- AT-Network - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

Oregon: Crater Lake National Park Announces Inaugural Vehicle-Free Weekend
by Beth McKechnie 21 Aug '13

21 Aug '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Terry Zdan <tjzdan50(a)gmail.com> Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 10:43:10 -0500 Travel Oregon**** [image: Travel Oregon Breaking News]**** **** **** ** ** *August 20, 2013***** ** ** *Crater Lake National Park Announces Inaugural * *Vehicle-Free Weekend on September 21-22* Crater Lake National Park Superintendent Craig Ackerman announced today the inaugural Vehicle-Free Weekend at Crater Lake to be held this year Sept. 21-22. The park plans to preserve every third weekend in September as an annual opportunity to highlight non-motorized use of the park. **** “In June, Crater Lake National Park, Travel Oregon and Cycle Oregon collaborated to open Crater Lake’s East Rim Drive to non-motorized traffic for a first-time trial,” said Ackerman. “After an outpouring of positive feedback from the many people who participated in this rare opportunity, we decided to make it an annual occurrence.” **** Whether hiking, biking, walking or running, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy stunning views of Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States, from various points around the rim with no vehicle traffic. **** "Crater Lake and scenic cycling opportunities are state treasures that Oregon proudly claims,” said Todd Davidson, CEO of Travel Oregon. “Creating world-class recreation opportunities within Oregon’s unique landscapes is what we do best. I commend Craig and his team for giving Oregonians and visitors yet another opportunity to experience Crater Lake in such a remarkable way.” **** Under the plan, East Rim Drive will be open to non-motorized vehicles only (except for administrative and emergency vehicles) from North Junction around the East Rim of Crater Lake all the way to the intersection at Crater Lake National Park Headquarters and the Steel Visitors Center. Hwy 62 through the south end of the park, West Rim Drive and the North Entrance Road will be open to vehicles. Regular parking areas will be open, but generally fill up quickly. Normal park entrance fees apply. **** Visit the National Park Service’s website<http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/pfsudb>for details on parking, entrance fees and Crater Lake resources. **** *Photo credit: RideCyclingTours.com***** *Upcoming Events* *September 8, 2013* Bounty of the County <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/l0tudb>**** *September 12-15, 2013 * Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA)<http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/1suudb> <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/hlvudb> *September 19-22, 2013* Feast Portland <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/xdwudb>**** *September 30, 2013* Travel Oregon 101 <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/d6wudb> **** *October 1, 2013* Oregon <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/9qyudb>Tourism Commission Meeting<http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/pjzudb> **** *October 2, 2013 * Travel Oregon 101 <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/5b0udb> <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/1w1udb> *October 2-4, 2013 * Oregon Main Street Conference <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/hp2udb> *Oct. 8, 2013-Jan. 28, 2014* Wild Rivers Coast <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/xh3udb> <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/da4udb>Rural Tourism Studio<http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/t24udb> **** ** ** *Important Deadlines* *August 30, 2013* Deadline to submit OTPF Project Beneficiary Form<http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/9u5udb>to Jeremys(a)SustainableTravel.org **** *October 7, 2013* Register for October <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/pn6udb> <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/5f7udb>Wild Rivers Coast <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/l87udb> <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/108udb>Rural Tourism Studio<http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/ht9udb> **** ** ** *Resources* Industry.TravelOregon.com<http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/xlavdb> **** Oregon Travel Barometer <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/debvdb>**** ** ** *Contact Us <Industry(a)TravelOregon.com?subject=null>* ** ** *TravelOregon.com <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/t6bvdb>* ** ** *Sign up for our Consumer eNewsletters* Subscribe to our General, Culinary and Outdoors eNewsletters <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/prdvdb> **** **** **** **** *Share this email with a friend <http://e2.ma/share/outbound/e/p3uod/l87a2c> * The Oregon Tourism Commission aims to improve Oregonians' quality of life by strengthening economic impacts of the state's $9.2 billion tourism industry. Industry.TravelOregon.com <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/5jevdb> **** **** Become a fan <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/lcfvdb>**** <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/14fvdb>**** Follow us <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/hxgvdb>**** <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/xphvdb>**** Be LinkedIn <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/diivdb>**** <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/tajvdb>**** **** If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may see it online<http://e2.ma/message/p3uod/l87a2c>. **** *Share this:* <http://e2.ma/share/outbound/e/p3uod/l87a2c><http://e2.ma/share/outbound/t/p3uod/l87a2c><http://e2.ma/share/outbound/f/p3uod/l87a2c><http://e2.ma/share/outbound/l/p3uod/l87a2c> **** powered by**** [image: emma] <http://e2.ma/click/p3uod/l87a2c/92jvdb>**** **** -- Terry Zdan 126 Duncan Norrie Drive Wpg MB R3P 2J9 CANADA tjzdan50(a)gmail.com <tjzdan(a)gmasil.com>

1 0

Briefing on the British Government's Ambition for Cycling
by Beth McKechnie 20 Aug '13

20 Aug '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Terry Zdan <tjzdan50(a)gmail.com> Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 09:34:51 -0500 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/2… long live the queen -- Terry Zdan 126 Duncan Norrie Drive Wpg MB R3P 2J9 CANADA tjzdan50(a)gmail.com <tjzdan(a)gmasil.com>

1 0

Thunder Bay: Stats show bike lanes make streets safer, city says
by Beth McKechnie 20 Aug '13

20 Aug '13

Stats show bike lanes make streets safer, city says Police collision reports show decreases in crashes every time a bike lane is put in, city says CBC News | Posted: Aug 15, 2013 3:46 PM ET http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/story/2013/08/15/tby-thunder-bay-… The man in charge of planning bicycle lanes in Thunder Bay says they've resulted in a big drop in cycling collisions. The city’s active transportation coordinator, Adam Krupper, said studies prove the value of bike lanes in Thunder Bay. “The city of Thunder Bay has been using police collision reports to measure changes in collisions before and after bike lanes have been implemented,” he said. ** “What engineering has found is that there has been a 70 per cent decrease in collisions every time a bike lane is put in. These are really important numbers to keep in mind in terms of [questions like] 'Do bike lanes make the roads safer?' Every time a bike lane is put in the road becomes safer." 'A real surprise' Krupper said there's also been a decrease in motorist collisions on streets where bike lanes are installed. The same study found a 22 per cent drop in car accidents. "That's something that was a real surprise to us,” Krupper said. “Engineering didn't expect to see changes in motor vehicle collisions. But it's a very nice surprise to see there's actually been a decrease." Krupper said the decrease is likely because the more narrow car lane makes motorists more cautious. “They're paying a bit more attention,” he said. “We've found that traffic volumes haven't changed when a bike lane is put in. The same number of people are driving, but we believe that those people who are driving are being more cautious." This week the city is painting new lane markings and putting up signs for the newest additions to the network. The streets will include Adelaide, Arundel, High, Keith and Theresa, as well as Leslie Avenue. Beverly Street will be next, after reconstruction of the road has been completed.

