Congestion

This is an interesting talk But the elements I Picked up on most was that congestion is highly nonlinear. This means that a small change reduction in traffic can lead to a large change in congestion.

For elevated cycle systems this means that something facilitating a shift to cycling could lead to large changes in congestion.

Cycle helmet doubts.

Good quote "A bike is the greatest medicine for the ills of our city. "

Argues with an obsession with safety (bubble wrap culture).

1.2 Million people killed on the roads every year now that's a fact.
Compares the danger of riding the bike with the dangers of driving (watch the video to see who dies more).

Planners view of cycle lanes

"Streets are some of the most valuable resource the city has"

This is a good example of what you can do using paint as 'probe'.  The idea is to do quick and dirty temporary experiments to the urban environment. Why not make a bike lane with paint (even chalk). Run the experiment long enough to let people learn about/adapt to change, but also record objective measures ( retail income).

I like the quote about Macy's 'pedestrians are the biggest contributor to retail'

Obviously this is the opposite end of elevated cycle schemes in terms of difficulty, but it does show want a cycle friendly environment can be like.

In case you think it's a new idea

Yes elevated cycl lanes have been around for a long time including this one the Hotchkiss Bicycle Railway from 1892 - upside of this design was you could go forwards or back. Down side was that there was no way to change rails! 

Bangkok’s skyride and skypark | World Infrastructure News

Bangkok’s skyride and skypark | World Infrastructure News

I do find the notion of cantilevering out from the existing elevated train track to be incredibly interesting. I don't know much about the weather in Bangkok, but I would imagine that it gets pretty hot. If it is anything like the weather in Atlanta you could find that people can cycle quite comfortably in the morning and evening which is the normal commute point.

Otherwise, I would have expected such a line to have some shade from the sun and protection from the rain. Not for enclosure perhaps just some sheltering like a bus stop.



Generally this is quite an interesting proposal.

Bicycling For Life: Mark Martin

Some more good logic for cycling.

Argues that health problems can be mitigated by cycling.

"The first or second cause of death for Americans is an automobile."

"cycling makes us smarter"

Helps with depression and ADHD ( I think cycling is the hunter theory in action)