Thursday, September 26, 2013

Une question de priorités...

Le fédéral n'a pas l'habitude de fouiller dans les boîtes de Cracker Jack pour financer les projets provinciaux ou municipaux. Cela se fait habituellement dans le cadre de programmes établis aux critères précis. Read more.

Bixi bike-sharing program in financial trouble

Montreal's auditor general says he seriously doubts Bixi's Montreal and Toronto bike-sharing services can continue to operate. Read more.

Ontario’s first Youth Bike Summit

This Fall, Share the Road is hosting Ontario’s first Youth Bike Summit. We are looking for 120 high school students and 80 adults to join us in Toronto October 6 & 7 to make Ontario a more bike-friendly place for youth. Read more.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Metrolinx’s Interactive #BigMove Activity

In this interactive simulation you can select number of projects you would like to see built in the GTHA (Greater Toronto/Hamilton Area) and the scale of various sampled revenue tools to see the impacts of your investment choices. Read more.

To connect or not to connect?

The lollipop cul-de-sac street patterns of many American suburbs are also meant to block; and sometimes older neighborhoods are retrofitted to block auto access, pedestrian access, or both. Read more.

A Fantastically Clear, Concise Explanation of Why Traffic Happens

Even a small drop in driving would improve congestion dramatically. One recent study of metropolitan Boston found that getting 1 percent of commuters off the road would enable the rest to get home 18 percent faster. Read more.

How D.C. Set 3 Bad Bike Lane Precedents With a Single Decision

For the most part, Washington, D.C., has done a good job in recent years of improving accommodations for bicyclists. But in its efforts to build a companion track on M Street, the city has made a controversial decision that sets three very bad precedents in one fell swoop. Read more.

Lack of transportation, not jobs, blamed for unemployment

Windsor's unemployment rate is 8.9 per cent but for some people looking for work, transportation, not lack of jobs, is the real problem. Some just can't get to the available jobs. Read more.

Friday, September 20, 2013

U.S. - Bike Commuting Continues to Rise

According to the American Community Survey, in 2012 about .64% of commutes are made by bicycle, which represents an almost 10% increase from 2011. This is the largest year-on-year increase since 2007-2008, showing that people are choosing to use their bicycles for transportation not just in response to economic crisis, but because bicycles are leading the way to recovery. In total, there were 864,883 bike commuters in 2012. Read more.

Winnipeg - Disraeli cycling, foot bridge open to public

After years of anticipation, the Disraeli cycle and foot bridge is finally open in Winnipeg. Read more.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Complete Streets Local Policy Workbook

This introductory guide serves as a starting point for transportation experts and interested local leaders to begin mapping out their own Complete Streets policies. Based on existing examples from around the country, the guide encourages local leaders to examine their community’s needs, vision, and goals. Read more.

New Report: Winning Bike-Ped Ballot Measures

Ballot measures have become an integral part of transportation finance, particularly to provide a local match for federal dollars. Bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations around the countries are looking towards ballot measures in improving transportation choices and investments. Read more.

30K: Calming the Traffic, Calming the Climate

Setting a 30km/h speed limit would make cities a lot safer while effectively reducing carbon emissions. Plus, you would not even have to be late for work. Read more.

Can London Protect Cyclists From the Danger of Trucks?

Trucks (lorries, in British English) are involved in a disproportionate number of cyclist fatalities in the U.K. capital. Fifty-three percent of cycling deaths in London between 2008 and 2012 involved trucks, although such vehicles only make up 4 percent of London traffic. Read more.

American Trails Advancing Trails Webinar Series - "Introduction to Trail Maintenance Management Planning"

Millions of dollars annually are devoted to trail development across the country. Fundamental to the sustainability of this investment in a trail system is a Trail Maintenance Management Program. Read more.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Sudbury cyclists want $400K from roads budget

Councillors discussed allotting an annual budget for cycling infrastructure, rather than leaving it up to the discretion of staff. But no dollars will be committed until budget talks later this fall. Read more.

How to Design a City for Women

In Vienna, Women used public transit more often and made more trips on foot than men. They were also more likely to split their time between work and family commitments like taking care of children and elderly parents. Recognizing this, city planners drafted a plan to improve pedestrian mobility and access to public transit. Read more.

These 2 Charts Prove American Drivers Don't Pay Enough for Roads

Many Americans may not have a clue that the country is in the midst of a road-funding crisis. On the contrary, drivers see $4 gas, and $13 tolls, and HOT lanes that charge them to drive beside free ones — and probably think road wallets run deep. A recent survey found that a quarter of Americans believe they pay twice as much in gas taxes as the national average suggests they do.

