The Rise of Urban Biking

THE RISE OF

By: Billie Spain

URBAN BIKING

THE RISE OF URBAN BIKING

THE RISE OF URBAN BIKING

“Life is like riding a bicycle in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.� -Albert Einstein

CONTENTS 01 Introduction 02 History 03 Biking 04 Urban Planing 05 Revitalization 06 Problems 07 Solutions 08 Index

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The Rise of Urban Biking

INTRODUCTION This topic is about urban biking in bigger populated cities and how that effects climate change, sustainable factors, the environmental impact, revitalization, urban landscape, communities, suburban sprawl and highway systems, makes less of a carbon footprint, saves taxpayers money, it’s emission free, helps reshape streets and infrastructure,makes for good recreational, health factors, promotes internationalism, it’s eco-friendly, bolsters the economy, allows for access to easy amenities, culture and different forms of transportation around the world.

The information in this book covers several types of important facts you will need to know about being an urban biker, resources, safety issues and experiences. This book covers how biking is thought to be effective in society across the world and what you can do to improve your carbon foot print to help the landscape and also co-exist but in a harmonious way with traffic and also along urban biking terrain crossways and pedestrian related paths that separate roads, highways and green ways in neighborhoods and big cities globally.

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HISTORY

Vehicles for human transport that have two wheels and require balancing by the rider date back to the early 19th century. The first means of transport making use of two wheels arranged consecutively, and thus the archetype of the bicycle, was the German draisine dating back to 1817.

The term bicycle was coined in France in the 1860s.

There are several early, but unverified, claims for the invention of bicycle-like machines. The earliest comes from a sketch said to be from 1493 and attributed to Gian Giacomo Caprotti, a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci. In 1998 Hans-Erhard Lessing said that this last assertion is a purposeful fraud. However, the authenticity of the bicycle sketch is still vigorously maintained by followers of Prof.

Augusto Marinoni, a lexicographer and philologist, who was entrusted by the Commissione Vinciana of Rome with the transcription of da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus.

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20th And 21st Centuries

Cycling steadily became more important in Europe over the first half of the twentieth century, but it dropped off dramatically in the United States between 1900 and 1910.

Automobiles became the preferred means of transportation.

Over the 1920s, bicycles gradually became considered children’s toys, and by 1940 most bicycles in the United States were made for children. In Europe cycling remained an adult activity, and bicycle racing, commuting, and “cyclo touring” were all popular activities. In addition, specialist bicycles for children appeared before 1916.

Bicycles continued to evolve to suit the varied needs of riders. The derailleur developed in France between 1900 and 1910 among cyclo tourists, and was improved over time. Only in the 1930s did European racing organizations allow racers to use gearing; until then they were forced to use a two-speed bicycle. The rear wheel had a sprocket on either side of the hub. To change gears, the rider had to stop, remove the wheel, flip it around, and remount the wheel. When racers were allowed to use derailleurs, racing times immediately dropped.

Although multiple-speed bicycles were widely known by this time, most or all military bicycles used in the Second World War were single-speed. At mid-century there were two predominant bicycle styles for recreational cyclists in North America. Heavyweight cruiser bicycles, preferred by the typical (hobby) cyclist,featuring balloon tires, pedaldriven “coaster” brakes and only one gear, were popular for their durability, comfort, streamlined appearance, and a significant array of accessories (lights, bells, springer forks, speedometers, etc..). Lighter cycles, with hand brakes, narrower tires, and a three-speed hub gearing system, often imported from England, first became popular in the United States in the late 1950s. These comfortable, practical bicycles usually offered generator-powered head lamps, safety reflectors, kickstands, and frame-mounted tire pumps. In the United Kingdom, like the rest of Europe, cycling was seen as less of a hobby, and lightweight but durable bikes had been preferred for decades.

The 21st century has seen a continued application of technology to bicycles: in designing them, building them, and using them. Bicycle frames and components continue to get lighter and more aerodynamic without sacrificing strength largely through the use of computer aided design, finite element analysis, and computational fluid dynamics. Recent discoveries about bicycle stability have been facilitated by computer simulations. Once designed, new technology is applied to manufacturing such as hydro forming and automated carbon fiber lay up. Finally, electronic gadgetry has expanded from just cyclo computers to now include cycling power meters and electronic gear-shifting systems that work with movements of the bike.

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Bicycling in General

A bicycle, often called a bike, is a human-powered, pedaldriven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A bicycle rider is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century in Europe and now number more than a billion worldwide, twice as many as automobiles. They are the principal means of transportation in many regions. They also provide a popular form of recreation, and have been adapted for use as children’s toys, general fitness, military and police applications, courier services, and bicycle racing. The basic shape and configuration of a typical upright, or safety bicycle, has changed little since the first chain-driven model was developed around 1885. But many details have been improved, especially since the advent of modern materials and computer-aided design. These have allowed for a proliferation of specialized designs for many types of cycling. The bicycle’s invention has had an enormous effect on society, both in terms of culture and of advancing modern industrial methods. Several components that eventually played a key role in the development of the automobile were initially invented for use in the bicycle, including ball bearings, pneumatic tires, chain-driven sprockets, and tension-spoked wheels.

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Bicycles All Over The World A steadily growing number of cities around the world are eager to become cities of bicycles, as part of an overall strategy on sustainable development and the desire to become green cities. The development of cycle path networks that can supplement the public transport system also makes a significant contribution to reducing CO2 emissions in Copenhagen for example, cyclists are saving the city 90,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually. But there are many more benefits to be gained from focusing on bicycles than a green profile. Cities of bicycles are very much people-friendly cities, and city planning that considers pedestrians and cyclists will form a significant contribution to the humanistic city of the future. Gehl Architects have helped to promote this development in a number of the world’s metropolises.

People-Friendly Cities Require Mobility For All A humanistic, people-friendly city is first and foremost an accessible city where mobility is possible for all. Many cities today are plagued by traffic congestion, and in densely populated city areas the fastest way of getting around is often on a bicycle, which is a highly efficient means of transport.

In Copenhagen, a survey has shown that the majority of cyclists choose this means of transport because they want to get quickly to their destination, and that this is one of the most important reasons why they use a bicycle instead of a car. As an efficient means of transport the bicycle is also becoming popular elsewhere in the world.

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In The United States Alone

40 %

of Trips Are 2 Miles or Less Per Day

Of Those Driving By Car

90 % Make Up The Rest

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The Production of A Car Alone Accounts For

42 Gallons of C02 Emissions Per Kilometer Driven in Europe

Driving A Car Emits

271Gallons Co2 Per Passenger & Kilometer

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Different Facets of The Same Issue Thinking of the city of bicycles as one contribution among many which are intended to promote an attractive urban environment, has turned out to be highly effective: the city of bicycles, the pedestrian city, the healthy city, the attractive city and the accessible city are all facets of the same issue.

Planning for pedestrians and cyclists is thus an obvious place to start in order to create a sustainable and peoplefriendly city.

A humanistic, people-friendly city is first and foremost an accessible city, where mobility is possible for all. Many cities today are plagued by traffic congestion, and in densely populated city areas the fastest way of getting around is often on a bicycle, which is a highly efficient means of transport.

-Louise Kielgast, Gehl Architects

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URBAN BIKING Residents of American cities across Europe, Asia and Oceania. All major college towns may have noticed a growing urban species whizzing down their streets. One strand of the highly adaptive Homo pedalis can be identified by telltale markings: a single leg of skinny jeans rolled up, a plaid shirt unbuttoned to alleviate perspiration and a clumsy retro helmet. As many young professionals choose cities over suburbs, the rising cost of living has pushed newcomers to the fringes of the urban core. Mass transit is not always available or convenient. Driving is costly and time-consuming. So young urbanites, like people nationwide, have turned to bicycles; bike use has gone up 39 percent nationally since 2001, according to the League of American Bicyclists. In the seventy largest US cities, commuter bike use is up 63 percent. “The cities are seeing huge rises [in cycling],� says Jeffrey Miller, executive director of the Alliance for Biking and Walking. “San Francisco has been seeing a massive increase, Chicago is seeing huge numbers, DC is seeing huge increases along bike paths as well.

