London goes Dutch

The next Mayor of London must prioritise safe and convenient bike lanes and make junctions and roundabouts less dangerous if they want to encourage more cycling, according to a YouGov survey published today. The survey, which suggests over half a million Londoners already cycle at least once a week, coincides with the launch of the London Cycling Campaign’s Love London, Go Dutch petition, which calls on the mayoral election candidates to commit to more people-friendly streets and continental-standard cycle facilities in the capital. 51% of Londoners said the next Mayor can take action to encourage them to cycle more, with 78% of those people naming safe and convenient bikes lanes all over London or safer junctions and roundabouts as their top priority. 16 cyclists were killed on London’s road last year, up from 10 in 2011.  Velo Mondial has just signed the Love London Go Dutch petition organised by the London Cycling Campaign as part of their 2012 mayoral election campaign. And I'd be delighted if you signed it too...  Make London more liveable for everyone by making the streets as safe and inviting for cycling as they are in Th Netherlands. Please follow this link to join the many thousands of ordinary people who’ve already offered their support.

Sustainable Mobility on Amsterdam Canals

Green Trucks Toolkit

The Green Trucks Toolkit was developed by the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) with support from Asian Development Bank to assist trucks companies reduce fuel use and emissions from their truck fleets. Freight is the backbone of economic trade in Asia and by 2050 Asia will account for 29% of the global truck travel activity. By 2050, medium and heavy freight trucks worldwide will consume 1,240 billion liters of fuel and Asia’s share will be 34%. Higher fuel use translates to higher levels of particulate matter and carbon dioxide emissions which impacts human health and contributes to global warming. Based on the UNEP-TNT Clean Fleet Management Toolkit, the Green Trucks Toolkit can be used to estimate carbon dioxide and air pollutant emissions from fleets, and determine fleet efficiency indicators, such as emissions per ton-km and fuel consumed per ton-km. The tool also evaluates various improvement strategies and technologies ranging from eco-driving, idling reduction, low-rolling resistance tires and emission control devices. The toolkit was tested by 30 freight transport companies from Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam  The tool may be accessed here.

Cycling should be both safe and pleasurable

The Times has launched a public campaign and 8-point manifesto calling for cities to be made fit for cyclists. 1. Lorries entering a city centre should be required by law to fit sensors, audible turning alarms, extra mirrors and safety bars to stop cyclists being thrown under the wheels 2. The 500 most dangerous road junctions must be identified, redesigned or fitted with priority traffic lights for cyclists and Trixi mirrors that allow lorry drivers to see cyclists on their near-side. 3. A national audit of cycling to find out how many people cycle in Britain and how cyclists are killed or injured should be held to underpin effective cycle safety. 4. Two per cent of the Highways Agency budget should be earmarked for next generation cycle routes, providing £100 million a year towards world-class cycling infrastructure. Each year cities should be graded on the quality of cycling provision. 5. The training of cyclists and drivers must improve and cycle safety should become a core part of the driving test. 6. 20mph should become the default speed limit in residential areas where there are no cycle lanes. 7. Businesses should be invited to sponsor cycleways and cycling super-highways, mirroring the Barclays-backed bicycle hire scheme in London. 8. Every city, even those without an elected mayor, should appoint a cycling commissioner to push home reforms. Read more here.

 

Green Freight in Asia

Freight is the Cinderella of the transport sector worldwide but especially in Asia. Government policies tend to focus on private vehicles and public transport more than on trucks. Whether it is the introduction of cleaner fuels, fuel economy standards, tax incentives or investments in infrastructure to improve transport, the freight sector is still behind. This is despite of a huge potential to reduce fuel use and costs, and CO2 and air pollutant emissions from trucks in Asia. "Empty miles" (miles traveled without a load) is high and exacerbated by a fragmented sector, and thus efforts to improve freight logistics are initiated across Asia. A new Green Freight Website aims to improve access to information on policies and programs, technologies and logistics, and data relevant to the freight sector, especially for developing countries. By providing a platform for shippers, carriers, logistics providers, government agencies, practitioners and other stakeholders, they hope to encourage debate, sharing of experiences and establishing collaboration Information on the Green Freight and Logistics website is funded by the Energy Foundation and the World Bank, and with the support from other partners.

