Open streets coming to Toronto?

Pedestrians and cyclists alike may soon get their chance to take over a major street in Toronto, if only for a few days during the summer. Read more.

Cyclists stage mass 'die in' outside Transport for London offices

An esimated 2,000 cyclists lay down in the street outside Transport for London (TfL)'s headquarters this evening, in protest at six cyclist deaths in two weeks. Read more.

Cycling Proponents Peddle Health Savings

Planners and decision-makers seeking to replace partisan screaming matches over city cycling with data-driven conversations should embrace economic assessment tools, an SFU epidemiologist told the second Metro Vancouver Cycling Action Forum, a half-day event held at TransLink’s new headquarters near Sapperton SkyTrain Station in New Westminster. Read more.

Windsor woman dies in ditch after wheelchair flips

Harvey Bondy, a long-time advocate for disabled people and in a wheelchair himself for nearly 20 years, was saddened to hear about the incident. He credited the city for making roads accessible.  However, Bondy also said they can do better, especially since he believes more people are using wheelchairs than before. Read more.

European Parliament Plenary Session Passes Key EuroVelo Legislation

The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is a EU policy area designed to focus funds on supporting trans-European transport infrastructure developments considered to be strategically important by the EU. The ECF has therefore been working hard since 2011 to ensure the inclusion of the EuroVelo network and add a reference to cycling. The result of the latest plenary vote means that including EuroVelo and cycling in the TEN-T network has now twice been given a mandate by the European Parliament. Read more.

First ever in Winnipeg – Community Walking & Cycling Map

Community residents in these three areas have been working to improve education, active transportation opportunities and safety for their neighbourhood. A map provides clear and concise information about what is in the community. This map is FREE and is located at 25+ locations in the community. Read more.

Halifax cycling group pushing to make helmet laws extinct in Nova Scotia

A cycling advocacy group in Halifax is looking to convince the provincial government to drop the mandatory bicycle helmet law. Members of the Halifax Cycling Coalition voted this week to make repealing Nova Scotia’s helmet requirement one of the group’s priorities in the new year. Read more.

Active seniors more likely to 'age successfully'

In the study, participants described the frequency and intensity of their physical activity in 2002-03, and then every two years until 2010-11. Some participants also had objective measurements of their physical activity. Read more.

Witnesses sought after 2 killed in Coquitlam hit and run

"This is happening too often. It's an outrageous tragedy and it's also a criminal tragedy," said Coquitlam Mayor Stewart. "We've got to do a lot more work on ensuring our pedestrian are safe that are drivers are attentive... that our roadways are as forgiving as possible when the drivers aren't attentive and the pedestrians aren't as careful as they should be." Read more.

Hungary Shows How to Bid for More EU Funds for Cycling

The Cycling Hungary Alliance, another ECF member, focused on using the potential of cycling tourism in Hungary, which is already estimated as contributing 1.9 billion Euros to the Hungarian economy every year by a study commissioned by the European Parliament. However to tap into this potential the Alliance stressed that there was a need for European, national and local cycle routes, with sophisticated promotion and marketing strategies and cycling-friendly services to attract users from home and abroad. Read more.

Why Correcting Misperceptions About Mass Transit May Be More Important Than Improving Service

There's a psychological component to riding transit that's easy for city officials and planners to overlook. Fact is, we're not all completely rational about our travel decisions. The perceptions that people have about public transportation, substantiated or not, are powerful enough to attract or repel them. Read more.

Worries, concerns over tacks found on new Halifax bike lane

However, one business owner along Windsor Street who is upset over the new bike lane is real estate broker Patrick Stubbert, who runs Point Zero One Realty. “I went to my lawyer…who is now in the process of filing through the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia an injunction [on the bike lane],” he said. Read more.

Cycling during pregnancy: Tips from Dame Sarah Storey

Britain's most decorated female Paralympic athlete gave birth to her daughter Louisa in June this year. Here are Sarah’s top tips for cycling during pregnancy… Read more.

Edmonton planning to ‘winter proof’ contentious 106 Street bike lanes

The City is continuing its efforts to make Edmonton’s streets more cyclist-friendly. The latest initiative comes in the form of a pilot project that will keep the bike route along 106 Street between 29 Avenue and Saskatchewan Drive kept in top shape all winter. Read more.

City to unveil plans for major new separated bicycle lane downtown

The city is set to unveil plans for a major new downtown cycle track, offering protection for cyclists on a road that stretches from the Bow to the Elbow Rivers, and services such facilities as Olympic Plaza, the Epcor Centre, Stampede Park and a number of major employment centres, including The Bow skyscraper and the planned 58-storey Telus Sky tower. Read more.

‘Intersections: Health and the Built Environment’

Intersections: Health and the Built Environment makes the case that we can build our way to better health, by providing an indication of the scale of the challenges facing communities worldwide, and it outlines the opportunities and benefits for improving global health through intelligent urban design. Read more.

‘Intersections: Health and the Built Environment’

Intersections: Health and the Built Environment makes the case that we can build our way to better health, by providing an indication of the scale of the challenges facing communities worldwide, and it outlines the opportunities and benefits for improving global health through intelligent urban design. Read more.

