It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! Here’s a list of stuff we’ve been reading lately. This is also an open thread. Is there something bikey on your mind you want to discuss? Start a conversation in the comments below.
First up, this Dutch traffic signal timing system is basically the exact opposite of the cars-first signal system recently launched on Mercer Street:
Pacific Northwest News
- Nikkita Oliver Wants to Set The Record Straight on Urbanism, Equitable Housing, and Seattle’s Future | South Seattle Emerald
- RBCA continues to advocate for sidewalks on NE 50th Street – Ravenna-Bryant Community Association
- How Bridie got her bike back
- Detectives Seek Help Solving April Hit-and-Run (Updated with Photos) | SPD Blotter
- SDOT Blog » Seattle’s Future Streets
- NW NERD: Episode 17 – Mermaids of the Northwest – I’m a guest on this podcast, talking about private bikeshare.
- Seattle has reversed a decades-long trend of rising car ownership — and millennials are the reason | The Seattle Times – Good work!
- The C Is for Crank Interviews: Nikkita Oliver | The C Is for crank
- Sally Bagshaw » 10 Reasons to Love a Bike Lane – Another Age Friendly Move
- Oregon transportation funding proposal includes 5% tax on new bicycles – BikePortland.org – Yep, a bike tax… Here’s an update on the OR transpo bill.
- Bike sharing may cycle back to Seattle, again | KUOW News and Information – Featuring yours truly.
- The Mystery of the Disappearing Crosswalks – Wedgwood Community Council
- Driver Arrested After Striking Two Pedestrians Near 5th and Union | SPD Blotter
- ‘This is not safe:’ Grieving mother brings safety changes to highway where son died | KOMO – Mill Creek.
- Analysis offers ammunition for advocates of bike commuting | The Seattle Times
- 4 Tips for Sharing the Trail with Wheelchair Users | Blog – Nelson Boyd Attorneys, PLLC – By Ian Mackay
- Ferry County Rail Trail boosters shunned, stunned by commissioner | The Spokesman-Review
- These boots were made for walking: Vancouverites increasingly go on foot | Metronews
- Young boy hit by car in Auburn crosswalk | KOMO
- Weekly List – National Register of Historic Places Official Website – Includes sections of Seattle’s Olmsted Boulevards, including parts of Lake Washington Blvd
- Seattle Could See Return of Bike-Share This Summer – Next City – As a side note, we gotta figure out how to write “bike share.” I often use “bikeshare” because it looks kind of cool and that’s how Capital Bikeshare in DC spells it. But it should probably be “bike share” if it isn’t a proper noun. But definitely not “bike-share.”
- Will Private Bikeshare Poison The Well in Seattle? » The Urbanist
- Vision Zero Speed Limit Changes Coming to Boyer Ave E and Harbor Ave SW | SDOT Blog
- The Mayoral Candidates on Transit and Housing | Seattle Transit Blog
- Trump’s budget proposal zeros out $1.2 billion for Lynnwood light-rail line | The Seattle Times
- Seattle once again nation’s fastest-growing big city; population exceeds 700,000 | The Seattle Times
- Police looking for hit-and-run driver in fatal Issaquah crash | King 5
- So, What Does Bob Hasegawa—Who Once Compared Light Rail to Dog Poop—Really Think About Transit? – Slog – The Stranger
- Seattle’s top 7 biking workplaces all have one thing in common | PeopleForBikes
- Oak View Group scraps plans for public-funded KeyArena parking garage | The Seattle Times
- The C Is for Crank Interviews: Jessyn Farrell | The C Is for crank
- 20-Year-Old Quinault Father Killed by Hit-and-Run Was a “Basketball Hero,” Respected by Youth and Elders Alike – Slog – The Stranger
- Agreement Reached on Mercer Island Access to I-90 | Seattle Transit Blog
- The Cost of Vision Zero » The Urbanist
- Bike-share companies vie for chance to set up shop in Seattle | The Seattle Times
- Guys: what the hell? | Washington Area Bicyclist Association
- Bicycle-friendly Seattle not so charming when it comes to bike theft | Mynorthwest
- Ashley got her bike back
- Getting Light Rail Done Faster – McGinn 2017
- Vote For Seattle’s Worst Intersection: 2017 » The Urbanist
- Cyclist Tragically Paralyzed After Bicycle Accident On Green River Trail | Davis Law Group
- Seattle Can Be A More Walkable City » The Urbanist
- Why I Started Cycling Less in Seattle – Next City
Halftime Show! This attempted bike thief in London has some serious tenacity, but his plan is rather flawed.
