From San Antonio TX, this just goddamned sucks.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Driver-cleared-in-cyclists-deaths-3848482.php
2012-09-11 00:19:01
1015
The out-of-town news thread
We have so many stories from out of town, so rather than have one thread for each, I thought I'd start one we can add to, every time we come across happenings from elsewhere.
This one's from Boston MA:
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/newton/2012/09/newton_cyclists_doored_inciden.html
2012-09-09 20:29:13
“Have you ever drifted? Have you ever looked off the roadway?” Mark Stevens asked jurors. “That's what people do. It doesn't mean they're criminals when they do it.”
Eye witnesses testified that he was speeding too.
2012-09-11 00:27:27
Yeah, I just read that via your Twitter. So stupid.
“Have you ever drifted? Have you ever looked off the roadway?” Mark Stevens asked jurors. “That's what people do. It doesn't mean they're criminals when they do it.”
Why yes, it does mean they're criminals when they do it.
2012-09-11 00:27:47
This, by the way, is apparently part of the original news item, which you can find as the caption to picture #23 in the slideshow at the top of the article:
Gregory and Alexandra Bruehler were southbound on the shoulder of Texas 16, about three miles north of Helotes, when a pickup struck them from behind, said Deputy Ino Badillo, spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.... He said the accident occurred when a maroon Ford F-150 veered off the highway as it also traveled south on Texas 16, striking the bicyclists. He said it appeared the driver of the truck veered off the highway at least once before the cyclists were hit, but investigators don't suspect alcohol played a role in the collision. Badillo also said the truck dragged the bicycle for about 200 feet after striking it. The truck driver was identified as 40-year-old Gilbert John Sullaway Jr. of Helotes. Badillo said Sullaway wouldn't be cited for any traffic violations, saying the collision was an accident.
The line at the end is especially telling, and I have to wonder if it had any effect on the whopping two-hour jury deliberation.
2012-09-11 01:12:19
It really is disgusting that he considers that an accident. It was preventable. Unless a tumbleweed or armadillo flew across the street and the drier tried to avoid it, it was the driver's lack of attention that caused their deaths.
2012-09-11 01:16:27
Well, it's more disgusting that the judge let him make that argument and that 12 people apparently agreed with it. I think I can venture a guess how many of them were cyclists.
2012-09-11 01:36:26
There was another particularly egregious ruling in a horrific case in Mississippi a number of months ago: http://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/2012/02/28/adding-insult-to-injury/
Bob Mionske writes, "I’d like to say that the way Jan Morgan was treated was unusual. But unfortunately, I’ve seen it many times in my own law practice, in cases all across the country. As I explained in Bicycling & the Law, from the moment a cyclist is hit, there’s a social bias working against the cyclist. At every step, from witness perceptions, to police reports, to insurance-company claims adjusters, to the legal system, the cyclist is blamed for what happened. Sometimes called the “windshield perspective,” this bias even extends to media accounts of what happened."
It's safe to say that we're seeing this "windshield perspective" at work in the Texas case.
2012-09-11 01:51:57
It's been a rough couple of months in Ohio as well: http://www.ohiobikelawyer.com/bike-law-101/2012/09/three-dead-in-one-week/
In this post, Steve Magas provides an interesting discussion of Andrew Gast's death last month: http://www.ohiobikelawyer.com/bike-law-101/2012/09/andrew-gast-ohios-11th-cycling-death-of-2012-hits-close-to-home/
He also makes the following point about Ohio laws—if only they applied everywhere: In Ohio, unlike many states, careless, stupid, negligent driving which leads to the death of another can be deemed criminal misconduct. If this crash had occurred in New York City, it likely would not have even been “investigated”- it would have been considered an “insurance” matter. In other states, a “pay-out” ticket for a rear-ender may have issued. Here, police and prosecutors have the option of looking closely at this crash and determining if serious manslaughter, or homicide charges are justified.
2012-09-11 02:09:52
Apparently Virginia is having trouble, too. I'm not sure of the details, but here's an excerpt from the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation e-newsletter:
"This week is Virginia Bicyclist and Pedestrian Awareness Week. Unfortunately, cycling safety has been in the news a lot lately because of a spate of recent bike fatalities in the region. Emotions are running high in the ongoing tensions between cars and cyclists, with both sides appearing more polarized than ever. From angry name calling to conspiracy theories, drivers and riders are focused on demonizing the other. We're firmly on a third side.
Most people reading this are both a motorist and a cyclist, and understand the issue is less about bikes and cars, than it is about people. Bad decision makers, law breakers, distracted people, and thoughtless jerks use roads, whether they're driving, walking or pedaling on them."
2012-09-11 15:43:11
I think the difficulty in prosecuting these cases lies in the difficult distinction between criminal intent and criminal behavior.
Caring, normally considerate people can find themselves, through the unhappy coincidence of inattention and physics, responsible for causing the death of innocent people. I'm sure the flip-flop kid is one of these.
There is something innately abhorrent about the idea of being personally responsible for something that happens "in the blink of an eye". Brain surgeons and air traffic controlers, yes - average joes, no. Yet our society is built and operates around the perceived (and at times true) requirement for all adults to put themselves in the position of piloting several tons of metal around each other at high rates of speed daily.
' "Have you ever drifted? Have you ever looked off the roadway?” Mark Stevens asked jurors. “That's what people do" '
Either we're all a blink of the eye away from being killers, or we allow the delusion that we are not responsible for the occasional "collateral damage".
I believe we are responsible. I believe as a species and as a culture we are capable of doing better. I also believe we're headed in that direction of wider acceptance of personal responsibility, extinction bursts and blowback and outliers and all.
But it still pisses me off to see arguments like that hold water in the eyes of those who could provide some measure of justice. I suppose, given that it's Texas, we should be happy that charges were brought at all.
2012-09-11 19:30:55
I'm surprised in the Texas case, the prosecutors didn't take the positiion "No the guy isn't a criminal at heart, but YES, we need to keep him from driving for a while."
2012-09-11 22:29:48
Of course, it's not just New York...
2012-09-11 23:11:50
New York is brutally tough on drunk drivers (if they bother to test them), but their enforcement is all over the map. A cyclist was recently struck and killed on Route 250 near Rochester—a road I know well from having trained on it as a college student in the late 80s.
The cyclist was a teacher at a local school. She was initially struck by a man who swerved onto the shoulder on a motorcycle. She was then thrown onto the road, where she was struck by the man's girlfriend. Both have extensive criminal histories, neither had a license, and both are now up on vehicular homicide charges.
However, a fellow I knew from my racing days in the 80s was killed on Route 5 and 20 near Lima, again a road I know well. By all accounts, Jon was doing everything right. The visibility was good, the weather clear, and he was riding 2 feet to the right of the white line. The woman who hit him never explained how her car drifted onto the shoulder.
She was charged with crossing the white line, a minor offense.
Admittedly, there was no indication of intoxication, she was cooperative and she stopped immediately, so it's a very different story than the recent case on 250, but there is a striking similarity with some of the other cases where drivers receive minimal—or no—penalties for taking a life through inattention, carelessness or other behavior deemed as "unavoidable" in our culture.
