Urban Cycling Developments

[M II A II R II K]

Toronto city council approves city-wide active living path

Read More: http://globalnews.ca/news/727537/tor...e-living-path/

In a 37-1 vote, Toronto city council has approved a multi-use cycling and pedestrian path that will connect Toronto from Brampton to Scarborough.

- To date, the path proposal has been met with widespread support. A June staff report recommended that city council approve the path initiative, calling it a highly visible project that would be used by hundreds of thousands of residents and tourists every year “for active transportation and recreation purposes.” Several community members have spoken out in support of the path, urging city council to approve the plan. “This project is simple, but truly powerful in its feasibility and impact,” Denise Pinto, operations director for Jane’s Walk, said in a letter to the city’s executive committee last month.

- In addition to promoting active and healthy living, the path will connect residents, businesses and artists in seven of Toronto’s 13 priority neighbourhoods, or Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs) –currently underserved in terms of economic opportunities, investments and infrastructure. These designated neighbourhoods are the focus of a city plan to “advance equitable outcomes for all neighbourhoods,” through targeted investments in outdoor space and recreational facilities, and engaging local businesses and community groups in neighbourhood planning.

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[CCs77]

In less than two months, (from may 27th to july 17th) the NY bike share system has had more than 60.000 annual members, and has reached more thn 1.100.000 trips, with a record of 33996 in one day (july 17th)

http://www.citibikenyc.com/system-data

After Eight Weeks, NYC Bike-Share Usage Already Comparable to London’s

NYC Bicycle Share recently posted about ten days’ worth of new Citi Bike user stats, and it looks like the heat wave isn’t putting a damper on bike-share trips.

Less than two months after launch, Citi Bike now has more than 60,000 members. And with the heat index in Central Park consistently breaking the 100-degree barrier this week, the system is still logging more than 30,000 trips per day on average.

Between 5 p.m. Tuesday and 5 p.m. Wednesday, bike-share riders made nearly 34,000 trips. That’s close to six trips per bike in sweltering heat. For some context, London’s bike-share system set its usage record during last year’s Olympics, after two years of operation, and even then the system didn’t exceed six trips per bike, according to WikiPedia. And while the London system has about 2,000 more bikes than New York’s, it saw about the same number of trips this June — 810,000 — that NYC saw in the last 30 days.

http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/07/1...le-to-londons/

[M II A II R II K]

Helmet-free, bike-crazy Paris lights way on bicycle sharing

Read More: http://seattletimes.com/html/localne...neat17xml.html

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Bikes are as everywhere in Paris as croissants. Women ride in sun dresses and skirts. I saw men careening through rush-hour traffic in suits. Even the seniors ride, eddying along the paths and side streets, chatting, as if their bikes were rolling walkers.

- “A few years ago it was unimaginable that suited businessmen or elegantly dressed women would mount a bike,” reports the magazine Spiegel, on Paris’ two-wheeled cultural sea change. Apparently much of this is due to one of the world’s most popular bike-sharing programs, which Paris started in 2007. Today there are more than 20,000 public-use bikes scattered around the city of 2.2 million, at rental stations located every 400 yards.

- So Paris was like a vision of how Seattle might actualize its greener future self. Only with much better fashion. Next year we’re set to debut our own bike-rental program, called Puget Sound Bike Share. It starts modestly — 500 bikes at 50 stations in a few neighborhoods, such as downtown, South Lake Union and the University District. It’s a fine idea. But having ridden bikes now in Paris, I suspect there’s a flaw in Seattle’s pedals-for-the-people plans. One besides our rain and brutal hills. It’s our nanny-state helmet law.

- When I asked why no cyclists outside the Tour de France seemed to wear headgear, a bike-tour leader answered with a single French word: “Liberté!” Even the bike-share program in Paris is called “Vélib,” for “vélo” and “liberté.” In other words: bike freedom. It turns out that freedom — from schedules, regulations and niggling red tape — is crucial to getting people to hop on a bike. Cities that require helmets, such as Melbourne, found their bike-sharing programs weren’t much used. While in Paris, where you can spontaneously grab a bike with your baguette and bottle of wine and cruise down to the Seine, your hair blowing in the sunset wind as women in billowing dresses pedal past — well, quelle surprise, bikes are très populaire!