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URBAN BIKING

European countries are best known for bike-friendly cities, but bike-ability has spread to many other cities around the world. Amsterdam is one of the most renowned biking cities, in which over half of all trips in the center city are made by bike. Amsterdam has a comprehensive network of segregated bike lanes, bike traffic signals/laws, and bike-only streets, so that cyclists can ride safely and separately from car and pedestrian traffic. Copenhagan, Berlin, Rome, and Paris are some of the other European cities where biking is popular.

London also has recently expanded bike transportation. In 2010 construction began on a network of 10 bike superhighways, among other similar designated bike lanes; with moves such as these, the amount of bike trips has increased dramatically in the last decade. These, the amount of bike trips has increased dramatically in the last decade.Bogota, Colombia is one of the most bike-able Latin American cities, in which one out of seven inhabitants use the ciclovia, or bikeway.

Bogota also holds car-free Sundays, in which cyclists occupy the city’s major roads. In the United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota boasts a 5.5 mile-long Greenway along a former railroad track, in which cyclists can ride through the city in paths separate from auto traffic. This, along with miles of on street lanes and off street have led many to name Minneapolis the most bike-friendly American city.

How To Integrate Bikes?

Bike-friendly infrastructure is key to integrating bikes into city life. City planners can design with bikes in mind, or re-work car-centric infrastructure to be able to incorporate bikes. Dedicated bike lanes/paths, available and safe bike storage, clear traffic signals, and public transit that support bikes all encourage city-dwellers to begin biking. Smart biking areas are key to safe riding, and people are more likely to use bikes when they feel safe. Studies have shown that bike paths that are protected from cars and trucks are the most safe; one’s risk of injury drops dramatically if riding in a dedicated or protected bike lane.

To encourage safety, schools in the Netherlands begin bike education early, emphasizing not only bike safety but also driving awareness, so that drivers are more aware of bikers and pedestrians. Early bike education is also a way to encourage a positive attitude towards biking and cyclists from a young age. In addition to infrastructure and policy, cultural attitudes must favor biking in order for the public to embrace a different mode of transportation.

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Overseas Cities To Go To With A Bike There are lots of cities where it’s good to be a cyclist, but some are truly two-wheel paradises; which these cities seem to rate the best for travel and commuting.

01 Hamburg, Germany In a global perspective, Hamburg is a premier league player, no doubt about it. The city’s modal share has been steady and is slowly rising. The citizens are returning to the bicycle, especially in the neighborhoods.

The city’s planners haven’t really realized that it’s a new millennium and much of their infrastructure is sub-standard.

But it’s there. Ready to form the foundation for more, better protected cycle tracks.

02 Paris, France Has left London and New York in the dust over the past six years. In particular, New York is making efforts to catch up, but Paris’ commitment to improving conditions for Citizen Cyclists remains strong. The city’s bike share system remains a success and an impressive number of stretches feature bicycle infrastructure.

With 30 km/h zones and the removal of archaic express ways along the river, bicycle traffic will benefit. The fantastic role of the bike share system in the nightlife shows that the citizens are embracing the bicycle for all purposes. Nobody would have thought that Paris could have done all it has done but the city continues to pinch us to tell us we’re not dreaming about this one.

03 Barcelona, Spain Has impressed the world with their efforts to reestablish the bicycle as transport. Their bike share system is a smashing success, protected infrastructure carries bicycle users along many routes and the citizens have embraced the bicycle like in few other places. With a modal share pushing 4%, Barcelona has every reason to be proud of what they have achieved over just a few years. The city’s firm commitment to 30 km/h zones is impressive and local advocacy is well-organized and influential. Barcelona is an enjoyable city to cycle in.

04 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil We’re well into The Rio Decade.

With the Olympics and World Cup around the corner, Rio is going to be all over our lives for several years. Rio de Janeiro put in cycle tracks along the Copacabana beach in the lead up to the Rio Climate Summit in 1992 and the tracks were expanded along the other beaches because... they worked.

Now the city has a modest network and is looking to expand now that the world is coming and going to stay for a while.

The Cariocas are well-acquainted with the bicycle and the new bike share system is enjoying an impressive success.

The time is ripe for Rio to become a world-class bicycle city.

Rio is one of the few cities on the Index in 2011 to rise in this 2013 version. Impressive in light of the tough competition added to the Index.

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Overseas Cities To Go To With A Bike 05 Montreal, Canada Once again, Montreal maintains its position as North America’s premiere bicycle city. With cycle tracks dating from the late 1980s, Montreal has long been ahead of the curve. The city’s bike share system is successful and cycling is on the up - both commuting and use of the bicycle for errands and socially. Montreal is one city in North America where bicycles feature strongly in the nightlife of the city.

07 Tokyo, Japan The biggest city to make the list, it is important that a mega-city like Tokyo appears here.

Mega-cities are inspired by mega-cities more than smaller ones. So, the largest city in the world’s third great bicycle nation comes in at number 10. That is down 6 from the 2011 Index, but the competition is tough. Japan - car-producing nation that it is - still understands the bicycle’s role in the urban theatre.

Good advocacy is influential and the city’s recent move to gather all the players around one table in order to consult more efficiently is a wise move. Politically, having someone bold like Luc Ferrandez, Mayor of the Plateau, helps move the city towards the next level. We see more cargo bikes in Montreal than most cities in North America, which is a healthy sign that all-round bicycle culture is embraced.

Tokyo maintains a healthy gender split and the rigorous drivers’ training that motorists must go through in Japan keeps the streets safer than many other countries. Parking solutions at transport hubs are often innovative and inspirational. Tokyo is preparing to let the metro run 24 hours, which will increase the number of bicycles. So often public transport goes hand in hand with bicycle traffic.

06 Munich, Germany Munich’s drive to increase cycling levels leaves other cities in the dust, what with its impressive investments in marketing urban cycling aimed to give the bicycle a higher status among the citizens. Their infrastructure and facilities are respectable and the city continues planning for more. Munich fell, however, to #11 in 2013 from #6 in 2011. Mostly because bolder cities entered the fray, absolutely, but Munich faded slightly from the radar since 2011. Their momentum continues, but these days it is in-your-face initiatives that get your attention and that serve to boost a city’s profile. Not to mention cycling levels. Munich brands itself successfully as a cycling city and in the global perspective the city is a main player. A 20% modal share is brilliant.

08 Berlin, Germany Berlin seems to have the right pragmatic attitude towards bicycle traffic that you see in Amsterdam and Copenhagen. People just on with it. This willingness among the population - free of narrow sub-cultural influences - is a gift to the city. A modal share of 13% is impressive for a city the size of Berlin. The fact that in some neighborhoods the share rises to 20-25% is a sign that the citizens will take it to the level. A healthy gender split and a broad age range further brand cycling as a normal transport form. The city’s bicycle infrastructure contributes positively to encouraging citizens to ride on for sure.

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Overseas Cities To Go To With A Bike 09 Malmö, Sweden Like Antwerp’s longing glances across the border with the Netherlands, Sweden’s thirdlargest city has long looked to Copenhagen for inspiration.

There is certainly little inspiration to be had from the larger cities to the north in their own country.

Now we see Malmö muscling their way up the Index with financial commitment, fantastic and innovative communications and a real desire for modernizing their city. They’ve committed €47 million to boosting bicycle traffic over the next 7 years and their “No Ridiculous Car Trips” campaign has redefined bicycle communications for many other cities.

They’ve given their bicycle paths names so they are easier to find in GPS and they remain balanced with helmet promotion, in contrast to Stockholm and Gothenburg. Lots of details and lots of impressive projects all add up for Malmö.

10 Antwerp, Belgium Influenced by the bicycle goodness across the Dutch border, the city has maintained a steady level of bicycle traffic for a number of years. With a modal share of 16% in the city, it is clear that the bicycle is a main transport mode. All well and good but Antwerp is another city that is banking on bicycles in its efforts to modernize.

It features a lot of best practice, separated infrastructure which certainly helped in the ranking. The bicycle parking facility at the Central train station is fantastic and shows what is possible. One of the cities in the world with a high modal share that has also introduced a bike share system and it has proved popular due to intelligent placement of stations and saturation. Roughly the size of Copenhagen.

