Urban Cycling Developments

[M II A II R II K]

More New Yorkers Opting for Life in the Bike Lane

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/30/n...commuting.html

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- The two-wheelers glide down a bike lane on Hoyt Street, which links Downtown Brooklyn with thriving brownstone-lined neighborhoods. There are so many bikes during the evening rush that they pack together at red lights and spill out in front of cars. It is the kind of bike hegemony that was once hard to imagine in New York City, where cars and taxis long claimed the streets and only hardened cyclists braved the chaotic traffic.

- “New York has really become a biking world,” said Jace Rivera, 42, a former construction worker who so enjoyed riding his bike to work that he changed careers last year to become a bike messenger. “The city has gotten a lot more crowded, and the trains have gotten a lot more expensive. By biking, you spare yourself the crowds, you save a lot of money, and you can go to work on time.”

- Biking has become part of New York’s commuting infrastructure as bike routes have been expanded and a fleet of 10,000 Citi Bikes has been deployed to more than 600 locations. Today there are more than 450,000 daily bike trips in the city, up from 170,000 in 2005, an increase that has outpaced population and employment growth, according to city officials. About one in five bike trips is by a commuter.

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[M II A II R II K]

Last week, Corona residents celebrated the completion of a road diet and protected bike lane along the border of Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Video Link

[M II A II R II K]

PBOT officially opens the nine-mile, $4.5 million, 20s Bikeway

https://bikeportland.org/2017/08/24/...bikeway-239976

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- Four years after planning work got underway and seven years after it was funded, the City of Portland will officially open the 20s Bikeway today. --- The 20s Bikeway is a new connection in our network that spans over nine miles north-to-south between the Springwater Corridor at its southern end and NE Lombard in the north (view map PDF here). With a budget of around $4.5 million (funded by a Metro/ODOT grant and transportation system development charges), the bikeway is a mix of striped bike lanes (some protected, some not), neighborhood greenway treatments, and updated crossings of major streets.

- The importance of this route starts with its north-south orientation. Most of the bicycle network is currently oriented in an east-west direction, where it can use a dense and continuous network of local streets. Portland’s north-south street network is more difficult to traverse on bike: the streets are often interrupted by dead ends and dogleg routes, there are major barriers with few places to cross, such Interstate 84, and because there are more busy arterial streets to cross. The 20s Bikeway provides a seamless, low-stress cycling path through these obstacles that serves a broad range of cyclists.

- The new route connects to a large number of neighborhoods and destinations. More than 35,000 residents, including 5,500 school-aged children, live within a quarter mile of the route. It travels through 13 neighborhoods and six commercial districts, and provides access to 14 parks and 12 schools. Along the way, it intersects with 14 existing east-west bikeways and six more that are planned.

- To make the route an enjoyable bicycling experience for people of all ages and abilities, the project used a broad range of roadway improvements to ensure safety and convenience for the public. It improved 17 crossings of busy arterial streets, with benefits for people walking and biking. More than two-thirds of the route uses low-traffic volume and low-traffic speed residential streets that have been calmed to the latest Portland standards for neighborhood greenways. The other third of the route uses neighborhood collector streets that have been upgraded with bike lanes, most with buffered bike lanes and several segments with protected bike lanes.

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[M II A II R II K]

Bicyclists learn from bicyclists to break traffic laws. But perhaps the law should learn from them, researcher says.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...esearcher-says

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- If you could rank a city’s bicyclists on a scale of law-abiding goody goodies to crazed outlaws — that is, based on how willing they are to break minor traffic laws — where would D.C. rank? And in places where bicyclists do freely interpret the traffic laws, should we change the laws rather than change the behavior? It’s a question or two worth posing as D.C. explores the idea of expanding bike rentals through dockless bike sharing. The system, which was pioneered in China and recently arrived in the United States, lets users download an app to rent self-locking bicycles and leave them wherever the ride ends.

- As reported by WTOP and WAMU-FM, the District Department of Transportation will run a pilot program from Sept. 20 through April to allow companies to test dockless bike sharing here. The program could extend the reach of bike share to parts of the city where it doesn’t exist. Unlike Capital Bikeshare and similar programs, dockless bicycles don’t require government subsidies, backers say. The program could be a boon for a city that Bicycling magazine already ranks as among the top 10 biking cities in the United States.

- But dockless bikes — which have generated backlash in China, where some say the bicycles are dumped at the end of the run like trash — might also increase tensions that already flare sometimes between bikers and motorists. And that brings us to a fascinating study that came out a couple years ago and only became available online earlier this year. The study, ”Scofflaw Bicycling: Illegal but Rational,” examined the issues that lead to the bike-vs.-car angst, but particularly why bicyclists break traffic laws — and what might be done to change things.

