I Dream of Bicycling

$260 Billion Dollars of Highways

2012-02-01T11:52:00.000-05:00

By now you may have heard about the new U.S. House transportation bill. It spends $260 billion in under 5 years, cuts Amtrak funding, eliminates funding for the state bicycle and pedestrian coordinator position, reduces transit funding, and changes performance measures to make bicycle and pedestrian project (or project components) less competitive.

Some lawmakers oppose funding bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure because they see it as some sort of elitist, anti-suburban threat to their way of life. Because, you know, it would be un-American to give people a choice about the type of community to live in or the way to travel around it. Other lawmakers are less punitive, but do not recognize the contribution of walking and bicycling to national mobility.

Looking at the numbers, of course, we can get an idea of the importance of these travel modes - 12% of all trips, up to 20% or more of trips to work in central urban areas, additional trips to access transit, and a primary method of mobility for many of our poor, elderly, and disabled citizens. What would happen if these trips could not be made?

Can the national economy survive if, say, an additional 5% of the population became unemployed because they couldn't get to work?

Could we absorb those extra 12% of trips as car trips on our streets and highways, when we can't even afford to maintain or expand our current system? Even if we could, would we want more traffic?

How much would our national economy suffer from the effects of lost productivity due to higher fuel expenditures, extra congestion, lost vitality in urban hubs, lost tourism, and additional sedentary behavior?

Are we willing to pay the costs - in death, disability, and an estimated $300 billion a year in economic impacts - of increased car crashes?

Finally, federally-funded transportation projects always have a local match funding portion, which is derived from sales taxes, property taxes, general funds comprising income taxes and fees, as well as some state fuel taxes. Most of those taxes are paid by everyone, whether they can drive or not. Is it unjust to spend their taxes without any planning or coordination for their mobility, access, or safety?

We could make all our roads look like this!

Here's a copy of the comments that I sent to my representative through the League of American Bicyclists website:

"As your constituent I am contacting you today to urge you to vote YES on the Petri amendment to preserve dedicated funding for biking and walking in the American Energy and Infrastructure Act that will appear before the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) this week. If you are not on the committee, please urge your colleagues to vote for the Petri amendment.

We have a responsibility to coordinate bicycle and pedestrian accommodations in federal transportation funding:

• At least 12% of trips made in the US are made by walking or bicycling, including trips to work.
• Nearly one-third of Americans cannot drive, including children, many senior citizens, people with disabilities, and the working poor. The average senior citizen will outlive their ability to drive by at least seven years.
• However, they all contribute to transportation funding through the local match portion of transportation projects, which often comes from sales, income, and property taxes.
• Federally funding transportation projects without guaranteeing that they will include bicycle or pedestrian accommodations where needed is just another form of taxation without representation.

The current version of the American Energy and Infrastructure Act would reverse twenty years of fair funding:

• It would destroy Transportation Enhancements which many states use to fund essential bicycle or pedestrian investments
• It would repeal the Safe Routes to School program, which has been reducing school traffic and school transportation costs
• It would allow states to make major investments, such as bridges, without planning safe access for pedestrians and bicycles - potentially triggering an expensive retrofit or else contributing to loss of life
• It would eliminate bicycle and pedestrian coordinators in state DOTs
• It would eliminate language that insures that new safety features do not create additional hazards for road users

If you are not on the (T&I) committee, please urge your colleagues to vote for the Petri amendment.

Programs such as Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School give communities in our district access to resources to build facilities that keep people safe on our streets. They provide local governments with the certainty that there will be funds available for projects important to their cities and towns. It is essential that the T&I Committee vote to save funding for biking and walking projects.

Biking and walking are critical for keeping our communities mobile with healthy and affordable transportation options, for preventing deaths and disability, and for keeping our economic centers functioning.

Please support the vote to preserve funding for biking and walking in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday. I look forward to hearing back from you about your position and actions. Thank you for standing up for me on this important issue."

Park It

2011-12-01T12:34:00.000-05:00

Just in time for peak retail season, I want to take a deep look at the effects of car parking. I'm not the supreme expert on this - that would be Donald Shoup - but I do read a lot of research studies. Unfortunately, these studies have been no match for the Fear of Not Finding a Parking Space.

