Contents:
- Cycleways win more funding- but still not much
- Helmets too flimsy to prevent injuries, says neurosurgeon
- Cycling answer to worsening air quality
- New homes with cyclists in mind in the UK
- Protected bike lanes can increase cycling
- Bike lanes at roundabouts not so good
- Cycling is the happiest mode
- Ten major organisations urge UK government to act on active transport
- Paris extends bike share scheme to kids
- Weblinks
Cycleways win more funding- but still not much
16 June 2014- Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee yesterday highlighted increases in money for walking and cycling, as well as the acceleration of Auckland motorway projects, in a draft three-year land transport funding policy statement.
He announced a three-year transport spend of $10.5 billion to 2018, up from $9.5 billion for 2012 to 2015.
Walking and cycling are promised annual increases of up to 3.5 per cent, compared with 1.9 per cent available until now, a point welcomed by the Automobile Association. That is likely to include a new $13 million-plus shared cycling and walking route from Tamaki Drive to Glen Innes in Auckland.
But next year's funding range of $15 million to $33 million for walking and cycling left Cycling Advocates Network spokesman Patrick Morgan unimpressed. "It's underwhelming given cycling's compelling benefits."
Read more here:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11274590
Opposition political parties were also left unimpressed by the government's proposals, with the Greens describing them as a "fantasy plan that pretends climate change doesn't exist and locks New Zealanders into their cars for the next 50 years", pointing out that only 10 per cent of the spending was allocated to public transport and less than 1 per cent to walking and cycling initiatives:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10162805/Transport-plan-neglects-buses-and-bikes
Helmets too flimsy to prevent injuries, says neurosurgeon
15 June 2014- An Auckland neurosurgeon says bicycle helmets are too flimsy to prevent serious brain injuries and that cyclists should be wary of depending on them for protection.
Concussion specialist Rosamund Hill says there is merit to the argument that helmets effectively make no difference to someone involved in a major cycling accident.
But she says helmets are "better than nothing" and effective in low-speed crashes.
"They're certainly not going to prevent a brain injury or concussion, I don't think there's any doubt about that.
"You may reduce the chance of a serious head injury depending on how you land or where you're hit. The argument really should be whether the flimsy helmets people wear are good enough.
Read more here:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/10154986/Helmet-debate-reignited
Cycling answer to worsening air quality
7 May 2014- Cycling has been highlighted by both the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the professor of environmental health at King's College, London, as part of the solution to the problem of worsening air quality.
Information released today by the WHO states that in most cities where there is enough data to compare current air pollution levels with previous years, the situation is getting worse.
The organisation estimates that outdoor air pollution was responsible for 3.7 million premature deaths of individuals under the age of 60 around the world in 2012.
The WHO director for public health, environmental and social determinants of health, Dr Maria Neira, underlined the prominent role that active transport and improved cycling infrastructure plays in the cities which have improved their air quality.
Read more here:
http://road.cc/content/news/118061-cycling-answer-worsening-air-quality
New homes with cyclists in mind in the UK
23 May 2014- London's cycling revolution continues apace, with Transport for London and Mayor Boris Johnson hoping to encourage a 400 per cent increase in cycling by 2026 compared to 2001 levels - a target that will no doubt be helped by this summer's British leg of the Tour de France.
It's no surprise, then, that today's buyers are increasingly demanding homes with bike storage and access to cycle routes. Forty-three per cent of the British population owns or uses a bike, says national cycling charity the Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC), with around three million people cycling at least three times a week.
At Zenith House in Colindale, housing association Genesis Homes is actively encouraging residents to get on their bikes. Buyers receive £150 vouchers towards buying and maintaining a cycle. They are encouraged to ditch the car completely, as they also get two years' free car club membership.
Read more here:
http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/23/new-homes-with-cyclists-in-mind-4736707/
Protected bike lanes can increase cycling
2 June 2014- Not all bike lanes are created equal. A line in the pavement dividing cars from cyclists is nice, but it doesn't provide nearly the comfort of a protected bike lane - a track separated from vehicle traffic by a row of parked cars, or a curb, or at least a line of flexible posts. Cyclists who use protected lanes say they feel safer, and some studies show they truly are safer, with their risk of injury cut in half.
That's great for committed riders and public health more broadly. But what about city residents who don't already ride a bike, perhaps due to safety fears? After all, it stands to reason that cities invest in bike infrastructure not just to secure the existing rider population, but to expand it. So is the assurance of a protected bike lane enough to make a cyclist of those who might otherwise choose another transportation mode?
