Video in which New Westminster Green Party candidate Jonina Campbell speaks about the Green Party’s policy on accessible cycling. The 41st British Columbia general election will be held on 9 May, 2017, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Traditionally a two-horse race between the Liberals and the NDP, this year we have a viable third choice in the Greens, led by Andrew Weaver.
The Amazing Evolution of Vancouver Cycling Infrastructure
Located on the west coast of Canada, 200 miles north of Seattle, Vancouver, BC, is a beautiful city with a mild climate well suited for cycling. But until recently, it lacked sufficient user-friendly cycling. Fortunately, since Vision Vancouver took over Vancouver City Council in 2008, there has been a simply amazing evolution of Vancouver cycling infrastructure. This post uses photos and videos to document key developments in this amazing evolution.
HUB Cycling works to UnGap the Map in Metro Vancouver
HUB Cycling, the charity behind Bike to Work Week, has launched a new video to raise awareness of their campaign to make cycling safer and more connected for everyone in Metro Vancouver. Read all about their ambitious plans, including cycle highways, and find out how you can get involved by adopting a gap!
A Conversation with Peter Walker, Author of How Cycling Can Save the World
A Conversation with Peter Walker, author of an important, brand new book: How Cycling Can Save the World. In this book, Walker shows the close relationship between infrastructure and the way people get about. Therefore, to create mass cycling you need to create a conducive built environment. Walker discusses bike helmets and high visibility clothing; the misuse of the word accident; roadside intimidation; cycling activism; older people and cycling; business objections to cycling; bike share programs; and the role played by La Monde à Bicyclette and Vélo Quebec in the transformation of Montreal.
Build it and They Will Come: Key Principles for Building a Cyclist-Friendly Community
Excerpt from an important, brand new book: How Cycling Can Save the World by Peter Walker. In this book, Walker shows the close relationship between infrastructure and the way people get about. Therefore, to create mass cycling you need to create a conducive built environment. The way to do this is in fact already well known – only the political will is lacking. So what’s the secret? Basically, bikes must be kept separate from motor traffic on busy roads, and the separation must be physical. “A bicycle way that is not safe for an eight-year-old is not a bicycle way.”
Give us safe bike routes so that EVERYONE can cycle
We need safe bike routes in every city, so that many more seniors can cycle in safety. All the money spent on cycling infrastructure would be more than made up by the money saved in the healthcare system if more seniors could safely exercise every day.
Sentence for Tineke Kraal – who worked tirelessly to harm North Shore Mountain Cyclists – is ludicrously light
The sentence for Tineke Kraal – who tried to harm North Shore Mountain Cyclists – is ludicrously light. A tap on the wrist for a woman who spent two hours a night for two years trying her best to injure and kill mountain bikers by sabotaging mountain trails on Vancouver’s North Shore!
Boycott Victoria Businesses that Oppose Bike Lanes!
In Victoria on Vancouver Island, design of its first protected two-way bike lane is taking shape. The design calls for the loss of 32 parking spots. In reaction, local merchants have submitted a petition opposing any protected bike lanes that compromise parking. I am sick of selfish interests compromising cyclist safety – BOYCOTT these businesses!
Is Urban Cycling an Extreme Sport?
By dressing as if we fear death any second, do we increase the perception that cycling is an extreme sport and risk scaring other people away from cycling? Will wearing bike helmets save our lives – or just discourage others from cycling, and so increase the numbers of people who will die from lack of exercise?
Cyclists are Inconvenienced by Motorists ALL the Time …
Critical Mass cyclists inconvenience drivers by blocking traffic during rush hour. But while Critical Mass cyclists inconvenience drivers once a month for an hour, motorists inconvenience cyclists every single minute, hour and day of the month.
The OTHER reason I am voting YES in the Metro Vancouver Transit Referendum
I am voting YES in the BC Transit Referendum because I want a better future for my descendants – but ALSO because I simply want to be able to commute by bike without being killed!
Why Joe and I are Voting Yes on the BC Transit Referendum
We are voting Yes for in the BC Transit Referendum for transit expansion because it is the right thing to do: for ourselves, for our children, for our grandchildren, for our city, and for our planet. For a relatively small annual cost to each household, we can expand transit and ensure that Vancouver continues to be a liveable region for years to come.
Stanley Park Causeway to be Made Much Safer – Another Giant Step for Safe Cycling Infrastructure in Vancouver
The Vancouver Park Board has unanimously approved a plan to widen the sidewalks along both sides of the Stanley Park Causeway to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians. This ambitious plan was partly in response to the death of a 61-year-old woman cyclist in 2013. It was also in response to all of the activism that followed. It is a long overdue move – but on the plus side, it is a giant step forward in providing safe cycling infrastructure to Vancouver residents.
Active Transportation: Edmonton proposes Freezeway while Bostonian Cyclists Tunnel through Snow
Winter in snow-bound cities poses severe challenges for people to continue to get around via active transportation (cycling, walking, skating, wheel-chairing, etc.). Some respond with ingenuity, some don’t care, and some respond with admirable tenacity. Here’s a tale of active transportation in two cities – Edmonton and Boston. In Edmonton a Freezeway is proposed for skating to work, while in Boston commuter cyclists resort to tunnelling through snow!
3 Reasons Why We Need Separated Bike Lanes
We must DEMAND safe cycling infrastructure. We need separated bike lanes because cars are much BIGGER than bikes, and human beings are NOT perfect. Motorists make mistakes; cyclists make mistakes. Our mistakes should not have to be fatal. That’s the most important reason why we need safe, separated bike lanes that keep all cyclists of All Abilities and Ages (AAA) safe at all times. And there are two other good reasons why we need safe cycling infrastructure, which I write about in this post. And it’s not just me – all research shows that when you don’t have safe bikeways, most people don’t ride bikes. But as soon as you put in safe bikeways (read: physically separated bikeways), huge numbers of people start riding bikes.
7-Year-Old Boy on Bike Run Over by Cab Should Have Been More Careful!
Cars caused millions of traffic fatalities. In fact, cars have killed more people than anything else – terrorists and wars kill far less people. Yet when a little boy on a bike gets run down by a cab on a sidewalk outside his own home, the knee jerk response of many people is to blame the boy! Why are we so addicted to cars that we would blame an injured child, rather than a cab driver who was driving half on the sidewalk, knocked down a small boy, and then fled the scene?
Are Mandatory Bike Helmet Laws a Good Thing?
The issue of mandatory bike helmet laws is controversial, to say the least. Some are vigorously in favor; others oppose them furiously. A research study out of New Zealand suggests that the opposition has it right.
Safe Cycling in London
A while ago I wrote about the proposed new East-West and North-South Cycle Superhighways in London. The need for the cycle superhighways was highlighted again when a woman cyclist was “crushed” under a lorry at the busy Elephant and Castle circle. I hope that those new East-West and North-South Cycle Superhighways in London get built very soon, so we can stop reading about these awful accidents. We need to have safe cycling in London, just as we need to have safe cycling in all cities.
How to Report Cycling Dangers and Hazards in British Columbia
Here is a list of where to report all kinds of cycling dangers and safety hazards on bike routes in British Columbia.
Bike Super Highways in London
The CEO of Microsoft has come out in strong support of building safe cycling infrastructure – specifically, the proposed new East-West and North-South Cycle Superhighways in London. (Essentially, a pair of segregated bike lanes running through the center of London.) Microsoft employs 2,200 people in London alone. Microsoft CEO Michel Van Der Bel notes that […]
