I'm Seeing Green

Denmark Rocks, US schlocks

Had any doubt about these United States of America not exactly being a hotbed of cycling fervor?  Here's some statistics to prove the point; cycling distances per person per year [copehagen.com ]

Denmark: 954 km [ 590 miles ]

Netherlands: 879 km
Japan: 354 km
Belgium: 329 km
Germany: 298 km
Sweden: 277 km
Finland: 256 km
Ireland: 186 km
Austria: 173 km
Italy: 159 km
Great Britain: 84 km
France: 81 km
Greece: 77 km
USA: 33 km  ... [ 20 miles ]
Luxembourg: 31 km
Portugal: 29 km
Spain: 27 km

Welll, we're better than Luxembourg, but then there's probably only 27 fatcat bankers living in that tiny state, and as for Portugal and Spain? That's a mystery, but maybe it's something to do with the Catalonian temperament.

Even though I don't own a car anymore, and love the freedom of not having to park one in brownstone Brooklyn, I still have a nostalgic regard for the automobile industry. In spite of knowing that the private automobile, while giving us an illusion of unending freedom, has also been responsible for so much destruction and debilitation of the built environment.

I look at a site called Autoblog Green a lot, and they're constantly pushing electric cars. Of course, they also had recently an entry on the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, a $78,000 6.0 litre behemoth that qualifies as "green" only in the wet dreams of an auto executive.

Electric cars...are supposed to be "pollution free", but like a free lunch, it obviously ain't so. The electricity has to be produced somehow, and, unless it's from solar, wind power or other non-carbon-spewing methodology, you're just pushing the issue out of sight. No tailpipe emissions, but they're back there somewhere. Which is a good marketing ploy.

This model car is typical: in my opinion, it's ugly as sin with it's triple eyes, but it's also $20,000, has limited speed and range.

The French are promoting electrics for local delivery vehicles and Post Office vans, a better overall solution.

But there are plenty of electrics in the pipleine:

Of course, the vaunted EV-1 from GM...originally promised in early '09, now slated for '10, but better late than never from the largest US manufacturer of cars.

The mitsubishi iMiEV debuting in California in 2008...the earliest EV from a large manufacturer.

The Triac shown above, from Green Vehicles, scheduled later this year.

 The REVA made in India, at right:

The exotics and the expensive: the $100,000+ Tesla Motors sports car (being delivered to your neighbor as we speak) and Hybrid Technologies' LiX-75, two seaters for the male menopause set.

All in all, plenty of choice.

But to what end? Certainly not to materially reduce the damage that automobiles do, these are band-aids as best.

Car-free Market

Market Street in San Francisco is slated to become a greater street by this proposal to ban cars from it. Of course, there's only one lane in each direction through most of the street, and so never all that much traffic, what with the street cars (trams), tram stops, islands, etc. Shoud be interesting nonetheless.

San Francisco's Market Street from the Embarcadero to Hayes Valley would permanently close to all traffic except for city mass transit vehicles under a proposal announced at City Hall on Tuesday night.

Supervisor Chris Daly asked the city attorney to draft legislation to permanently ban cars on Market Street between Octavia Boulevard and the Embarcadero, an idea that has been floated by various city leaders, including former Mayor Willie Brown, for more than a decade.Daly said discussion of a proposal by Mayor Gavin Newsom to close portions of city streets, including a large stretch of the Embarcadero, on two Sundays this year prompted his action.

"It's the city's grand boulevard," Daly said. "Why don't we go for the gold?" Closing the 2.3-mile portion of Market Street would open the often-congested roadway to pedestrians and cyclists, though Daly said there would still need to be places where cars and other vehicles could cross. He said the traffic that now relies on that roadway could shift to Mission, Howard and Folsom streets to the south. In addition to this proposal, the Municipal Railway is currently considering a plan to make major improvements to transit on Market Street and throughout the city. Another idea that has been floated would redesign stretches of the street to create distinct bicycle lanes.

Brown's vision of banning private automobiles on Market Street faced strong opposition from the business community and never materialized. Daly's proposal will face multiple hurdles at City Hall, including approval from the full board and Newsom, before it can be enacted

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Cattle Cars and Scooters to Work

Unintended consequences of the rise in the price of gas:

Seatless cars, from the Chicago Tribune:

The cattle car is being reintroduced on CTA trains, even though the transit agency has worked hard in recent years to erase a reputation for treating riders like pork bellies being hauled on a freight train.

Under an experiment announced Wednesday, the Chicago Transit Authority plans to remove all the seats on some cars of rush-hour trains to jam in more riders who otherwise would be left behind on crowded rail platforms.

The strategy is a bit comparable to cramming 10 pounds of potatoes into a 5-pound sack.

