Motorists Against Bicycle Infrastructure 11
Photo courtesy of Alastair Smith After posting an article about the City of Vancouver passing a vote to build a two-way protected bicycle track across downtown I decided to search Twitter to see what people thought of these new bike lanes. One particular tweet caught my eye (and no, it wasn’t because it was tweeted ...
Vancouver Approves Hornby Street Dedicated Bike Lanes 6
Dunsmuir street bike lanes – Photo by Christopher Porter Despite some opposition from motorists, the City of Vancouver approved new dedicated bike lanes along Hornby street late Tuesday evening – with installation to be completed by the end this year. The Hornby lane would cross the entire downtown area to create a barrier-protected connection to ...
DC’s CaBi Out-Styles World of Bike Sharing 5
Barclays Cycle Hire photo courtesy of Claire Doble / Visit London Blog DC’s new CaBi (Capital Bikeshare) program might fall short of Paris or Montreal’s bike sharing systems, but when it comes to fashion, Capital Bikeshare out-styles the world of bicycle sharing. The bright red bikes are easy to spot and appealing to the eyes. ...
DC’s Capital Bikeshare Falls Short 18
All photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country The District of Columbia expanded its Capital Bikeshare program last week to 1,100 BIXI-style bicycles scattered around the D.C. area at 110 stations – stretching as far as Arlington, Virginia. Although a wonderful step in the right direction, the program falls short by trying to ...
Only the poor ride bicycles in Shanghai 12
All photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country When it comes to using bicycles as transportation, there are few cities I have visited that intrigue me more than Shanghai. Shanghai citizens have a knack for utilizing their bicycles to their full capacity. From carrying fridges, to bathtubs, to beds – to the far ...
Futile Bicycle Signals 4
Photo by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country Toronto loves to take great ideas from cycling cities, and then implement them completely wrong. One good example – bike traffic signals. Cities that are more bicycle-friendly implement bicycle traffic signals to reduce the probability of conflicts between motor vehicles and bicycles. In New York, you ...
Oakville’s Grand Opportunity 1
Photo “Groningen: Colourful City” courtesy of Akbar Simonse The following is an excerpt from an article I contributed to Oakville.com that discusses using bicycles as transportation in Oakville, Ontario: So how exactly can Oakville improve its current state? The first thing Oakville needs is a master cycling plan. It needs a vision that encompasses active ...
Bicycles in Vietnam 8
All Photos by Mark Green / The Urban Country Our Asia correspondent Mark Green snapped some lovely photographs of bicycles in Vietnam on his last visit to that fascinating country. These photos show how bicycles are used by normal people in normal clothes as transportation – the way bicycles were meant to be used when ...
Bike Helmets Not Warranted 34
Photo Courtesy of Marc van Woudenberg / Amsterdamize The topic of helmets often comes up on The Urban Country. It’s not really a topic we like to waste a lot of time on, because there are so many more important things we can focus on to improve the conditions for bicycles in North America. The ...
Interview With Cycling Newcomer Kerri McKenna 2
Photo of convert Kerri McKenna – 2010 2010 has been an interesting year. I have had countless friends and acquaintances come up to me and ask me for advice on where to get a bike, or how to find the best route to work. The number of cycling “newcomers” has been astounding, and it gives ...