11 Utrecht, Netherlands With the expansion of the Copenhagenize Index to 150 cities in 2013, Utrecht rocked right into a solid 3rd place. A splendid city in which to ride a bicycle, Utrecht is a world-leader among smaller cities for showing what it possible regarding bicycle traffic. The 640,000 people in the Metro area, as well as the city itself, enjoy a premier network of bicycle infrastructure and fantastic usage levels.

Videos of Utrecht’s bicycle rush hours have served to place the city on the bicycle culture map for a wider audience and city is a must to visit for planners from around the world.

Fixes: Like Amsterdam, Utrecht’s placement on the Index is well-deserved but it is largely due to it’s status quo as opposed to any significant efforts to increase the level of bicycle traffic.

With urbanization on the rise, the city needs to move forward in order to accommodate more cycling cities and really establish themselves as leaders of the future, not just the present.

12 Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen Stays at number 2 in this year’s Index. From an urban design perspective, Copenhagen is second-to-none when it comes to a well-designed and uniform bicycle infrastructure network. Nobody believes the politicians anymore when they say they are aiming for 50% modal share.

A whole series of bicycle/pedestrian bridges over the harbour, the continued work on a network of bicycle superhighways and completing missing links like Gothersgade have all contributed to the score and bonus allocation. All good, but Copenhagen is hanging on to 2nd place by a whisker.

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Overseas Cities To Go To With A Bike 13 Amsterdam, Netherlands Defends the title as the world’s most bicycle-friendly city in the 2013 Copenhagenize Index. The city continues to do well in nearly every category. Amsterdam does almost everything right.

What the city lacks in a uniform infrastructure design it more than makes up for with its impressive saturation of bicycle traffic in the compact city centre. Municipal and national political will contributes to their score, as does having all the required necessities like infrastructure and facilities.

The widespread 30 km/h zones are instrumental in slowing the city and keeping people safe. The cycling atmosphere is relaxed, enjoyable, and as mainstream as you can get.

This is the one place on the planet where fear-mongering about cycling is non-existent and it shows. There are few places we enjoy urban cycling as much as in Amsterdam.

14 Seville, Spain Is the poster child of the modern bicycle planning movement. Nothing less. From a modal share of 0.5% in 2006, the city went from zero to hero and now boasts 7% modal share. The rapid rise in bicycle traffic was due to visionary political will. 80 km of bicycle infrastructure was completed in just one year and more was added later. he transformation was rapid, intense and positive.

Other cities look to Seville for inspiration and they have shown what is possible. Their bike share system played an equal role in bringing the bicycles back. Indeed, you can’t have a bike share system if you don’t have infrastructure for people to ride them on.

15 Bordeaux, France Every country needs a city that just gets on with it and shows what is possible. Bordeaux is that city in France. For many years, Strasbourg was regarded as the premier cycling city but Bordeaux storms into fourth spot on the Top 20 of the Copenhagenize Index for what it has achieved in the past five or so years.

Unlike most cities, where bicycles had largely disappeared from the urban landscape, there were still a few bicycle users in the south-western French city. Nevertheless, the city has invested brilliantly in bike lanes and cycle tracks. There are 200 km in the city and 400 in all when you include the surrounding CUB - Communauté Urbaine de Bordeaux.

In the CUB there is a 5% modal share, but that rises to 10% in the city proper. Up from just a couple of percentage points only 6 years ago. Bordeaux is taking bicycle transport seriously, and it goes hand in hand with the city’s new investment in an impressive tramway network. As we often see, a tramway city becomes a bicycle friendly city.

Bordeaux’s bike share system VCub is a great success and serves to place bicycles beneath a great many citizens.

Bordeaux has figured out how to market its bicycle initiatives to a mainstream crowd, avoiding the narrow and ineffective sub-cultural context. France is the country in Europe that is taking bicycle transport most seriously and Bordeaux has become the leader.

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USA Bike Friendly Cities

01 Portland, Oregon That infrastructure includes 106 kilometers of bike paths, 48 kilometers of low-traffic bike boulevards and 283 kilometers of bike lanes, all of which are used with gusto by the eight percent of citizens who claim that biking is their primary form of transportation, and 10 percent who say a bike is their secondary vehicle.

In 2008, the League of American Bicyclists named Portland its first platinum-level Bike Friendly Community. The recognition was the result of groundbreaking efforts like the Create-a-Commuter program, which provides bikes, equipment and safety lessons for low-income locals.

The League of American Bicyclists also took into account the estimated 2,100 races, rides and other biking events held in Portland each year.

02 Minneapolis, Minnesota “Bicycling” magazine incited outrage in the biking community in 2010 when it announced that Minneapolis beat out Portland as its most bike-friendly city in the U.S. The distinction is especially impressive when one considers how nonbike-friendly Minnesota winters can be. Regardless, Minneapolis still has the second-most bike commuters of all big cities. Locals say that’s because what the city lacks in ideal weather, it makes up for in ideal topography.

“It’s super flat here, there aren’t a lot of hills and I think that’s really where it all started,” says Stephen Cottrell, sales manager at Freewheel Bike in Minneapolis. “It was just a matter of time before the bike infrastructure was built.”

03 Boulder, Colorado You can go almost anywhere in Boulder on a bike. At least 95 percent of city streets are open to cyclists. That comes to about 600 kilometers of unofficial bike routes. On top of that, the city has invested heavily in recreational cycling -- most notably with Valmont Bicycle Park, a 182,000-square-meter chunk of land filled with trails, racecourses and dirt jumps.

“There’s a very large bicycle culture, so you don’t feel like the outcast when you’re commuting or riding for fitness,” says Paolo Durocher of Boulder’s University Bicycles. “The altitude attracts a lot of professionals for training purposes, so you get that runoff as far as the culture, the innovation and the overall support.”

04 Madison, Gets bike-friendly points for being filled with dedicated cyclists. “It’s really not all that much fun to be outside when there’s snow and ice on the ground, but people still ride,” says Ben Scherer, sales manager at Machinery Row Bicycles. “And they do it because the people here genuinely love to ride bikes.” Their efforts have paid off. In peak season, the city recorded around 11,000 bicycle trips through downtown per day.

“The community on a whole is really receptive,” says Scherer. “The city has a separate crew of street workers that make sure that the bike lanes and paths are clear of snow and debris and easy to use. Everywhere in the city there are free bike route maps.”

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USA Bike Friendly Cities

05 San Francisco, California “It’s a city that allows you to be a hip, cool 20-something and ride your bike as your prime use of transportation, and nobody cares,” says Chris Lane, owner of Roaring Mouse Cycles, in the city that would put Hemingway’s appreciation for straining up hills to the test. “You can be a hipster on a fixie or you can be a category-one racer on your six-kilo road bike.” Much of the bike friendliness comes from outstanding efforts by the local government. Police put major emphasis on bicycle safety, collision reports and theft prevention.

San Francisco has focused on bike-friendly policy since 1973, and has the highest percentage of bicycle commuters out of all cities with a population of more than 500,000. During the 2011 Bike To Work Day, bicycles constituted 75 percent of the morning traffic on Market Street. And the City by the Bay plans on staying ahead of the curve with the goal of encouraging 20 percent of all city trips in 2020 to be made by bike.

06 Austin, Texas “We don’t have the kinds of numbers that Minneapolis or Portland have when it comes to daily commuters on bicycles, but I think we make up for it with weather and attitude,” says Craig Staley, general manager at Austin’s Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop. “You can ride all year round. In the middle of summer it’s 24 degrees Celsius and sunny. “The city is really changing its mindset and focusing on bicycles. If they’re re-striping or paving a new street, bike lanes are in the discussion right off the bat every single time.” Austin’s commitment to cyclists doesn’t stop there. The city has reduced auto lanes to accommodate more bike lanes. It doesn’t hurt that the world’s greatest biker has called Austin home for two decades.

07 Chicago, Illinois “There are just a whole lot of bike lanes,” says Adam Kaplan, head bike fit technician at Get a Grip Cycles in Chicago, a town that admittedly represents the start of a bike-friendly drop-off on the list.