Ejwme's point about brain surgeons and air traffic controllers is a good one; we hold them responsible in large part because we can, because the vast majority of us will never operate on a patient or direct a plane, but most of us drive, and drive frequently. Mark Stevens was telling jurors, "It could have been you driving that car. If you convict, you'll be setting a precedent that could come back to haunt you in the end, and we all know it would be impossible (and undesirable) to regulate this behavior because that's what people do."
2012-09-11 23:55:57
Drifting left, over the yellow line, and causing a head-on collision where people die, yeah, that's a problem. Press charges.
Drifting right, over the white line, and causing a rear-end collision where people die, no, just an accident. Carry on.
2012-09-12 00:05:30
Better news, this time nationally, from The Economist (http://www.economist.com/node/21562252)
Transport in cities
Vive la révolution - A cycling renaissance is taking place in America
MORE and more Americans are taking to the road on two wheels. Between 1977 and 2009 the total number of annual bike trips more than tripled, while the bike’s share of all trips rose from 0.6% to 1%. Commuting cyclists have also increased in number, with twice as many biking to work in 2009 as in 2000.
Cities are increasingly vying to be bike friendly......
....The growth comes thanks to cycle-friendly policymaking and increases in government spending. In Portland, which brought in a comprehensive programme, cycling levels have increased sixfold since the early 1990s. In Chicago the motivation is to improve the quality of life, and thus encourage both businesses and families to move there.
In a forthcoming book, “City Cycling”, John Pucher and Ralph Buehler argue that the bike boom needs to be expanded to a broader cross-section of people. Almost all the growth in cycling in America has come from men aged 25-64. Rates of cycling have actually fallen slightly among women and sharply among children, most probably because of nervousness about safety. But in fact cycling is getting safer all the time. According to a paper* by Messrs Pucher and Buehler with Mark Seinen, fatalities per 10m bike trips fell by 65% between 1977 and 2009, from 5.1 to 1.8. In their book, the authors claim that the health benefits of cycling far exceed the safety risks.
(there's more....just follow the link above)
2012-09-12 15:15:31
From a FB friend:
Mikael Colville-Andersen is a riveting speaker. Here he is telling us how Seville, Spain, went from 0% cycling modal split to 7% in less than 7 years. A high-quality bike share system and a low-stress bicycle network played a large role.
2012-09-12 16:18:35
ejwme There is something innately abhorrent about the idea of being personally responsible for something that happens "in the blink of an eye". Brain surgeons and air traffic controlers, yes - average joes, no.
Well...
Neurosurgeon culture is that "you come to the hosptial - if you aren't sick enough to be a patient, you operate." And, trust me, people die from that.
Now, often physicians are held responsible for things that were beyond their control, partly because they have deep pockets. On the other hand, the malpractice situtation is one of the more benign of the predictable consequences of physicians failing to police their own ranks.
2012-09-12 16:58:37
Swalfort, is Colville-Anderson (and yr friend) at the conference in San Diego?
Man, if you had MC-A, Gil Penalosa, and Jan Gehl at the same time, it would be like the Three Tenors of biking. 
2012-09-12 17:16:26
I suspect that is exactly where he is, but his FB page did not say so explicitly.
2012-09-12 17:26:29
Philadelphia Inquirer reports that as biking becomes more prevalent, accidents decreased.....
More bicyclists means fewer accidents, Phila. finds
September 16, 2012|By Paul Nussbaum, Inquirer Staff Writer
As the number of bicyclists on Philadelphia streets has risen, cyclists and city officials have seen a counterintuitive result: The number of bike crashes and deaths has declined.
This "safety in numbers" phenomenon has been documented elsewhere, and safety experts believe it is because motorists become more alert to cyclists when there are more of them.
Since 2002, the number of cyclists on many Center City streets has more than doubled, according to tallies at key intersections, and the percentage of bike commuters has also doubled. In 2002, there were six bicyclists killed in accidents with motor vehicles; last year, there were two such deaths.
Traffic crashes involving bikes in Philadelphia have fallen from a high of 1,040 in 1998 to 553 in 2010.
"Where cars expect to find bicyclists and pedestrians, drivers are more cognizant of cyclists and pedestrians," said Alex Doty, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. He cited a study in Portland, Ore., that found a doubling of the number of bicycles reduced the crash risk by one-third.
"I know I get better treatment now than I did 10 years ago, or even five years ago," Doty said. "Drivers have a better idea what to do. Though there is still quite a bit of room for improvement."
The correlation was reported in 2003 by the medical journal Injury Prevention, when it published what it called an "unexpected result" of a safety study: The likelihood of a cyclist or pedestrian being hit by a car "varies inversely with the amount of walking or bicycling."
The journal's study concluded that "policies that increase the numbers of people walking and bicycling appear to be an effective route to improving the safety of people walking and bicycling."
In Philadelphia, the Nutter administration has created dozens of bike lanes and bike routes, trying to carve out more space for cyclists in a city not known for its bicycle bonhomie.
The safety in numbers phenomenon "is really playing out" in the city, said Stephen Buckley, director of policy and planning in the mayor's Office of Transportation and Utilities. The city has about 220 miles of bike lanes, he said, and the administration hopes to increase that to about 300 miles.
The city's goal is to boost the percentage of commuters who travel by bike from the current 2 percent to 5 percent by 2020 and to reduce injuries and fatalities by 50 percent.
If more biking means safer biking, safer biking is likely to produce more biking.
2012-09-17 14:15:27
2012-09-18 22:09:02
@Salty
1) that strikes me as more of a mental health issue than the "normal" harassment of cyclists.
2) If it were me riding, I would pull over and stop - probably after the third or fourth honk. I'd probably prepare to lock up my bike, even (puts the large U-lock in my hand.)
2012-09-18 22:16:42
wasn't sure whether to post this here or in the good news thread, but it seemed like this thread could use some good news: city of buffalo decides to install cycle track! got this from my sister's facebook, and i am eager to see it become a reality.
i was just asking someone, and it seemed like buffalo (my hometown) was lagging behind pittsburgh a good bit when it came to cycling advocacy. but this is a fine step in the right direction. i am eager to see what this "complete streets ordinance" is.
edited to add: actually, the complete streets ordinance is in my link, and it looks pretty damned sweet, at a glance.
2012-09-26 03:50:21
I have mixed feelings about CM but I bet this is going to be spectaular... I'm debating whether I should change my flight home to saturday and go.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/critical-mass-san-francisco_n_1910773.html
2012-09-26 04:40:05
@salty do it!
2012-09-26 12:20:38
^ seconded!
2012-09-26 12:34:28
A no-brainer, dude.
2012-09-26 13:06:01
The New York Times carries a story today of a cyclist killed in Queens by a Hit and run driver.
What I find most interesting is the three comments that have been posted since the article appeared mid-morning. Very different from Pittsburgh comments of late.
Here's the article, followed by the three comments:
September 25, 2012, 10:53 am
Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Cyclist in Queens
By ANDY NEWMAN
The police are looking for a driver who fatally struck a 38-year-old bicyclist on Queens Boulevard on Tuesday morning and drove off. The collision occurred around 6 a.m. near the intersection of Hoover Avenue in Kew Gardens, the police said. The cyclist, whose name was not immediately released, was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. No information about the driver’s vehicle was immediately available.
