Sudbury residents want fewer roads, more trails

Every corner of Greater Sudbury was up for discussion at last night's [Jan. 23] public meeting on the official plan — a blueprint for how the city is developed. But many Sudburians who stepped up to the microphone focused on a proposed road linking Highway 69 and Laurentian University.

Renfrew ON - $50,000 for town’s first skateboard park

Renfrew’s first-ever skateboard park is closer to becoming reality. Council’s unanimous approval took place at Monday’s council meeting.

Chicago - Critical Mass pedals awareness, but bikers need to pump the brakes

“While we support the goals and spirit of Critical Mass, we can’t overlook breaking traffic laws that are designed to keep everyone on the streets safe,” said Ethan Spotts, marketing and communications director with the Active Transportation Alliance.

French national bike plan proposed

Transport minister Thierry Mariani unveiled plans on Thursday [Jan. 26, 2012] for a 'national cycling scheme' in a bid to encourage the use of bicycles across France.

The minister proposed the introduction of new secure bicycle parking zones, and announced his support for incentive schemes for employees choosing to cycle to work on a regular basis.

Ten lessons from the great cycling cities

Recently, I won a fellowship and got to spend six months living life on two wheels in the world’s most bike-friendly cities. I brought home ten lessons, and thousands of photographs, for Cascadia [author's community]:

1.) It’s the infrastructure, stupid! [article continues]

Bike lanes in Kanata south will connect to Trans Canada Trail

Cycling in the community is set to get easier with the addition of bike lanes along Terry Fox Drive to the Trans Canada Trail in Kanata south.

Calgary - Bike share program divides city hall

Aldermen have taken steps toward launching a public bike share program as soon as mid-2014, but even the city official who oversees cycling improvements won't promise there will be enough on-street bike lanes in time.

Two concerns were at the heart of a debate that divided not only aldermen, but also cycling groups: whether city taxes should be an optional source of funding the multimillion-dollar program, and whether planning for a launch in two years isn't premature in a city that lacks any separated cycling lanes in the core.

Bicycling and Walking in the U.S.: 2012 Benchmarking Report

Bicycling and Walking in the U.S.: 2012 Benchmarking Report is an essential resource and tool for government officials, advocates, and those working to promote bicycling and walking. The Benchmarking Project is an on-going effort by the Alliance for Biking & Walking to collect and analyze data on bicycling and walking in all 50 states and the 51 largest U.S. cities.

This third biennial report reveals data including: bicycling and walking levels and demographics; bicycle and pedestrian safety; funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects; written policies on bicycling and walking; bicycle infrastructure; bike-transit integration; bicycling and walking education and encouragement activities; public health indicators; and the economic impact of bicycling and walking.

Orillia ON - Green plan explored

City council had its first taste of a plan that aims to reduce residents’ dependency on cars.
A multi-use trail, bike lanes and bridges are among more than two-dozen measures proposed in a draft active transportation plan.

Kyrgyzstan plans 300-mile cycle path to woo bike tourists

Ask any cycling fan to name a Central Asian republic with a name that begins with the letter ‘K’ and the most likely response will be ‘Kazakhstan,’ home to the Astana team, named after its capital. Now, the neighbouring state of Kyrgyzstan hopes that its name too may become equally familiar, with plans afoot to attract touring cyclists by building a 300-mile cycle path around a lake.

Sudbury residents want fewer roads, more trails

Every corner of Greater Sudbury was up for discussion at last night's public meeting on the official plan — a blueprint for how the city is developed. But many Sudburians who stepped up to the microphone focused on a proposed road linking Highway 69 and Laurentian University.

Thunder Bay - Your plan for your city

[Thunder Bay] will spend the next year conducting a comprehensive review of the [official] plan to make it consistent with provincial policy and reflect the community’s and council’s vision for the city’s future.

Among its broad intents, the review must ensure the official plan comes into line with Ontario’s new (2005) Provincial Policy Statement, last year’s Northern Growth Plan, changes to the Planning Act and acts as diverse as the Endangered Species Act, Environmental Protection Act, Green Energy Act and the Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

The plan must also mesh with Thunder Bay’s 2011-2014 Strategic Plan. “Active transportation, public engagement, housing, food security, revitalization, urban design, and proactive development are all elements that bind the Strategic Plan and Official Plan together.”