1 0

WFP: Bike-boom backlash - European cities getting the gears over too many cyclists (Aug.17'13)
by Beth McKechnie 18 Aug '13

18 Aug '13

[Note: This article from Der Spiegel was published on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013, in the Winnipeg Free Press but is not yet available on their website. Here it is from the original source -- the content appears the same though unfortunately the final two paragraphs were dropped in the Free Press presumably for space. The Der Spiegel headline was also more positive, "Bike boom: Popularity of Cycling Leads to Overcrowding". Ah, for such problems!] Too Many Bikes? Challenges in Europe's Cycling Boom By Holger Dambeck <http://www.spiegel.de/extra/0,1518,632103,00.html> http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/bike-boom-popularity-of-cycli… More bicycles were supposed to make Europe's cities more livable. Instead, the popularity of two-wheeled travel is causing problems in some cities in Holland and Denmark, where traffic jams and parking shortages are common. Still, planners remain optimistic.* * The bike path is completely full -- in pairs or three abreast the cyclists roll past the stoplight at a snail's pace. They pass by biker-to-biker for a good 80 seconds before the gaps between them finally start to widen. The scene at a Copenhagen intersection is captured in a YouTube video<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYajXN4pPHI>, which shows what can happen when a third of a city's population travels every day by bike. Urban planners in Denmark and Holland are well acquainted with problems like these. Cycling has been heavily promoted, and more and more people are taking to the pedal -- but eventually cycling paths, bike racks and other parking areas have begun to run out of space. The bike boom -- long seen as the universal solution to roads jammed with parked cars, dead inner cities and other urban maladies like noise, smog and lack of exercise -- threatens to choke on its own success. Take the example of Groningen, a city in the northern Netherlands. Out of a population of just under 200,000, there are 375,000 bicycles, and 50 percent of all trips are made by bike. "We are very proud of our high share of bicycles, but the success has also caused problems," Jaap Valkema, the city's bicycle commissioner, recently said in a panel discussion at the Velo-City urban cycling conference in Vienna. One must keep in mind, cautioned Valkema, that public opinion can always flip. "We have to take action," he said. *Groningen* * Wants 65 Percent Bike Traffic* Urban planners in Groningen flipped the switch some 35 years ago. That's when they cut off all automotive traffic through the city center. Cycling became the most flexible and popular means of transport. But even if a bike takes up less space than a car, it became difficult to find space to cycle in Groningen's center. To get the chaotic bike parking situation under control, the city has laid out red carpets where bike parking is not permitted. Parking areas are then demarcated in turn. Ten years ago, there were 3,000 bicycles parked in front of the main train station," said Valkema. Today there are 10,000, he added, primarily because of the rising number of students in Groningen. Soon that number could be as high as 15,000 or 17,000. A parking garage has been built at the station to accommodate this flood of bikes. "It may be that we have to start charging for parking," said Valkema, "at least for more than a day." The city wants to increase the share of cycling traffic -- the so-called Modal Split -- to 65 percent by 2030. To achieve this, the city has planned a new parking garage with spaces for 1,200 bikes. In addition, traffic planners want to route car and bike transportation more consistently. Instead of broadening bike paths, they will soon reclassify entire streets as cycling roads. *Cycling Infrastructure Pays Out* Copenhagen is grappling with similar problems. The most heavily frequented bike paths headed to the city center are, at the most, 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) wide. As long as the light is green, a steady stream of cyclists flows by at around 20 kilometers per hour (12 mph). But at some point the light turns red -- and then patience is called for. "Sometimes the bike path is so full that I need two, three traffic light phases before I'm able to cross the intersection," says Niels Torslov, the Danish capital's chief traffic planner. This year alone, the city has invested €22 million ($30 million) to adapt and expand the current infrastructure. "We are focussing on the areas of the cycling network where there are often traffic jams and that are unsafe," says Ayfer Baykal, Copenhagen's deputy mayor for environmental issues and technology. She considers those millions a good investment. "Of course cycling infrastructure costs money, but it is a very effective and affordable way to improve mobility in Copenhagen," she adds. The bicycle boom is causing problems in the German capital<http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/the-battle-for-germany-s-roads-…>, as well. "There is a lack of space on the roads," says Burkhard Horn, a Berlin traffic planner. "The bike paths are too narrow. Sometimes 30, 40 people will be waiting at a traffic light." There have also been conflicts between fast and slow cyclists, because many bike paths -- especially older ones -- don't offer space for overtaking other bikers. *Anger on the Sidewalk* Horn also worries about increasing conflicts with pedestrians. These also go back to poor planning. Years ago, bike paths were often built into sidewalks -- inevitably bringing pedestrians and cyclists into uncomfortably close vicinity. And on some streets without bike paths, some cyclists prefer riding on the sidewalk rather than the street, because they feel safer there or because the pavement is smoother to ride on. In the bicycle metropolis of Copenhagen, cycling on the sidewalk is, incidentally, absolutely taboo. *[As noted above, these final two paragraphs were not included in the WFP.]* In Berlin, the problem is slowly being resolved: The city is adding cycle lanes to existing road surfaces. But because money is scarce, there won't be a physical separation, such as a curb, as is customary in Denmark and Holland. The price for this is that cars continue to misuse bike lines as parking spaces. But where this journey is headed is well known to Horn, the traffic planner: "We need to reallocate space for bicycles. That is inevitable. The space will be taken from cars."

1 0

WFP column: Vancouver cycles, Winnipeg recycles (Aug.3'13)
by Beth McKechnie 18 Aug '13