Inclement weather for half the year and large distances to traverse don’t exactly encourage biking. Still Chicago has 188 kilometers of on-street bike lanes and more than 48 kilometers of shared lanes. Overall, the city’s bikeway network covers about 560 kilometers. “Even though there’s a high volume of traffic, having that three feet of real estate pretty much everywhere you go is very helpful,” says Kaplan. “A lot of businesses have incentives for their employees to bike to work. The outgoing and incoming mayors have both been very bike-friendly in that they have created legislation, allocating funds for different modes of transportation.” The city even has Bicycling Ambassadors, dedicated to teaching drivers to interact with bikers.

08 Washington, D.C The nation’s capital is finally taking a leading role in promoting healthy, eco-friendly commuting by launching the largest bike-sharing system in the country.

Capital Bikeshare provides more than 1,200 bicycles dispersed over 140 stations around the city and Arlington, Va. However, many locals admit they still don’t feel a strong sense of cycling community. “There is not one unified bike culture here,” says Walker Wilkerson, mechanic at The Bike Rack. “You don’t just have a bunch of roadies. You don’t just have a bunch of fixie kids. It’s not just mountain bikers.”

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Driving Releases

20 lbs of Co2 Pollution Per Gallon of Gas

25% of The United States Co2 Emissions Come From Motor Vehicles Each Year

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USA Bike Friendly Cities

09 Seattle, Washington After years of semi-successfully lobbying elected officials to revamp an ancient bicycle master plan, the Cascade Bicycle Club took a more proactive approach. The club—which boasts 14,000 members, 26 full-time staffers, and a contact list of more than 80,000 supporters—formed a political action committee and started promoting its own candidates for office. In the last election cycle, 75 percent of the candidates the club endorsed won.

The growing political support is noticeable. Recent projects include a two-way cycle track on Broadway and a network of neighborhood greenways to complement the bike infrastructure that already exists on most arterial roads. But all this civic participation isn’t without an edgier side.

10 New York City, New York When New York’s Citi Bike launches this summer, it will be the largest bike-share system in the nation, with 600 stations and 10,000 bikes, primarily spread throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Plans call for 1,800 bike-lane miles by 2030. Still, with amenities like the protected West Side Highway bike path paralleling the Hudson River and urban oases such as Governors Island (where a pilot bike-share still offers free rentals each Friday), New York is already a top cycling destination. It boasts more cyclists than any other American city, and advocacy groups such as Transportation Alternatives are hard at work preparing for the coming influx. In 2011, the organization’s bike ambassadors distributed 30,000 educational pamphlets on urban cycling safety and etiquette.

11 Long Beach, California Claims to Fame: Initiating a sea change in SoCal cycling culture. Long Beach’s slew of toptier facilities, such as separated downtown bikeways and the nation’s first bike-commuter station, has neighboring cities salivating. The Tour of Long Beach offers rides of 31 and 62 miles, plus the 100-mile Cruz Gran Fondo—led by former Olympian Tony Cruz. Biggest Challenge: Moving beyond infrastructure and developing more programs that promote cycling to the masses—such as Women on Bikes SoCal. 12 Washington, D.C The nation’s capital is finally taking a leading role in promoting healthy, eco-friendly commuting by launching the largest bike-sharing system in the country.

Capital Bikeshare provides more than 1,200 bicycles dispersed over 140 stations around the city and Arlington, Va. However, many locals admit they still don’t feel a strong sense of cycling community. “There is not one unified bike culture here,” says Walker Wilkerson, mechanic at The Bike Rack. “You don’t just have a bunch of roadies. You don’t just have a bunch of fixie kids. It’s not just mountain bikers.”

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The Urban Surge

OR SF NYC WA MN

Urban Biking State Comparisons USA

WI

The urban biking surge can be linked to a number of other factors, from high gas prices to an increased awareness of climate change. New bicyclists have discovered how unsafe many roads are for riding—and in response they have helped reinvigorate a movement that was once the sole province of urban planners and environmentalists: to reshape America’s streets.

In 2005 the National Complete Streets Coalition was born. A spin off of America Bikes, the national nonprofit “advocating for positive outcomes for bicycling in the federal transportation bill,” Complete Streets has taken this mission and broadened it to advocate for the needs of all users at state and local levels. “A true complete streets policy must apply to everyone traveling along the road,” the group says on its website, as part of a recommended list of “ten elements of a comprehensive complete streets policy.”

Rather than emphasize potentially divisive questions of lifestyle or environmental impact, the primary selling point is safety: making sure drivers and non drivers alike, especially children and the elderly, can use streets.

safely, on foot or bicycle. Complete streets legislation has been passed in seventeen states—and at least eighty-one jurisdictions—most recently New York, where the law was dubbed Brittany’s Law, after a 14-year-old girl who was killed by a car on the way to school in Wantagh, on Long Island. Her mother was part of the coalition that lobbied for the law and included AARP, one of the Complete Streets Coalition’s primary members. The new law stipulates that complete streets design principles must be taken into consideration by the New York State Department of Transportation when overseeing or undertaking new projects.

For decades traffic engineers saw their purpose as simply moving cars, a perception that has not entirely changed.

“There are some departments of transportation that still very much see that they only have this one role,” explains Complete Streets executive director Barbara McCann. Complete streets legislation has been pushed primarily by groups seeking alternatives to cars. Bills like the one passed in New York require transportation agencies to consider how they will move not just cars safely and efficiently but also pedestrians

and bicyclists. This could mean wider sidewalks, more bike lanes, fewer car lanes or other traffic calming measures.

In June the Association of American State Highway and Transportation Officials approved the first new routes in more than thirty years for a planned national network of bike routes. Biking activists deserve much credit for this shift. “The complete streets movement started with biking, but is much broader than that,” says McCann. “The big engine has been the bike community.”

Who is this community? The popularity of biking among creative-class professionals has given rise to the impression among some that bicycling—which is cheaper than driving or even mass transit—is the preoccupation of a narrow set of city residents. “These bike lanes are elitist, and they only serve a few people,” said a neighborhood representative at a public meeting last year to discuss bike lanes that would connect South West and South East Washington, DC. It’s certainly true that many of the bikers pedaling around the hipper city precincts appear to be of the bourgeois-bohemian persuasion. But take a look across the country and bicyclists are a diverse.

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The Urban Surge

Denmark Japan Netherlands Germany France

Urban Biking Country Comparisons Overseas

Spain

“There’s a populism inherent to [biking],” says Michael Murphy, a spokesman for Transportation Alternatives, a New York City group. “Most of the people I see biking where I live in Queens are not flannel-wearing hipsters; they are working-class people just getting around town.

It’s a transit choice more than a lifestyle choice.” Still, the perception that cycling advocates are elitist has been exploited politically. Conservatives who dismiss smartgrowth advocacy as the work of out-of-touch liberals who don’t realize that Americans will never get out of their cars have ramped up their criticisms to the point of demagogy, painting the complete streets movement as a scheme to turn red-blooded Americans into socialists. Last year, Colorado’s Republican gubernatorial nominee, Dan Maes, attacked his Democratic opponent, Denver’s mayor, John Hickenlooper, for building bike lanes, warning that they “could threaten our personal freedoms” and “convert Denver into a United Nations community.” Hickenlooper won.

Conservatives have not always been so irrational. In 1965 William F. Buckley Jr. ran for mayor of New York on the Conservative Party line, on a platform that included bike lanes. Even Paul Weyrich, co-founder of the Heritage Foundation and the American Legislative Exchange Council, supported public transportation. Today Ohio Republican Steve LaTourette is a co-sponsor of federal complete streets legislation, and Tim Pawlenty signed complete streets legislation in Minnesota as governor. Bike lanes are not inherently liberal or conservative; they are just good, pragmatic governance. (In fact, a true conservative would oppose our current practice of distorting the free market by subsidizing cars over other forms of travel.)

But like mass transit, biking tends to fare better under Democratic governments. At the federal level, House Democrats would have included complete streets language in their version of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, which provides federal funds for maintaining and safely operating roads and mass transit systems and is supposed to be reauthorized every six years.

