Is Your City Too Car-Friendly?

Question: Among our readers, who, like me learned to drive at a time when we were taught that pedestrians had the right of way? I was taught when I was behind the wheel that I had the awesome right and responsibility to drive a huge metal engine-powered machine, and I had to look out for those more vulnerable on the road. Things seem to have changed. Right now we can see daily reports from cities everywhere of drivers involved in hit and run, and other fatal crashes with people walking and riding bikes, in which drivers are getting away with “failure to yield”, or “reckless driving”. (Police reports say: “She came out of nowhere.”  “I didn’t see him.” Or even more ridiculous, “He/she wasn’t wearing a helmet.”)

We’re in the midst of a crisis of an health crisis of vaping. There have been 13 fatalities to date, and may be more to come. It’s a serious problem and it’s in the news every day.  But we don’t see a similar response to car crash deaths that occur daily by the hundreds and yearly by tens of thousands! The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates that in 2018, 40,000 people died in car crashes (and almost the same number deaths from guns, but that’s another discussion). We have normalized car-related deaths as built-in to our dependence on driving.  The US can do so much better, and things are beginning to change -very gradually. It takes time to change a culture. Cities like Asbury Park are making strides to create streets that are safe for everyone, especially the most vulnerable – walking, riding bikes, pushing strollers, navigating wheelchairs, and yes, scooters too. (Check out scooter education on Sunday 9/29!)  Watch for continued improvements to infrastructure all over Asbury Park with the goal is to increase availability, convenience, and safety of micro mobility, and reduce car dependency, as it becomes less convenient and less desirable to drive.

 

Cyclist Deaths Are Exploding Because U.S. Cities Are Car-Friendly Death Traps

Bike-related fatalities are up 25 percent across the U.S. since 2010.

 

By Jada Butler; illustrated by Hunter French
Sep 6 2019

In 2019, more and more cities across America are encouraging their residents to commute by bicycle. Cycling, of course, is good for the environment in terms of reducing pollution from car-dominant streets, and it’s a healthier way to travel.

But cities gaining new cyclists are quickly, tragically finding that they do not have the proper infrastructure to keep them safe. Cyclist fatalities have gone up 25 percent across the U.S. since 2010, and up 10 percent in 2018 itself, while all other traffic fatalities have decreased.

Read more…

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/a35e9p/cyclist-bike-deaths-are-exploding-because-us-cities-are-car-friendly-death-traps?utm_campaign=sharebutton

Want To Save The Planet? Drive Less.

The bottom line is that we ALL need to drive less. Fuel efficient cars will never be enough. The federal government is buying into the hype that we need more and bigger highways to move more vehicles. The advertising biz is in on the plan too, encouraging us to buy cars that establish our identity, that make us feel powerful, sexy, and even environmentally conscious. The influence is coming from the industry of course, with the constant goal of selling more cars, whether gasoline powered or electric.  The recent introduction of electric cars to Asbury Park is to make it possible to live car-free, but still be able to access a vehicle when necessary. Reduce use, and reduce congestion and the use of fossil fuels. That’s the idea Asbury Park!

“Improvements in vehicle efficiency and vehicle electrification are being undermined by the way we design and spend money on our roadways. New highways, roads, and lanes induce more driving (Vehicle Miles Travleled, or VMT), which leads to more emissions and ultimately more congestion. This is called “induced demand.”  In fact, driving increases in exact proportion with lane-mileage—a 10% increase in lane miles will lead to a 10% increase in driving.
Though building more highways increases emissions, federal transportation spending actually encourages more driving and undermines limited investments in biking, walking, and transit.”

Electric cars won’t save the planet without a clean energy overhaul – they could increase pollution

“EVs have great potential to reduce pollution and give people a more sustainable way to get around – but electricity production must also be clean. It’s not wise to rely completely on scarce natural elements required for producing EVs and alternatives have to be explored. More recycling plants are needed to make the most out of rare elements and governments need to explore ways to ensure a smooth transition to cleaner transportation.”

Read about it:

http://theconversation.com/electric-cars-wont-save-the-planet-without-a-clean-energy-overhaul-they-could-increase-pollution-118012

The Beauty And Frustration of Riding A Bike In The City-A Graphic Story

This charming and thought-provoking graphic story illustrates the beauty of riding a bike in the city, and also the frustration and danger – and asks whether motorist entitlement making us question our confidence in the human race.  In this case the bike rider arrives at a happy ending.

Drivers display behaviors on the road that indicate that they feel entitled, but in a weird way it’s not the fault of drivers themselves. The titans of the auto and oil and gas industries have made a concerted effort since the 1920s to  brainwash the populace, when the first affordable cars rolled off the assembly line, making them affordable and available to almost everyone, and cities built roads that accommodated cars, and marginalized people.

