Cycle Atlanta: Interactive map
wow this is a veritable feast of information. This contains vector data showing the rides of many hundreds of cyclists in Atlanta. It's a fantastic insight into cycling in a very hot city.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
no computer models for cycling.
Review of Basic Research in Bicycle
Traffic Science, Traffic Operations, and
Facility Design
DEAN TAYLOR AND W. JEFFREY DAVIS
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD 1674
Traffic Science, Traffic Operations, and
Facility Design
DEAN TAYLOR AND W. JEFFREY DAVIS
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD 1674
bicycles were found. "
Driving to save time or saving time to drive? The enduring appeal of the private car
Driving to save time or saving time to drive? The enduring appeal of the private car
"Transport is more than getting from A to B
This qualitative research, recently published in the Journal of Transportation Research A, suggests people are not as interested in saving time as they are in being comfortable, cocooned in privacy and able to keep up with the requirements of their flexible and busy lives.
But transport planners continue to prioritise rational motives over more emotional reasons for driving. Perhaps this is because it is easier to explain our aversion to other forms of transport as due to time.
The findings of this study suggest that commuters are unlikely to sacrifice the comfort of the private car for a minor time saving. To stand for 35 minutes on a crowded train or bus twice daily, or to ride a bike in the wind and rain, is, for some people at least, physically unpleasant."
If this argument is correct then some kind of suspended monorail (like Shweeb) would also be effective.
Strangely car's are responsible for lowering the density of the modern city, but they feel more crowded...
To get people out of cars we need to know why they drive
To get people out of cars we need to know why they drive:
In this interesting article on why people drive in Syndey. I think the core argument for ECL from it. emerges.
"They used the car for many purposes. Many of these can be conceptualised as traditionally utilitarian: ferrying children and carting groceries, as well as micromanaging multiple time commitments to family, sport, study and secondary employment. Drivers found the car comfortable and cited the air-conditioning, aural concealment and protection from rain, wind, heat and darkness as the key motivators for using cars."
Unlike taking public transit (bus,tram,train) carrying quantities of groceries or children on your bike isn't a considerable problem ( if the ground is flat). I think what makes this article key is the knowlege that you are never going to get car drivers to switch to cycling without protection from rain,wind,heat and darkness. This is why elevated cycle systems ( or principally covered ones ) are so necessary.
In this interesting article on why people drive in Syndey. I think the core argument for ECL from it. emerges.
"They used the car for many purposes. Many of these can be conceptualised as traditionally utilitarian: ferrying children and carting groceries, as well as micromanaging multiple time commitments to family, sport, study and secondary employment. Drivers found the car comfortable and cited the air-conditioning, aural concealment and protection from rain, wind, heat and darkness as the key motivators for using cars."
Unlike taking public transit (bus,tram,train) carrying quantities of groceries or children on your bike isn't a considerable problem ( if the ground is flat). I think what makes this article key is the knowlege that you are never going to get car drivers to switch to cycling without protection from rain,wind,heat and darkness. This is why elevated cycle systems ( or principally covered ones ) are so necessary.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Sustrans design guides.
I think what gets my attention about this guide is that while it has a great deal of information about tactics it has very little about strategy. By strategy I mean tools to help predict which cycle routes would be popular.
I think the other part I object to is the width of the road. Personally, I think if you provide a 3 m wide cycle path then the temptation is to attract traffic on to it. You are certainly also less tempted to include the cycle track through some natural area if it is really that large. A cycle path only has to be about 30cm to 40 cm. This would encourage pedestrians to stay off it.
Naturally SUSTRANS have the job of supporting cyclists and pedestrians. I still think they need to get serious and think about cycling as more than a recreational activity.
I think the other part I object to is the width of the road. Personally, I think if you provide a 3 m wide cycle path then the temptation is to attract traffic on to it. You are certainly also less tempted to include the cycle track through some natural area if it is really that large. A cycle path only has to be about 30cm to 40 cm. This would encourage pedestrians to stay off it.
