AT-Network October 2011

at-network@lists.umanitoba.ca

2 participants
10 discussions

New report (Florida) - passing distance btwn motorists and cyclists

by Beth McKechnie

*Operational and Safety Impacts of Restriping Inside Lanes of Urban Multilane Curbed Roadways to 11 Feet or Less to Create Wider Outside Curb Lanes for Bicyclists (September 2011, Florida Department of Transportation)* Thought folks might be interested in the general findings on the amount of passing clearance motorists provided cyclists when there was a wider outside lane (closest to curb) and a narrower inside lane(s). Note that the roads investigated were high speed and multi-lane, and data was collected during peak hours. The entire report can be downloaded here: http://www.dot.state.fl.us/research-center/Completed_Proj/Summary_RD/FDOT_B… * Background*: The operational analysis involved investigation of the influence of several site characteristics on the operational behavior of motorists when passing bicyclists on asymmetric curb-and-gutter roadways. The research team collected data on curb-and-gutter asymmetric four- to six-lane roadways with posted speeds ranging from 30 to 45 miles per hour. * Conclusion*: The results from descriptive statistics, 95% confidence intervals, and regression modeling, all point out that lateral separation between motor vehicles and bicyclists is highly influenced by the width of the outside through lane. * Lateral Clearance Findings * - The greatest lateral separation (averaging 5.5 ft) was obtained when bicyclists rode between three and four feet from the face of curb. - An increase in the width of the outside through lane resulted in greater lateral separation between motor vehicles and bicyclists. - As the volume of motor vehicles increased, lateral separation decreased. - Motorists provided less separation to bicyclists when other vehicles were present in the inside lane. - Motorists provided 0.5 ft additional lateral separation to female bicyclists and 0.35 ft additional separation to casually dressed compared to athletically dressed cyclists. *Lateral Shift Findings * - The amount of the motor vehicle body partially shifting into the inside lane was reduced with the increase in the width of the outside through lane. - Passenger cars were observed to have the lowest amount of lateral shift when passing a bicyclist. - Large trucks were observed to provide the greatest amount of lateral shift when passing, often slowing down and completely moving to the inside lane to allow sufficient lateral separation to bicyclists. - Less lateral shift was observed with increased vehicular traffic volume. - The tendency was for drivers to move left if they had the opportunity. *Motor Vehicle Lane Usage Findings * - Given acceptable gaps, there was a tendency of motorists to move from the outside through lane to the inside lane after recognizing that there was a bicyclist downstream. - In the absence of a bicyclist, more vehicles (56.2% for 4-lane segments, 30.6% for 6-lane segments)) were observed to use the outside through lane. - In the presence of a bicyclist, a considerable proportion of motor vehicles shifted to the inside lane before passing the bicyclist to avoid sharing the outside through lane with a bicyclist. - Only 40.2% of vehicles used the outside through lane when a bicyclist was present for 4-lane segments; 25.7% for 6-lane segments. *Motor vehicle Speed Finding * - On average, drivers reduced their speeds (from 34.13 to 32.76 mph) when passing bicyclists to ensure safe passing maneuver and accelerated (from 32.76 to 36.86) after passing bicyclists.

12 years, 5 months

Webinar Reminder: Wed, Nov. 2nd, Accessible Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way

by Jessie Klassen

Just a reminder of an upcoming webinar on November 2nd. Green Action Centre and Bike to the Future are hosting a local viewing of the APBP webinar, Accessible Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way, at the EcoCentre (3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave) followed by group discussion: - *Wed, Nov. 2nd, 2:00-3:30 pm – Accessible Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way* (Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals) Hope to see you there! ____________________________ Update on the Proposed Rule for Accessible Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way *November 2, 2011, 2:00-3:30 pm CST* Scott Windley, Accessibility Specialist with the U.S. Access Board, will deliver detailed information about the proposed rule regarding Accessible Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way, including pedestrian accessible routes, curb ramps and blended transitions, street crossings, on-street parking, and more. This is a 90-minute webinar. Scott Windley has been an Accessibility Specialist with the U.S. Access Board since March, 1997. He oversees staff work on the Board’s public rights-of-way rulemaking, and provides technical assistance and training on the ADA Guidelines and other standards. Mr. Windley previously worked for two years with The Center for Universal Design in Raleigh, NC, as a technical assistance specialist; before that, he worked as an Intern Architect for the Facilty Planning Department of the University of Idaho. Mr. Windley received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Idaho. ** *Jessie Klassen* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre<http://www.greenactioncentre.ca>| Find us here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(204) 925-3772 Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