18 Aug '13

Vancouver cycles, Winnipeg recycles By: Catherine Mitchell <catherine.mitchell(a)freepress.mb.ca> http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/vancouver-cycles-winnip… The acrimony in Vancouver over the development of a new cycling route shows just how much people hate change. Not in Vancouver, in Winnipeg. Vancouverites have just weathered a blistering debate about the value of encouraging commuters to get out of their cars and onto bicycles. The redevelopment of Point Grey Road, from Jericho Park to Hadden Park at the Burrard St. Bridge, will construct separated bike lanes, but also dump cars entirely off a one-kilometre stretch of the route. If you've driven in rush hour in that city, you understand the hard feelings. Closing that one-kilometre chunk of Point Grey will push 10,000 motorists onto other routes. Nevertheless, the project passed city council 7-2 last week. I say good on them. No, inertia is Winnipeg's problem. Compare Vancouver's bold plans to what has happened here, what unfolded in 2010 when city council painted miserly bike lanes along residential roads and plopped in some sorry excuses for traffic circles. The customary high-pitched whine turned into all-out revolt. Lawsuits, even. Living on Grosvenor Avenue, I can tell you the bitterness festers -- I hear the honking horns, and chronic complaints and witness a stubborn refusal to heed the rules of the roundabouts, which remain eyesores on the leafy street. When was the landscaping supposed to be done? Little wonder, then, city council got away with pulling the fast one on the active-transportation strategy -- the $400,000 for a study that was supposed to devise a plan to pull together all the fractured pieces of various bike routes, lanes, paths, trails and boulevards: quietly cancelled by public works. Coun. Jenny Gerbasi stumbled onto the public works decision by chance. Mayor Sam's can-do campaign that got him first elected in 2004 made some of us feel he would bring the spirit that built a ballpark to the grinding gears of a city bureaucracy, pave the potholes and bring Winnipeg into the 21st century for urban design. Meanwhile, Winnipeg's 3.6-kilometre rapid-transit splurge remains a stub of an idea to move bus riders speedily through congested streets. And the $20-million shot in the arm 2011's expansion gave to the active-transportation plan did not, as was hoped, spark real progress toward a safe, dedicated cycling network. I know cyclists who still ride on sidewalks, even where the city has reserved a metre or so of curbside space for them. Painting the blacktop with white bicycle graphics that rapidly wash out doesn't engender a load more goodwill from motorists. The difference, I think, is culture. The automobile has reigned supreme for so long in this city, and too few councillors are up to the heat that will come in challenging inertia. The equivalent here of Vancouver's plan for Grey Point Road would turn one side of Wellington Crescent exclusively over to bicycles, squeezing two-way vehicular traffic to the other side of the boulevard. Imagine the congestion that would erupt on Academy, or Corydon. That would elicit howls of indignation from many that such a plan favoured the well-heeled residents of the crescent and a small percentage of commuters at the expense of ordinary shmucks just trying to get to the office. (That's what they said in Vancouver, too). Maybe a few of those motorists would leave the keys at home, though. A dedicated road is a safer, more efficient ride, and security is pivotal to convincing people to commute by bike. I biked to work once. I can still feel the hair on the back of my neck rising as I picked my way along on Arlington, north of Portage, and up McPhillips. Others with greater dedication to clean living do it, daily (well, OK, maybe not every day of the year). But they are part of a small, tenacious group of warriors. That hardy club isn't going to grow much, I think, until we link a series of routes where bikes are separated from cars, which is probably what the active-transportation strategy would have advised. There are a lot of reasons to envy Vancouverites, but rush-hour traffic isn't one of them. It's congested. You can idle in frustration for a long time, burning gas that costs $1.50 a litre. That, too, is part of the strategy. catherine.mitchell(a)freepress.mb.ca *Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 3, 2013 A15*

1 0

Edmonton using unique method to promote bicycle safety
by Dave Elmore 16 Aug '13

16 Aug '13

In an effort to make Edmonton more bike-friendly, the City is getting creative. As part of an education campaign called "Let's Get There Together," three new videos have been unveiled, starring mini Lego figurines. The short videos cover common issues that may arise when cyclists and motorists share the road. Check out this link: http://globalnews.ca/news/783642/city-using-unique-method-to-promote-bicycle -safety-on-edmonton-roads/ Thanks Dave o _ ( \ _ (X)\ /(X)

1 0

Risks of cycling, walking and driving put in context
by Beth McKechnie 16 Aug '13

16 Aug '13

At the risk of overloading everyone on a sunny Friday afternoon (!), I also found this Vancouver Sun piece by Kay Teschke -- lead research investigator on the BICE study<http://cyclingincities.spph.ubc.ca/injuries/the-bice-study/>-- a real eye-opener. happy weekend, Beth * * * * * Risks of cycling, walking and driving put in context Opinion: Constructive discussion needed By Kay Teschke and John Carsley, Special to The Vancouver Sun | July 8, 2013 http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/Risks+cycling+walking+driving+con… We read with interest The Vancouver Sun article “It may be time to start talking about licensing bikes” and the subsequent letters to the editor. We agree that an open and constructive discussion of cycling issues is needed. We are writing to provide a more complete public health context, since there may be misconceptions. We address three issues related to modes of transport: the burden (or number) of injuries; the risk (or rate) of injuries; and other potential risks and benefits of various modes. The burden of deaths and head injuries The editorial suggests that “cycling remains the biggest cause of traumatic brain injury for all other forms of recreational activity among young people.” By this, we presume the authors meant the single most important recreational cause of traumatic head injuries. In Canada, cycling accounts for 10 per cent of head injury hospitalizations in kids. Of course, this includes mountain biking, the most risky cycling activity. We think that cycling as discussed in the article is better compared with other modes of transportation. The most recent B.C. Traffic Accident Reports (2005 to 2007) indicate that, on average each year, there were 31 children (up to age 19) who had head injuries when cycling, 60 when walking, and 703 when in a car, SUV, van or truck. Unfortunately, this data only include crashes with motor vehicles, so it does miss some cycling and walking injuries. Deaths are often considered a better comparison measure, since they almost always involve crashes with motor vehicles, are reliably recorded, and are the most devastating type of injury. So how do deaths compare between modes? British Columbia Motor Vehicle Branch data for the same years indicate there were 10 deaths a year on average (all age groups) when cycling, 70 when walking, and 300 when driving. Thus, bicycling had the lowest “burden” of deaths and head injuries of the three transportation modes. The numbers of deaths and head injuries indicate that all modes of transportation deserve public health attention. Death rates shows cyclists, pedestrians more vulnerable The burden of death and injury reported above does not tell us whether one mode of transportation is safer or riskier than another. For example, more trips are taken by car and more distance travelled. So when deciding what mode of transportation to use, it is important to consider the death rate, not just the raw numbers. A recent analysis compared the fatality rate by mode of travel in B.C. There were 14 deaths per 100 million trips for bicycling, 15 for walking and 10 for driving – remarkably similar. Per 100 million kilometres travelled, there were three deaths for bicycling, seven for walking and one for driving. Using distance rather than trips shows that cyclists and pedestrians are more vulnerable road users. Are these risks high? One way to think about this is the number of trips for one death to happen: one car occupant dies every 10 million trips and one pedestrian or cyclist dies every seven million trips. Other risks and benefitsof transportation modes In addition to injuries, transportation contributes in other ways to the risk of death. These are also vital to consider when choosing a mode of transportation. Motor vehicle travel increases time spent sitting and produces air pollution, and these are associated with increased mortality from chronic diseases. Both walking and bicycling are active modes of travel. The physical activity they entail reduces the risk of developing many chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and dementia. Many studies have compared these benefits to the injury risks. All have found that the benefits greatly outweigh the risks. The benefits of walking and cycling (lower risk of death from chronic diseases) are 10 to 100 times higher than the risk of death from injuries. This wonderful health benefit of active modes of travel is the reason public health experts around the world and in B.C. want to make it easy for as many people as possible to choose walking or cycling for at least some of their daily trips. A multi-faceted approach modelled on countries that have achieved higher rates of active travel would include, first and foremost, reduced vehicular speed (to lower injuries for all travel modes), protected bicycling infrastructure that makes cycling feel as comfortable as walking on a sidewalk, and education programs in schools to teach cycling and road skills at an early age. An emphasis on encouragement, rather than punishment, seems most appropriate for travel modes that have such large net health benefits. *Dr. Kay Teschke is a professor of the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia; Dr. John Carsley is the medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.* © Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

