News: March 2010

While we were down in Washington, DC for the National Bike Summit, Streetfilms got the chance to check out some of the innovative bike infrastructure. Tops on our list: the city's first protected, contraflow lane for bicyclists. The district DOT has redesigned 15th Street NW between U Street and Massachusetts Avenue to accommodate two-way bike traffic on a one-way street. Northbound cyclists get a shared lane moving in the same direction as car traffic, and southbound cyclists ride in a parking-protected lane. The treatment has also slimmed down the street, removing a vehicle lane and calming traffic. DC transportation officials say that when designing this protected bike lane, they looked to New York and Montreal for inspiration. Additional use of contraflow lanes could help make critical new connections in New York's bike network, like the gap between Park...

Elizabeth from StreetFilms went to the 10th National Bike Summit in Washington DC with her camera, and the video below is the result. It's great to hear from so many people and organisations working hard to fix the transportation sector, a crucial piece of the puzzle if we are to move to a more sustainable society. It can't be done without some policy changes, so we need effective lobbying if cyclists are to get their fair share of infrastructure and legislative protection. A great event that is helping those who are working in the trenches to make cities greener and move livable for people, by encouraging more cycling and walking.Video from the Summit in DC hereVideo from the Summit in LA hereFrom Treehugger.com

Despite recent defections of two other oil majors, Royal Dutch Shell PLC has opted to stay in an influential lobbying group that has focused on shaping climate-change legislation, Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser said. Mr. Voser, speaking Thursday at the Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference in Santa Barbara, Calif., was asked why Shell remained in the three-year-old U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) after two of its peers, BP PLC and ConocoPhillips, pulled out last month. The partnership is a broad business-environmental coalition that had been instrumental in building support in Washington for capping emissions of greenhouse gases, and the defections came amid growing debate over climate change. “We feel we can actually do more being inside USCAP to achieve the right outcome,” Mr. Voser said. But Mr. Voser agreed with a growing number of skeptics who don’t...

The end of daylight saving means it is time for cyclists to dust off their lights and add a bit of fluorescence to their riding wardrobe. Cycling Advocates' Network (CAN) chair Bevan Woodward said as the days get shorter, cyclists need to get brighter. "Lights and high-visibility riding gear make you easier to see," said Mr Woodward. Cycling fatalities have declined over recent years despite bike sales on the increase. Mr Woodward said it could have something to do with cyclists embracing the culture of being seen. "I have seen drivers sitting at an intersection do a double take when they see me riding  with my high-visibility jacket on, said Mr Woodward. "The other great thing about being well-lit is that drivers have plenty of time to give room to the cyclist when overtaking. A clearance of a metre and a half is recommended by the Road Code," he adds. He advises people to check their...

Since 1997 L'Eroica in Italy has attracted cycling enthusiasts from around the world keen to brush the dust off their pre-1987 bikes and take part in a 150km ride over the "strade bianche" (white gravelled roads) in celebration of the great tradition of cycling from over the past 100 years. With authenticity at its heart, the bikes used and the ride feature only those elements deemed "classic" - shifters mounted on the downtube, as opposed to the handlebars, woolen jerseys and cycling shorts, traditional Italian cuisine and wine. See the video below:

Although approximately twice as many men as women cycle in London regularly, according to Transport for London, 10 out of 13 cycling fatalities last year were women.It's a strange and disturbing statistic, especially given that the same set of figures also show that male cyclists have more collisions and crashes than women, and are also more likely to be seriously injured.Is there anything that women cyclists can do to reduce their risk, other than waiting for Boris's new measures, which include the possibility of cyclists being allowed to turn left while the lights are still red, to become law? The short answer is yes: behave more like a man.For there's no doubt that by and large a bloke on a bike, like everywhere else in life, is more aggressive, more confident, takes more risks and goes faster than a woman does. My advice is that, for once, it may pay to take a leaf out...

The IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists, UK) has urged cyclists to make themselves seen and to “claim their lane”, moving out into the middle of the lane when approaching a junction or parked cars. Duncan Pickering, IAM Cycling Development Manager, said: “There has been some debate as to whether cyclists should stick to the kerb or push out into the road when riding in built-up areas. Our advice to cyclists, based on a comprehensive study, is to stay near to the kerb on long even stretches, but to assert yourself when approaching a junction, pushing out into the road and putting yourself in the direct view of drivers. “Sticking to the kerb where drivers are not necessarily looking means they are less likely to see you.” Studies have shown that drivers primarily pay attention to the major stream of traffic when navigating a junction, paying little attention to auxiliary...

Sharing the road: Cyclists and MotoristsSize matters when it comes to sharing the road, says cyclist and motorist, Peter King"Imagine driving home. Now imagine you are driving home along an airport runway with jet planes landing and taking off in the lane next to you all the time. That's what it feels like to be a cyclist on many of our busy roads."some pull quotes"Making cycling safer isn't something that laws can really achieve""The answer is in everyone taking responsibility for road safety.""New Zealand drivers are not good at sharing the road with one another, quite apart from other types of vehicles. There are lessons for all parties when motorists and cyclists share the road, so long as we get over this pointless obsession with being in the right." for full text, seehttp://www.aa.co.nz/aadirections/driver/Pages/Sharing-the-road.aspxfrom AA's "Directions" magazine Autumn Issue:...

Seoul before and afterRemember a few years ago when millions of our fellow Americans started gorging on bacon and cheeseburgers in order to lose weight? The Atkins diet fad was an odd moment in our culture and probably one best politely forgotten. But one reason the scheme took off like it did is that human beings are innately fascinated by counter-intuitive effects. Most examples you hear about on teevee–”Rock-hard abs without getting off your couch!”–are malarkey, of course. But in certain charmed cases, it is possible to get thin by eating lard, so to speak. One example is reducing traffic congestion by eliminating roads. Though our transportation planners still operate from the orthodoxy that the best way to untangle traffic is to build more roads, doing so actually proves counterproductive in some cases. There is even a mathematical theorem to explain...