3 Comments
Share your thoughts.
o Melissa
o East Brunswick
The mans name was Alex Martinez and he was a great person . Please speak up if u know anything. He has kids a wife, family and friends who loved him very much
o Sept. 25, 2012 at 11:10 p.m.
o Westernqueensland
o New York
Eastbound? or Westbound?/
Which way was he pedaling/
When he was murdered/
#haiku
o Realist
o new york
I'm sure there were witnesses. Speak up, don't let such murders get away. If Bloomberg plans to have the bike program in effect next spring, the laws for "hit and run" should be toughened. There will be a lot more bicyclists on the roads.
o Sept. 25, 2012 at 2:39 p.m.
2012-09-26 16:58:32
Cleveland gets an apology and a radio PSA from Clear Channel for boneheaded DJ anti-bike shenanigans. Woohoo!:
"Mike Trivisonno will issue an apology on his show. They also offered free airtime and production help in putting together a radio PSA that will run for three-months."
http://bikecleveland.org/2012/09/22/response-to-anti-bike-broadcast-on-mike-trivisonno-show-9-13/
2012-09-26 19:35:47
the menu part of that site looks quite similar to that of another site I frequent.
2012-09-26 19:42:51
2012-09-26 20:48:13
There's something spooky about this. Like all the DJ's got instructions one day "Make fun of bikers," or something.
2012-09-26 21:49:42
2012-09-26 23:12:55
Those links from Pseuda are from 2003/04. I guess they havent learned their lesson.
Edit: @dennis. Wait, an elitist millionaire on a bicycle?
2012-09-26 23:14:12
Much like president #43.
Bikes are political vehicles. Lends the elitist millionaire the common touch, I suppose.
2012-09-27 03:01:18
http://urbanvelo.org/teen-driver-kills-2-cyclists/ in San Francisco.
Dad and his 9-year old riding bikes on the sidewalk. The driver, a 17 year old, was not drunk nor texting, but was traveling around 72 mph in a 45 mph zone
2012-09-28 14:45:57
I think my brain just exploded.
The idea of a really rich conservative riding his bicycle to see the prime minister on business? Wonderful.
"F*cking Plebs"??? from a guy on a bike?
Excuse me, I have to go untwist my underwear.
2012-09-28 14:58:09
adjusts his Grammarnazi hat
c'mon, guys, get "reckless" and "wreckless" straight. They're related, but not the same thing.
What's done is done, but the real problem is in driver licensing. Much, much tougher licensing standards are needed, not just here but everywhere. This case is just the latest instance of Flip-Flop Boy Syndrome.
2012-09-28 16:05:11
If only the story would end with "and she was never allowed to drive again"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89fApjIW0mA
2012-10-03 06:27:26
Ugh, I found this article which contains a comment from the (32 year old) driver's mother that is infuriating on multiple levels.
"This morning she was late. She was trying to get her daughter to school. The reason for going around and going to the side was to give that bus plenty of room," said Toni Hardin.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/bizarre&id=8810432
2012-10-03 06:34:22
Um..maybe she should leave earlier?
If I'm running late, I usually just accept it and be late. It's not worth putting anyone's life in danger to be less late.
2012-10-04 20:02:04
/THIS/
2012-10-04 21:21:04
*Organizers estimate about 100,000 bicyclists, pedestrians and skateboarders flooded much of... the city's fifth CicLAvia festival*
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1008-ciclavia-20121008,0,4967907.story
2012-10-08 18:52:44
Undercover officer dressed as giant traffic cone helps nab motorists near school zone
Dateline Riverside County, CA: "In an effort to give the driving public fair warning, the undercover officer was dressed in an oversized ‘traffic cone’ costume.
"Of the people who were given citations (ed-16 in one day), many said they did not see the decoy festooned in the bright outfit."
2012-10-09 15:28:21
Of the people who were given citations (ed-16 in one day), many said they did not see the decoy festooned in the bright outfit.
I'm inspired to create a giant penis^H^H^H^H^H hot dog costume and go cycling down Penn with a big sign reading "Can you see me NOW?!?"
I wonder if Franktuary would sponsor?
2012-10-09 15:43:59
Great program. If some of those people were actually stupid enough to say that they didn't see the human sized traffic cone, they should get a little additional bonus fine just for being idiots.
2012-10-09 16:25:19
@Edmunds
The 3 without valid licences indicat (to me,at least) that they are't bright enough to form the thought, "I have to drive carefully. I'm illegal and can't afford even a minor citation."
2012-10-09 17:07:44
@reddan - I've ridden down the street wearing a "Can U C Me Now" message. Out of town, too.
I leave the finding of the photograph of that to the students as a homework exercise.
2012-10-09 18:23:45
I found this on one of the list serves that I subscribe to, and thought it was workh sharing here:
From New York City/ NY Post headline reads:
Bloomberg says mass transit, cyclists 'more important' than drivers who clog roads
full story here:
2012-10-31 15:28:35
From the same list serve as the post above, this time from the Dutch Consulate re: Think Bikes......
(As an aside, do our esteemed Dutch visitors need a geography lesson? I see a reference to an earlier Think Bike session in Philadelphia and a number of other cities, but not Pittsburgh....)
Austin, Dutch Officials Come Together to Improve Cycling throughout City
News article | October 26, 2012
The City of Austin and the Royal Netherlands Embassy join together this week with Austin business leaders and transportation experts to come up with sustainable solutions to bicycling infrastructure and cultural changes in the city.
They will present those solutions in an open presentation tonight at City Hall.
Ambassador Rudolph Bekink started the ThinkBike Workshop by welcoming participants with comments about the Dutch way of life as it pertains to cycling, and how the infrastructure can complement the cultural shift to riding as a way of transportation.
“In the Netherlands, bicycle riding is a crucial element in our system of sustainable transportation. I am pleased to join Mayor Leffingwell and the people of Austin as they work to increase bicycle use in this great city," said Dutch Ambassador Bekink.
Austin is the latest American city to partner with the Netherlands to develop ways the city can become more bike-friendly by learning from Dutch transportation experts in the Think Bike program. The Dutch are recognized for their expertise in sustainable transportation. In the Netherlands, nearly 30% of trips up to five miles in distance are made by bicycle.
Recently, City of Austin officials went to the Netherlands through a grant from the Green Lane Project of the Bikes Belong organization. Council Member Chris Riley, City Manager Marc Ott, Director of Public Works Howard Lazarus, and Bicycle Program Manager Annick Beaudet all spent a week with Dutch officials and experts in transportation planning to learn better ways to implement cycling into infrastructure and culture. Now the Dutch are here in Austin to help our community find solutions for our transportation network.
Workshop participants will break into two groups to work on projects, find solutions and present those in a public presentation on Friday evening at 5:30 p.m.
One group is studying the South Lamar corridor for ways to incorporate biking and pedestrian integration into the streetscape. Another is planning a network of cycle tracks and green lanes throughout the city’s urban core to help alleviate congestion and open biking opportunities for more riders through safe infrastructure. A third group looks at policy issues for safe cycling in Austin.
The Dutch Cycling Embassy sponsors these workshops to bring their knowledge and expertise to the cities involved, and helps them find the unique solutions to fit their unique cultures, geography and current infrastructure.
