Hey Everyone,
In a recent post by the League of American Bicyclists the announced that they will be giving away tools every two weeks. Signup is free, but if you join the League you can get two chances to win. For more information visit their site and read the post.
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Here at ABC.com you will not only find news about Albany and the Capital District, but you will see news from other cities that have done interesting bicycle projects to improve their area so that we can learn from their example. The city we are looking at today is Portland, Oregon. In this short video from www.streetfilms.org you will see how the people converted their bike boulevards to greenways and lots more.
Portland’s Bike Boulevards Become Neighborhood Greenways
An article from the Ashland Daily Times recently referenced a study about bicycling. In it the study identified three types of riders.
The first one and the smallest one is the “strong and fearless riders” These are the people you see on the road every day regardless of traffic conditions or personal safety.
The next and slightly larger group is the “enthused and confident” riders. These are the fair weather riders who will take their bike out, but try to only ride on roads with bike lanes or on bike paths.
Lastly there is the biggest group of riders named “interested but concerned.” These people don’t ride. The would if given the opportunity for safety and security, but the lack of that keeps them off their bike.
It is this group that is the most important to creating a riding culture in a city. The other two groups do not need to be convinced that cycling is fun. They already do it. The third group however is much larger than the other two and if you could only tap into part of their members you could double or even triple the number of people on the road.
The study identifies two ways to encourage the third group to start bicycling:
- By providing more protection along busy traffic streets (e.g., using buffered, protected, or separated bike lanes); or
- By providing comfortable alternatives to the boulevard network, such as bicycle boulevards along low volume streets.
So what can ABC take from this? We can see what we have always known. A greater amount of quality bicycle infrastructure means that you will get more riders on the road and more riders means more bike infrastructure. It is a chicken and egg thing. Who will innovate first, riders or the government?
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Just a quick one from someone who has to bike home today. Yes it’s that time of year and the snow has come and it’s a dusey. Are you prepared for it? I thought I would reference one of our posts that might help you out this winter. Expect more to winter themed posts come. Be safe and be careful on the road.
All I can say is that I am glad I put on my fenders last night.
I was reading an article on bicycling.about.com and here is a tip from someone who learned this lesson first hand. Don’t feel bad if you let out a chuckle. I did.
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Albany Bicycle Coalition 