‘Intersections: Health and the Built Environment’

Intersections: Health and the Built Environment makes the case that we can build our way to better health, by providing an indication of the scale of the challenges facing communities worldwide, and it outlines the opportunities and benefits for improving global health through intelligent urban design. Read more.

Windsor - Library upgrades, LED lights, bike paths promised by mayor

In front of a crowd of more than 500 people, the mayor promised in excess of $5 million in improvements to the Windsor Public Library system. Nearly 18 kms of new bike lanes and connectors will be built, connecting the perimeter of Windsor. Read more.

Council approves master plans for building the future Ottawa

Council approved an updated Official Plan, Infrastructure Master Plan, Transportation Master Plan, Pedestrian Plan and Cycling Plan that were created in consultation with the public throughout 2013 during the Building a Liveable Ottawa initiative. These plans set the vision for Ottawa’s future growth to 2031. Read more.

Take Action: Toward Zero Deaths

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act states clearly that the lives of all roadway users are important -- and creates accountability toward ending needless deaths. It gives US DOT the flexibility to determine the best method to meet these safety measures, and calls on our leaders to reduce the number of people biking and walking who are killed or injured on our streets every year.  Read more.

For older citizens, lack of transportation a daily struggle

Millions of senior citizens across the country already struggle to get around without a car. By 2050, the number of Americans who are age 65 or older is projected to more than double – from 40 million to 88.5 million – while the number of people age 85 or older will increase five times, according to figures provided Wednesday. Read more.

Overcomplicating Winter Cycling: Why It's Bad

With winter’s impending arrival, all manner of “how to cycle in the winter” guides are slapped up all over the place. Year after year, the subcultures put on their professor hats and look down their noses at the general population while they attempt to “teach” people how to be just like them. You know the type – real cyclists. Read more.

Dad on Foot Arrested for Refusing to Wait in Line of Cars to Get Kids

This is a strange and upsetting video about a dad in Tennessee who walked to the local school to pick up his kids — 8 and 14 — and was told he had to wait in the line of cars (or at least, wait as LONG as the parents in cars) to get them. As he was on foot, this made no sense, a point he argued with the police officer at the school who, as you’ll see, then put the dad in handcuffs and drove him off in the police car. See video.

One hour's driving costs 20 minutes of life, study says

Every hour spent behind the wheel represents a 20-minute loss in life expectancy because of the risk of being involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident, say researchers, who calculate that even a slight reduction in speed by the average driver could save lives. Read more.

The Planner’s Guide to Tactical Urbanism

Temporary interventions have emerged as an important way to make improvements to local neighbourhoods that present fewer risks for both citizens and municipal administrations.
These informal initiatives, popularly known as "tactical urbanism", have also inspired planners and municipal officials to experiment with low-cost pilot projects as a tool to make local improvements. Read more.

U.S. Bike Manufacturer to Focus on E-bikes

US fork manufacturer Fox Factory Holding is increasing its sales focus on the producers of e-bikes. Fox CEO Larry Enterline sees many opportunities: “If you start going 30 miles an hour you’re going to want some suspension.” Read more.

Can 2014 be the beginning of a Dolce Vita for Italian cyclists?

The proposal for a revised Highway Code in favor of cyclists in Italy is an example of the results that joint advocacy efforts can lead to. Read more.

The Procrastinator's Guide to Winter Bicycle Commuting

Truthfully, I've never been prepared to bike in what passes for winter where I live, in Washington, D.C. By late October, I start riding to work with socks on my hands. By November, I'm layering a sweat shirt and a shapeless leather jacket from JCPenney. Biking at all between December and March has, in past years, meant sacrificing my dignity for warmth. Read more.

Make Windsor more walkable, urges former Maple Leaf CEO

Peddie suggested Windsor follow the example of Portland, Ore., which set out a plan years ago to be more pedestrian friendly. Walk Score, which gave Portland a 63 for walkability in its latest assessment, says it “might be the most walking, biking, and public transit friendly city on the West Coast. Most neighborhoods have walkable food cart pods, supermarkets, movie theaters and cafes.” Read more.

Toronto - Car-less commuter rides ‘the crazy train’ from Courtice — and thrives

But the most outrageous act the Courtice commuter has ever committed — the sacrifice that few 905ers would even contemplate — is that she gave up her car. Smith returned her Chevy Equinox to the dealership two years ago in favour of the GO bus, a bike and her own two feet. Read more.

The Rural Cycling Highway

Most of us have probably heard of cycling highways in the Netherlands. Less known is that cycling highways also exist elsewhere - for example, in Northern Ireland. Read more.

Whitehorse Welcomes New Active Transportation Paths

Over the years, Yukon has chosen to direct its Gas Tax funding to a wide variety of projects. Most recently, lasting health and environmental benefits will result from a $1-million investment in five local connector pathways: Hillcrest, Takhini North Path, Centennial Street, Quartz Road, Lower Escarpment, and the Porter Creek connector which is still in progress. Read more.

