In our discussion, Jan Gehl lamented the lack of cycling infrastructure in most Canadian cities and cited the significant social and economic benefits it can have. He referred to a study commissioned by the mayor of Copenhagen indicating that when taking all factors into account, every kilometre ridden on a bike saves Danish society 25 cents and every kilometre travelled by car costs them 16 cents.

According to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, by decreasing the number of cars on a high volume urban street by only three per cent, peak rush hour congestion can be reduced by nearly 30 per cent. With the cost of road construction being more than 10 times that of segregated bike lanes, significant economic savings can be realized by enticing more commuters to choose alternate means of transportation.

Implementation of an active transportation network has shown to be an effective government policy for targeting employment growth. Bike-lane construction is labour-intensive rather than equipment- and material-intensive. A study done in Baltimore revealed that for every dollar invested in developing segregated bike lanes, more than twice as many jobs were created when compared to road construction.

winnipegfreepress, 01.10.12.

Jobs of the Future: Cargo Cyclist

Research indicates that at least one quarter of all cargo traffic in European cities could be handled by cycles. And, by using special distribution hubs, larger vehicles and electric assist, this proportion could be even larger…

Cargo transport in cities is extremely inefficient. As it currently stands, almost 100 percent of it is done by motorised vehicles, ranging from personal cars to commercial delivery vans and trucks (lorries). However, these heavy vehicles often transport very light goods. The average payload transported in European cities weighs less than 100 kg (220 lbs) and has a volume of less than 1m3. Of the 1,900 vans and trucks that enter the city of Breda in the Netherlands each day, less than 10 percent of the cargo being delivered requires a van or truck and 40 percent of deliveries involve just one box.

read more: lowtechmag, 24.09.12.

photo from “Ich ersetze ein Auto”, a project to improve distribution efficiency, especially for the “last mile” of urban freight transport, by using electric cargo bikes. part of the Klimaschutzinitiativ (Climate Initiative in Germany).

about the iBullitt Pedelec Solar.

San Jose has just done something unheard of in Silicon Valley—the city converted car lanes on several blocks of 3th, 4th, 10th, and 11th streets in downtown, all busy one-way streets with 3 lanes in each direction—a total of 8 miles—to extra wide bike lanes separated by painted buffers from the remaining two lanes of vehicle traffic. What’s going on?

San Jose’s new wide buffered bike lanes provide much more physical separation from vehicle traffic and parked cars than typical bike lanes.

The new buffered bike lanes are just the first examples of one of the most exciting elements of what the city’s Bike Plan 2020 (adopted late-2009) calls “Primary Bikeways”, which will comprise a network of enhanced cross-town bikeways (bike paths, lanes, and routes) featuring bike boulevards, green bike lanes, urban trails, and physically separated bike lanes…

Is it worth it? Of course bicycling would become more convenient, but how does that benefit everyone else? What about residents who might never even ride a bike?

read more: peninsula transportation alternatives, 15.08.12.
map of San Jose Bike Plan 2020.