- Here in Seattle, though, you must wear a helmet or face a $103 fine. Quelle downer. Can you see toting a helmet around on the off chance you might grab a freedom bike for an impromptu ride? Or renting, from a solar-powered vending machine, a used helmet that (you hope) has been sanitized after it was turned in last? Seattle’s bike-share program is setting up an epic clash of Seattle values. On one side: Green is good. On the other: safety first. One has to give. Let it be the helmet law. Yes, bareheaded cycling makes the world a (slightly) riskier place. But as the French say: Il faut bien vivre. You gotta live. Or as they’re saying lately: Vive la vélolution.

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Paths of glory: what might a cycle-friendly city look like?

Read More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesi...ity-bike-lanes

Bike lane builders rejoice! £1bn must be spent every year to make British roads more cycle-friendly, according to a cross-party report by MPs and peers published earlier this year. The Get Britain Cycling inquiry declared there must be “a fundamental cultural shift in how we think about the way we travel,” recommending setting targets for cycle use to rise from the current level of about 2% of all journeys to 25% by 2050. But, after more than 50 years of car-centric planning, what might this new bike-friendly urbanism look like?

- In March, chief promoter of novelty infrastructure projects, Boris Johnson, unveiled a £900m cycling vision for the capital. His ambitious plans include a 15-mile segregated east-west route across town – dubbed “Crossrail for the bike” – as well as a network of back-road “quietways” and a series of “mini Hollands” in the suburbs, where all journeys will be encouraged to be taken by bike. It remains to be seen if this grandiose vision will ever materialise, but in his quest to follow the lead of the lowlands, a new book might come in handy. Cycle Infrastructure, written by the architects behind Dutch planning practice Artgineering, presents a survey of best-practice cycle routes from around the world, alongside interviews with the people that made them happen.

- “The goal is to activate the full potential of cycling for the urban landscape,” say the authors, “and to consider cycling infrastructure as an integral design challenge instead of purely an issue of traffic engineering.” In their survey, which travels from Vancouver's separated lanes to Lisbon's waterside route, via Cambridge, Vienna and Wuppertal, they ask how cycle highways might start to influence the fundamental ways we make our cities. “Will we begin to see new cycling-driven typologies,” they ask, “in the same way that the motorway led to the creation of the shopping mall

- Their proposal for a “cyclist-friendly bio-mall”, designed to promote physical exercise, good nutrition and environmental consciousness, looks little more than a supermarket with lots of bike parking spaces, but there are plenty of intriguing inventions, as well as historical precedents.

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Big ambitions … the California Cycleway was planned to stretch 14km from Pasadena to Los Angeles. Photograph: Cycle Infrastructure/nai010






UFO … the Hovenring lifts cyclists above a busy junction in Eindhoven. Photograph: /ipv Delft






Spiral store … the Bike Apple holds 1,000 bikes on a continuous ramp. Photograph: Cycle Infrastructure/nai010






Stealthy cycling … a sunken path inspired by a ha-ha. Photograph: /Cycle Infrastructure/nai010

[Wizened Variations]

http://japandailypress.com/cyclists-...ation-2232676/

Dated 072213

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government released a statement concerning the swarming bicycles outside the Tokyo Station. These bicycles, considered to be more of loitering rather than parking, are said to come from housing establishments from surrounding areas. In order to avoid more bicycles parked outside Tokyo Station, the local government announced plans to prohibit cyclists parking wherever they wish.

Although commuting by bicycle is considered sustainable and environment-friendly, the myriad of bikes found on the streets of Marunouchi have become more of a troublesome issue. The local government said that there are 1,600 more riders that roam the area. A lot of bicycles are also found left in front of the station. In order to avoid more cyclists from coming and leaving their bikes carelessly, the local government will soon impose a ban on bicycles being parked beyond the designated areas in Yurakucho and Otemachi.

Most of the riders are said to be on their way to work. Thus, a plan to educate individuals, as well as companies, has been considered. They will be taught with the importance of parking discipline and its effect on the city’s aesthetics. In addition, the metropolitan government announced that 750 parking facilities will be added next year, which will involve JR East and JR Tokai

[LMich]

Out of curiosity, what's your opinion on the subject of that article, Wizened?

[awholeparade]

Originally Posted by CCs77

In less than two months, (from may 27th to july 17th) the NY bike share system has had more than 60.000 annual members, and has reached more thn 1.100.000 trips, with a record of 33996 in one day (july 17th)

http://www.citibikenyc.com/system-data




http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/07/1...le-to-londons/

Good god! One of my best buds is a Denver Bcycle mechanic and I'm pretty sure his head explode, just thinking about the logistics of maintaining all those bikes and rotating bikes around so stations are full.