Can Saying People on Bikes Instead of Cyclists-make People Safer?

 "To me, and many others, 'cyclist' brings to mind someone wearing Lycra, riding a performance bike—someone who is engaged more in a sport than a mode of transportation or accessible recreation," says Carolyn Szczepanski, director of communications at the League of American Bicyclists. "While we absolutely embrace those riders, it doesn't paint a full, realistic picture of the people who are riding—both for advocacy and outreach purposes and public perception purposes." Read more.

Bike Curious: The First Ride Toward a Bicycle Lifestyle

Savona Bailey-McClain became an advocate for cycling even before she learned to ride a bike. Read more.

U.S. - 2012 Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview

Despite the general downward trend in overall fatalities in recent years, pedestrian and motorcycle fatalities have shown an upward trend. This was again the case in 2012, as motorcycle and pedestrian fatalities increased by 7 and 6 percent, respectively. Read more.

When a skateboard is not a skateboard

In the end, Administrative Appeals Tribunal Deputy President Robin Handley looked to the Macquarie Dictionary to help make her decision. "In my view, it is clear from the dictionary definitions and from an inspection of a skateboard, snakeboard or caster board that they are similar goods and that snakeboards and caster boards appear to be derivatives of skateboards," she said. Read more.

A Stroll Around the World

Even as I adhere strictly to my brand of bipedal journalism, trying as it were to put myself in a Pleistocene state of mind, cars keep roaring into my awareness. They are inescapable. They are without a doubt the defining artifacts of our civilization. They have reshaped our minds in ways that we long ago ceased thinking about. Read more.

Road safety: cyclists are not the only ones at risk on our cities' streets

In reducing road deaths in Britain, let us not forget the 5,000 per annum killed by toxic traffic fumes in London, with the carcinogen PM10 the prime target – 20% of inner London PM10 comes from taxis and nearly 80% from 8,000 buses. To meet air standards means using non-polluting transport such as cycles. Read more.

Civic Government Backpedals on Complete Streets and Transparent Government

On November 13, the Rutherford Borough Council in New Jersey unanimously approved a new road striping plan for the first phase of the Rutherford Bike Ring. In an ironic twist for the bike plan, this first phase of the striping did not include bike lanes. Despite three years of meetings, letters of support from residents, local, state and federal elected officials, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, Hackensack Riverkeeper, Rutherford Downtown Partnership and the heads of the police, schools and health departments — and in addition to almost $115,000 in taxpayer supported planning and design work for the original Bike Ring — the latest version of the plan was approved within minutes of first being presented, without public viewing and without public comment. Read more.

The Case Against Cars in 1 Utterly Entrancing GIF

Here is a brilliant piece of data viz to show how public transit reduces congestion. I sort of can't stop staring at it. See.

Vancouverism: The Prescription for a Healthier City?

In order to make our cities healthier and happier places to live, we need to focus on the key linkage between public health and urban mobility, and the ability of sustainable transport and community design to improve road safety. Read more.

Despite the deaths, cycling in London is getting safer

Is cycling in London getting more dangerous? With six deaths in two weeks, you might think Londoners would be insane to even consider taking to two wheels. But the facts tell a different story. Read more.

Winnipeg - Katz releases details on 2014 active transportation budget

Mayor Sam Katz released details of the 2014 budget at a news conference this morning, surprising some members of council. With 16 grade school children as a back drop inside the gym at Dalhousie School, Katz said the 2014 capital budget will see a $500,000 increase in spending for active transportation related projects: $1.75 million, up from $1.25 million 2013. Read more.

The Evolution of Driving in America

Contrary to the enviro stereotype, I like cars and I like driving. What I would not like, though, is being dependent on a car for every single thing I need or want to do. Read more.

For older citizens, lack of transportation a daily struggle

Lack of public transit, limited pools of taxpayer dollars and senior citizens’ reluctance to “burden” anyone else are a few of the challenges communities face as they struggle to help older residents who either cannot or should not get behind the wheel. Read more.

Halton Region Active Transportation Master Plan

The first round of Public Information Centres were held in June 2012 to present the study background, vision, guiding principles and problems/opportunities. A second round of Public Information Centres has been arranged to review and receive comments from the public on the proposed active transportation (cycling and walking) networks and supporting recommendations. Read more.

Winnipeg - Active Transportation to Get $1.75M Boost in City’s South End

The city is spending $1.75 million to build safe pedestrian and cycling facilities near elementary schools in south Winnipeg. Read more.

Edmonton - Civic politicians feeling bike lane road rage

For the car-driving majority, bike lane-induced road rage became a major issue in the civic election, and it’s worth noting we’re only a few dozen kilometres into the massive 500-km bike lane expansion plan envisioned for Edmonton over the next 20 years. If nothing changes, the rage is only going to grow. Read more.

No child left outside

First, we need an environment that allows – indeed, encourages – children to be outdoors more, to exercise and explore. And, second, we need more unstructured time for kids to be with their peers and learn life skills that they can’t learn as well any other way.  These two themes come dramatically together in the case of Tammy Cooper, the mom who was arrested for allowing her kids to ride their scooters in a cul-de-sac in La Porte, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Read more.

