• Bicycle Advocacy
• Healthy Cities
• Non-car Mobility

Ciclovias Arrive in North America! Open Streets Summit in Portland this Summer

The Open Streets movement is at a tipping point as an international phenomenon. Let’s open our streets and reshape our communities! Ciclovias are taking North America by storm!

• Active Citizenship
• Bicycle Advocacy
• City Planning
• Healthy Cities
• Non-car Mobility

Bicycle Transportation Alliance Turns 25!

O how far we’ve come…!
Rex Burkholder, co-founder, BTA; Ray Thomas, Bicycle Legal Clinic; Mayor Bud Clark (whoop, whoop!)

• Healthy Cities
• Non-car Mobility

Vision Zero: Morals vs Econometrics

The problem is the whole transport sector is quite influenced by the whole utilitarianist mindset. Now we’re bringing in the idea that it’s not acceptable to be killed or seriously injured when you’re transporting. It’s more a civil-rights thing that you bring into the policy. Matts-Åke Belin, traffic safety strategist, Swedish Transport Administration

• Bicycle Advocacy
• Non-car Mobility

RAIN, BIKES AND AUTOMOBILES  

Today was the first sock-soaker of the year—despite wearing rainpants and a hooded raincoat, I squished-squished as I walked into my first stop of the day. Despite the rain, there was a steady stream (pun!) of people cycling across the Hawthorne Bridge. By the time I got there around 8:30 am, the bike counter had registered 1986 that day already. Not quite the numbers of summer when almost 3000 riders would have crossed by that time of morning but a good showing for a dark, very wet day in October.

• Healthy Cities
• Non-car Mobility

London air pollution: which mode of transport has the highest exposure? – video | Environment | The Guardian

London air pollution: which mode of transport has the highest exposure? – video | Environment | The Guardian. Study done in London shows less exposure to traffic fumes for cyclists than for car drivers or bus riders. Plus, cycling reduces air pollution in the first place.

• City Planning
• Non-car Mobility

Parking, Schmarking: Are we wasting time trying to solve yesterday’s problem?

This morning, at a sparsely attended talk sponsored by Urban Land Institute, Gabe Klein, former transportation director of Chicago and DC, spoke of the “end of parking” coming about by car (and bike) sharing and self driving vehicle technology. These two developments have the potential to make parking demand collapse, according to Klein.

Sightline

• Changemaking
• City Planning
• Non-car Mobility

Fun with Math: New Census Data Shows Impact of Good Bike Facilities on Commuting

Portland’s citywide commute share for bikes is above 6%, putting it in the top rank of cycling cities in the US.

In new information released by the US Census, the impact of good quality (and quantity) of bicycle facilities on commute choice shows up with some census tracts with over 20% of commuters using bicycles… See the map

• City Planning
• Non-car Mobility

Time to End Traffic Violence

“All the pedestrian warnings in the world won’t matter if we’re encouraging foot traffic where motorists are hitting highway speeds. It’s like removing all the guardrails at the top of the Empire State Building and expecting people to use common sense not to fall off.” KOIN media

• Active Citizenship
• Bicycle Advocacy
• City Planning
• Healthy Cities
• Non-car Mobility

A Tale of Three Cities: Sunday Cycling in Lima, Peru

Posters of Ciclovias in the various districts of Lima

One of the best part about attending Congresses of the Ciclovia Network (CRA) is the chance to get out on a bike in cities throughout Latin America.

• Bicycle Advocacy
• Healthy Cities
• Non-car Mobility

Ciclovia: Open Streets Throughout Latin America

A confident young participant in San Francisco de Porro

Ciclovia is a Latin American phenomena originating over 30 years ago in Bogotà, Colombia where some streets are closed to allow people to walk, cycle, skate or stroll without traffic. Or, as the advocates would say, Ciclovias “open” the streets…