Superblocks: How Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars
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Category Archives: Well done!
On urban cycling. Mikael Colville-Andersen
The Man Behind Copenhagenization
Getting parking right
Getting parking right is key when it comes to biking infrastructure: do it wrong and you’ll create a deadly trap waiting for you to get doored, do it well and create a barrier that will improve the cyclist’s security.
If you think about it, often times drivers ride alone, which means that, often times, cycling on the right of parked cars is safer. Additionally, cars parked on the left of bikeways are a great substitute for physical elements plus you get them for free. Additionally, if cars park on the left of bikeways there is no interference between bicycles and cars when the later are about to park.
Seattle has at least a dozen different ways of designing parking, ranging from terrible through excellent, here is a very good one.
A city got it right
When traffic lights look like this
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.
Believe it or not
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!
San Francisco’s Critical Mass
I’ve only done it once, but it was a blast!. San Francisco’s Critical Mass begins at 5:30 on Justin Herman Plaza. There are hundreds of bikers dressed both formally and informally, and is escorted by the police for courtesy and security.
The environment is quite festive, I remember bikes covered with flowers, bubble making machines mounted on cars, music, bikes that look like a harley davidson, etc. Plus people kindly stop cars and make sure the mass is dense and gap less.
The ride itself is nice and slow, allowing for people of all ages to enjoy it while also paying a visit to SF’s interesting spots. Additionally, the hills and the dusk light makes for great pictures, not to mention visiting the seaside and the Palace of Fine Arts at night.
Seattle’s Critical Mass
Seattle’s Critical Mass beings at 5:30ish at the Westlake Center. There, bikers socialize and, little by little, we ride in a big circle while also ringing our bells. At some random point, when most have joined, we depart without a planned destination.
Seattle’s Critical Mass always happens, rain or shine, although attendance greatly depends on the weather, ranging from tens to about a hundred. During these rides we try not to go through steep hills but sometimes there isn’t a more suitable options (or things are too chaotic to avoid them).
Still, you always get to meet people and discover interesting parts of the city. During my first Seattle’s Critical Mass I ended up on a birthday party on the other side of the city at 3am, but in other occasions we ended up riding around the International Fountain, visiting a p-path on the top of a building, and so on.
