It’s time for the weekly Bike News Roundup! As always, this is an open thread.
First up, a video from Bryant Elementary’s HUGE Bike to School Day ride.
— Advertisement —
Pacific Northwest News:
- Vancouver Was Awesome: The first bicycle craze — Vancouver Is Awesome
- Morning Fizz: Gone Fishin’ | Crosscut.com – Publicola coming back?
- Spokane tinkerer builds own bicycle — of bamboo | The Seattle Times
- Central Seattle Greenways completes first Melrose cleanup
- ST Station Name Survey – Seattle Transit Blog – I think we should just rename University Street Station. Seneca Street Station alliterates better, anyway.
- Vancouver city staff recommend keeping downtown bike lanes | Straight.com – Must read for downtown Seattle folks. It works!
- Group Health Commute Challenge final standings « Cascade Bicycle Club Blog
- Eckstein Middle School wins Cascade Bike to School party
- Welcome Rainier Valley Greenways! – If you live in Rainier Valley, get involved!
- Driver from the $800 Capitol Hill tow charged with DUI, hit and run | CHS Capitol Hill Seattle – How much does it cost to tow your truck out of the side of a building you crashed into while drunk (allegedly)? Sadly, I bet it costs less than $800…
- Lots of people are donating to Bike Works in honor of Nap Cantwell:
We’re humbled by the $700+ from the friends to the Nap Cantwell Youth Scholarship Fund. Heartfelt condolences to the Cantwell/Ishikawas.
— Bike Works (@bikeworks206) June 12, 2012
National & Global News:
- Obama Administration Working to Close Racial, Ethnic Gap on Asthma/Asthma disproportionately affects minority children, children living below poverty level – Somehow, reducing driving is not even mentioned. Good luck reducing asthma without reducing the primary cause of asthma…
- Want to Increase Cycling? Sharrows Won’t Cut It | Streetsblog.net – We need a word for sharrows on a busy street where they are completely inadequate.
- Husband of woman killed in bicycle accident considers lawsuit | Salt Lake City – Temporary road sign placed in the bike lane caused her to crash.
- House of Representatives Aims to Eliminate Local Funds for Biking & Walking – America Bikes
- Commerce Secretary Linked to Hit-and-Run Crashes – NYTimes.com
- Toronto News: Hume: London Mayor Boris Johnson says bikes civilize cities – thestar.com
- Extraordinary Observations: Rebalancing Capital Bikeshare Stations
- NYC Mayor: Bike Helmets Are Nice, But Separated Bike Lanes Are More Important | Transportation Nation
- The Rise of the Citizen Cyclist – The Atlantic Cities
- Independent Researchers Prove Safety Effects of NYC Bike Lanes | ANIMAL
- 5 ways to include women in bicycling | Taking the Lane
- Cyclist kills pedestrian; does calling “on your left” not work? – Greater Greater Washington – Though most of you are already courteous and polite, this bears repeating: Slow down when passing people on foot. It is your duty to avoid a collision. Yelling or ringing a bell alone is not enough. You have to be prepared, and that means passing slowly and/or with lots of space so you have time to react if someone steps in the wrong direction. Don’t replicate rude and dangerous driver behavior on our city’s trails and sidewalks.
Comments
One response to “Bike News Roundup: Video of a HUGE Bike to School Day ride in NE Seattle”
Lots of good stuff, thanks Tom! Some thoughts: on the similar issues of marked crosswalks and sharrows, and perhaps also shared-use (bike and pedestrian) paths: special signs and markings do imply that those are special places where 1. it’s OK for people on foot to cross the street; 2. it’s OK for people to ride bikes in the road; 3. people on bikes need to be polite to people on foot. Implying: elsewhere, nobody should cross the street, nobody should ride a bike, nobody needs to be polite. My unscientific observation is that people who drive cars are usually willing to stop for pedestrians, as long as they are not driving more than about 25 mph; people in cars are willing to be considerate of people on bikes, as long as nobody is going more than about 25 mph; and people on bikes who are riding really fast often think the rules about being polite don’t apply to them. Signs should be general: “DRIVERS!! Remember people on foot have the right of way at ALL intersections!! Let them cross!” “DRIVERS!! Bikes can ride on ALL roads, YOU need to give them room!” “BIKE RIDERS and WALKERS: ALL sidewalks in Seattle are shared-use paths. RIDE SLOW, pay attention!”