Chicago plans safe bike lanes

Chicago's Bike 2015 master plan for bicycling proposes a 500-mile bike way network for Chicago residents. Today, Chicago has more than 100 miles of on-street bike lanes and more than 155 miles of signed bike routes.

The plan calls for increasing bicycle use, so that 5 percent of all trips of less than five miles are by bicycle; reducing the number of bicycle injuries by 50 percent from current levels.

New York - "Floating Parking" & Bike Buffer Zone in Separated Bike Lanes

A short, and interesting, video showing how buffered cycletracks work in practice in various New York locations.

It perhaps indicates how far behind we are falling in Canadian cities. First it was Europe, now it is the US. [-MH]

Los Angeles plans 1600 mile cycle lane network

To some, a Los Angeles bike lane might sound like an oxymoron, but ABC news reports that the City of Angels has plans to build more than 1600 miles of cycling infrastructure. The city authorities have agreed a cycling master plan which will create a cycling and walking network in a metropolis where the car has been the dominant mode of transport for nigh on a hundred years.

New York - Battle of the Bike Lanes

Today, of course, bicycling is almost universally regarded as a serious, eco-friendly mode of transport, and cyclists want it easy. From San Francisco to London, local governments are introducing bike lanes, bike parks, bike-rental schemes, and other policies designed to encourage two-wheel motion. Generally speaking, I don’t have a problem with this movement: indeed, I support it. But the way it has been implemented, particularly in New York, irks me to no end. I view the Bloomberg bike-lane policy as a classic case of regulatory capture by a small faddist minority intent on foisting its bipedalist views on a disinterested or actively reluctant populace.

Us Justice ruling on motorized devices driven by "individuals with mobility disabilities"

Under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II this DOJ rule applies to trails on State or local government lands. Also under the ADA Title III it applies to other “public accommodations” that would include trails open to the public on privately or commercially managed lands. Federal agency managed lands are not directly covered under the ADA, however this rule sets legal precedents the Federal agencies must watch. So the Federal agencies are also reviewing their policies, procedures, and the way in which trails on the land base they manage have been assessed.

[This is an issue on Canadian trails as well. -MH]

New Brunswick - Snowy sidewalks make wheelchair travel risky

Snow covered sidewalks, huge snow banks and reduced visibility are making travelling by foot treacherous enough in New Brunswick, but for people using wheelchairs and mobility scooters, the risks are even worse.

US - Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals

The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals is the only professional membership organization for the discipline of pedestrian and bicycle transportation.

TCAT's Complete Streets Forum

Please save the date for TCAT's fourth annual active transportation conference – the Complete Streets Forum – taking place on April 28 and 29, 2011.

Vancouver - “Active transportation” plan for 2011 will see $2 million in pedestrian, cycling improvements

Pedestrians, cyclists and almost every city neighbourhood will benefit from $2 million in strategic “active transportation” investments proposed in this year’s capital spending program, headed to [Vancouver] city council for approval.

Measuring the Global Health Impact of Transportation Reform

The relationship between active transportation and public health can seem so plainly obvious that we tend to take it for granted. Who could question that air pollution, obesity, and road fatalities are major public health concerns that have a direct connection to the availability of safe and convenient travel options other than driving?