Prevention gets left out of health-care debate

[W]here is the financial, institutional and political commitment to prevention? We appear to believe that it only makes sense to think in terms of after-the-fact, therapeutic treatment of health conditions — that we are condemned to become sick earlier and that we must simply resign ourselves to the costly interventions, pharmaceutical therapies and surgeries that necessarily arise.

This bleak orthodoxy has politicians, public servants and media pundits in a vice-like grip, powerless to get at the root causes of illness and compelled to continually treat the symptoms.

Active and Safe Routes to School in Manitoba - January Newsletter

Sample - Upcoming Webinars: January 24 - 6:30pm CST
Green Teacher Webinar: "Sustainable Happiness, Hope & Resiliency"

 Join Catherine O'Brien and Elin Kelsey for an inspiring discussion about sustainable happiness, hope and resiliency. After short presentations, they will share ways they see this work moving into the world so participants can envision implications for their personal and professional life.

Registration

Revelstoke road, water and sewer project plans unveiled

The City of Revelstoke's engineering department has presented city council with a long list of sewer, water and road projects they'd like to tackle in the coming years. Airport Way pedestrian improvement project between Nichol Road and McKinnon Road: This $126,000 project to create a cycling/walking path is designed to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety along the stretch of Airport way. Construction is planned for 2013.

European Greenways - Issue 13

An electronic newsletter distributed by the European Greenways Association. [Bicycle focused.]

Picture Presentation - Bicycle Path Entry Control

This presentation discusses methods to control entry to "Bicycle Paths". It considers issues related to bollards, gates, and other barriers. Although this presentation uses the term "Bicycle Path", the concepts presented are applicable to most nonmotorized shared use paths.

Winnipeg - Consultants on Assiniboine bikeway did poor job: Katz

Mayor Sam Katz said the firm hired to do public consultation on the Assiniboine Avenue bikeway did a poor job of engaging area residents in the process.

Active transportation ‘wish list’ includes bike lanes, trails and benches

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality active transportation committee released its “wish list” of projects Wednesday [Jan. 18].

Complete Streets Forum and Ontario Bike Summit combine

The Toronto Center for Active Transportation, a project of the Clear Air Partnership, and the Share the Road Cycling Coalition are pleased to announce that our 2012 annual conferences will be a joint conference. The events will take place April 23 - 25, 2012.

Stratford ON - Speakers to discuss bicycle friendly cities

An event geared toward active transportation is being held at the Stratford Rotary Complex on Wednesday. Feb. 22.

Sweden Plans A Four-Lane Bike Superhighway

Sweden is planning to connect its cities Lund and Malmö by building a cyclist superhighway stretching over 12.5 miles.

Edmonton - Defensive walking will reduce deaths

Of all the pedestrian fatalities our city has seen, arguably 100 per cent of them could have been prevented had the pedestrian been paying attention.

No more bike or horse cops if Halifax police budget approved

Halifax Regional Police are seeking to hold the line on next year’s budget but won’t have cops on horses or bicycles anymore if it gets approved.

They propose eliminating six services, including the bike patrol and the mounted unit, which would save $16,000 and $15,700 respectively. Beazley said the bike unit enabled officers to have a little more contact with the public, but plans are to have most of those officers walking beats next year.

Urge the Federal Government to Mandate Truck Side Guards

The British Columbia Cycling Coalition therefore urges you to initiate and support legislation on this issue that will make Canada’s streets and highways safer for all road users, especially the most vulnerable.

Minneapolis bike traffic and trails rising steadily

Between 2007 and 2011, biking traffic in Minneapolis grew by 47 percent, with an increase of 25 percent between 2010 and 2011, the report notes. The U.S. Census Bureau tells us that 3.7 percent commute to work on bikes — not bad for a city known worldwide for snow and ice.

The Hazards of Using Headphones While You Walk

Pedestrians who wear headphones while walking are at greater risk of serious injury or even death than people who don’t tune out, according to a new study published this week in the journal Injury Prevention.

