Midweek Reading: Infrastructure, Programs and Polices to Increase Bicycling
A pre-publication draft of a forthcoming article in the journal Preventative Medicine (February 2010) has become available in PDF format, and can be read here. The article is by John Pucher (Rutgers), Jennifer Dill (Portland State), and Susan Handy (UC-Davis), and features fourteen case studies of cities around the world to determine the most effective policies to encourage greater bicycle use. It's a good read for anyone interested in this kind of work, plus it's short and has pictures!
Most of the evidence examined in this review supports the crucial role of public policy in encouraging bicycling. Substantial increases in bicycling require an integrated package of many different, complimentary interventions, including infrastructure provision and pro-bicycle programs, as well as supportive land use planning and restrictions on car use.
Read the full article here.
This Week in the San Diego Bike Blogosphere
San Diego has quite a number of bicyclists who write blogs. As far as we know, we have a pretty comprehensive list at right, but we know that not everyone has time to read all of those blogs, so every week we're going to try to put together a roundup of what we consider the most interesting posts from the different blogs. Our criteria for interesting is fairly arbitrary, and the point is mainly to get more people reading, riding, and participating in this big conversation about bicycling in San Diego. So here's what happened this week:
- Vélo-flâneur rediscovered the joys(?) of a morning commute by car.
- Changuito gave us a report from last weekend's Tour de Fat.
- Bike by the Sea considered the value of art in bicycle advocacy.
- Bike 21 became unwittingly involved in a competition.
- And Life with Bicycle did a bunch of boring errands.
Do you have a blog about bicycling in San Diego? Do we know about it yet? If you do, and we don't, then it's time to shamelessly promote yourself. Send us a link, tell us why you write about riding here, and we'll add you to our reading list.
Share Your Tour de Fat Photos!
The New Belgium Brewing Company's Tour de Fat has come and gone for this year, but you can relive all the zany bicycle mayhem by sharing your photos of the event with us. You can attach photos on the Contact Us form, or if you are a Flickr user, you can join our Flickr Group Bike San Diego and share them there.
A Critical Moment for Critical Mass
Love it or hate it, Critical Mass has been stirring up debate lately. From the Reader author who threatened violence against CM riders, to the recent meeting to discuss strategies for keeping the event positive, San Diego's largest monthly ride has certainly been drawing some attention from both bicyclists and non-bicyclists.
Voice of San Diego's Keegan Kyle has entered the fray with a rather negative impression of Critical Mass, which is bound to stir up its own controversy. Kyle mentions, but brushes off, the very positive meeting that took place the Monday before the ride, and refers to the event itself as "a serious public safety risk," emphasizing the fact that laws were broken but no citations were issued by police. Kyle is especially bothered by the fact that the police maintain a presence at the Mass, but do not attempt to control it or issue citations for unlawful riding. We wonder if Kyle believes the alternatives (either a police crackdown, or a total police absence) would be better?
We would like to encourage our readers to write to Kyle and to Voice of San Diego with your opinions on the piece and about Critical Mass, either positive or negative. Contact information is at the bottom of Kyle's piece.
Image: Voice of San Diego
Inaugural meeting of Coronado's bicycle committee this Thursday
This Thursday, October 1st, Coronado's Ad Hoc Bicycle Committee (AHBC) will meet for the first time. Formed earlier this month, the Coronado AHBC is a citizens' committee designed to help the city adopt a bicycle master plan. Coronado has received a SANDAG grant of $75,000 to establish the plan, which aims to make bicycling safer and easier. We'll be very interested to see what comes of Thursday's meeting, as this level of citizen participation in bicycle planning is unprecedented in our area.
What: City of Coronado Ad Hoc Bicycle Committee Inaugural Meeting
Where: Police Department Community Meeting Room, 700 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA 92118
When: Thursday, October 1, 2009 @ 3:00pm
See the meeting's agenda here.