Naturally SUSTRANS have the job of supporting cyclists and pedestrians. I still think they need to get serious and think about cycling as more than a recreational activity.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Promoting transportation cycling for women: The role of bicycle infrastructure
More evidence why we need better seperated cycle lane provision
Promoting transportation cycling for women: The role of bicycle infrastructure
Volume 46, Issue 1, January 2008, Pages 55–59
Promoting transportation cycling for women: The role of bicycle infrastructure: Objective.
Females are substantially less likely than males to cycle for transport in countries with low bicycle transport mode share. We investigated whether female commuter cyclists were more likely to use bicycle routes that provide separation from motor vehicle traffic.
Methods.
Census of cyclists observed at 15 locations (including off-road bicycle paths, on-road lanes and roads with no bicycle facilities) within a 7.4�km radius of the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Australia, during peak commuting times in February 2004.
Results.
6589 cyclists were observed, comprising 5229 males (79.4%) and 1360 females (20.6%). After adjustment for distance of the bicycle facility from the CBD, females showed a preference for using off-road paths rather than roads with no bicycle facilities (odds ratio [OR]�=�1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12, 1.83), or roads with on-road bicycle lanes (OR�=�1.34, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.75).
Conclusions.
Consistent with gender differences in risk aversion, female commuter cyclists preferred to use routes with maximum separation from motorized traffic. Improved cycling infrastructure in the form of bicycle paths and lanes that provide a high degree of separation from motor traffic is likely to be important for increasing transportation cycling amongst under-represented population groups such as women.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Do the Health Benefits of Cycling Outweigh the Risks?
Do the Health Benefits of Cycling Outweigh the Risks?: Although from a societal point of view a modal shift from car to bicycle may have beneficial health effects due to decreased air pollution emissions, decreased greenhouse gas emissions, and increased levels of physical activity, shifts in individual adverse health effects such as higher exposure to air pollution and risk of a traffic accident may prevail.
Objective
We describe whether the health benefits from the increased physical activity of a modal shift for urban commutes outweigh the health risks.
Data sources and extraction
We have summarized the literature for air pollution, traffic accidents, and physical activity using systematic reviews supplemented with recent key studies.
Data synthesis
We quantified the impact on all-cause mortality when 500,000 people would make a transition from car to bicycle for short trips on a daily basis in the Netherlands. We have expressed mortality impacts in life-years gained or lost, using life table calculations. For individuals who shift from car to bicycle, we estimated that beneficial effects of increased physical activity are substantially larger (3–14 months gained) than the potential mortality effect of increased inhaled air pollution doses (0.8–40 days lost) and the increase in traffic accidents (5–9 days lost). Societal benefits are even larger because of a modest reduction in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and traffic accidents.
Conclusions
On average, the estimated health benefits of cycling were substantially larger than the risks relative to car driving for individuals shifting their mode of transport.
Objective
We describe whether the health benefits from the increased physical activity of a modal shift for urban commutes outweigh the health risks.
Data sources and extraction
We have summarized the literature for air pollution, traffic accidents, and physical activity using systematic reviews supplemented with recent key studies.
Data synthesis
We quantified the impact on all-cause mortality when 500,000 people would make a transition from car to bicycle for short trips on a daily basis in the Netherlands. We have expressed mortality impacts in life-years gained or lost, using life table calculations. For individuals who shift from car to bicycle, we estimated that beneficial effects of increased physical activity are substantially larger (3–14 months gained) than the potential mortality effect of increased inhaled air pollution doses (0.8–40 days lost) and the increase in traffic accidents (5–9 days lost). Societal benefits are even larger because of a modest reduction in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and traffic accidents.
Conclusions
On average, the estimated health benefits of cycling were substantially larger than the risks relative to car driving for individuals shifting their mode of transport.
short answer YES .
Monday, July 7, 2014
A New Bike Lane That Could Save Lives and Make Cycling More Popular
The Elevated cycle concept is centrally based on the notion that junctions are complex danger and momentum kill zones. So its very pleasing to see this small scale approach to re-thinking intersections.
To be honest, no elevated cycle scheme system is going to be 'complete' (100% coverage of all destinations) so it will always have to work in conjuntion with some shared-at-grade system. This looks like an excellent tactical way of doing that. I hope someone tries it out.
http://www.protectedintersection.com
Lovely video and rendering by the way.
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