Street Ballet!

Traffic is horrendous in Mexico City, just like in American cities. What a glorious way to illustrate that streets are meant for people, not just for cars!

In Mexico City, Ballerinas Dance in Traffic—and It’s Absolutely Captivating

DAVID BEARDAUG. 1, 2018

A burst of brightness in a city notorious for traffic.

Is this a flash mob? A comedy troupe? Some strange protest along a busy intersection in Mexico City?

Not quite. These seven ballet dancers from the Ardentía dance company are performing selections from “The Nutcracker” and “Swan Lake” and even grooving to Michael Jackson in a downtown crosswalk in the Mexican capital.

Granted, the performances only last 58 seconds—the time it takes for a traffic light to change from red to green—but they’re making a big impact. Over the past couple of weeks, the Ardentía company has performed these mini-shows to brighten the lives of weary commuters, part of an initiative called “the theatricality of public space,” reports the Associated Press. The performances have drawn large crowds and captivated photographers across the city.

“We never thought this was going have to this kind of impact,” says one dancer, Manuela Ospina Castro. “Not only are people accepting it, but they need it.”

August 6, 2018

Scooter Company Funds Bike Lanes

As cities are being choked by automobile traffic alternative transportation is the way to go. Infrastructure for bicycling and walking are being implemented in many cities, but what about scooters? Scooters are appearing to be the next wave of a viable, inexpensive way to get around, and Bird is working on it.

Jason Plautz August 3, 2018

Bird establishing fund for protected bike lanes

Dive Brief:

Electric scooter-share company Bird is setting aside a portion of its revenue for a new fund to create protected bike lanes and repair and repaint existing ones in cities where the company operates.
The company is also establishing a Global Safety Advisory Board to work on policies and education to make electric scooter use safer. The board will be led by former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) chief David Strickland.
“Bird is bringing the future of transportation to cities all over the world — a future that doesn’t rely exclusively on cars and is less damaging to our environment,” said Strickland in a statement. “As this valuable work progresses, we also want to make sure that it is a safe future as well.

August 3, 2018August 6, 2018

For Bicyclists: 2 Rules

The automobile driver commenting in this thread isn’t entirely wrong. Roads were indeed built for cars in the 1920s when the auto industry, big oil and asphalt all got into the biz. However that very truth underscores the need for bicycling and walking advocates to work for redesigning cities’ and suburbs’ streets and roads for EVERYONE. European cities figured this out a long time ago…for the health of individuals, cities, and the earth, let’s get out on our bikes or take a walk and keep the first tweet in mind: “I’m not a big fan of rules of cyclists, but for those who ride in cities the number one rule is that pedestrians always get the right of way. Number two is do what you need to do to stay safe. After that I’d say there are no more rules worth listing.”

Today on the Internet: So What Are The “Rules” For Urban Cyclists

A single tweet sparks a debate over who we are and what we’re doing. And then drivers ruin it.

By Gersh Kuntzman Aug 1, 2018

https://twitter.com/Pflax1/status/1024291391998812160

August 1, 2018July 30, 2018

Bicycle/Race: Bicycling And Social Justice

There is strong bicycling advocacy in Asbury Park, and the relationship with racial justice is clear. “Bike culture” in cities (bike lanes, bike shares etc) is often perceived to be for people who have “opted to be “car-free, meaning those who could afford to drive but chose not to.” Many in our city have no choice, and must ride bikes or walk for transportation. There are many ways AP can be inclusive of everyone who rides bikes in the city, one of which is the upcoming Open Streets Event.

Who Do You Imagine When You Imagine Biking in Cities

First held in 2010, CicLAvia has become an annual event in Los Angeles, attracting tens of thousands of participants to ride streets closed to cars for a day, and helping build public support for biking policies and programs that take into account bike riders of all demographics. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

“What Jose Umberto Barranco’s death said to me was that this wasn’t just a matter of vehicle choice, bikes versus cars … Race and class hierarchy were mixed up in how we traveled and whose safety mattered,” writes Adonia Lugo in her new book, “Bicycle/Race.”

