The Cost of Pedal Power
September 13th, 2012
So many reasons to bike, so many benefits to cycling. So, get out and ride!
Found on SF Bike Expo‘s Facebook Page.
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Archive for the ‘Advocacy’ Category
Ride Your Bike
August 17th, 2012
Enough said. Here’s to enjoying a weekend on two wheels. Happy Friday!
Found on Chelsea Bella’s Bicyclette on Pinterest.
UPS Deploys Bikes to Keep Things Going During London Olympic Games
August 3rd, 2012
In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Olympic Games in London, the traffic is — as you might expect — a little bit worse than usual. So, what’s a city to do to keep the flow of everything up to par?
London UPS fleets in particular have deployed delivery bikes to make necessary delay-free deliveries to areas affected by heavy traffic.
According to BikeBiz, “Extended bike fleet will be in use in the capital after the Olympics too, logistics firm says.” Also according to the site:
“Bicycles were actually a foundation to our business over 100 years ago; when a few messenger boys began the business which became UPS today,” said Cindy Miller, MD for UPS UK, Ireland and Nordics. “We’re excited to add them to our UK fleet at such a critical time for London’s businesses.”
As cities around the world battle heavier and heavier traffic, we wonder if all delivery fleets shouldn’t consider having at least a few bicycles ready to rip through the city streets via less crowded bike lanes. What are your thoughts?
PHOTO Via: loop_oh
Denmark’s Bicycle Superhighways Offer Fastest Transportation Option
July 19th, 2012
In Copenhagen, Denmark, half of its residents already commute to work by bike. While this may seem like a feat in and of itself—and while it is a pretty remarkable one at that—Copenhagen city planners don’t want to stop there. According to an article in The New York Times, the head of the city’s “traffic planning section,” Brian Hansen, says this: “We are very good, but we want to be better.”
Active Lifestyle, Advocacy, Bike Europe, International, Lane Love, The Cycling Buzz
Mountain2Mountain Launches Domestic Program, Strength in Numbers in Breckenridge, CO
July 17th, 2012
We’re proud to support the incredible work of Shannon Galpin and Mountain2Mountain. After four years of working in Afghanistan, Mountain2Mountain will bring it all home—launching it first domestic program, ‘Strength in Numbers’, in the United States, targeting young women at-risk, female military veterans and violence survivors. Utilizing the bike as a vehicle for social justice, beyond traditional bike donations, instead considering mountain biking as a seed for cultural exchange and self-determination abroad and at home.
Ditch Your Car: Keep Local Bike Funding Active
June 13th, 2012
Keep it local is a statement typically seen in regards to food — but it seems equally as fitting for the transportation funds that contribute to each community’s safe bike routes and bicycle structure systems. The problem facing local bike funding is this, according to peopleforbikes.org:
“During recent negotiations on a new transportation bill, the House of Representatives proposed drastic cuts that would hurt bicycling. Their plan would allow states to take federal transportation funds that make roads safer for bicycling and divert them to other uses, without any input from communities like yours.”
The proposed bill would eliminate the funds necessary for your local community to propose and flesh out ideas for safer bike transportation, which would basically halt any future concepts and eliminate the potential for further growth and increased bike transportation options. Of course that’s not something any of us want, so here’s what you can do, right now: Follow this link to the peopleforbikes.org page that explains everything in a nutshell. Then, get in touch with your two U.S. Senators and one U.S. Representative by going here and entering your local information. You’ll be able to write an email urging government to take back the proposal, and send it all via the second link listed above. Send it now to take action and keep bike funding local!
PHOTO Via: peopleforbikes.org
Every Wednesday on Ditch Your Car we’ll be bringing you just another reason to spend more time on two wheels. Be it a photo, a statistic or an inspirational video, we want to keep reminding you about why riding is great!
Lane Love: A Pop Up Green Street in Cleveland, Pop Up Rockwell
June 4th, 2012
When most cities consider a change in the infrastructure of their transportation system, the typical modus operandi is for city officials to sit indoors and look at drawings and written proposals. But what if city street improvements could be brought into the real world — into all three dimensions so that people could not only consider, but actually see, the changes that may or may not take place?