[Wizened Variations]

Originally Posted by LMich

Out of curiosity, what's your opinion on the subject of that article, Wizened?

A) Tokyo is a far more orderly place- particularly in view of it's huge population- than almost any other large metropolitan area on earth. One aspect of this orderliness is a low crime rate which I am sure extends to low bicycle theft. Although I have no hard proof on Tokyo bike theft, I would not be surprised if the number of reported bikes stolen in Tokyo in 2012 was less than the 1,666 reported in Denver in 2012 (Denver Post, 7/22/13).

Bikes can be left with a cable lock, or no lock at all, I suspect in many parts of the city of Tokyo for long periods of time.

My point here is, that, as bike theft is not a big issue, that bikes are viewed more as a way to get somewhere, and less as a status symbol. Because of this, bikes are viewed differently. If you are able to ride a bike and shave 10 or 15 minutes of one's total commuter time, it is done, rather than via tailoring one's life style to be 'bike friendly' etc.

B) The Japanese, as a people, tend to respect their authorities a great deal, and, these authorities are permitted access to citizen's lives in ways hard for North American's to imagine. Everywhere you go in large cities, you are politely told via recorded voice and music messages when to cross streets, where to stand for a train, when the train starts moving, how dangerous the train is, etc.

Japanese regard obedience to their traditionally respected authority figures as normal.

C) Despite the article being written by an Occidental, a very Japanese like phrase is included in the article that hits the nail on the head:

"In order to avoid more cyclists from coming and leaving their bikes carelessly, the local government will soon impose a ban on bicycles being parked beyond the designated areas in Yurakucho and Otemachi."

The issue here to the Tokyo authorities, IMO, concerns how sloppy and disorderly the bikes are parked outside of defined areas where such parking has been permitted. The question is more of a question of disobedience to an order to park in designated areas that do not slow down passenger flow to and from Tokyo Station.

Bear in mind that Tokyo Station is a very busy train station- per data used in a youtube video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVZAJsgxyPk uploaded in 2011, the station has 1,08 million boarding and disembarking passengers per day. Per Wikipedia, Tokyo Station is the 8th busiest worldwide. To compare, also per Wikipedia, Pennsylvania Station serves 300,000 passengers per day. Per

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/02/0...ms-82-of-them/
Pennsylvania Station does not even make the list.

(the enclosed graph, with the names are in Japanese on the left, are also found in English on the site. Tokyo Station is number 8, per the English list, and per the Japanese labeled graph serves a little over 400,000,000 passengers per year.)

D) Tokyo Station is being renovated, and, this likely makes passenger access even more difficult. This factor might even be the major reason.

[Wooster]

Calgary's new 7th Street cycle track from opening day a few weeks back.

[J. Will]

http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/V...918/story.html

Vancouver city council approves publicly funded bike share plan

It’s official: Vancouver will get its own bike share program in the coming year.

City council approved the proposal for a publicly-funded bike share network on Tuesday afternoon.

“I think this is a very good investment of public dollars,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson, who commended the city’s “tenacious” staff for the lengthy proposal. “I’m really looking forward to this happening on our streets.”

The decision means the city will write a $6-million cheque for an initial investment and pay $500,000 annually for Vancouver’s first bike share program. Cycling stations could hit streets as soon as 2014 and will service at least 1,500 bikes.

Those hoping to use the cycle system can pay $95 for a yearly fee. Helmet rentals, which could be dispensed from a vending machine, will cost $3 per day for those with a membership. Portland-based cycle company Alta is the proposed vendor for the cycle network.

[audiomuse]

Please take a stand and contact your representatives to vote against Senator Rand Paul's proposed Amendment 1742 which will cut bike-funding in the U.S.

Just enter your zip code and fill out the information sheet (takes just a few minutes)

http://www.peopleforbikes.org/page/s...bike-amendment

[electricron]

Originally Posted by audiomuse

Please take a stand and contact your representatives to vote against Senator Rand Paul's proposed Amendment 1742 which will cut bike-funding in the U.S.

Just enter your zip code and fill out the information sheet (takes just a few minutes)

http://www.peopleforbikes.org/page/s...bike-amendment

I suggest taking the opposite stand. Bikes will never play a major part in interstate transportation of people or goods, therefore should never receive a single penny of federal funds. Few riders will ever ride a bike from Los Angeles to New York City. Let local and state governments finance bike facilities, because that's where bikes might play a major role in transportation. The federal government should limit themselves to financing and addressing interstate transportation needsl that's airways, railways, seaways, and highways.

