La notícia del lector (Avui)

Passar pel primer tram del carrer Vallirana és l'única manera d'accedir al carrer Guillem Tell, venint des del carrer Carolines. Per això hi passen cada dia desenes de vehicles, tot i que, teòricament, està prohibit. Just a l'entrada del carrer un disc de circulació prohibida amb la indicació "excepte veïns i serveis", dóna la benvinguda a la gran quantitat de forans que hi passen diàriament passant per alt la prohibició.

Antoni Miquel i Barrera, que viu allà mateix, considera que "l'Ajuntament fa els ulls grossos i hi passa tothom que vol". L'incompliment sistemàtic de la prohibició de circular pel carrer l'ha portat des de fa quatre anys a denunciar la situació als alcaldes Joan Clos i Jordi Hereu, i a l'antiga regidora de Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Katy Carreras. "M'han insinuat que toleren aquest incompliment de la norma perquè no saben com connectar Carolines amb Guillem Tell", explica. I és que des de l'avinguda Príncep d'Astúries, circulant en direcció a la plaça Lesseps, no es permet el gir a l'esquerra per agafar Guillem Tell. Per tant, venint des de Gràcia pel carrer Carolines, l'opció oficial és baixar per Príncep d'Astúries, girar a la dreta per Madrazo, agafar la Via Augusta o el carrer Lincoln i arribar a Guillem Tell. D'aquesta manera, però, ja s'ha passat de llarg el carrer Vallirana, que, tot i que està regulat per una pilona, rep molt trànsit.

Fonts del districte mantenen que "encara que no està dins del pla de mobilitat del barri del Farró, aquest tram de carrer es considera una zona prioritària" i la Guàrdia Urbana assegura que incrementarà les sancions. Per l'Antoni, però, la solució és molt més senzilla: "Si canviessin de sentit el primer tram de Vallirana, no caldria posar pilones, ni multes, ni fer res més". De moment, però, una de les dreceres clàssiques per sortir de Gràcia continua posant en perill els vianants.
Aquesta informació ha estat elaborada gracies a la carta de Antoni Miquel i Barrera, veí del Farró.
barcelona@avui.cat

Published: Sunday, October 5, 2008 at 4:40 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, October 5, 2008 at 6:02 a.m.

As the Chinese proverb goes, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is today.
Related Links:

* Measure Q Smart Quarter Cent Sales Tax - Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District

On Nov. 4, North Bay voters have a chance to plant a sapling of a train system known as SMART, a commuter rail line that would run from Cloverdale to the Larkspur ferry terminal in Marin County, with 14 stops in between. Measure Q calls for a quarter-cent sales tax to pay for the train as well as a 70-mile bicycle/pedestrian pathway that would run along side it.

We've said it before, and we'll say it again. This plan makes sense -- for environmental reasons, planning reasons and economic development reasons.

What doesn't make sense is that in an era of heightened anxiety about greenhouse gas emissions and high fuel costs, the North Bay has a set of railroad tracks that sits unused. Sonoma County hasn't seen a passenger train in nearly 50 years. It hasn't even had freight train service since 2001.

Given that the region is looking for new means of economic development and new sources of alternative transportation, these publicly owned railroad tracks are a wasted resource. It's time to put them to good use.

The biggest criticism of SMART is that it's too costly given the number of people who will ride it and the state of the economy.

We won't dispute that this is an expensive project and that many won't -- or don't plan to -- ride it. But three things are true:

The North Bay is not going to get any smaller: Even with urban growth boundaries, community separators and other sensible growth restrictions, the North Bay will continue to expand -- if slowly.

Between now and 2025, Sonoma County is expected to add about 100,000 new jobs while Marin County is expected to add 35,000. How are those people going to get around? A train system will encourage communities to concentrate those jobs -- and the housing to support those employees -- along the rail line. Such transit-oriented development is the centerpiece of 21st-century "smart" urban planning.

Building a train is not going to get any cheaper: When voters had a chance to approve SMART in 2006 -- but missed doing so by about 3,000 votes -- the system's cost was $387 million. Now, it's projected to cost $450 million. The price of the bike path has increased from $80 million to $90 million in that same period of time.

Still, the train-bike system is a better deal than, for example, another highway widening. The cost of widening Highway 101 through the Novato Narrows is now projected to be $800 million.