As a bicycle rider (and occasional driver), I can certainly sympathize with parking anxiety. After all, car parking spaces probably outnumber bicycle parking by twenty katrillion to one. I often think ahead about the parking conditions at my intended destination, and adjust my travel accordingly. And that's the point.

Parking options have a huge impact on travel choices. When you know there will be plenty of free parking where you are going, hopping in the car seems like the easiest choice - in fact, preferable to walking or bicycling across a huge parking lot. Let's say you are meeting a friend somewhere for dinner. If there is lots of free parking there, maybe you will both drive and meet each other there. Now suppose there is parking available, but you have to pay for it. That might inspire you to pick your friend up on the way and split the cost. Next, suppose that you will have to pay for parking, and you will have to hunt around for several blocks to find an open space (on the street or in a garage). At this point, you might start to wonder if there are other ways to get there - isn't there a train station a few blocks away, or maybe I could try that new bike path?

The opposite psychological effect is true too - if you take transit somewhere but have to walk past several parking lots to reach your destination, you might think that it would be easier to drive next time. Of course, if your city is just building low-density strip malls, office parks, and disconnected subdivisions, parking doesn't have a huge impact because the alternatives to driving are so poor anyway. But if they are trying to do a little smart growth or transit-oriented development, parking has to be on the table, for the above reasons and more. The situation in Atlanta where parking is now raising its head is in the development codes for the BeltLine.

Minimum parking requirements can be found everywhere. Even the city of Houston, which does not use zoning in the traditional sense, still mandates how much parking has to be provided for each type of residence, store, restaurant, business, etc. In the debate over government regulation versus free-market activity, parking is a doozy. A grocery store developer may have to purchase 4 times more property than the actual footprint of the store in order to build the mandated amount of parking. It's an enormous financial burden on businesses and the construction industry, and it ultimately forces them to give away, for free, something that has inherent value.

Parking requirements are generally based on peak usage, as calculated by some relatively limited studies. And by limited, I mean they looked at a handful of locations, maybe a few decades ago, maybe somewhere in suburban southern California, and then they require that much parking for a store in Buckhead relative to square footage, or number of seats, or whatever. It's neither scientific nor context based, but it is universal. The result is that, except for a couple of days before Christmas, we have waaaaay too much parking. And there is very little flexibility in these requirements. If you build a bar next to an office building, they each have to have enough parking for their peak usage, even though their peak hours occur at different times and they could easily share the same supply of parking.

Since each property has to provide its own proprietary on-site parking, property owners get very protective of its use. So if you drive to the store, and then want to eat at the restaurant right next to it, you may have to drive there or risk getting booted by the store's security force. Of course, property owners have a lot of incentive for being so possessive - parking spaces are expensive! You have to buy the land for them, and construct them, and if land is expensive you can build a multi-story parking structure at great expense. The figures I've heard for the price of each parking space is about $8,000 for an onstreet space in a nice residential neighborhood, about $10,000 for a surface lot space, and $30,000 to $50,000 for each space in a parking garage. The developer (or the department of transportation, for onstreet spaces) spends a ton of money to build that mandated parking, but guess what - they can't recoup their costs directly. Why? Remember Econ 101? We've mandated a huge oversupply of parking, and when supply greatly exceeds demand, prices drop to almost nothing. We have a parking glut.

Of course, developers don't just take a loss on all of that expense. They pass at least some of it on to their buyers or tenants. If it's commercial property, those costs show up in your bill, even if you walked there. If you buy a condo, you can't say "I don't need those parking spaces, so knock $60,000 off the selling price, please." We all subsidize those parking spaces, even if they are sitting empty.

We subsidize them in another way, too. Since there is no functioning market for parking, all of those spaces are effectively non-revenue generating. Think about what that means for the tax base. If 10%, or 50%, or 80% of each parcel is occupied by free parking, you are taking that much land out of the picture for development. If you can only develop 50% of your city's buildable land, rather than 100%, then you have to raise everyone's taxes in order to pay for the same mileage of roads, sewer lines, police patrols, etc.

