humanscalecities:

Adaptive urbanism. Rethinking parking

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dothegreenthing:

What a years worth of New York’s carbon emissions looks like. Warning: it’s pretty scary

if we could visualize carbon dioxide

and now that power’s been gone for a little while, i bet yesterday was the day nyc breathed the cleanest air it has for years

Douchebag driver in SF, license plate # 5FQP135, black Acura.
Columbus Ave. southeastbound by Powell. it’s even sharrowed! 

I’m cycling on the right lane of this two lane each way street in SF today, with like 3 other cyclists in front/behind me. I’m sort of in the middle of the lane, because now I’m a bit more cautious about getting doored, and because there are more cracks in the pavement on the right side of the lane. 

I hear a honk from a car behind us.
Quick thinking: I decide not to move to the right, except for a tiny bit out of automatic reaction — speed of traffic on this street is very slow, there is room on the left lane for the driver to switch to or to use to go around me. my bf is somewhere behind me. the driver would have to go around him, too.

but whaddya know, the driver is a douchebag and still forced his car forward in the same lane, barely giving me AN INCH (1 inch. one). i could’ve knocked on his car but didn’t feel comfortable with one hand on handlebar while being so close.

and then yeah, right after passing me extremely UNSAFELY, he is stopped in traffic. my bf gets ahead of me and yells something at the driver, at which i follow suit and tell him to learn to share the road. because, well, he must be from out of town. SF and bay area drivers are generally friendly, esp. in SF with more cyclists, drivers should’ve learned already how to share the road safely.

there was an older woman sitting next to him, probably his mother. and probably his son in the booster seat in the back. trying to show off to his mom and kid how “boss” he is? how he owns the road?? how he can just honk and this girl on a bike and everything else will get out of his way?? mega douchebag.

thinking about it more, I should’ve not moved even the slightest bit that I did. I should’ve stayed as I was and gotten hit. then, the driver could’ve learned the consequences of his dangerous driving. because sometimes, well, a lot of the time, that’s what it take. It takes a death, an injury, a lawsuit, to confront an ego, to change bad behaviour. 

bf went back while the car was stuck in traffic to take this picture. (a muni bus driver didn’t make a turn successfully and was backing up in the intersection.) showed it to a couple police officers, but unfortunately they can’t do anything unless they witnessed it. could’ve pulled over the guy for unsafe passing distance, ticketed him. 

oh, yeah, and thanks governor jerry brown. (he vetoed the 3-ft passing bill recently for the second time.)

srsly need to buy a gopro.

the costs of maintaining highways..

(Source: ummhello)

happened upon these while searching for photos of Hermosa Beach pier on flickr, since I didn’t have my camera with me yesterday to take my own.

1. The entrance to the pier in the 1950s. (end of Pier Ave.)
2. As it is now. (but view from the opposite direction) (photo 2009)

really nice—they pedestrianized the area! lots of bike racks locked with beach cruisers, bars and restaurants, people walking… a proper entrance to the pier and beach rather than a car park.

only bad thing is it is flanked on both front corners by big banks. one corner by Bank of America and the other by Citibank.

good thing anyway to know (or be reminded that) things can be and are being / have been transformed to be more bike- and ped-friendly in southern california. (usually the beach areas first, yeah, but they’re leading the rest of socal)