The need for more environmentally friendly forms of transportation is not going to get any less: Even based on conservative ridership numbers, SMART would remove an estimated 31 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year. Each North Bay resident who decides to ride SMART instead of taking their car would reduce their carbon footprint for that day by 70 percent. Given that 60 percent of greenhouse gases come from vehicles, this alone should be an attractive reason to support Measure Q -- and get out of our cars.

Finally, it's true that SMART will not be supported solely by fares and that the estimated 5,050 a day will be subsidized by taxpayers. But this is true of every bus and rail transit system that exists today in the Bay Area and across the nation. Plus those transit systems benefit from government grants and subsidies -- our tax funds -- every time they seek to upgrade or expand. The North Bay won't have equal access to those funds until we have a rail system of our own.

The North Bay needs an alternative transportation system, which is why polls show so many young people are supporting it -- including those in Sausalito and the southern reaches of Marin County who won't even be served by it.

Why? Because it makes sense and because it plants something that doesn't exist now -- a new way of getting around and a new way of thinking.

The Press Democrat recommends a yes vote on Measure Q.

photo credit

Sightline Daily | Northwest News That Matters

Top Picks of the Day

10. Views: I-985: Look Under the Hood -- It Won't Run
Tim Eyman's initiative-of-the-year, I-985, takes micromanagement far beyond the point of absurdity. I-985 would raid existing revenue streams (or nearly run them out of business, in the case of traffic cameras). The money involved -- something over $120 million a year -- would hardly dent the state's real congestion problems. What drivers would chiefly see from I-985 are traffic jams from the measure's unintended consequences and greater threats from speeders and red-light runners. Tacoma News Tribune 10/07/2008

StreetCar RTV - new generation of Rapid Transit Vehicle from the Wright Group, makes its worldwide debut at the APTA Expo 2008 in San Diego California this week (5th – 8th October), in association with technology partner the ISE Corporation.

Exhibited in the stunning new livery of the “ACE Downtown Connector”, the 62ft (18.7m) long, 30 tonne GVW articulated Rapid Transit Vehicle (RTV) is the first of 50 such vehicles that have been commissioned by the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Southern Nevada.

Wright Group’s StreetCar RTV is at the heart of a whole new initiative to attract existing commuters away from their cars, as well as provide fast and efficient transit for the high numbers of tourists who visit Las Vegas and the surrounding area. The ACE Downtown Connector rapid transit project is the first phase in an overall project to eventually provide a high speed transit connection from downtown Las Vegas, through the resort corridor.

A centrepiece worthy of any integrated Rapid Transit system, StreetCar RTV successfully transfers the key attributes and technologies of a light rail service onto the road. It has a distinctive light rail-like appearance, with a slanted front windscreen and large, seamless windows giving it a sleek, modern design. With three wide doorways facilitating easy access for all users, StreetCar RTV offers low floor boarding and level floors throughout for efficient passenger flow.

Powered by a state-of-the-art Hybrid Electric Drive System developed in conjunction with the ISE Corporation and Siemens, StreetCar RTV is the first Series Hybrid-configured articulated vehicle in the US, providing a highly fuel-efficient mode of transport with exceptionally low environmental impact.

StreetCar RTV is a development of the StreetCar concept successfully launched in the UK in 2005, with a specification customised to RTC of Southern Nevada’s exacting requirements. As such, it is unlike any other bus in operation. With a modular chassis, the Siemens (ISE) Electric Hybrid Drive System is based on a Cummins ISL engine and features water-cooled Nickel Metal Hydride batteries and also incorporates for the very first time in transit buses, highly efficient permanent magnetic technology which creates a highly efficient motor.

Incorporating a Carrier Avantac all-electric, modular air conditioning system, Streetcar RTV has an innovative vehicle packaging and layout, featuring three wide doors which allow unimpeded boarding and alighting, a sealed driver’s compartment, integrated telematics and Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI), WiFi as well as ambient lighting. Further innovations include two wheelchair positions, one of which is rearward facing in full compliance of legislation and three interior bike racks - improving the both the exterior aesthetics and aerodynamics of the vehicle.