Council Member Chris Riley said of the workshop and the trip to the Netherlands, “The Dutch have an amazing wealth of cycling experience to share. Their culture is one of people on bikes, enjoying biking as a mode of transportation and a way of life. Here in Austin, thoughtful planning of our networks can create a more joyful and efficient way of getting around, which would yield a number of benefits for our whole community.”
Follow the conversation on Twitter! Use #ThinkBikeATX
City of Austin:
City of Austin Twitter: @austintexasgov
Austin Bicycle Program Twitter: @coabikeprogram
www.facebook.com/austintexasgov
www.facebook.com/cityofaustinbicycleprogram
Dutch Embassy:
Embassy Twitter: @DutchEmbassyDC
Ambassador Bekink Twitter: @RBekink
Dutch Cycling Embassy Twitter: @Cycling_Embassy
www.facebook.com/ThinkBike
Storify: DutchEmbassyDC
About ThinkBike
Through a multi-city initiative, Dutch experts and companies are working with cities in the U.S. and Canada to look at safer conditions as bicycling use continues to increase. Toronto was the first Canadian city to host such an event, while Chicago was the first U.S. city to host a bike workshop, followed by Washington, DC, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Resource links
• Cycling in the Netherlands 2009 Transportation Report
• City of Austin Bicycle Program Website
• The Netherlands Embassy in Washington, D.C.
2012-10-31 15:31:57
Riding around NYC with no cars (and no lights): http://bikeportland.org/2012/10/30/surveying-the-damage-and-the-darkness-in-lower-manhattan-79463
2012-10-31 22:03:38
2012-12-25 23:05:50
So we are seen riding around with helmets on and hoping for the best as well as reading about all the cyclists being creamed on the road and we want people to cycle more and/or become cyclists? I don't think we get it here in the US. Not a very uplifting thread. If anything, it makes me want to give up and just drive a car.
2012-12-26 00:46:52
I think it's important to note that on average biking is getting safer as it's getting more popular.
Not fast enough, that's for damn sure and it takes nothing away from the sadness and horror of these stories, but does mean that I won't let them scare me off the bike.
To the thread as a whole, can we please do a little better than rebroadcast with the same bad new bias as the local news? With numbers rising surely there's more good news to report.
2012-12-26 01:33:23
2013-01-04 17:53:09
A couple of happier-than-usual-for-this-thread stories from out of town:
(This one was posted elsewhere on the board, but it's a nice story and fits here, too...)
Cleveland ministry starts bike-rack manufacturing business to employ homeless & others who have trouble finding jobs: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/01/growing_bike_rack_business_run.html
(Forget where I found this, probably on twitter somewhere, thanks either to scott or rsprake...)
The Best Bike-Sharing Program in the United States: How D.C., of all places, made it happen. http://www.slate.com/articles/life/doers/2013/01/capital_bikeshare_how_paul_demaio_gabe_klein_adrian_fenty_and_other_dc_leaders.single.html
2013-01-09 03:43:14
2013-01-12 02:45:45
Cute story.
http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/motorists-front-of-judea-what-have-the-cyclists-ever-done-for-us/
2013-01-15 11:15:30
That is just a giant bowl of awesome Stu. Thx.
2013-01-15 14:49:51
@ stu-
That is a really fun story, but those things lose their credibility to me once they start with exaggerated claims. From Wiki:
In 1860 Étienne Lenoir used an electric spark plug in his first internal combustion engine and is generally credited with the invention of the spark plug.
There is no mention of "bicycle" in Étienne Lenoir's Wiki entry.
In other good out-of town news (found while looking up spark plugs): Today's Wikipedia featured entry is the Hudson Valley Rail Trail, with a totally cool winter pic that makes me want tire studs.
2013-01-15 15:44:28
From Streetfilms comes this report on actor Hugh Jackman:
...How'd most of the bicycling world miss this?
You know bicycling has hit the big time when Golden Globes winners start talking about it during their acceptance speeches.
Megastar Hugh Jackman (who won the Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy) had his bike stolen while auditioning for Les Miserables.
How do we know this? During his acceptance speech, Jackman said the following to the A-listers in attendance:
To the guy or girl who stole the wheels off my bike while I was auditioning for Les Miserables, we're all good.
Firstly, how nice is it that he didn't assume the gender of the thief?
Afterwards he followed up that comment saying if the thief also wanted his frame, he would leave it leaning up in the same spot "tomorrow".
Geez, what I wouldn't do to be able to do a Streetfilms profile of Hugh Jackman. The guy rides frequently and looks cool doing it.
2013-01-16 15:01:45
i bet he'd get a 4' clearance wearing the Wolverine claws too.
2013-01-16 15:22:11
Cool. How awesome would it be to have some sweet adamantium claws for those not observing the 4 foot law? Mmmm.
2013-01-16 15:27:40
No comments on this one so far, though there are a couple in the article.
2013-01-17 17:29:13
Good. Rochester has way more road infrastructure than it needs these days. It's a shell of its former self.
2013-01-17 23:27:42
A victory against stupidity!
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22515210/colo-court-rules-bicycles-state-interest
2013-02-04 12:20:58
Nice find Stu. The road in the article looks like the perfect road to ride -- I wonder if that's a 45mph country road or a 25.
2013-02-04 13:14:09
That is great. I've been hearing about that situation for a while. I wonder what group took that to the Co Supreme Court.
2013-02-04 14:20:54
Fear not, Stupidity is apparently alive and well:
http://www.cyclelicio.us/2013/teen-tweets-about-a-san-jose-hit-and-run/
2013-02-14 16:26:34
ugh
2013-02-14 19:11:11
2013-02-15 15:08:57
^ CAUTION: video just before the crash (not graphic, but still disturbing to watch knowing what's about to happen)
http://www.necn.com/02/05/13/No-criminal-charges-in-deadly-bicycle-ac/landing_world.html?blockID=829141&tagID=50210
It looks like Mr. Alexander Motsenigos was riding safely - WTF!
2013-02-15 15:49:09
This is simultaneously awesome and sad:
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/18/17005973-globe-trotting-british-cyclists-killed-in-road-accident-in-thailand?lite
Awesome because I'd like to do this, but sad because, well, the whole dying thing :/
2013-02-19 08:19:10
And we think we have it bad:
"Miami-Dade Had 12,813 Hit-And-Run Crashes In 2012, Highest In Florida"
"the 305 saw ... 35 hit-and-runs per day, on average."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/19/miami-worst-for-hit-and-run-florida_n_2716513.html
2013-02-19 13:07:54
Holy hell is that horrifying and depressing. (referring to marko's article, not that it doesn't apply to the one about the british cyclists - which as I commented on FB is horribly similar to the crash that killed Don Parker)
2013-02-19 21:20:42
Two of the stupidest assholes on the internet, right here: http://live.wsj.com/video/opinion-the-wimpification-of-america/03024963-359B-4883-B029-5451E03AC22F.html
or, skip the video and just read this: http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2013/02/its-wednesday-and-air-is-think-with.html
2013-02-20 21:26:28
^since when does the WSJ compete with the Onion? Maybe their owners played (Ausy-rules) football when they were kids? (if you don't know who owns them, look it up)
2013-02-21 10:03:39
Ugh... at least they got a photo.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/jamis-hagens-berman-team-victims-of-hit-and-run
2013-02-22 16:37:33
Geez, there's an enormous shoulder there. And the article says they were to the right of the line. If they have video and a plate, there should be an open-and-shut prosecution.
