Category: Bicycle Advocacy
House for sale: Located on bike path. Easy bike ride to shopping, schools and neighborhood bike repair store.
Wouldn't you like to see a house for sale ad like that?
I've always heard that the three most important points to selling a house are location, location, and location.
That used to mean location in terms of proximity to the freeway, neighborhoods, and maybe a Wal-Mart. Now there's news that a few real estate agents are taking location to mean proximity to roads with bicycle lanes and bike-centric businesses, and they're taking prospective customers on house tours by bike…
Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/09/02/buying-homes-with-bicycling-in-mind/
In recent weeks I've noticed three things that are going on in the Pacific Northwest that might eventually help make the streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.
One is a national conference, another is an Oregon-based campaign and the third is a Seattle newspaper's Q&A.
The one with the widest scope is the Pro Walk / Pro Bike '08 conference that is meeting at the Westin in Seattle from Sept. 2-5 …
Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/29/3-efforts-to-make-streets-safer-for-walkers-and-bikers/
Good news: Officials drop fight to block bicyclists from roads — Des Moines Register, Aug. 28, 2008
“The supervisors will meet in Eldora on Tuesday to consider repealing the ordinance, said Hardin County Supervisor Jim Johnson. He acknowledged the ordinance has been unpopular with bicycle riders, but he said county officials were concerned about protecting county taxpayers.”
Aug. 27, 2008 — Supervisors of Iowa's Hardin County have passed an ordinance [see below] requiring that any bicycle ride of 10 or more people carry at least $1 million of liability insurance.
This is discrimination against bicyclists, plain and simple.
Any group of cyclists that takes its chances and rolls through the county without the insurance can be fined $750 …
Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/28/another-iowa-county-bans-group-bicycle-rides-update-ordinance-will-be-repealed/
A mash-up called Ride the City uses Google maps to find the safest bicycle routes from one point to another across New York City.
This is sort of the answer to the petition posted earlier this year at the Google Maps “Bike There” blog that seeks Google to include a “bike there” choice on all its maps in big cities.
The only difference is that it only works in New York City, and it wasn't created by Google but by three cyclists — Jordan Anderson, Vaidila Kungys, and Josh Steinbauer …
Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/26/ride-the-city-maps-safe-bike-routes-across-new-york-city/
Cities large and small have been putting together bicycle master plans over the past few years to encourage bicycle use. Here in my neck of the woods, Seattle approved a plan last year and Bellevue is working toward a citywide pedestrian-bike plan.
The main idea is to make it easier and safer for people to use their bikes for errands and commuting. The result will be reduced traffic congestion and pollution.
It seems like the type of idea that San Francisco would jump on. But an article in the Wall Street Journal attributes San Francisco's years-long delay in implementing a plan to one man: Rob Anderson …
Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/24/why-san-franciscos-bicycle-plan-is-on-hold/
Do you like irony? Then here's one for you:
An 18.8-mile bike path that's proposed to run alongside a toll road in the Washington DC suburbs is in danger of being blocked because it could damage environmentally sensitive parkland.
Never mind that the $2.4 billion, six-lane toll road follows the same route. In fact, the bike trail was originally proposed as an ecological offset for environmental damage caused by the new road between Gaithersburg and Laurel …
Eric Gilliland, executive director of the Washington Area Bicycle Association, told the Washington Post:
“We really don't understand the rationale behind dropping a bike trail for environmental issues when they're already running a big highway through there.” ….
Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/21/environmental-issues-might-block-bike-path-while-toll-road-okd/
What better way to publicize the advantages of urban bicycling to national decision-makers than to make 1,000 bicycles available for use at the upcoming Democratic and Republican national conventions.
The new Freewheelin' bike-sharing program will be in Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul during the conventions to lend out the free bicycles to anyone with picture ID and credit card.
The Humana health insurance company is behind the Freewheelin program, in partnership with the Bikes Belong advocacy group …
Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/21/1000-free-bikes-at-democratic-and-republican-conventions/
Washington DC joins the likes of Paris and Barcelona on Wednesday when the SmartBikeDC bicycle rental program kicks off.
Although it starts with just 120 bikes at 10 locations around the downtown area, it marks the first, self-service bike rental program in the US.
The cost is $40 a year and subscribers are allowed to use the bikes for up to three hours at a time. Helmets and bicycle locks are not provided. The locations are …
Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/12/smartbike-dc-launches-on-wednesday/
Many people commuting to work by bicycle, or simply running errands, find that there's a serious lack of decent places to lock up their bikes.
New York City is grappling with the problem of too few and inadequate bike parking devices by promoting a design competition for the city's new bike racks.
The city's transportation commissioner compares some designs to “handcuffs chained to the street.” No problem. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is all in favor of the program.
The 10 contest finalists can be seen at the CityRacks Design Competition blog. If some of these look a like over the top to you, consider that one of the judges is David Byrne….
Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/11/judging-the-best-new-bike-racks/
When I first read that Arizona's state Republican Party chairman was riding his bicycle across the state, I thought he was calling attention to the benefits of bicycling.
But no. Randy Pullen is upset the Democrats in Congress hadn't done anything about high gasoline prices. He told the Arizona Republic:
“We decided a 500-mile bicycle trip might help call attention to how ordinary Americans are suffering from the national energy crisis.”
Excuse me, but riding a bicycle is not suffering. It's fun …
Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/10/more-people-on-bikes-but-whos-suffering/
Recent Comments