Learn about how cities can make riding a bicycle safer at intersections with lighting signals called Leading Bicycle Intervals, or “LBIs”, similar to the more familiar Leading Pedestrian Intervals, “LPIs”. 2 articles in one!

Addressing Bicycle-Vehicle Conflicts with Alternate Signal Control Strategies

Read more:

https://nitc.trec.pdx.edu/research/project/897

And read about leading bicycle intervals from NAACTO here:

Bicycle Signal Head Benefits

• Separates bicycle movements from conflicting motor vehicle, streetcar, light rail, or pedestrian movements.
• Provides priority to bicycle movements at intersections (e.g., a leading bicycle interval).
• Accommodates of bicycle-only movements within signalized intersections (e.g., providing a phase for a contra-flow bike lane that otherwise would not have a phase). Through bicycle travel may also occur simultaneously with parallel auto movement if conflicting automobile turns are restricted.

Read more…

https://nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/bicycle-signals/bicycle-signal-heads/

This could be a great idea for Asbury Park.  Cargo bikes are appearing to be the “old is new again” great way to get goods and services around in cities as cars have threatened to take over our streets, and city leaders strive to make streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.  Bike manufacturers are trying to keep up with the demand for cargo bikes, and building bikes are lighter and easier to pedal than old versions.  A seemingly not too difficult challenge is for cities to establish areas for delivery trucks to reload goods to the cargo bikes.

Pedal power: the rise and rise of cargo bikes in Germany

https://www.thelocal.de/20180502/pedal-power-germany-the-rise-of-cargo-bikes/amp?__twitter_impression=true

Meet Happy Streets: Rotterdam’s cheeky activists for social mobility in the city

A cheerful squad of urban agitators are using Rotterdam to conduct quirky experiments in social mobility.

A fun approach

Happy Streets’ playful approach to tackling the problem is refreshing. Recent projects have included creating a temporary bike lane with painted yellow dots to demonstrate that there is room for cyclists, converting parking slots to astro-turfed picnic areas furnished with benches and deck chairs, and creating a pavement version of the game Twister. Such projects have encouraged residents and policy makers to take another look at the purposing of city spaces, and consider alternative, less car-centric models. Tactical urbanism, it seems, is spreading. In one part of town – quite independent of Happy Streets – local residents recently took matters into their own hands and painted their own pedestrian crossing to show that they needed one. ‘I thought that it was really nice that people are sometimes a bit disobedient, not because they want to make a mess, but because they just want to make the city a better place,’ says Wemmenhove. ‘We need to trust people a bit more that they also know what they’re doing.’

Read more …

https://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2018/03/meet-happy-streets-rotterdams-cheeky-activists-for-social-mobility-in-the-city/

We are gradually seeing improvements on the condition of streets around Asbury Park, better crosswalks and traffic signals, and of course the work being done on Rt 71, Main Street.  Most business owners are ready to welcome a safer Main Street, but for those who still have reservations…

“In city after city, business owners are seeing more customers come through their doors and more revenue flowing into cash registers when streets are redesigned to be more walk- and bike-friendly.

JUNE 4, 2018 BY RACHEL QUEDNAU

“Picture the busiest, most successful shopping districts in America. Think Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago or Pike Place Market in Seattle. Are these areas filled with parking lots and parking spaces? No. They’re filled with people walking around from store to store.”

Asbury Park and cities all over the world acknowledge that parking has to come with a higher pricetag, and that walking, bicycling, and alternative and mass transportation must be incentivized and supported.

Parking Is Sexy Now. Thank Donald Shoup.

Read more…

https://www.citylab.com/amp/article/560876/?__twitter_impression=true

Walking Emancipation

“In almost all U.S. cities, the bulk of the right-of-way is given to the roadway for vehicles, the least to the sidewalk for pedestrians… just suppose that Americans were to extend their walking radius by only a few hundred feet. The result could be an emancipation… –William H. Whyte (CITY: Rediscovering the Center)

Developed in Europe, traffic calming (a direct translation of the German “vekehrsberuhigung”) is a system of design and management strategies that aim to balance traffic on streets with other uses. It is founded on the idea that streets should help create and preserve a sense of place, that their purpose is for people to walk, stroll, look, gaze, meet, play, shop and even work alongside cars – but not dominated by them.

Read more…

https://www.pps.org/article/livememtraffic

THINK BANNING CARS WILL LEAD TO ECONOMIC LOSSES? THINK AGAIN.

FEARGUS O’SULLIVAN  MAY 24, 2018

The only vehicles that will be allowed in this zone are cars that belong to residents who live there, zero-emissions delivery vehicles, taxis, and public transit. Even on a continent where many cities are scaling back car access, the plan is drastic.

Read more…

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/05/madrid-spain-car-ban-city-center/561155/