In post-storm New York, the bike is having a moment of sorts.

With subways still not running under the East River or between Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, traffic snarled in many places and lines for buses stretching for blocks, many people in Brooklyn took to bicycles on Thursday to get where they had to go…

Many frequent bike commuters said that, with sparse traffic in downtown Manhattan, conditions for biking were ideal.

“I just bombed all the way down Broadway right now — I think I saw five cars,” said Jason Jaramillo, 34, who had just biked to Brooklyn from the Upper West Side. “I wish it was always like this.”

nytimes, 01.11.12.

and don’t forget Liquid (formerly “Spinlister”)’s free bike rental deal! up to $25 for a bike rental this week until nov. 7th. 

We hope everyone is safe and dry on the East Coast. With public transportation down in various cities we want to do what we can to help.

If any of you are trying to get to the store, work or another part of town to see friends and family we would like to offer a free bike rental up to $25. This will be available from Nov. 1^st — Nov. 7^th. 

Use the link here to redeem your free rental. You’ll then see the $25 added to your account balance. Feel free to share this with friends who might find it helpful.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions that you have.

Take care, 
The team at Liquid

(emailed to me) join Liquid—list your bike, rent bikes

Several times I heard and read reference to the street being “closed,” and at 1:00 I heard repeated announcements that they were going to “open it up again.”

To someone like me, who rarely takes taxis and drives even less, when cars are allowed it doesn’t feel “open” to me. It’s open to me for three mornings a year, and pretty unavailable the rest of the time. Repeating over and over again that Park Avenue will be “opened up again” emphasizes that we don’t belong.

— cap’n transit. summer streets: i want more! 23.08.11.

from the above sign alone, i would assume that “summer streets” begins at 1pm. open the streets up to people. and the sign looks more of a size for people who are walking and cycling by, not for drivers.

It’s hard to not feel how “open” the streets are when you’re having your picture taken in front of the statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt, a spot that is typically closed as far as pedestrians and cyclists are concerned.  It’s the same way I feel about how people often refer to Times Square: the city didn’t close it to traffic but rather opened it to people.  So if one of the points of Summer Streets is to serve as positive marketing for people-centric streets and the department’s ambitious agenda, let’s hope the next time a new batch of signs needs to be printed DOT changes the wording to say, “Streets re-open to motor vehicles at 1 PM,” or even the completely neutral “Summer Streets ends at 1 PM.”

brooklyn spoke, 17.08.12.

sf sunday streets in the mission. 01.07.12.

The other day, Doug Gordon decided to try a little bike lane experiment. Gordon, author of the Brooklyn Spoke blog, placed red plastic Solo cups (yes, the ones you use when drinking from a keg) along the edge of a painted bike lane that is often blocked by parked livery cars and other drivers.

The conditions were hardly scientific, but these small plastic delineators, stuck to the roadway with duct tape, seemed to be pretty effective in preventing vehicles from entering the bike lane…

The message? Physical barriers, even small ones, have a greater effect on driver behavior than painted lines.

atlantic cities: the case for separated bike lanes, 21.08.12.

hella wanna do this! but can’t think of any place in san diego to do this except for the first ave. bridge. v___v;; car parking everywhere. and no protected/buffered bike lanes anyway. except on PCH north of the Old Town transit center, but that buffer and the road are both wide enough, and not much bike or auto traffic there..

but anyone in Chicago or other cities down to try this?