- The study makes a number of excellent points, beginning with the assertion that everyone who uses public streets and roads breaks the law at times. That’s true whether you drive a car or walk across the street. And yet, the study asks, why do so many people lose their minds when they see bicyclists running a red light? Why the tendency to vent sometimes about bicyclists despite the fact that the odds of a biker hurting anyone other than himself are minute compared with the harm done by people in rolling metal boxes that weigh a ton or more? (Guilty.)

- The study — which was conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado and the University of Nebraska and published online in March in the Journal of Transport and Land Use — found that the reason most bicyclists (71 percent) violate traffic rules is a bid for self-preservation. Other reasons include saving energy (56 percent) or saving time (50 percent) or attempting to increase one’s visibility (47 percent). In other words, the study found that a large number of bicyclists tend to break the law because they think it will keep them safer.

- Some will no doubt dismiss the findings as an exercise in rationalizing bad behavior. But it actually makes sense, along the lines of a bicyclist’s “taking the lane,” a defensive maneuver that’s legal in D.C. and other places but also riles a lot of motorists, by traveling in the middle of a traffic lane. Bicyclists do that to stay farther away from doors that could open and hurt them; it’s also a maneuver to make sure motorized vehicles can see them.

- What’s more, the study also says that one of the most important determinants about whether a bicyclist will take the lane, or merely slow at a stop sign, or go through a red light after stopping is whether other bicyclists are doing it. Bicyclists affect the way other bicyclists drive — in the way that people form opinions or start riots, the city says. It’s monkey see, monkey do, with a little tribalism mixed in. And it doesn’t matter where you grew up learning how to ride a bicycle. You adopt the practices of the people around you.

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[mrnyc]

nyc citi bike expansion timeline:

http://www.amny.com/transit/next-cit...ria-1.14112194

[M II A II R II K]

Build it and they will come? Why Britain's 1960s cycling revolution flopped

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2...pped-stevenage

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- Stevenage, the first of England’s post-war New Towns, was widely proclaimed in the 1960s as a shining example of how the provision of high-quality, joined-up cycle infrastructure would encourage many people to cycle – not just keen cyclists. The town, 30 miles north of London, had wide, smooth cycleways next to its main roads which were separated from cars and pedestrians. There were well-lit, airy underpasses beneath roundabouts, and schools, workplaces and shops were all linked by protected cycleways.

- Stevenage still has these cycleways. Throughout the 60s and into the 70s, it was put forward as proof that the UK could build a Dutch-style cycle network. An article in New Scientist magazine in 1973 claimed that “Stevenage cycleways and cycle underpasses [are] premiere exhibits … [in a] traffic revolution.” This revolution flopped. Few outsiders have any inkling that Stevenage is veined with the kind of separated cycleways commonplace in the Netherlands, and even locals are largely unaware they have a 23-mile cycle network.

- The borough council did not apply to become a “cycling demonstration town” when Cycling England offered fat grants for local authorities to encourage cycle use in 2005. The organisation was seeking “low hanging fruit”, and if its expert board members had been aware of Stevenage’s cycleways at the time they might have chosen to target the town in a bid to boost bike use, says former Cycling England head Phillip Darnton. “Stevenage would have been interesting because it clearly already had some good cycling infrastructure,” he adds, “but a burning question would have been, why wasn’t it being used?”

- Eric Claxton, the lead designer of post-war Stevenage, had believed that use of cycleways would be high if they were well built – originally thinking that Britain’s hostile road environment discouraged people from cycling. Construction of the cycleway network was given the go-ahead in 1950, built at the same time as the primary road network. Stevenage was compact, and Claxton assumed the provision of 12 ft-wide cycleways and 7 ft-wide pavements would encourage residents to walk and cycle. He had witnessed the high usage of Dutch cycleways, and he believed the same could be achieved in the UK.

- But to Claxton’s puzzlement and eventual horror, residents of Stevenage chose to drive – even for journeys of two miles or less. Stevenage’s 1949 masterplan projected that 40% of the town’s residents would cycle each day, and just 16% would drive. The opposite happened. By 1964, cycle use was down to 13%; by 1972, it had dropped to 7%. (Today it has less than half that, and yet some neighbouring towns with few cycleways have cycling modal shares of 4-5%.) Claxton poured scorn on those who chose motorcars rather than bicycles, complaining that motorists “seem to have a problem with their logic” because “they use their cars as shopping baskets, or use them as overcoats”.