National & Global News
- Chris Froome’s bike totaled in French road rage incident – CNN.com
- Reevely: Ottawa looks to save builders (and buyers) millions on new subdivisions | Ottawa Citizen – By building bike lanes!
- Who’s Choosing Bike Share Over the Bus? – CityLab
- The case for bicycles’ inevitable triumph over cars – May. 5, 2017
- Not Even Dale Earnhardt Jr. Is Immune to Angry Drivers | Bicycling
- New American study confirms: Physically separated bike lanes are crucial for safety : TreeHugger
- Analyzing Bike Collisions Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story – Next City
- No, protected bike lanes do not need to cost $1 million per mile | PeopleForBikes
- Toronto needs hard infrastructure to produce real Vision Zero results: Matt Elliott
- Cyclist Shot in Back While Riding, Shooter Unknown | Bicycling
- A record 107 million Americans have car loans – Money – CNN – This is fine.
- Opinion: How can doctors prescribe cycling when roads are unsafe? – Edmonton Journal
- Marshawn Lynch led a massive bike ride in Oakland and it was awesome – SBNation.com
- Trump’s Budget Is a Disaster for Transit, and His Infrastructure Plan Is a Gift to Wall Street – Streetsblog USA
- Murder Charges After Bicyclist Beaten up Dies 2 Weeks Later | North Carolina News | US News
- Blaming People for Wearing Black Wins the Prize for Anti-Pedestrian Idiocy – Streetsblog USA
- First came transit-oriented communities, now it’s ‘trail-oriented’ development
- ‘Landmark’ study from Seville shows immediate results from a bike network | PeopleForBikes
- Dale Jr. talks about his new love: riding on 2 wheels | Charlotte Observer
- Connecting our cities’ scattered bikeways is going to be harder, but worth it | PeopleForBikes
- Portland businesses reward riders through new ‘Biko’ smartphone app – BikePortland.org
- Tour de l’Île: The largest ride I’ve ever done – BikePortland.org
- VerifiR – the embeddable bike tracking tech that we’ve been waiting for | Bike Index
Comments
6 responses to “Bike News Roundup: The opposite of Mercer’s new traffic signal timing system”
Quite a few articles about “road rage” against cyclists (and race car drivers on bikes) and it definitely feels like there is increasing aggression towards cyclists on the roads. This past month I have had more close calls, middle fingers, and shouting than I have experienced over the past few years. I bike the same route at the same times everyday.
It would be great if there was a central place to post go-pro or other videos of these encounters that police and cyclists could monitor to see if it’s just a handful of anti-cyclist nut jobs or if it’s a larger issue.
I was thinking the same thing. As a bicyclist & pedestrian, to many times I’ve seen cars & pedestrians gambling with the traffic light and I’d love to grab videos of them & letting SPD & their insurance see how reckless these people are. Looks like SPD has a youtube account, probably tag them if you upload your video to youtube? https://www.youtube.com/user/spdblotter
The site you are looking for does exist although the Close Call Database isn’t widely known.
Tom, I think you’re misinterpreting that Dutch “Flo” thing — it isn’t a different signal timing system, but rather it just tells cyclists whether they need to speed up to catch the green light (which makes me worry that it encourages people to fly through the intersection as it turns yellow, which could lead to an ugly collision with a signal-jumping car) or slow down and give up because they’re not going to catch it. Kind of cool, but certainly not as cool as a signal (or corridor of signals) that’s timed specifically for bicycles or pedestrians.
If you are familiar with your route then a “Flo” is superfluous. There are already many kinds of things you watch for to figure out when the light is changing. Is the walk sign flashing red or even better have a countdown ? Light is going to turn red soon. Did the turn lane arrow across the street go green ? How many cars need to drain – my light will go green after them.
I like what SDOT did with 9th ave at SLU, plastic pylons, & looks like they drew a new pilot diagonal line from the end of Westlake trail which then transitions to 9th ave, south bound.