Bicycling
Basics
The Freezing NYC-DC Bike Ride to Support Women in Cycling
The 2014 National Bike Summit is underway in our nation's capital, starting with the Women's Bicycling Forum, with its focus on expanding the share of women on two wheels. You can follow along on Twitter at #womenbike. In 2009, according to the League of American Bicyclists, women accounted for just 24 percent of bike trips in the country.
March 3, 2014
Long Island Lawmaker to Injured Mom: No One Should Ride Bikes Here
After his mother was hit by a driver while riding her bicycle, 17-year-old Matthew Cutrone appealed to local lawmakers with a pretty reasonable request: consider adding bike lanes. But this story only goes downhill from there.
February 13, 2014
Before We Build, We Should Review How a Project Will Affect Safety
Jim Aloisi is a Boston-based lawyer, historian and transportation policymaker. He is a former Massachusetts state secretary of transportation. His most recent book is The Vidal Lecture.
February 11, 2014
New Bill Would Make Bike/Ped Projects Eligible for TIFIA Loans
The day after President Obama’s State of the Union plea to improve economic opportunity for struggling Americans, New Jersey Democrat Albio Sires introduced a bill that he says will help meet that goal.
January 30, 2014
How Do You Grade a Bike-Share System?
Bike-share has exploded in the last decade -- and in North America, just in the last few years. What started as a shaky concept in Amsterdam in the 1960s has matured into a viable transit option worldwide, with 600 systems offering more than 600,000 bikes.
December 6, 2013
Talking Headways Podcast, Episode 4: Car Brain
In this week's podcast, Jeff and I discuss the impressive turnout -- and possible pitfalls -- of London's "die-in" demonstration for bike safety. We try to contain our envy (but not our amazement) at Paul Salopek's seven-year walk tracing the path of Homo sapiens from the Rift Valley to Tierra del Fuego. And we discuss why even passionate transit advocates know what it means to be embarrassed about taking the bus.
December 5, 2013
Report: More Kids Are Walking to School
The long-term decline of walking and biking to school has been linked to the childhood obesity epidemic, a big share of morning rush hour traffic, and even kids' lack of attention in class. In 1969, 41 percent of children in grades K–8 lived within one mile of school, and of those kids, 89 percent usually walked or biked. By 2009, 31 percent lived within a mile of school -- and only 35 percent of them walked or biked.
December 3, 2013
Tennessee Town Cites Grandmother for Letting Grandkids Bike in the Street
Here's yet another story illustrating why we have an obesity problem in the United States.
November 26, 2013
The U.S. Cities Where Cycling Is Growing the Fastest
This table, showing the top 10 U.S. cities where cycling is growing fastest, comes from a new report from the League of American Bicyclists that analyzes census data. Though the census only tracks bicycle commuting -- and thus understates how many people are cycling -- the results tell an interesting story about cycling trends.
November 19, 2013