Monday, November 17, 2008

Haliburton County Cycling Master Plan

The Haliburton County Cycling Master Plan (July 2008) is available for you to download and view. Those interested about cycling plans in rural communities should find this particularly interesting.

Toronto Bike Summit 2008: Proceedings

This April 2008 summit featured excellent presentations from Toronto, elsewhere in Ontario, and other Canadian provinces. Copies of a number of these presentations are available.

Article - Kelowna BC: Summit looks to beat transit issues

Kelowna Capital News, October 14
Author: Jennifer Smith

A joint venture of BC Recreation and Parks Association and the Union of BC Municipalities, BEAT is pushing communities to spend on active transportation in order to cut health care costs, reducing green house gas emissions and stimulate the economy. Keynote speaker Michael Haynes spent the morning pointing out signs that communities are not keeping pace with the problem.

Article - Cambridge/ Coldbrook trail: officially open for use, closed to ATVs

The Kings County Register, November 12
Author: Nancy Kelly

A six-kilometre stretch of trail from East Cambridge to Kentville is the province’s first joint Active Transportation/ Active Living and Designated Snowmobile Trail.

The new trail, built on the former DAR railway bed, runs between the Sharpe Brook Bridge and the Kentville town line. After consulting with communities, local service groups, schools and adjacent landowners, CRPS was granted a letter of authority to develop and manage the section of trail as an active transportation route, to be shared with the Annapolis Valley Lake and Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club, by the Department of Natural Resources in February, 2008. The trail is off limits to all-terrain vehicle users.

Article - The latest skirmish in the bike wars

Toronto Star, October 25
Author: Iain Marlow

The city's bike network plan, which aims to have 1,000 kilometres of bike paths built by 2012, including 495 kilometres of bike lanes on city streets, had included bike lines on both sides of this stretch of Annette.

But opposition from locals led city council to scrap the bike-lane scheme and adopt a compromise proposed by Saundercook, which is to paint "sharrows" – which indicate motorists should share the road with cyclists. They would be temporary, and officials would eventually study whether bicycle traffic flow on Annette warranted bike lanes.

Article - Skateboarding in Class? Here, It’s Called Gym

New York Times, November 1
Author: Justin Porter

Among local skateboarders, the spot on 12th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A where wooden ramps and metal-topped ledges are set up most afternoons is known as 12A. For the 9th and 10th graders of East Side Community High School, it is gym class.

What started in February as an after-school program run by a volunteer has turned into what school officials believe is New York City’s only skateboarding class for credit.

Video - New York: Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan

In this Streetfilms interview, The Open Planning Project's Executive Director Mark Gorton talks with Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan about how her agency is redefining public space in New York City.

As the two take a walking tour of recently revamped streetscapes designed to encourage car-free movement and foster social activity, including Broadway Boulevard, Gansevoort Plaza, Meat Market Plaza and the Ninth Avenue cycle track, Sadik-Khan explains how she sees the city grid evolving from "utilitarian corridors" into civic amenities.

Article - Councillor fears '500-kilometre discussion' over 700 metres of bicycle lanes

Globe and Mail, October 29
Author: John Barber

What should have been the routine approval of new bicycle lanes along six blocks of one wide, largely residential street has become a messy standoff threatening to cause long hours of hot debate when council meets today.

"I hope we don't have a 500-kilometre discussion for 700 metres of bike lanes," said Councillor Adrian Heaps, chair of the city cycling committee and champion of a new fast-track process meant to paint hundreds of kilometres of long-planned but backlogged routes. "It's just not worth it."

Article - B.C. knee brace, Montreal bike system among Time's top inventions

Montreal's high-tech public bike system and a Canadian-made knee brace that harnesses enough energy from a person's stride to power electronic devices are two of Time magazine's top 50 inventions of 2008.

Montreal's public bike system, dubbed Bixi, was No. 19 on the list. The bikes are designed entirely in Quebec and made of 100 per cent recyclable aluminum. The $15-million system is run by Stationnement de Montreal, the company that manages the city's on-street vehicle parking.

The first 40 bikes to use the system rolled out in September, with the city planning to have 2,400 Bixis by next spring.

Article - A Canadian in Amsterdam discovers the downside of a cyclist's paradise

Toronto Star, October 25
Author: Wanda Praamsma

From a planner's point of view, says Weesep, cyclists are intrinsic to Dutch cities' functionality. "If cyclists were taken off the road, it would grind the system to a halt." Half of Amsterdam residents aged 12 and up cycle every day, and the bicycle is the choice vehicle for 37 per cent of trips made in the city, compared with 22 per cent for public transit and 41 per cent for cars. There are about 600,000 bicycles in the city, owned by its 750,000 citizens, and most of the 400-plus kilometres of bike lanes are separated from vehicular roads.