The safety and security of the StreetCar RTV’s 104 passengers at maximum capacity (44 seated) is enhanced by a Panic button, with live video feed from CCTV cameras capable of being relayed both back to its operational base as well as the Local Police Department.

Speaking at the launch of the StreetCar RTV at San Diego, the Wright Group Managing Director Mark Nodder said, “Each element of the StreetCar RTV has been designed and engineered to set new standards in public transit. Taking a radically different and totally innovative approach to every aspect of the mode, it has challenged every aspect of the traditional concept of the bus.”

He added, “From its hybrid propulsion system, dramatic exterior styling, total rethinking of the driver’s workspace and the redefinition of the passenger experience, StreetCar has redefined the category from BRT - Bus Rapid Transit to RTV – Rapid Transit Vehicle”.

The first of a $55m contract for 50 vehicles for RTC of Southern Nevada’s ACE Downtown Connector system, StreetCar RTV is built at the Wright Group’s Ballymena production facility in Northern Ireland. As with all Wright Group products, StreetCar RTV has undergone an extensive programme of testing and proving to ensure that it can withstand the rigorous daily demands in even the most extreme operating environment or conditions. It is fully supported by the Wright Group’s Customcare organisation, which provides parts and technical support wherever a vehicle may be in operation.

Chief Executive of the ISE Corporation Rick Sander commented, “We are proud to play an integral part in this ground breaking project, which has seen many US corporations such as ourselves develop and apply innovative technologies to provide a whole new concept in passenger travel. As leaders in our field, we firmly believe that hybrid fuel system technology has huge potential in many market sectors in this country and beyond, now that it is a proven economic proposition.”

The young woman took the subway at 2 a.m. and she was the only person in the subway car with her attacker and the only one on the platform when she got off and he pursued her. She thought she would be safe and I wish she had been. If you live in NYC and don't feel safe taking the subway home late Saturday nights, contact RightRides. They offer women, transgender and queer folks free, safe rides home late Saturday nights in numerous NYC neighborhoods. They always need volunteers & donations to keep their program going and to expand their services, so considering getting involved/helping them out!

"I haven't heard a thing from anyone except (NDP leader Jack) Layton," said Jean Léveillé of the transit users lobby group Transport 2000 Québec, "And even then it's money pointed at public transit but nothing specific. ... I haven't heard anything from anyone (in the campaign) about investing in public transportation, whether to reduce pollution from automobiles or make thing easier for people living in cities.

"In that regard it's been a zero campaign."

This is in the Montreal Gazette - another in the canada.com stable - this morning. As I noted in my review of the leaders' debate transit has not yet received any attention - and a promise deep in the NDP play book does not count for much. Getting people out of cars and on to transit is one of the easier and more effective ways of cutting transport emissions. It also makes urban regions more liveable, and allows for a more sustainable development pattern. Yet Canada does not have a national transit programme - whereas most advanced countries have had them for years. It is one thing to say you care about the environment, it is quite another to do something effective. And so far programmes that have supported emission reductions have been totally ineffective or even perverse. Much more gets spent on hydrogen or ethanol - and lately even biodiesel - and none of these programmes has done anything worthwhile.  The same sums devoted to doing something less "cutting edge and innovative" like buying more buses woudl have had much more impact. Indeed, in this region, the sharp peak in gasoline prices produced much less than other places simply because we do not have the transit capacity to absorb more riders at peak periods. And transit spending is one of those "no regrets" programmes becuase it makes so much sense from all sorts of perspectives including cutting traffic congestion and improving road safety. You do not have to be an environementalist to appreciate that transit is a very good use of public funds with benefits that are readily measurable.

I actually ended up having a little too much time and, looking back, I really should have gone into the mountains with the car. The trees were starting to change and they were supposedly pretty incredible more into the mountains.

But I did get on their light rail. $3 one-way, which seems excessive, but it was an expensive system and it seems to keep the bums on the buses. But that got me within about 1/4 mile of the rental car office. I hoofed it from the station and ended up in a beautiful, hidden, creekside park below the towering Santa Fe Avenue. This was in Englewood, a small and fairly dingy Denver suburb. It worked out well though: I got out to some random places and, it being a Sunday, was able to park for free in LoDo.

Climate Policy for Everybody

It wasn't about the election or the financial markets, but something happened last week that was arguably just as important to Cascadia's future.