1 0

What if bike comfort is more important than bike safety?
by Beth McKechnie 16 Aug '13

16 Aug '13

Thanks, Erik, very interesting and apropos to a study I was looking at this morning comparing route safety to route preferences. UBC's BICE study<http://cyclingincities.spph.ubc.ca/injuries/the-bice-study/>by Kay Teschke, Meghan Winters and Mike Brauer "examined the association between *bicyclists’ injuries and the cycling environment *(e.g., route types, intersection types)" in Toronto and Vancouver, and then compared the results with those of an earlier study<http://cyclingincities.spph.ubc.ca/opinion-survey/>of route types that motivate and deter cycling. Here's a snippet of the results: "We found that route infrastructure does affect the risk of cycling injuries. The following features were the *safest*: - cycle tracks (also known as “separated” or “protected” bike lanes) alongside major streets - residential street bike routes with traffic diversion - bike lanes on major streets where there were no parked cars - off-street bike paths - intersections with motor vehicle speeds below 30 km/h - residential street intersections The following infrastructure features had *increased risk*: - streetcar or train tracks - downhill grades - construction - sharrows (shared car / bike lanes) - traffic circles at residential street intersections - arriving at an intersection in the direction opposite to traffic *are safe routes preferred routes?* In our earlier study <http://cyclingincities.spph.ubc.ca/opinion-survey/>of route types that motivate and deter cycling, we found that people preferred to ride on bike-only paths, multi-use paths, residential street bike routes, and cycle tracks. They preferred NOT to ride on major streets. The graph below compares our injury study results on route safety to the results on route preferences. Preferences and safety largely agree. Major streets are less safe and not preferred. Bike-specific routes are safer and preferred. The main disagreement was that multi-use paths are preferred, but were not particularly safe. They could be made safer by making them straighter so sight lines are better and by removing obstacles like bollards." cheers, Beth On Fri, Aug 16, 2013 at 12:29 PM, Erik Dickson <edickson(a)scatliff.ca> wrote: > A very interesting article from this weeks’ Green Lane Project News ( > http://greenlaneproject.org/blog/view/what-if-bike-comfort-is-more-importan…). > For anyone who has ever debated “vehicular cycling” there are several good > points regarding whether the debate over what is safer is really the most > important debate or if we should instead being asking ourselves what is > more comfortable and likely to attract new riders. An interesting further > discussion may be should we always seek the most efficient routes for bike > infrastructure even though longer, parallel routes may have the potential > to be more comfortable. - Erik > > > *What if bike comfort is more important than bike safety?* *By Michael > Andersen, Green Lane Project staff writer* *August 14, 2013* > > <http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeportland/8884323350/> > > When I'm standing near the edge of a high ledge or cliff, I know, > rationally, that I'm unlikely to fall. I've spent most of my life without > spontaneously tumbling sideways, and standing on the edge of a cliff > doesn't change that. > > I know, statistically speaking, that I am almost completely safe. > > But that doesn't mean I like to stand near the edge of a cliff. > > When I'm in the front seat of a roller coaster, I know, rationally, that > my body is extremely safe. Tens of thousands of thrill-seekers have raised > their hands in the air without being harmed. > > But that doesn't stop me from being scared of raising my hands in the air > in the front seat of a roller coaster. > > <http://www.flickr.com/photos/rk_photos/9331712551/> > > When I'm riding my bike along a five-lane arterial road, I know, > rationally, that the professional truck driver next to me is statistically > unlikely to suddenly swerve to his right, crushing and killing me. > > But that doesn't mean I like to bike on a street like this: > > Last week, I interviewed<http://greenlaneproject.org/blog/view/at-last-feds-move-toward-a-green-ligh…>a man whose main ideas have been rejected by mainstream bike advocates in > the United States: John Forester, founder of the "vehicular cycling" > concept. Because cars and bikes rarely collide when they can see each > other, Forester and his allies argue, people should ride bicycles where > they are most visible: right down the middle of standard traffic lanes. > Protected bike lanes modeled on those in Northern Europe, they argue, move > people on bikes to the side of the roadway where they're harder for people > in cars to see. > > There's something to this argument. If there weren't, it wouldn't have > been nearly so successful in the 1970s and 1980s. To Forester and his > successors, such as Bicycle Quarterly's Jan Heine, peoples' desire to use > protected bike lanes is irrational and therefore unjustifiable<http://janheine.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/separated-cycle-paths-a-summary/> > . > > "Most Americans suffer from bicyclist inferiority complex," Forester told > me. "Most of the things that they like appeal to their phobias." > > There's a standard response to Forester, Heine and others who make this > case against protected bike lanes: that although no intersection is perfect > and a given protected lane might slightly increase the short-term risk of > collision at a given intersection, a city that offers a robust network of > protected lanes will actually become safer in the long run, because more > people will ride bikes<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_in_numbers#Examples_of_substantial_incr…> > . > > This is a pretty strong argument. > > But is it the best one? > > What if Forester, Heine and others are using the wrong metric to measure > the success of a bike lane? What if "safety," as calculated by government > statisticians who sit far away from speeding semi trailers, isn't actually > a bike lane's most precious characteristic? > > What if bike designers, instead of arguing about safety – an argument > that, to be clear, I think protected bike lanes would win – decided that*the most important measure of a good bikeway is whether people tend to like > it?* > > I'm not arguing that safety is unimportant. Obviously nonprofessionals are > imperfect judges of whether a particular lane or intersection is safe, and > cities must work carefully to design good, safe intersections with few > bike-car conflicts. > > But when professionals make safety their only absolute value, they presume > that physical safety is the most important value in people's lives. And > that assumption is demonstrably false. Of course people want safety. But > they want other things, too. > > *A restaurant doesn't measure its success by the percentage of people who > dine there without getting sick.* It measures success by the number of > people who come in the door, how much they pay and how often they return. A > public transit line isn't funded by the federal government based on its > anticipated vehicle failure rate. It's funded based on the number of people > who are expected to use it. > > And as for bike infrastructure, here's the thing: as one study<http://otrec.us/project/33>after another > <http://otrec.us/project/33>has found, people go out of their way to use > bike lanes, especially protected bike lanes<http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/08/07/study-cyclists-gravitate-toward-street…> > . > > *Bluebonnet Lane in Austin.* > > Surprise! It turns out that, rationally or not, people dislike biking on a > street that constantly reminds them of their own possible demise. > > Even if, rationally, they know they're almost completely safe. > > Here's what a more human-centric way of thinking about bike design would > involve: > > - In every city, making the number of anticipated users the primary > metric for designing a desired bike project. > - In every city, actually taking efforts to measure the usage of > important bike projects. > - Using the phrase "safety and comfort" as a pair of core values in > street design, but not as a pair of synonyms. > > This line of thinking is why, at the Green Lane Project, we use the phrase > "low-stress" to describe the bike networks we value most. We don't talk > about building "safer bike lanes," though ultimately a network of good ones > is safer. > > We simply talk about building "better bike lanes." > > People aren't robots, and they don't change their behavior based on > mathematics. They change their behavior based on feelings. Until bike > advocates and street designers alike understand this, bikes will never > successfully belong. > > *Green lane idea of the day: **Street designers should consider making > short-term safety a baseline requirement of better bike facilities, but not > the sole measure of bike projects' value.** * > > *Cycle track photo from Copenhagen by J.Maus/BikePortland; used with > permission. Cliff photo by Adam Baker. Roller coaster photo by raghavvidya. > * > > Regards, > Erik Dickson > > Suite 1120 – 201 Portage Avenue > > Winnipeg, MB R3B 3K6 > > ph: (204) 927-3444 ext. 242 > fax: (204) 927-3443 > web: www.scatliff.ca > > blog: http://scatliff.tumblr.com > > Please consider our environment before printing this message. > > > > _______________________________________________ > AT-Network mailing list > AT-Network(a)lists.umanitoba.ca > http://lists.umanitoba.ca/mailman/listinfo/at-network > >

