Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bicycle, bicycle history, bike, cycling, history, infrastructure, Los Angeles, Pasadena, transportation history
The crowd cheered. Bugles rang out. Within a year, Dobbins promised, something similar to Columbus’s short route to the Orient would rise above the hills of the Los Angeles basin. His “Cycleway” was designed to swiftly and conveniently transport people between a pair of key urban centers: the old colonial plaza in Downtown Los Angeles, and Pasadena, the burgeoning, modern suburb to the north that then rivaled the older city in size and ambition. The Dobbins route—which neatly anticipated and presaged the automotive freeways that now stretch across the region—would be a modern marvel. It would boast a state-of-the-art toll-collecting system. It would be elevated fifteen feet above the ground; the limited access would ensure that traffic flowed smoothly. “It can be said,” wrote the Los Angeles Times of the ground breaking, “that none of the new Southern California enterprises will …be more certain of financial success. The wheel must have a path of its own between these two cities.”
via An 1899 Plan to Build A Bike Highway in Los Angeles (And Why It Failed).
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bone cancer, Celine Marie Pascal, cesium, Fukushima, Fukushima Daiichi, London Calling, nuclear error, radioactive, radioactivity, thyroid cancer
Oh yeah, that Fukushima thing. I remember that.
Four years after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the disaster no longer dominates U.S. news headlines, though the disabled plant continues to pour three hundred tons of radioactive water into the ocean each day. Homes, schools and businesses in the Japanese prefecture are uninhabitable, and will likely be so forever. Yet the U.S. media has dropped the story while public risks remain.A new analysis by American University sociology professor Celine Marie Pascale finds that U.S. news media coverage of the disaster largely minimized health risks to the general population.
Pascale analyzed more than 2,000 news articles from four major U.S. outlets following the disasters occurrence March 11, 2011 through the second anniversary on March 11, 2013. Only 6 percent of the coverage—129 articles—focused on health risks to the public in Japan or elsewhere. Human risks were framed, instead, in terms of workers in the disabled nuclear plant.
via Fukushima News.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: black sky, Iran, Iraq, ISIS, oil, Peshmerga, poisoned air, Qassem Soleimani, sabotage, scorched earth, Shiite, Tikrit
The army, backed by Shiite militia and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, has yet to reconquer and secure any city held by Islamic State, despite seven months of air strikes by a U.S.-led coalition, as well as weapons supplies and strategic support from neighboring Iran.
Tehran, not Washington, has been the key player in the current offensive, with Iranian Revolutionary Guard general Qassem Soleimani seen directing operations on the eastern flank, and Iranian-backed militia fighters leading much of the operation.
via Islamic State torches oil field near Tikrit as militia advance | Reuters.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: accidents, bicycling, Chicago, collisions, crashes, traffic safety, urban cycling
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bike crash, bike on bike crash, bike vs. bike, Bono, Central Park, compound fracture, NYC, orbital, U2
The singer suffered numerous serious injuries, including a “facial fracture involving the orbit of his eye,” three separate fractures of his left shoulder blade, and a fracture of his left humerus bone in his upper arm. The latter injury was particularly damaging, with the bone shattering in six different places and tearing through his skin.
via In the News: Bono faces long recovery after bike crash – VeloNews.com.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: alleycat, Boston, Lucas Brunelle, road rage, urban cycling
A woman walking in a crosswalk on Tremont Street with her sister Friday shortly after 6 p.m. was hit by Brunelle on his bike when he ran a red light, according to police reports released today. The woman was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with head injuries after, Brunelle claims, he flagged Chandler down to help him help her.“I was trying to get a taxi for her and this guy comes out and hits me and then he tries to run me over with his car,” Brunelle said. “I said, ‘We were on a group ride. Someone got an injury, they’ve got to go to the hospital.’ He started getting in my face and ‘expletive you’ and so I shot back and I said, ‘Expletive you.’ He gets out and he attacks me. He tried to run me over.”Chandler began punching Brunelle “with his fist, knocking him to the ground and continued the assault while Brunelle was on the ground,” court documents state.
via AP News : Boston cab driver accused of beating, trying to run over cyclist.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alta, bike share, Citibike, High speed rail, Hong Kong, Jay Walder, NYC
City officials had refused to greenlight hikes in the program unless new management was brought in.