The Republican version of the bill is far less friendly to bicycles and mass transit, and no complete streets.

Even in liberal strongholds like New York City, not everyone has been happy to adapt to complete streets initiatives or their precursors. Beginning in 2007, under Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, the city added 250 miles of bike lanes and protected routes. Today, twice as many New Yorkers commute to work by bike as in 2005. This would seem to be good news, yet Sadik-Khan’s predecessor as commissioner, Iris Weinshall, who is married to Senator Chuck Schumer, was criticized for appearing to support her Brooklyn neighbors in March when they sued to remove a bike lane painted on her street, Prospect Park West. John Cassidy, a staffer for The New Yorker, wrote a blog post in sympathy, complaining that he can no longer find street parking in Manhattan and comparing “the bicycle lobby� to Jacobins.

In 2009 bicycle activists found themselves pitted against the large Hasidic Jewish community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, when community leaders objected to a newly painted bike lane running through their neighborhood.

Although they cited safety as the reason, at least part of their objection stemmed from their perception that the women on bikes were immodestly dressed, which only added fuel to the controversy.

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REASON TO RIDE Economic instability and ever-increasing climate change are just two of the many reasons riding a bike is an excellent alternative to driving.

01 It’s easier to finance a new bicycle than a new car.

Thanks to the recession, auto loans are hard to find these days — even if you have good credit. But for the price of a single car payment, you can buy a well-made bicycle that should outlast most cars. Add a few hundred dollars more for rain gear, lights and accessories, and you have all-weather, anytime transportation.

02 A bicycle has a tiny manufacturing footprint when compared to a car. All manufactured goods have environmental impact, but bicycles can be produced for a fraction of the materials, energy and shipping costs of a car.

03 Bicycles produce no meaningful pollution when in operation. Bikes don’t have tailpipes belching poisonous fumes into the atmosphere. They also eliminate the oil, fuel and hydraulic fluids dripped by automobiles onto the road.

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04 Bikes save taxpayers money by reducing road wear. A 20-pound bicycle is a lot less rough on the pavement than a two-ton sedan. Every bicycle on the road amounts to money saved patching potholes and resurfacing city streets.

05 Bicycles are an effective alternative to a second car.

Perhaps you’re not in a position to adopt a bicycle as primary transportation. But bikes make great second vehicles. You can literally save thousands of dollars a year using a bicycle for workday commuting and weekend errands in households which might otherwise be forced to maintain two cars.

06 Using a bike for transportation can help you lose weight and improve your overall health. The health benefits of regular aerobic exercise are well-known. Depending on your riding style and local road conditions, you could easily burn 600 calories an hour through brisk cycling. Most bike commuters report losing 15 to 20 pounds during their first year in the saddle without changing their eating habits.

07 You can store a dozen bicycles in a single automobilesized parking place. Parking lots have enormous environmental and financial impact, particularly in urbanized areas.

The more bikes you can get on the road, the fewer parking spaces you need to build.

09 Bicycles don’t burn gasoline. Fuel is cheap compared to last year, and the economic downturn is likely to keep a lid on petroleum demand for a while. But we’re not producing any more oil today than we were when it was more than $100 a barrel. A healthy bike culture will help ease pressure on supply once demand returns.

10 Bicycling may be faster and more efficient than taking a car. We’re not talking about the crazy and illegal antics of New York bicycle messengers. But bikes are often faster than cars in urban areas, especially when city designers have set aside proper bike lanes. There’s nothing more satisfying as a bicycle commuter than breezing past a long line of grid locked traffic.

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REASON TO RIDE

10 Bikes cost much less to maintain and operate than automobiles. You’ll never throw a rod on a bicycle, and dropping a transmission on a bike usually means replacing a bent derailleur hanger or worn-out chain. Bicycles do require service, but you can learn to perform most of it yourself.

Even if you have a shop do things for you, costs will be trivial compared to a car.

11 Bicycles provide mobility for those who may not qualify or afford to drive. Not everyone can get a driver’s license (or wants one), and the cost of purchasing, insuring and maintaining a car is out of reach for a lot of people. Almost everyone can afford some sort of bike. Other than walking, bicycles are the most cost-effective transportation on the planet for everyone.

12 Studies show that bicycle commuters are healthier, more productive, and require less time off at work. This is why most enlightened employers are eager to accommodate commuting cyclists. Healthy workers are better workers and that’s good for the bottom line. Bikes are smart businesses on a local level.

13 Cheaper To Operate: This alone may inspire car drivers to chance over to bikes. For starters there is no gas to be used on bikes and there is no maintenance aside from the occasional air in the tires and perhaps a chain change but how much is a spare bike chain that can easily be carried around with you. The air pumps for bikes these days are so thin and compact they can easily fit into a briefcase or a backpack. With a bike you do not need car insurance pay big bucks for new tires.

14 Getting Through Traffic: have you ever seen a bike rider travel through the city. They get through cars and bypass traffic jams with ease and the reason for that is room. There is room enough on the sides of the roads that bikes can weave in and out of traffic. Though if you decide to switch over to bike riding, there are rules of the road that have to followed just like cars do, so make sure that you know everything there is know especially hand signals, since bikes do not have directional, you will need to learn what right, left and stop means.

15 Environmentally Friendly: By getting out of the car, you are contributing to a Green environment. There is nothing but pure human energy being used to power the bike. There are no emissions, no gas or oil leaks and it is great for others around you such as fellow bicyclists and walkers.

16 Bike Riding is Healthy: have you noticed that you have been putting on more weight, getting angrier every day by sitting in the car waiting for traffic to subside. When you chose bike riding you are actually relieving stress as well as getting in a great cardio workout just by trying to get home or to work everyday. Bike riding is a great way to stay healthy and get into shape if you have neglected your workouts recently.

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REASON TO RIDE 17 You get ultra-cool tan lines! We’ll start with a fun one, and you can laugh if you want. We wear our cycling tans like a badge of honor, a sign of our healthy lifestyle choices, a tangible token of membership to an exclusive group. It says, “hey, I ride a bike,” or “I grow turnips.” Either way, or both, people are bound to be impressed at the beach.Enjoy the sights, sounds and smells! Just be sure to use sunblock so you don’t overdo it!

18 You see your city like drivers can’t! On two wheels and moving at a comfortable pace you can enjoy your environment and see, smell and hear things you never notice in a car. Which of your neighbors has the best-landscaped yard?

What bakeries smell so good you just have to stop? How many different architectural styles can you spot? On a bicycle you can take the scenic route and explore and become a tourist in your own city. Every ride is an adventure.

19 All those we-miss-you cards from your doctor! Pedaling only 10mph, a 140-pound cyclist burns about 400 calories an hour. And studies prove that biking a few times a week reduces blood pressure and stress while increasing your energy and elevating your overall mood. Your doctor may have to wait a little longer to buy that yacht!

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20 You never get stuck in traffic and always have a great parking spot! If you ride in a city and bike during commuting hours you’ll love being able to cruise past long lines of vehicles held up at red lights (be sure to watch carefully for right-turning traffic who might not see you).

While drivers breathe exhaust (studies have shown that cyclists breathe less exhaust), and honk at each other, you feel the breeze and enjoy the sights off the roadside. Not to mention that you always get a great parking spot and often even beat your coworkers who drive to work.

21 You have one less car payment and don’t pay registration or insurance fees, either! According to our very un scientific study (read: quick Google search), the average car payment is $500 a month. On top of that, add the cost of insurance, registration, gas, maintenance, etc. By eliminating that vehicle and using your bicycle instead, just think of all the bike gear you can buy!

22 You find cool free stuff on the side of the road! By observing the flotsam and jetsam along America’s streets and highways, you never know what you may find. Loose change, designer sunglasses, cool tools, $20 bills — heck, maybe an entire bag of money? Of course, you’ll have to come back to grab that awesome Naugahyde sofa with the “free” sign you spotted on someone’s lawn.Cycling is great for you, not so much for your doctor.

23 You can cancel your gym membership! Riding outside sure beats the treadmill, elliptical machines and the three pieces of cardio equipment you still haven’t figured out.