2013-02-23 17:04:08
sigh... familiar story, familiar comments. I ride on this street from my hotel to work every time I'm in CA. It is 4 lane and the cars speed, but at least it's relatively straight and flat and has bike lanes. I really never considered it particularly dangerous, a lot of the other roads are worse.
http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_22706207/mountain-view-cyclist-group-takes-streets-demand-safety
2013-03-05 19:36:42
How about this one...
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_0701-0750/ab_738_bill_20130221_introduced.html
830.7. (a) A public entity or an employee of a public entity acting within his or her official capacity shall not be liable under this chapter for an injury caused to a person riding a bicycle as defined in Section 231 of the Vehicle Code while traveling on a roadway if the public entity has provided a bike lane on that roadway pursuant to Section 21207 of the Vehicle Code or Section 891.8 of the Streets and Highway Code. For purposes of this section, "bike lane" is as defined in Section 890.4 of the Streets and Highways Code. (b) The immunity set forth in this section is applicable regardless of whether the bicyclist was within the bike lane at the time of the accident. This immunity is also applicable regardless of whether the reason the bicyclist was not using the bike lane was in accordance with the exceptions listed in Section 21208 of the Vehicle Code.
2013-03-06 13:47:23
Am I reading that right? Any public employee or someone working for a public employee is immune from prosecution for clobbering a cyclist if there is a parallel path, even if otherwise at fault?
Sometimes the law is wrong.
2013-03-06 14:04:53
@rr, the mind reels. So the city has complete immunity if a cop runs down a cyclist in a bike lane?
Edit: OK, reading the linked text and thinking about it, I think this is saying that injuries resulting from the presence of bike lanes can't be pursued against the public entities that created the bike lanes. In other words they're trying to encourage public entities to create bike lanes by saying that when you do, no cyclist can say because there was a bike lane here, instead of a road, I was injured. But I really wish a lawyer would weigh in on this because I could be totally wrong.
Edit again: the key phrase I'm getting this from is "under this chapter". It's referring to liabilities under this chapter, which presumably refers to building bike lanes. It's not complete immunity.
2013-03-06 14:10:56
Cyclist could be in the bike lane or not. As long as it's painted on the road, the public employee is immune.
It's been introduced, hasn't hit the house or senate yet.
http://openstates.org/ca/bills/20132014/AB738/#actions
jonawebb, you're trying to be rational. It isn't rational. It's exactly how it reads. My guess is someone took a look at how the state was bleeding money, and said, "if we didn't have to pay liability suits for bus drivers/cops hitting cyclists, we would save X million dollars!"
2013-03-06 14:20:06
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/worlds-most-expensive-car-market-just-got-pricier-1C8707526
"All new cars sold attract an ownership tax of at least 100 percent of the cost price. On top of that, anyone who wants to buy a car in Singapore has to first obtain a certificate of entitlement (COE), which gives them the right to own and drive a car for 10 years. The measure was introduced to limit the number of cars in the city that has an area of just 276 square miles."
sigh, if only...
2013-03-06 15:04:46
Booby traps on Baltimore trails:
Be careful people, after Sunday's trail work a fellow rider stopped by the parking lot and dropped these booby traps off which were found on a trail in the Watershed. Besides 2 flat tires he stepped on another device when he was walking out. The boards have razor blades embedded in them and are buried in the ground so they are hard to detect.
http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20130307210851934
2013-03-08 10:51:01
There are some sick f*cks out there.
2013-03-08 14:35:12
seriously
2013-03-08 15:13:47
When I was volunteering for the Rail-to-trail sojourn, they were telling me that one year some jerk put thumbtacks all over a trail that was being used outside of Erie... If my memory is correct, I think they said there was something like 50 flats. I really don't understand some people.
2013-03-08 16:15:56
Flats are one thing. Getting your dog's paws torn up is something else again. Or getting your own feet punctured while jogging.
This isn't a whole lot different from shooting off a .22 from the side of the road. You're not real likely to kill someone, but you might (like going headlong at 20 mph with a front blowout and land on your neck), and certainly are going to cause significant suffering.
Flats are the least of it.
2013-03-08 17:31:45
As someone who has had a nail attached to a board go at least an inch up into my foot... I'm not disagreeing with "flats are the least of it."
What the two scenarios have in common is an intentional act with total disregard to the consequences. In the case in MD, it clearly goes the extra mile becoming (without question) a criminal act. Either way, some people actually do deserve to have their hands cut off so that they can't use them to harm others...
2013-03-08 19:28:54
I always felt that the cutting off of hands (actually done in some countries) was rather excessive, especially for the crimes they were for. I suspect the results of said action would not be good- creating a ward of the state due to inability to earn a living, and generating a lot of ill will that might be able to be acted upon even without hands.
2013-03-09 10:32:25
I said "deserve", I didn't say that it was the best option for society. Likewise, I believe that careless drivers deserve to crash their car into a tree, totaling it. However, I don't wish for anyone to actually crash into a tree. None the less, your point is noted.
2013-03-09 14:06:36
Here's one for Stu
"Rochester communities to encourage people to set aside their cars more often in favor of bikes, the bus, or their own two feet"
http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/pedal-empowered/Content?oid=2199612
The first comment at the end is ClassiC
2013-03-13 21:32:49
I felt bad for Joel, who seemed to crash into something after every little distraction.
2013-03-14 11:59:09
Saw this on Wimp, had to share. From the land down under, something pleasant for a change:
http://www.wimp.com/thirstykoala
2013-03-17 17:27:52
with all this talk about hit and runs and cyclists and pedestrians getting hit in general, it's refreshing to see such genius as the south dakota legislature, who have zeroed in on the real cause of the problem:
http://www.cyclelicio.us/2013/south-dakota-tells-cyclists-wear-bright-colors/
2013-03-19 21:04:34
$800K payout for a dooring in Chicago.
http://lincolnpark.patch.com/articles/doored-southport-biker-gets-800k-payout
2013-03-20 15:13:52
This part of the SD resolution is great:
"WHEREAS, on many South Dakota highways with little or no highway shoulders, the exposed nature of walking and bicycling to motor vehicle traffic is high"
So nice of the people responsible for setting the construction standards and paying for construction to notice that their product is missing this important bit.
Of course, to be fair, space in SD is extremely, extremely tight.
2013-03-20 15:31:10
Edit: woops. repost.
2013-03-21 10:17:00
I'd be much happier to have this problem rather than our current ones: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2013/03/bike_chaos_threatens_in_big_ci.php
2013-03-25 17:19:08
This is very cool;
"With Key Biscayne's main road in a snarl Saturday night, Williams borrowed a bike at her hotel, rode to her match and beat Ayumi Morita in the third round of the Sony Open, 6-3, 6-3." Huffpost Miami
2013-03-26 12:29:24
What a f'n mess... cagers showing up to boo a proposal to remove parking spaces to create bike lanes in SF.
