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Groningen: The World’s Cycling City
It's no secret that just about anywhere you go in the Netherlands is an incredible place to bicycle. And in Groningen, a northern city with a population of 190,000 and a bike mode share of 50 percent, the cycling is as comfortable as in any city on Earth. The sheer number of people riding at any one time will astound you, as will the absence of automobiles in the city center, where cars seem extinct. It is remarkable just how quiet the city is. People go about their business running errands by bike, going to work by bike, and even holding hands by bike.
October 9, 2013
A Look at Pittsburgh’s Bike Parking and Presumptive New Mayor
The future looks bright for Pittsburgh for 2014. As they prepare to host the Pro Walk Pro Bike Pro Place conference next September, last week Project for Public Spaces held a one-day summit in advance of next year's big event.
September 23, 2013
Montreal’s Car-free Rue St. Catherine and Bustling Bike Rush Hour
While spending a week in Montreal, my wife and I stayed right along the Rue Sainte Catherine, which we discovered is closed to motor vehicles from May 15 through September 6 in two main sections. The first, a mile-long stretch that's been car-free in the summer since 2008, has a lot of restaurants and is filled with pedestrians all night long. The second, a more recent addition, is a smaller section to the west which features plenty of programming and music near the Place des Arts.
August 26, 2013
Amsterdam Draws Bike Boxes to Organize Bike Parking
Amsterdam cycling advocate Marjolein de Lange regales us with this tale about how in 2006 cyclists came up with a very simple solution -- draw bike box outlines directly on the pavement! -- to better organize the bike parking outside a popular supermarket. It's so simple and shows how sometimes engineers might over-think a problem.
August 23, 2013
Streetfilms Shortie: Cyclists on Rails in Zurich
One thing that impressed me during my three days in Zurich was I saw no cyclists crash while navigating the surface rails for the 15 tram lines that run all over the city. I was told by some there are certainly problems, and crashes happen, but I saw some real pro rail-riding behavior.
August 14, 2013
Streetfilms: Scenes From Summer Streets
Saturday was the second of three Summer Streets this August, with car-free streets along Park Avenue and Lafayette Street from 72nd Street to the Brooklyn Bridge. Couldn't make it yourself? Clarence Eckerson Jr. from Streetfilms, as always, has got you covered.
August 12, 2013
Strong Towns’ Chuck Marohn: Why Suburban Growth Is a Ponzi Scheme
Chuck Marohn cofounded the non-profit Strong Towns in 2009. Since then he has steadily built an audience for his message about the financial folly of car-centric planning and growth. The suburban development pattern that has prevailed since the end of World War II has resulted in what Marohn calls "the growth Ponzi scheme" -- a system that isn't viable in the long run because it cannot bring in enough revenue to cover its costs.
July 18, 2013
Some Things You Might See While In Amsterdam
I'm currently on a European junket, and ahead of the more serious Streetfilms that will come out of it, I thought it would be prudent to put up some everyday street scenes of bicycling in Amsterdam.
July 15, 2013
Flashback Friday: ReMOOOve the Barricades!
Clarence has been unearthing old footage from the Streetfilms vault this summer in preparation for Transportation Alternatives' 40th anniversary bash. This week's installment takes us back to the end of 1997, when the Giuliani administration and NYPD erected pedestrian barricades in Midtown, preventing people from crossing major avenues to make way for turning traffic. TA's protest got covered on all seven local newscasts, but Giuliani went ahead and made the barricades permanent. They remain to this day.
July 12, 2013