The transformation of Tel Aviv: how cycling got cool in Israel’s hippest city

When four Israeli cyclists suggested to the Tel Aviv city council in 1994 that it might be a clever idea to promote the bicycle as a new mode of transport, they were met with laughter. “They were told that cycling was something for third world nations,” says Yotam Avizohar, director of the Israel Bicycle Association. “The council official said: ‘Tel Aviv is a modern city. We only promote sophisticated transport solutions. Very soon we will have a light rail system.’” Undeterred, the cyclists gave it another try and approached a council official who they knew to be a cyclist himself. “This time, they were told that cycling was something for European countries. The man said: ‘Israel is a Middle-Eastern country and Israelis are addicted to their cars or to their camels.’ He didn’t see how it could ever be changed.” More than 20 years later, the realisation of the Tel Aviv light rail system is still a very long way off. But cycling has definitely become the new mode of transport in the city. Everywhere you go in Tel Aviv, you see people on bikes, and most of them aren’t wearing any special gear. In Israel’s hippest city, cycling is the hippest way to get around. Read more here.

The Bike-Share Boom

www.citylab.com/city-makers-connections/bike-share/

Halifax bike share system: extending the “reach” of pedestrians

This document gives insight how to approach a bike share project as a city. Some elements: Multiple operating structures exist, such as: Non-profit, Privately owned and operated, direct contract with operator, transit owned and operated, administrative non-profit with private operator. For the purposes of this pre-feasibility analysis, a non-profit operating structure was chosen due to the frequency at which it has been used for other bike share systems throughout North America. A non-profit would be formed to manage and operate the bike share system. The organization would be responsible for procuring funding, equipment, defining system guidelines, launching the system, and providing expertise for operations.There are a number of general start-up costs. Capital and installation costs associated with the creation of a bicycle share system include equipment purchases, site planning, installation and deployment costs. Annual operating costs after system launch are also included. These costs include salaries, equipment maintenance and replacement, rebalancing equipment, system software upkeep. Read on here.

The Bike-Share Planning Guide from ITDP

Bike-share has taken many forms over the course of its development, from free bikes left for a community to use at will to more technologically advanced and secure systems. In every iteration, the essence of bike-share remains simple: anyone can pick up a bike in one place and return it to another, making point-to-point, human- powered transportation feasible. Today, more than 600 cities around the globe have their own bike-share systems, and more programs are starting every year. The largest systems are in China, in cities such as Hangzhou and Shanghai. In Paris, London, and Washington, D.C., highly successful systems have helped to promote cycling as a viable and valued transport option.  Each city has made bike-share its own, adapting it to the local context, including the city’s density, topography, weather, infrastructure, and culture. Although other cities’ examples can serve as useful guides, there is no single model of bike-share. Read more here. 

Washington cycles

Smooth bike ride into 's-Hertogenbosch NL

How Cities Can Harness the Benefits of Shared Mobility

Sharon Feigon is the executive director of the Shared-Use Mobility Center, a national public interest organization working to foster collaboration in shared mobility and extend its benefits for all. Communities both large and small have begun to use shared mobility combined with transit as an effective tool to cut auto congestion and emissions, provide first and last-mile connections, and expand access to jobs and a better quality of life for their residents. As these new services proliferate, however, city governments have also found themselves playing catch-up as they try to manage their growth and balance varied goals such as preserving safety, ensuring equitable service and allocating parking and use of curb space. To address these issues, the Shared-Use Mobility Center (SUMC) recently convened a unique cross-section of public sector transportation leaders, private sector innovators and community representatives in Chicago for the 2015 national shared mobility summit Move Together. The summit’s 500 attendees included mayors, transit agency officials and department of transportation executives from across the USA. Read more here.

Brompton Bike Share in London

Bike Sharing System in Seoul; 20.000 in 2020

After the big announcement about a new, city-wide public bicycle sharing system last year, we have seen very little about the news about the system. Now stations for the public bike sharing system were set up and it is going to be run a trial from September 19 to October 14. The official opening of the service to the public is October 15. Thanks to Philip for the tip about the sudden appearance of stations! He posted pictures about the new system in the Kojects Forum and gave me many helpful information. It made me curious and so I begun to work on this post and visited Sinchon to get a sneak peek at the new public bike sharing system in Seoul.The city published in August a 585-page master plan about the bicycle infrastructure. I knew that the bicycle department of Seoul was very busy but 585 pages, wow! It begins with an examination of the existing bicycle infrastructure and introduces then all details of the bicycle plan. Currently, there are a total of 733.4km bike lanes. 124.4km are bike-only lanes and the large majority (600.2km) are shared paths between cyclists and pedestrians. Read more here.

Don't doubt you planners and engineers: Dutch roundabouts are the way to go!

Dutch roundabouts are terrifying. At least in the eyes of foreign planners and engineers. Dutch road users, including the most vulnerable ones – people walking and cycling – prefer roundabouts over signalised intersections. And so do Dutch planners and engineers, who know that roundabouts have proven to be a lot safer than traditional intersections. The reconstruction of a lot of those Dutch intersections into roundabouts is getting more and more attention abroad. It is so good to see that e.g. the Americans are no longer only occupied with on street cycle lanes. They get it that paint is just not good enough. It is all about protected bike lanes now. And more and more the protected intersection as well. Planners and engineers now understand how necessary it is to connect stretches of roads with protected cycle lanes with well-planned intersections. They are studying protected intersections all over North-America. A number has just been finished or are under construction: Davis (CA), Austin, Salt Lake City and Boston. Read and see much more here! The great video below of Bicycle Dutch is a manual how to deal with Dutch roundabouts.