It's so cold the gears need defrosting, roads are like ice rinks and helmets are strapped over full-face balaclavas. But the mayor of the favourite city for cycling in the United States says if Minneapolis can achieve what it has, there's no reason Melbourne and other Australian cities can't follow. Almost halfway across a country famed for its car culture and with a climate to test the bravest – think snow ploughs and Fargo – Minneapolis doesn't strike as one where commuters would prefer the saddle over the car heater.But its ranking as the best biking city in the US by Bicycling Magazine is a source of immense pride for its residents, of which more than 8000 commute to work by bike [the figure drops significantly in winter], and recognition of the way the city has changed its focus in encouraging alternate ways for its inhabitants to move around. Minneapolis,...
News: October 2011
Oct
CAN's Project Manager, Patrick Morgan pops up on The Bike Show: The Bike Show is a weekly radio show about cycling. It is broadcast in central London on radio art station Resonance 104.4fm. You can listen to the show and Patrick is on air about half way through the show; start to listen off this page or download from iTunes.
Oct
Chicago would have 3,000 bicycles to rent from 300 stations by next summer — with no charge for the first 30 minutes — under an ambitious plan in the works aimed at making cycling a “new transit system.” Former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s dream of creating a Paris-style bike rental program in Chicago is about to take off, with the city issuing a “request for proposals” (RFP) for a grand plan bigger than Daley envisioned. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his handpicked Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein are looking for an operator to offer 3,000 bikes at 300 stations by next summer and 5,000 bikes at 500 stations by 2014. Currently, bike sharing in Chicago is a small private venture limited to 100 bikes at six stations at popular tourist destinations including the Museum Campus, Buckingham Fountain, the John Hancock Center, McCormick Place and Navy Pier. The new program would be...
Oct
CAN and the Chainlinks team are planning a special issue of Chainlinks for the start of 2012. Work doesn't usually start on the first Chainlinks issue of each year until January and February, and the issue doesn't come out until March or sometimes even April.For 2012 we will have an issue out in late January, so it's there for Bike month. Although the current issue of Caninlinks is delayed it has a description of the special issue like this in it.The next issue of Chainlinks will be published in early 2012 and will be out in time for Bike Month in February. We'd like to make it a special issue, with articles from local groups describing what they do and how to join, rather than just recent news. We hope to also have articles on CAN's advocacy and project work and with practical information for new cyclists (e.g. how to become a commuter, how to...
Oct
Bicycling greenways — networks of residential roads that are outfitted with speed bumps, landscaped curbs that make portions of a street narrower, or stop signs to give cyclists and pedestrians priority over cars — have become a political selling point for Proposition 1.For several years, Seattle has painted bicycle lanes or icons on nearly all major streets, in hopes of encouraging people to ride. Cycling has increased, but a lot of people remain ambivalent, including Jennifer Litowski of Ballard. She's comfortable riding some of the less-busy arterials. But when her 5-year-old son's bike is attached to the rear, she's not so nimble. The two detour to a calmer side street. That's the idea behind "greenways" — networks of residential roads outfitted with speed bumps, landscaped curbs that make portions of a street narrower, or stop signs to give cyclists and pedestrians...
Oct
NEW YORK — Bicycle lanes, cycling lessons for adults, and soon 10,000 bikes in a sharing program: New York is pedaling hard to join the world's growing love affair with the bicycle.The number of New Yorkers taking the two-wheeled option to commute has doubled in the last five years, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office. They are still a relatively rare sight as they zigzag between the yellow cabs and heavy traffic pouring through Manhattan each rush hour.But if this can still be a perilous activity, that's starting to change, with 350 kilometers of new bike lanes put down since 2007, bringing the total to 683 miles (1,100 kilometers) and a target of 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) by 2030, according to the mayor's office.Cyclists couldn't be happier with Bloomberg and his prominent transport commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan."Their leadership and vision have been...
Oct
Coastal Path UseThe 7km coastal walkway, from the Port to the Waiwhakaiho River mouth, was formally opened by New Plymouth District Council in December 2003.The 3km coastal walkway extension, from the Waiwhakaiho River mouth to Bell Block, was opened in December 2010.The coastal walkway is very popular with the public and is enjoyed by large numbers of pedestrians, cyclists and other users. For example, nearly 30,000 people used it at Te Henui and Te Rewa Rewa bridges during each of the summer months.Being such an important rates-funded community asset, a review is under way to give the Council better information on how the Coastal Walkway is used. This review includes:•Observing and counting the various types of users; •Reviewing the measures the Council takes to promote public safety on the walkway; and •This public questionnaire!Have your say and tell the NPDC during October how you...
Oct
Sarah Ulmer was one of the first of 1000 people to test Mapua's new "Flat Bottom Fairy" service yesterday.The Olympic gold medallist attended the official opening of Tasman's Great Taste Trail cycleway ferry, which took visitors and their bikes across the estuary to test the new 6.8-kilometre trail through Rabbit Island to Mapua.Ulmer, the national cycle-trail ambassador, said it was a fantastic cycle trail and congratulated everybody who was involved with the project, which was a great way to showcase the region."You guys have done an incredible job in making this a great place to come."Ulmer had riden her bike all over he world, but said "there's nothing that comes close to what we have in New Zealand".The new 12-metre ferry has 15 bike racks and room for 50 passengers and yesterday did 21 return trips, transporting about 1000 passengers. The trail is part of the New Zealand cycle-...