1 0

What if bike comfort is more important than bike safety?
by Erik Dickson 16 Aug '13

16 Aug '13

A very interesting article from this weeks' Green Lane Project News (http://greenlaneproject.org/blog/view/what-if-bike-comfort-is-more-importan t-than-bike-safety). For anyone who has ever debated "vehicular cycling" there are several good points regarding whether the debate over what is safer is really the most important debate or if we should instead being asking ourselves what is more comfortable and likely to attract new riders. An interesting further discussion may be should we always seek the most efficient routes for bike infrastructure even though longer, parallel routes may have the potential to be more comfortable. - Erik What if bike comfort is more important than bike safety? By Michael Andersen, Green Lane Project staff writer August 14, 2013 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeportland/8884323350/> When I'm standing near the edge of a high ledge or cliff, I know, rationally, that I'm unlikely to fall. I've spent most of my life without spontaneously tumbling sideways, and standing on the edge of a cliff doesn't change that. I know, statistically speaking, that I am almost completely safe. But that doesn't mean I like to stand near the edge of a cliff. When I'm in the front seat of a roller coaster, I know, rationally, that my body is extremely safe. Tens of thousands of thrill-seekers have raised their hands in the air without being harmed. But that doesn't stop me from being scared of raising my hands in the air in the front seat of a roller coaster. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/rk_photos/9331712551/> When I'm riding my bike along a five-lane arterial road, I know, rationally, that the professional truck driver next to me is statistically unlikely to suddenly swerve to his right, crushing and killing me. But that doesn't mean I like to bike on a street like this: Last week, I interviewed <http://greenlaneproject.org/blog/view/at-last-feds-move-toward-a-green-ligh t-for-separated-bike-lanes> a man whose main ideas have been rejected by mainstream bike advocates in the United States: John Forester, founder of the "vehicular cycling" concept. Because cars and bikes rarely collide when they can see each other, Forester and his allies argue, people should ride bicycles where they are most visible: right down the middle of standard traffic lanes. Protected bike lanes modeled on those in Northern Europe, they argue, move people on bikes to the side of the roadway where they're harder for people in cars to see. There's something to this argument. If there weren't, it wouldn't have been nearly so successful in the 1970s and 1980s. To Forester and his successors, such as Bicycle Quarterly's Jan Heine, peoples' <http://janheine.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/separated-cycle-paths-a-summary/> desire to use protected bike lanes is irrational and therefore unjustifiable. "Most Americans suffer from bicyclist inferiority complex," Forester told me. "Most of the things that they like appeal to their phobias." There's a standard response to Forester, Heine and others who make this case against protected bike lanes: that although no intersection is perfect and a given protected lane might slightly increase the short-term risk of collision at a given intersection, a city that offers a robust network of protected lanes will actually become <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_in_numbers#Examples_of_substantial_incr eases_in_cycling_associated_with_reduction_in_danger> safer in the long run, because more people will ride bikes. This is a pretty strong argument. But is it the best one? What if Forester, Heine and others are using the wrong metric to measure the success of a bike lane? What if "safety," as calculated by government statisticians who sit far away from speeding semi trailers, isn't actually a bike lane's most precious characteristic? What if bike designers, instead of arguing about safety - an argument that, to be clear, I think protected bike lanes would win - decided that the most important measure of a good bikeway is whether people tend to like it? I'm not arguing that safety is unimportant. Obviously nonprofessionals are imperfect judges of whether a particular lane or intersection is safe, and cities must work carefully to design good, safe intersections with few bike-car conflicts. But when professionals make safety their only absolute value, they presume that physical safety is the most important value in people's lives. And that assumption is demonstrably false. Of course people want safety. But they want other things, too. A restaurant doesn't measure its success by the percentage of people who dine there without getting sick. It measures success by the number of people who come in the door, how much they pay and how often they return. A public transit line isn't funded by the federal government based on its anticipated vehicle failure rate. It's funded based on the number of people who are expected to use it. And as for bike infrastructure, here's the thing: as one study <http://otrec.us/project/33> after another <http://otrec.us/project/33> has found, people <http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/08/07/study-cyclists-gravitate-toward-street s-with-protected-bike-lanes/> go out of their way to use bike lanes, especially protected bike lanes. Bluebonnet Lane in Austin. Surprise! It turns out that, rationally or not, people dislike biking on a street that constantly reminds them of their own possible demise. Even if, rationally, they know they're almost completely safe. Here's what a more human-centric way of thinking about bike design would involve: * In every city, making the number of anticipated users the primary metric for designing a desired bike project. * In every city, actually taking efforts to measure the usage of important bike projects. * Using the phrase "safety and comfort" as a pair of core values in street design, but not as a pair of synonyms. This line of thinking is why, at the Green Lane Project, we use the phrase "low-stress" to describe the bike networks we value most. We don't talk about building "safer bike lanes," though ultimately a network of good ones is safer. We simply talk about building "better bike lanes." People aren't robots, and they don't change their behavior based on mathematics. They change their behavior based on feelings. Until bike advocates and street designers alike understand this, bikes will never successfully belong. Green lane idea of the day: Street designers should consider making short-term safety a baseline requirement of better bike facilities, but not the sole measure of bike projects' value. Cycle track photo from Copenhagen by J.Maus/BikePortland; used with permission. Cliff photo by Adam Baker. Roller coaster photo by raghavvidya. Regards, Erik Dickson Suite 1120 - 201 Portage Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3B 3K6 ph: (204) 927-3444 ext. 242 fax: (204) 927-3443 web: www.scatliff.ca blog: http://scatliff.tumblr.com Please consider our environment before printing this message.