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REASON TO RIDE 24 You’ll never be late for work again! Because you can avoid traffic and cruise faster than jammed vehicles, it’s likely you’ll commute faster on 2 wheels and never be late again.

Plus, if you are late sometime, it’ll probably be because you decided to take the scenic route in. We’ve done it, too. But tell your boss instead that you got a flat tire. We know you can fix a flat tire in a matter of minutes, but he doesn’t. And, he should be impressed that you’re making the effort to bike in, keeping yourself healthy in the process and saving a parking space for someone else.

25 Cyclists make better lovers! According to a study led by Dr. Romualdo Belardinelli, director of the Lancisi Heart Institute in Ancona, Italy, the results of aerobic exercise are comparable to those of Viagra, because both widen blood vessels. Hmmm... that’s a little scary. Our point is that regular exercise like cycling, will make you feel better, increase your energy and even help you look better, too. All of which make you more interesting to and interested in the opposite sex.

26 Bicycling is a Fountain of Youth! It’s an amazing thing.

You feel younger and actually get more years out of your muscles, joints and organs simply by using your highly capable self to pedal around instead of sitting statue-like behind that steering wheel. In fact, cycling might just be the closest thing you can find to a genuine Fountain of Youth. Like few other sports it keeps you fit and young with very little risk of injury. For example, we know plenty of 55-year-old regular riders who look and move like they’re closer to age 35, and also 80-year olds who still love to ride and can because they’re been riding for years.

There are many great reasons more to ride a bike rather than drive a car, try it for a week, see if you don’t feel better about yourself and see if you don’t get places faster and see if you don’t save yourself some money. You may come to see that you like bike riding, even if you only start out by doing it a couple of days a week and building yourself up for more. With gas prices at an all-time high, and likely to rise even more, you’re probably already driving less and bicycling more riding for everyone!

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82 %

of Commuters Believe Their Health Has Improved Since They Started Bicycling

Bicycle Commuting Burns An Average of Calories

540

Per Hour

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SAFETY & AWARENESS

When urban biking you need to be aware of the data statistics behind being on the road as a pedestrian and on the bike paths themselves when adding other transportation to the mix. This was some curb appeal that was reflected and highlighted amongst savvy bikers all over the world and what kind of issues they came across while commuting on a safety and awareness level.

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Revitalization / Social Integration In Mexico City, spatial segregation is very distinct with the upper and middle classes living in the city’s central areas, while the poor segment of the population is generally relegated to informal settlements on the city’s periphery. This problem is tackled via a comprehensive cycle path network which aims to create mobility through otherwise closed areas and thus enable different social groups to interact.

A well-developed cycle path network can also help social inclusion across age groups. Even in very wealthy cities, large groups of people such as children, young people and the elderly are severely limited in their mobility because the city is designed for cars – a means of transport that they cannot use. Cities that are designed for cars are also characterised by large distances and many obstacles which hamper movement on foot and by bicycle. Improving conditions for pedestrians and cyclists ensures that a lot more people can move around in the city. In some of the world’s metropolises, the distances are so large that a well developed cycle path network is insufficient to ensure mobility for all. This is a challenge not only in Mexico City but also in Beijing.

Since 2008 Gehl Architects a famous firm has advised the Planning Institute on how to provide more people friendly city planning. In this instance, a bicycle strategy must be supported by and built up around a public transport system.

A city of bicycles naturally needs the right infrastructure including cycle paths and bicycle parking, but also a number of communication initiatives such as campaigns to promote cycling, educating children and special initiatives targeted at groups who do not normally cycle. Such initiatives are important in building a bicycle culture in cities where it is otherwise absent. It is also important to create a quality of urban environment that makes it attractive to move around both on foot and by bicycle. This is a self-perpetuating process since the presence of pedestrians and cyclists significantly contributes to the life of the city and thereby its attraction.

In contrast to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians share the infinite characteristic of moving at a moderate pace, making them visible in the city scape. Cyclists are also flexible in the sense that they can quickly shift from being cyclists to being pedestrians. This creates the conditions for people to see and meet each other in the city. It is equally important to highlight that both cyclists and pedestrians are physically present in the public spaces – in contrast to motorists who are essentially isolated from their physical settings. But the desire to move around in a city on foot or by bicycle does not come by itself, and must be supported by a people-friendly urban environment. Pedestrians and cyclists are exposed to all sorts of weather – sun, wind and rain – and to the extent possible, these conditions must be incorporated into the planning of sidewalks and cycle paths. In addition, presence in and movement around a city must be encouraged by creating interesting and involving urban environments. Long, monotonous stretches have to be broken down into smaller sections as well.

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1

10

Out of If Commuters Switched To A Bike To Save Time, Money, & The Environment.

Co2 Emissions Would Be Reduced By

25.4 million Tons Per Year

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PROBLEMS

The bike path is completely full -- in pairs or three abreast the cyclists roll past the stoplight at a snail’s pace. They pass by biker-to-biker for a good 80 seconds before the gaps between them finally start to widen. Cycling has been heavily promoted, and more and more people are taking to the pedal -- but eventually cycling paths, bike racks and other parking areas have begun to run out of space. The bike boom -- long seen as the universal solution to roads jammed with parked cars, dead inner cities and other urban maladies like noise, smog and lack of exercise -- threatens to choke on its own success. However, I have also encountered many problems because so many people use bikes. City streets are typically very narrow with barely any room for two cars to pass each other, so most people ride their bikes on the sidewalk. Designated sidewalks allow this, but I have found that these are mostly seen as an option and not so much as a rule. Parking is another major issue in the city. There are plenty of “parking lots� for bikes, even multi-storied ones, but because of a heavy flow of people to stores and subways, parking is still limited. There is a huge problem of parked bicycles crowding the sidewalks, sometimes blocking entry ways to stores. There are officers who are supposed to control the parking near stores, and if necessary, bikes are removed and will be returned after a fee is paid. Bicycle transportation is a great solution to many issues for the environment, health and just trafficking in general. But it still creates many congestion problems of its own. Having such a vast amount of cyclists in the area and such a great need for them, it is hard to think that there is such little being done about regulating the flow of bicycle traffic.

Injury Prevention

Look and Listen First of all, pay 100 percent attention, just as you would while driving. Use your senses--often you can hear an engine in advance of the car, and see or hear a dog before it chases.

Problem sounds include tires squealing, hard engine acceleration and loud music from an open window. If I hear these I pull over to let the vehicle pass.

Pick Smart Routes The best roads have few cars, low speed limits and no blind corners. Often, a slightly longer route with fewer cars will be faster than a shorter, busier one. Also, try to find roads with a shoulder you can ride on. Yes, we are vehicles with the right to be on the roadway, but with two tons versus 200 pounds, I prefer to stay clear when I can do so safely.

Don’t Keep Secrets When you drive, you use turn signals, and your car has brake lights. As you ride, try to think of what drivers will see as they drive up behind you. Use hand signals to indicate where you intend to go. At intersections, make eye contact with drivers to ensure that they see you. Also, for future goodwill, wave a thank-you when you’re given the right of way.

Stay Steady Looking behind you without swerving is an essential skill.

For new riders, simply glancing back with your hands on the brake hoods may work, but this method often causes the bar to turn in the direction you’re looking. This way is better: To look left, move your right hand toward the center of the handlebar near the stem, then drop your left hand off the bar as you turn your head to look back.

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Overcrowding While America struggles to accommodate the tide of vehicles on the roads, the Dutch have a different problem entirely. Rather than worrying about road rage, they are worrying about lane rage as they deal with too many bicycles on the streets. While it sounds like a nice problem to have, it does raise real questions about how to accommodate bike traffic in a country where the number of bikes outnumbers the number of people. In Amsterdam alone, nearly a half million people cycle every day, according to numbers released by the city council. The result is a number of traffic jams, lack of parking and, yes, even lane rage problems. In the Hague, 2,400 illegally parked bicycles have been confiscated by the city since August.