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[M II A II R II K]

Montreal to invest $150M in ambitious new 5-year bike plan

Read More: http://dailyhive.com/montreal/montre...lion-bike-plan

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Investments of $15 million per year for the next 15 years will be added to the amount already planned to be spent annually on the development of the Montreal’s cycling network, which means that over the next five years more that $150 million will be dedicated to improving the city’s bike system.

- “By committing ourselves to zero vision, in terms of road safety, our Administration has made a strong move. The first bicycle master plan of the metropolis consolidates this vision with major investments for its implementation,” said Aref Salem, transportation manager on the executive committee, in a release. --- “We are very proud to deliver this commitment, which is the result of a concerted effort with members of the Montreal Bike Committee. I am convinced that this plan will have a positive impact on the quality of life of all citizens. ”

The City laid out 10 steps that the bike plan aims to accomplish over the next few years:

• Deployment of the Montreal cycling network, which is based on greater connectivity, better access to clusters and more complementarity with public transit;

• Conversion of the Montreal bicycle network into an accessible and safe network in all seasons;

• Development of a downtown bike accessibility plan;

• Realization at the metropolitan scale of bold, structured and large-scale bicycle projects;

• Improvement of the supply and quality of parking for bicycles throughout the territory of Montreal and particularly in the central districts;

• Integration of cyclists’ needs into the existing road network and in street improvement and redevelopment projects;

• Implementation of facilities or equipment based on innovation and new technologies and in line with the functionalities of the intelligent and digital city;

• Implementation of projects and programs directed at organizations or cultural communities to support and promote initiatives to encourage cycling;

• Development of partnerships with sporting and community organizations, schools, leisure groups, etc., to meet the needs of all clientele;

• Promotion of cycling as a safe, efficient and comfortable mode of transportation.

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[202_Cyclist]

As of this week, there are four new bike-sharing systems operating in DC, including Lime Bike and Mobike (I took the photo below this past weekend). Both Lime Bike and Mobike are offering free rides on a trial basis until Oct. 1

Which dockless bikeshare (Mobike, LimeBike, or Spin) is right for you?

https://ggwash.org/view/64863/which-...-right-for-you

Bike Share, Unplanned

https://www.citylab.com/transportati...-share/540606/

[M II A II R II K]

During the mayoral campaign, Kenney promised to build 30+ miles of protected bicycle lanes. Almost 2 years later, where are we?

http://planphilly.com/articles/2017/...where-are-we-1

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- In the 2015 mayoral race, then-candidate Jim Kenney pledged to build more than 30 miles of protected bicycle lanes in Philadelphia, to accompany the more than 400 miles of unprotected bicycle lanes that already separate bicycle and automotive traffic. Last April, the city won funds for thirteen protected bicycle lane projects, which would fulfill the thirty miles pledge. But actual construction on those projects has lagged since, frustrating many bicyclists who voted for the Mayor.

- At the end of August, the city celebrated the opening of a protected bike lane on Chestnut Street between 33rd and 45th Streets. Last year, a section of protected bicycle lanes were built along Ryan Avenue Next to the Pennypack Creek Park and another section on Frankford Avenue as a link to the Pennypack Creek Trail. The city also has plans to install protected bike lanes on American Street in Kensington — though recent renderings show inconsistencies in the lane placement and level of protection for the project, which is set to begin construction in 2018 and finish sometime in 2020.

- Very few of the planned protected lane projects have rolled out. The stretch of Race Street between Fifth and Ninth streets remains unprotected. Much of the painted infrastructure across the city is withering away, particularly along 22nd Street and Moyamensing Avenue. White striped lanes erode over time, leaving what seems to be an awkward and dangerous extension of space unreserved for cyclists. The plastic delineator posts lining parts of South Street and Walnut Street Bridges have been destroyed by cars repeatedly, only to be replaced months later — or not at all as is the case with short strip along the eastbound lane of the South Street Bridge.

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[mrnyc]

the human bike lane demonstration:



Demonstrators on Fifth Avenue in midtown create ‘human-protected bike lane’

By Vincent Barone vin.barone@amny.com October 11, 2017



There’s no bike lane on Fifth Avenue in midtown, so advocates simply stepped into the street and created their own.

More than 100 demonstrators briefly commandeered the two easternmost lanes of Fifth Avenue, from 50th Street to 43rd Street, on Tuesday to call for the city to install real bike lanes on the busy corridor.

“It’s a testament to the strength of this movement. We’re trying to demonstrate numbers,” said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, which organized the event. “You can’t just be about policy or about passing legislation, you have to be about putting bodies in rooms and bodies on streets and we’re so lucky to have so many dedicated New Yorkers who care so deeply about safe streets.”