Walder brings decades of management experience to the system, including two stints at the MTA and Londons public transport system.
He was most recently the head of Hong Kongs subway system.His time there was marred by what was perceived has his poor handling of a high-speed rail project between the island and mainland China, and he was forced to leave a year before his contract expired.
via EXCLUSIVE: Former MTA head Jay Walder will be named Citi Bike boss: sources – NY Daily News.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alta, bike share, Citi, Citibike, NYC, urban cycling
Keep your eye on all this weirdness.
REQX Ventures, a real estate company affiliated with Related Companies, along with Equinox, will buy Alta Bicycle Share, the company that manages the city’s bike-share program.REQX aims to double Citi Bike’s 6,000-bike fleet, according to Capital NY, and will be allowed to raise the rental fees.
via REQX Ventures | Citi Bike Cost | Related Companies.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Andrew Critchlow, Great Britain, Road.cc, Stevenson, twitter threats, UK
Stevenson freaks out this other fellow Critchlow, who then decides to make an even bigger stink.
Mr Stevenson, who has worked for a wide range of cycling publications during a lengthy career in journalism, objected to suggestions in the piece that some cyclists were as much to blame for problems on the roads as motorists.Taking to his Twitter account, Mr Stevenson wrote: “Can someone please just have Andrew Critchlow taken out and shot? Thx.”
Within hours of the comment being posted, Mr Critchlow, a business journalist, who has represented Great Britain in cycling road races, had been bombarded with hundreds of threatening messages.
via Police investigate alleged death threat from cycling journalist – Telegraph.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bicycle commuting, bike helmets, bike share, Capitol Hill, helmet dispensers, helmets, pronto, Seattle, transportation, urban cycling
People point to hills and weather as the biggest challenges facing bike share in Seattle. Wrong, it’s this:
In order for Pronto to operate in compliance with helmet laws, each station will also have a “helmet dispensing” device and a return bin. Helmets will be available to rent for $2, will be sanitized after each use, and cycled out after a certain number of uses. Expect to see more people walking around with their own bike helmets to beat the $2 fee.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bicycling, cycling, Heathrow, indignant cyclists
Things you need to know if you hire a car in the UK according to Heathrow Airport web page.
Information you should know about driving hire vehicles in the UK.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: border crossing, Canada, emigration, freight, immigration, Mexico, transportation
via US gov.
2013 Border Crossing/Entry Data | Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: belkin, Contador, Giampaolo Mondini, Specialized, SWorks, Tour de France
…could actually be true.
UPDATE: However, a fourth version of events has since come to the fore, and it’s the most plausible yet. According to Specialized’s Giampaolo Mondini, one of Contador’s frames was broken while it was still on the roof. Following Contador’s crash, the team car had to rush to his aid and clipped the Belkin car as it passed, destroying the bike.
via Details of Alberto Contadors Tour-ending crash – VeloNews.com.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: clearcutting, Colorado, Frisco, pine beetle, Summit County, USFS
USFS reaction… clearcut anyway..
From Colorado Independent http://www.coloradoindependent.com/148120/forest-health-crisis-ends-with-a-whimper
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bicycle accidents, bicycling, bike safety, biking, collisions, crash data, cycling, injuries, transportation
The following list of papers and links to papers or abstracts is from the Industrialized Cyclist Bicycling Research Page. Go to http//:www.industrializedcyclist.com/lies.html to click the links. The Research Page also has similar lists for international accident statistics, patterns of use, docs related to facilities and planning, cycling-related laws, helmets and more.
EVERY BICYCLIST COUNTS 2014 report from the League of American Bicyclists found 40% of cyclist fatalities the result of a hit-from-behind.
