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25% Of Motorists Hate Their Commute 6

25% Of Motorists Hate Their Commute
Malaysian traffic jam. Photo by Malaysia Airlines A Statistics Canada study found that 25% of drivers hate their daily commute to work. With increasing populations in many cities in North America, it’s no wonder motorists are frustrated. But motorists are seemingly better off than transit users. According to the study, 34% of transit users hate ...

You’re Welcome Mr. Motorist 42

You’re Welcome Mr. Motorist
Photo “Going Strong” by Marc van Woudenberg / Amsterdamize  You’re welcome Mr. Motorist. I’m happy that my mode of transportation has allowed more space on the road for you to get to your destination more efficiently. One less car on the road to get in your way and increase congestion, right? It’s my pleasure. It ...

2011: Year of the Rabbit 3

2011: Year of the Rabbit
Photo “Who (Bicycle) Framed Roger Rabbit?” courtesy of John Henderson  Welcome to 2011 – the year of the rabbit (officially beginning on Chinese New Year – February 3rd). Rabbits are born in the years 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999 and 2011, and possess the following personality: People born in the year of the ...

2010: Year In Review 6

2010: Year In Review
Photo “Heels and Wind Chill –16” courtesy of Mikael Colville-Andersen  To close out 2010, I carried on the annual tradition of compiling a video from the various footage I took on my camera throughout the year. To stay on topic for The Urban Country, this year’s video is less personal/sentimental and more related to bicycling ...

Berkeley Bicycle Licensing and $220 Fines 4

Berkeley Bicycle Licensing and $220 Fines
Photo “Temporary Imprisonment” by Daniel Miller on Flickr UC Berkeley has been in the spotlight recently for its outrageous fines targeting bicyclists. Students have been written $220 tickets for locking their bicycles to a railing instead of a bicycle rack. Others have been fined $220 for not coming to a complete stop at a stop ...

Montreal Bicycle Ridership Up 35-40% 22

Montreal Bicycle Ridership Up 35-40%
Photo courtesy of zmtomako / Flickr A new study finds that bicycling is on the rise in Montreal. In 2010, the city experienced a 35-40% growth in ridership over its 2008 bicycle ridership counts. This is an encouraging sign that the city’s significant infrastructure investments and bike sharing scheme have contributed to an increase in ...

Stifling Urban Bicycling 8

Stifling Urban Bicycling
All photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country This website normally focuses on the positive things happening around the world with respect to improving conditions for urban bicycling. This post however is going to focus on the negative aspects that we see in many North American cities that end up stifling urban bicycling. ...

Dutch Cycle Chic – Toronto Style 40

Dutch Cycle Chic - Toronto Style
All Photos by Aviva Cohen for The Urban Country One evening in early November, I was walking my dog near my home when I encountered a pretty girl on a stunning red Dutch bike. Intrigued, I told her how much I loved her bike and I asked her if she would be interested in doing ...

Don Cherry Rips “Pinko” Bicyclists 12

Don Cherry Rips “Pinko” Bicyclists
File Photo Courtesy of Oldmaison  At Mayor Ford’s inaugural council meeting today, Ford’s “special guest” – legendary “pit bull” Hockey Night in Canada commentator Don Cherry – dropped his gloves and called on “pinko” bicyclists (listen to the audio of Don Cherry’s speech here). “Well I’m wearing pinko (sic) for all the pinkos out there ...

Enough Excuses: Cars Cause Death 25

Photo “WATCH OUT ” courtesy of Kevin Schraer Car-centric societies tend to make excuses to defend a way of life – a life dependent on automobiles. These excuses are disproportionately emphasized in the media and accepted by society. When a tragedy occurs between a motorist and a bicyclist,  the media looks for reasons to explain ...