Chicago cycling group opposes bike-fee idea

Chicago's cycling advocacy group is pushing for an approach to make the roads safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians in a way where all can co-exist and share the road. And that doesn't include the $25 annual bike registration fee floated last month by Ald. Pat Dowell (3^rd) to generate revenue for the city that is opposed by the alliance. Such a fee could discourage cycling, be difficult to enforce given there are suburban commuters, and cost more money that it could bring in. Read more.

Cycling Fatalities in Canada

Transport Canada did a very interesting study on pedestrian and cycling fatalities over a 30-year period. The surprising thing is that the fatality rates fell continually. Actually, they fell quite dramatically each year, over the years of the study. Cycling fatalities in Canada dropped 39% over the time of the study. This was the trend even though the number of cyclists increased dramatically. Read more.

How safe are the world's cities for cyclists?

The deaths of six cyclists in the past two weeks have highlighted the dangers of taking to London's busy streets. But what is it like to cycle in other major cities around the world? From Amsterdam to Delhi, our writers report from the bike lanes. Read more.

Boris Johnson defends London cycling safety record after spate of deaths

Boris Johnson has faced down critics following a spate of cyclist deaths in London by insisting that cycling safety has improved in the last few years. In often heated exchanges during mayor's question time at the London Assembly, Johnson said he would "not be deflected from the cause of encouraging more cycling in London". Read more.

London's 'cycling superhighways' are ideal … for kamikazes

The latest round of headlines detailing cyclists crushed under lorries and buses in London are proof of deep flaws in the mayor's cycle infrastructure schemes. But they also reveal flaws in the ways that all of us – including Boris Johnson – make decisions about risk, reward and daily travel. Read more.

Vancouver bicycle sharing program brings back memories of a crazy street furniture deal

The city's plans for an elaborate system with $95 annual memberships, $20 weekly memberships, and $5 daily memberships is starting to look like a potential boondoggle. Anyone who wants a bicycle probably already owns one, including the homeless guys who lug their trailers through the alleys of the city. Read more.

Safe bike paths key to cycling culture, say women

Women are reluctant to ­cycle because our roads aren't safe enough for family riding, a survey shows. Read more.

Dublin - Five cyclists a week face court for law-breaking

A crackdown by gardai on dangerous cycling in Dublin and across the country has resulted in more people being taken to court so far this year than for all of 2012. The move comes in advance of on-the-spot fines being introduced for dangerous cycling next year. Read more.

Are traffic sensors common sense for pedestrians, cyclists?

Take the case of a pedestrian who sees the street they're about to cross has just gotten a red light, so they start their walk a tad early. But surprise, suddenly they find themselves in the middle of the road as the traffic goes back to green. Read more.

Un coroner à bicyclette

Plus de 150 accidents, 93 cyclistes transportés à l'hôpital, 2 morts. Le bilan des collisions entre vélos et portières de véhicules des deux dernières années est consternant à Montréal. Read more.

Hamilton’s pedestrian plan made for walking

“We are creating a better place to walk,” said O’Connor, who assisted the city in drafting the 244-page pedestrian mobility plan called Stepping Forward. The plan, two-years in the making, is suppose to create safer communities for pedestrians and cyclists, by building safe street crossings and sidewalks, and links to parks and public transit over the next 20 years. Read more.

Where Should I Ride?

A cyclist's safety video. worthwhile watching, even if - or maybe especially if - you are an experienced cyclist. View.

Who needs a cycling helmet, when you’ve got an airbag?

Inventors who found that cyclists disliked wearing helmets because they spoilt their hair have the answer: the cyclist’s airbag. Read more.

Girls and Bicycles

A blog published by a female cyclist living in Edmonton. Read.

Renfrew County paving some road shoulders



The County of Renfrew's Public Works and Engineering Department unveilied its hardened shoulders project, as part of the Active Transportation Initiative. The unveiling ceremony was held near the corner of County Road 10 (Baskin Drive) and County Road 2 (Daniel Street), on Nov. 1 at 9:50 a.m.
The unveiling attracted a large number of attendees from the public, elected officials, County of Renfrew staff and members of the Physical Activity Network and Committee. Read more.

Wheels fall off Vancouver’s bike-share program

The deal to deliver Vancouver’s bike-share system is in danger of falling through as equipment provider Bixi faces “imminent” insolvency. Read more.

Walkable Communities and the Future of American Cities

To nurture the growth of new walkable communities, urban planners must take into account the needs of pedestrians while also respecting the realities of modern American cities. Read more.

Cycling in a rural area is less idyllic and more intimidating

Cycling can be very discouraging here, far from the supporting hordes of riders in an urban setting. But the more people who bike, while following the rules of the road, the stronger the message will be that cars must learn to share. Read more.

Australian parents more reluctant than English to allow kids to walk to school

Just over half of Australian primary school children (51 per cent) are ferried to school by car, compared with less than a third (32 per cent) of primary school children in England, despite generally walkable distances in Australia, the study by Deakin University and VicHealth found. Read more.