1 0

3 part series on cycling in Denmark
by Dave Elmore 16 Aug '13

16 Aug '13

A bit of a long read but interesting none the less. http://grist.org/cities/an-american-in-denmark-close-encounters-with-europea n-bicycle-culture/ An American in Denmark: Close encounters with European bicycle culture The first thing that struck me, climbing the steps from the train station into the city of Copenhagen on a recent Wednesday morning, was the great abundance of bicycles. The street outside the train station had been converted into a chaotic, open-air bicycle parking lot, with bikes stacked on double-decker racks. Bikes lined every sidewalk, stood two- and three-deep against the old stucco and brick facades, and leaned against every lamp and signpost. The second thing that very nearly struck me was someone riding a bike. I was crossing a square en route to my hotel, lugging my bags, when I heard, behind me, the jolly "jing, jing!" of a bike bell. Back home in Seattle, bike bells are quaint - a pleasant way to give fellow bikers and pedestrians a gentle "heads up - coming through." Not so much in Copenhagen. As the cyclist swerved around me he muttered something about a "bike track." A second bell rang behind me and I realized, suddenly, that I was walking in a bike path that cut through the square. I shuffled as quickly as I could out of the way, realizing that here, a bike bell should be taken as seriously as a car horn. Such was my introduction to Danish bike culture. I was in Copenhagen for four days with a group of travel bloggers, the trip paid for by Denmark's tourism bureau <http://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/tourist-frontpage> , which is trying to promote Copenhagen as a destination for bike tourism. (I generally avoid such junkets. They make me feel dirty. But this one seemed too good to pass up, and with a little arm-twisting, my editor consented to let me go.) I wasn't the first bleary-eyed American to nearly get mowed down by a bicyclist upon arriving in one of Europe's bike capitals. Pete Jordan describes a similar experience in the opening chapter of his book, In the City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist <http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780061995200-5?&PID=25450> . Nor was I the first American to be blown away, befuddled, or generally wowed by the number of people who ride bikes in these cities. Jordan (you may know him as Dishwasher Pete <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dishwasher_Pete> ) reveals that we Yanks have been ogling European bike culture (and the toned legs of European bicyclists) for 100 years or more. But there's no shame in that. The ogling is good here! In a jetlag-induced haze, I spent my first day in Copenhagen wandering the streets, swilling espresso at sidewalk cafes, and checking out the bikes and the people who rode them. I learned a few things in the process. For starters, the bikes: When I think of European bikes, my mind immediately leaps to the Tour de France, which happened to be in progress when I was in Copenhagen - think $10,000 carbon fiber, pedal-powered crotch rockets. But there were no racing bikes here. Instead, the urban peloton lolled along on (mostly) black cruiser bikes decked out with wind-catching fenders over the wheels, plus jaunty wicker or metal baskets up front, utilitarian racks in the back. And while the streets were remarkably free of car traffic (turns out that most of Denmark was on holiday at the time) there was the constant, tinny squeak of a thousand rusty bike chains. I'm not talking about a little russet stain on just a few chains; almost without exception, these chains were absolutely encrusted with rust. Later in the week, when I pointed this out to Mikael Colville-Andersen, the man behind the Copenhagenize <http://www.copenhagenize.com/> and Cycle Chic <http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/> blogs, he just laughed. "It's a vacuum cleaner," he said of a bike. The implication: A bike is a tool, something that does the job of getting you from one place to the next - not something to pamper and obsess over. Of course, there's another reason that locals allow their bikes to fall into such disrepair: Copenhageners are a trustworthy lot, the guidebooks will tell you - except when it comes to bikes. A shiny, well-tuned ride is apt to become a target for thieves. And if your bike is likely to be ripped off at some point anyway, there's no sense in babying it. (Dishwasher Pete describes Amsterdam's stolen bike economy in great detail in his book, which, if you care at all about bikes, or just want a unique window into European history, is well worth the read.) A wild menagerie of utility bikes also thread through this old city. The most common variation is a three-wheeled cycle with a large box up front - Copenhageners call them Christiania bikes, as many of them are made in Christiania, the city's hippie quarter, where squatters took over an old army barracks in 1971 and never left. These bikes are used to haul all manner of cargo, from flowers to dogs to people. A Christania bike can accommodate a couple of kids - I saw four of them packed into one - and it isn't uncommon to see an adult folded into the bucket, enjoying a ride across town. There are a few high-tech variations on the cargo bike. Colville-Andersen let me take his Danish-designed Bullitt for a test drive later in the week. He also gave me a ride across town in the bucket. But for the most part, when it comes to bikes in Copenhagen, it's function over fashion. (For those of you who love a little bike porn, though, we've put together a slideshow <http://grist.org/slideshow/precious-cargo-these-bikes-carry-just-about-anyt hing-pianos-included/> of images from Colville-Andersen's latest book, Cargo Bike Nation.) Which brings me to the bicyclists - and back to the ogling. Copenhagen's bike riders range from toddlers just finding their legs (wheels?) on pedal-less starter bikes (I didn't see a single tricycle or set of training wheels) to elderly men and women who navigate the city center right along with the city's youthful masses. A great many of the bikers on these streets, though, are tall, blond, and beautiful. I found the homogeneity to be a little disconcerting - since, in my mind, a city's health is measured in large part by its racial diversity. But if there's one place one would expect to find an overwhelming preponderance of Northern Europeans, it's in, well, right ... (Of course, lest you think that race and general tolerance of others is not an issue here, I would call your attention to a certain cartoonist <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E3D6153EF931A25751C0A960 9C8B63> .) Almost none of the people riding bicycles in Copenhagen had gone out of their way to "dress for biking." Few wore helmets (more on that later), and of the thousands of cyclists I saw in the city, I could count on one hand those who were wearing Spandex. (Ten bucks says they were Americans.) The men rocked jeans or business attire, and many of the women wore skirts - long, short, and almost non-existent. When my wife wondered, via email, what the secret was to riding in a skirt without revealing your delicates to all the world, I put the question to our tour guide, a young Copenhagener named Christina who now lives in New York City. Again, I got laughed at. "Remember," she said, "we're Scandinavian." Translation: Just hike up your skirt and ride, girl! Just as remarkable as the people riding the bikes were the things they did while riding: They talked on cellphones, smoked cigarettes (Copenhageners smoke like chimneys - "but we still live until we're 85, because the biking cancels it out," one local told me), sang, held hands, gesticulated with both hands while cruising along, top speed, talking to a friend on a neighboring bike. And I didn't see a single one of them wipe out. As Colville-Andersen suggested, bicycles sit at the heart of urban living in Copenhagen. These people were as comfortable on their bikes as we are in our cars in the states. But, as I learned later, it hasn't always been that way. As an American on my first visit to Copenhagen a few weeks back, I was whopperjawed <http://grist.org/cities/an-american-in-denmark-close-encounters-with-europe an-bicycle-culture/> by the bicycle traffic on the "bike tracks" that swallow up a lane on each side of many city streets there. Particularly mind-blowing was the cavalcade of bicyclists that charged across a certain bridge just a few hundred feet from my hotel - a bridge that, I later learned from city officials, probably sees more bike traffic than any other in the world. Queen Louise's Bridge (Dronning Louises Bro to the Danes) carries over 40,000 bicycles each day. For perspective, that's more than twice as many people as bike to school or work each day in the entire city of Portland, Ore., which is roughly the same size as Copenhagen. Standing on Queen Louise's Bridge at rush hour, you watch the crush of bike-riding humanity riding past. The riders queue up at the stoplights at either end of the bridge, and woe be to the pedestrian (or driver, for that matter) who gets in their way when that thing turns green. It's such a spectacle that, since the city widened the bike tracks and sidewalks about five years ago, the bridge has become a popular hangout and people-watching spot for young Copenhageners. Some have taken to calling it the "hipster bridge." More than a third of the residents of the Copenhagen metro area - 36 percent, by the city's count - bike to school or work each day. That blows away any city in the U.S.: In Portland, top among U.S. cities, only 6 percent of commuters go by bike. And a whopping 75 percent of Copenhagen cyclists ride year-round, despite the fact that the weather in this city, which is at roughly the same latitude as Juneau, Alaska, was described by almost every local I spoke to as flat-out "shitty" (imagine Seattle, only darker in winter). Copenhageners are proud of their biking habits. "It's like brushing your teeth - it's something everyone does," says Marie Brøndom Bay, a representative of the city's bicycling division. But those numbers have been hard-won. And to Brøndom Bay and other city officials charged with minimizing car traffic and air pollution, and promoting public health, even a third of the populace on bikes is not nearly enough. As in most European cities, cycling was bigger in Copenhagen 100 years ago. The Danish capital hosted the first world road racing championship in 1921. And bikes flourished here during the first and second world wars. But like in other cities on the continent, car culture revved up in the 1960s and swept aside bike usage. By 1970, only about 10 percent of road users were bicyclists. Bikes saw something of a resurgence during oil shortages in the 1970s, when Copenhagen instigated car-free Sundays (Hello Ciclovía <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciclovia> !), and riding rose through the 1980, '90s, and early aughts. But the numbers of bikers never returned to anything close to pre-1960s levels. FietsberaadThe number of cyclists riding into Copenhagen during morning peak rush hour, 1950-2005. In recent years, city officials have fought hard just to hold ridership levels steady, and of late, they've had a hard time convincing more residents to ride. One local transportation policy wonk wonders if Copenhagen has hit a "glass ceiling" with cycling. It's a problem: The city council has pledged to make the city CO2 neutral by 2025, and that will require more people to bike. City planners have set out to get fully half of the citizenry to cycle by 2015 - a goal that will require an additional 55,000 people to ride rather than drive. (Encouraging cycling is also a part of official Danish health policy: The city estimates that biking already saves about $300 million annually in health costs.) But numbers have been slow to tick up, despite some remarkably innovative programs designed to boost bicycling - programs that one transportation official describes as "the carrot, the whip, and the tambourine." When officials talk about the carrot, they mainly mean better bike infrastructure. The most obvious part of this is the ubiquitous cycle tracks. Unlike most of the bike lanes in the states, Copenhagen's bike tracks are separated from car traffic by at least a curb, and in many places by a row of parked cars. The city boasts more than 225 miles of cycle tracks, and in recent years has spent considerable resources maintaining and upgrading them. In my experience, cycle tracks were often in better shape than the streets. To encourage more people on the outskirts of the city proper to ride, Copenhagen began construction on a web of "cycle superhighways" connecting outlying areas to the city center. The first one was completed last summer <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/world/europe/in-denmark-pedaling-to-work- on-a-superhighway.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0> , and connects the city with the suburb of Albertslund. I took a dreamy ride on it one afternoon: Lined with greenery and wide enough for four cyclists riding abreast, it wound through a local university campus and over bike-only bridges spanning busy roads. Where it paralleled roads with cars, it was separated from the traffic by both a curb and a line of parking spaces. Biking here was stress-free - quite a contrast to my route to work in Seattle, which one international bike expert recently called "death-defying <http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021268792_bicyclingpucherxml.html> ." Other carrots include what transportation planners call the "green wave" - traffic lights timed to match the speed of cyclists and thus minimizing waits at red lights. The city also offers tax incentives for residents who commute by bike, and for employers who provide services such as bike parking and showers. There are phone apps for route-finding and reporting trouble spots. And it's easy to mix and match biking with other modes of transport: You can bring your bike on the train at no charge, and taxis are required to have bike racks. The biggest whip that drives people away from cars and onto bikes is probably the sky-high cost of gasoline - a gallon of gas cost about $8.50 when I visited in July. Of course, the 180-percent tax <http://www.copenhagenize.com/2012/10/danish-180-tax-on-cars-is-rather.html> that the Danish government levies on car purchases hurts plenty, too. (Denmark has pledged to wean itself from fossil fuels <http://denmark.dk/en/green-living/strategies-and-policies/independent-from- fossil-fuels-by-2050/> completely by 2050.) But the city has its own whips, first among them being the steady whittling away of car parking in the city center, combined with an increase in the cost of remaining parking spots. Narrowing or eliminating car lanes to make room for more bike tracks - a trend that seems to make Brøndom Bay especially proud - adds further disincentive for drivers. So does turning streets into bike parking lots outside of train stations. And the tambourines? On Queen Louise's Bridge, the city has installed a bike counter that ticks off the number of cyclists that have passed each day, giving riders a sense that they're part of a movement, not just lost in the crowd. At many intersections, the city has installed footrests for cyclists waiting at red lights emblazoned with friendly messages <http://www.copenhagenize.com/2010/01/holding-on-to-cyclists-in-copenhagen.h tml> like, "Hi, cyclist! Rest your foot here ... and thank you for cycling in the city." But the most innovative of all is the "bike butler" program: brightly clad city workers who tidy up the bike parking areas, and will even do minor repairs while the owners of said bikes are away. It's a remarkable collection of policies and incentives - but it's unlikely to be enough to get 50 percent of residents cycle commuting by 2015. Officials are already downplaying those numbers, in fact. The goal, you see, was predicated on another big whip: The government planned to put a "congestion ring <http://cphpost.dk/news/local/congestion-charge-%E2%80%9Cnot-perfect%E2%80%9 D-%E2%80%93-its-coming-anyway> " around the city center, like London's <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge> , and charge drivers to bring cars into the city. But that was scrapped <http://cphpost.dk/news/politics/congestion-charge-proposal-ends-rubbish-bin > last year in the face of opposition from suburban mayors and residents who learned that they would likely not get the major reductions in train and bus fares into the city that they'd been