KAPLAN’S SURVEY OF L.A.W. MEMBERS Viet-Nam War-era cycling survey, 1974. Note: this is on the website of John Allen. Or download pdf.
ADULT BICYCLISTS IN THE UNITED STATES – CHARACTERISTICS AND RIDING EXPERIENCE IN 1996 (pdf) William Moritz’ survey of LAB members. An update of Kaplan with similar numbers. Are they good or bad? Depends on your perspective.
MORITZ’ INTERNET SURVEY OF BICYCLE COMMUTERS Another relatively robust survey from William Moritz, and very similar results.
THE CROSS STUDY This study of 384 accidents that occurred in Santa Barbara in the early 1970s has been cited in support of all kinds of claims. Should it be? Note: only on the website of John Forester.
CROSS-FISHER ’77 (pdf) Volume One of the landmark study prepared for the US Department of Transportation by Kenneth Cross and Gary Fisher. “A Study of Bicycle/Motor-Vehicle Accidents: Identification of Problem Types and Countermeasure Approaches,” vol. 1, September 1977.
BICYCLE ACCIDENTS AND USAGE AMONG YOUNG ADULTS This 1976 survey showed relatively alarming accident numbers for young riders. Note: on the website of John Forester.
CRASH TYPE MANUAL FOR CYCLISTS From the Federal Highway Administration, by Carol Tan, 1996.
NORTH CAROLINA BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN CRASH DATA TOOL. A database of all reported collisions in N.C. for ten years, includes age of victim, crash type, etc.
FHWA’S BIKE-PED PUBLICATION PAGE Facilities, education and more.
KEN KIFER’S 2001 BICYCLE SAFETY SURVEY A small survey of touring cyclists that seems to corroborate larger surveys of experienced riders, but finds strikingly bad news in the relative danger of cycling versus driving.
FLORIDA BICYCLIST AND PEDESTRIAN CRASH EXPOSURE (pdf) Based on 2002 phone survey.
IDAHO TRAFFIC CRASHES 2012 (pdf) Includes rudimentary information about bicycle crashes in the “Idaho Stop” state.
ON-ROAD BICYCLE FACILITIES AND BICYCLE CRASHES IN IOWA, 2007-2010 Abstract, July 2013, Accident Analysis and Prevention.
BICYCLE ACCIDENTS IN WASHINGTON STATE, 1988-1993 (pdf) A survey of police records by Ralph Wessels.
CALIFORNIA STATEWIDE SAFETY STUDY OF BICYCLES AND PEDESTRIANS ON FREEWAYS, EXPRESSWAYS, TOLL BRIDGES, AND TUNNELS 2001 report by Ferrara, San Jose State University.
MANNER AND FAULT IN BICYCLIST FATALITIES : ARIZONA 2009 (pdf) Small sample size.
BICYCLIST FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES IN NEW YORK CITY 1996-2005 (pdf) Collaboration of local government agencies.
“ONLY GOOD CYCLIST” (pdf) Study of NYC police reports by Right of Way group concludes motorists are more often at fault in car-bike collisions. See also “KILLED BY AUTOMOBILE,” (pdf) 1999 report from Right of Way organization on pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities in NYC 1994-1997.
“ON ‘DOORINGS’ OF BICYCLISTS …” Article by Al Baker on New York Times’ City Room blog, October 28, 2010, includes some figures on numbers of doorings in New York state, and information on applicable laws.
BOSTON EMS BIKE CRASH DATA MAP Shows EMS responses to bike accidents in city of Boston, one year, October 31, 2009 to October 31, 2010.
OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES AMONG BOSTON MESSENGERS Harvard researcher J. Dennerlein presents a non-robust 2002 survey that focuses on the danger of messenger work, but with data that (inadvertently, and unknown to prof. Dennerlein) confirms veteran messengers carry accident rates better than those found in the major surveys of club cyclists.
BICYCLE-MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS IN METROPOLITAN BOSTON 1979-80 On John Allen’s site. This old study by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council is based on a sampling of reported collisions, and confirms a profound correlation of age with accident type.
