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MOST PEOPLE LIKE BIKE LANES. REPEAT: MOST PEOPLE LIKE BIKE LANES
News1130 reports:
An Insights West poll finds the majority of men, women, people who take transit, and drivers from across the Lower Mainland support separated bike lanes.
The pollster Mario Canseco explains the results in a Sun article:
Lower Mainland, 61 per cent of residents support the bike lanes, while only 33 per cent oppose them. Among City of Vancouver residents, satisfaction reaches 64 per cent. …
Now, a year and a half before (Mayor) Robertson seeks a new term in office, the highest level of animosity toward the bike lanes comes from residents over the age of 55. Still, a majority of these prospective voters have no problem with the initiative. …
As time goes by, Vancouverites have become accustomed to separated bike lanes, much in the same way drivers got used to wearing seat belts when they became mandatory across British Columbia in 1977. While there continues to be a discernible group that definitely dislikes the concept, a sizable proportion of younger and middleaged respondents are supportive – and many of them drive cars to get to school or work.
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PULP HEADS
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The designers say that Eeach helmet is so cheap to produce that they could be sold for £1 each (US$1.50) from vending machines or local stores.
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CHICAGO’S DIVVY BIKESHARE ROLLS OUT
Vancouver is lagging faster and faster behind other cities in North America rolling out their bikeshare systems. Chicago launched June 28, with the usual ritual of skeptical media, initial hiccups and immediate acceptance.
From chi.streetsblog.org:
To hear the Chicago Tribune tell it, people who used the Divvy bike-share system on its first day of operations last Friday experienced nothing but headaches. But on Sunday I rode a Divvy to and attempted to dock at all 68 of the existing stations and witnessed only a few glitches. For the most part, these seemed like minor speed bumps as the bike-share staffers and users get accustomed to this brand-new infrastructure. I also spoke to plenty of satisfied customers along the way
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ONE OF THE LEAST CYCLING-FRIENDLY CITIES IN EUROPE
It’s Brussels, surprisingly.
This doc, Brussels Express, shot from the view of a two renegade bike couriers, shows why.
With only 4% bicycle traffic, the city suffers from some of the worst congestion in Europe.
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Maybe the best way to kill the helmet law is to make a mockery of it. A good start would be to provide those pulp helmets to everyone who signs up.
Gordon wrote: “Vancouver is lagging faster and faster behind other cities in North America rolling out their bikeshare systems.”
Best to delay the bikeshare until we get the helmet law revoked, at least for bike share bikes if nothing else. Better to have a late, successful bike share implementation than an early failure.