It’s the weekly Bike News Roundup! I’m back in Seattle after a week in St. Louis. I’m sure I missed some stuff while I was gone, so be sure to fill the holes in this roundup in the comments below. This is an open thread (feel free to discuss anything bikey below).
The car is king in STL, but I saw more people biking those mean streets than I’ve ever seen before. Cycling is contagious, and I can only imagine how many more people would try it if every city realized the vision Vancouver, BC is aiming for:
Vancouver’s Velo Vision: Safe Biking for All Ages from Streetfilms on Vimeo.
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Pacific Northwest News:
- UW Station pedestrian bridge takes shape over Montlake Blvd | montlaker
- Sun shines on colorful Kitsap Color Classic bicycle ride » Biking Bis
- Green Lane Project – Should neighborhood greenways be counted as “quality bikeways?”
- We’re hiring! « Cascade Bike Blog – Be a Washington State bike lobbyist!
Halftime show! Emily Finch is awesome. I love hearing her back story:
National & Global News:
- Planners suggest rerouting I-70 out of central Denver – Boulder Daily Camera – As a one-time resident, I can say that this would be great for Denver.
- The World’s Most Luxurious Subway Ride – The Atlantic Cities – So cool.
- fantasy bike debate (with tweets) · BikeCarrboro · Storify – If only the presidential debates actually asked these questions (or that our nation’s culture were so bike-loving that they would be required debate topics)
- Louisville Doubles Down on Disruptive Downtown Highway | Streetsblog Capitol Hill – Don’t do it!
Comments
4 responses to “Bike News Roundup: Vancouver’s cycling vision for all ages and abilities”
The Vancouver vision made me drool.
Just got back into town after two weeks of traveling in the Midwest and Canada.
We took VIA back from Central Canada. Good news about VIA is that if you take your bike you don’t need to box it for their train. The only bad news is that it costs 20 extra dollars, but for me it was worth it since I would’ve had two bikes to box. Saved lots of time and hassles, and we got ride right out of the Vancouver train station and over to the Canada Line instead of having to reassemble bikes first.
Just got back from Vancouver myself and while I didn’t haul my own bike up there, I did rent a couple for myself and my wife to ride around Stanley Park. It was a great day to ride and it’s a wonderful park to tour.
The drivers on the city streets were terrible though. As a pedestrian we nearly got creamed more than once by people just not paying any attention to people on foot.
Also while the downtown has lots of cycle tracks, and bike lanes for cyclists, I didn’t see that many in proportion to the number of cars or pedestrians. Still though Seattle has a long way to go to catch up.
The video is great. Having cycled quite a bit for fun and work up in Vancouver, I think one thing that a viewer doesn’t get to fully appreciate is just how well Vancouver did their greenways and how comfortable they truly are cycling with kids (or even making time to a meeting when going over a monster hill– a nice, quiet climbing route). Traffic diverters every few blocks, push button crossing triggers at major arterials on the correct side of the street, right where the bike stops (check that out SDOT!). In contrast, there is usual Seattle push button situation, e.g. BGT where SDOT managed to put the push buttons on the wrong side of the trail on both sides of the trail at 34th and Stone–and the lack of traffic diversions on the new wallingford greenway–another great contrast. Not in Vancouver! Here’s to hoping that this video gets used by SDOT… The cycle tracks in Richmond, BC are also worth a ride, and dedicated bike/ped. bridge to Vancouver if you get the opportunity.