The Case for Bicycle Infrastructure

This is great, saw it over on Copenhagenize today. Basically a mighty (yet accessible) barrage of international research bits backing up the virtues of bike lanes and cycletracks. Hope it trickles down to all the dark, musty places where the idea somehow still lurks that somehow bike lanes - especially protected lanes - are somehow a bad idea or not worth the investment.

Someone in DC might want to pass this along to new DDOT Director Terry Bellamy.

The Case for Bicycle Infrastructure

Much of the rest of the world including quite a bunch of (presumably) smart people seem to have come to the conclusion cycle lanes and cycle tracks are very much worth every penny.

full article

Wooing is key

from Streetsblog:

Wooing the Hesitant Cyclist

For those who bike everywhere now, biking in the street is probably no big deal. But most of those cyclists probably fall within the two categories of “Strong and Fearless” or “Enthused and Confident.” Together they make up 8% of the population. In the U.S., 8% is pretty good, but if we really want to break through, we need to find a way to get the 60% who are “Interested but Concerned” to ride a bike.

full article

A victory lap of sorts

Earlier I saw a tweet from outgoing head of DDOT Gabe Klein who, along with friends and folks from various DC bike orgs, planned an informal happy-hour bike jaunt around some of DC's cycletracks and bike lanes this evening. So I joined 'em.

It was like touring the legacy, especially with some people using CaBis. I suppose it could have been a bummer, what with the uncertainty about the intentions of the incoming mayor. I'm not big on the whole organized ride thing personally, but this was cool. It felt like a victory (and farewell) lap around some of Gabe's signature efforts. Maybe like Cal Ripken's final jog around Camden Yards. Anyway the caroling kept it festive and it wasn't too cold.

We rode down the 17th Street bike lanes, past the White House, caught the tail end of the 15th Street cycletrack, across on the Pennsylvania Ave cycletrack, through Chinatown, back up 15th Street, ending with a few drinks at Marvin back at 14th and U.

Certainly sounds better

from Greater Greater Washington:

Choose bike boulevards over bike lanes around H Street, NE

A "bike boulevard" prioritizes cyclists and pedestrians. And it provides motorists slower, more consistent speeds instead of the all-too-familiar race between stop signs and speed humps.

full article

A mother knows

To me, this mom-cyclist is one of those quiet, unsung heroes of utility biking in DC. Not because she has the 'right' bike or chic attire. I just like the normal/cool clothes, no special gear, shopping bag in front, funky shoulder bag, kid in tow, a little twirly thing hanging off the back… No nonsense, serene, dignified demeanor, upright posture.

She knew where the not-so-known contraflow bike lane was and used it, unfazed by the trio of Do Not Enter signs. Or by the Brazil-esque (Terry Gilliam film, not the country) ductwork.

That cut-through was a closed road, now given over almost entirely to bikes. More here. It's actually a great back way to cross Adams Morgan north-south without dealing with 18th Street hassles.

Our Man in Munich - Part III

Third in a series from my friend Michael Tierney, an American expat living and cycling in Munich:

The glorious dearth of spandex

I was on a bike path that cuts through the woods along the S-Bahn (Metro) tracks near the Fasangarten stop.  As I approached a street crossing I noticed an older man fifty feet downrange on an old creaking bike.  He was smoking a cigar as he rode, leaving a sequence of smoke clouds behind him.  In my head I heard locomotive sound effects as he accelerated: puff ... ... puff ... ... puff ... puff ... puff - puff - puff - puffpuffpuffpufpfpf.

As I blew through this Morse code SOS of smoke and smoldering lung contents I realized that I never see anyone in spandex.  I have ridden through biker-emitted cigarette plume sequences more often than I have seen anyone wearing an aerodynamic outfit that matches the bike.  Those times have has been on weekends and on paths that run along the river.

This guy is just on his way to work.  Note the gloves.  A good pair of gloves is key.  

The best of the city bikers, however, are the older women, purse in basket, hat defying aerodynamics, and the way they swing one leg in front of the seat and over the pedal crank to coast the last 30 feet of their trip standing on the left pedal.  It is a half century-rehearsed old school side saddle dismount, usually in front of the Apoteke (pharmacy) for a fresh can of purple hair dye.  I love those moments.  But beware and stay out of their way.  They are the curators of bike path etiquette and are quick to dispense terse instructions to anyone breaching them, with steely gaze and Bavarian accent.  They can smell fear and consider hesitation an invitation for a lecture.  Just look down and say "entschuldigen Sie bitte."

Next:

Integration into the urban landscape and culture

Engaging all of the senses and observations otherwise missed

City of (seeing the) light

It's not just the Velib bikeahare, Paris is getting the bikescape fundamentals right.

Bicycle facilities in Paris

I can say that Paris is definitely a bicycle city. What does it mean? It means that cyclists, bikes and bicycle facilities are clearly visible on the streets. People bike to work, to shops and cafés, wearing normal everyday clothes. Almost all the bicycles are city bikes. Road bikes are also present while cross-country ones are almost completely absent. A significant part of bicycle traffic is represented by Velib’ cyclists

full article

Zeitgeist and other German words

Zeitgeist. Angst. Alptraum ('nightmare', which I just learned from my friend Jay, who by the way is part of a touring exhibit of that name opening here Friday night).

All seem a propos at the moment, though wait, that's French.

Amazing how the zeitgeist pendulum swings. In keeping with resurgent provincial tendencies (ask Obama about Republicans, or Toronto about their new mayor),  Gabe Klein is out at DDOT. The man who helped bring more positive movement (literally) to DC than almost anyone since Boss Shepherd.