On September 23, a coalition of seven states and four provinces--the Western Climate Initiative--released recommendations for a market-based system aimed at slashing global-warming pollution and jumpstarting a regional green economy.

The stakes are high. If adopted, this regional cap-and-trade program will be the largest carbon market in North America. And if designed right, it could help us break through to a clean-energy economy that ends our addiction to oil and other dirty fossil fuels once and for all.

How to design it right? Sightline has been addressing this question since the beginning of the WCI process, working closely with advocates and decisonmakers on how to craft effective and fair climate policy for the region. To inform the unfolding debate, we've now packaged our best climate research into a climate policy primer called "Cap and Trade 101." Sightline’s "Cap and Trade 101" sorts out the details of effective policy and answers the tough questions, such as:

• How cap and trade works
• What happens to energy prices?
• How to build in protections for working families
• Four ways to make sure cap-and-trade funds go to local economies

Smart climate policy can point our region in the right direction, creating jobs and new opportunities for all. That's why we're putting this primer in the hands of the most influential northwesterners--elected officials, journalists, and you. Please pass it on to decisionmakers in your community.

Download "Cap and Trade 101"

Read Sightline's take on the WCI recommendations

More from Sightline

Bad for Traffic, Transit, and Schools: Washington's I-985
Another key Sightline research project this fall is to analyze the claims of Washington State's Initiative 985. The so-called "reduce traffic initiative," we're finding, would actually increase traffic, slow transit, and redirect hundreds of millions of dollars from the state general fund--which pays for public schools, among other things--to highway expansion in greater Seattle. Read our new report on why the Initiative is a bad deal for eastern and central Washington. Coming soon: What I-985 would do to Puget Sound traffic.

Sightline in Fashion (& Style)
In recent months, Sightline has informed numerous articles on the unfolding story of regional climate policy, from P-I and Oregonian stories to a radio piece broadcast across the Northwest. In a more surprising placement, Sightline research director Clark Williams-Derry ended up in the Fashion & Style section of the New York Times last week, cited in an article on power-generating gyms.

]]> http://straphanger.wordpress.com/?p=233 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:01:22 +0000 Ananthakrishnan G. http://straphanger.ca.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/beach-velachery-mrts-schedules-disappear-in-stations/ On a trip to Kasturba Nagar earlier this evening on the Beach - Velachery MRTS, the most noticeable thing in the stations on the route was the missing time-tables. As each month goes on, and more commuters want to take the train, the system seems to be regressing.

The stations were all dark and gloomy, and the Kasturba Nagar station was completely dark at 6.30 p.m. Was it a result of the compulsory power shutdown of the DMK Government? Is it not possible to use a few solar panels, positioned securely, to power some lamps in the station?

For all the noises that they make, the UPA-DMK combine has done next to nothing for the Chennai commuter. And the DMK appears to be poised, in spite of communal trouble being stoked by the sangh parivar all around the country, to be routed in the next Lok Sabha election, if it continues with its present ways.

The downturn in the fortunes of the DMK is not something that only political columnists are writing about. Electricity Minister Arcot Veerasamy has expressed fears that if there is a debacle, he will be blamed.

Mr. Karunanidhi could also factor in a lot of urban resentment about commuters feeling abandoned by his Government. The biting inflation is made even more painful by the cost of travel in Chennai; the tacit encouragement given to autorickshaws to operate beyond the pale of law and regulation only adds to the sense of alienation not just for the middle classes, but also for the rising newly-employed population. The DMK has a lot of thinking to do, considering that Chennai is no longer the DMK bastion of old, when encouragement given to lumpen politics ensured electoral gains. Today's governments are expected to deliver. And the DMK has little to show for its performance in urban transport. 

But then, for the commuter, neither the DMK nor the AIADMK is a useful choice, when it comes to transport policy. That is the rot that the city experiences.

This picture taken of one of the new buses operated as an "Express" service by MTC on route number E18 (Guduvanchery - Broadway) is a good example of the tattered state of the operator's management. It shows one part of the bus being held together by plastic rope, fortifying the image that the existing management framework for this bus corporation cannot rise beyond rickety structures.

