ACTION ALERT: Tell USDOT To Measure Up And Set Goals To Reduce Bicyclist And Pedestrian Fatalities

From Massbike:

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The Demise Of The City Car

Here is an awesome slide show about why the future of cars in our cities is a short one. This is a slide presentation from the URBAN RESEARCH & DESIGNSPACESCAPE Alexander Ståhle PhD & CEO Spacescape [email protected] www.spacescape.se Its got a lot of amazing stuff in here, take your time and check out all the slides. Notes for the slides below.

The use of cars in the city is a failed experiment, one that should hopefully come to an end soon.

1. THE END OF THE CAR CITY ”A convenient truth” Alexander Ståhle, PHD & CEO ǀ URBAN RESEARCH & DESIGNSPACESCAPE
2. Why cities?
3. Proximity creates livability
4. Proximity creates innovation
5. Proximity creates social wellfare
6. Vad gör en attraktiv plats? Fungerar planen som det var tänkt? Vad skapar närhet och flöden? SOFO Proximity creates value
7. Housing value is 90% walkability in Stockholm Appartment prices in Stockholm regionUrban qualities
8. “Walkability command a premium of $4-34,000” CEO for Cities (2009) ”Walkable urban””Drivable suburban”
9. SHOPS DENSITYDENSITY SHOPS STOCKHOLM MALMÖÖREBRO RESTAURANTS DENSITY “Cities are proximity, density, closeness” Edward Glaeser
10. Density decreases car use Density Travel Dunphy RT and Fisher K (1996)
11. Average commute in Hong Kong is 11 min
12. “Individuals living near transit had a significantly higher level of trust and reciprocity and connections with neighbors.” Patterns of social capital associated with transit oriented development, Journal of Transport Geography, 2014
13. “Denser areas have greater economic mobility.“ (Measuring sprawl, SGA, 2014)
14. “The compact walkable city enhance livelihoods for the poor through affordable mobility. It lower social segregation through proximity of affordable housing to places of work”. Joan Clos, UN Habitat
15. “An advanced city is not where the poor drive cars, but where the rich take public transport” Enrique Penalosa
16. Car accessiblity do not affect appartment prices or office rents in Stockholm Public transport accessibility Officerent
17. Failing office areas without transit and walkability Infra City, Upplands Väsby
18. Inside Infra City, Upplands Väsby Inside failing office areas…
19. “People in denser areas are more physically active.” (Neighborhood environment and physical activity, Eriksson, 2013)
20. “People in denser areas have longer life expectancies.” (Measuring sprawl, SGA, 2014)
21. 5% drive to shop downtown in New York and in Stockholm (PPS 2010, Spacescape 2012)
22. “Pedestrians spend 65% more than drivers” Transport for London (2014)
23. “1/3 of America’s malls are dead or dying” deadmalls.com
24. Wallmart and IKEA goes urban
25. Gallerian shopping mall, Stockholm
26. Photoshop Gallerian shopping mall, Stockholm
27. Why not car cities?
28. People in cars can…
29. People in cars can´t interact
30. ”When in my car I get a different set of values” Louis CK
31. New study on “road rage” (Gatersleben, Murtagh, White 2013): •Car use has negative effects on urban communities by affecting social perceptions. •More car use through a relatively poor area is associated with less positive views of that area. •More walking through a relatively poor area is related to more positive views of the area. •Attitudes towards young people are more negative when they are seen from a car. •Attitudes towards young people are most positive when seen from a pedestrian perspective. ”Attitudes to people more negative when seen from a car”
32. Car traffic segregate neighborhoods Livable streets, Donald Appleyard (1981)
33. Car traffic is the most common complaint Västra Ursvik, Sundbyberg Rinkeby Ursvik
34. Car dependency is unequal – Women and poor drive less (A car costs approx. $900 a month)
35. Cars take up space
36. Cars take up too much space
37. “Parking is the most incorrectly valued urban asset… A $310 bn parking subsidy, 5X the education budget.” (Public Parking Fees and Fines, Public Works Management & Policy, 2014)
38. Car infrastructure is heavily subsidized
39. Sprawl consumes land “In the last decade, an area larger than the entire state of Maryland — more than 33,000 square km of farmland, woodlands and other natural habitat beyond the edges of the nation’s cities” (2014)
40. Ecosystems are destroyed and fragmented
41. ”Green” cars?
42. Traffic make 20-25% of all CO2 Peak oil…?
43. The ecological footprint of a car is X800
44. Acid rain kills nature and pollutes water
45. ”Long live the pedestrians” says who?
46. Car speed means death
47. Streets where playgrounds before the car Allmänna vägen, Göteborg 1910
48. Bad density means more sprawl – forces families to move to the suburbs
49. Cars kill 1,2 Mn and injure 39 Mn every year
50. Car driving promotes obesity and early death
51. 2,4 Mn people dies from smog every year
52. ”Car driving is like drug addiction” (The compulsive habit of cars, Trends in cognitive science, 2014)
53. ”Choice blindness”
54. Car city
55. Car city Walk city
56. The end of the suburbs – A war on the dream?
57. Who says walk cities?
58. “We should embrace policies that promote the compact city” Joan Clos, UN Habitat
59. “City transport is about moving people, not vehicles” Rachel Kyte, World Bank
60. “High quality sidewalks are the most basic element of a democratic city.” Enrique Peñalosa, ITDP
61. “Pedestrians and cyclists and bus riders are more important — than car riders.” Michael Bloomberg, NYC
62. New American policies for walk cities New York Chicago
63. New Swedish policies for walk cities
64. Walk cities reclaimed
65. Cities are being reclaimed and repaired
66. Squares are reclaimed Time square, NY
67. Freeways are reclaimed CicLAvia, Los Angeles
68. This used to be as freeway…” Hayes Valley San Francisco
69. Parks are reclaimed Champs Elysées, Paris
70. Parking spaces are reclaimed
71. Gardens are reclaimed
72. Playgrounds are reclaimed
73. Downtowns are reclaimed Detroit
74. Small towns too – FLEN 2013
75. Small towns too – FLEN 2015
76. Small towns too – FLEN 2020
77. ǀ URBAN RESEARCH & DESIGNSPACESCAPE Alexander Ståhle PhD & CEO Spacescape [email protected] www.spacescape.se