The Dutch have a long history of bicycle use, which fits naturally with The Netherland’s flat landscape. Their network of bike lanes cross over 21,000 miles of road and includes its own system of traffic lights and road signs. While the system is great, it is also decidedly inadequate for the vast number of bicycles and mopeds using it. The problem has resulted in everything from bicyclists losing track of their bike in a sea of parked bicycles to arguments and even accidents. A quarter of all deathly accidents in the Netherlands involve a bicyclist. Leaders convened in Utrecht to discuss solutions, which involve more parking spots and additional bike lanes.

All told, it’s a problem we’d be happy to have here in the US. Most of us invariably need to ride close to vehicles on the road. It’s a trite analogy, but I always keep it in mind: two tons of metal versus about 200 pounds of bike, bone and muscle--who’s going to win? Here are key survival skills.

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Traffic or Bike Lanes Special lanes for bicyclists can cause problems to the extent that they encourage bicyclists and motorists to violate the rules of the road for drivers of vehicles. Specifically, a bike lane continued to an intersection encourages right-turning motorists to stay in the left lane, not the right (bike) lane, in violation of the rule requiring right turns to be made from the lane closest to the curb. Similarly, straight-through, or even left-turning, bicyclists are encouraged to stay right. The photo below shows a bicyclist unlawfully making a left turn from a bike lane. This bicyclist is turning left into the side street. He is making his turn from the bike lane, in violation of the rule requiring left-turners to merge to the center of the road before turning. He cannot safely yield to traffic ahead and traffic behind at the same time.

Bike lanes sometimes require bicyclists to violate normal traffic rules. For example, the bike lane pictured below, intended for straight-through bicyclists, is on the left side of a left-turn only lane. It is unsafe to go straight from this lane.

However, use of this lane is mandatory in New York.

Minimizing Bike Lane Confusion Bike lanes cause less difficulty on roads without on-street parking and with few intersections. In that case they are essentially shoulders, except that they carry the legal or public expectation of mandatory use by bicyclists. Operational problems of bike lanes can be mitigating by insuring that bike lanes:

serve only one direction of traffic and be located adjacent to general traffic lanes, with no barrier separating the bike lane from the traffic lane; are not marked adjacent to on-street parking unless the entire lane is more than 1 m (3 ft) from the edge of the cars; are dropped within the last 30 m (100 ft) leading to an intersection, except that a short distance of bike lane to the left of a right-turn-only lane can be used, provided that there is merging space of 30 m (100 ft) with no bike lane stripes; Shoulders on high-speed, high-volume roads can be beneficial to bicyclists. Calling the shoulder a “bike lane” can make people think that the shoulder is the “bicycle facility,” when in fact the whole road is the bicycle facility. Although this public perception difficulty cannot be avoided when bike lanes are striped, it can be mitigated by: • Removing any legal obligations to use bike lanes; • Informing law enforcement and the public that bicyclists are not required to use bike lanes, just as buses are not required to use bus lanes. are not used inside roundabouts or add non-standard intersections where they lead bicyclists to the right of a right-turning lane.

Mandatory Bicycle Lane Use Bicycle lane use is mandatory in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany (if there is a bike lane sign), France (if required by local authorities), Ireland, the Canadian Province of Quebec and the U.S. States of Alabama, California, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, New York, and Oregon (although Oregon adds, “A person is not required to comply with this section unless the state or local authority with jurisdiction over the roadway finds, after public hearing, that the bicycle lane or bicycle

path is suitable for safe bicycle use at reasonable rates of speed”). Further, in jurisdictions that require bicyclists to operate generally as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, marking a shoulder as a bike lane may create a greater restriction, since the shoulder is generally not part of the legal definition of “roadway,” but a bike lane is (except in Oregon, where a bike lane is not part of the “roadway”).

Studies of the Effects of Bike Lanes Studies of bike lanes have established that: • motorists give slightly less clearance when passing a cyclist in a bike lane compared to passing a cyclist in the same lane ; • bicyclists position themselves on average in the middle of a 5 ft bike lane immediately adjacent to on-street parking, within reach of opening doors of parked cars (Hunter and Stewart 1999); • bicyclists ride slightly further out from the curb where there is a bike lane or shoulder.

Only the last of these findings suggests a benefit to bike lanes, and that can be accomplished by striping a shoulder on higher speed roads. Many other studies have claimed to find safety benefits of bike lanes, but these compare bike lanes to sidepaths, not to ordinary roads, or look at special treatments to mitigate bike lane hazards, such as colored paint in conflict areas.

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Places Without Bike Lanes Had Higher Speeds By

33 %

Above 30mph

Heavier Traffic Accounted For

2/3

Greater Than 7,500 Vehicles Per Day Compared to

1/3

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SOLUTIONS Commuting by Bike Cycling to work or school is simple, healthy, clean, and economical. We have gathered a compilation of safety and commuter tips and resources to assist all bicyclists – from beginner to advanced – have a safe and fun bicycling experience. Finding a Biking or Walking Route. Would you like to bike or walk to work, school, transit or shopping?

Developing the best route to your destination is not always easy and often requires trial and error in finding the best route. Travel time, road conditions, bicycle facilities, traffic flow and geography are all considered when planning your route. Commuter Routes: Follow along with all the designated bike routes for commuters, tried and tested by local bike clubs, along primary roads, green ways, and trails in the region guiding commuters primarily within Roanoke, Blacksburg, and Lynchburg cities. We want to hear from you. If you have a route that is well tested and would like to share it with others, let us know. Safety should always be a top concern for cyclists riding on the street with cars. There are a number of steps that bicyclists can take to improve both their safety and that of the motorists on the road. Bicyclists should always ride with caution, obey all traffic laws and behave predictably.

Rules of the Road While cycling is fun, it carries some risks. As you transition into regular bicycle riding, following a few simple guidelines will help keep you safe, and outside the reach of the long arm of the law. Ride with traffic, not against it.

Even though it may not feel like it sometimes, the bicycle is a vehicle under Texas law, and must be operated as such. and duties that drivers do. Always yield to pedestrians.

Ride Defensively. Expect the unexpected- particularly at intersections. Don’t assume motorists see you—make eye contact before you make a move. Watch out for parked vehicles pulling into traffic, and always watch for car doors opening in your path. Use extra caution making left turns. It is perfectly legal to make a pedestrian left: continue straight across the intersecting road, obey the traffic signals, turn left at the corner, and proceed as usual. Bicyclists may also dismount and walk in the crosswalks of the two intersecting roads.

If traffic control devices specify the method of crossings, those directions must be followed. signal all turns and stops.

Hand signals help you communicate with motorists, just like vehicle turn signals do. A path is suitable for safe bicycle use at reasonable rates of speed”). Further, in jurisdictions that require bicyclists to operate generally as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, marking a shoulder as a bike lane may create a greater restriction, since the shoulder is generally not part of the legal definition of “roadway,” but a bike lane is (except in Oregon, where a bike lane is not part of the “roadway”).

Commuting on Foot Walking is the most common and used form of transportation. It is also one of the easiest and least expense forms of exercise. However, in a car-centric world, developing a strategy to ensure you stay safe and visible is important.

Further, expanding the pedestrian environment – sidewalk, crosswalks, pedestrian islands, etc. – has become a focus and desire for all of the localities within the RIDE Solutions region and be street smart savvy. Always stay on the right side of the road. Obey all traffic laws, regulations, and signals.

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Common Barriers to Bike Commuting With summer in full swing, the visibility of bike commuters has increased dramatically as many take advantage of ideal cycling conditions. The question remains: why are so many people still reluctant to bike to work? I took to brainstorming a few answers to this question, in the hopes of directly addressing the very real and widespread concerns that people have about bike commuting.

Problem: I work too far from home to bike Solution: Take a simple multi-modal approach. If you live near any kind of transit hub such as a commuter train station, subway station, LRT or even a simple bus stop, make use of it. Bike to a station and take transit the rest of the way. Bike halfway, walk halfway. Find a safe place to lock your bike near a bus stop or major route. There are endless combinations here, the trick is to find a method that works for you and takes advantage of existing transit infrastructure in your neighborhood and city. I personally prefer to bike five minutes to a bus stop on a major road and take transit the rest of the way to get downtown. Find what you like.

