Category: Interesting (Page 7 of 16)

Repost: Infographic: Four Requirements for a Bikeable City

May 23, 2013 /

This is a repost from Good.is http://www.good.is/posts/infographic-four-requirements-for-a-bikeable-city

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This month, communities all around the country are hosting Bike To Work and Bike to School days—opportunities for everyone from novices to the most experienced riders to get on a bike instead of using a car to get where they’re going. Single-day biking events, which often include fun elements like energizer stations where people biking can pick up a healthy snack and literature on biking, are great for introducing people to how easy it is to rely on two-wheeled transportation. But what does it take to keep people from abandoning their bikes and returning to cars for their normal commutes?

At ChangeLab Solutions, we believe the answer is policies that help communities become bike friendly. That means policies that make biking safer, more convenient, and more socially acceptable—while also making sure that people have access to a bicycle when they need one. Riding a bicycle has great benefits. It’s healthy, convenient, cheaper than driving a car, fun, and environmentally-friendly.

Once biking becomes the new normal way to travel, it’s amazing how many trips turn out to be the perfect distance for biking rather than driving. Forty-one percent of all trips (whether that’s commuting or running errands) are three miles or less, and two-thirds of those trips currently happen with cars rather than on bikes or on foot. Bike-friendly policies can really make a difference to those statistics.

Just last week, my coworkers and I created a bike “train” in honor of Bike To Work Day—we added bikers along the way as we rode through North Oakland to our downtown office. It was a great, social way to show we support the types of bike-friendly policies we develop. Our infographic provides a few suggestions for policies communities can implement. Are there policies listed that you’d like to see in place near you? We’d love to hear how your community is supporting biking, and where you’d like to see it improve. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

This post is part of the GOOD community’s 50 Building Blocks of Citizenship—weekly steps to being an active, engaged global citizen. This week: Try Biking to Work. Follow along and join the conversation at good.is/citizenship and on Twitter at #goodcitizen.

Original bike lane image via Shutterstock

“Divvy Bikes” offer Chicagoans a new way to commute

May 1, 2013 /

Below is a repost of the 4/29/13 Derek Prall’s American City and County post.. it’s pretty interesting.

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In an effort to curb the congestion on public transportation and roadways, Chicago’s new bicycle sharing program expects to offer over 4,000 bikes to public transit riders looking for a fast, inexpensive way to travel the last legs of their daily commutes.

The program, known as “Divvy,” will be managed year-round by Portland, Ore.- based Alta Bicycle Share, according to the Chicago Tribune. The $22 million dollar project is “expected to pay for itself” over time, Sean Wiedel, an assistant commissioner at the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) who oversees the program, told the paper.

Federal grants provided the initial funding for the project to cut traffic congestion and improve air quality, the Tribune reports. While Divvy is emphasized as being a complement to public transportation, the bikes will be available for anyone wishing to swap four wheels for two.

Bike sharing memberships will go on sale mid-May. Yearly memberships will cost $75 and daily passes will run $7. Both fees allow for unlimited trips of up to 30 minutes each, with hourly rental fees applying after the initial half-hour, the Tribune says. Riders will pick up a bike from one of 400 planned solar powered docking stations, and return it to a station near their destination.

According to the Divvy Bike website, riders will be responsible for the bicycle from the time they remove it from a dock until they have successfully secured it at the end of their trip. The cost to repair or replace a Divvy bike could be up to $1,200.

For safety, the bikes are outfitted with always-on lights, bells and GPS devices. While Chicago (for logistical reasons) is unable to provide riders with protective gear, cyclists will be encouraged to wear their own, Pete Scales, as spokesman for the CDOT told the Tribune.

“We used to only think cars and mass transit,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel told the Tribune. “Today, Milwaukee Avenue is one of the most-biked streets in America.”

For more information on the program visit www.divvybikes.com

Divvy Bikes Home Screen

Scary Larry Bike Polo Club Featured in LJW Go! Section

April 22, 2013 /

Here’s a repost of a story of Lawrence’s own Scary Larry Bike Polo Club in the 4/22/13 Lawrence Journal World Go! section.

