20mph/30kph Zones

Quite a bit has been written in regards to the English "20" mph zones.  These are typically residential or commercial areas of low auto traffic and low speed by design.  What auto traffic there is, is required to travel at not more than 20mph.  These zones are typically dead end or limited access for drivers and so are self fulfilling in terms of reducing auto trips, however they commonly maintain through routes for pedestrians, cyclists, and sometimes transit.

These zones can be found all over Europe and even in the US. NYC is experimenting with 20mph zones and is slowly rolling them out.  Article on the progress in NYC from Streetsblog Here.  England has been rolling them out for a number of years under the "20 is plenty [for us]."

However, the undeniable champion and proponent of these low speed streets has been the Netherlands and their Woonerf (Living Street, or Home Zone).  I will pass you over to David at "A view from the cycle path" and his article about these zones so you can read up a bit more on them.  A second article from "A view".

These zones are typically connected with 20mph (18kph in metric countries) roads which are clearly marked as such and designate entry (there is no mistake or I didn't see the sign here).  In The Netherlands these are residential areas and very limited access, but usually provide quick connections for bikes and folks walking.

These are great and need to be implemented here but it is typically harder since the roads in these "Home Zones" need to be designed for "walking speed" and I am pretty sure that would blow the head off many engineers and planners on this side of the Atlantic.

The point of all this is not just to let you know about these areas and there benefits (of which there are tons!) but to showcase an example in Spain.  I visited my girlfriend as she was teaching in northern Spain back last April.  This is Santoña, a small village to the east of Santander.  She worked at a school here back in 2010.  This was installed between the time I visited here in 2010 and when I came back in 2011. Their main commercial area had already been pedestrianized with limited access but this was new, I will have more on their commercial center in the near future.

Sign roughly translated:  "Shared/coexist zone with preference given to pedestrians" 

I love this sign.  The main commercial corridor for the town is just after this section and within the shared zone.  There is a school just a bit out of the photo too.

Here is a raised crossing of a different surface with clear "give way" lines in red and white.  I love the sign the most though, basically I translate that to "attention, kids playing in the street"  12mph max and pedestrians(people) have the right of way.
This is a one way section that use to be two way and was converted as part of the redesign.  You can visit it on Google Maps Here (warning: bad imagery and no streetview so not so useful)

We need to implement 20mph zones in the US, every community across the country can benefit from these. However, we also need to do more since implementing a 20mph zone does not really cut it or equal what the Europeans are typically doing.  We need "Living Streets" areas that are designed for walking speed where kids are free to play and separation by mode is not needed.  Areas that provide pleasant connections for residents as well as others walking and bicycling through. Safe areas for everybody.

Yes we need to get good pedestrians and bicycle infrastructure on the main roads that is critical, but quite a bit can be done by focusing on these "living streets" that can get people out and moving.

At the end of the day that is what is critical, getting people outside going places under their own power; safely.


If you would like larger copies of this picture please send me an email or add a comment and I will gladly provide.  All images are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

MBTA Budget Calc! Not just for Boston residents

MBTA Green Line D-train Credit Adam E. Moreira Wikipedia Commons

For those of you who follow this blog in the Boston Metropolitan area (ok like maybe one of you, hi dear! (dear being my wonderful girlfriend))  This is of worthy note.

Actually now that I think about it, even if you don't follow in the Boston area this is of note.  Many transit agencies around the country are dealing with budget issues, many have suggested all-or-nothing far increases and service cuts which will impact thousands of those cities workers, poor disabled, students, not to mention tourists etc.

In that light, I present the recently released (as of this morning) MBTA Budget-O-Matic (thanks Universal Hub for the title)

Fix The T Budget Tool from MAPC

Fill it out!  Each option has a small description of what it means and you get to choose any combination of possibilities to help fix the issues with the T (many of which will help fix the longer term funding issue as well)  You can easily submit your proposal into the database at the end with an email address.  At which point you can see what choices every body else has been making.