Also sucks that they bring up the example of the cyclist who killed a ped as an example of why there shouldn't be bike lanes. If they want to use that logic I guess that means it's time to remove all the car lanes since they kill way more people.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sf-bikes-vs-cars-20130326,0,3851677.story
Only a few of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's 12,000 members seemed to be in attendance, and they remained largely silent — "intimidated" was how several attendees described it. The bike proponents who did speak were met with disdain.
2013-03-27 13:05:46
@salty Everyone knows that bicyclists are very aggresive...
2013-03-28 07:29:06
In Cleveland;
"Wild Ride is an after-hours event offering visitors the opportunity to cruise the Zoo on their bicycle! Animals will be out on exhibit and exhibitor booths will be set up on the Welcome Plaza.
The bike community in Cleveland is exploding and in keeping with the Zoo’s mission to connect people with wildlife, we’re inviting the members of this growing community to see the Zoo on two wheels rather than two heels. No other zoo in Ohio has an event like this!"
I'm not sure how they're going to deal with the loose wandering peacocks.
2013-03-29 10:29:31
Celebrity fail:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/alec-baldwin-takes-bicycling-spin-nyc-breaks-tons-safety-violations-article-1.1305253
2013-04-02 10:36:38
An itty bitty step forward in Saudi Arabia.
http://www.salon.com/2013/04/01/saudi_arabia_lifts_ban_on_women_riding_bicycles/
2013-04-02 12:02:56
I am loving the hell out of Peter Sagan victory wheelies, here at Gent-Wevelgem, showmanship;
2013-04-03 10:12:37
Lots of stats but I didn't find the article very useful. Uninspired journalism. It reads like the Mets box score. I am posting in case some one else can draw useful information or a Pittsburgh parallel from it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/nyregion/study-details-injuries-to-pedestrians-and-cyclists-in-new-york-city.html?_r=0
2013-04-03 10:52:30
@edmonds59: I'm a big fan of Sagan (minus the immature backside pinch on the podium last week). He had a separate "celebration" for each of his 3 TdF stage wins last season. Very good sprinter and looks to be improving into an all-around type rider who can compete for the classics.
2013-04-03 10:57:45
Riding in Minneapolis can be dangerous: "The police are now investigating the Molotov bomb, which landed within feet of Ditlefsen judging by the way he reeked of petro-fuel afterward. But it's only the latest in a string of attacks on cyclists on the Greenway"
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/04/minneapolis-bike-riders-dodge-sticks-rocks-and-now-molotov-cocktail/5205/
2013-04-05 11:59:32
USDOT to Host Bike Safety Summits (2)
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Monday two USDOT-hosted bike safety summits will take place in April. The summits, LaHood said, are meant to share ideas and discuss ways to make the nation's transportation infrastructure more bike-friendly and safer for all users.
LaHood announced the summits via his blog, Fastlane.dot.gov. The first summit will take place in Tampa on April 11 and the second in Minneapolis on April 29.
"We're going to learn from communities what works and what doesn't work," LaHood wrote in his blog. "And once we figure out what the best practices are, we're going to team up with the bicycling community to help ensure that when cities, towns, states, and counties think about creating new bike infrastructure, they’ll have the tools to implement those practices and keep all users of the roads as safe as possible."
LaHood said he is looking for participants from across the board, including "federal, state, and local officials, planners, designers, engineers, law enforcement, educators, health and safety experts, and others throughout the bicycle community." Registration for the summit in Tampa is available here. Participants for the Minneapolis summit can register here.
These summits, LaHood said, will help to keep the public safe when using the nation's transportation infrastructure.
"When I say safety is this department's number one priority, there's no exception for bikes," he wrote. "With more bicyclists on our streets, helping them ride safely is not a luxury; it's part of our obligation."
Additional information on the bike safety summits is available on LaHood's blog here.
2013-04-05 12:39:16
yikes, molotov cocktail? that's one of the craziest yet.
2013-04-05 13:22:30
President of Georgia breaks shoulder in Istanbul:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/04/08/us/ap-eu-georgia-saakashvili-accident.html?hp
2013-04-08 09:14:00
2013-04-08 11:05:13
N.M. man bikes 100 miles on 93rd birthday
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/04/09/NM-man-bikes-100-miles-on-93rd-birthday/UPI-87161365540873/
2013-04-10 15:16:45
http://wisconsinbikefed.org/2013/04/15/our-pr-problem-self-righteous-spandex-wearing-scofflaws/
"When I was the Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for the City of Milwaukee Dept. of Public Works, part of my job was to investigate complaints about speeding on neighborhood streets and when people said they had trouble crossing a street at a crosswalk. Before I could respond with a solution to these complaints, I needed facts so we did studies to check for speeding and to see what percentage of people failed to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. I also did bicycle counts at intersections where I checked to see how many people obeyed the traffic signals.
So what did these studies find? Get ready for a big shock, but my studies found that in general, people riding bicycles tend to be more law-abiding than people driving cars..."
2013-04-17 14:49:23
94% of motorists failed to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk.
...
The best result he got was 23% of motorists yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk at Oakland and Olive. But at two study locations, none of the cars yielded to pedestrians.
...
I actually think this is a bigger problem than anything cyclists face, and certainly pedestrians die in far larger numbers than cyclists. Some asswipe in a gigantic SUV did his best to run over myself, my wife, and my dog as we were legally crossing Negley Ave last night while he was turning left from 5th. After he managed to stop, he immediately hit the gas and cut in front of us while blaring his horn. It would have been bad enough if it were accidental, rather than the act of a selfish asshole who clearly thinks he was entitled to do what he did.
2013-04-17 20:58:56
*sigh* I don't know what it is that happens when people close that door... Dr. Jekyll/Mr.Hyde. Glad you and the family are unscathed beyond the stress and annoyance.
2013-04-18 11:04:50
@ SEW
Lots of stats but I didn’t find the article very useful. Uninspired journalism. It reads like the Mets box score. I am posting in case some one else can draw useful information or a Pittsburgh parallel from it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/nyregion/study-details-injuries-to-pedestrians-and-cyclists-in-new-york-city.html?_r=0
Excerpt And as New Yorkers brace for contact, an unexpected factor may protect against serious injury: being overweight.
We got that covered. New Yorkers don't even understand how to put French Fries on sandwichs or anything.
2013-04-18 11:15:01
Wow. "In November, Shannon Galpin was riding her single-speed mountain bike through the hills outside Kabul..." And it goes from there.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/sports/cycling/shannon-galpin-has-a-mission-putting-afghans-on-bikes.html?pagewanted=1&src=rechp
2013-04-18 11:48:29
I don't know what to make of this guy. Click on link for photo.
Endgame for baby-boomer idealism: A one-man sit-in in Tribeca to prevent @citibikenyc installation: twitter.com/ZephirRed/stat… via @zephirred— Aaron Naparstek (@Naparstek) April 18, 2013
2013-04-18 16:25:00
Here's a good one "out of town": http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/transportation/pittsburgh-crashes-prompt-plans-for-overnight-closures-of-wabash-tunnel-683894/
Although, on second thought maybe they should just apply that concept to every street.