12 years, 5 months

A Bus Pass with Every Condo (& bike stuff, too!)

by Beth McKechnie

A Bus Pass With Every Condo at Lansdowne Proposed *Josh Pringle* Thursday, October 20, 2011 Each residential unit at the redeveloped Lansdowne Park could come with a one-year transit pass for OC Transpo. The Transportation Demand Management Plan report by McCormick Rankin recommends the City require the developers to provide all purchasers of residential units with a transit pass to "create and establish a culture" of transit amongst the residents living at Lansdowne. The report notes the City of Toronto recently introduced a policy requiring all new condo developments with more than 20 units to include a one year TTC Metropass with the purchase of each unit. The Transportation Demand Management Plan outlines ideas to ensure the Lansdowne Park redevelopment achieves maximum benefits from a wider use of sustainable transportation modes, including public transportation and bicycling. The City is also encouraged to set up enhanced bicycle parking facilities, create preferential parking for registered carpools and build showers and locker room facilities for employees at a redeveloped Lansdowne Park who bicycle to work. http://www.cfra.com/?cat=1&nid=82258

12 years, 6 months

[At-network] Transportation Master Plan Open House - Nov 2nd, 4-8 pm, Millennium Library

by Beth McKechnie

*Find out where our roads, buses, bike lanes and pathways are heading over the next 20 years!* Stop by the third and *final* Open House for the *Winnipeg Transportation Master Plan* <http://transportation.speakupwinnipeg.com/>. Date:* Wed, Nov. 2nd *Time:* 4:00-8:00 pm *Where:* Millennium Library* (Carol Shields Auditorium, 2nd floor) ** ** *Please forward the attachments throughout your organizations and networks*. This is an open invitation to anyone interested, so please share widely. -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre<http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

12 years, 6 months

Mark your calendar! November transportation webinars

by Beth McKechnie

Green Action Centre and Bike to the Future invite you to join us for a local viewing of the following webinars at the EcoCentre (3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave) followed by group discussion: - *Wed, Nov. 2nd, 2:00-3:00 pm – Accessible Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way* (APBP) details below - *Wed, Nov. 9th, 12:30-1:30 pm – Improving Travel Options in Small and Rural Communities *(Transport Canada) details below - *Wed, Nov. 16th, 2:00-3:00 pm– Parking: Buffers, Bikes and Cars *(APBP) (APBP = Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals) _____________________________ Update on the Proposed Rule for Accessible Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way *November 2, 2011, 2:00-3:00 pm CST* Scott Windley, Accessibility Specialist with the U.S. Access Board, will deliver detailed information about the proposed rule regarding Accessible Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way, including pedestrian accessible routes, curb ramps and blended transitions, street crossings, on-street parking, and more. This is a 90-minute webinar. Scott Windley has been an Accessibility Specialist with the U.S. Access Board since March, 1997. He oversees staff work on the Board’s public rights-of-way rulemaking, and provides technical assistance and training on the ADA Guidelines and other standards. Mr. Windley previously worked for two years with The Center for Universal Design in Raleigh, NC, as a technical assistance specialist; before that, he worked as an Intern Architect for the Facilty Planning Department of the University of Idaho. Mr. Windley received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Idaho. * * * * * *Improving Travel Options in Small and Rural Communities* *November 9, 2011, 12:30-1:30 pm CST* Geoff Noxon, Noxon Associates This webinar is intended to help practitioners - engineers, planners, health professionals, economic development officials, and others - produce plans and implement appropriate travel options for residents of small and rural communities. This includes a range of actions that make personal transportation activities more sustainable, such as encouraging drivers to operate their cars more efficiently, or to leave their cars at home and walk, cycle, take transit, or carpool instead. This webinar will look at how to use three guides available for free from Transport Canada: - Improving Travel Options in Small and Rural Communities; - Transportation Demand Management for Canadian Communities: A Guide to Understanding, Planning and Delivering TDM Programs; and, - Changing Transportation Behaviours: A Social Marketing Planning Guide. For more information: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/environment-urban-guidelines-practitioners… http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/environment-urban-menu-eng-2054.htm