But America is in the midst of a road-funding crisis, and part of the problem is that drivers don't pay enough for roads. Read more.

ZEG Shows E-Bikes at IAA; World’s Biggest Car Show

Germany’s and Europe’s biggest dealer cooperative ZEG is presenting its 2014 e-bike Bulls range at the largest automobile show in the world, the IAA which is taking place right now in Frankfurt. Read more.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The search for a parking spot

Parking isn’t going to matter so much as cars become less central to life in the urban centers — and particularly the District — where people want to live. The seedlings of this evolution from the car culture already have taken firm root. And a tipping point looms when that icon of freedom and prestige — a fine automobile — won’t seem so sexy any more. Read more.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Transport Futures - Mobility Pricing Summit - Toronto, Nov. 18

Traffic congestion. Lost time. Crumbling roads. Increasing emissions causing climate change and smog. Few transportation choices. And no new revenue sources to fix these problems. To answer these multi-faceted questions and fill a critical void in the development of sustainable transportation policy in Ontario, Healthy Transport Consulting spearheaded Transport Futures in November 2008.  An ongoing series of learning events, Transport Futures explores the complex interactions associated with transportation demand management and infrastructure funding issues. Read more.

Much talk but little action on improving city for Toronto’s ‘Little Bike People’

In 2011, Toronto council pushed through new plans for the bikeway network. Some features:
  • Install cycle tracks on Bloor Street East, from Sherbourne to Broadview, in 2011
  • Install cycle tracks on Wellesley in 2012
  • “Assess the feasibility of separated bike lanes on Adelaide Street and/or Richmond Street.”
  • Install cycle tracks on Harbord Street and Hoskins Avenue next year.
But little of this has been done. A “delivery schedule” says the city will build the Wellesley cycle track from Yonge to Parliament between May and September, 2013. The work has not begun. Read more.

Is skateboarding a crime?

BAM’s film series about skateboarding culture get its name from a laptop sticker slogan, “Skateboarding is Not a Crime.” But is it true? Read more.

Distracted walking: Taking your life in your hands

A man steps into a busy intersection, head down, thumbs tapping out a message on his cellphone. Read more.

Motorists were told to 'park it' in Uptown Waterloo

Thousands of people on foot had the right-of-way during Open Streets Waterloo, an event originally created to encourage active transportation. Read more.

Driver who knocked down Vancouver cyclist had right of way

A driver who rear-ended and injured a cyclist in East Vancouver six years ago will not have to compensate the man for his injuries, a B.C. Supreme Court Justice has ruled. Read more.

Examples of bike parking strategies at our schools

Schools present a special case for bicycle parking. There are a number of issues that inform the design of installations and the choice of racks at schools. Case studies.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Weekend bike race takes over Montreal roads

Twenty-one teams of professional cyclists will bike more than 200 kilometres on Sunday — 17 laps of a 12-kilometre course that will take them around Mount-Royal Park. Read more.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Bike helmets crucial, urges mother

A P.E.I. mother who lost her 14-year-old son in a cycling accident hopes to send a message this weekend about the importance of wearing helmets. Read more.

Active and Safe Routes to School Manitoba Newsletter

Read their fall newsletter.

TCAT Releases New Report: The Other 25% - Active Transportation and the Big Move

The Toronto Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT) is pleased to release today a new report titled "The Other 25%: Active Transportation Investment and The Big Move." It presents research supporting the case for investment in active transportation through the regional transportation plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA): The Big Move. Read more.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

German Chancellor Merkel Likes Cargo Bikes

While the trend towards Pedelecs and E-Bikes keeps growing, the next big thing in cycling is peeking out on the horizon. Electrically-enabled cargo bikes are making their entrance in more and more places where quick, sustainable and space-saving delivery and transport are needed – and now, even Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel might consider getting one. Read more.

Fredericton is a city made for walking

More than 88 kilometres of hiking and biking trails lace this city of 48,000 and at noon hour on summer days you practically need a traffic cop to regulate the sneaker traffic. Read more.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Thunder Bay e-bikers need regulation, critics say

Thunder Bay Police say uneducated cyclists are putting the public in danger by driving their electric bikes on the sidewalk. Read more.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Why is North Korea Adopting Skateboarding?

According to Al [Alejandro Cao de Benós de Les y Pérezis is the Special Delegate for the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries], skateboarding is beneficial to North Koreans for health, concentration and domain of the body, which is the most sense I got out of anyone throughout this whole ordeal. Read more.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Winnipeg - City's plan for active transport revived

The City of Winnipeg has revived a bike-and-pedestrian strategy the cancellation of which earlier this summer sparked an outcry from cycling activists. Read more.

