Bicycle Safety

Emily Thornberry, Member of Parliament for Islington South and Finsbury in London and chairwoman of the all-party parliamentary cycling group, debunks 10 persistent myths about bicycle commuting in this op-ed for London's Guardian:

This Thursday will be the opening reception of "Livable Streets in Brooklyn," an exhibition at the Brooklyn Public Library. There will be a presentation by the Grand Army Plaza Coalition (GAPco) about the community-driven process that has been underway to re-envision Grand Army Plaza. And the Department of Transportation will discuss its recently announced plans for bike and pedestrian improvements.

A letter in the Daily News this week reminds us of the need for better enforcement as well as the open source hit-and-run investigation conducted by Streetsblog readers last November:

In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, Will Campbell writes that bike lanes in Los Angeles are useless and dangerous. Campbell is an avid recreational and commuter cyclist who set a goal of riding 2,007 miles in L.A. this year.

Following Alex Marshall's essay on bicycle helmets this morning, Scientific American recently reported on a paradox emerging in relation to helmets and traffic accidents. It seems that drivers are a lot more scared of hitting you if you leave your protective gear at home:

We're pleased to announce that Alex Marshall will now be contributing to Streetsblog. As a journalist and author Alex has written extensively on how transportation shapes our cities. He is a columnist at Governing Magazine and a senior fellow at the Regional Plan Association where he edits the bi-weekly Spotlight on the Region newsletter. Here is his first piece for Streetsblog:

In this month's issue of the Boston Phoenix, a 20 page supplement called the Bicycle Bible offers advice on bicycle safety and how to stay alive on the streets of Boston. Although there is a nice piece on Boston's Livable Streets Alliance, the paper may have done more harm than good. With subtitles like "Urban Bikers Need to be Careful, Prepared, and Paranoid" and "Biking on the Defensive," bike commuting is presented as a fringe activity for people with an urban death wish.

After over an hour of public comment, and another hour of deliberation, Community Board 2 last night voted to recommend the DOT proceed with bike lanes parallel to Houston Street, to be located primarily on Prince and Bleecker.