Despite fiercely negative reactions among riders, the move is not aimed at punishing commuters, who are parking their cars due to record gas prices and riding trains and buses during the work week and on weekends. But rising transit ridership is causing an acute crunch on CTA trains.
Up to about 90 riders can sit or stand in each car on most standard CTA trains. By yanking out seats and eliminating the aisle, an additional 25 to 50 passengers could be crammed into each car, officials estimated.The seatless cars would be used at only peak travel hours,

The British government banned the Segway Scooterin all public places in 2006, an action considered extreme even by pedestrian groups who've lobbied to prevent the Segway from taking over sidewalks, on the grounds of danger to peds. From the Guardian:

In a classic piece of legislative zeal, the Department of Transport responded to its unveiling by publishing its Regulations for Self-balancing Scooters. These basically refer the Highway Act of 1835 and EU vehicle certification rules to ban it from all paths and roads. The only place you can now use a Segway in the UK is on private land - not much use to the average commuter.

But all is not lost. A group of MPs spearheaded by Tory transport spokesman Robert Goodwill, is campaigning to get the Segway reclassified so it can travel on cycle lanes - and, where cycle lanes don't exist, on the road. The MPs are backed by a campaign group calling itself Legalise Segways, which champions the personal transporter as a way to reduce congestion, pollution, noise and even road rage - how could you possibly be cross with someone on something that looks like a hi-tech lawnmower?

Interestingly enough, the Segway is almost double the price in Europe (£4,399) vs. $4,500 here. So it's even less of a viable commuter alternative there, though perhaps commuting distances are shorter (the Segway has  a range of just 12 miles.)

Public Transit on the Rise?

From an Environmental Defense press release:

A leading national environmental group today endorsed new bipartisan legislation in Congress that would offer Americans relief from high gas prices by providing expanded transportation and housing options. 

The bill, “The Transportation and Housing Options for Gas Price Relief Act of 2008” (H.R. 6495), was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). It is cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Chris Shays (R-CT), Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Jay Inslee (D-WA), Jerry McNerney (D-CA) and Hilda Solis (D-CA).  Both Tauscher and McNerney are members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has jurisdiction over this legislation. 

"This timely bill provides Congress with a great opportunity to show it is responding to Americans’ pain at the pump, insufficient public transit and costly housing options,” said Michael Replogle, transportation director at Environmental Defense Fund and a former consultant for the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and the World Bank on sustainable transportation strategies.  "America has less than three percent of the world’s oil reserves, so we will never be able to produce what we need domestically. Our best bet is to use our limited domestic gas supply wisely and facilitate alternatives to driving where possible, as this legislation does.”

“The Transportation and Housing Options for Gas Price Relief Act of 2008” would allocate funds to:

• Expand public transportation and to help transit agencies deal with high fuel prices;
• Encourage pay-as-you-drive auto insurance policies that discourage driving by rewarding low mileage drivers with lower insurance premiums;
• Reduce commuting costs by providing incentives to employers and employees to take transit, bicycle, carpool, walk, or telecommute to work;
• Help local governments create walkable, bikeable communities well-served by transit by providing funding to local governments to support programs to manage transportation demand and for transit agencies to make needed investments;
• Help Americans make smart transportation and housing choices by educating them about their options;

• Spur the availability of “Location Efficient Mortgages,” which make owning a home near transit more affordable for all Americans;
• Make sure the Federal Government leads by example by:
• Upgrading key websites for easier access to services without having to leave home and work; and
• Encouraging federal agencies and offices to participate in local Transportation Management Agencies, which provide transportation options.

“Public transit use and demand for other transportation options are continuing to rise throughout the country," concluded Replogle. “This bill would support current transportation options while encouraging the creation of new and necessary transit alternatives. It would ultimately benefit all Americans by saving them gas money, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, alleviating traffic, and reducing pollution.”

Slow Cycling

Here's something to think about slowly: the Slow Bicycle Movement.

You're probably heard about Slow Food (the opposite of fast food, you actually get to sit back and relax while you're eating, it's an "eco-gastronomic member-supported organization that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world")

Then there's the Slow Planet website, which has interesting ideas about Slow Design ("using materials and resources in a way that respects the environment...[and] small-scale, local production and networks of artisans sharing ideas and expertise;) Slow Travel (don't rush from place to place wondering if it's Tuesday and whether you're in Belgium;) and Slow Sport (this one I can't get into since it eulogizes golf, which is not a sport in my book.)

The slow bicycle movement is exactly what I adhere to when i cycle (as opposed to the Spandex Speeders who scream around and sow terror in the hearts of little tykes and dogs.)

For one thing, it's considerably safer to cycle slow. You get to watch out for traffic, cars and pedestrians who step off the curb in front of you. If you go slowly enough, you can actually hit that car door that's opened in front of you and not get injured.

Besides which, it uses less energy and you get where you're going to only a few minutes later...of course, I never cycle more than a mile or two.

If you slowly bicycle to work, you wouldn't have to petition your employer for a shower so you can clean yourself up, since you would not have broken a sweat in the first place.

And you wouldn't get your blood pressure up about pedestrians straying onto the bike lane on the Brooklyn bridge since you would just slowly sidle around them.