Despite such a poor showing, India's Ministry of Urban Development continues to avoid stronger oversight of the DMK Government's use of funds under schemes such as Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

Is the MTC being unfairly criticised after all the talk about its amazing expansion over the past two years? The answer to this question lies not in the claims made by the monopoly, and certainly not in the public relations pictures that are regularly published by newspapers. 

It lies deep in the innards of the website operated by MTC at www.mtcbus.org. In a clever strategy, the MTC has been tom-toming the induction of new buses since the DMK Government came to power. It is indeed true that after the haemorrhage caused by the AIADMK's policies under Ms.Jayalalitha, public transport suffered incalculably. But there is not much glory for the DMK, if its performance is put under the lens.

Perhaps the most damning statistic is that of the number of services operated. While Mr. Karunanidhi's government unhesitatingly and shamelessly pats itself on the back about the number of buses launched, it does not explain why the net service increase was only about 175 over the previous year (see table, from MTC website). 

Also giving away the game is the narrow increase in the service augmentation despite a supposedly huge augmentation of fleet. While the claim is that 1139 new buses have been put on the road in 2007-08, which represents about 40 per cent of then existing strength, the number of services rose only by 175. 

Absenteeism, which is a major factor in bus operations, has been on the rise in the last five years in MTC, for whatever reason. We assume that the MTC is not a political organisation, and hence the vagaries of politics should not affect it. Or should we imagine that absenteeism will rise during DMK rule, because the crew feel more comfortable to absent themselves? To substantiate, the absenteeism rate was 5.93 in 2002-03, while in 2007-08, it has risen to 8.23. This is only marginally lower than the previous year's figure of 8.32. The accident rate for MTC buses per lakh kilometres has also been rising, from 1.33 five years ago, to 1.73 now. If MTC is going to blame the state of Chennai traffic for this, we have no choice but to bounce the ball back : if the bus services had kept pace in reliability, comfort, efficiency and customer-friendliness with the changing travel market, there would have been less of personal vehicle use. 

All this brings us back to the central theme of modernisation of the MTC, which is long overdue. We have been demanding that the UPA Government walk its talk about the National Urban Transport Policy and compel its recalcitrant ally in Tamil Nadu to change its ways. It is our view that the days of using transport corporations for unionised mobilisation of cadres for political activity are long gone. Today what the city needs is a good transport backbone, and there is no easier way to put that in place than with a working bus system, one that is truly commuter-friendly.

We need travel as you please passes that are sold across the counter all through the month, every day, and not at the whim of MTC bureaucrats. We need MTC to stop packing its buses with commuters in its greed to produce a better balance sheet. This will also avoid innocent commuters who are unable to buy tickets in overloaded buses from facing fines and boorish, foul-mouthed and sometimes violent checking staff of MTC .

Family descendants first settled in Long Island in the 1600s, then acquired thousands of acres of land in Upper Manhattan. In the 1850s the sons of Valentine Seaman—a doctor who helped bring the smallpox vaccine to America in the early 19th century—built a country estate on land spanning 214th to 218th Streets. The house featured Inwood marble, which was prized for its crystalline appearance.

Seaman Avenue opened in 1908, winding along the border of Inwood Hill Park. In the 1930s, the estate was sold and dismantled by developers. 

Unconference blog

BarCamp wiki of unconference

On Saturday, I went to SFU Surrey for the unconference [wiki] on SkyTrain safety and security. All week I was unsure if I wanted to go; the focus just seemed too narrow for a gathering like this to work. And I personally haven't been using SkyTrain much these days, especially since I've moved away from a location where I was a five-minute walk from a station. Fortunately, I'm glad I did; the participants did have a number of topics, and most within that safety/security sphere that I wouldn't have thought of. Remembering my participation at last year's Transit Camp (from which I picked up the "Jr Pilot" button in the picture), I didn't even know why I was worried.

One of the sessions involved combating media perceptions and sensationalization of SkyTrain security (or lack thereof). It was interesting in that it's a continuous PR battle on SkyTrain & TransLink's part to ensure that the system, for the most part, is safe. One point that was brought up, and rightly so, is the societal stigma that transit is for the poorer classes and is fraught with crime. That's well beyond the scope of the principals to fix, but it's up to transit advocates to convince one person at a time that public transportation is meant for everyone.

