An occasional update on items from the Velo-city.
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THE ‘PIBAL’
From Atlantic Cities:
Philippe Starck‘s … latest project hails out of left field: It’s a line of chic scooter-cycle hybrids for a new bike-sharing program in Bordeaux, France.
The utilitarian presentation makes sense when you understand it’s doubling as a light-duty scooter, with a flat “stool” below the pedals that riders can rest their feet on during downhill cruising or use as a one-legged pushing platform in crowded spaces. There’s also a basket in the front that looks big enough to carry a squished-up passenger (although that’s probably not advisable).
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THE LOOSENING NOOSE
From Planetizen:
This might seem like an item only of interest to policy wonks, but it’s also another sign of the lessing impact of Motordom:
In news that’s sure to please active transportation advocates, outgoing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced his agency will ditch AASHTO’s9American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’) outdated guidelines and develop its own standards for bicycle and pedestrian safety.
“For years, the federal government has adopted roadway guidelines [based on AASHTO’s Green Book] that fall far short of what’s needed — and what’s possible — to protect cyclists and pedestrians,” says Tanya Snyder. “By ‘playing it safe’ and sticking with old-school engineering, U.S. DOT allowed streets to be unsafe for these vulnerable road users.”
“In FHWA’s new round of rule-making, DOT will set its own bicycle and pedestrian safety standards for the first time. The agency will ‘highlight bicycle and pedestrian safety as a priority,’ LaHood said.”
“It’s a big step for U.S. DOT to craft its own bicycle and pedestrian safety standards, and it’s especially positive that the move started under a secretary that sees biking and walking as equal to driving in the transportation world,” adds Snyder.
“In FHWA’s new round of rule-making, DOT will set its own bicycle and pedestrian safety standards for the first time. The agency will ‘highlight bicycle and pedestrian safety as a priority,’ LaHood said.”
“It’s a big step for U.S. DOT to craft its own bicycle and pedestrian safety standards, and it’s especially positive that the move started under a secretary that sees biking and walking as equal to driving in the transportation world,” adds Snyder.
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FROM CALGARY TO COPENHAGEN: WHAT THE CLOTHES SAY
In Copenhagen … I was riding in the midst of a group of well-made women, all heels, and knit hats and well-tailored jackets… Sure, it was winter wear – scarves and heavy coats were the norm – but it was more like the winter wear you’d see on downtown office workers than the Arctic gear Calgary cyclists tend to wear.
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Sure, you might be thinking, but that’s Copenhagen, a place with a focus on fashion and on mild winters. I thought the same thing (although, for the record, it was warmer in Calgary for my entire trip), until I saw Oulu in northern Finland, a much colder, snowy city.
Here, I saw much the same thing. People wore winter gear – heavier coats and ski gloves were more common – but nothing specific to cycling. No Lycra, no reflective stripes, and few helmets (I saw maybe one in 20 cyclists in both cities wearing helmets). People wore their regular clothes, with a few modifications for winter, not unlike what most of us do on a typical winter day – long underwear and tuques, perhaps.
More here.
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DECONSTUCTING THE ‘WAR ON THE CAR’
Craig Benjamin, Policy and Government Affairs Manager at the Cascade Bicycle Club, did it here:
“We deconstructed the ‘war on cars’ story into its component pieces,” recalled Craig on a recent Mutual Aid Call with the Alliance. “One of the funnest days I ever spent was looking at all the stories in our opposition. They were saying the same thing over and over again.”
Based on a thorough analysis of stories that utilized the “war on cars” meme, he developed this summary:
- Our city is waging a war on cars that is making traffic worse.
- Politicians controlled by the bicycle lobby are doing too much for bicyclists and making things harder for families who need to drive.
- Bicyclists are a small, extreme minority who do not speak for most of our city’s residents and they don’t pay their fair share for our transportation system.
- It’s like our city is being taken over by social engineers who are trying to force us out of our cars.
- How dare they take away my freedom to control my commute by driving and parking easily?
“That story is the basic outline of our opposition’s narrative,” Craig said. “It doesn’t contain any facts, statistics, or figures. It has a very clear structure with villains and heroes.”
Find out what they did about it here.
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Author
Re: Philippe Starck bicycle –
It doesn’t make sense. Coasting downhill, just put the bike pedals horizontally and rest your feet. In that position, if you’re approaching a rough patch, you can just raise slightly off the saddle to cushion the bump. And in crowded spaces, how is pushing the bike with one foot easier than walking it? All that extra metal just made the bike heavier.
However, the yellow scarf and matching tires are dashing, though the tires could use reflective sidewalls. Starck may be a very cool designer, but he should stick to scooters.
– Michael Alexander