Eliminating parking requirements would not mean an end of parking. It would just revert parking provision to the free market, and it would be a very gradual process to boot. There are only so many new developments that go up each year; existing properties really wouldn't be affected. But imagine the new scenario - a developer wants to build 100 units of residential property in a new five-story development. In the past, she would have been forced to build 200 parking spaces along with it (on average). Now, she can undertake her own research to determine how many parking spaces she actually thinks are needed. She sees that there is a bike path, shopping district, good sidewalks, and several transit lines (bus and rail) nearby, so she thinks that many of her residents will only own one car and that their guests will only drive 50% of the time. So, she can already save some money on parking. But then, a local parking company approaches her, and says they heard about her development and a couple others in the area, and that they would like to provide the parking facilities. Now, the parking company may use or refine parking projections from the residential developer and other proposed projects. The developer does not have to build or sell parking spaces at all; she can sell her residential units at a lower price point and offer buyers the opportunity to purchase one or more parking spaces in the new garage a few doors down. Buyers have more control over their transportation options and local businesses see a little more foot traffic. These changes will be especially important in a district like the BeltLine, where residents and businesses may already be paying a locational premium to be near the transit, trails, parks, and stores planned for this area, and who may intend to use the BeltLine instead of buying a car (or a second car).

One of the big fears about elimination of parking requirements is that developers will underbuild parking, and that this will result in shoppers or office workers filling up residential onstreet parking instead. There are two perspectives on this. On the one hand, you can offer residential parking permits or a similar mechanism to prohibit parking on residential streets. On the other hand, you can ask whether it is advantageous to reserve onstreet parking for local residents (and I say this as a homeowner in a mostly-single family neighborhood adjacent to the BeltLine). After all, you buy or rent the home, not the public street in front of it - the parking spaces themselves are paid for with a mix of property taxes, local sales taxes, and some gas taxes. Most people have room to add more parking to their lot if they are willing to give up some of their yard for it. Older neighborhoods may not have consistent off-street parking, but they could have alleys and decent access to transit, bikeable destinations, and sidewalks. One could also argue that by provided so much free parking to residents, we are simply enabling them to store unnecessary personal property at public expense (rarely-used second or third cars) and discouraging them from exploring other transportation options.

These ideas need to be discussed if we are going to successfully redevelop Atlanta, or anywhere, for walkable, bikeable development. There is a lot of confusion and some deep-seated fear of change. I highly recommend that you find a copy of The High Cost of Free Parking and read if from cover to cover before attending your next public meeting - you'll never see the city the same way again!

Recreation or Transportation?

2011-11-14T14:20:00.000-05:00

A while back, I came across another gem in the circular logic of suppressing transportation cycling by denying transportation funds to bicycle projects, based on the argument that it might be used for "recreation". From Sustainable Savannah.

This is something that really makes no sense to me in the development of cycling facilities. If you look at many of the bicycle or shared trails that have been built recently, it's obvious that it is quite difficult to use them for transportation. For instance, the Silver Comet trail runs parallel to US Highway 278 for a ways. 278 is lined with shopping centers and apartment complexes. The trail could serve to connect nearby residents to stores and restaurants, or to connect commuters from their condo or subdivision to "park and ride" lots. But there are hardly any connections that actually go to the shopping centers or residential complexes. The few roads that intersect the path have no bike lanes or shoulders, and no sidewalks for kids or for trail users on foot; they feature high speed traffic and deceleration lanes. There are no facilities along busy Highway 278 itself, if your destination doesn't happen to be right at the corner. So what happens? People put their bicycle onto a rack on their car, drive to the trail, ride back and forth, and leave. A few families who live near the trail ride around on it for an hour. The transportation potential, and potential economic impact, is mostly squandered. It's like building a huge expressway, but with exits that connect to dirt service roads that can only be traveled with a four-wheel drive truck, even though there are towns and stores less than a mile away. Would you be surprised if such an expressway saw little functional usage?

Silver Comet Trail, shown in red, near junction of US278 and GA92

Another example that shows the "trails aren't transportation" mindset of their planners is along Freedom Path in northeast Atlanta. Some parts of the path are pretty appealing - you can zip from the upper edge of the Sweet Auburn district over to the lower limits of Virginia Highland on a bicycle expressway that dodges under and around intersecting streets. But east of Moreland Ave, the arrangement falls apart. Here, North Avenue acts as the expressway, a direct and relatively shady route connecting to a major route to Emory University. But if you stay on the path, you'll travel at least twice the distance on a hot, shadeless hillside. You can't see the topography in the following image, but you'll also add several hundred feet in elevation change for yourself. It would be fine as an alternative sidepath to the direct main route, a scenic detour, or an option for people who are trying to work up a sweat rather than get to work. But as the only bicycle facility in this corridor, it's a failure. This path was not intended for going anywhere fast.