I have often mentioned that the difference between the way cyclists behave in the US and in Europe is a matter of their motivation. Here we seem to be in a hurry and the bike is a way of getting there and getting exercise at the same time. If you check out the pictures on the Copenhagen blog you would see that there are hundreds if not thousands of people cycling as an everyday activity in Copenhagen. No spandex and no helmets.

I'm Blowing (Bubbles) in the Wind

Two bicycle-related stories, the one whimsical and possibly of little use (except it would make kids of all ages smile,) and the other useful in a why-didn't-they-think-of-that-sooner kind of way.

From Autoblog this about an attachment to your bike that...wait for it...blows exhaust-like bubbles, thereby showing up the carbon-spewing monsters who share the road with you. It also has the odd notation that it "spews seeds," if you can figure out why, let me know. To those who object, the seeds are optional.

Have a desire to spread more than just good will the next time you're out on your bike? Consider the Bloom attachment for your two-wheeled conveyance of choice. While it may look like an odd exhaust pipe hanging off the back of your engine-less bicycle, it's actually a way to seed the city as you ride. That's right, the Bloom gets filled with some soapy water (see, it's clean!) and some seeds, and as you ride, the incoming rush of air powers a "bubble pinwheel" which dispenses the seed-filled bubbles everywhere you go

[Image from Autoblog]

Also from Design 21's competition, the II place winner, a folding handlebar: This sounds like it could make it to production.

The design of the handlebars allows the effective storage width of a standard bicycle to be dramatically reduced. In addition the handlebars, in their folded position, form a steering lock, when the bike is lent against a wall or post this steering lock eliminate the infuriating turning of the front wheel. The steering lock also provides additional security when parked outside.

[Image from Design 21]

Park at Will (Not)

Congestion Pricing is dead, at least for a while. Maybe we can implement Variable Parking Rates, as this story about San Francisco shows that they are taking the whole t traffic control issue more seriously on the Left Coast.  From sfgate.com, this describes the methodology of changing both rates and times allowed to park depending on traffic and congestion.

...city officials hope to change [the parking conundrum] with the pending start of SFpark, a pilot project intended to dramatically change the way people park in San Francisco's commercial districts by linking technology and customer demand to better manage parking at street meters and in city-owned lots.

The demonstration project will cover 6,425 curbside spaces regulated by parking meters - about 25 percent of the city's total stock - and the 11,677 spaces in lots and garages managed by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. City officials hope to start the test program in September and operate it for at least a year. The agency's governing board is expected to give the go-ahead at its meeting Tuesday.

The federal government will pick up the majority of the tab - $18 million of the $23 million budgeted - as one of a handful of demonstration projects around the country to combat congestion. Officials hope that if they micromanage the parking supply, motorists will be less likely to drive around (and around and around) in search of a legal space. If successful, backers say, SFpark will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help unclog the streets.

Officials also want to see whether they can generate more revenue from the city's parking assets through smarter regulations and pricing policies. The program does nothing to expand the parking supply. San Francisco's long-entrenched policy calls for reducing reliance on the private automobile.

As SFpark is envisioned, parking rates would be adjusted based on time of day, day of week and duration of stay. People would be able to pay not just with coins, but with credit cards, prepaid debit cards and even by cell phone. If a meter is set to expire, a text message could be sent to the driver. More time could be purchased remotely.

Cycling Pics

Warms the cockles of my heart, these great photos showing that finally in New York City the great un-spandexed (and unhelmeted) multitudes may actually be joining the bicycling throngs. As I state endlessly, bicycling will become a normative activity only when it is seen as “normal,” and “everyday,” (as it is in much of the rest of the world.) And if it has the dress codes associated with the spandex speeders, it will never be embraced by most non-bicyclers. Herewith a trio of wonderful pics, the first two from streetsblog (glad they’re publishing such) and the third from cycleliciousness:

This generated tons of comments, many from those who professed concern for the biker’s safety; besides his uncovered head, he’s (gasp) riding one-handed and using a cell-phone! As I pointed out, he looks like he knows what he’s doing and probably does. It’s much less unsafe to ride one-handed at his speed than to ride two-handed at 20mph with your head down.

And this one from copenhagenize.com:

 

My Next Car?

Been a long time since I assembled anything more complex than an IKEA kitchen cabinet, but I may break down and try this one, a solar powered "Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV)." Not sure if it's for real, though the SUNN website says it comes with the papers necessary to register it as a motor vehicle.

Interesting that the website links to Wiki for the definition of NEV..."an American term for a speed limited battery electric vehicle (25-35 miles per hour...) restricted by law to operation on roads with speed limits not exceeding 35-45 mph."

The SUNN has a range or 12 (yes, you read that correctly,) miles so it will definitely be restricted to your immediate neighborhood.

Using the horn unnecessarily may affect your mileage.

SUNN is also building an equally toy-like pickup truck. Owners of F-50's may not be willing to switch, as it looks like it is from the 20's (as in 1920,) though cool-looking it may be, depending on your viewpoint.

Supposedly "no special tools" are required, though it does not exactly state what tools are required; I may have to dig out my arc welder and air impact wrench from the basement.