Wired, June 2019 As trends come and go, simple design stands the test of time. And nowhere is that more evident these days than in urban mobility. With everything from autonomous cars to dockless pogosticks vying to be the next big thing, the bicycle continues to shine as the most efficient, practical, and reliable solution to urban mobility. Many cities are taking note, …
The real problem with the NTSB’s mandatory bike helmet recommendation
Lloyd Alter lloydalterNovember 15, 2019 We covered this subject before but I got it wrong. Peter Flax of Bicycling Magazine got it right. After a woman in Ottawa was crushed to death during a right-hook by a concrete truck a few years ago, I was outraged by the spate of articles suggesting that maybe bike helmets should be made mandatory, as if …
Hidden Safety Problems Keep Denver Kids From Walking and Biking: CU Denver research reveals streets that are so unsafe nobody wants to walk or bike there in the first place
What happens is that we make a road so, so unsafe that nobody wants to walk or bike there in the first place. Then we look at the crash data, see that the number of pedestrian and bicyclist crashes has gone down, and declare victory. It is these roads – that are so unsafe that very few people would walk …
As scooters go mainstream, infrastructure falls behind
Scooter safety has a new urgency with accidents and deaths on the rise. Cities are now questioning where it’s best to ride them — and who’s going to pay for the infrastructure. By Jason Plautz in Smart Cities Dive, Aug. 27, 2019 More than a year after they were unceremoniously dropped on city sidewalks across the country, it’s clear that …
‘Dying of whiteness’: why racism is at the heart of America’s gun inaction
The country’s refusal to pass new gun control laws has everything to do with defending racial hierarchy, says author Jonathan Metzl Lois Beckett in San Francisco Fri 9 Aug 2019 Why does the United States refuse to pass new gun control laws? It’s the question that people around the world keep asking. According to Dr Jonathan Metzl, a psychiatrist and sociologist …
Car Crashes Aren’t Always Avoidable
The Atlantic, Car Crashes Aren’t Always Avoidable, July 2019 In a country where the laws compel the use of cars, Americans are condemned to lose friends and relatives to traffic violence. My childhood neighbor was a varsity student-athlete, the president of the junior class, and the most popular girl in school. One day in September 1995, a car crash took …
We need Protected Mobility Lanes
Lloyd Alterlloydalter June 21, 2019 The number of people using alternative mobility devices is exploding, and they will be demanding safe routes. The people at Bike Newton tweet: Bike Newton #mobilitylanes #2019Goals@BikeNewtonReplying to @bryanbarash Bike Newton doesn’t want bike lanes. We want protected mobility lanes. These would be appropriate for almost anyone not in a car. If we had those maybe …
Want to increase transit ridership without adding service? Make it easy to get to the stations. Also shift performance measurement from LOS to VMT (or better yet, space use) for roads.
Shifting from LOS to VMT would save time, money, and better support local goals Two recent studies suggest that California’s change in assessing the impact of development—from level of service (LOS) to vehicle miles traveled (VMT)—can reduce costs for developers and streamline the review of projects. Under the new guidelines, both studies to determine transportation impacts and any mitigation measures …
Bike lanes need physical protection from car traffic, study shows: Drivers left bikes less room in the presence of parked cars and painted bike lanes
“We know that vehicles driving closely to cyclists increases how unsafe people feel when riding bikes and acts as a strong barrier to increasing cycling participation. Our results demonstrate that a single stripe of white paint does not provide a safe space for people who ride bikes,” said Dr. Ben Beck, lead author of the study. Accident Analysis and Prevention, …
Crime is going down but fear is going up based on Next Door et al.
Violent crime levels have been going down in America. But people perceive those levels as going up. That contradiction is nothing new. But it could be dramatically exacerbated by the proliferation of a new kind of social network that connects you to your neighbors — without you ever leaving the house. Rani Molla in Recode: The rise of fear-based social media like …