I certainly congratulate the main organizers for setting up this unconference; it certainly seems a success, and hopefully can provide a template for future TransLink consultations with the public. The fact that many employees from TransLink and SkyTrain (including its president) were present is a good sign.

In Chicago, not owning a car definitely has its advantages. I can avoid paying $20 an hour for parking, am not worried about insurance or gas, and know that when I leave for work in the morning, there won't be a broken windshield to deal with. But getting my groceries and going someplace across town quickly are issues that I have had to work out. Despite the inconvenience of not having immediate and personal transit, I have ultimately enjoyed living without a car and would like to provide this site as a way to share experiences to make carless living a practical reality.

News and events on this blog will revolve around:

• biking in the city
• car sharing programs
• Chicago Transit Authority
• alternative mass transit
• walking/running
• taxis
• any other topics regarding carless life

Please feel free to contribute to this site and help build a community of non-car owners!

Even diehard cyclists would, at times, prefer not to pedal at least one way on their trip to work, says Toronto Cycling Advisory Committee (TCAC) member and biking enthusiast Paulette Blais. An uphill ride to a business meeting, for example, may not leave a cyclist in the best shape to make a good first impression.

“I had a meeting at Eglinton and Yonge and I live at Bloor and Ossington. To get to my meeting I don’t want to get all sweaty and go up the Eglinton hill,” she said. “I would be very happy to take the subway up there, have my meeting, get a public bike, ride it down hill (and) then lock it at Bloor and Ossington. That would work perfectly for me.”

Blais’ perfect trip could soon become commonplace in Toronto with the adoption of a public bike-sharing program. Councillor Adrian Heaps, chair of TCAC, said that by the end of this he hopes to announce a pilot project that can be rolled out in Toronto in the spring of 2009.

In a typical public bike program, users pay a monthly fee to borrow a bike from one of many stations located around the city. They are then free to make their trip and drop the bike off at any other station with available space. Stations are fully automated and trips under 30 minutes are free. The user incurs a small fee after the second half-hour and the fee will double each additional hour the trip lasts. This fee structure ensures the bikes will be used for trips between stations, rather than as rental bikes for tourists to sightsee on.

Heaps said that Toronto is in the enviable position of having a number of programs in major cities to look at and learn from. Paris and London have already made bikes a form of personalized mass public transit through bike sharing. Montreal is set to follow with a flashy system designed and implemented by its parking authority.

The Toronto model will reflect “the best of what’s out there,” Heaps said.

In Heaps’ view, the most convincing argument for a bike-share program is the resulting decrease in the trips made by cars. The program should also improve the health of its users, ease congestion and reduce pollution, he said.

Personalized mass transit with no waiting times, unfettered by the need to follow a set of rails, will also offer commuters new opportunities, said Herb van den Dool of the Community Bicycle Network.

“Once you free people up from just using a bus route or a subway there’s a lot of freedom in that,” he said.

Sztabinski, for example, thinks bike sharing can “increase the viability of transit for a lot of people; people for who that last mile or that first mile are not great.” Public bikes, he said, can fill in gaps left by other modes of transit. Trips that would otherwise begin or end too far from a bus or subway route can now be completed entirely on public transit – with bikes forming the missing links.

Proponents of the plan agree that critical masses of bikes and stations need to be achieved to make bike sharing convenient enough for people to adopt.
While Blais likes the idea of a public bike program, she does not think that Toronto’s cycling culture or infrastructure can support the massive influx of bikes the program will unleash on city streets.

“To be a cyclist in Toronto you have to be a bit of a maverick, you have to be willing to be brave in traffic,” she said. “If we’re talking about people jumping on a bike-share bike and going to a meeting from one downtown office to another, you’re looking at Bay Street, Union Station, University Avenue, King, Queen, all those streets which, now, none of them are that great for cycling.”

Safety, however, is a top priority for Heaps in planning the program. He is exploring the possibility of making bike helmets available to the program’s users, he said. He added that putting the right infrastructure in place is also high on the agenda.

Sztabinski thinks it “would be very symbolic for the city to invest in this and it would show a commitment (to cycling).” He thinks the program could raise the profile of cycling as transit and change the cycling culture in Toronto. He also noted that with more bikes on the road cyclists would find safety in numbers. As the number of cyclists using a city’s roads increases, the rate of collisions and serious injuries tends to drop, he said.