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Renegades Of Bike Culture

Academia!

From Youtube:

Today’s hipsters and their fixie bikes are not the first to embody the too-cool-for-school persona of the cyclist. In the 1970’s, counter-culture types in the mountains north of San Francisco took to careening down Mount Tamalpais. They were riding for adventure, for exploration, and as a way to interact with the landscape; they were not riding for exercise. Sarah McCullough, whose PhD dissertation at UC Davis explores the history of mountain biking, explains how this group of renegade cylists invented the sport.

FEATURING: Sarah McCullough, Cultural Studies, UC Davis

For more information:
Mountain Biking and History Archive: http://www.bikinghistory.com
The Grateful Dead Archive: http://www.gdao.org

Special thanks to David Takemoto-Weerts at US Bicycle Hall of Fame and Otis Guy: http://www.usbhof.org

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League Of American Bicyclists Traffic Skills 101 Class To Be Given In Waltham

From the email:

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This class teaches how to ride safely, confidently and legally, how to be comfortable and efficient on the bicycle and how to perform essential maneuvers like the quick-stop and quick turn.

The class is free of charge but attendees should register at http://crw.org/events/trafficskills.php so we can keep a count and send additional information by e-mail.

The class is in two parts: a classroom session and a riding session. You may take only the classroom session, if you wish. If you take the entire class, you may also take a written exam and receive a certificate.

The classroom session is being given on Monday, May 5 and again on Friday, May 9, 7-9:30 PM.  Location: Waltham Government Center, 119 School Street, Waltham. You may attend either classroom session, or both. There is bicycle and car parking in front of the building. The location is an easy walk from the Waltham commuter rail station and the #70 bus line.

The classroom session will cover equipment, basic bicycle adjustment and maintenance, use of gears, brakes, scanning for traffic.  You need not bring your bicycle to the classroom session, but you may arrive early for bicycle checkout and fit adjustment. The riding session is practical application, so bring your bike!

The riding session will be given on Saturday, May 10, 9:30 AM-4 PM. Location: Bentley University, 175 Forest Street Waltham in a big parking lot and on the street. This session is practical application, so bring your bike!

The class is free.

Please feel free to e-mail me with questions!

John S. Allen

Technical Writer/Editor,  http://sheldonbrown.com

League Cycling Instructor #77-C

jsallen *at* bikexprt.com
http://bikexprt.com
http://john-s-allen.com/blog
http://bostonbiker.org/streetsmarts

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Two New Studies Show Moving Away From Cars Improves Business

And not just business but a lot of other things, safety,health, quality of life.  But no one really cares about any of that unless it makes you more money…so the headline reads “improves business” not “makes you feel less horrible.”  But hey if it takes an increase in earnings to get people to abandon cars (and car parking), so be it.  Any port in a storm right.

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From Livable Streets:

Myth: Businesses need parking spaces in front of their store to thrive

Debunked: Complete streets are increasing economic vitality across the country.

Improved accessibility and a more welcoming street environment are now proven to generate higher sales. In particular, studies find that protected bike lanes and increased bike parking promote economic growth.

Check out the Protected Bike Lanes Mean Business report by PeopleForBikes and the Alliance for Biking & Walking, and the Economic Benefits of Sustainable Streets study by New York City Department of Transportation for more stats and facts on this topic.

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