Optimising Bike Sharing in Europe - A handbook

In recent years, numerous and diverse BSSs have been implemented in European cities. Starting with free, low-tech offers by a few enthusiasts, the schemes went through a two-fold development: high-tech systems with thousands of bikes and major funding requirements; and smaller, less expensive systems with lower usage rates. However, bike sharing is a recent development and little information regarding the suitability of different BSS models is available.The OBIS handbook presents interesting facts and figures from bike sharing schemes (BSS) in ten European countries. Scheme characteristics such as technology, scheme size, service design etc. are described in connection with external factors of the cities. Finally the handbook gives comprehensive advice for all three stages in the lifetime of a BSS: Planning, Implementation, Optimisation. The OBIS handbook is useful for local, regional and central governments involved in traffic issues, bike sharing providers and other companies and organisations related to bike sharing (such as providers of street furniture, outdoor advertisers, municipal parking operators), public transport operators, urban planners and cycling organisations. Obis_Handbook.pdf

Improving Motor Cycle Safety

Throughout the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and across the world, riders and passengers of motorcycles and scooters are among the most vulnerable road users. Such vulnerability is especially pertinent for nations that more often use motorcycles and scooters as a method of transportation. This compendium aims to facilitate implementation of best practice countermeasures to improve motorcycle safety in APEC member economies.For information all kinds of information visit the Economies page. To read about important issues and contributing factors to serious crashes, injuries and deaths of motorcycle and scooter users, visit the Issues page. To learn about countermeasures to improve motorcycle safety and how to evaluate programs, visit the Safety Interventions page. To see examples of treatments and programs implemented by APEC member economies, visit the Case Studies page. Useful links and selected references are located on the Links page. More information about this Compendium, a glossary of terms and acronyms used, and links to download the Report to APEC and Literature Review on which this Compendium is based, can be found on the About page.

Less cars, more mopeds .....

The number of snorfietsen – light mopeds allowed on bicycle paths, often scooters – has grown almost 3 times as fast in Amsterdam as elsewhere in the Netherlands. Almost 6,000 people have signed a petition against nuisance from scooters, but Alderman Wiebes wants to continue allowing scooters on bicycle paths. Next Thursday, the city council will discuss a proposal from GroenLinks to deal with scooter nuisance. Along with Landsmeer, Laren and Bloemendaal, Amsterdam is among the cities with the highest growth in snorfietsen. The number of serious traffic accidents involving scooters has also risen sharply. According to the municipality, one of the main causes is speeding by scooter riders. A study by cyclists’ organisation Fietsersbond found that 94% of scooters on bicycle paths in Amsterdam exceed the speed limit. Many cyclists think this is a reason why scooters do not belong on bicycle paths. By contrast, Alderman Wiebes thinks the reckless driving by scooter riders is a reason to keep them on bicycle paths, for otherwise ‘a nuisance to cyclists is traded for an even higher risk for snorfietsers (…) while the accident rate for mopeds and snorfietsen is very high as it is'.  Are we heading towards Taipei? Source: Nieuws uit Amsterdam

Does Car Travel equal business?

As gross domestic product (GDP) tends to increase with car travel, some critics argue that a reduction of car travel will harm the economy. However, the correlation between GDP and car travel does not prove that economic growth is caused by car travel. Most developed countries are increasing their GDP per unit of energy and mobility, showing that these economies are becoming more efficient. The paper 'Are VMT Reduction Targets Justified?' (VTPI, 2011) contains many interesting graphs (mostly about the USA) indicating that economic productivity in urban regions tends to increase with declining car travel, declining roadway supply, increasing public transport use and even increasing fuel prices. Conventional transport economic evaluation tends to focus on a limited set of impacts (travel time, congestion delay, vehicle operation costs, accident costs). Other economic impacts are often overlooked, like parking costs, vehicle ownership costs, car infrastructure construction and maintenance costs. This leads to a distortion of project appraisal in favour of car transport improvements. There is an optimal level of automobile travel, beyond which marginal costs of car traffic exceed marginal benefits. Extensive guidance on transport cost-benefit analysis can be found on VTPI's website.

Better streets in India

'Better Streets,Better Cities', is a guide to designing streets in urban India. Current street design practice in India is often based on a vision of high-speed motorized mobility that does not take into account the variety and types of activities that actually take place in Indian streets. While streets are often designed from the centerline outward, Better Streets, Better Cities urges planners to explore an alternate approach that prioritizes the needs of pedestrians and cyclists. The guide begins with a discussion of sixteen street elements, such as footpaths, cycle tracks, medians, and spaces for street vending, covering the importance of each element as well as implementation challenges and design criteria. While existing NMT infrastructure in Indian cities is implemented with good intent, design shortcomings resulting from a failure to account for the practical needs of pedestrians and cyclists often mean that these facilities remain unused. The guide indicates how these pitfalls can be avoided. Next is a library of design templates for various rights-of-way, followed by sample intersections. The final section describes the process of street design—from data collection, surveys, and analysis to the preparation of
final plans—using a real-world example of an urban intersection to explain methodological issues.