This is a recent Danish video from the city of Aarhus, which may offer a glimpse into the future of bicycling through North American cities. Here are the translated points:
See more about the the future of transportation here.
A new report and corresponding infographic (above) by AmericaBikes.org show broad support for bicycle infrastructure funding in the United States. For me, it was fascinating to learn that this support crossed party lines and geographic boundaries. Here are some findings from the study:
For more details on the study, see: AmericaBikes.org
See more about the book John Perkins is endorsing here.
I was recently quoted by both USA Today and FOX News regarding my take on priority parking for electric vehicles. I argued that American taxpayers give electric car owners tax breaks and credits to buy their vehicles as well as priority parking and special freeway lanes even though there’s no evidence they’ve done anything positive for the environment in return. In fact, the mining, heavy metals, and other side effects of electric car production and operation are likely worse for the environment when compared to traditional gasoline-powered vehicles, and will be for some time according to a National Academies report.
If stores and organizations wish to minimize their environmental footprint, then they can give priority access to bicyclers and pedestrians. Congress can do the same.
Bicycling is booming across the country right now but Congress has taken no notice of the trend. Congress is actually moving to lower bicycle and pedestrian transportation funding, which already represents less than 2% of the total transportation budget. (See the just released Alliance for Biking and Walking’s 2012 Benchmarking Report)
Senate bill 1813 has left committee and will be up for a vote soon. In its current form, it will shrink bicycle and pedestrian support by eliminating dedicated funding for programs such as the broadly successful Safe Routes to School (SRTS) initiative. It will lump other types of pedestrian and bicycle funding into a discretionary budget to be apportioned by state governments. States would be free to divert bicycle and pedestrian funding within their borders to automotive projects.
Congress is framing all of these cuts as a way to save money. But if Congress is serious about stabilizing the nation’s balance sheets, they’ll stand up to thirsty car-culture lobbies and back low-cost bicycle and pedestrian improvements that pay durable dividends.
— Ozzie Zehner is the author of Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism
Here’s a handy new infographic from Kory Northrop, a grad student at the University of Oregon. The main graphic breaks down bicycling commutes by state.
The infographic also displays federal infrastructure funding, bicycle-related traffic fatalities, and the top cities for bicycling in the US. You can view the massive full-size graphic here.
Photo from thisbigcity.net
Five years ago, Mexico City pledged to paint 300km of bike lanes on existing streets throughout the city by 2012 but the government has been slow to respond. Only 22 km have been painted so far. So, Mexico City bikers raised $1000 to buy some paint.
Political science student Jimena Veloz reported on the one-day event at thisbigcity.net:
“We bought paint, brushes and rollers. We built wood signs. We cut stencils. We borrowed a tricycle to carry everything. We invited everyone we knew and told them to come help…We worked for 8 hours. We painted 5 kms. We spent less than 1000 dollars. How much would it cost to actually build the bicycle infrastructure the city needs?”
See more about the book John Perkins is endorsing here.
The Dutch Cycling Embassy, a coalition of bike ambassadors from, private companies, non-profits, bike manufacturers and government entities, released this new video on the perhaps surprising history of Dutch cycling. (Well, surprising for those who did not read my recent post on the history of Dutch bicycle infrastructure.) The video is by Marc van Woudenberg.
Ozzie Zehner 
