Oceans and oceans of bicycles in Amsterdam

While cities like New York struggle to get people onto bikes, Amsterdam is trying to keep its hordes of bikes under control. In a city of 800,000, there are 880,000 bicycles, the government estimates, four times the number of cars. In the past two decades, travel by bike has grown by 40 percent so that now about 32 percent of all trips within the city are by bike, compared with 22 percent by car.

Applauding this accomplishment, a Danish urban planning consultancy, Copenhagenize Design, which publishes an annual list of the 20 most bike-friendly cities, placed Amsterdam in first place this year, as it has frequently in the past. (The list consists mostly of European cities, though Tokyo; Nagoya, Japan; and Rio de Janeiro made the cut. Montreal is the only North American city included.)

But many Amsterdamers say it is not so much the traffic jams like those at the morning ferry that annoy them most, but the problem of where to park their bikes once they get to where they’re going, in a city with almost more water than paved surfaces. Read on in the NYT here. To tackle this problem Velo Mondial has designed a Low Lijn: Lounge & Bicycle Garden that the city debates now.

Tokyo Bicycle Parking Garage storing 200 bikes.

30km standard urban speed limit; Vote Now

Speed limits of 30km/h (20mph) save lives. Since the first 30km/h zone was started as a pilot project in the small German town of Buxtehude in 1983, numerous 20-mph zones throughout Europe have proven their worth. Wherever these zones come in, the number and the severity of accidents is reduced considerably. A limit of 30km/h (20 mph) in all residential areas improves air quality, as far fewer exhaust gases are emitted, making an important contribution to public health. 30 km/h (20 mph) limits are an inexpensive and popular way to improve safety, cut pollution and encourage smarter travel choices. They lead to improved traffic flow and less congestion. People can move without fear. And so we want to achieve these benefits for the whole of the European Union. What is our vision? 30 km/h shall become the standard speed limits for villages, towns and cities with local authorities being able to decide on exemptions. We want the commission to come up with a proposal to introduce 30 km/h speed limits.  We are determined to make every effort to collect the more than 1 million signatures needed within one year from at least 7 different member states of the EU. Velo Mondial signed, why don't you (although they ask a lot, be brave and make a change ! Sign now!

Dutch PM inspects troops in Afghanistan

New York's Citi Bike has a lift off!

Five years ago, the New York City Department of Transportation signaled its interest in creating an extensive bike-share system “to accommodate a wide range of potential short trips.” Now New Yorkers have that system at their fingertips. With today’s launch of Citi Bike, there’s a new travel option in the mix – 6,000 bikes at 330 stations that will extend the reach of the transit system and expand access to the point-to-point convenience of bicycling.“I am thrilled to declare that as of this moment, Citi Bike, the largest bike-share network in the country, is officially launched,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced at a press event outside City Hall this morning. Touting a 75 percent reduction in the cycling injury rate over the past decade and the improved safety outcomes for pedestrians along the city’s protected bike lanes, Bloomberg said that “Citi Bike will make our streets safer,” and reiterated the city’s commitment to ramp up to a 10,000 bike/600 station system. The culmination of intense study, planning, and public outreach, the bike-share launch marks the birth of a new transit network. Read on in Streetsblog.

Promoting cycling in the USA

The Challenge: Only 1% of all daily trips in the United States are made by bicycle, including fewer than 1% of trips to school by children younger than age 16. However many more trips could be made by bicycle, as 40% of trips made in the United States are shorter than two miles. Make an impact: Recognizing this potential, many government agencies and public health organizations are starting to advocate for increasing bicycling as a way to improve people's health and reduce air pollution, carbon emissions, congestion, noise, traffic dangers, and other harmful effects of car use. Understanding the most effective strategies cities can use to increase bicycling is important. What the findings are about: This brief summarizes the available evidence about strategies for increasing bicycling levels, including on-street bike lanes, off-street bike paths, and other bicycling infrastructure and educational programs, and offers related policy implications.  You will find your copy here: "How to Increase Bicycling for Daily Travel". Authors: Jennifer Dill, PhD, Portland State University; Susan L. Handy, PhD, University of California, Davis; & John Pucher, PhD, Rutgers University.

 

Cycling in Hyderabad

Hyderabad Metropolitan Area which is witnessing a spurt in privately owned vehicle numbers and subsequent rise in pollution is in need of a Bicycle Master Plan. The Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) taken up on behalf of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority to suggest solutions for transportation issues has underscored the need to promote bicycling and make the city ‘bicycle-friendly’. Advocating a Bicycle Master Plan, the CTS report called for a wide network of cycle routes and facilities and making bicycle policy an integral part of transportation system policies. The quality of urban environment has deteriorated seriously owing to noise and air pollution and inadequate road safety, the report compiled by LEA Associates says. Most pollutants present at the street level originate from motor vehicles, it points out while adding, “there is a definite need to make the city bicycle-friendly”. The Bicycle Master Plan has been proposed as a document with ‘long-range planning for developing bicycle infrastructure in the city with emphasis on designating and expanding bike routes, fostering a safe environment for cycling and promoting bicycling as a viable transportation option’. Read on in The Hindu 

Cycling in Athens

Thousands of Greeks took to the streets of Athens and dozens of major cities nationwide on Sunday in a colorful protest, different than the ones against austerity staged often over the past three years. Riding their bicycles throughout the central districts of cities, entire families from toddlers to white-haired pensioners, participated in the 6th Panhellenic Bike March requesting measures to boost "sustainable mobility." "We open a path to life" was the main slogan of the events organized by cyclists groups, which included happenings on road safety and music concerts. "Amidst the economic crisis, the state should offer citizens alternative solution to the costly and environmentally un-friendly car use," read banners and leaflets distributed to passer-bys on Syntagma square in front of the parliament. "The government must lower the prices of tickets for means of public transport and offer people more and safe bike routes across cities," Yiota Panagopoulou, an activist who joined the group "Moms on the Streets" told Xinhua. "Our aim is to persuade more and more people to leave their cars at the garages and start riding bikes to go to work or meet friends for fun," Stefanos Xenos, a political engineer who has done so over the past two years, said. Source: Shanghai Daily

New York learnt from the best

There is a hopeful prediction, kicking around in cycling circles as New York City’s bike-share program nears its introduction to a skeptical public: Soon enough, the thinking goes, the scheme will prove so popular that New Yorkers will insist they invented it. Not quite. When Citi Bike is introduced in New York on Monday, it will resemble a sort of cycling stew — bulky bikes to match the behemoths of London, a pricing model that resembles Washington’s and pliable station hardware borrowed from Montreal. And when Citi Bike personnel “rebalance” the supply of bikes by truck, they will be emulating cities like Paris, where rental riders’ joy in gliding downhill has not been matched by their determination in pedaling back up. “What we’ve tried to do,” said Jon Orcutt, the policy director for New York’s Transportation Department, “is take the best of each system.” The administration compiled a report studying programs from five cities — Barcelona, Montreal, Paris, Toulouse and Washington — weighing how characteristics of each might translate in New York. To make the comparison complete, go to Velo Mondial's 'Pas-Port to Cycling' for the World Bike Share Map. Read on in the New York Times.

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