Monthly Archives: August 2016

Community driven urban design

For several years I wished a gap on Seattle’s University bridge bikeway was fixed. It was something very obvious and that clearly endangered all the cyclist. And I wasn’t alone: It was very clear when the Seattle Department of Transportation created a public map to let people report fixes. That specific point was full of reports and, lo and behold, it got fixed almost immediately.

In these times when budgets are always under scrutiny, it’s vital to prioritize adequately what gets done and how. Another tool widely used here is Find it fix it, a mobile ap you can use to report potholes and other elements in need of a fix, and you can rest assured the SDOT will fix it on a timely manner.

Additionally, Seattle’s Greenways is an initiative that empowers neighbors to decide which streets should be made safer.

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The best public bike

Public bikes are different in every city: they can be electric, they can have gears, fenders, or they can be belt-driven. But out of all the public bicycles I tried, the ones in Copenhagen are the best by far.Despite the fact that Copenhagen is quite flat they are electric, they have lights, fenders, and racks, so they can be used by everybody.
But one interesting thing is that they all have a tablet that lets you easily register and log in on the very bike. Additionally, the tablet includes a gps that takes you to your destination even if you don’t know the city without having to reach your pocket. Not to mention the fact that they are painted white, which increases the visibility at night (and lets Danish know that a tourist may be in charge).
Kudos to Bycyklen!

theBestPublicBike

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Our enemies, our allies

Biking in a city with a huge car usage feels like a struggle, like a war for the future with clear enemies and allies, and here are some of them.
Our allies:

  • Polite people
  • Nature lovers
  • 99.9% of the people
  • Health conscious people
  • People who love their life
  • Progressive urban designers
  • Politicians aware of the potential to win votes

Our enemies:

  • The stress level
  • Tight schedules
  • Closemindedness
  • Driver’s cellphones
  • The lack of empathy
  • Any drug taken before driving

OurEnemiesOurAllies

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