promised. Still, city officials hold to the official goal, even if it looks increasingly unrealistic. Ultimately, Brøndom Bay explains, the challenge is one of building a bike culture that gets people to change their habits without sacrificing their current lifestyle. For the über-stylish Danes, that might require a reordering of morning priorities: "You need good, close bike infrastructure - and you also need to bring your mascara to work." During my short trip to Denmark last month, I spent a good amount of time on a heavy, black cruiser bike rented from my hotel, exploring the city of Copenhagen and surrounds in search of lessons in bike culture, infrastructure, and policy that I could bring back home to the states. Some of my most productive time, however, was spent out of the saddle sitting at sidewalk cafés, talking to designers, planners, and policy wonks. Also, I spent loads of time drinking copious amounts of beer and/or coffee, and watching the beautiful people pedal by - most of them on "granny bikes" like mine. I spent an entire afternoon at one café with Mikael Colville-Andersen, the CEO of Copenhagenize Design Co <http://www.copenhagenize.com/> . Colville-Andersen makes a living as a provocateur and a preacher, spreading the gospel of biking to cities around the world. He makes a strong case that we should take our streets back from the traffic engineers, and instead design them with people in mind <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX8zZdLw7cs> . He also says Americans need to take bicycling back from the bike tribes - the hipsters, speedsters, and bike messengers - and make them as ordinary as the black granny bikes on Copenhagen's streets. "Subcultures are actually a hindrance to building cycling," Colville-Andersen said. "From an American perspective, I think you need to get the subcultures to shut up." I spent an hour on another afternoon drinking gypsy-brewed beer with Kasey Klimes, an urban data specialist with Gehl Architects <http://www.gehlarchitects.com/> , the firm that New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg hired to help make his city more bike friendly. Klimes did a study on Queen Louise's Bridge, one of Copenhagen's main bike thoroughfares. After the city doubled the width of the bike tracks on the bridge and made other improvements, bike traffic increased by a third. Car traffic, meanwhile, dropped by half. Forty percent of those drivers found other routes, Klimes found, but 10 percent "just disappeared." Apparently they decided that riding the bus or biking was a better option. And in fact, when asked why they bike rather than drive, the great majority of Copenhageners respond that it's simply the quickest, most convenient way to get around. Health and economic concerns are factors, too. Protecting the environment? Hardly a blip on their radar: (Copenhagen city officials have worked hard to make biking easy. For details on their methods, which one planner described as "the carrot, the whip, and the tambourine," check out part 2 <http://grist.org/cities/spin-cycle-copenhagens-rise-fall-and-rise-again-to- cycling-supremacy/> in this series.) On my last day in Copenhagen, I spent a few hours at yet another sidewalk café, talking with two fellow Americans who are working to get more people riding bicycles back home - and have some significant cash to throw at the problem, thanks to the enlightened self-interest of companies that make and sell bikes. Zach Vanderkooy is the international programs officer for Bikes Belong <http://www.bikesbelong.org/> , a Boulder, Colo.-based nonprofit that gets its funding from U.S. bicycle manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. Randy Neufeld is director of the SRAM Cycling Fund <http://www.sramcyclingfund.org/index.html> , a philanthropic arm of the company that makes Rock Shox and other bike components. Their main focus these days? Make American streets look more like the ones in Copenhagen. Vanderkooy and Neufeld believe that there's a large chunk of the American public that is poised and ready to bike. They cited work by Roger Geller, the bicycle coordinator for the city of Portland, Ore., who argues that fully 60 percent of the city's population is curious about biking, but they don't do it. Why? "It's dangerous." Here's a chart breaking breaking Portland's populace into the bikers, the non-bikers, and the yet-to-be convinced. If you want the thinking behind all this, Geller has written a whole report on the subject <http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/44597?a=237507> [PDF]. The key to moving people from the yellow "interested but concerned" zone to the green "enthused & confident" zone? Get rid of the fear factor, Vanderkooy and Neufeld said. That is, create a cityscape where they feel safe riding a bike. Traffic calming devices, neighborhood greenways, and bike trails all help, Neufeld said. "But the missing tool in the U.S. is protected bike lanes." By "protected," he meant bike lanes that are separated from car traffic by more than a flimsy white line. Here's how they do it in Copenhagen: They've put a line of car parking spaces - and an occasional tree - between the cyclists and the cars. It may seem like a small thing, but it makes an incredible difference. Rather than riding in constant fear of being clipped or flattened by a passing motorist, you're free to tootle along, cigarette in one hand, cellphone in the other. (OK, don't do that - but the Danes do.) Cities from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., have installed protected or separated bike lanes in the past few years. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has vowed to install 100 miles of them during his four-year term. And Vanderkooy and Neufeld are hoping to make it spread further. Vanderkooy's group, with funding from the SHRAM Cycling Fund, is sponsoring the Green Lane Project <http://greenlaneproject.org/> , a campaign that works with a half-dozen U.S. cities at a time to create protected bike lanes. This is all fine and good, but I had to ask: Is biking in U.S. cities just a fad, fueled by a young generation that can't afford cars? Neufeld, a veteran bicycle activist who founded Chicago's Active Transportation Alliance, doesn't think so. He pointed to "megatrends" like a disinterest in driving among millennials <http://grist.org/transportation/2011-12-27-driving-has-lost-its-cool-for-yo ung-americans/> , the decline in overall driving miles even as the recession has lifted <http://grist.org/news/youngs-kill-car-culture/> , and the rising price of gasoline. Those trends are unlikely to turn around any time soon, he said. "None of this smacks as 'fad' to me." Instead, Neufeld thinks that we're seeing an unprecedented opportunity to change American transportation culture for the better. "This is the big one," he said. "There's never been change at this pace. Bicycling has never been this popular." And for U.S. cities that have embraced bicycling in recent years, it's not really about bikes, Vanderkooy said. "It's about attracting young people and talent to your city. It's about better economic performance, economic health, and public safety. Mayors have begun to embrace biking as purely a rational act, to make their cities competitive." With that, Neufeld looked at his watch, his eyes lighting up like a kid who woke up on Christmas morning and found a shiny new bike under the tree: "You guys want to go watch rush hour on the bridge?" He was talking about Queen Louise's Bridge, of course, that shining, squeaking emblem of Copenhagen's rebirth as a bicycling city. And watch we did, joining the throngs of locals lining the railings. I woke up at 3:30 the next morning, still discombobulated by the time change, and decided to go for a run. The sky was starting to get light as I ran past Queen Louise's Bridge, and the crazy Copenhageners were still at it. Clusters of young people lined the sidewalks, cheering bicyclists as they pedaled past. One group had a portable sound system - in the front of a cargo bike, of course - and was throwing an impromptu dance party. Couples sat on the railing, looking east, waiting for the sunrise. As the sun crested the skyline, a cheer went up, and the people on the bridge slowly collected their things, mounted their bikes, and started home. And so did I - I had an airplane to catch.

1 0