December 2013

The vast majority of bicycling in the U.S. is done by men.  More and more, cyclists and cycling advocates across the country are seeing this as a serious problem that needs to be solved.  

Streetsblog reports:

Women have been called an “indicator species” of a bike-friendly city because they tend to pedal more in places that are safe and practical for biking. But on those counts, the United States has some work to do.

In 2009, the last time good data was released, less than a quarter of bike trips in the U.S. — 24 percent — were made by women. Some cities are performing better than others: In Boston and Philadelphia, women make 32 percent of bike trips. In San Francisco, it’s 33 percent.

Still, we’ve got a long way to go compared to places where the gender gap has been closed. In the Netherlands, women account for 55 percent of bike trips. In Germany, it’s 49 percent. According to Bikes Belong, nearly all of the growth in cycling in the U.S. over the past two decades has come from men between the ages of 25 and 64.

Trailnet's Ann Mack recently wrote about a major decision by the Federal Highway Administration to endorse a relatively new guide for the development of bicycle facilities on city streets.  The guide, put together by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) documents best practices in implementing some of the most forward-looking bicycle facilities that American cities have implemented in the last decade or so.

Ann writes:

For all but the bravest or most experienced road cyclist, bicycle infrastructure is necessary when it comes to improving our comfort level and overall feeling of safety on the road.

Distracted driving is an increasing problem for bicyclists and pedestrians, according to this Medline Plus article: 

American pedestrians and bicyclists are being killed by distracted drivers in increasing numbers, a new study finds.

Pedestrian deaths caused by distracted driving -- perhaps talking on cell phones, using a GPS or eating at the wheel -- jumped nearly 50 percent in a recent five-year period, reaching 500 in 2010.

The number of bicyclists killed by distracted drivers increased 30 percent, from 56 in 2005 to 73 in 2010, according to the study, which was published in the November-December issue of the journal Public Health Reports.

"We're constantly exposed to distracted drivers," study author Fernando Wilson, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said in a university news release.

"I don't think there's a day that I don't see someone driving and using their cell phone. A lot of times they're texting," he said. "It's something that's pervasive in society. That's one of the reasons it's so difficult to deal with."

Streetsblog.org reports on a study conducted in Montreal showing the bicyclists prefer streets with protected bike lanes by a wide margin, and also prefer streets with marked bike lanes over other streets by a very significant margin: 

By now there’s not much doubt that protected bike lanes can be a game-changer for cycling in U.S. cities. Making streets feel safe to bike on boosts overall cycling rates, attracting people who otherwise wouldn’t even consider cycling. The safety benefits keep accruing as more people on bikes hit the streets, since drivers become more aware of the presence of cyclists and pay closer attention.

This fascinating TED talk demonstrates the reasons bicycles stay balanced and don't fall over.

Arend Schwab from Delft University of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering did his BSc Engineering at Dordrecht (1979) and MSc Engineering (1983) and PhD (2002) at Delft. He runs the bicycle mechanics lab and teaches mechanics. Whenever Arend comes up with an assignment for his students, the hallway of the faculty is crammed with all sorts of very strange objects that resemble bikes only slighlty. Considering bicyles constitute 40% of the Netherlands traffic making it the bicycle capital of the world, his work is very interesting not only for the dutch people but anyone who ever rode a bicycle.

Streetsblog has an article about a situation that exists in nearly every small Missouri town: Main Street--or at least some of the main streets in town--is a state or federal highway.

Most small towns in Missouri are at the crossroads of two or more state highways--and larger towns usually have an extensive network of state and federal highways running through them.

When your city's streets are state or federal highways, how do you cope?  How do you make them safe and inviting for biking, walking, and all the other normal activities that happen in small town downtowns?

Here is what Streetsblog has to say:

Like thousands of small towns across America, Jena, Louisiana’s main street is also a federal highway: U.S. 84. That’s actually been a positive thing overall for this town of about 3,000, which relies on passers-by for business. Until recently, U.S. 84 was simply a two-lane road through Jena’s historic downtown, indistinguishable from any other road, design-wise.

But following Hurricane Katrina, U.S. 84 was to be widened; the road was among those targeted as an evacuation route from New Orleans. Little downtown Jena was right in the path.

The National Center for Safe Routes to School recently published research showing that the trend of several decades has finally been reversed:  More kids are walking to school now than in recent years: 

New research from the National Center for Safe Routes to School – based on parent survey data collected by nearly 4,700 U.S. schools from 2007 to 2012 – shows that more K-8 students are walking to and from school across the country.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has begun accepting grant applications from private organizations and municipal, county, or state agencies for the Fiscal Year 2014 grant round of the federal Recreational Trails Program.

The Recreational Trails Program is funded through the Federal Highway Administration as part of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act:  A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) and the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21).

Eligible project categories include development of new trails, construction, maintenance, and restoration.  All grants are awarded on a reimbursement basis; a minimum 20 percent match is required for projects. Applications must be postmarked by March 31, 2014.

To assist potential project sponsors with the application process, Department of Natural Resources staff is planning one grant application workshop in Jefferson City and will be hosting two conference calls in January.  The complete schedule of dates and locations will be available on the Web at www.mostateparks.com.

For more information on the Recreational Trails Program or to request an application, contact the Department of Natural Resources, Missouri State Parks, Grants Management Section, 1659 E. Elm St., Jefferson City, MO 65101 or call (573) 751-3442. The application is available on December 2, 2013 for downloading at www.mostateparks.com.