New Standards Could Make Roadways Usable For All Modes Of Transportation

Stapleton said complete streets are not just good for the ears, they are also good for the bottom line. You would see people speeding down this road, like 80 miles per hour, and the minute these started getting put in, it literally was slowing traffic down, and when you slow traffic down, people tend to look what’s around them, and with that happening, this shop has never been busier," Read more.

NYC Motorists Killed Three Pedestrians on City Sidewalks Today

“This corridor along the Park Avenue viaduct is a critical area of concern in my district for pedestrian safety,” Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito said in a statement, adding that she will soon be following up with DOT on pedestrian safety changes she suggested for Park Avenue earlier this year. Read more.

Ottawa - City plans network of winter bike routes, won’t pay for it yet

Plowing bike lanes and paths to make winter commuting by bicycle more appealing is a priority for the city, but at a cost it’s not quite ready to pay. The $200,000-a-year price tag to scrape clean an additional 16 kilometres of pavement all winter puts the city government in a Catch-22: Winter biking is difficult on snowy, slushy, icy roads, so not all that many people do it. But because not all that many people do it, it’s hard to justify the expense of making it easier. Read more.

Selling the Public on Biking, Political-Campaign Style

Bike advocates are trying to figure out how to motivate people who would like to ride those neglected bikes, but perceive the streets as uncomfortable, unsafe, or downright terrifying. To that end, the national group People for Bikes recently surveyed registered voters in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, teasing out their perceptions about bike safety and bike infrastructure. Read more.

I don’t ride a bike, why should I support measures to boost cycling

If you are not a regular cyclist, you may ask why you should support proposals to boost investment in safe cycle routes. Read more.

The secrets of the world's happiest cities

 People who live in monofunctional, car‑dependent neighbourhoods outside urban centres are much less trusting of other people than people who live in walkable neighbourhoods where housing is mixed with shops, services and places to work.

Stutzer and Frey found that a person with a one-hour commute has to earn 40% more money to be as satisfied with life as someone who walks to the office. On the other hand, for a single person, exchanging a long commute for a short walk to work has the same effect on happiness as finding a new love. Read more.

Newmarket teacher starts skateboarding club

Seventh-grade science teacher Jacques Beriau, himself a skater for nearly two decades, decided to start a skate park club this year at Newmarket Junior Senior High School. If we can start a community for them, and show people what these kids are doing, that's great. The more positive things we can do, the better." Read more.

Longboarding Is More Dangerous Than Skateboarding, Study Shows

People who skateboard using a type of board called a longboard may be at greater risk for severe injuries than those who use regular skateboards, a new study suggests. Read more.

What it Takes to Sell Biking to North Americans

In a first-of-its-kind study, funded by the PeopleForBikes Green Lane Project in partnership with transportation departments in San Francisco, CA, and Portland, OR, and Portland-based firms NORTH and Wild Alchemy, researchers set to find out how to better sell bicycling. Read more.

Citi Bike Carries More Riders on Fewer Bikes Than London Bike-Share

Five months after its launch, Citi Bike is already moving more people than its larger, more established sister program in London, according to an analysis by University College of London researcher Oliver O’Brien. Read more.

Find Langley's future on foot

Experts on housing and liveability gathered to talk about the future of Langley at the Township's third annual Economic Forum Oct. 24. Read more.

Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?

My own view is that everybody’s a little right and that we’re at a scary cultural crossroads on the whole car/bike thing. American cities are dense enough — and almost half of urban car trips short enough, under three miles. But the social and legal culture of the American road, not to mention the road itself, hasn’t caught up. Read more.

Hard Truths about Transit

The Toronto region now ranks as the worst performer in Canada in moving people to and from work and is near the bottom of global rankings2. For the past several decades our investments in the region’s public transit have not kept pace with economic and population growth.

This is true for Canada as a whole. Between 1955 and 1977, new investment in infrastructure grew by 4.8% annually, in line with economic and population growth; between 1978 and 2000, however, it grew by a miniscule 0.1%. Read more.

A 'Gateway Drug' for Better Bike Infrastructure

People who want to see more protected bike lanes on city streets sometimes have a hard time making their case. No matter how many renderings and drawings they present to make their arguments, they can't actually show skeptics how the new infrastructure would work in real life – what it would feel like for cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians when part of the street is dedicated to helping people ride bikes safely. Read more.

The Simplest Way to Get People Biking

This comparison is so powerful – and this is the kind of data any bike-share system needs – for one big reason. It's not enough to make it possible for people to bike. What advocates really need to do is make clear the costs of not biking, in minutes saved or dollars not spent. Read more.

Kitsilano bike lane plan runs up against court injunction

The City of Vancouver has agreed to abide by a B.C. Supreme Court injunction that halts the construction of a bike lane through Hadden Park in Kitsilano. Read more.

City pledges safer streets for Hamilton pedestrians

In a week where new numbers show Hamilton’s streets are among the worst in the province for pedestrian safety, city hall has pledged to make Hamilton more walkable.