For more info on Scary Larry – check out their website at http://www.scarylarrykbp.org/

Go-Getter: Bike polo

By Rebekka Schlichting

April 22, 2013

Josh Hoffhines, a member of the Scary Larry Kansas Bike Polo club that meets three times a week in Edgewood Park, said that all you need to get started playing Bike Polo is a bike, and the only skill you need is the ability to ride. It is free to play, and the members are helpful to newcomers.

While catching up on spring cleaning, don’t forget to dust off the old bike. Also, it might be a good idea to take it out for a spin. After all, swimsuit season is nigh.

But riding a bike aimlessly around town can get old fast. I would suggest riding to Edgewood Park, 1245 E. 15th St., and joining the Scary Larry members in a competitive game of bike polo.

Getting started

Josh Hoffhines, a member of Scary Larry Kansas Bike Polo, said that all you need to get started is a bike, and the only skill you need is the ability to ride. Toe-covered shoes, pads and a helmet are also important.

The bike polo club is easy to approach during their meetings, which are every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday for about three hours starting at 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome to join in on a few games. Lessons and gear, such as mallets and balls, can be provided to beginners.

Bike polo is a workout, and it’s not too difficult to get into. The game is a lot like traditional polo, but bikes are substituted for horses and the field is a basketball court. The club typically plays numerous three-on-three games, which last about eight minutes each.

Cost

You will need a bike, and damage to the bike during a game is possible. You will also want a helmet and pads. If you fall in love with the sport, you can join Scary Larry for $10 a month.

The club periodically takes trips to play in tournaments around the area. Members also have cookouts during some of the meetings, and they are starting to plan other social activities. Being a member also gets you a discount at Fixcraft, which sells bike polo accessories including mallets and wheel covers.

Where to go

Scary Larry meets at Edgewood Park, 1245 E. 15th St. at 7 p.m. on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, rain or shine. It is free to play, and the friendly members are helpful to newcomers.

Repost: Biking and the Fallacy of Zero-sum Environmental Thinking

March 15, 2013 /

(Yes, the bicycle light had just turned red.)

Here’s a repost from the EcoOptimism site written by David Bergman about the misconception that in order for one person to gain something others need to loose in terms of bicycle lanes.

The great James T. Kirk once said (or is it ‘will say’ since it takes place about 270 years from now?) “I don’t believe in the no-win scenario.” My much less quotable version of this might be “I don’t believe in the zero-sum scenario” — at least not in the case of environmentalism, where I like to point out the many win-win and win-win-win scenarios.

A zero-sum game is “a situation in which a gain by one person or side must be matched by a loss by another person or side.” Because of misperceptions of competing interests, environmental issues are often seen as resulting in, at best, zero-sum results. Gains for the environment, for example, are seen as necessarily won at the expense of jobs or energy prices. Developed countries are pitted against developing countries. You get the idea.

On a smaller — and therefore perhaps more personal — scale, bicycling as an alternative form of transportation often ends up in verbal skirmishes with drivers (played out in the news and, sometimes, the courts), who see bike lanes as stealing space from vehicle lanes, and business owners, who fear shoppers won’t come if they can’t park in front.

There are, of course, some valid complaints about cycling. Here in NYC, there is a sort of Wild West legacy of riding in which cyclists until recently had no safe turf. Hence a fend-for-yourself attitude developed whereby many, especially delivery bikers, would ride wherever and however they could to get where they needed to be. Since drivers gave them no respect, the feeling became mutual. (I don’t, by the way, have any such rationale for cyclists who scare or endanger pedestrians.) Continue reading

Rails to Trails Opening Day is March 30th!

March 11, 2013 /

Spring is here!

We know that it hasn’t stopped some of you but for those of you that have had your bike inside since the last days of fall, Here’s your chance!

The snow and ice have melted, peeling back the cold blanket that has covered the landscape these past few months to reveal colorful flowers, birds and bees… and trails!

March 30 – the last Saturday in March – is Opening Day For Trails. It’s the perfect time to kick off the season with a leisurely stroll or bike ride along your local trail.

So dust off the shoes,pump up the tires, grab the kids, your friends and the family dog, and step out for Opening Day. It’s the best time of the year!