that goal will require a lot more pedaling.

The program started on a small scale with only thirty bikes and two rental locations – downtown and Shelby Bottoms Park. Over the last three months about 150 people rode the bikes. That’s the number organizers say they expected.

The bike share program is funded through a two-year grant focused on getting Nashvillians eating better and moving more.

Mayor Karl Dean says unfortunately money can’t buy participation and that’s needed, especially given Tennessee’s high rates of adult and childhood obesity.

“When you are sixth from the bottom in terms of children’s health as far as obesity you got to step up the game and that’s what we’re gonna do.”

In Davidson County, it’s estimated close to 40-percent of children are overweight or obese.

The grant that paid for the bike share program totaled $7.5 million. Because it was created through stimulus funds, most of it is going towards forty full and part time jobs. Those workers market bike sharing, form community gardens, and help create school and workplace wellness programs.

Come March, as many as two hundred bikes should be stationed all over Nashville.

Hipster Cyclist Pixel Art Game

Expansion of Bike Lanes in City Brings Backlash

This is not a problem that Huntsville will have in the near future. Now if it were bombs or remote control killing machines, Huntsville and it's Junta would be all over it. 

Michael Appleton for The New York Times
Taking the bicycle lane on Ninth Avenue. New York has added 250 miles of bicycle-only lanes in the past four years, but not everyone is pleased.
By J. DAVID GOODMAN
Published: November 22, 2010

Over the last four years, the streets of New York City have undergone a transformation: More than 250 miles of traffic lanes dedicated for bicycles have been created, and several laws intended to promote cycling have been passed.

The efforts by the Bloomberg administration have placed the city at the forefront of a national trend to make bicycling viable and safe even in the most urban of settings. Yet over the last year, a backlash has taken hold.

Bowing to vocal opposition from drivers and elected officials, the city last week began removing a 2.35-mile painted bike lane along Father Capodanno Boulevard on Staten Island. In Manhattan, a community board held a special hearing this month for business owners to vent about problems posed by a new protected bicycle lane on Columbus Avenue — in particular, the removal of parking spaces and the difficulty of getting truck deliveries.

In Brooklyn, new bicycle lanes have led to unusual scenes of friction. Along Prospect Park West, opponents protested last month alongside supporters of the lanes. And last year, painted paths along Bedford and Kent Avenues in Williamsburg caused disagreement between cyclists and Hasidim. The lane on Bedford Avenue was later removed.

read more here

Dickhead

Best line "New Age Fun with a Vintage Feel"

Unicycles are badass

NAUCC 2010 from Max Schulze on Vimeo.

How automobiles make our streets less livable

Revisiting Donald Appleyard's Livable Streets from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

From Grist
Let's test your knowledge of urbanist heroes. Sure, you know who Jane Jacobs is. But have you ever heard of Donald Appleyard?

Appleyard isn't often mentioned in the urbanist pantheon, but he should be. His 1981 book Livable Streets (which will be republished in 2011) showed in graphic terms what Appleyard discovered in his revolutionary research on the effect of automobile traffic on people's everyday lives. It also coined a phrase still in use today.

What Appleyard discovered in his studies -- conducted in San Francisco in the late 1960s -- is that the more traffic there is on the street, the less connected people on that street will feel to their neighbors and the less ownership they will feel in their neighborhoods.

On lightly trafficked streets, people will use their stoops and sidewalks to play and socialize. The whole street is part of their living space. On heavily trafficked streets, residents sometimes feel that even their own apartments are invaded by the sound of cars.

Appleyard died at the age of 54, not long after Livable Streets was published. In a tragic twist, he was killed by a speeding automobile in Athens, Greece.

His work is more relevant than ever today, and similar results have recently been found in the United Kingdom by researcher Joshua Hart. That's why it is so terrific that Appleyard's book has been quite literally reanimated in this video from Streetfilms (disclosure: I used to work at their sister site, Streetsblog).

The video features great graphics illustrating his findings, as well as an interview with his son, Bruce Appleyard. It's more than a tribute to an underrecognized urbanist. It's a reminder of how much still needs to be done to make our streets livable.

US Bicycle Route System May Become a 50,000 Mile Interstate Reality

From Yes Magazine
by Winona Bateman
posted Nov 01, 2010

A group of touring cyclists on U.S. Bicycle Route 76 (also known as the TransAmerica Trail) in Virginia. (2004)

“People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.”

