Can America Afford Not to Bike More?

The above map from the CDC shows obesity rates across the United States. It was recently featured in blogs on both Streetsblog and Copenhagenize to illustrate America's need for exercise. This begs the question "can america afford not to bike more?"

Tweet

UTA's new safety campaign includes some added features for bicyclists

I boarded the FrontRunner train southbound for Salt Lake City Friday morning and noticed a different bike symbol on the outside of the bike car (the one nearest to the locomotive). The bike car has been around for a little while now, and I believe that it has been one of UTA's best investments on trains. Here is what the new and improved signage near the door of the train looks like. Pretty spiffy huh?

[read more...]

Tweet

Occupy Critical Mass SLC - by Ryan McCalmon

When I bought my first bike as an adult approximately ten years ago, I had no preconceived notion where it would lead me. I'd spent almost 9 years driving at the neglect of my long forgotten BMX bike that used to carry me everywhere around Riverton, UT growing up. I wasn't happy, that much I knew. Deciding that my life lacked sufficient activity and realizing that my body composition wasn't what it once was, I bought a bike. Little did I know it would become a way of life.

Over the years, as apathy and depression got the better of me and I lost a number of jobs on my way to rock bottom, I began to ride that bike more and more. At first, it was absolutely necessary as I could no longer afford to insure, register, fuel, maintain, and pay for parking and no-insurance tickets for my little car. I'll be the first to admit that I became a fuck-up. [click 'more' to keep reading]

[read more...]

Tweet

The Nightmare Before Christmas Alleycat (Medium+)

Do you think you're brave enough to face frantic last minute shoppers, icy roads, and frigid temperatures? Then this is the race for you. The Nightmare Before Christmas Alleycat promises to be the craziest, most monstrous, most legendary race of the year and is the perfect way to say hello to 2012 and au revoir to 2011. It will be dark and cold so be sure to bring appropriate clothing (ugly christmas sweaters hand stitched by your granny are optional) and all the lighting and reflective gear you find necessary. Be sure to bring:

-Your bike,

-A lock,

-A pen,

-and $5

Meet at Memory Grove Park at the bottom of City Creek Canyon at 6:00 PM on Friday, Dec. 23.

Tweet

Historic Photos

I found this photo of a bicycle delivery man at the Salt Lake County Archives. Check out his kick-stand, and the umbrella he has tucked into his handlebars. The photo was taken at 1764 S. 200 E. circa 1936.

(Source: Salt Lake County Tax Appraisal Cards and Photographs)

If you're interested in the history of cycling in Utah, the Utah Historical Quarterly has published two interesting articles in their summer and fall issues. The article in the summer issue is titled "Fast Revolutions: Bicycles, Paved Paths, and the Creation of a Middle-Class Salt Lake City, 1890-1903" (by Ted Moore) and the article in the fall issue is titled "Speed Merchants: The History of Professional Cycling in Salt Lake City, 1898-1914" (also by Ted Moore). Both are available at the main branch of the public library, or the Marriott Library on the U of U campus.

Tweet

Home Depot Center Velodrome

I was doing a little Sunday surfing and found this neat velodrome in California. Just imagine a large scale velodrome in Salt Lake... If you build it, they will come. Here is the quote from their site.

"Welcome to the Home Depot Center Velodrome located on 125-acre Home Depot Center Complex in Carson, California, near Los Angeles, CA. The Home Depot Center Velodrome is a 100,000 square foot, $15 million specially designed 250 meter indoor wood bicycle racing track. The Home Depot Center Velodrome is also a part of the United States Olympic training centers. The velodrome is open to the public during specified hours. See calendar for details. The Home Depot Center Velodrome will host training and competition under the guidance of USACycling, including state, national, world cup, and world championship events.

The Home Depot Center Velodrome, America's largest indoor velodrome, is committed to the growth of the sport of cycling. Youth, beginner, intermediate, and advanced training programs are available to those curious about riding the velodrome all the way to aspiring Olympic and World Championship athletes."

Stop driving, start cycling.

Tweet

Utah Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Guide

For any planning-minded readers out there, check this out! The Utah Department of Health has released the Utah Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Guide! Read an article about it here on Cycling Utah's webpage, and check out the guide here!

Tweet

Innovative Bike Turn Box Debuts in Salt Lake City

Press Release from the Mayor's Office; SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake City’s improvements to bicycle infrastructure are rounding out the 2011 construction season with a new, innovative treatment – a recently installed “two-stage bike turn queue box” on Main St. at 200 South.

The design, known as a “bike turn box” for short, allows bicyclists to make left turns across the TRAX light rail tracks in two traffic signal phases. Bicyclists riding south on Main St. use the 7' x 10' box to turn left by riding toward the south side of the intersection, waiting in the green box, and then proceeding on the green light with the traffic on 200 South.

[read more...]

Tweet

BTA provides tips on how to bike when it's cold and icy

Taken from the BTA (Bicycle Transportation Alliance) website, a regional transportation advocacy organization based in Oregon. These tips will help us as winter sets in and ice and snow coat the roads. Be safe out there and take these tips to heart:

"Recently, we provided a few tips for effectively biking through wet leaves, which have just about saturated Portland’s streets. With temperatures expected to dip below freezing soon, now is the time to prepare for safe winter bicycling and icy conditions ahead.

[read more...]

Tweet

Bike lights: LED signaling from SLC

A nice innovation in bike lighting: LED signaling courtesy of Salt Lake resident Brandon Smith.  Via a bar-mounted controller, riders can signal turns through rows of LEDs mounted to the fork and seatstays. A few months ago, I unwittingly followed a cyclist with this system down 900 East. Watching the rider clearly signal a left-turn in the dark, I was sold. This set-up should be a great way to boost visibility and predictability, while supporting local innovation. 