CITY OF BOISE CYCLING SAFETY TASK FORCE FINAL REPORT (pdf) 2009 report contains crash statistics for previous five years, recommends continuing ‘Idaho Stop’ law.
SAFE STREETS BOULDER 2012 (pdf) A study of motor vehicle accidents involving bicycles and pedestrians, study period 2008-2011. From the City of Boulder. See Robert Hurst’s thoughts on this study here: BOULDER STREETS SAFE?
BICYCLE ACCIDENTS IN FORT COLLINS, COLORADO 2000-2009 (pdf) Survey of reported accidents appears to show accident and injury rates on the rise.
CITY OF MADISON, WISCONSIN 2010 CRASH REPORT (pdf).
MESA ARIZONA BIKE-CAR WRECK STUDY (pdf) Study of police reports from all reported accidents in Mesa, Arizona in 2005.
THE OHSU PORTLAND, OREGON BICYCLIST INJURY SURVEY (pdf) Published in Trauma, November, 2010. Introduces a rather expansive definition of “traumatic event.”
SEATTLE INTERACTIVE BICYCLE ACCIDENT MAP 2011 From the Seattle Times.
SAN FRANCISCO BIKE ACCIDENT DATABASE 2010 The Bay Citizen.
FATALITY ANALYSIS REPORTING SYSTEM (FARS) Seductive numbers of dubious utility. People want to draw conclusions from the annual fatality numbers, but the conclusions don’t necessarily follow. See also: FARS PEDALCYCLIST PAGE. See also this article by Robert Hurst commenting on the different fatality numbers provided by the FARS and WISQARS databases.
ROAD FATALITIES USA Map of US road deaths for all users, from FARS database, 2001-2009. Zoom-in-outable.
BICYCLIST DEATHS AND FATALITY RISK PATTERNS Abstract, Gregory Rodgers, Accident Analysis and Prevention, April 1995.
INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY’S BICYCLE FATALITY ANALYSIS PAGE Meta-analysis of FARS data.
THE NEISS HOME PAGE CPSC’S National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), the best injury data available. See also THE NEISS CODING MANUAL (pdf).
WISQARS (WEB-BASED INJURY STATISTICS QUERY AND REPORTING SYSTEM) Uses NEISS data. See also this article by Robert Hurst commenting on the different fatality numbers provided by the FARS and WISQARS databases.
CYCLISTS INJURED WHILE SHARING THE ROAD WITH MOTOR VEHICLES Abstract of 2007 article by Haileyesus, et al in Injury Prevention. Analysis of NEISS data shows car-bike crashes are involved in only about 15% of all cyclist ER visits.
RISK FACTORS FOR BICYCLE-MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISIONS AT INTERSECTIONS By Alan Wachtel and Diana Lewiston. A look at reported collisions from the late 1980s in Palo Alto, California, crossed with exposure data provided by the city. On Bicyclinglife.
INJURY SEVERITY IN BICYCLE-MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES Abstract of 2006 article using police-reported data from North Carolina.
BICYCLE-RELATED INJURIES 2001 article by Thompson and Rivara in American Family Physician.
PEDIATRIC HOSPITALIZATIONS FOR BICYCLE-RELATED INJURIES Abstract of 2007 article from Injury Prevention.
THE OHIO BICYCLE INJURY STUDY Abstract of 1995 paper examining 52 hospital admissions of child cyclists in Ohio.
CPSC’S BICYCLE USE AND HAZARD PATTERNS IN THE UNITED STATES (pdf) One of the most … questionable documents on the list. See also Dr. Gregory Rodgers’ informative DEFENSE OF THE CPSC STUDY against John Allen.