When U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood made this announcement at the National Bike Summit last March, he became an instant superstar with bicycling advocates who work hard to create and maintain cycling routes as part of their local, state, and regional transportation networks.

In July, Secretary LaHood took it a step further—embracing the creation of a U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS), a project that will connect many of the existing (and envisioned) bicycle routes around the country into an official, national network of cycling routes, linked coast-to-coast across state lines.

"The U.S. Bicycle Route System is not just a bunch of bike paths; we're talking about a transportation system."
Ray LaHood
Secretary of Transportation
LaHood wrote, “The U.S. Bicycle Route System is not just a bunch of bike paths; we're talking about a transportation system. It will facilitate travel between communities and to historic and cultural landmarks. It will give people living in more rural areas a way to travel into a nearby urban area by bicycle. Urban and suburban residents will have better access to rural recreation areas. And—like our interstate highway system—it will facilitate long-distance travel by bicycle, whether across one’s state or across the country.”

If implemented as planned, the U.S. Bicycle Route System will become the largest official cycling network on the planet, encompassing more than 50,000 miles of routes. These routes will be officially recognized by state and local Departments of Transportation (DOTs), and in some cases, marked with signs. Because the system will link existing infrastructure whenever possible—including roads, bike paths, and trails—building the network will be cost-effective.

Local benefits
Twenty-two states are now actively working on U.S. Bicycle Routes. In some states, cycling advocates have taken the lead, developing the route and coordinating minimally with their state DOT until ready to apply for designation. In others, the state DOT and its bicycle/pedestrian coordinator are trailblazing, collaborating with volunteers and cycling and trail organizations.

“I am seeing tremendous excitement from the cycling community and the local communities that these routes will touch,” said Ginny Sullivan, special projects director for Adventure Cycling Association and lead staff on the USBRS.

One reason communities are excited to be part of the national system is the economic boost it may bring to local economies. In Michigan, for example, towns along proposed USBR 20 have actively lobbied for their communities to be included on the new route.

“We’ve asked each city, village, and county that owns any piece of USBR 20 to pass a formal resolution of support for the project,” said Scott Anderson, a volunteer for Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance and a leader on USBR 20. “Every resolution I've seen has specifically mentioned economic development.”

Many states that already boast significant biking infrastructure have seen the benefits of bicycle tourism. North Carolina’s estimated annual impact from bicycle facilities in its northern Outer Banks region is $60 million and 1,407 jobs. A Wisconsin study [pdf] estimates that bicycling contributes $1.5 billion to the state annually—and $530 million comes from bicycle travel. According to the Great Allegheny Passage Economic Impact Study [pdf], multi-day cycle tourists spend an average of $98 per day in businesses along the trail. La Route Verte in Quebec spans 2,400 miles and generates $160 million annually in economic returns.

read more here

ahhhhhh Bike Polo

Bike Polo Modern Drift from Mr.Do on Vimeo.

ciclavia

More here: ciclavia.wordpress.com

public input meeting

There is a BASC public input meeting at HPL Main next Wednesday Oct 20 at 6pm. Bring your complaints/suggestions/ataboys and listen to city officials talk about what has been going on.

Pictures from Critical Mass

For more click here







Anyone who would like their photo removed from the Internet contact Tyler

More bikes means slower bikes

Rachel Brown has a fantastic little 5-minute film about biking up First Avenue to work:

I love the way that she’s caught on camera all of the annoyances which drive bike commuters mad: the cars cutting across the bike lane to make left turns; the pedestrians blithely stepping out into the lane in front of you; the trucks using the lane as a parking spot; the taxis driving up it. And, of course, the Evil Bike Salmon.

At the same time, there’s more than a hint of tension, in this film, between relatively serious bike commuters, on the one hand, and slow hobbyists, on the other. And this tension, I think, is likely to get worse rather than better, even as the other problems might alleviate themselves somewhat as the number of cyclists in New York grows.

There’s safety in numbers, when it comes to cycling, and a similar phenomenon is likely to happen with regard to pedestrians and car drivers being increasingly conscious of bicyclists in their midst. Already, the First Avenue bike lane has reportedly cut injuries to all street users by 50%. But as the number of cyclists rises, the average speed of cyclists necessarily falls. Everybody thinks of northern European cities like Copenhagen as bicycling paradises — and they are. But if you’re biking around Copenhagen, you’re going to go a lot more slowly than if you’re biking the same distance in NYC.