Freedom Path near junction of North Ave. and Oakdale Rd.

Newsflash! Lack of controversy swirls around new bicycle facility

2011-09-02T15:39:00.000-04:00

WSB-TV has done a feature on the new sharrows installed on Ponce de Leon Ave by the city of Decatur. Comments from local planners, residents, and businesses show widespread endorsement of the markings. The TV crew is determined to bring a dose of hardened skepticism, but comes up short in bike handling skills and knowledge of cycling traffic safety. I might suggest a Confident City Cycling class before their next story!

Click here to view the clip.

One Less Car

2011-08-04T19:04:00.000-04:00

Finally. I am no longer a car owner. What a relief!

We aren't a completely car-free household. Mr. Step-through (who would probably prefer to be known as "Diamond Frame") owns a car. So when he moved in, we had two adults and two cars. But we only made a couple of driving trips per week, usually together in his car. Meanwhile, my car was starting to develop some issues due to deferred maintenance... deferred for years. The registration renewal was coming due. And when I got a repair estimate that was easily twice the actual book value of the car, I had to ask "Why?"

Why invest so many thousands of dollars and effort on something that I hadn't used in months? Why fill up the driveway? Why keep something that was effectively the world's largest paperweight? So I took it out to one of those big box car lots and sold it for some pocket change. Ironically, getting rid of your car involves going to one of the most car-oriented stretches of the region, a six-lane divided arterial off the interstate. Don't let the sidewalk in this photo fool you - it went about 100 feet and then ended.

I immediately felt a great sense of relief. When you don't drive all the time, owning a car becomes a real chore. You have to make a special effort to drive it often enough to prevent the brakes from seizing up or the battery from draining. You have to run home from work to take it for an emissions test or oil change. Do you own the car or does it start to own you?

No more, though... No more insurance or registration or repairs or oil changes. No more worry. We can use Mr. Step-through's car to schlepp stuff home from the hardware store or visit sketchy areas late at night. Heck, I can rent a car for road trips if I want to, it would still be cheaper than owning one. And maybe someday there will be a car-sharing program that actually serves my neighborhood. Whatever happens, I'll be enjoying the bicycle, bus, train, and my own two feet as much as possible!

Starting Big

2011-07-29T13:38:00.000-04:00

The big news yesterday was adoption of "Plan 2040" by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). This is the long range, 30 year transportation project and program list as well as the 5-year list of stuff that will actually be built before the next plan update. The cool kids refer to the long range plan as the LRTP and the 5-year project list as the TIP ("Transportation Improvement Program").

The use of the word 'improvement' in transportation proposals has actually been a bit controversial, and is discouraged. After all, a change to a particular road may function as an improvement for, say, semi trucks but actually degrade conditions for, say, walking or bicycling. Or vice-versa. It's best to leave such subjective terms out of the project description.

The LRTP and TIP have been narrowed down from a large list of nearly every project that has ever been proposed. The current plan, which seeks to be comprehensive, also has land use forecasts and recommendations, and supplementary programs such as aging services. However, ARC does not control land use or offer any direct services. These functions are all conducted by city and county governments. It will take a bit of political maneuvering to bring this part of the plan to fruition.

The ARC board voted in favor of the plan, with two exceptions. One of these was the Mayor of Atlanta, Kasim Reed. I should point out here that representation is geographic, not population-based. Although he represents more people than any other city and many counties in the region, his vote is no more powerful than the City of Waleska (population 644). The dissenting votes were cast by members who thought the amount of transit in the plan was insufficient.

ARC staff were unable to state exactly how much transit funding was in the plan. There is no transit capital in the 5 year project list. Over the 30-year planning timeline, about 20% of the capital projects are for transit, 77% is roadway capacity and managed lanes, and just 3% is allocated to all other projects including pedestrian, operations & safety, capacity conversion, bicycle, and miscellaneous projects. The portion of funding going to programs and maintenance is a little more balanced in terms of transit share, but no better for bicycle and pedestrian projects. Those projects are mostly classified as 'travel demand management', meaning that they are intended to alleviate congestion by reducing car trips. But what about simple access and mobility for people who already can't or don't drive? By some estimates, that's about 30% of the population, when you consider children, senior citizens, people with disabilities, people who can't afford to own or operate a car, not to mention people who have chosen not to drive in order to obtain health or economic benefits. Maria Saporta has ongoing coverage of the issue in her online column.