The city will make its decisions “from the sidewalk, not the centre of the road” with its new pedestrian mobility plan, which councillors approved unanimously at a general issues committee meeting Wednesday (Nov. 6). Read more.

Region considers more sidewalks, trails

The Region of Waterloo wants to install more than 1,000 kilometres of new sidewalks, multi-use trails and cycling infrastructure in the next decade — but it will take time and money to implement. The region has about $42.5 million in its capital budget for such projects. Read more.

Toronto Public Health launches WALK CYCLE MOVE campaign

The city’s health authority recently launched WALK CYCLE MOVE, a series of public consultations taking place throughout Toronto. Read more.

Huntsville may tap district active transportation fund

A plan to connect to active transportation trails in Huntsville may get some funding from the District of Muskoka. “That’s what we decided was the No. 1 priority in terms of making connections into the town from our trails outside of town,” said Coun. Scott Aitchison, chair of the town’s sustainability committee. Read more.

Cycling policy 'getting better' across Scotland, report suggests

Cycling Scotland said the top performing councils were Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fife and Aberdeenshire. The organisation said all 32 councils participated, with some performing extremely well and others needing a more focused approach. The 2013 edition of the report follows two previous assessments carried out in 2005 and 2008. Read more.

Bicycle Ministry To Promote Cycling in Japan

In an attempt to coordinate the county’s national cycling policy a parliamentary working group proposed the creation of a Ministry of Bicycle Promotion. Read more.

Simcoe Muskoka Active Transportation Symposium: November 14, 2013

An interactive learning day for municipal engineering, public works and planning staff, and the private sector engineering and planning firms who often work in concert with municipalities. Read more.

Learning to pedal with the Community Partners Bike Library

A program of Cycles for Change, the Community Partners Bike Library (CPBL) collaborates with 20 diverse organizations in the Twin Cities metro area to make bikes and education accessible to underrepresented communities, encourage lifelong bicycle-use and increase livability, health and access throughout the Twin Cities. Read more.

Video - Calgary bicycle coordinator

Meet Calgary's new bicycle coordinator, Tom Thivener. View.

Report - Costs for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Infrastructure Improvements

Costs for pedestrian and bicycle safety infrastructure often vary greatly from city to city and state to state. This document (and associated database) is intended to provide meaningful estimates of infrastructure costs by collecting up-to-date cost information for pedestrian and bicycle treatments from states and cities across the country. Using this information, researchers, engineers, planners, and the general public can better understand the cost of pedestrian and bicycle treatments in their communities and make informed decisions about which infrastructure enhancements are best suited for implementation. Read more.

Active and Safe Routes to School in Manitoba November Newsletter

Read it here.

Why Cycling is a Political Act

Each time ( a cyclist's death) happens, as with this time, I realize again that cycling is a political act, and if I allow myself to be scared off my bike, I have done something quite unacceptable to me: I have yielded to the domineering presence of automobiles in this world. Read more.

Step Closer For Seacliff Trail

Engineers working on designs for a County Wide Active Transportation trail along Seacliff Dr. in Leamington have more feedback to work with. Read more.

Welland - Bike lanes planned for Ontario Rd.

With nearly $30,000 of funding from Niagara Region, city council approved plans to add bicycle lanes to the road, a project that will link together bike lanes throughout the city, said Ward 5 Coun. Mike Petrachenko at Tuesday’s council meeting. Read more.

Yes, But Where Are All The People? – Sydney, Australia

Visions and strategies and diagrams and glossy PowerPoint presentations paint more or less alluring pictures of the urban future we might inherit, but few seem capable of wrapping themselves around a more mundane, but more compelling vision about the way people actually lived, or wanted to live. Where, indeed, are all the people? Read more.

What the Departure of New York and Chicago's Transportation Leaders Means for Cities

Klein and Sadik-Khan have helped put some glitz and glamour to a position that traditional hasn’t been known for it, generating lots of media headlines and adulation of hip urban thinkers. “They’ve taken what, for a long time, was a backwater and not a sexy position, and made it very public and shown how much it impacts people on a daily basis,” says Geoffrey Anderson, president and CEO of Smart Growth America. “It’s really changed the view of how prominent and how important these positions can be, and it opens it up to folks who think about things in a different way." Read more.

Delaware Drops “Share the Road” Signs

Following a push from cyclists around the state, Delaware has agreed to stop using “share the road” signs. Beginning immediately, the DOT will use signs that convey less ambiguous messages confirming cyclists’ right to the streets. Read more.

New Poll Finds Strong Support for More, Better Biking in San Francisco

Results of a new independent poll of San Francisco voters, conducted by David Binder Research and released today, show strong support for City leaders to encourage more biking in San Francisco, including expanding the nascent Bike Share system, adding more physically separated bikeways to increase safety, and ensuring bicycling is comfortable and safe for residents of all ages. Read more.