Video - How Bicycles Can Save Small Town America

An explanation of how bike travel can revitalize rural areas. See video.

Midland - Non-Motorized Transportation Plan update vote Monday

The City of Midland is updating its Non-Motorized Transportation Plan after successfully installing bike lanes and routes throughout the city and improving pedestrian access in recent years. Read more.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Stranded in a Sea of Cars, Where Speedometers Barely Budge

Instead of acting as conduits, many streets and highways have morphed into human retention ponds. Experts say that drivers have become increasingly trapped in a sea of idling cars as the middle class has grown and bought into driving, and as government construction on a second level to the main peripheral highway creates havoc. Read more.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Ontario’s new Cycling Strategy: bold vision applauded; bold action still required

The new Cycling Strategy forms a solid and bold policy base to help shape a safer and more accessible transportation system for all Ontarians, regardless of mode of transportation. Read more.

Vélo Québec veut que les villes visent plus haut

Les objectifs des grandes villes du Québec en matière d’aménagement pour les cyclistes sont trop timides et les échéanciers sont trop longs, déplore Vélo Québec. Read more (en francais).

Nova Scotia - Bikeways Planning and Development Workshops: October 7 & 10

The Ecology Action Centre in partnership with Bicycle Nova Scotia and the NS Department of Health and Wellness will offer two Bikeway Planning and Development Workshops:
 
  • Sydney Workshop: Mon., October 7 (9 am to 5 pm), location TBA
  • Halifax Workshop: Thurs., October 10 (9 am to 5 pm), location TBA

This training, delivered by Velo Quebec, will provide participants with a thorough understanding of the key steps involved in a bikeway development project. It’s an opportunity to learn the basics of planning strategies, design, analysis, facility selection and security. This training is designed for those involved in planning cycling as a mode of transportation or recreation: transportation professionals, planners and developers, parks and recreation officials, etc.

The cost is $150 and includes participant workshop notes, Planning and Design for Pedestrians and Cyclists guide, lunch and nutrition breaks. To learn details about the workshop and to register, go here: http://tiny.cc/2x8m2w. First come, first served. The deadline for registration is Oct. 2 for Sydney and Oct. 4 for Halifax.

Vancouver, San Francisco: Bike Lanes Boost Revenue for Retailers

While myths about the power of the four passenger auto still abound, many retailers in the Bay Area have discovered that customers who come by bike can be as good a source of revenue, if not better, than those who come by car. Read more.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Boardwalk expansion plan raises safety concerns

A group in Charlottetown is trying to stop a plan to allow cyclists on the city's boardwalk. Read more.

Propositions 2014-2021 de Vélo Québec

Want to know the state of cycling in Canada's - North America's - most progressive jurisdiction? And, perhaps more importantly, where they want to go in the next seven years to make things even better? Then you will want to read this document, just released.

It is available in French only, but well worth whatever effort is required to read.

Victoria County active transportation gets funding from province

While Victoria County received $15,000 to further its active transportation master plan in the second round of the provincial funding, the hope is for a further $55,000 from the province as part of a cost-shared formula to fully implement the $120,000 initiative. Read more.

Tensions Linger as Bike-Share Plans Gear Up

The Uptown Planners considered two bike related items, and though neither received a vote that changed much of anything, the meeting became an occasionally heated stand-off between the packed room of cycling advocates and those who see bike investment as an encroachment on their lifestyle. Read more.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Economic benefits of cycling in the EU-27

Calculating all internal and external benefits of cycling together and adding the turnover of related industries, ECF estimates the number to be well above € 200 bn annually, or more than € 400 for every person that lives in the EU. Read more.

Walk to school, says Windsor-Essex health unit

The Windsor Essex County Health Unit is concerned not enough students are walking to school. Twenty-four per cent said they walk or cycle regularly. That number signifies a generational shift because 58 per cent of Canadian parents said they walked to school as children. Read more.

Monday, September 2, 2013

America's Driving Less, and This Evidence Suggests It's Not About the Economy

Driving has been on the decline in the United States since 2004, as researchers have documented every which way. What they still don't know, though, is precisely why. The answer likely has to do with some messy mix of rising gas prices, changing demographics, new technology, a souring economy and the shifting preferences of Millennial drivers. Read more.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Video - Understanding the world's urban future

Even in a country like the United States that is already 80 percent or so urban, people are still moving to the cities – at a rate of more than 1 percent each year. What does it all mean? Watch video.