I suggested something similar to my contact at the MBTA and MAPC(Metropolitan Area Planning Commission) in my position with the City of Cambridge.  I also passed my suggestion around the office.

 This was based on something I noted on some blog (maybe Bikeportland.org?) which showcased a tool used by Portland's TriMet agency (now closed but you can see the suggestions) to allow citizens deal with its budget issues.  The issues at TriMet were very different but the idea is the same. I would like to think that a very small part of the creation of this was as a result of my forwarding on the tool they used. (I can dream right?)

If your transit agency is dealing with issues (be you in Germany, Canada, US etc) pass this information along, get a local newspaper, popular blog, planning agency, or city to take up the issue and put together a tool like this that allows folks to make changes, rather than just complaining at a meeting.

Livable Manchester (NH)

I came across this site from some connections with Commute Green NH (facebook link). It is called LibableMHT and focuses on some thoughts and lessons which could make Manchester, NH a better community for all. I have not had too much time to browse the posts in depth, but they do have a nice potential streetcar setup which looks really spiffy for sure.

I encourage you to check them out, it is really nice to see something like this develop in good ol NH.

Website Link Here

How to Transport a bike

Thanks to Indigothreads.org for the picture

So lets say you found your wonderful new bike, you love it, it does what you want and you need to get it home. Now say you don't own a bike rack or even a car, because well the bike is your transportation. There are a couple ways you could go with this, if the shop is local, use your old bike to pull it home, because well why would you want to get rid of your old bike. The formula is N+1 not N-1+1, where N is the number of bikes you have currently, there is no room for this getting rid of bikes silliness. There are racks that allow for a tire to be placed and locked down, and Xtracycle system will allow this (see Here, Here, and a longer story on Xtracycle type cargo bikes Here) there are also do-it-yourself rigs online for this, but only works if your old bike is a cargo or transport or has a rack system. Walking is an option if it’s not too far away. However for the most part you would be going via public transport or a friend. I won’t deal with the friend thing here, but I want to talk about the public transportation option.

For inner-city travel, there is the bus. Most of these do not allow bikes (except foldies) on board due to the space required, sometimes they might if there is plenty of room and the driver is feeling nice. In some areas there are racks on the front of the buses for 2-3 bikes, these buses are typically in smaller communities or college areas, and are actually really good for providing mobility and creating mode share possibilities, however this is unlikely in dense urban routes as the time required is quite a bit to load on, and there is likely to be too many bikes for the limited space, and well, its urban, riding the bike is easier as things are closer together.

Also for inner-city travel is the subway, light rail, or tram/trolley. The restrictions vary with each agency/city and sometimes within the network. Example; trams do not allow bikes, but the subway does. Usually the policy is clear and typically full sized bikes are not allowed during rush hour time due to the space required.

For commuter travel or regional transport, there is light or heavy rail. For light commuter rail, most I believe allow bikes on board, usually you have a limited area to place them, usually its just around where you board or exit the train, sometimes there are seats that fold up or sometimes even a compartment (like many UK trains I rode). Ideally an entire car would be used for proper storage of bikes, but that is very unlikely to happen anytime soon.

If you want to go city-to-city then your options are very limited.
Flying is possible, but the fees are insane and from what I have heard, quite a hassle, although if you take it apart and remove some elements you can ship it by plane and call it art in progress or something, with maybe better treatment, but you are riding your bike normally, unless you are moving to another part of the country, I am not sure why you would fly with your bike anyway.

Amtrak allows bikes on some routes and some stations due to the nature of how they typically carry bikes. My Downeaster service allows bikes at three stations due to the platform length and the "dummy" engine on one end that holds larger storage items, needing to be accessible to the loading platform. I could have a bike on the train from North Station in Boston, but I could only unload it at Portland, ME or one other Maine town, for all intensive purposes, useless, especially for commuters from New Hampshire (which is a majority).