New research suggests that, to a modest extent, the answer is yes. Today a study team led by Christopher Monsere of Portland State University released a thorough analysis of new protected bike lanes in five major U.S. cities. The researchers videotaped the new lanes, conducted local surveys, and gathered data on cycling trends to get a full picture of life in these new corridors - comparing what they found to rider habits before the protected lanes were installed. They found that ridership increased anywhere from 21 to 171 percent, with about 10 percent of new riders drawn from other modes.
Read more here:
Bike lanes at roundabouts not so good
A new report documents research undertaken for Austroads on bicycle lanes at roundabouts. The literature review revealed strong evidence that bicycle lanes on the approach and within roundabouts are associated with negative safety outcomes. The dominant cyclist injury crash type involved a motorist entering a roundabout failing to give way to a circulating cyclist. Cyclists could maximise their safety by tracking closer towards the inscribed island.
A key conclusion from the research is that new or modified roundabouts would ideally either have equitable speeds, or provide for cyclists so that they don't have to enter the circulating carriageway. The tangential roundabout design philosophy of English-speaking countries maximises capacity, whilst the radial design philosophy of continental European countries maximises safety of all users.
Read more here:
https://www.onlinepublications.austroads.com.au/items/AP-R461-14
Cycling is the happiest mode
30 May 2014- Bike travel is the mode most likely to put a smile on your face.
That's the finding from a new academic study published in the Springer journal "Transportation". Researchers from Clemson and the University of Pennsylvania surveyed 13,000 randomly selected people about their mood during random activities throughout the day.
Contrary to previous research, they found that mood was not significantly affected simply because people were traveling from place to place; those in transport were about as happy as average during the day.
When it came to different modes of transportation, the impacts were slight and not statistically significant. Still, researchers found that cycling elicited the most positive emotions. They also said this might reflect that people who are generally more fit and enthusiastic are attracted to biking in the first place.
Read more here:
Ten major organisations urge UK government to act on active transport
24 June 2014- The economy could be saved tens of billions of pounds in preventable costs each year if we became a nation who walked and cycled everyday short journeys. This is the view expressed by a diverse spectrum of professions in a new report underpinning the case for an active transport revolution in the UK.
Britain is facing an inactivity crisis with associated health impacts costing society an estimated 10 billion pounds a year. Poor air quality, caused in no small part by traffic pollution costs £19 billion and traffic accidents cost £9 billion. Excess traffic delays incur urban economies expenses of £11 billion every year.
Making towns and cities places where walking and cycling are both safe and attractive options could reduce these costs significantly. There is a raft of wider benefits, not least boosts to local high street spending, more attractive and inclusive neighbourhoods and greater climate resilience associated with such measures.
Read more here:
http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/ten-major-orgs-urge-government-to-act-on-active-transport
Paris extends bike share scheme to kids
19 June 2014- Parisians have welcomed the launch of a new cycle hire scheme that encourages children as young as two to hop on the saddle.
The P'tit Velib program, which is an extension of the city's pioneering Velib cycle hire network, launched on Wednesday with 300 bikes for children located at five green and pedestrianised spaces across the city.
Paris City Hall says it hopes the programme, which it describes as the first of its kind in the world, will familiarise young Parisians with environment-friendly transport while encouraging a new generation to discover the pleasure of cycling, "because good habits start early".
Read more here:
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jun/19/paris-city-bike-hire-cycling-children-family
Weblinks
CAN Memorial Ride: a short video clip documenting the memorial ride held in Wellington on 15 April 2014, marking the lives of those lost to us while cycling, and pushing for change to ensure these deaths stop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBnwdQ3rHDQ
US bike commuting up: commuting by bike in the USA grew 60% in the last 10 years, according to Census Bureau figures:
http://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/acs-25.pdf
Learning the lingo of safe cycling: an introduction to salmoning, shoaling and other urban cycling jargon:
Cycle route elevation profiles: plot the elevation profile of your favourite rides here:
Foldable bike helmet:
Epecuen: the latest stunt-riding madness from Danny MacAskill, this time shot in an Argentinian ghost town:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiF5HHkHvX0#t=301
Horace and Rough Stuff Fellowship: a short film about the first wheeled crossing of the Sprengisandur desert in Iceland, by bike, in 1933:
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