July 31, 2018July 27, 2018

Incrementalism Is Best

Asbury Park is doing it the right way…even though many residents would like to see infrastructure for walkers and bicyclists in place yesterday. But incrementalism doesn’t mean small or slow. This article describes almost every strategy we’re doing in AP, from striping bike lanes and traffic calming infrastructure, establishing a bike share, angled back-in parking, organizing an open streets event, and planning a community info gathering. Incrementalism is most effective for the safety of bicyclists, pedestrians and the health of a city: #slowthecars.

OUR STREETS ARE AN EMERGENCY SITUATION FOR CYCLISTS. WHY SHOULD WE FIX THEM INCREMENTALLY?

JULY 26, 2018 BY KEA WILSON

WHAT INCREMENTALISM ISN’T

“So before I talk about how Strong Towns-style incremental development is exactly what our cities need to make our places more bikeable and more financially productive, let me tell you what incrementalism isn’t.

Incrementalism isn’t an excuse for a lack of urgency. If a stroad in your neighborhood is truly dangerous and draining your community resources, someone has to do something, and — for reasons we’ll explore in a minute — an incremental development mindset can actually make it easier to do something quickly and make a more meaningful change.”

July 30, 2018July 19, 2022

Faulty Reporting: Blaming The Victim

The Walker Is Not To Blame

The auto industry has successfully continued to hijack the American lexicon, influencing police reporting and journalism.

People who walk in any condition, whether drunk, using drugs, young, old, texting, or otherwise distracted, or people with physical or mental disabilities are not to blame when then are injured or killed by drivers. Highways and even local roads and streets have insufficient or totally lacking infrastructure for people. Cars are prioritized to our peril.

No, “Drunk Walking” Is Not Causing the Rise in Pedestrian Deaths

By Angie Schmitt July 6, 2018

A new report from PBS News Hour violates the most basic precepts of good journalism in a pathetic attempt to pin the rise in pedestrian fatalities on people who drink and walk.

Stories like this cause real harm. They give officials in cities like Austin cover not to do anything but blame the victims. They perpetuate the marginalization of people with no choice but to walk on dangerous streets, who are more likely to be poor, black, or brown.

July 27, 2018July 23, 2018

Parking Irony: Socialism In The US?

City councils in many cities are ditching parking minimums (which almost always provide excessive space for storing cars) to allow for more space for people to live. This (somewhat) tongue-in-cheek article illustrates the ongoing issue in many cities as socialism, like it or hate it…

Parking: Where we embrace socialism in the US

How we embrace socialism for car storage in the public right of way

By Joe Cortright 17.7.2018

The production of parking spaces has exceeded the quotas established in the ~~five year~~ community plans. Comrade Scharnhorst has produced a new report that showing that in Seattle, there are 1,596,289 parking stalls, more than 5 parking spaces for every household: indeed, a triumph of the planned economy! (Now if we could just figure out how to get one house per household?)

July 26, 2018July 22, 2018

Let’s Reconnect With Our Streets

Get ready to connect with the streets! Stay tuned for Asbury Park’s Open Streets Event!

“As Jane Jacobs observed in “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”: “The trust of a city street is formed over time from many, many little public sidewalk contacts. Most of it is ostensibly trivial but the sum is not trivial at all.”

By Allison Arief July 3, 2018

Not too many years ago, I was having dinner with my in-laws in Orange County, Calif. My mother-in-law was complaining about her new neighbors, an all-too-common pastime for any resident of a gated community with an HOA. The neighbors’ crime? “They let their children play in our cul-de-sac,” she lamented. “Everyone knows streets are for cars.”

July 25, 2018July 21, 2018

Design A City For Families

Cities are looking at ways to ensure growth and vitality. It’s FAMILIES. Schools, housing, daycare, family spaces.

Young families typically leave cities for the suburbs. Here’s how to keep them downtown.

By David Roberts June 11, 2018

Read about it:

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2017/6/21/15815524/toderian-families-cities?__twitter_impression=true