[vid]

US Numbered Bicycle Routes. It's basically an interstate system for bikes. Canada has a similar system, the Trans-Canada Trail.

Thousands of people cross Canada by bike every year and I am sure thousands more cross the United States by bike as well. Two of them were killed near my city last week when a man from Austin drove over them. There is a railway nearby that will become part of the Trans-Canada Trail once funding is available.

In other news:

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/edit...anes-yes-or-no

Bike lanes: Yes or no?
The Chronicle-Journal | Saturday, July 27, 2013
Letter from Harry & Jane Chapman, Thunder Bay

We placed a small notice in the July 20 edition of The Chronicle-Journal. It consisted of a very simple question:
“If you drive a vehicle in Thunder Bay, are you happy with the design of bike lanes. YES___ NO___”

Of the 37 emails received, 100 per cent said no. We established an email address for this project — tbaybikelanes@tbaytel.net.
The elements of design, implementation and safety for Thunder Bay’s bike lanes were apparently developed by a group of amateur employees of the city.

The huge problem is that the department refuses to make the much-needed changes immediately, before someone is killed.
We would like to think that our elected councillors would listen to a majority of citizens rather than going along with this flawed plan that has been presented to them by a department at city hall.

There are many very angry and frustrated people in this city because of these bike lanes.

This issue will no doubt be a consideration by the voters during the next municipal election.

Here is a sample of the comments that we received:

No, I am not in favour of bike lanes in Thunder Bay. They have not been properly designed, introduced or implemented. I also would like to know the number of people who actually do use the bike lanes regularly. It would be interesting to see a ticketing process in place for bikers who do not signal, wear helmets or stop at stop signs.

•
I am not happy with the design of the bike lanes. I find them very confusing and somewhat dangerous. I feel that off-road bike paths would be much more suitable in Thunder Bay.

•

No, I don’t agree with the lanes. I don’t ride a bike but having grown up in this city, more thinking could have gone into the planning and placement. Thunder Bay has a lot of room, we don’t have to put everyone together on the same road.

•
I do not oppose bicycles but the lanes on Victoria Avenue are terrible. So much traffic, confusing directions for motorists. Suggestion: put bike lanes beside the sidewalk — much safer.

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Vehicles have increased greatly but the roads have not gotten any wider. Unlike Holland, whose main transportation is cycling, where parking lots house 25,000 bikes. How many bikes are at Intercity, for example — 25 maybe! If the roads were made wider then I could agree with cycling to work; it’s a good form of exercise and it reduces pollution. I’m aware of cyclists and drive my motor vehicle with caution, especially if a cyclist is sharing the road with me. But how many motorists drive like that?

•
No. These people do not obey the rules of the road.

•
We are vehicle operators and drive all over the city. We are not totally opposed to bike lanes, however we do feel that when making bike lanes the city also must meet the needs of the residents. In other words, when putting in bike lanes the city must also put in parking lanes for the residents along the same routes. During the same months bike riders are out, families are having parties at their residences where there will be no parking in front of their homes leaving guests to park on side streets or on a different street.

•
I am completely opposed to the way bike lanes are been established in this city. I was recently in Germany and Finland where hundreds of folks ride bikes for their daily commutes to work, to catch a train (where they leave their bikes at the station), for recreation, etc. Most of their bike paths are marked off on the sidewalks, not on the streets.

•
The bike lanes are ridiculous and dangerous. We had two close experiences with bikes not staying in them in our visit in May. Seems as if bikers think the road signs and traffic lights are just for motor vehicles. Also, too many are riding on the sidewalks going in either direction.

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As an avid cyclist in Thunder Bay, I am baffled by the “design” of our street-painted bike paths, Victoria Avenue and Waterloo being among of the worst. It is a wonder no one has been hit riding there. I have ridden through High Street several times and turned at Upper Bay and found the stop signs don’t impede my riding. I am not training for the Olympics, thus am not an aggressive rider so stopping and starting is not a big deal. City council must re-think the active transportation plan and maybe consult with the people who walk/run/cycle before going ahead and changing traffic flow.

•
No! Amateurs must be in charge of planning bike lanes. Smarten up before someone is killed.

[LMich]

Originally Posted by audiomuse

Please take a stand and contact your representatives to vote against Senator Rand Paul's proposed Amendment 1742 which will cut bike-funding in the U.S.