Thanks to Salt Lake City Green for the links.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=18102264&title=utahns-bright-idea-making-streets-safer-for-cyclists

[read more...]

Tweet

2008 UDOT bicycle crash study older, but still relevant

A snapshot from UDOT's bicycle crash analysis

I have had this document for a while now and it never crossed my mind to share it on the blog. UDOT, the state transportation department behind the Road Respect campaign and most state-wide road improvements, released their 2008 Bicycle Crashes analysis report a while back and it highlights some of the well-known facts as well as some surprises about bicycle crashes. Where they happen, when, why, and who is at fault. Check out the report (2 pages) and tell us what you think.


Download report here.

Tweet

Streetfilms: Guadalajara’s Paseo de Todos

Streetsblog and Streetfilms have been doing a lot to further the cause of bicycles throughout the world. They just released a great 5-minute documentary highlighting Guadalajara's efforts to promote bicycling:



http://www.streetfilms.org/critical-mass-is-alive-and-well-guadalajaras-paseo-de-todos/

Tweet

TWO EVENTS in the NEXT 24 HOURS!

Once again for the Non-Face-Bookers, there are two events this week, one in 2 hours!?!? Tonight at 9 is a Tweed Ride led by Naresh Kumar. He has been throwing Thursday night rides every week, 9 o'clock at Coffee Garden (9th and 9th). Tonight's is Tweed themed, but the only real requirement is to show up wearing something (but feel free to challenge even that). They ride around town for a couple hours, casual and fun.

The second event this week is the third Screw Fall; We're Riding! Alleycat Series of the month. It's tomorrow, Friday 11.18.11, at 6 pm. It is the 4th annual Cranksgiving alleycat, so we'll be stopping at stores and spending $5-$10 on groceries which will be donated to the food bank. Come one come all to the Hospital Trax Station (last stop on the University Red line) at 6 pm. We'll be meeting there then riding to an undisclosed starting location. Bring $10 or so for groceries, a bag, a lock, and probably some lights. It ends at the SLC Bicycle Collective, meaning the race is almost entirely downhill (very beginner friendly)!

Tweet

Screw Fall, We're Gonna Ride! Alleycat Series!

For the followers out there not on facebook: SLC is being hit with 4 alleycats this month (one every Friday), put on by Chris Ginzton of CycleSmith! These 'cats are perfect for beginners and good practice for the regulars, so get on your bike and head out tonight! The second of four races is tonight at 6 pm. Meet at on the roof of the downtown SLC Library with $5, a pen, a lock, and a bag. This race focuses on route finding skills and, again, is very beginner friendly. Come one come all!

Tweet

Other Effective Programs Pt. 1: TA Traffic Monitoring Kit

The local SLC efforts in building up a better environment for cycling have been impressive, it's great to witness those developments and their effects in the community. Beyond the local, however, there are a lot of different tactics and efforts out there in the advocacy world that we can keep our eyes on, for implementation in the future.

Today Transportation Alternatives' Neighborhood Traffic Monitoring Kit caught my eye. It's an impressive and enabling document that lays out in step-by-step terms the civic and research actions that can be taken to improve a problematic area of city infrastructure. New York City's civic structure is complicated and comprehensive and this kit helps activists navigate that with specific examples. The specifics may not be relevant to Salt Lake, but we would do well to learn from the comprehensive tactics of assessing a problem area, notifying community liaisons within the Department of Public Safety, scientifically recording data, and presenting it though a variety of information outlets. The toolkit can be downloaded here, an example of this system being used to good effect can be read about here.

Tweet

Second Annual Bike Count Shows Big Jump in Cyclists

Coordinator says bicycling in Salt Lake City is easy, money-saving and “cooler” than ever

SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake City's investments in bicycle infrastructure, including approximately 50 lane miles of new on-road bikeways and locally designed "green shared lanes" in the downtown area, are paying off with a one-year 27 percent increase in the number of bicyclists, according to the City's second annualbicycle count.

"The City's bike count reflected a tremendous increase in bicycling," said Becka Roolf, Salt Lake City bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. "Our results compare very favorably to other cities. For example, New York City has been heralded for its gains in bicycle commuting, yet saw only a 14 percent increase from its 2010 to 2011 April count numbers."

Roolf says the one-year boost may be attributed to a mix of factors including Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker's commitment to bicycle infrastructure, higher gas prices and a growing "hip" factor for bicycling among urban twenty- and thirty-somethings.

The count, which uses volunteers to collect data, surveyed 16 locations during the second week of September. The 27 percent increase was calculated by comparing the 12 locations that were included in both the 2010 and 2011 counts. The weather was similarly sunny and seasonably warm for both years’ counts.

Andrew Coffey, a senior political science major from the University of Utah interning with Salt Lake City through the Hinckley Institute of Politics, coordinated the 2011 survey. Coffey, who is not a regular bicyclist himself, said he was impressed at the strength of the local bicycle community turning out to help with the data collection.

"Even during the count, our returning volunteers remarked that they were seeing more bicyclists than last year," Coffey said.

Coffey directed 60 volunteers in staffing the count and used his statistics background to analyze the results.

The top locations for bicycling were near the University of Utah and in the heart of downtown. Also, Coffey noted that the Jordan River Trail posted a considerable amount of bicycle traffic.

The area with the biggest jump in number of bicyclists­–a 109% increase–was on 1700 South at 900 West. Most of the 1700 South corridor from 1700 East to Redwood Road received new or redesigned bikeways in 2011 in conjunction with a resurfacing project. This work was designated as part of the City's implementation of the Complete Streets ordinance.

To find out more about bicycling in Salt Lake City, and view a recently updated citywide bikeways map, go to www.slcgov.com/bike/.

Tweet