Bicycling
Basics
Separate But Eco: Livable Communities for Whom?
Note: The authors are active advocates in the urban sustainability movement, focusing on non-motorized transportation in low-income urban areas. As mixed race women of color, we believe that we are in a unique position to bridge the advocacy communities trying to better conditions for the urban poor and for the environment. In this series, we draw on our experiences in the bicycle and environmental movements to shed light on the unfortunate divides we have noticed between urban sustainability communities and low-income communities of color.
May 22, 2012
Walk Score Calculates City Bikeability, and Minneapolis Comes Out on Top
The people behind Walk Score, the real estate rating service that goes by the slogan “Drive Less, Live More,” are out with a new rating system, based on hard data, that should prove useful to prospective city dwellers: Bike Score.
May 14, 2012
FHWA: Small Investments in Bike/Ped Infrastructure Can Pay Off in a Big Way
If you ever doubted whether a small investment in biking and walking could have a large impact, here is your proof.
May 1, 2012
New WHO Tool Calculates the Health Savings of Bike/Ped Infrastructure
Sidewalks, bike lanes, traffic calming projects -- they save lives. Not just by protecting cyclists and pedestrians (not to mention motorists), but by encouraging physical activity that leads to a healthy life.
March 23, 2012
Why Bicyclists Are Better Customers Than Drivers for Local Business
Do local and state officials tune out when you try to talk to them about bicycling? Are they unconvinced by arguments about public health, transportation options, or clean air? Do business leaders send you packing when you suggest building new bike lanes and bike parking, fearing that the loss of car parking will keep customers away?
March 23, 2012
A Bike Company Offers a Prescription for America’s Health Care Cost Crisis
One of the most talked-about presentations at this week's National Bike Summit came from Jason Gaikowski, director of sales for the Bloomington, Minnesota-based wholesale distributor Quality Bicycle Products. Over the last several years, QBP has ramped up its employee health and wellness program, which includes incentives to bike to work. At a time when most employers are grappling with rising insurance premiums, a study by the company's health insurance provider, HealthPartners [PDF], suggests the program has helped reduce QBP's health care costs and increase employee productivity.
March 23, 2012
To Change Your Community’s Streets, the Action Is in the Statehouse
Anxious about Congress messing up the federal transportation bill? There's a lot at stake in Washington, but consider this: 78 percent of transportation funds come from the state and local levels.
March 22, 2012
Why Are Three Out of Four Cyclists on the Street Men?
I’ve never thought of myself as a female cyclist. For the last 13 years, I've been a bike commuter in DC, and I figured my needs were the same needs as any cyclist. But for the last six months, I’m a biker that doesn’t bike, and that has everything to do with the fact that I’m a woman. So the Women’s Cycling Forum, which kicked off the National Bike Summit yesterday, hit home for me.
March 21, 2012
This Week: Road Builders and Bike Advocates Convene in the Capital
The House of Representatives is back in town, and its members still don't have a transportation bill. In fact, they probably won't have one for weeks. But two groups holding conferences in Washington this week would be more than happy to help them out in the meantime.
March 19, 2012