In this edition of “This Week in Bike Culture,” we begin with a StreetsFilm video about the Minneapolis’ elaborate bike network. In an inspiring tale for bike advocates, planners replaced an old industrial railway with a beautiful bike lane. Kick back and enjoy this one, and watch it in HD if you can it’s truly breathtaking. When you’re done continue reading!
Portland, Oregon promotes Bike-Friendly Development
This is a great article from the New York Times about various Bike-Friendly buildings in Portland Oregon. Hopworks BikeBar, a brewpub in Portland, has racks for 75 bikes and even has to-go containers that fit into bottle cages! Another housing development doesn’t have any accommodation for cars, and has 35 bike racks in a 18 unit complex. While LA is a few years off from buildings like these, don’t write it off! Maybe in five years, you’ll be parking your bike at the exclusive Sunset Blvd nightclub instead of paying $15 for parking.
Bike Commuting Census Data Released
The US Census Bureau has released the data from its recent national survey in 2010, and it’s results are reassuring! Since 2000, the 38 largest Bicycle Friendly Communities have seen a 77% growth in frequent bicycle commuters, and Americas 70 largest cities saw a 63% increase. This is encouraging news, and we hope to see an even starker contrast between 2010 and 2020!
Ford has released images of a concept for an Electric Bicycle, and we hope it’s their next Model T! This is a slick looking bicycle, and with electronic pedal assist this could be a way to get more commuters biking. Let us know what you think in the comments, and if you already own an electric bicycle let us know how it works!
This is another awesome concept for bicycle lights, it makes bicycles look like the “light cycles” in the Tron movies! This is really cool, and has the potential to make biking at nighttime much safer. Even if you can’t afford these fancy lights, you should remember to wear reflective materials, a helmet, and to always have bike lights when riding at night.