2013-04-18 19:24:47
Also, thanks @drewbacca - I only wish it wasn't such a commonplace occurrence. That one was scarier than most because I didn't really expect it to happen. At least we were crossing in the opposite direction and able to see him and stop walking.
2013-04-18 19:30:02
2013-04-22 14:40:59
Very interesting link buried in the comments on that Bike Portland article: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/guidance/accessibility_guidance/bollards_access.cfm
FHWA Accessibility Guidance: "Bollards, Gates, and other Barriers"...
I've been thinking about the ones on Junction Hollow in particular a fair amount, especially since the cyclist who died after running into one on a trail in Ohio last year. Was nice to be reinforced with federal guidance text like "Bollards are often a hazard to trail users, who can crash into them, possibly resulting in serious injury or death" and "If installed, bollards...Must be easily visible, especially in low light conditions" (which the ones on JHT aren't).
After a couple years of thinking "I hate those things, I wish they were gone", I wrote a 311 request to ask the city to actually do that...
2013-04-22 20:57:20
Philly goes green with sharrows. See pic, linked in tweet.
Philadelphia installs "Super Sharrows" on TIGER funded 58th Street Greenway. @streetsblognet @bikewalk @usdot twitter.com/knoja/status/3…— Jeffrey Knowles (@knoja) April 24, 2013
2013-04-24 16:41:15
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/excursions/post/suspected-road-rage-incident-captured-by-surveillance-camera-in-beverly-hills/
http://vimeo.com/64671273
2013-04-25 08:25:22
New word: 'woonerf':
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/automobiles/where-share-the-road-is-taken-literally.html?hpw
2013-05-01 09:25:42
2013-05-01 14:56:13
Ugh... this intersection was part of my very first regular commute (Seattle). Kudos for KUOW (NPR) for making mention of it. http://kuow.org/post/cyclist-killed-seattle-first-day-bike-work-month
2013-05-02 10:39:17
DC: A car veered onto a Connecticut Avenue sidewalk and struck a woman and a high-rise building Tuesday, before the vehicle careened back into the street and hit two cars, D.C. police said.
Not mentioned in the article, but added by the headline editor--the woman died at hospital. (No word on the condition of the building or the other cars.)
2013-05-02 19:52:22
buffalo buffalo wrote:Not mentioned in the article, but added by the headline editor–the woman died at hospital.@sharrowsDC "It appears the condition of the woman who died yesterday on Connecticut Ave has been upgraded to alive."
2013-05-03 07:35:44
"In 1897, a Bicycle Superhighway Was the Future of California Transit"
http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/in-1897-a-bicycle-superhighway-was-the-future-of-california-transit
2013-05-03 17:02:42
Brooklyn class on how to ride in city traffic: look out!
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/07/nyregion/bike-riding-in-city-traffic-take-notes-please.html
I like it that they serve PBR, and also that it's legal to ride with one headphone on, but not both.
2013-05-07 14:59:46
Spectacular New Floating Cycle Roundabout
http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/spectacular-new-floating-cycle-roundabout/ 
2013-05-08 11:50:50
Funny you should mention that at the very moment I resurrected the Things Pampered European Cyclists Get thread. This got a mention in that thread a while back.
2013-05-08 12:04:17
Amtrak related http://www.activetrans.org/blog/tvillaire/bikes-may-be-allowed-trains-heading-michigan-next-year
2013-05-08 17:38:34
StuInMcCandless wrote:Funny you should mention that at the very moment I resurrected the Things Pampered European Cyclists Get thread. This got a mention in that thread a while back.That's pretty sweet.
2013-05-08 20:31:25
Amazing increase in safety from protected bike lanes in NYC. 35% decrease in traffic related injuries on 8th Ave, and 58% (!) decrease on 9th Ave. This is for all road users, not just cyclists. Plus, retail sales on 9th Ave went up 50%. Let's do it here.
http://streetsblog.net/2013/05/08/the-debate-about-bike-infrastructure-has-been-settled/
2013-05-11 07:38:49
Phoenix Cop Gives Working Teenager Bike for Commute
http://abcnews.go.com/us/video/police-officer-working-teenager-bike-commute-19158691
2013-05-12 10:29:02
Turns out, if you have bike share, you need racks, which take up space. Who knew?
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/nyregion/complaints-rise-as-bike-share-program-nears.html?hp
2013-05-14 11:34:20
DC apparently activated its 5th HAWK signal today: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2013/05/16/d-c-activating-another-special-pedestrian-crossing/
2013-05-16 14:01:44
The victim was on a motorcycle, but I had to put it up, because it's a positive change: "Police arrested the driver of that SUV, 42-year-old Laura Gargiulo, on Friday on several charges, including careless driving and texting while driving." And nowhere do they refer to it as an "accident". Nice.
http://www.wtae.com/news/local/woman-charged-with-texting-while-driving-after-crash-kills-firefighter/-/9681086/20206872/-/11u317w/-/index.html
2013-05-19 08:15:30
This, from the same news organization that put up the sucky story the other night about cyclists.
2013-05-19 11:09:48
Bicycle funerals
http://www.kval.com/news/business/Bicycle-hearse-offers-one-last-ride-to-final-resting-place-207791931.html?tab=video&c=y
2013-05-20 16:34:14
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the major newspaper. In case, you know, you need to ride to Cleveland for anything;
http://www.cleveland.com/roadrant/index.ssf/2013/05/the_rule_of_the_road_when_it_c.html#incart_river
2013-05-25 06:44:05
@edmonds, Man the comments at the end are very reasonable compared to most articles, which can only mean one thing - Cleveland drivers are illiterate
2013-05-25 08:45:01
Ha!
2013-05-25 09:23:02
A pretty big event for a pretty big town. Going on right now (Sunday 5/26 thru 10a our time).
http://www.nbcchicago.com/on-air/as-seen-on/nbcchicago-live-stream-bike-the-drive-may-26-208733321.html
That's a live stream, apparently. Cool stuff!
2013-05-26 06:38:19
NYC seems ahead of us in many ways like bike lanes and bike share, but at least we don't have to deal with a newspaper like this:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/cyclist-killed-bensonhurst-article-1.1355753
Puts the blame on the cyclist (was he wearing a helmet before the motorist ran over him) and bike share (even though the accident had nothing to do with it). Not a word about what the driver may have done wrong, except a pat on the back for not going hit-and-run. Shameful.
2013-05-28 10:48:18
May 28th NPR story about the claim that bike lanes equal more business (they don't find it)
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/shopkeepers-dont-buy-nycs-bike-business-pitch
2013-05-28 19:18:19
Another from NPR though not about bicycling. :)
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/06/06/137002727/sweet-justice-a-florida-couple-forecloses-on-bank-of-america
2013-05-28 21:16:06
"A Park Ridge man has been charged with reckless homcide and aggravated drunken driving in the death of Robert "Bobby" Cann as he rode his bicycle Wednesday in Old Town, as the biking community is set to memorialize Cann in the monthly Critical Mass bike ride."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-driver-questioned-critical-mass-to-memorialize-bobby-cann-20130531,0,3803133.story
At least they are treating this appropriately!
