Annals of Cycling – 66

An occasional update on items from the Velo-city.

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THANK YOU, CITY OF VANCOUVER

Says Ken Ohrn, who’s happy to give cedit for something he likes:

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Yukon Street, at least in this area north of Broadway, has a wider than normal bike lane with a buffer of painted lines — and nifty green bike boxes too.  I really like these additions.

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GREATER THINGS FOR GREATER VICTORIA

Richard Campbell passes along a news report from Saanich, the major municipality in the Capital Regional District, with some highlights:

• A recent study suggested that 82 per cent of Candians support spending to create dedicated bike lanes.
• Last year, the CRD completed its Pedestrian and Cycling Masterplan. It identifies $275 million in needed infrastructure improvements to create an integrated cycling network, including 329 kilometres of separated bike lanes.
• In the meantime, the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition will be lobbying four municipalities in the fall – Victoria, Saanich, Esquimalt and Oak Bay – with the hope of convincing them to dedicate 20 per cent of their transportation budgets to cycling facilities.

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BICYCLES COUNT IN PORTLAND

We need one of these:

From now on, people crossing the Hawthorne Bridge by bike will count. Literally. A new bike counter (a.k.a. the bicycle barometer) — the first of its kind in the United States — went live at midnight last night and at this morning’s press conference the number was already well over 2,000.

More here in bikeportland.org.

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LATIN AMERICA GEARS UP

There’s a tendency to focus on Europe and North America when looking at the growth of cycling.  Doug Clarke sends along a Wall Street Journal article that reminds us that this is a global phenomenon:

Across Latin America, a region known for its aggressive drivers, growing numbers  of commuters are doing the unthinkable: Ditching their cars for bicycles.

When introduced, most of the region’s bicycle programs were roundly lampooned by skeptics, who chortled over the idea that the practice in cities such as Paris and Copenhagen could be replicated on the cracked concrete of Latin America’s anarchic urban streets.

More here.

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