This really sucks, DC was actually gnawing at the edges of world-class in terms of modern thinking and livable-city progress. A few more years of the same could've done wonders. Now we likely won't get a lot of smart urbanistic goodies that we would have under Klein/Fenty. 

Poof, gone, sorry.

Maybe not all gone, but certainly less methinks, and I want all of it. Gray may not be horrible, but we had progressive vision and action in Klein. I'll be shocked if we get half of those qualities in his successor. Hope I'm wrong. More deliberative blah-blah will be the kiss of death, since it will always try to please the naysayers, the knee-jerk, and the car-centric. Or Gray will just say we can't afford any of it. Maybe true of course, but what we can afford is always a question of priorities. Keep your eye on Capital Bikeshare, our jewel of alt-transit. Or, better, sign up for it today if you haven't. If that gets cut, or withers from passive neglect, I'll be seriously depressed for our city.

So we're going to get more deliberation and consultation as standard procedure. Ok. But will bike lanes need to be approved block by block after consulting with residents? Will one block of residents who hate bike lanes kill a whole route? How about people who would use it, will they get a say? Until they figure that out, will any bike lanes be painted? More on this in a previous post.

Gray has given too many mixed signals on bike lanes etc to know where he's headed. Though in the meantime, judging actions, firing the guy who was most associated with bike lanes, bikeshare, and making our urban landscape more livable is obviously a worrisome sign.

Hope and Gray

I really really hope Gabe Klein stays on at DDOT under new mayor Vince Gray. Fenty aside, seems Klein is mainly the one pushing the livable-city changes in DC.

Walk This Way: Expanding Pedestrian and Bike Safety to the Whole District Won’t Be Easy

Even in the confined political environment of Washington–where many streetscape changes have to be vetted by multiple levels of city and federal government - Klein has hurled himself into elevating pedestrians and bikes over cars.

full article

Our Man in Munich - Part I

[Editor's note - Today's guest post, first of a series, is from my old friend Mike Tierney. Not to date ourselves, but we met during our common salad days of DC's great 1980s music scene (he's an exceptional Foxton/Entwistle type of bassist I'll have you know). Now living and working in Munich, he'll provide DCC readers an exclusive portal to that fine city's bikescape.]

I am grateful to Bill for the opportunity to join in. For just over two years I have been bike commuting from the center of Munich to the southeastern outskirts of the city, where I work. This and subsequent guest posts will include observations about how Munich facilitates bike commuting, and how it is integrated into the urban landscape and culture.

Please note: I am not a professional photographer, which will be apparent in the following photos. 

The bike itself

It's a steel frame single speed that I had built by a shop in the Au (pronounced like "Ow!") neighborhood on the east side of the Isar river. The side bag is by Vaude, a German company that manufactures for the domestic market. The bag is waterproof (critical) and can carry three bottles of Weißbier without throwing off the balance too much. Here the amateur photographer is about to be attacked by "Mimi," the Hausmeister's chronically furious Yorkshire Terrier. Note the fast (or is it slow?) shutter speed capturing the blur of tiny rancid paws carrying the little monster to his prey. Moving on...

Bike lanes on the sidewalks

Munich is laced with bike paths, many of which are integrated into the sidewalks in the form of a strip of asphalt running down a concrete or brick sidewalk. Not all of the main streets have sidewalk-based bike paths. The city government publishes a map of the city showing where they are. Or, with a diligent Google Maps satellite image, search one can identify all the best bike paths between points A and B.

The best type of sidewalk-based bike path provides a few feet between it and where the cars are parked. The pathetically amateurish photo at left is of the path along Lindwurmstrasse near Sendlinger Tor - the southern gate of the original walled city. This path is on my commute route. Most pedestrians (the locals in particular) are good about keeping off the bike paths. Unfortunately, they are not always apparent to the hapless tourist, especially during Oktoberfest, which will be discussed in gruesome detail some other time.

Another type of sidewalk-based bike path is not as safe, but is likely the only solution for a narrow sidewalk. The poor excuse for a photo at left is of the path along Rosenheimer Strasse (also part of the daily commute) near Rosenheimer Platz. This is near the Gasteig, Munich's version of the Kennedy Center. One of every three trips on this route you encounter someone with a cello case strapped to his/her back, looking like some form of high-velocity flotation device. Anyway, the problem with this type of bike path is that you have to be on the lookout for suddenly-opening car doors. Better to keep a bit to the right.

Note the derelict bikes strapped to the trees like hurricane storm surge victims. You find these all over the city, some of which have not moved since the heyday of Einstürzende Neubauten [Editor's alert - 80s reference], but this is a topic for another time.

Later:

Visibility on the intersections

The glorious dearth of Spandex

Integration into the urban landscape and culture

Engaging all of the senses and observations otherwise missed

The color of envy

Mapping Your NYC Bike Commute from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

The trademark green of some NYC bike lanes, that is.

Wow, just when you thought DC was doing well with bike lanes etc, New York comes along at full steam and makes DC look kind of lacking. I was in NY recently and noticed a lot of bikes in Manhattan. They are doing amazing, innovative things, even in the boroughs, to get bikers feeling safe even on longer commutes. Tons of protected lanes. And ridership is booming as a result. Build it and they will come, indeed. Check out the above really well-done video by Streetfilms. (Um, yes, found on Copenhagenize... as usual...)

Vancouver can-do

Via GOOD:

Vancouver Creates Continuous Network of Protected Bike Lanes

How do we make our car-oriented cities friendlier to cyclists? Look north. Over the past few years, Vancouver has been steadily reclaiming space on its busy streets for bikes.

[full article]