In the interest of promoting car culture the industry has deliberately co-opted our vernacular to take responsibility away from drivers, using words like “accident”, which is a rare, pre-ordained and unavoidable incident, rather than “crash”, which all vehicle related incidents are.   “Jaywalking” is a completely made up word intended to marginalize, and even criminalize walkers. The term “parking”, which now is only applied to parking vehicles, is originally a West Germanic word, pre-4c., meaning “fencing”, in Medieval Latin, “enclosure, park“, in old French, as well as Italian parco, Spanish parque, etc.  We even use a driving license as the main form of ID in the US.

Asbury Park, like many cities in the US is working on changing car culture with incremental infrastructure improvements, improving mass transit, adding micro-mobility options, and making it less convenient to drive in the city, and more desirable and safer to ride a bike and walk.

‘Motorists undercut any confidence you ever had in the human race’: New York cycling – a cartoon

Marcellus Hall is a New York-based illustrator

The Illustrated City: Despite its traffic, for cyclists, Manhattan is a contained sprawl that unfolds like a pop-up book, its history evident everywhere

See the story:

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/sep/20/motorists-undercut-any-confidence-you-ever-had-in-the-human-race-new-york-cycling-a-cartoon

 

 

International Park(ing) Day tomorrow- Visit the Parklet on Cookman Ave

TOMORROW IS INTERNATIONAL PARK(ING) DAY

Asbury Park is making strides with cities all over the world to reduce car dependency, and working to build a city for people.

Visit the parklet, a space for people, at 610 Cookman to hear The Well Wish perform at 5pm.

It’s also the the student Global Climate Strike.

Vehicles are a major cause of emissions and contribute to climate change in use of fossil fuels.

If You’re Really A Climate Activist Ride A Bike

Have you had the pleasure of commuting around your city, or from town to town on a bike and realized that you get to each stop sign or signal at about the same time, or faster than people on the road driving cars?  Drivers (I am also a driver) tend to sit at an intersection waiting for the signal to change, or for the opportunity to go from a stop sign, then speed to the next stop.  On a bike I continue at the same pace, rolling up to the front of the line of drivers, then go at my pace to the next stop.  So the at the end of the commute I have pedaled steadily, and it seems that I get to my destination at almost the same speed, or faster, as when I drive my car…and I’m using zero fuel except for my own, and having negative effect on climate change.  The best commute!

Bikes aren’t just transportation, they are climate action

Lloyd Alter  September 12, 2018

Read more…

What About Delivery Trucks? Love Amazon Overnight Shipping?

We hear complaints about delivery trucks on Asbury Park’s Main Street all the time.  Some people have complained about them double parking, and some complain about new road diet and bike lanes because big delivery semi-trucks are having trouble parking. So. Are we designing a Main Street for delivery trucks or designing it for people?

Then there is also this problem about delivery trucks…

I admit it. I prefer shopping online for everything, from personal products like my eco-friendly bar shampoo and conditioner, to not so eco-friendly household items like paper towels and toilet paper. And there’s clothing of course, and my ever-growing collection of gym shoes.  I’ve learned that the vans and trucks that deliver my overnight orders are rented mid-sized trucks, driven by untrained drivers,  and they are causing pedestrian deaths.

Read on:

Every day, one in eight Americans is delivered something they bought on the internet, a number that’s expected to double within five years. …the growing number of U.S. deliveries and the price of that added congestion is rarely addressed in conversations about increasing emissions, traffic, or deaths—all issues that can be curbed by smaller delivery vehicles.

Delivery trucks are hurting cities. Can making them smaller help?

A chilling Amazon investigation shows the importance of “rightsizing” vehicles on our streets

“From waste disposal and utility trucks to delivery vans, large vehicles provide many of the basic services our communities depend on,” says Tom Maguire, sustainability director of San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency, in the NACTO report. “While large vehicles are a small fraction of vehicles on our streets, they are disproportionately involved in fatal crashes.”

Allowing large vehicles in cities creates a vicious circle, notes the NACTO report, as accommodating trucks becomes a reason to build wider streets that are more dangerous for all users. Larger vehicles are also more difficult to maneuver, meaning many trucks must double-park on city streets to make deliveries, blocking bike lanes and sidewalks, which has contributed to recent cyclist and pedestrian deaths.”

Read about it:

https://www.curbed.com/2019/9/11/20858457/amazon-delivery-vehicles-deaths-emissions

 

Women Are Not Considered In Transport Design

Women drive cars and use mass transit.  Caregivers are mostly women.  Women walk and ride bikes, with and without kids. Yet in all scenarios the industry favors and designs without women in mind. Crash test dummies are male. The automotive industry is designing and selling trucks and huge SUVs rather than cars, which appeal to mostly to men. Vehicles are designed for adults only, without childseats (although the tech exists to integrate childseats into design), so they must be purchased and installed, then lugged around between vehicles, and when traveling on planes.  Buses don’t accommodate strollers. Cities lack protected bike infrastructure.  We live in a car culture, but cities like Asbury Park are addressing this issue.  With incremental changes many US cities, and our city are becoming more female, and family friendly – designing a city for women, and everyone, ages “8 to 80”.