A slow cyclist can cope with most of the dangers and obstructions that Brown complains about much more easily than a fast cyclist — and the fast cyclists, as Brown’s film shows, are now shunning the lane entirely, moving over to the right-hand side of the street, where they’re much less likely to get cut off by a car. (Cars often turn left off First Avenue, which runs up the east side of Manhattan, but much more rarely turn right.)

It’s going to be very interesting to see how fast cyclists cope with an influx of slower cyclists in Manhattan, as bike lanes continue to get built and average bike speeds continue to decline. I love to zoom down avenues at high speed, but I also love being safe. Maybe that means I’m just going to have to start going a little slower.

Bamboocycle UH-02

From Hypebeast

The brainchild of 24-year old Mexican industrial designer Diego Cárdenas, the Bamboocycle UH-02 Bicycle wanted to make an ecological statement by re-visiting bicycle design. The resulting project features a bike that integrates bamboo into the frame’s design. Known for its lightweight, strength and flexibility as well as its general ability to grow in any situation, the Bamboocycle UH-02 hopes to create more sustainable form of transportation.

Ek Shaneesh

Bicycle Friendly Communities Announced

Nice to see Mississippi has two cities mentioned, Alabama no way last, last, last......In 20 years though:) It will be too late

The League announced 18 new Bicycle Friendly Communities(BFC) and eight renewing BFCs at the Pro Walk/Pro Bike Conference yesterday, September 15. See the complete list of BFCs here.

“The most exciting thing about this round of awards was seeing communities that had implemented past feedback, improved their communities, and achieved a Bicycle Friendly Community designation,” said Andy Clarke, League president.

The third time was the charm for the Charm City, Baltimore, Md. and Knoxville, Tenn. Both received the bronze designation after previously receiving the Honorable Mention the past two times they applied. Other communities climbing the BFC ranks this round include Bloomington, Ind. and Carrboro, N.C., all of which moved from Bronze to Silver designations. Denver, Colo. is another thrilling success story – they rejoined the ranks of silver communities after having been downgraded to bronze for the past five years.

To learn more about becoming a BFC, click here.

The Bicycle Friendly Community, Bicycle Friendly State, Bicycle Friendly Business and Bicycle Friendly University programs are generously supported by program partners Bikes Belong and Trek Bicycle’s One World, Two Wheels Campaign. To learn more about building a Bicycle Friendly America, visitwww.bikeleague.org.

First Impressions of Obama’s Big Infrastructure Announcement

From Streetsblog.net

by Angie Schmitt

President Obama gave the first outlines yesterday of a $50 billion plan for new infrastructure investment, which would provide funds for the expansion of high-speed rail and local transit systems, road construction and repair, and runway upgrades at airports. A centerpiece of the proposal is the creation of a national infrastructure bank, which would pool public and private funds to finance transportation projects.

President Obama touts his $50 billion infrastructure plan yesterday in Milwaukee. Photo: New York Times

The infrastructure plan also offers a glimpse of the administration’s priorities when it comes to the reauthorization of the national transportation bill. Here’s a sampling of what Streetsblog Network members are saying in response:

Transportation for America called the plan “fundamental to the long-term health of our economy.” Director James Corless issued this statement:

The Administration has recognized that the earmark-driven, unaccountable spending of the past must end. The President today has promised to press for carefully targeted investments in those projects that compete best in satisfying clearly articulated national goals for energy security, safety, affordability, environmental sustainability and economic competitiveness.

Yonah Freemark at The Transport Politic asks how the timing of the infrastructure push will affect its chances in Congress:

It is not clear how much enthusiasm the Congress holds for what is being portrayed as a second stimulus, nor how much can actually be built with the money, which would be invested over a period of six years though mostly at the front end.

James Rowen at The Political Environment had a front row view of the President’s speech, given at a labor rally in Milwaukee:

I loved the administration’s commitment to a national passenger rail system; jobs and growth for Milwaukee will be and already are the local outcomes.

Rowen thinks the plan might win broad support, even in this divided political climate, though not necessarily for the right reasons:

Continue…

Great Idea