Bikie Item Potpourri

Here are several items from PT readers:

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Doug Clarke:

Cyclists would be safer around self-driving cars. Self-driving cars would be compliant with regulations.  A big shift in the whole experience of using the roads, for all users.

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Ken Ohrn:

Note how this plays out.  The robo-car gives absolute priority to the person on the bike.  Ya know, so that no one gets killed.  We can only wish for this sort of behaviour from that lethal minority of aggressive, risk-taking or drunk or distracted motor vehicle operators.  Ya know, those people whose actions we choose to ignore. And let the blood flow.

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From North Van City Mayor Darrell Mussatto who rode a bike escalator while no doubt thinking of Lonsdale: “I made my way to Trondheim, Norway, to check this out. It does the job for recreational cyclists!! Love it!”

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Ken Ohrn also sums up a piece, unfortunately not linkable, from Australia on helmet laws:

Bike helmet laws a turn-off

Doctors have urged parliament to dismantle laws requiring cyclists to wear helmets, saying the safety measure is dissuading unfit Australians from riding their bicycles.

In short:

1. Helmets are good.  They might save a head injury in a few types of crash.
2. Mandatory helmet laws are bad.  They discourage people from riding their bikes, so they don’t reap the immediate and personal benefits of riding.
3. There are much better ways to keep people on bikes safe.

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A month old, but worth posting because, hey, it’s in The Province and its positive:

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Our Vancouver Diarist, Dianna passes along this observation:

A friend recently installed a seat on her bike for her two-year-old son and they went for their first ride around their neighbourhood. On the first hill Mom realized that climbing with an additional 28 pounds plus the seat required her to stand up to pedal. What fun for her young passenger who pounded his tiny fists on her back, “Faster, mommie, faster faster!”

Then (and here you need to see things from his point of view) he puts one chubby hand on each side of her bottom and giggled, “Poot! Poot! Poot!” – the sound, it seems, that her, um, butt was making.  All the way up the hill, I understand, Mom struggled to breath while laughing.

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Another one from Ohrn:

Spinlister is part of the emerging and quickly growing sharing economy (AirBnB, Uber, Lyft) and here is reviewed by Vancouverite Hilary Angus on location in New Orleans.

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Perhaps this could work for dear old Soggyville, providing an availability threshold can be reached. It does seem to be more suitable for visitors, tourists and those who want longer-term access, and less for the local citizen who just wants to get a bike for a few minutes, go somewhere, dock it and be done.

Find out more here:  click on “How It Works” to see an explanatory video.

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Colin Brander picked up on this:

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WASHINGTON — The Capital Bikeshare program is easing D.C.’s traffic congestion, a new study suggests.

“The introduction of a Capital Bike Share dock reduced traffic congestion by about 2 to 3 percent in its immediate area,” said Casey J. Wichman, fellow at think tank Resources for the Future.