Just enter your zip code and fill out the information sheet (takes just a few minutes)

http://www.peopleforbikes.org/page/s...bike-amendment

Why bother? It's never going to get out of the Senate, and even if by some off chance that it did and then passed the House, this president would never sign such a thing.

So, what this really is is a ploy by peopleforbikes.com to build up their email list. No thanks, not interested in this phishing trip.

[fflint]

A short StreetFilm montage of rush-hour bike traffic on SF's Market Street this past Monday morning:

Video Link

[CCs77]

The New York Bike Share has been a great success so far.
In a little more than two months, it has reach more than 1,6 million trips
And it works for everything, even for transporting mattresses

http://evgrieve.com/2013/07/how-to-g...Ehmq8c.twitter



http://citibikenyc.com/system-data
Cumulative Trips: 1.601.744




Trips per day, as you can see they have a steady increment, and in the past days has surpased 40 thousand in a single day. It's been over 30 thousand since july 14th every day except one.




Annual Members: 66.169




New Annual members per day, not surprisingly, the rate of new members per day have been lowering, still, about 500 new members sign every day.




24 hour pass purchased per day. Weekends and holidays are the strong days for this type of passes

[Shawn]

Originally Posted by Wizened Variations

Bikes can be left with a cable lock, or no lock at all, I suspect in many parts of the city of Tokyo for long periods of time.

True, but not in Marunouchi around Tokyo Station. People remove unlocked bikes around there all the time. Not necessarily to steal them - although that is common enough, especially at night when the hoards of stupid-drunk salarymen jump on whatever bike is closest to the bar they're leaving, whether it's theirs or not. Sometimes property owners move them and dump them in alley ways, because they're blocking storefronts and hurting business.

Originally Posted by Wizened Variations

My point here is, that, as bike theft is not a big issue, that bikes are viewed more as a way to get somewhere, and less as a status symbol. Because of this, bikes are viewed differently. If you are able to ride a bike and shave 10 or 15 minutes of one's total commuter time, it is done, rather than via tailoring one's life style to be 'bike friendly' etc.

Very good point. The only people in Tokyo with "nice" bikes are the messenger service riders. Everyone else rides a silly looking "mama chari" bikes, they look like Schwinns straight out of 1962.

Originally Posted by Wizened Variations

"In order to avoid more cyclists from coming and leaving their bikes carelessly, the local government will soon impose a ban on bicycles being parked beyond the designated areas in Yurakucho and Otemachi."

The issue here to the Tokyo authorities, IMO, concerns how sloppy and disorderly the bikes are parked outside of defined areas where such parking has been permitted. The question is more of a question of disobedience to an order to park in designated areas that do not slow down passenger flow to and from Tokyo Station.

That's part of it, but as I understand it the underlying concern here is that retail spaces in and around Tokyo Station are being blocked by parked bike overflow. I can vouch for this: under the main line Yamanote/Keihin Tohoku/Tokaido Shinkansen raised tracks, for block after block in either direction north or south, are restaurants and bars. And at night, it can be next to impossible to physically get inside some of theses establishments because of the illegally parked bikes. And we have incidents of property owners/renters getting into physical altercations with bike owners as the property owners try to move the bikes and the bike owners happen to come back as the moving is taking place. Often the bike owner is a drunk salaryman, so the fights are hilarious to watch, but at the end of the day it's bad for business.

[M II A II R II K]

Finally! Protected Bike Lanes May Get Key Federal Endorsement

Read More: http://streetsblog.net/2013/08/08/fi...l-endorsement/

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Michael Andersen at the Green Lane Project says that protected bike lanes may soon get the official, unequivocal blessing of another powerful authority in the transportation engineering world: The Federal Highway Administration.

- In a task order proposal request quietly circulated to selected contractors last week, the federal agency that oversees U.S. road design did exactly what many biking advocates have been urging it to do for years: It suggested that physically separated bikeways can be welcome improvements to American streets and kicked off a process intended to prove it.

- It’s a move that could have big consequences for American cities whose traffic engineers have avoided building separated bike lanes due to a lack of federal guidance. “This is the big thing on the technical side,” Green Lane Project Director Martha Roskowski said in an interview Tuesday. “This has been the big piece that we really need.”

- As ordered by the FHWA, the forthcoming study will look at crash rates and types at 10 to 20 locations that currently offer physically separated cycle tracks, creating a set of recommended design standards and guidelines that FHWA’s influence might eventually integrate into the two bibles of U.S. road design: the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which discusses traffic signs, signals and markings; and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials road design guide, which discusses the shapes and materials of safe roadways.