China cracks down on emissions to combat choking smog

Traffic police at a highway toll booth as vehicles are forced to wait due to heavy smog in China's Jilin province last month. Chinese cities should close schools, cut working hours and stop outdoor activities during the most severe spells of air pollution, the ministry of environmental protection has said. "Every possible compulsory measure" must be taken to cut emissions during the heaviest smog – including suspending factory production and imposing traffic restrictions. Read more.

Dubai - 'Every resident is a pedestrian' - but can you park and walk?

Maitha bin Adai, CEO RTA's Traffic and Roads department walks Emirates 24|7 through the evolution of the emirate's pedestrian-friendliness. Read more.

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment Position Statement on Active Transport

Although it seems a novel idea to be urging the public health and urban planning spheres to work together to improve population health, historically, both in the UK and the USA, modern town planning actually grew from concerns regarding the crowded and unhealthy slums of industrializing cities in the 19th century (Lake 2006). A rapprochement between the two disciplines is therefore much less a newfangled, difficult concept and much more a natural return to a sensibly holistic way of operating. Read more.

A Brief History of How 'Complete Streets' Became Hip

It's hard to overstate how fundamental a change the movement has wrought in the way we think about such an important part of our communities. This is an important success story, containing many individual success stories within. Read more.

Hamilton roads more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists

Hamilton pedestrians and cyclists are at higher risk of getting hit by cars than the provincial average,  And Hamilton has one of the highest rates of pedestrian deaths in the province. The numbers come from new data from the Social Planning and Research Council, that looks at the number of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 pedestrian and transit commuters. Read more.

Halifax - Bike lanes no bed of roses

Charles Pilcher isn’t offering up any bouquets to the decision-makers who approved bicycle lanes on Halifax’s Windsor Street. Pilcher, whose family business has been located on Windsor Street for 64 years, is furious at the city’s decision to install bike lanes on both sides of the street between Young Street and Quinpool Road. Read more.

L.A. streets aren't safe enough for cyclists, but we're getting there

In real-life Los Angeles County, nearly 1 in 4 trips does not involve an automobile. How can this be in our notoriously car-addled city? Angelenos are looking for options and finding them in our burgeoning Metro system, our sometimes-broken sidewalks and, yes, our expanding bike network. Read more.

How can biking and walking advocates work with police for smarter enforcement?

Biking- and walking-friendly laws are important, but legal protections for bikers and walkers are only as effective as the enforcement of those laws. How can biking and walking advocates work with police departments to ensure that all people receive fair, lawful, and safe protection on community streets? Read more.

Video - National Public Health Week — Public Health is ROI: Save Lives

APHA honors National Public Health Week 2013 with a video outlining the return on investment of prevention and public health funding. See video.

Detroit-made, low-priced city bike set for Portland debut

A new bike company based in Detroit says they've cracked one of the toughest nuts in the bicycle industry: A full-fledged city bike made in the USA that retails for just $550. Read more.

Phoenix Unveils Bike Share System, Grid

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton unveiled the name and logo for the region’s new bike sharing program before attendees at the National Association of City Transportation Officials at the Hotel Palomar. Called Grid, the system will employ a fleet of fluorescent green bicycles that are rentable by the hour or through annual memberships. Read more.

The Electric Bicycle of the Future Looks a Lot Like One From the 1800s

 

Feast your eyes on this high-tech electric bicycle being developed by international chemical conglomerate BASF and DING3000, a design firm from Hanover, Germany. Read more.

Lets Make This Illegal Shall We?

Every once in a while, someone, somewhere, will issue a controversial call for mandatory helmet laws. Inevitably, if the source is deemed reputable, their call for action will make the news. Occasionally, they will capture the imagination of some politician somewhere and the debate will rage on for a while. Sometimes, that politician will get their way and, then, from the moment it becomes law until the moment it is repealed, the unlucky local populace will risk being punished

for the simple act of riding a bicycle to the cornerstore with the wind in their hair. Read more.  

Why are cyclists so angry?

I was scared, and this fear was translating into short-fused fury. The problem is that the stakes are so different for cyclists and motorists. If a car and a bike collide, the motorist goes to the panel-beaters. The cyclist winds up in hospital; or a wheelchair; or the morgue. Read more.

Does the media help whip up anti-cyclist rage?

It almost seems a rite of passage. It certainly is a staple, and an extremely predictable one at that: the opinion columnist having a go at cyclists and cycling. It's a question many have asked before. Are media reports about cycling – be they controversy-seeking opinion pieces, newspaper campaigns against infrastructure, emotive reports on tabloid TV, or the endless complaining of "shock jock" radio announcers – an indirect source of danger to cyclists? Read more.

Actually, Technology Hasn't Really Stopped Millennials From Driving

Evelyn Blumenberg, the chair of urban planning at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs, doesn't buy the theory that Millennials are traveling less because they're using technology more. Read more.

Walking can be made safer

Drivers need to slow down and pay attention. Please. Because vehicles are bigger, pedestrians need to pay attention. Planners need to take pedestrian safety into account from the beginning. Please don't leave it as an afterthought. Let's work together to figure out how to make problem spots safer for all involved. Read more.

