New Amsterdam Bicycle Show…2012
Well, that was fast.
This year’s Bike Month isn’t even over yet, but the organizers behind the first New Amsterdam Bicycle Show already have their eyes on 2012. There’s no word on whether or not it will be held at the vertiginous three-level Center 548 again, but the show is expanding from one day to two. It’s a great sign that cycling’s growth in New York City isn’t just good for people’s waistlines, but for business as well.
Picture of the Day
Bike parking, 5th Avenue, Brooklyn. That’s seven bikes on two racks on a block with about 10 car parking spaces on the same side of the street. Out of frame are at least six more bikes parked at other racks and sign posts. I think we’re not far from the day when Brooklyn sees its first on-street bike corral.
Make Your Own Bike Lane
It’s a little hard to take a short video Safety First seriously when it shows someone riding his bike through a busy pedestrian area, but you still may find this self-projected bike lane kind of cool. It reminds me a bit of the Light Lane, although unlike that idea, the “bike lane” in Safety First is only projected in front of the rider.
I think these ideas are more interesting than effective, since neither one is a substitute for a separated or even painted bike lane. Mere light on the ground only works if someone is around to project it, and may not give drivers the advance warning they need to keep an eye out for cyclists.
Still, this may be the kind of bike lane that even a NIMBY can love.
“None are exactly celebrities”
Jake Mooney offers this video follow-up to his excellent piece on Iris Weinshall’s involvement with the Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes lawsuit. Much like his earlier bit of reporting, it’s a nice, sober antidote to the more sensationalistic aspects of this nontroversy. Mooney’s a very good journalist, but it seems that this story strains even his most sincere attempts at impartiality. Maybe it’s just my own confirmation bias, but I challenge you to watch as he explains NBBL’s take on the data and not imagine him sitting on his hands to stop from slapping his forehead.
They have their own data that they’ve gathered from a…spy camera mounted on a rooftop. Also, they say that the process wasn’t thorough enough. You know, how you square that with a process that’s gone on for a few years before the installation of this lane, that’s kind of what their lawyer’s got to do.
Post-Rapture Brooklyn
Actually, it’s just an image of post-block party Brooklyn on President Street in Park Slope.
“Evocative and Novelistic”
Because the PPW bike lane is The Most Important Issue Ever it’s de rigueur for it to appear in any and every news story about Park Slope. Here’s a little bit of a Patch interview with author Amy Sohn about the neighborhood and her next book.
Will the bike lane debate to make an appearance in the book?
You know, I thought a lot about it. Brian Lehrer told me to do it. The bike lane is referenced, but not a major plot. I am definitely interested in old versus young in Park Slope, and there’s a bit of that in the book, in a different context. But I wasn’t sure the lane was rich enough for a story of its own. The one image that stood out to me in the New York Magazine article about the lanes was the woman with the camera on her roof, filming the “low ridership.” That was very evocative and novelistic. I love the idea of her rage being so strong she’s counting riders. So maybe I’ll sneak her in somewhere. One thing that Suleiman Osman, author of “The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn,” pointed out was that the dividing lines of debate regarding the lane don’t really match up in an easy way. The lane-haters don’t fit into an easy category and the lane-lovers don’t either.
Happy Bike to Work Day!
I actually have the day off of work today, but I didn’t want to miss the Bike to Work Day action. I spent the morning volunteering with Transportation Alternatives who were on the Manhattan side of the Manhattan Bridge giving out free coffee and food, pumping up a few tires, and signing up new members. (Schwag altert: if you join or renew your TA membership today, you get a pair of nifty LED bike lights. They went like hot cakes at the TA tent this morning.)
After the week we’ve had weather-wise, it was great to see so many riders take advantage of the sunny skies. Of course, a lot of the people who rode to work this morning may have a wet commute home, but as I’ve learned, even a wet ride can sometimes beat a crowded subway train. A day like today may convert a few more people into regular bike commuters.
Hope your ride was a good one!
Life Imitating Art Imitating Life…
Quick quiz. Which of these two images is of a real local news report about banning cars in Central Park and which comes from a Streetfilms parody video?
Is it this picture of Stephanie…
…or this one of Veronica?
Quote of the Day
“The data demonstrates cyclists need more safe places to ride.” – Iris Weinshall, 9/13/2006
Take a Sidewalk on the Wild Side
Via the New York Post, of course. Hopefully the DOT will enlist Lou Reed for the next round of “Don’t Be a Jerk” PSAs.
Brooklyn Spoke 