London walks: the Capital Ring

[Just a little fun piece about long-distance walking and camping in London, UK. -MH]

Last September I went on an eight-day hiking holiday with three friends. Shouldering rucksacks with tent and sleeping bags, we set off – by strolling through Hackney's Victoria Park. We weren't straying far from home: our route was the Capital Ring, a 78-mile loop around London that can be done in 15 one-day walks.

A passion for bicycles drives Halifax entrepreneur

“I love bicycles, their shape, the things they do, where they can go,” Chisholm said, explaining his latest venture, the Halifax Bicycle Co. “I think there is a market out there for beautiful, useful bicycles.”

Aris Sport To Release A Safer Designed Skateboard

You’ve most likely have heard the jokes about inventing the wheel, but now one company can seriously say that they did reinvent the wheel. Aris Sport has released a skateboard with their new wheel design. The new design appears to be better for speed and staying safe.

Sixty Two Percent of Americans Prioritize Spending on Roads Over Public Transit

A recent Reason-Rupe poll of 1,200 adults on landline and mobile phones finds that 12 percent of Americans take public transportation at least a few times a week and 63 percent say they never take public transit.

Correspondingly, 62 percent of Americans prioritize transportation funding for roads and highways over funding for public transit.

Calgary - Interview: Bike share program

On Tuesday's Eyeopener, we asked local cycling advocate Gary Beaton why he's against the idea of a bike-sharing program in downtown Calgary.

Ottawa - Larger e-bikes banned from NCC pathways

Electric-powered vehicles, including heavier "scooter-type" e-bikes, are now prohibited from National Capital Commission pathways, according to a report issued by the NCC on Thursday. "Power-assisted bicycles that are physically similar to conventional bicycles" are still allowed on pathways, the NCC says, but "scooter-type power-assisted bicycles (i.e. with a fairing) are prohibited." (A fairing is a rigid plastic covering to deflect wind and rain or to reduce drag.)

Toronto - Infill development should be pedestrian friendly: councillor

New townhouse complexes should be built with pedestrians in mind as much as they are with cars and trees - and the city's rules should reflect that says Ward 30 Councillor Paula Fletcher in a letter to the city's planning and growth management committee. The Toronto-Danforth councillor is asking the city to develop guidelines for so-called infill developments that will require the sites to have well-marked and well-lit walkways, pedestrian-friendly intersections and easy access to the main community

Parry Sound ON - Tourism and health benefits from plan

The West Parry Sound Active Transportation Committee is working on a master plan to encourage people to leave their cars behind and give people interconnected routes region-wide for walking and biking.

New trends in Regina streetscapes

In many of the Regina neighbourhoods that were developed in the 1950s, a common theme is a sidewalk that is separated from the street by green space. This idea is returning in many new developments, as it provides pedestrian safety, enhances the streetscape, and offers space for snow that has been removed from the street and sidewalks.

Edmonton - From the archives: Clareview station falls short of 1970s vision

The four-storey wood-frame and stucco condos around the Clareview LRT station face inward onto their own parking lots and shared garbage bins. One thousand parking stalls surround the station and bus terminal. A wooden fence lines the sidewalk for most of the 400-metre walk from the train station to a series of big box stores - Walmart, Superstore and XS Cargo.

"Clareview was going to be a radical break because they were going to increase density. When you look at the 1970s plan, it's all there. But they didn't provide the facilities, the libraries and the schools.

Sydney AU - Plan for a 40km/h limit in city struggles to gain momentum

City of Sydney council plans to reduce city speed limits to 40km/h were opposed yesterday by the NRMA Motoring & Services [Australian equivalent to the CAA] and received a mixed response from the chamber of commerce and the bus union.

Plans for new pedestrian-friendly Dublin

Pedestrians and cyclists will be given priority and through-traffic discouraged in a new strategy for Dublin city centre. "While economic needs require private car and service vehicle access for business and shopping trips, the predominant movement pattern in the city centre will be on foot -- which means it is vital that the public realm is easily accessible, pleasant and safe."