Martin Olav Sabo Bridge
Martin Olav Sabo Bridge (Minneapolis) from Streetfilms on Vimeo.
While we’re on the subject of bridges, here’s a cool one.
Bikeways as Bridges to Sharing the Road
Studies have shown that the number one reason people don’t ride their bikes more frequently is the fear of cars. Considering this, the most obvious way to help newcomers feel more comfortable is to provide high-quality, separated bikeways. While it’s unrealistic to hope for a 1-to-1 ratio of bikeways to roads, even short stretches of bikeways that connect adjacent neighborhoods and road networks may encourage newcomers to give bicycling a try.
Consider the above beautiful piece of bicycle-specific infrastructure in my hometown. It’s part of a relatively short trail network that connects four neighborhoods with a shopping area and a school. I often take this route when I run an errand to the market. The direct route takes me along a two lane, 50 mph road. I’ve ridden the road many times, and though I find it relatively benign, I can imagine it would be intimidating to an inexperienced rider. By instead taking a longer back route through a neighborhood that leads to the bikeway, I reduce my exposure to high speed traffic by approximately 75% while only adding about 5 minutes to my travel time. I suspect that for many people, just having the option could mean the difference between taking the bike or driving the car.
For the foreseeable future, bicyclists here in the U.S. will need to depend upon existing motor vehicle roadways, but strategically placed separated bikeways can serve as safe havens for novices in the process of developing the confidence and skills they need to share the road with cars, while also providing a pleasant respite for those already out there mixing it up with traffic on a regular basis.
The Bike Rack
The City of Cleveland in conjunction with The Downtown Cleveland Alliance has opened a full service bicycle parking and commuter facility in downtown Cleveland. The Bike Rack provides secure bicycle parking, showers, lockers, changing facilities, and a full-service repair shop for Cleveland’s bike commuters. Services are available for a daily rate of $5, with 24-hour parking access and monthly passes to be phased in shortly. Regular hours are from 6:30am – 7:00pm Monday through Friday, and 10:00am – 6:00pm on weekends.
Sadik-Khan on NYC’s Transportation Future
An article by New York City Transportation Commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, was published in yesterday’s Slate.
Slate →
BMJ Report on Bike Sharing and Health
Photo: Josep Ma. Rosell, CC 2.0
A recent study published in the British Medical Journal looks at the benefits and risks of bike sharing compared to car travel in an urban environment. From the Abstract:
Objective: To estimate the risks and benefits to health of travel by bicycle, using a bicycle sharing scheme, compared with travel by car in an urban environment.
Design: Health impact assessment study.
Setting: Public bicycle sharing initiative, Bicing, in Barcelona, Spain.
Participants: 181,982 Bicing subscribers.
Main outcomes measures: The primary outcome measure was all cause mortality for the three domains of physical activity, air pollution (exposure to particulate matter <2.5 µm), and road traffic incidents. The secondary outcome was change in levels of carbon dioxide emissions.
Results: Compared with car users the estimated annual change in mortality of the Barcelona residents using Bicing (n=181,982) was 0.03 deaths from road traffic incidents and 0.13 deaths from air pollution. As a result of physical activity, 12.46 deaths were avoided (benefit:risk ratio 77). The annual number of deaths avoided was 12.28. As a result of journeys by Bicing, annual carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by an estimated 9,062,344 kg.
Conclusions: Public bicycle sharing initiatives such as Bicing in Barcelona have greater benefits than risks to health and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