How would you determine the right amount of transit funding? The right amount of funding for bicycle infrastructure? Will spending billions of dollars to widen roads improve quality of life, health, safety, or economic stability in our region?

Changes

2011-07-27T12:03:00.000-04:00

If you have been following this blog in the past, you noticed that my posts became less frequent and then stopped entirely. There were a number of reasons for this - I added new work and family commitments, lost my camera, and just didn't really feel like many readers were getting the message I was trying to convey. Not to sound cynical, but after 5 years of cycling around Atlanta in dress clothes I had hoped that thousands of other people would realize it was doable and fun, and try it for themselves. And yes, we've seen an increase in bicycling for transportation. We've seen bicycles become trendy. We've seen more women and less spandex. But it's not enough in my opinion.

So, if you will bear with me, I'm changing the purpose and format of this blog. I'm going to focus less on my day-to-day observations in the city, and more on the things that could lead to big changes. Transportation funding. Zoning changes. Plans and policies. And because I am a scientist at heart, I am going to back it all up with tidbits of information that I find in my daily research. Stay tuned.

A Bicycle Built for Two

2011-05-12T16:09:00.000-04:00

I have been really bad about posting lately. I've been a bit busy. This is why:

Yep, that's me and my sweetie, leaving our wedding reception on a tandem bicycle! There are some clearer photos around - I'll post them as soon as I can. All I can say is that riding away on that thing (and going about a mile back to our cottage) exemplified all of the teamwork and trust that we'll need for a lifetime together!

Better Bicycling Bill Becomes Law!

2011-05-12T11:01:00.000-04:00

Today Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed HB101, the “Better Bicycling Bill,” into law modernizing outdated laws and implementing safety improvements for motorists and bicyclists.

Georgia joins 19 other states with the implementation of a passing law. Overtaking vehicles have always been legally required to provide a safe passing distance, but the new law defines 3 feet as a safe passing distance.

Other changes included in HB101:
• Bicyclists right-of-way in dedicated bike lanes is now recognized
• Minimum design guidelines are established for bicycle lanes
• Circumstances in which a cyclist may take the full travel lane have been clarified (sect 40-62-294)
• Recumbent and clipless pedals can now legally be sold and used in GA
• Taillights can legally be substituted for a rear reflector
• Cyclists can signal right turns with his or her right arm and hand extended horizontally or with his or her left hand and arm extended upward.

Click here to read the news article, which the AJC seems to have researched entirely in Roswell.

Click here to read the full text of the bill.

The Dark Side of Spring

2011-04-13T11:23:00.000-04:00

Spring almost always evokes a joyful time - the hard winter is over, flowers are blooming, birds chirping, bees are mating, and soon the villagers will go out and plant sorghum or something. In Atlanta, however, the relationship with spring is more ambiguous. For one thing, the winters are pretty mild and the first flowers appear in February. And while the spring is beautiful, it also means that another long, hot, muggy summer is on the horizon. Then there is the pollen. I don't have a problem with it (knock on wood!) but many people do. For at least a month, people are obsessing over daily pollen counts and even staying home from work.

And then there are the new bicycle riders of spring. Every year, people who haven't ridden a bike since they were 10 come creaking out of their driveways. Now, I am really happy to see new riders in general. I think people should just get out there and start traversing the city by bicycle regardless of age, experience, or current physical activity level. But not regardless of traffic rules.

Yes, you were allowed to ride on the sidewalk as a kid. Now you are not. You are required to follow traffic laws like everyone else on the road. There are classes to help you learn the rules and get comfortable with following them.

Riding on the sidewalk against traffic increase your risk of a crash by 5 times

I don't want to sound negative, but seriously. I probably saw two dozen people on bicycles on my commute home yesterday, and every single last one was doing something illegal and dangerous. Riding on the sidewalk. Riding the wrong way on a very busy one-way street. Riding the wrong way in traffic. Running a red light. Believe me, I understand how poorly our transportation infrastructure accommodates bicycle traffic, but at least try...