Skateboard Tank Rolls Over Any Terrain

Invented by Dan Baldwin, the so-called “Ungoverned” resembles a hybrid of a skateboard and tank and is designed to roll over rocks, sand, snow and other obstacles. Read more.

Are Cycling Undergarments Needed?

The whole idea of cycling without underwear might seem a bit strange but it can actually help you in avoiding irritation and rubbing. Read more.

The secrets of the world's happiest cities

Is urban design really powerful enough to make or break happiness? The question deserves consideration, because the happy city message is taking root around the world. "The most dynamic economies of the 20th century produced the most miserable cities of all," Peñalosa told me over the roar of traffic. "I'm talking about the US Atlanta, Phoenix, Miami, cities totally dominated by cars." Read more.

Mexico to tackle obesity with taxes on junk food and sugary drinks

Mexico has become the standard bearer in the global fight against obesity, after parliamentarians passed a law imposing significant new taxes on junk food and sugary drinks. Read more.

One Sociologist's Epic Quest: Walk New York City, All 120,000 Blocks

Sociologist William Helmreich has spent four years on an epic quest to crisscross the city, walking all five boroughs, all 120,000 city blocks. The result is his new book, The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City. Read more.

Paris by Wheelchair: A Seemingly Impossible Challenge

As the city of Paris prepares for the implementation of a sweeping law similar to the Americans with Disability Act (it will go into effect in just over a year), it's easy to see why. Cobblestone streets. Cozy bistros. Steep stairs, tiny bathrooms, elevators that can barely hold three standing people, let alone anybody in a wheelchair. Read more.

It's Time to Treat Bike-Share as Mass Transit

In a recent issue of the Journal of Public Transportation, UCLA planning scholars Rui Wang and Chen Liu make a strong case that U.S. cities should do a better job integrating bikes into metro transit systems. Here are five big reasons why. Read more.

A Bike Trip Towards Happiness

The “World Happiness Report” is a study by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network, aiming to determine the levels of perceived happiness in the countries according to a set of criteria ranging from average income to mental wellness to freedom of movement and action. At the ECF, we also have opinions on how certain policies (namely: pro-cycling measures) can improve the people’s well being, thus their productivity and the economy as a whole. Read more.

Mandatory Helmets: An Attack on Spanish Cycling

On October 4, 2013, the Spanish cabinet approved amendments to the existing Law on Traffic, Circulation, Motor Vehicles and Road Safety and has passed the proposed bill to Parliament for approval. Under the heading ‘Improving Road Safety’ is an amendment that could make bicycle helmets mandatory for all cyclists under the age of 18 on all roads (urban and rural). Based on the experiences of countries with mandatory helmet laws, the number of cyclists is likely to reduce with the introduction of a mandatory helmet law (Robinson 2008). Read more.

Pediatricians push to make helmets mandatory for cyclists of all ages

Children aren’t the only ones who should be required to wear a helmet while cycling, the Canadian Paediatric Society says in a paper pushing for tighter safety regulations across the country. Read more.

Realtors® Report Americans Prefer to Live in Mixed-Use, Walkable Communities

According to National Association of Realtors^®'s 2013 Community Preference Survey, 60 percent of respondents favor a neighborhood with a mix of houses and stores and other businesses that are easy to walk to, rather than neighborhoods that require more driving between home, work and recreation. Read more.

Vancouver - Politicians, business leaders sound alarm over Lower Mainland gridlock

Politicians and business leaders are flashing a giant warning sign to the province: Figure out a way to pay for a massive transit expansion in the Vancouver region or watch the economy in B.C. get strangled.

With a referendum on transit finance looming, mayors and others at a special conference on Thursday hammered home the message that traffic jams are already hurting the region. And another million people are expected in the region over the next 30 years. Read more.

UK - City to test driverless pods on pedestrian routes

Plans are being drawn up for  on-street trials of autonomous pods in Milton Keynes. The electric vehicles with capacity for two passengers would operate between the city’s railway station and the city centre, a distance of about a mile. Read more.

Bike helmet mandate for all sought by pediatricians

Bicycle helmet use should be legislated for all ages in all provinces and territories, Canadian pediatricians say. Evidence is strong that bicycle helmet legislation increases use of the safety gear and there's ample research that legislation reduces the risk of bicycle-related head injury, the Canadian Pediatric Society said Friday. Read more.

A Policy Win for Active Transportation

The Center for Active Design applauds the State of California’s adoption of the bill that created the Active Transportation Program (ATP). The ATP invests $129.5 million in walking and biking infrastructure and commits to spending at least 25 percent of program funds on projects in disadvantaged communities. The program greatly increases public spending on active transportation projects, representing a 35 percent boost in dedicated state funding.

Ottawa - Public health budget promotes food safety, active kids

More restaurant inspections and getting kids to walk or bike to school are priorities in the city's 2014 public health budget. That would include eventually developing active-transportation plans for all 230 public elementary schools in Ottawa. The city is already working on demonstration plans with 12 schools, said Ottawa Public Health manager Sherry Nigro. Read more.