Remember the fun of riding bikes with friends? The University of Oregon and the city of Eugene do.
Community planning is crucial to creating bicycle-friendly towns and cities, but producing effective plans is easier when everyone contributes ideas and works toward the same goal. That's what makes the collaboration between the university, students, and the community so great in the Oregon case.
According to this news release from the university, a student group took the initiative to study ways of making a major street on campus safer for bikes. Based on its research, the group proposed an idea, and the university and the city are now working to help bring the plan to life. The proposal has even received a pledge of a $150,000 donation from the parents of a university student who was killed in a bicycle accident in 2008.
The Oregon plan proves yet again that riding bikes is better when friends are around.
Showing posts with label bicycles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bicycles. Show all posts
15 January 2014
22 November 2013
On the Right (Bike) Path
There are no accidents when it comes to bicycles.
Of course, I don't mean bicyclists are never hurt or killed. What I do mean is that creating a place where bicycles are a priority and a success is not magic. If people commit to making bicycling a viable and respected form of transportation, it will become one; if people want to make bicycles a contentious issue, it will become one.
This video of Portland, Oregon's, bike-to-school efforts illustrates the successful results produced when governments and individuals come together to create infrastructure and systems for bicycling:
In Portland Every Day is Walk & Bike to School Day! from Streetfilms on Vimeo.
The citizens of Portland have made a commitment to bicycles. Consequently, bicycling has flourished, and people's lives have been improved. Meanwhile, people elsewhere continue to fight bikes, and those efforts have created strife and endangered cyclists.
When it comes right down to it, the direction bicycling takes is more of a reflection on us as people than it is on bicycles themselves.
Of course, I don't mean bicyclists are never hurt or killed. What I do mean is that creating a place where bicycles are a priority and a success is not magic. If people commit to making bicycling a viable and respected form of transportation, it will become one; if people want to make bicycles a contentious issue, it will become one.
This video of Portland, Oregon's, bike-to-school efforts illustrates the successful results produced when governments and individuals come together to create infrastructure and systems for bicycling:
In Portland Every Day is Walk & Bike to School Day! from Streetfilms on Vimeo.
The citizens of Portland have made a commitment to bicycles. Consequently, bicycling has flourished, and people's lives have been improved. Meanwhile, people elsewhere continue to fight bikes, and those efforts have created strife and endangered cyclists.
When it comes right down to it, the direction bicycling takes is more of a reflection on us as people than it is on bicycles themselves.
24 October 2013
Vicious Cycle
The United States of America is still learning to ride a bike.
In the US, it is common to associate bicycles with danger, antiquated ideas, and annoyance. In many American cities, the rhetoric about bikes has become warlike. Bicycles are the enemy of cars and the dominant way of life.
However, this issue is a great example of the saying, "Life is what you make it." If we want to see bikes as an enemy, that's what they'll turn into and remain, but we can also create a world where bicycles are an important, seamlessly integrated part of a better life. The following video of bicycle usage in Amsterdam opens our eyes to such an alternate reality:
Bicycle Anecdotes from Amsterdam from Streetfilms on Vimeo.
So many things in the video are remarkable. First, the number of bicycles is amazing. They, not cars, are the preferred (and sometimes only) mode of transportation. Second, the bicyclists aren't dressed for a space mission (they don't even wear helmets), suggesting they lack the fear we have of getting on bikes. Third, the flow of the whole society is simply stunning. People are connected to, in tune with, and responsive to each other, and even five-year-olds pick up on that flow. Cars and bikes are not at war. Clearly, people in Amsterdam are on a much different cycle than Americans.
With regard to the place of bicycles in society, the US is still using training wheels, and the video above makes it obvious that this is a self-inflicted, self-perpetuated state.
In the US, it is common to associate bicycles with danger, antiquated ideas, and annoyance. In many American cities, the rhetoric about bikes has become warlike. Bicycles are the enemy of cars and the dominant way of life.
However, this issue is a great example of the saying, "Life is what you make it." If we want to see bikes as an enemy, that's what they'll turn into and remain, but we can also create a world where bicycles are an important, seamlessly integrated part of a better life. The following video of bicycle usage in Amsterdam opens our eyes to such an alternate reality:
Bicycle Anecdotes from Amsterdam from Streetfilms on Vimeo.