Maybe the city will start sending out a Georgia Bike Sense guide to every resident each spring and add bicycle education to middle and high school curricula, hmmm?

Clean Energy is Everywhere

2011-04-05T15:42:00.001-04:00

There has been a lot of commentary in the 'transportation choices' world about President Obama's speech on energy policy and independence from foreign oil. Basically, the president spoke for, oh, 30 minutes or so last week about energy security. After worrying about the economic and political implications of oil dependence, he went on to endorse oil exploration, more oil drilling, biofuels, natural gas vehicles, and electric cars. There was one brief mention of transit. And there was not a single mention of the millions of Americans who have already cut their oil consumption by a third, or perhaps much more, by walking and bicycling instead of driving.

The best article I have seen, which really sums up the discussion, was on Grist. This will give you a feel for the spectrum of debate, which ranges from "hey, you forgot something" to "oh no, we're all doomed".

We have plenty of oil-independent folks in Atlanta, and there seem to be more every day.

The Cycling Constituency

2011-04-01T14:22:00.000-04:00

How many bicyclists does it take to get the attention of state legislators? 2,500 seemed to be the winning number this year. Thousands of people showed up at the capitol building for the annual "Georgia Rides to the Capitol" event. There were folks from all over the Atlanta region, kids from Safe Routes to School programs, competitive cycling clubs, and everyday commuters. And a whole lot of spandex. Some people had ridden 30 miles or more by the time they reached the gold dome, others (like me) just popped over from work. The diversity of ages and racial backgrounds was inspiring. Representatives from the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, and a number of other elected officials and advocates addressed the crowd.

Decatur, Va-Hi, State Route 85

2011-03-28T22:21:00.000-04:00

Dirt Town

2011-02-16T15:19:00.000-05:00

I've really, really been slacking on these posts. Don't worry, I've been on the bicycle, and taking photos, and seeing cool stuff. I've just also been busy (and maybe a little lazy).

First, let me get things caught up since the great ice storm... which wasn't really an ice storm in the technical sense, but rather four inches of heavy, wet snow which melted and then refroze into solid ice. After several days of near immobility (except by foot or train), they managed to dump massive quantities of sand, dirt, and gravel on the roads. Within a few more days, the ice melted away. The gravel did not. Some streets looked more like a cyclocross track than an actual city street - the grit was several inches deep.

The next week, they brought out the streetsweeping machines (a rare occurrence in these days of fiscal austerity) to clean the grit up. The Edgewood Avenue bike lane was one of the priority routes, thanks to pressure from bicycle advocates. The RD Abernathy bike lane still has some problems, due to untrimmed street trees that prevent the sweepers from getting close to the curb. And other roads are just simply a mess. Still. Bicycles really can't use several feet that are usually available at the outside of the lanes, and cars kick up horrible dust clouds when they pass. But hey, it's better than the epic snowdrifts in Boston!

Those Hardy Souls

2011-01-23T00:35:00.000-05:00

Atlanta has a reputation for being, well, kind of wimpy about winter weather. But I haven't really seen that, especially among Atlanta's non-motorized crowd. By wednesday, when the roads were still slick with sheets of ice and my office remained closed, there were still people riding down the street. I was out that day, walking to the grocery store.

By thursday, when schools were still closed and my office opened 2 hours late (with co-workers trickling in hours later), the bicycles were still rolling. Everyone who could get out of their driveway just wanted to be out, in fresh air and sunshine!

The cabin fever reached a crescendo on sunday afternoon, as the temperature soared to almost 50 F and the roads became almost completely passable. Young and old, spandexed and casual, I saw more people riding bicycles that day than I did on some of the finest days last autumn!

Snow and Ice and Everything Nice

2011-01-19T11:22:00.000-05:00

As the whole world knows, we have had some epic weather here in Atlanta. It wasn't that much snow, and it wasn't one of those ice storms that knocks down every utility pole for 100 miles. But it was 4 inches of snow followed by freezing rain and then a deep freeze. In other words, it was a plow and salt situation, and Georgia owns very little of either. Any surface that was not cleared of snow on the first day became a treacherous patch of ice and semi-frozen slush. The whole region came to a standstill.

