"Floating Parking" Bike-Buffer Zones!

In this video produced by Clarence at Streetfilms, Gary Toth, the Director of Transportation Initiatives with Project for Public Spaces, explains how parkings should be designed so that cyclists are protected from the opening doors of vehicles (motorists should always look before opening a door, but we can't rely on humans always being diligent and never making errors, so it's good to have a margin of safety). Having a buffer zone is a very obvious way to solve the problem, and it is being used in lots of places around the world, but it's been slow in coming to the USA. Let's hope that's now changing.

Moving Beyond the Automobile: Bus Rapid Transit

Most cities need BRT. It's a lot less expensive to build than a subway or light-rail system, but it brings many of the same benefits by re-purposing space that would otherwise be used by private cars. What do you need for BRT? 1) Exclusive bus lanes, physically separated 2) stations that allow easy and rapid boarding, and 3) giving the buses priority at intersections. South-America is the current leader when it comes to BRT, but the rest of the world needs to catch up quickly!

Moving Beyond the Automobile: Car Sharing

Moving Beyond the Automobile: Car Sharing from Streetfilms on Vimeo.
In the third episode of Moving Beyond the Automobile, StreetFilms take a look at a more efficient way to use a car.  Car sharing allows users to evaluate the full cost of each car trip, which encourages them to decide what the most appropriate mode choice is for a specific trip.

Zipcar, a leading global car sharing organization, reports that members walk and bike 10-15% more than they did before joining Zipcar.  They also report that members save $600 a month when they choose car sharing over owning a private automobile.

So while car sharing isn't exactly "Moving Beyond the Automobile," it is a great way for cities and individuals to help make the transportation network more efficient and become less dependent on owning a private cars.

National Bike Summit Kicks Off in DC

March 8-10, 2011, at the Grand Hyatt, Metro Center
It has already been a year since the last National Bike Summit, and this year's edition is starting today in Washington DC at the Grand Hyatt. The organizers write: "There are more people riding bikes than ever. Yet half of all U.S. trips are three miles or less, and more than 90 percent are made by car. The National Bike Summit has improved bicycle-friendliness and livability in many communities, but the need and opportunity to improve physical activity, safety and livability in the U.S., while reducing congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on oil - remains greater today than a decade ago. These issues seem difficult to solve but the answer is simple. The answer is the bicycle. "


Some of the notable speakers will be:
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, who will speak at the National Bike Summit's March 8 opening dinner. LaHood is one of the cycling movement's most influential allies. You can see his famous "tabletop" speech here.

Janette Sadik-Khan, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, is the keynote speaker at the opening plenary, Wednesday March 9. Since her appointment in 2007, the New York City has completed more than 250 miles of bike lanes and 20 miles of cycle track; passed innovative bicycle parking legislation and delivered extensive education and safety programs. Bicycle use has doubled since 2006, while fatalities have fallen to their lowest level in decades.

If you're interested, you can check out the schedule here and then register when you get on site.

Via League of American Bicyclists

Los Angeles Bike Plan Approved by City Council

The Los Angeles City Council approved a new bike master plan that would potentially make the city much more bike-friendly. The plan calls for 1,680 miles of interconnected bike paths (compared to 378 miles right now), with about 200 new miles being created every five years for 35 years, and it also includes a safety campaigns to educate drivers about sharing the streets with cyclists.

"It's a cultural shift toward different types of transportation," said Councilman Ed Reyes, one of the plan's major proponents. The challenge now, he and other lawmakers said, will be in implementing it.

The City Council agreed last year to put 10% of the city's share of money from Measure R, the 2008 sales tax to support transportation projects countywide, toward initiatives for cyclists and pedestrians.
 
I wish the plan was being implemented a bit faster, but it does take time to change a whole city, especially one that is so dependent on cars. But who knows, if things go well and if external factors keep applying pressure (oil prices, global warming, environmental awareness), maybe things will happen faster.

All the details can be found on the LA Bike Plan website, including maps of the existing and proposed new bike lanes.

Valparaiso Chile Urban Downhill Bike Video

In the town of Valparaiso in Chile,  a downhill mountain bike competition has been taking place for the last 10 years; the Valparaíso Cerro Abajo cup. What makes it different from many other downhill races is the location: this race takes place in the city streets and sidewalks.

This is one of the craziest videos I have ever seen. This is a POV helmet cam video, so if you don't do well with shaky cameras, consider this a warning.

Brazilian Driver Claiming Self Defense For Running Over 20 Cyclists

The driver of the car filmed plowing into a group of cyclists on a Critical Mass ride in Porto Alegre in southeast Brazil last Friday, acted in the self defense of himself and his 15 year old son, his lawyer told the Brazilian media today.

Ricardo José Neis, an official of the Brazilian central bank, handed himself in to the Porto Alegre police who have been looking for him since they recovered the car involved in the incident. The police identified Neis as the owner of the car on Friday night. Luis Fernando Coimbra Albino, the lawyer representing Neis, told the Zero Hora newspaper that his client had his 15 year old son in the car with him and felt threatened by what he alleges was aggressive behaviour by the cyclists who he says banged on the car roof. Neis feared that the cyclists would turn the car over.

"He felt cornered, he acted to protect his son who was in the car", said Albino.

Questioned as to how his client sought to refute the damning video evidence against him, Albino claimed that videos only show part of what happened:

"The images are powerful, but show only from a certain point, when he had started the confusion. They do not show the aggression that led him to flee"

Mr Albino may have his work cut out to make this defence stick all the films of the ride so far show a far from aggressive group of cyclists comprising many women, old people, children and even a lady with a dog on a trailer. Indeed, while the driver's alleged concern for the safety of his child is commendable any concern for the safety of children does not appear to extend to the children of others – a young boy can quite clearly be seen at 0:58 in the longer of the videos of the incident just feet from the front of the car as it is driven through the group of cyclists. Neis's concern doesn't extend to women either a number of whom he ran down in the incident. Far from being aggresive the cyclists in both films seem good humoured and don't appear to be holding up traffic to any great degree. There were also numerous witnesses to the incident both cyclists taking part in the ride and pedestrians watching it go by.

Indeed one witness had already come forward to say that he had seen the driver of the car acting aggressively towards the riders in front of him before he drove his car through them. Camilo Colling, told the Brazilian website Terra Brasil that he spoke to the driver just before the incident, asking him to be patient and stop behaving aggressively towards the riders in his path and warning him that there were children and older people taking part in the ride ahead. The driver allegedly replied,"Yes but I'm in a hurry", before ploughing his car into the group of cyclists in front of him.

Speaking to Zero Hora, Neis's son said that his father had driven through the cyclists after arguing with riders at the back of the group and feeling threatened. According to the lawyer the riders damaged the car smashing windows leading Neis to fear for the safety of himself and his son. You can see a picture of the car here and while it is undoubtedly damaged, that damage would seem more consistent with running down 20 cyclists than being attacked by them.

According to Albino, contact between himself and his client was mediated through Neis's ex-wife, and Neis has not surrendered to the police until now because of his emotional state. If he is proved to have acted with intent, Ricardo Neis may face charges of attempted murder.