Blais, on the other hand, said that a safe biking environment and a culture accepting of bikes should precede a bike-share program. She described Montreal as a city “ripe” for public bike sharing. With excellent east-west corridors through the city and bike paths that are often separated from car traffic by physical barriers, she described Montreal as a city with critical masses of infrastructure and bike users. This increases the likelihood of a public bike program’s success, in Blais’ view.

“Montreal has an incredibly high rate of bike usage,” she said. “You can easily be on a bike path with 10 or 12 bikes at any time of the day or night. People (in Montreal) just use bikes so much.”

Infrastructure, according to van den Dool, is an important but separate issue. More and better bike paths would make cycling feel safer, more convenient and faster, but he thinks people will still embrace a public bike program.

Heaps said that if a pilot program were brought out in 2009, it would probably focus on the downtown core to secure “the best and most immediate chance of success.” He suggested that downtown parking lots could be the initial sites for bike stations and said that the program would expand as payment and maintenance issues are improved and demand for public bikes grows.

The first frost might seem like an odd time to post about anything to do with bicycles, but if you live in Montreal, you'll know as well as I do that while bicycle season slows down drastically at the first snow, it never really ends.

 
You may remember from a past post of mine that I commented on the McGill female species’ lack of bicycle helmets. What I didn’t mention in that post was that, umm, I wasn’t wearing one either. And I should have known better; I'd recently read an article in the Gazette about the spike in bicycle accidents since the addition of bicycle paths to many popular downtown roads. I was reading the article while sitting in the emergency room with my partner, who'd driven his bicycle into an opening car door on Parc Avenue.

Someone once mentioned to me that they thought they’d look cooler bleeding from the head than wearing a bicycle helmet. But that’s not necessarily the case anymore. (Okay, it was never true in the first place, but it seemed true.) Now that companies like Bern and Yakkay make stylish and charming helmets, you don’t have to feel like an idiot for wearing one. In fact, you should feel like an idiot for not wearing one.

I recently caved and purchased my own bicycle helmet for a measly $46 at the ABC bike shop on Parc, just in time to save myself from the collision I had on the Parc/Pine interchange last week. Thanks to my very cool helmet, I only have to look stupid because of the foot bandages I’m wearing with my gladiator sandals.

I got on the bus here in San Francisco yesterday at just past 4pm - my transfer was good 'til 8pm. This would never happen on TransLink in Vancouver.

10. Views: Turning a Farm and Farmer Green
Regardless of political affiliation, farmers remain the closest Americans to the earth. Though I write about these issues every day, I can't really understand the impacts of today's environmental problems like farmers do -- decreasing open space, sprawl, shifting weather patterns, droughts, floods, invasive species. Yes! 10/02/2008

Paul Hillsdon

Paul has written a quick little post on Vancouver borrowing a couple of Bombardier Flexity Streetcars for the Olympics as part of the city's streetcar demonstration project.  That we don't have such streetcars running permanently is really sort of a downer.  Check out Paul's brief post and you can also follow details at the City of Vancouver streetcar page.  We'll take what we can.  I hope the trains will be here in town for more than just the Olympics.  I don't want to be fighting to get on the train with all the tourists.  However, I am disappointed that the demo route will only run from Granville Island to the Canada Line's Olympic Village Station.  That's way too short.  I wonder if there are issues running the demo all the way to Science World.  That would be a much better demo than the short haul to the Canada Line.

Bombardier also has an official press release on their corporate website.  You can also read up on what the Bombardier Flexity is with their online brochure.

Bombardier’s 100 % low-floor trams meet the individual needs of numerous cities, such as Geneva and Zurich (Swit­zerland), Linz and Innsbruck (Austria), Lodz (Poland), Eskisehir (Turkey), Brussels (Belgium), Marseille (France), Valencia and Alicante (Spain), Palermo (Italy) as well as in the Rhine-Neckar Region, Berlin, Augsburg and Krefeld (Germany)

That's a lot of cities.  Note that these are all European cities.  Europe is definitely ahead of the curve in terms of light rail transit.  Could you imagine these beautiful trams running through downtown or down a revitalized Arbutus Corridor?  It doesn't have to be fast, just steady, consistent and have a dedicated right-of-way.