How Our Transport System is Biased Against Women

Hyper-macho dangerous trucks

Young men cause a hugely disproportionate share of traffic fatalities; the combination of testosterone, youth and big motors can be deadly. Young men are involved in fatal crashes at 2.2 times the rate of young women — even though both are at elevated risk compared to older drivers. Young men do pay much higher insurance premiums to reflect this. On the other hand, in our culture, we’ve done little to rein in some of the more dangerous aspects of macho road culture. Instead, it is mostly celebrated in the media in games, songs and, of course, movie franchises like Fast and Furious.

Lifted pickup trucks with bull bars are a good example. These dangerous modifications in many states go completely unregulated. Meanwhile, Europe has banned bull bars, citing compelling evidence they kill people, especially children. The notion that other people’s safety can be subordinated to the mostly male obsession with big cars reflects, in part, the privileged position men hold socially and politically.

Read more…

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/08/29/all-the-ways-u-s-transport-system-is-biased-against-women/

Asbury Park One Of 4 Cities to Get Electric Car Stations

EXCITING NEWS!

As an emerging leader in micro-mobility and alternative transportation, Asbury Park is one of 4 cities to be part of the launch of electric cars and charging stations. Each city will have e-Mobility Hubs installed in strategically located destinations.

New Jersey (Urban Transport News): Greenspot, an award-winning startup that specializes in the implementation of electric vehicle (EV) charging projects and e-Mobility Hubs, announces the launch of its state-of-the-art e-Mobility Hubs in four cities: Columbus, Ohio; Newton, Massachusetts; Brookline, Massachusetts; and Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Greenspot currently has stations throughout New Jersey, New York, and internationally in Israel

Read more…

https://urbantransportnews.com/four-e-mobility-hubs-with-ev-charging-stations-launched-in-columbus/

Bikes Can Save The Planet. (Yes, And Scooters too.)

Copenhagen wasn’t always cycling heaven. It started with citizens making it clear in the 60s and 70s that they were not tolerating injuries and deaths by drivers, or the negative health and environmental impacts.  It took decades. The city made it gradually harder and more costly to park, and more inconvenient to drive. Sound familiar?  Drivers will push back, feeling like their entitlement to streets and roads are threatened. The auto industry is fighting back too.

We’re just at the beginning, but Asbury Park can do this!  And it’s not just with bikes. Scooters and other forms of micro-mobility are taking over streets and displacing cars…

I

Could bicycles help save the planet and improve our cities?

In Copenhagen in the 70s after streets had become clogged with cars (just as in the US), and people were being struck and killed by drivers, the city  “began by slowly but steadily increasing the costs of driving — mostly by raising automobile and gasoline taxes, but also by reducing parking availability — and using the revenue to create bike-friendly infrastructure, which includes miles of separate, uninterrupted cycling lanes, as well as dedicated bike tunnels, bridges and traffic lights. These “complete streets” and “cycling superhighways” evolved over time to reduce the space available for cars and the speeds at which they could travel. As driving became more frustrating and cycling became more efficient, the number of daily trips made by bike increased significantly.”

A Lego Kid Becomes The Cycling Professor – Podcast

This Lego-maniac kid has become an authority in planning, and in particular in cycling. If you’re a podcast lover check it out.

Marco te Brömmelstroet is Associate Professor in Urban Planning at University of Amsterdam and founding academic director of the Urban Cycling Institute. His research focuses on transportation, urban cycling, and social mobility, with a particular focus on policy change and improving city planning.

TRANSCRIPT

MtB: I’ve always been fascinated with how cities evolve, as a young kid already and especially fascinated throughout my educational career in how cities evolve, regions evolve in relation to their mobility system. So, I studied urban planning and then I was very interested in how mobility played its part there.

I blame Lego for that. When I was I think seven or eight, I was already building my own cities out of Lego and playing with them in terms of my own narratives, my own fantasises but I always built Lego cities that were realistic as far as you can call it realistic. So, they were always real cities.

KR: As well as being a Dutch Lego Master, Marco te Brömmelstroet is a keen cyclist and known in certain circles as the Cycling Professor. It’s a title he wears with pride. His interest in urban planning and love of cycling led him to some interesting discoveries about how cycling can influence our behaviors while navigating transport infrastructure.

In this episode of How Researchers, we’re getting into the saddle, and travelling by bicycle, a vehicle of social, political and environmental change.

[How Researchers Changed the World introductory music]

Listen here…

https://www.howresearchers.com/episodes/episode-8/