12 years, 6 months

Reminder: Wed Oct.19 webinar - Multimodal Level of Service Analysis

by Beth McKechnie

*Green Action Centre and Bike to the Future *invite you to join us for this webinar being presented by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP): Multimodal Level of Service Analysis Wednesday, October 19 • 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Central Time Location: EcoCentre boardroom (303 Portage Ave, 3rd floor) * * * * * The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) is one of the most widely referenced documents in transportation planning and engineering. The 2010 edition includes a comprehensive analysis method for all major users of an urban street, including bicyclists and pedestrians. This webinar will discuss the bicycle and pedestrian level of service methods that allow planners and engineers to analyze how urban streets meet the needs of nonmotorized users and to examine the effects of different improvement options. These analyses help us to efficiently distribute limited funds to the most effective improvements and to better communicate projects' benefits to the general public. Learning objectives for this session include: - How bicycle and pedestrian level of service analyses have evolved - The background behind the HCM 2010 multimodal level of service methods for bicycles and pedestrians - How to apply the HCM bicycle and pedestrian level of service methods and interpret results. The session will also include a brief update on the joint ITE / APBP project, "Evaluation Tools for Complete Streets". The report of this project is being drafted; it covers several analysis tools including MMLOS. Presenters: *Nick Foster*,* Transportation Planner, Kittelson & Associates*. Nick was involved in NCHRP Project 3-70 Multimodal Level-of-Service Analysis for Urban Streets during the field evaluation phase to test the multimodal level-of-service (MMLOS) methodology. The results of this project have been incorporated into the updated 2010 Highway Capacity Manual. In addition to his involvement in the research that developed the MMLOS methodology, Nick has applied it to a variety of projects to evaluate the performance of different urban street forms in meeting the needs of bicyclist and pedestrians. Nick has worked on a variety of projects related to planning and designing for bicyclists and pedestrians. *Jamie Parks, AICP, Senior Transportation Planner, Kittelson & Associates. *Jamie works on a wide variety of bicycle and pedestrian planning projects throughout the country including safety studies, master plans, and trails plans. His experience includes data collection, the development and application of analysis tools, and public outreach to integrate workshops, open houses, citizen committees, and web tools into the planning process. *Jeffrey R. Riegner (PE, AICP, PTOE), Vice President, Whitman, Requardt & Associates*. Jeff is a professional engineer and certified planner with over 20 years of transportation and land use consulting experience, mostly for public-sector clients. He serves as chair of the Institute of Transportation Engineers Pedestrian and Bicycle Council, workshop instructor for the National Complete Streets Coalition, and chair of the Newark, Delaware Bicycle Committee. He holds degrees from the University of Delaware and the University of California at Berkeley. -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre<http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

12 years, 6 months

Wed Oct. 19th webinar: Multimodal Level of Service Analysis

by Beth McKechnie

12 years, 6 months

Active Transportation in Canada: a Resource and Planning Guide

by Beth McKechnie

Here's a new resource funded by Transport Canada: *Active Transportation in Canada: A Resource and Planning Guide* There are many excellent "Case in point" examples provided, mostly from ON, BC and NB. The ICBC case in point on page 14 is an excellent example of what MPI could be doing here. (Strangely, there are no examples from Winnipeg or Manitoba, boo!) Pasted below this message is a description blurb by the company that produced the publication. Thanks to Laura Donatelli at Public Health Agency of Canada for pointing out this new resource. cheers, Beth * * * * * EcoPlan developed a resource and planning guide for Transport Canada geared towards planners and related professionals to accommodate, promote, and support Active Transportation (AT) in current and long-range planning and development. The guide provides a review of active transportation in Canada, a summary of best practices and key principles, and a strategic planning approach for developing active transportation projects and incorporating active transportation into municipal policy. This guide’s planning framework is organized around EcoPlan’s ten step planning approach. The approach has four phases that correspond to the key planning questions each section asks – *What is happening? What matters most? What can we* *do about it? Are we doing it? *Answering these questions requires guide users to go through a corresponding set of individual planning steps that will help determine: - The current AT situation, opportunities and trends in the local area; - Priority areas for action; - Strategies and actions to respond to community priorities; and, - How to monitor and evaluate AT activities to support future project development.