The city of Cleveland, Ohio is experimenting with this more “live” concept of proposed downtown street improvements in a project the city is pioneering called Pop Up Rockwell. Here’s the lowdown, via the masterminds behind it all, Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC):
POP UP ROCKWELL is a one-week experiment to test “complete & green street” improvements on downtown Cleveland’s Rockwell Avenue (between W. Roadway and E. 6th Street), which took place during April 21 to 27, 2012. The temporary street transformation explores fresh ideas for making the street more pedestrian and bicyclist friendly. Going beyond two-dimensional drawings used in typical public meetings, Pop Up Rockwell allows people to physically experience a future vision of the city in three dimensions, in a real environment, and provide feedback before large financial and political investments are made.
The temporary installations included “Cleveland’s first cycle track, stormwater bio-filtration benches, enhanced transit waiting areas and wind animated public art” for city residents to experience — and potentially put into real-life practice in the future. According to CUDC, Pop Up Rockwell was pioneered as a response to the community’s desire to see real life action in between the formal and often slow-moving stages of planning and actual implementation. As CUDC puts it, “Lessons learned from the short-term project may influence permanent changes, which support the City of Cleveland’s Complete & Green Streets Ordinance and Group Plan Commission recommendations.”
With all of this we feel compelled to ask: Should more cities implement temporary pop up street improvements so citizens can experience them and potentially choose to have a voice in regard to the real-life changes that may or may not take place? Would you be excited to see a pop up street in your city?
Every Monday on Lane Love, we’ll be featuring bicycling news, stories and photos from around the world. Have a lane that you love? Send us a photo! You can post it to our Facebook page or upload to our Flickr group and we might just feature it here on Lane Love.
Ditch Your Car: Save America Billions in Gas Dollars
May 23rd, 2012
According to the League of American Bicyclists, brand new data released by their organization, as well as Sierra Club and National Council of La Raza (NCLR), showcases the many economic benefits of cycling in the United States. It opens with a strong statement referencing the lack of government funding for adequate bicycling projects, stating that “… though biking and walking account for 12 percent of all trips in the U.S., these transportation modes receive only 1.6 percent of federal transportation spending—far less than their fair share.”
Ditch Your Car: Cycling in Europe’s Most Congested City
May 16th, 2012
When people think of Europe, many of them think of this. And it’s true that in certain cities, such as Utrecht in the Netherlands, more than a quarter of all trips are made by bike. But this film — Brussels Express — shows the other side of European bicycle commuting, and it’s not all that pretty.
Advocacy, Bike Europe, Ditch Your Car, Pedaling Change, Video
Ditch Your Car: Bike to School Day
May 2nd, 2012
We’re all well aware it’s National Bike Month, but did you realize May 9th marks the first inaugural Bike to School Day for children of all ages?
Together, the National Center for Safe Routes to School and the League of American Bicyclists have created a day that encourages America’s youth to find a safe way to commute to school via bike (or on foot, as well). Of course, the ultimate goal is to educate students about safe bike routes to school so they may choose to commute via two wheels more frequently throughout the entire school year.
According to Momentum Magazine, “The long term goal of this event is to get more and more students to choose biking and walking over a car or bus ride. Safe Routes to School benefits not only the kids through safety and educational programs, but entire neighborhoods by building sidewalks or creating bicycle paths. Communities get an entire face-lift,” said Jess Mathews, coordinator with Safe Routes to School.
Through the Bike to School Event, Matthews hopes to raise awareness of the potential barriers that stand in the way of kids’ abilities to commute to school — and to help create change so that future generations can safely commute on any given day.
Schools can go here to register for the event and get planning and promotion tips to help spread the word about cycling for change!
PHOTO via: walkbiketoschool.org
Every Wednesday on Ditch Your Car we’ll be bringing you just another reason to spend more time on two wheels. Be it a photo, a statistic or an inspirational video, we want to keep reminding you about why riding is great!