2010 NHTSA BICYCLISTS AND OTHER CYCLISTS FACT SHEET (pdf) / 2008 NHTSA BICYCLISTS AND OTHER CYCLISTS FACT SHEET (pdf) / 2007 NHTSA PEDALCYCLIST FACT SHEET (UPDATED) (pdf) / 2007 NHTSA PEDALCYCLIST FACT SHEET (pdf) / 2004 NHTSA PEDALCYCLIST FACT SHEET (pdf) / 2001 NHTSA PEDALCYCLIST FACT SHEET (pdf) / 1998 NHTSA PEDALCYCLIST FACT SHEET (pdf) / 1993 NHTSA PEDALCYCLIST FACT SHEET (pdf) Beware of ‘Fact Sheets,’ especially when they contradict other ‘Fact Sheets’ produced by the same agency.
2005 MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC CRASH FATALITY COUNTS AND INJURY ESTIMATES (pdf) NHTSA estimates show marked increase in injuries to non-occupants in 2005.
INCIDENCE OF PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLIST CRASHES BY HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES (pdf) 2009 NCSA report.
INJURY TO PEDESTRIANS AND BICYCLISTS (pdf) FHWA analysis based on data from a handful of emergency rooms. Data collected ’95-’96.
NHTSA PEDESTRIAN CRASH REPORT (pdf) Updated through 2006, report released 2008. See also PEDESTRIAN ROADWAY FATALITIES (pdf) 2003 NHTSA report. Neither report mentions bike-ped collisions.
SAFETY IN NUMBERS: MORE WALKERS AND BICYCLISTS, SAFER WALKING AND BICYCLING Abstract of 2003 paper by Jacobsen. This paper merits a special chapter in THE CYCLIST’S MANIFESTO.
THE CONTINUING DEBATE ABOUT SAFETY IN NUMBERS (pdf) 2006 paper from the UC Berkeley Traffic Safety Center examines the theory with respect to pedestrian data from Oakland, finds a relationship.
THE IMPACT OF TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE ON BICYCLING INJURIES AND CRASHES: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 2009 meta-analysis of 23 papers, in Environmental Health. See also FACILITIES AND PLANNING below.
USE OF ALCOHOL AS A RISK FACTOR FOR BICYCLING INJURY 2001 article on the JAMA site.
ALCOHOL, BICYCLING AND HEAD AND BRAIN INJURY: A STUDY OF IMPAIRED CYCLISTS’ RIDING PATTERNS (Abstract) Analysis of 200 patients processed through a regional trauma center in Austin, Texas.
ACCIDENT ANALYSIS AND PREVENTION Free abstracts and tables of contents for this important journal.
A GUIDE FOR REDUCING COLLISIONS INVOLVING BICYCLES 2008 report by Transportation Research Board from analysis of several data sets. View pdf via TRB website.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AeroVironment, Alaska, BP, drone, drone aircraft, energy, Prudhoe Bay, Puma
Not in the Gulf.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it has granted the first permission for commercial drone flights over US land to the BP energy corporation, the latest effort by the agency to show it is loosening restrictions on commercial uses of the unmanned aircraft.Drone maker AeroVironment of California and BP energy corporation have been given permission to use a Puma drone to survey pipelines, roads and equipment at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, the agency said. The first flight took place on Sunday.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chelsea, James Middleton, Michael Mathews Foundation, oceanside, Pippa, RAAM, Race Across America, Royals
Middleton and her brother James are riding for the Michael Matthews Foundation team, the charity named after the 22-year-old who died in 1999 as he descended from the summit of Mount Everest after becoming the youngest Briton reach it.One of his brothers, also called James, once dated Middleton – and is also taking part in RAAM – while another, Spencer, is one of the main figures in the reality TV series Made In Chelsea.Competitors in the various team categories set off from Oceanside, California on Saturday 14 June to start the ride to Annapolis, Maryland.
via Pippa Middleton to ride in world’s toughest bike race this month | road.cc.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Art of Cycling, bicycling, bike lanes, city planning, cycletracks, cycling infrastructure, protected bike lanes, urban cycling
Full report here (pdf): http://ppms.otrec.us/media/project_files/NITC-RR-583_ProtectedLanes_FinalReportb.pdf
Very low rates of near-misses at signalized intersections…but the study does fall apart a bit when you put it under the microscope.
Industrialized Cyclist Notepad 