12 years, 6 months

Happiness research ranks commuting low: 1 hr commute cuts social life by 10%

by Beth McKechnie

Happiness Research Ranks Commuting Low: One-Hour Commute Cuts Your Social Life By 10 Percent *Kirsten Dirksen, Co-founder, faircompanies.com* http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kirsten-dirksen/happiness-research-ranks-_b_8… When asked to name the worst part of our day by happiness researchers, we consistently name commuting as at least one of our least favorite activities. And yet, many of us choose long commutes (the average American commute is 50 minutes per day; nine out of 10 are by car). It's an inconsistency that has troubled academics. Swiss economists Bruno Frey and Alois Stutzer say too many of us make an unequal tradeoff: they call it the "commuting paradox." According to economics, people should be compensated -- either economically or emotionally -- for the burden of their commute, but Frey and Stutzer found that "people with longer commuting time report systematically lower subjective well-being." The rewards associated with longer commutes -- a bigger house, a higher salary or better schools -- don't fully compensate for the sacrifices we end up making by working so far from home (*e.g.*, less time with family, and health issues like back pain, higher cholesterol, weight gain and anxiety). Why do we make the mistake of choosing long commutes if they tend to make us less happy? It turns out that our focus and judgement are off. *Long Commutes Are Because Our Focus Is Off* One possible reason for our error in judgement is what psychologists call a weighting mistake, or a focusing illusion. By simply choosing to consider a higher salary or a bigger house in the suburbs (those things that contribute to a longer commute), we give them more weight than they deserve. So instead of focusing on what would really make us happier -- more leisure, more time with friends/family and more focus on health -- we become fixated on the bigger income or bigger backyard and choose the longer commute. Interestingly enough, it's not for lack of analysis that we often choose wrong. Researchers have found that the more time we spend thinking about that extra bedroom or extra income, the more we think we really need it and the more likely we are to choose the longer commute. To get it right, we need to adjust our focus. *"You Can't Adapt To Commuting"* Another reason we tend to choose badly when deciding the distance between work and home is simply that we aren't very good at assessing the true costs of a commute. Intuitively, we think that a higher salary will make us happier and that we will get used to spending time in the car. In reality, we quickly grow accustomed to material things like more income or a bigger house and, what most of us fail to realize, we have much more trouble getting used to the stresses of commuting. Strangely enough, it's not the bad traffic per se that adds to the commuting burden, but the uncertainty of our commutes that makes them so difficult. "You can't adapt to commuting, because it's entirely unpredictable," explains Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert. "Driving in traffic is a different kind of hell every day." *Before Agreeing To A Commute, Read This* There are, perhaps, reasons to choose a longer commute. Frey and Stutzer performed very exacting calculations and found that to be compensated for a one-hour commute -- as opposed to none at all -- you would need to make a 40-percent higher salary. The extra income might help with overall happiness, especially if it helps to pay for experiences (studies show that experiences, more than things, boost happiness), but a longer commute can also affect those things that rank high in happiness studies: your relationships. Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam can even offer a calculation. "There's a simple rule of thumb: Every [10] minutes of commuting results in [10] percent fewer social connections. Commuting is connected to social isolation, which causes unhappiness." Of course, all commutes are not created equal. I know some people who genuinely seem to enjoy their time in the car -- or on their bike, scooter, etc. My commute is a five-minute walk<http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/happiness-research-ranks-commutes-lowe…>through Barcelona's Gothic Quarter to my daughter's school, and while there are bad days, most of the time, once out the door, it's one of the happiest moments of my day.

12 years, 6 months

Complete Streets Webinar TODAY 12:30-1:30pm

by Jessie Klassen

Just a quick reminder of the free Complete Streets webinar happening TODAY at 12:30pm in the Eco Centre Boardroom, (303 Portage Ave, 3rd floor) * * *Complete Streets* *October 4, 2011, 12:30-1:30 pm CENTRAL TIME* Rebecca O’Brien, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Alberta Association “Complete streets” is a relatively new term that has entered into the parlance of transportation planning. A complete street policy begins with one overriding principle: Design streets for the most vulnerable users. Complete street policies promote planning, engineering, and transportation policies that provide a safer road network for all users, be they drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, or transit users. This webinar will examine the main aspects of complete streets, including innovative policies, success stories, and benefits. For more information: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/environment-utsp-casestudy-cs72e-completes… Hope to see you on Tuesday! ** *Jessie Klassen* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre<http://www.greenactioncentre.ca>| Find us here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(204) 925-3772 Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

12 years, 6 months

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AT-Network October 2011