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/demonst...ane-1.14425568

[shivtim]

Bike ridership in Midtown Atlanta increased 225% from 2013-2017, thanks largely to new bike infrastructure and an expanded bike share system.

New protected lane about to begin construction on Piedmont Avenue:

[Casa Granda]

Bicycles are a healthy means of transportation for both health and the environment. If possible, we should move a lot by bicycle

[M II A II R II K]

http://bikeleague.org/content/ranking

[M II A II R II K]

Which Bike Lanes Should Be Protected? New Guide Offers Specifics

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/11/...ers-specifics/

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- At its annual conference Tuesday in Chicago, the National Association of City Transportation Officials released a free 16-page document that makes one of the first comprehensive attempts to answer that question.

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[initiald]

Raleigh has selected bike share vendor Bewegen and approved a contract to install 300 bikes at 30 stations in 2018.

Raleigh will join other Bewegen bike share cities including Birmingham, Baltimore, Richmond, Summit County UT, Howard County MD, and a number of European cities.

[M II A II R II K]

SO, BMW WANTS TO BUILD NETWORKS OF ELEVATED CYCLING PATHS

https://www.wired.com/story/bmw-elev...paths-concept/

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- This week, the automaker’s somewhat redundantly named Research, New Technologies, Innovations division, based in Mountain View, Tokyo, and Seoul, revealed its idea of building a network of bike lanes above street level. It’s called the E3 Way—that's for elevated, electric, and efficient—and BMW says it could help growing cities everywhere fight congestion and ease emissions by making cycling a safer, more convenient, and thus more popular way to get around.

- This network would be reserved for electric bikes and two-wheelers (like the BMW Motorrad X2 City, a battery-powered scooter), and it would have a speed limit of 15.5 mph. If you’re wondering why regular, human-powered bikes don’t seem welcome—well, BMW doesn’t make those. — Like a well-designed highway, the E3 Way would feature ramps and sluice systems to handle merging. Video surveillance and artificial intelligence would monitor the flow of traffic.

- Most of the network will have a roof (no worries about rainy days), and a “cooling system with purified rainwater [that] creates pleasant temperatures,” whatever that means. It’s a lovely vision: Instead of doing battle with cars and pedestrians and whatever else on the street, cyclists get their own safe haven, where they can zoom along, stopping only to pity the poor folks below.

- Real world attempts to elevate bike lanes suggest otherwise. In January 2014, to much fanfare, celebrated architect Norman Foster unveiled a plan for a network of aerial cycleways in London, called SkyCycle. Nearly 140 miles of raised, car-free, 50-foot-wide bike paths would connect six million people, accommodating 12,000 riders an hour. In 2016, one of the project’s leaders told cycling website BikeRadar that the $10.7 billion iinfrastructure project was still in the works, but there are no visible signs of progress.

- The places that have made elevated bike paths work are those that have reined in their ambitions. In January, Xiamen, in southeast China, opened the world’s longest example, which stretches just under 5 miles. In the Netherlands, Eindhoven’s “Hovenring” has lifted cyclists above a busy intersection since 2012. Copenhagen’s “Cykelsangen” (that’s Danish for “cycle snake”) is just 721 feet long, but lets the city’s many bikers pedal over a waterfront shopping area, instead of pushing through its throngs of pedestrians.

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[202_Cyclist]

""For unknown reasons, at 7:03 p.m., the subject is observed picking up the LimeBike and throwing it onto the inbound Metro tracks. The bike landed between the two rails and was struck by an arriving Orange Line about 90 seconds later. Passengers aboard the train were safely offloaded to the platform; there were no injuries."

https://www.popville.com/2017/12/aft...s-fire-to-box/

[Swede]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

SO, BMW WANTS TO BUILD NETWORKS OF ELEVATED CYCLING PATHS

So, BMW wants to make sure bikes get moved to where they are less convenient and don't take space from their cars even though bikes are a lot more space efficient and better for cities in pretty much every way.

[mrnyc]

good news re storing your bikes -- although you'll have to pay for parking:



Bike valet program coming to Union Square, Times Square, Ridgewood

By Vincent Barone vin.barone@amny.com December 20, 2017







The Department of Transportation will install three, staffed bicycle valet parking structures near transit hubs to allow for commuters to pay a “nominal fee” for secure, on-the-street parking. The agency has issued a Request for Proposals seeking vendors through Jan. 16.



more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/bike-pa...ram-1.15534482

[mrnyc]

i was surprized to see zagster in nyc — here on the far west side of midtown