Sharrows!

That’s what we need!

Commute Orlando has awesome graphics. The picture on the right shows a car passing in the opposing traffic lane. They also have great tips on urban cycling.

Carbon Trace suggests that arrows promoting bike use of a traffic lane are best when painted in the middle of the lane.  It’s better to show that the whole lane is used for multiple kinds of traffic, rather than a dedicated bike lane and a dedicated motor-vehicle lane.  If they’re offset, they tend to suggest lane position to both cyclists and drivers.

According to Commute Orlando:

The purpose of sharrows, technically known as Shared Lane Markings, is primarily to indicate a cyclist’s right to the lane. It does not confer this right, it just informs road users of it. Cyclists have the right to the lane on every road and only have to ride to the right and share a lane that is 14 feet or wider AND has unobstructed pavement on the right third AND when this position does not otherwise interfere with a cyclist’s safe operation.

They have another cool picture, too.

City planners and community activists – think about it!  Especially when implementing programs like Complete Streets and Livable Streets.

DIY Bicycle-Powered USB Device Charger

Via Lifehacker

Last week we took a look at MightyMintyBoost, a solar-powered USB charger. If you liked the idea but can’t count on the sun shining, this USB charger runs on the power of your bicycle pedals.

Like the solar-powered charger, this pedal-powered charger is based off the previously mentioned MintyBoost charger (which is simply powered by AA batteries). As opposed to the MintyBoost, which is built to be as easy to assemble as possible, the geek quotient that lies within this Instructable is high. That said, if you’ve got the chops, time, and cash to pull it off (the motor they used cost a whopping $275), it’s a really fun idea.

How to Charge Any USB Device by Riding Your Bike [Instructables]

Bike Lanes Are Dangerous

This letter to the editor that appeared in the NY Times a few years ago does an excellent job of describing the flaws in the idea that bike lanes are a safer alternative for bicycle commuters.

The fact is, separate bicycle lanes foster the belief on the part of motorists that bikes don’t belong on the road.  Additionally, they frequently take cyclists out of drivers’ line of sight, creating a very dangerous situation at intersections.

The safest way for cyclists and motorists to co-exist in a community is to share the road.  That’s why we all must do our part to raise awareness among non-cyclists about our place on the road, and how to safely navigate a shared transportation system.

To the Editor:

Samuel I. Schwartz’s nostalgia for the 1980 experiment with barrier-separated bike lanes in Manhattan (”Rolling Thunder,” Op-Ed, Nov. 5) is naïve. These lanes were hardly usable!

In such lanes, bicyclists’ travel is blocked by pedestrians, trucks or their delivery ramps; these also hide bicyclists and turning motorists from each other, increasing the risk of the most common car-bike crashes, those at intersections.

National design guidelines, and position statements of the League of American Bicyclists, strongly discourage the construction of barrier-separated lanes, as research consistently shows them to be more hazardous than riding on the same roadway with motor traffic.

Real improvements in bicycling conditions result, for example, from education, enforcement, bicycle boulevards (streets open for through bicycle travel but for only local motor-vehicle access) and reducing discretionary driving, as with London’s successful congestion charge.

John S. Allen
Waltham, Mass.

The writer is regional director for New York and New England, League of American Bicyclists.

Originally published: November 12, 2006

The Politics of Two Wheels

excerpted from The Bicycling Life (PDF)

This article shows how many people in our society believe a dangerous superstition about bicycle operation. People following the superstition ride bicycles in ways that put them at much greater risk (riding on the wrong side of the road, for example). The superstition dominates public policy relating to cycling, which increases risk for all. This article discusses the problems caused by misguided policy and what can be done to remedy them. A companion article, Bicycle Commuter’s Guide, tells how experienced cyclists follow the rules of the road via a principle called Vehicular Cycling, which is summarized as “Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as operators of vehicles.”

Read the whole article here (PDF).

Read more about safe commuting, Vehicular Cycling, and Effective Cycling.

Do The Test!

A compelling English campaign to encourage awareness of cyclists.

The Transport for London site offers tips on staying safe as a cyclist in traffic, including observation, visibility, lane position, and things to watch out for.