Snow and ice blanket a local park

My office was closed from monday through wednesday last week, and had a half day on thursday. Schools were closed for the entire week. Stores ran out of essential items like milk and snow shovels as delivery trucks failed to arrive (some trucks tried to get through and caused horrendous wrecks instead). Most businesses didn't open at all. The roads weren't closed, but they probably should have been.

Aside from the closings, though, I was marginally affected by all this. MARTA canceled all bus service but kept the trains running pretty reliably. So it took me 20 minutes to walk or slide to the station instead of 15...I could still go to most of the places I normally travel to as long as they were open. On monday, I went sledding with my neighbors and then fell asleep while the Beau (now fiánce and co-habitant) went across town to see his family. On Tuesday, we cycled to the train station and rode it over to Decatur for drinks and dinner.

Walking bikes to the station entrance

I didn't take any pictures on the road due to the slippery conditions. Honestly, we walked our bikes as much as we rode them! But it was good experience, learning how they would handle on the ice and goop. By friday, public authorities had covered almost every street with a thick mixture of gravel, dirt, and sand (but did nothing to clear sidewalks nor enforce statutes require property owners to clear them). It became feasible to get around by car, truck, or bicycle, but with new hazards from gravel patches and thick clumps of icy crud. That's a whole 'nother story, coming soon!

Our tire tracks remained frozen in the slush.

Cycling Research Recap

2011-01-15T21:16:00.000-05:00

I would like to direct everyone's attention across the pond to Munich, Germany. A great little blog there, Münchenierung, is offering a summary of some of the best research on urban cycling. He highlights half a dozen or so scientific articles about the benefits that bicycle transport brings to health, safety, and quality of life in cities. Check out the post!

Hibernation

2011-01-03T10:03:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! Good Solstice! Merry Winter Holiday of Your Personal Preference!

Personally, I have the most enthusiasm for the solstice, because it signals sunnier days to come. I am strongly affected by light (or the lack of light). I love lots of windows and time spent out of doors in the daylight. As daylight dwindles in the winter I find it harder to get out of bed into the dark morning and discouraging to go anywhere or do anything in the evening. The things that get me by are midday walks in sunlight, cheerful holiday lights, and the distant promise of spring and longer days ahead.

Vintage display bike hanging in the warm and happy Brickstore Pub

The past few weeks have been a big ol' winter hibernation blowout. Such a good time to huddle indoors with friends and food and drink. I work on an academic calendar, and the entire university shuts down for the week before New Year's, plus an extra holiday day or two. So I haven't been at my desk for the past, oh, 11 days or so. I stayed home and busted through an extensive project list, and didn't leave the house at all some days. Then there were holiday parties and family stuff, playing in the snow and trying to see the lunar eclipse, and finally and New Year's blowout weekend. I have had very little to blog about in this time, unless you are into rearranging furniture.

Now it's back to work, back to schedules and daily adventures. Back to posting. Once I find my camera, which I misplaced after a party...

The Big Chill

2010-12-16T13:29:00.000-05:00

Compared to the northern cities, we don't have much to complain about... but Atlanta has seen a bit of wintry weather this week. Monday and Tuesday saw lows in the mid-teens, and we didn't get above freezing for several days. Although it was cold, it was also dry, and cycling was no trouble at all. Just a couple of extra layers. For myself, I added a thin balaclava under my hat and scarf, wore a thick wool sweater, and put on some thick acrylic tights under my pants. I also wore my warmest gloves with a liner underneath. And I was perfectly fine for the 30 minute ride to work. OK, my toes got a little cold, but I was wearing the same midweight wool socks and dress boots that I had been wearing all autumn...

Then things got exciting. They were predicting snow on Wednesday night, and I was really looking forward to it. I love snow! It's so pretty. I figured I would take my bike on the train if it got bad before I left work. But instead of snow, we got ice. Super-slick sheet ice, black ice on the bridges, ice on everything. Not like a real ice storm that knocks down all the powerlines, just freezing rain that fell wet and froze when it hit the cold ground. The news gave out some description of a "thin layer of arctic air at ground level" or something like that.

At any rate, it created havoc for commuters. No one had expected the ice, so they left work at their normal time and promptly started sliding off roads and crashing into things. I know people who fell walking, who fell bicycling home, who had to abandon their car miles from their house. In fact, thousands of cars were left in the road, traffic on highways and suburban arterials was at a near-standstill, and over 1,000 car crashes were reported. I had no trouble cycling to and from the MARTA station, and MARTA was running just fine. I have to admit feeling a little smug about this, and also feeling guilty that I feel smug...