Problem: I don’t think I’m fit enough to bike Solution: You really don’t have to be an athlete in order to bike. Work your way up and start small. Take short trips around the corner to your local coffee shop or grocery store in order to build up your endurance. Also, don’t assume you have to be constantly biking at full speed and sweating buckets every second you’re on your bike; take it as slow and casual as you want. This applies even to people who consider themselves more fit and experienced.

Problem: I don’t think I’ll be able to carry all of my stuff Solution: There are many bag and basket attachments on the market that are large enough whilst also looking great too.

Get creative and combine different kinds of storage options to find what works for you. Also, keep in mind that if you still can’t seem to carry everything you need to work, you’re realistically probably just bringing too much stuff!

Problem: I don’t already have a bike I can use/it’s too expensive Solution: With the continual rise of bike culture, it has become very easy to buy a decently priced bike these days, whether it’s from your local bike shop or online. Expensive is a relative term when compared to gas prices, so when you’re considering how much cash to shell out for a bike, just keep that in mind.

Problem: It’s too cold/the weather is bad Solution: Layers are your best friend. Take some extra time in cold weather to really beef up your clothing gear and accessorize your bike accordingly. Grab some studded tires and proper eyewear to protect yourself from the elements.

Of course, biking in the winter requires you to suck it up sometimes, but no one’s saying you have to bike everyday in immense snowstorms; bike when you can and be realistic about actual weather restraints and safety. Generally speaking, biking to work in the winter is probably still faster in many areas than driving, specifically downtown.

English: This is a photograph of my own Trek L...

The Bikesharing Concept The concept of bikesharing programs in metropolitan areas is not a new one, but only in the last decade have cities developed large-scale, technology-driven programs. In general, the main goals of city bikeshare programs are to make bicycles a part of the city transportation system, promote cycling and a healthy lifestyle, reduce congestion, improve air quality, and increase peoples’ movement around the city.

Problem: Bike infrastructure is not well-developed or supported in my neighbourhood Solution: Realistically, there are no short-term or quick-fix answers to this. Having said that, change happens when there is a catalyst involved, so why not be that catalyst?

Email/tweet your local council with specific issues that you have pertaining to bike lanes or bike sharing options. Be informed and aware of public meetings and attend them.

Voice your opinion and be consistent. Pressure and demand will eventually force some kind of change, even if it appears to be small at first.

The idea is simple: users can pay a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual fee to become a member and are then granted access to borrow a bike from any bike station around the city. In the case of Capital Bikeshare, rides of 30 minutes or less are free, with fees charged for additional time.

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The Rise of Urban Biking

The Average Cyclist Has Just 1 Accident Every Years

8.7

Most Trips Americans Make Are Short:

49%

Are Less

39%

Than 3 miles, Are Less Than 2 Miles In Duration

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The Rise of Urban Biking

The Green Lane Project The Green Lane Project is a program helping cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets. We focus on protected bike lanes, which are on-street lanes separated from traffic by curbs, planters, parked cars, or posts. They work closely with leading U.S. cities to speed the installation of these lanes around the country. In the first two years of the project (2012 and 2013), we worked with Austin, TX, Chicago, IL, Memphis, IL, Portland, OR, San Francisco, CA and Washington, DC. In March of 2014, we selected six new cities: Atlanta, GA, Boston, MA, Denver, CO, Indianapolis, IN, Pittsburgh, PA and Seattle, WA. The Project will kickoff the collaboration with these six new cities with a gathering and press conference in Indianapolis in late April.

Protected bike lanes are part of a connected system for biking around town, which is an essential ingredient of a great place to live and work. They are a simple tool to transform city streets into places where more people feel comfortable riding a bike, making it easier to get around, save money, and live an active life. While protected bike lanes have worked well in places like Denmark and the Netherlands for many decades, they have only recently arrived on U.S. shores. Between 1874 and 2011, only 80 of these facilities were built nationwide. This number nearly doubled to 142 protected bike lanes within the first two years of the Green Lane Project, and it is expected to continue to grow dramatically.

Protected bike lanes bring predictability and order to busy streets: drivers like knowing where to expect riders, and pedestrians report fewer bikes on the sidewalk. Protected lanes also add vitality and energy to the street, attracting new businesses and helping create a community people want to be in, not just move through. In New York City, local businesses saw a 49% increase in retail sales after the construction of protected bike lanes, compared to only a 3% increase city-wide.

The Green Lane Project hosts hands-on workshops and study tours for city leaders, provides technical and strategic assistance, and delivers targeted grants designed to get protected bike lanes on the ground.

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Why Build Protected Bike Lanes?

What Are They?

Protected bike lanes put a barrier between drivers and bike riders. The barrier can be parked cars, plastic posts or even planters. They are popular in larger cities with high amounts of bike riders for everyday use.

It’s Good For Business There is an increase in business and safety after the bike lane barriers are installed. Streets with good bike infrastructure get more exposure.

Good For Safety Fewer injuries among bike riders on streets with bike protected barrier lanes are set up. Bike and pedestrian friendly design leads to less collisions even when there are more people out commuting. Drivers don’t have to worry about unexpected bike maneuvers. Pedestrians don’t have to worry about bike riders on the sidewalks either.

Good For Lawfulness Protected bike lanes have been known to increase the number of bike riders obeying the stoplight an adhere to the laws of traffic at hand.

It’s Good For Everyone About 71 % of Americans have expressed an interest in riding a bike more often, but find it unsafe. However with bike lanes they feel safer. Each bike on the rode is one less car in traffic, causes less pollution, less wear and tear on the road, less tax payer funded maintenance and creates a healthier population in general.

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INDEX

http://gppreview.com/2014/04/07/beyond-urban-planningthe-economics-of-capital-bikeshare/ http://urbantimes.co/2012/08/common-barriers-to-bikecommuting/ http://www.nounproject.com http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/17/bicycle-bikecommuting-tips_n_1427869.html http://bicycledriving.org/bikeways/bike-lanes http://www.inhabitat.com http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=68658&search =bike&section=search http://cargocollective.com/katiekingrumford http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/23/best-cities-biking-cycling-bicycle_n_1536262.html http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/stories/12reasons-to-start-using-a-bicycle-for-transportation http://ecosalon.com/10-infographics-on-biking/ http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/data/factsheet_crash.cfm http://www.ceosforcities.org/blog/the-bicycle-the-simpletool-for-21st-century-urban-sustainability http://velo-city.org/ http://momentummag.com/features/the-rise-of-the-northamerican-protected-bike-lane/ http://www.sf-planning.org/index.aspx?page=3470 http://thisbigcity.net/tag/urban-bicycle-networks-and-sustainable-communities/ http://www.connectingthecity.org/ http://www.sfbike.org/?edu-intro http://sfurbanriders.org/wordpress/ http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets/ complete-streets-fundamentals/factsheets/economic-revitalization

http://bicycledriving.org/bikeways/bike-lanes http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-20-most-bikefriendly-cities-2013-4?op=1 http://www.ironcitybike.com/ http://geography.about.com/od/transportation-geography/a/ Urban-Biking.htm http://www.sightline.org/research/fact-sheet-the-bicycle/ http://www.triplepundit.com/2013/08/wheels-change-bicycling-roll/ http://www.peoplepoweredmovement.org/site/ http://spph. ubc.ca/continuing-education/current-courses/bicycling-bydesign-facilities-to-promote-safe-and-healthy-travel/ http://www.thenation.com/article/163671/rise-urban-biking http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/stories/12cool-urban-bicycles-ready-to-replace-your-car http://www.issuu.com http://www.bicycling.com/news/advocacy/america-s-top50-bike-friendly-cities http://www.peopleforbikes.org/green-lane-project http://honesturbanist.com/tag/revitalization/ http://www.shareable.net/blog/bikenomics-how-bikes-canrevitalize-our-cities http://urbanvelo.org/ http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/laws/bicyclelaws?topicName=pedestrians-and-bicyclists http://www.cicadabooks.co.uk/the-bike-owners-handbook/ http://ilovebikingsf.com/page/2/ https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffdl37. htm http://bicycleuniverse.info/transpo/almanac-safety.html

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