An occasional update on items from the Velo-city.
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THE SADIK-KHAN INTERVIEW
Took a while for New York-based NBC to get around to exploring change in its neighbourhood, but this interview with NYC Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan covers the ground.
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Streetsblog includes its defensive critique, but on the whole it’s okay – and deals with some of the same perceptions we get in Vancouver with our separated lanes.
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THE NEXT BIG ISSUE
Adriane Carr was the only successful city-council candidate to state in a Straight pre-election questionnaire that she supported expanding the Burrard Bridge bike-lane program to two lanes. … Carr said she was “shocked” to learn that all of Vision Vancouver’s councillors, many of them cyclists, answered no in the questionnaire to expanding the lane program. NPA councillor-elect George Affleck also voted no, while NPA councillor-elect Elizabeth Ball did not respond to the questionnaire.
There’s an accompanying poll, which indicates opinion is split.
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THE HELMET DILEMMA
As Vancouver proceeds with bids for a bikesharing system, applicants are struggling with the compulsary helmet requirement. Here’s a proposed solution by one bidder:
Each time you rent a bike, you will be asked “do you need a helmet?” If yes, you will pay an extra dollar and a $25 deposit for one. Your deposit will be returned when you drop the helmet off into the helmet return chute at the next station. After each use, the helmets’ structural integrity will be checked and they will be thoroughly sanitized using a proven two-step cleaning process with built-in redundancy.
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CHICAGO SEPARATES
Ron Richings sends this video along of Chicago’s new separated bike lanes: “Not quite as spiffy as Vancouver’s Cycle Tracks, but Chicago plans to install many more of these in the near future.”
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Despite her stance on the Burrard Street Bridge, Carr continues to push the notion of “bike free streets” in the City of Vancouver, claiming that bicycles are the cause of traffic congestion. This seems incredibly misguided and misinformed, further vilifying and creating barriers for cyclists in Vancouver, and causing a drain of police resources.
Speaking of, I received my first ticket on Monday morning for riding helmet-free, while crossing Granville Street on the Off-Broadway Bikeway. The officer found it necessary to pull me over with flashing lights, issue a $29 ticket, and then insist he was “doing me favour” by not charging me the city by-law violation of $100. Surely the police have better things to do than ticket well-dressed cyclists cruising on bike boulevards?
It is my understanding that the bikeshare “proposal” shown above is the actual system that will be used in Vancouver. Despite almost every other city in the world creating helmet law exemptions for bikeshare systems, and Melbourne refusing to do so (and failing spectacularly), we’re going to stubborning try to attempt the impossible. The London bikeshare managed 7.5 million trips in it’s first year without any serious injuries or deaths, and no helmets are required there.
The Chicago video clip is an inspiring one, and makes you realize that Vancouver has some work to do in it’s bid to become the “World’s Greenest City”. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel intends to build 100 miles of separated bike lanes in his first term. Janette Sadik-Khan has installed 250-miles since 2007. Robertson has built less than 10 miles in three years. I hope the recent mandate given to Vision Vancouver results in a much bolder expansion of bicycle infrastructure, as we’ve seen elsewhere in North America.
The Georgia Straight poll indicates pretty strong support for allowing pedestrians back on the east sidewalk of Burrard Bridge by reallocating another lane of traffic for a separated bike lane on the east side. 55% are in favour with only 37% against. In politics, that would be a landslide victory.
Chris covers all the points I’d want to make (Amen!) so I’ll stick to bullet summaries:
1. Carr’s messaging on cyclists is indeed sadly mixed. Naivete?
2. Hat-sharing.
The great & good in the Bikeshare BC team surely marks them for a shoe-in. Nevertheless, the danger of the city backing an OV-style debt disaster remains. Also, please explain how the structural integrity of helmets can be checked. http://www.livestrong.com/article/167161-bicycle-helmet-facts/
3. Chicago’s lanes.
I’d take a complete, usable network of one-way lanes over “spiffyness” any day.
How does one check a helmet’s integrity when the warning is that damage is invisible?
Not to mention the question of why Burrard Bridge support is so low…
It is a pity the “new world” has fallen so deep into the trap of nanny stating that they do not have the ability to let people decide for themselves on cycling helmets. Here in sunny Australia two cycling schemes (Melbourne and Brisbane) is ticking on the side of failure simply due to the helmet issue. Somehow the Europeans are just more evolved than the rest, when it comes to helmets
Holy Cow! The Kona bike share system is awesome! i never thought the helmets could be incorporated in a thoughful and cool way but they seemed to pull it off. me likey!