2013-05-31 21:15:23
Not really "news" but for some reason this photo really wowed me: http://plus.google.com/112113776658081726835/posts/W9WG7hybG6M
That group gets a lot of great photos from from around the world - makes me wish I could go to all those places.
2013-05-31 23:07:56
Bill Cunningham covers New York City biking fashions in his great lighthearted style (narrated slide show): http://nyti.ms/11uzWtK
2013-05-31 23:38:21
Friend of mine just came back to Moscow from Munich, Germany. He was impressed by number of people using bikes for commuting. A lot people from subarbia come on elictric powered people movers (not an LTV like our T but on heavy rail vehicles similar to what Chicago has) and then got on bikes to get to work. City has special bike roads/lanes with special bike traffic lights. Rail stations have a special covered vertical parking but not enough. 
2013-06-10 00:48:09
About bike sharing & safety: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/bike-sharing-can-mean-safer-biking/
excerpts:
"the presence of a bike sharing program is a boon to the safety of all bicyclists"
"a personal injury lawyer in Chicago who exclusively handles bicycle-related accidents, said that a large majority of his cases involve “dooring,” .... Incidents like these, along with drivers’ failure to give bikers the right of way, account for nearly half of all bicycle-vehicle accidents."
2013-06-13 07:02:57
Last week, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance doubling the fines for people who open doors in cyclists’ path: now $300 when the move interferes with a bicycle without incident, and $1,000 when it causes an accident.Hm, I like it. should we propose to do the same to our officials? >
2013-06-13 11:03:30
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vK9C9VtCypE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcZSU40RBrg
2013-06-21 11:18:29
With plenty of space so rack could be placed further from wall and it would provide normal access to the rack on other side. And if to make rakes share two parking spots... It would be 20 bikes per spot in our garage and the same is true for middle row. So it would around 15 bikes per car spot in our garage or 780*15+20*10=11,900 bikes per our garage...
2013-06-21 13:26:14
2013-06-22 08:54:22
2013-07-09 22:31:32
2013-07-10 23:26:20
2013-07-29 09:55:48
2013-09-01 07:50:37
2013-09-21 13:00:48Photo caption: Amber Dallman has the 2013 Hardcore Biker of the Year award locked up, as far as we're concerned. Comment: This has to be the busiest, most ad-filled webpage I have seen in a long while.
2013-09-25 21:32:33
2013-09-30 20:38:322. Cycling is easy. I saw more bike lanes than in Portland OR, for example. Not as easy as Amsterdam, however. Lots of bike racks. Drivers seemed to accept the cyclists. 3. Subways and trains accept bicycles, outside of rush hour. Here we are lifting our bicycles onto an evening train back to downtown. No racks, no extra fee, no fuss. (This is just like the trains that run every 30 minutes from Monroeville to downtown Pittsburgh for $5 - you know that train, right?)
4. There are nice paved bike trails that follow rivers upstream away from the lake, through the parks, and also along the lake (comparable to Pittsburgh's network). Here is a bicycle/pedestrian bridge across the Humber River.
5. They have bike share, but I didn't try it.
2013-11-27 17:34:21
2013-12-12 12:41:21
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2013-12-12 12:49:27
2013-12-12 17:53:01
2013-12-21 12:14:11
2014-01-13 09:28:29
2014-02-05 09:58:35
2014-02-07 06:16:49
2014-02-11 13:12:06
2014-02-13 14:08:20http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/03/04/protesters-cover-nypd-signs-urging-pedestrian-safety-on-upper-west-side/
2014-03-05 12:33:06I am curious to see how these will work. I had not heard of this sort of thing before. From the article: "ODOT's Public Information Officer Don Hamilton says the four signs cost the agency $180,000." That's chump change, folks, to make the streets safer.
2014-03-09 13:04:33
2014-03-28 21:30:24For those on the fb, https://www.facebook.com/TheFantasticClevelandTweedRide
2014-04-02 13:13:16
2014-04-15 14:34:59
2014-05-05 07:40:54
2014-05-29 17:02:21
2014-07-15 14:25:48
2014-08-04 14:19:20
sources (thanks to Stu): http://nolacyclehistory.wordpress.com/2014/07/19/the-louisiana-liberty-bill-of-1890/ forthcoming book: http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/
2014-08-05 21:39:47LOL. I find it hard to believe the Apple commercial hasn't been linked, I didn't check, but it's awesome. So great. Makes me want to visit Detroit: https://www.apple.com/your-verse/organizing-a-movement/
2014-08-29 06:06:29
2014-10-10 08:25:42
2014-10-23 08:31:55http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/23/giffords-bike-ride/19447139/
2014-11-25 22:05:17
2014-11-26 09:50:08shooting randomly.trying to protect law-abiding citizens from destructive monsters —Citizens fleeing for their lives (off-screen).Thugs & scumbags destroying the livelihoods of innocent business owners, citizens, and community leaders — One unscathed bicycle rack. fixed that for you.2014-12-03 20:54:25right click on it to enlarge
2014-12-15 17:18:00
2014-12-16 10:05:37
2014-12-16 14:02:17
2014-12-17 14:48:44
2015-01-13 14:04:36(Totally lame that a bike was only seen briefly in the first episode and never again)
2015-02-03 13:10:43
2015-02-11 00:20:41subtitle: this is our bicycle lane
2015-03-14 17:24:02
2015-03-16 22:00:12
2015-03-16 22:01:50http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-03-24/paris-fights-air-pollution-with-free-bicycle-sharing
2015-03-24 11:30:44
2015-04-04 01:45:45
2015-04-27 10:01:43
Including the arrest of Freddie Gray: bicycle cops chased him down:
2015-04-28 11:18:25More info at the link. (courtesy Seattle Bike Blog on Twitter)
2015-05-06 18:33:08
2015-05-09 06:49:08
2015-05-31 03:35:45
2015-06-19 11:46:24
2015-07-09 23:20:44
2015-07-11 07:49:32Though the situation there sounds like a driver's utopia. Maybe some of the commentators on letters to the editor should move there: "North Korean cyclists are not supposed to ride on urban roads and have for years used an unmarked narrow strip of pavement shared with pedestrians, residents and visitors said." "They are not the most common form of transport for the average Pyongyanger, and many people I have spoken to about bikes there - mostly men - have scoffed at the idea that they would ride a bike," said Cockerell, whose company offers bicycle tours of North Korea.
2015-07-14 08:52:38Zigzag ramps and bridge over RR tracks, Gatineau Hydro Corridor Trail at Tara Ave, Toronto
Zigzag ramps at southeast end of Herr's Island, Pittsburgh (bridge specs)
2015-07-26 15:43:44Pic 2, normal people riding bikes on streets.
Pic 3, at one point there was a band with an immense party/gathering at which a large number of people had arrived by bike.
Pic 3a, gathering.
Pic 4, This is the "main drag" directly out from the gathering in Pic 3. There are 1,000+- live partying human beings just east of this photo. On my previous visits, this was a car-glogged pedestrian nightmare. I am hesitant to attribute direct causality, but worth considering. Aside from the bikes, drivers are now noticeably deferential to pedestrians, stopping well in advance of people in crosswalks. Mildly remarkable.
2015-08-13 09:19:41
2015-09-10 07:59:09
2015-09-24 10:28:55