Greyhound or other bus services seem like the best bet, short of actually shipping through UPS or other company for a huge cost. Greyhound allows bikes with the following statement:

Packaging only exceptions to the following items: bicycles, skis and ski poles must be packed in wood, canvas or other substantial container, and securely fastened.

It is considered checked baggage and subject to fee for an extra bag if you already have one with clothes in it, the fee is 10$. Some companies like Boltbus and other providers will carry bikes free of extra charge and free of excessive packaging requirements or oversize limits, as long as its within the one baggage limit for under the bus. I have read that people have the best success with this, and you may find another company that has specific space for bikes, but I don't know.

So why did I bring this up, why the long lead-up. Well I found the bike I want, the Breezer Uptown 8 or see my other post on the bike. It does everything I need and want and with a quick fitting was wonderful to ride and gave me plenty of gears for what I was doing. However due to the sever lack of suppliers and carriers for Breezer, I will have to get the bike from Harris Cyclery, just outside of Boston (home of Sheldon Brown, may he rest in peace). Which is not a problem except that getting back to college in Plattsburgh, NY involves a Greyhound trip, and now you understand the logic behind this. A comment on a bike forum about using bike boxes that shops get their bikes in and taking the bike apart for shipping, got me thinking, and I think it will work. It will certainly be interesting getting the bike as I might see if Harris will pack the bike for me, with minimal deconstruction, and I take the bike home in the back of my dads wagon and not deal with the mess of 2 MBTA commuter trains and a subway with a new bike, and then a drive with the bike on the bike rack from the commuter rail station.

I will update further once I complete my trip, hopefully with a brand-new bike.
Until then, I hope this will work out; otherwise I am quite stuck...

Somebody was thinking

So the family and I were coming home from a nice little local restaurant over the line in Maine, and we are driving back through Dover, of course have to stop and get a bit of icecream ;) Well it was about time for the Downeaster to be roaring through on its way to Portland, Maine from Boston, and right on time, 6:30 rolls into the station. Now I love catching the train, I remember the inauguration of the rout back in 2001 as the line reopened after 40 years or something, it has also been the fasted growing line in the entire Amtrak network, and I think either breaks even or might make money, either way, its a wonderful train and I am happy to have the options! What I did want to mention was the way it connected to the local bus services. Wildcat transit, which is run by UNH from Durham had arrived at the station about 5 minutes before the train and waited until after it had left the station to leave, and 2 of the Coast buses came, one before and waited and then one after. All of the buses have bicycle access through front racks, to ease in transportation mode changes. The train does not carry bikes from the Dover station, but I am working on a way so they in theory could, anyway. It was nice and refreshing to see, even the little public transport options we have, working together and syncing up. Too often in the US nobody pays attention to these things and you either miss the connection by 5 minutes or you have to wait an hour. So cudos to Amtrak, Coast, and Wildcat transit for working together.

Downeaster
Coast Bus
Wildcat Transit

Ghost Bikes...

I have only seen 2 "Ghost bikes" in my life, I hate seeing them really, even writing this I am tearing up a little. The two I saw were in London and York earlier this year, I didn't stop to photography, I don't know why. I think in a way they make me want to press on even more, to plan, to talk, to think, to try and prevent these unnecessary deaths in the first place. I have had many close calls over the years, especially these past 6 months as I commuted about 5.5 miles every day. Not one of these encounters with lorries, taxies, busses, pedestrians, or cars has stopped me from cycling, not one has even deterred me a little. Maybe its a desire to show that safe cycling can happen and be cool, that its not a requirement that you ride a fixie with no helmet and weave through traffic ignoring traffic laws if you are a college student. Maybe its more of a desire to let reluctant cyclists know that close encounters or accidents even are for now par for the course, but they don’t have to be! Maybe one day our modes of transportation can interact on a safe, secure, and efficient level, I urn for that day, unfortunately that day is not today.

And so we have "Ghost bikes"
Farewell to you all
Ghost Cycles
thanks flickr for the photo
recient bbc article on the topic