So many things in the video are remarkable. First, the number of bicycles is amazing. They, not cars, are the preferred (and sometimes only) mode of transportation. Second, the bicyclists aren't dressed for a space mission (they don't even wear helmets), suggesting they lack the fear we have of getting on bikes. Third, the flow of the whole society is simply stunning. People are connected to, in tune with, and responsive to each other, and even five-year-olds pick up on that flow. Cars and bikes are not at war. Clearly, people in Amsterdam are on a much different cycle than Americans.
With regard to the place of bicycles in society, the US is still using training wheels, and the video above makes it obvious that this is a self-inflicted, self-perpetuated state.
10 September 2012
It's Gone
Last month, I spent some time talking about bicycles and our communities here and here. Today, TreeHugger ran an article on similar topics.
The part of the article that stood out the most for me was the following video about how people, including police, hardly bat an eyelash at someone stealing a bike:
Some of the pieces of the video would be funny if they weren't so sad. What struck me was that we can lose pride in our communities to the point where we won't even say a word when we see them filled with wrongdoing.
I am becoming convinced that with every bike that rolls away in the wrong hands, we have a little of our own sanctity stolen as well.
The part of the article that stood out the most for me was the following video about how people, including police, hardly bat an eyelash at someone stealing a bike:
Some of the pieces of the video would be funny if they weren't so sad. What struck me was that we can lose pride in our communities to the point where we won't even say a word when we see them filled with wrongdoing.
I am becoming convinced that with every bike that rolls away in the wrong hands, we have a little of our own sanctity stolen as well.
24 August 2012
Our Communities, Our Lives
In my last post, I talked about how Turku, Finland, had created a community where bicyclists felt comfortable leaving their bikes unchained, and that entry got me thinking a little more about what the city had done.
Essentially, Turku made it easy for people to use bikes as a primary mode of transportation. In other words, bicycling was a valued priority. Another priority was an emphasis on outdoor activity in general. Aurajoki, a key river of the Turku area, flows through the city and has been turned into the center point for walking and bicycling. Well-maintained paths line both sides of the river, and they are used frequently. Check out the photos below:
Essentially, Turku made it easy for people to use bikes as a primary mode of transportation. In other words, bicycling was a valued priority. Another priority was an emphasis on outdoor activity in general. Aurajoki, a key river of the Turku area, flows through the city and has been turned into the center point for walking and bicycling. Well-maintained paths line both sides of the river, and they are used frequently. Check out the photos below:
My guess is that these paths are used for cross-country skiing and other snow-related activities in the winter.
Overall, Turku has committed to and created a safe, healthy, and environment-connected community for its residents. Clearly, their design for the area intentionally focused on these concerns, and once the heart of the design was identified, they set about making it a reality.
The message is that environmental efforts are about our desires for a high quality of life and a healthy environment. If think those things are indeed priorities, we have to make them happen.
17 August 2012
Bike Ownership
A bicyclist from Portland, Ore., is finding some YouTube fame for tracking down his stolen bike and helping police arrest the alleged thief. Check out the news article.
This story interests me for two reasons. First, it reminds me of my trip to Finland. While in Turku, the country's fifth largest city (178,784 people as of 31 January 2012), I was impressed with the number of bikes in use (even on really rainy days) and that very few people locked up their bikes. I only remember seeing one bike chained to something. The rest of the parked bikes, as you can tell from the pictures below, were simply left with the belief that they would be there when the owners returned.
This story interests me for two reasons. First, it reminds me of my trip to Finland. While in Turku, the country's fifth largest city (178,784 people as of 31 January 2012), I was impressed with the number of bikes in use (even on really rainy days) and that very few people locked up their bikes. I only remember seeing one bike chained to something. The rest of the parked bikes, as you can tell from the pictures below, were simply left with the belief that they would be there when the owners returned.
When I saw these bikes in Finland, I thought about how different it was for bicyclists in the United States, and I realized that the Finns truly had ownership over their community. They had created and maintained a situation where they could feel safe and connected enough to trust people.
That brings up the second reason Oregon's YouTube bike saga interests me. The man whose bike was stolen expresses a strong sense of ownership of the bike, and it is clear he wants to fight for a community where that ownership is respected. US society may not yet have developed a culture in which a bicyclist can leave a bike unattended without worrying about it, but the more people show that we will not accept a culture where bike ownership is not respected, the closer we will be to enjoying the benefits of bicycling. Without question, that is the type of community we should all have.
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