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[shivtim]

Phase one of Atlanta's first two-way cycle track just opened a few weeks ago. It runs east-west in Midtown along 10th street next to Piedmont Park, and connects directly to the Beltline Eastside trail.

Extension will continue later this year, and two more tracks are planned in downtown and midtown.


source


http://beltline.org/2013/07/24/10th-street-cycle-track/

[M II A II R II K]

Bike sharing may ride into town

Read More: http://evanstonnow.com/story/governm...ride-into-town

Chicago's Divvy bike sharing program may be coming to Evanston -- if aldermen approve a grant application tonight.

The aldermen are scheduled to approve a request for federal transportation alternatives program funding to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. The proposed project would cost $472,500. The grant, if awarded, would cover 80 percent of the cost, with the city picking up the rest. It would establish seven bicycle share stations at Evanston locations yet to be determined that would each have 10 three-speed bicycles.

Oak Park and the City of Chicago are also applying for grant funds under the program. Chicago would use its grant funds to extend its network -- which as now planned extends only as far north as the Loyola University campus in Rogers Park and to Chicago's near west side -- to connect to the proposed systems in Oak Park and Evanston.

A staff memo on the project says Northwestern University has indicated an interest in partnering to bring the bike sharing system to town and that staff plans to contact the city's other large employers to ask them to share in the program's capital and operating expenses. Annual operating costs for the Evanston system are estimated at $168,000.

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Bike Rack Request

Read More: http://www.activetrans.org/blog/tony...e-rack-request

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The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) is taking bike rack requests. Just enter an address at the this link and CDOT bike program staff will survey the site for a bike rack. Happy locking!

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[M II A II R II K]

More Texas Cities Promoting Bicycle Use

Read More: http://www.texastribune.org/2013/08/...e-bicycle-use/

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In car-clogged communities around Texas, a biking movement is gaining speed. Midsize and large cities are expanding bike trails and putting roads on "lane diets" to accomodate bike lanes.

- "It’s really being embraced for solving a lot of problems. It’s not this sort of fringe, tree-hugger issue anymore," said Linda DuPriest, a former bicycle-pedestrian program coordinator for Austin who is now a senior planner for Alta Planning + Design, a Portland, Ore.-based design firm that focuses on bike infrastructure. In June, DuPriest opened the agency’s Texas office in Dallas.

- "Texas is really ripe" for an expansion in bike infrastructure, said Mia Birk, the firm’s president and a former bicycle program manager with the City of Portland, widely regarded as a national model for biking infrastructure. "There’s so many cities that are growing and thriving, and really looking for ways to create healthier opportunities for residents and businesses."

- Rising obesity rates across the country have drawn increased attention to Texas, where two-thirds of the state’s residents are overweight or clinically obese. The unwanted publicity of landing high on various "fattest cities" lists has heightened interest in doing more to encourage bicycle use, according to some city officials. "I think what made city leaders take notice is we kept getting on lists that didn’t look so good for the city," said Julia Murphy, a biking manager in San Antonio’s sustainability department. “We were all tired of having that reputation.”

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The National Push to Close the Cycling Gender Gap

Read More: http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/08/19...ng-gender-gap/

Women have been called an “indicator species” of a bike-friendly city because they tend to pedal more in places that are safe and practical for biking. But on those counts, the United States has some work to do.

- In 2009, the last time good data was released, less than a quarter of bike trips in the U.S. — 24 percent — were made by women. Some cities are performing better than others: In Boston and Philadelphia, women make 32 percent of bike trips. In San Francisco, it’s 33 percent.

- So what exactly is the problem? It seems to be combination of things, ranging from the quality of U.S. bike infrastructure to the availability of bike products designed for women’s tastes. The League of American Bicyclists recently issued a report, Women on a Roll, which lays out five key factors that get more women riding.

- The number one factor is establishing better infrastructure — “comfort,” they call it. There’s a lot of research that shows lack of adequate bike infrastructure is holding women back from bicycling. Cities that have made great strides in cycling infrastructure have seen the share of female cyclists rise. In Portland, for instance, it rose from 21 percent in 1992 to 31 percent in 2012.

- “Comfort is one of the biggest drivers of whether women bike or not,” said Szczepanski. “That has to do with creating an experience for getting more people on a bike regardless of gender.” Women tend to prefer bike lanes and protected bike lanes to a greater extent than men. In a 2009 Portland study, 94 percent of women said that separated bike lanes made their trip safer, compared to 64 percent of men.

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