The IKEA Bicycle Fuss

2010-12-10T10:26:00.000-05:00

All of the business papers have been spreading the news of IKEA's holiday generosity to their employees: a new bicycle for all 12,400 of them. The press release contains tons of commentary about the health benefits of riding a bicycle, and also points out that bicycling is good for cities, and the environment, and achieving sustainability. So it's too bad that they chose such an odd bicycle. This is not my idea of a suitable bike for riding to work in the city. Awkward riding position, excessive gearing, no fenders, no lights, aluminum. It's not quite a mountain bike, although it is styled like one, but are those knobby tires?

Source: cyclelicio.us

Nonetheless, it is an admirable effort on their part, and I hope a significant number of their employees take the hint. Perhaps they will trade this bike for something more comfortable. There's already one listed for sale on Ebay. And if IKEA ever wants to think about a better design - you know, for next year - they don't have to look far. Check out the awesome cargo bikes IKEA Denmark provides for customers who arrive by bicycle and buy more than they can carry back home...

Source: inhabitat.com

Street Life

2010-12-09T12:57:00.000-05:00

I’m continuing on my theme of public spaces and public life… I should add here that much of my thinking has been inspired by Jan Gehl, the godfather of the bicycling revolution in Copenhagen (and now working with NYC, Sydney, and many other world cities). My case study this time is the Elliott Street Pub, a tiny bar on the edge of downtown. The pub has two distinguishing characteristics:

-It has been adopted by the surrounding neighborhood as THE hangout bar.

-Elliott Street, never a major street to begin with, has been nearly closed for the past year or so due to the Mitchell Street bridge reconstruction.

Mitchell Street bridge was closed some time in 2009 after a routine inspection gave it a “sufficiency rating” of 2. Out of a possible 100, where 100 is perfect condition and 0 is, well, imminent collapse. For many months, it was a delightful shortcut as it remained open to bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Unlike the cars and trucks that were prohibited from crossing the bridge, there was little risk of damage from non-motorized travel…another way that bicycle and pedestrian traffic can help save a city money.

Eventually they began construction to rebuild the bridge and it was closed off completely. There is just a gap there now, and someday there will be a new bridge with an odd left-lane bicycle lane. But that’s another story. In the meantime, Elliott Street won’t take you anywhere useful at all, except to the pub. And a pretty large percentage of the patrons get there on foot or by bicycle.

So the street has been reclaimed for living by neighborhood residents and bar patrons. You can stand in it and watch fireworks downtown, or listen to trains passing through the ‘gulch’. During events, parking spaces are used for tables where people sit, mingle, and carve designs for the popular monthly Iron Pour. It is a beautiful, flexible use of space that would probably horrify most traffic engineers. But for the people who go there, that urban space is used to build a business and a neighborhood.

Jingle Bells

2010-12-02T22:23:00.000-05:00

The holiday season is here in full force... Kicking off tonight with Hanukah and lasting through New Year's Eve. There are decorations in every park and plaza. I still need to put lights on the house, but the bicycle is decorated. The front of my basket now sports a giant white bell with red and green flowers glued to it. It looks cute, but it sounds fantastic! Or annoying. Give me a couple of days and I may hate it. But it jingles loudly on every little bump and turns everyone's head. Happy Holidays!

Skirts and Tights

2010-11-29T22:12:00.000-05:00

The cooler weather and bouts of rain have taken cycling rates back down to their usual winter levels. Maybe a tad more than last year, but it feels disappointing after some of the surges we had back in the spring and early fall. So, it makes me very happy to come across an Atlantan who is handling the chilly temperatures with aplomb. Adorable bike too!

Mountain Biking - On Real Mountains!

2010-11-24T13:39:00.000-05:00

Has it really been over a week since I posted anything here? Crazy. But I have a series of good excuses, from the worst food poisoning of my life (yet) to a mini-vacation in an internet-serviceless mountain cabin to some exciting developments in my personal life. The good part about the mountain trip was that I got to put the Schwinn to several of its intended purposes: transporting it easily on vacation via car-mounted bicycle rack, and riding off-road.

Cabin

I have griped before about the incompatibility of the standard trunk-mounted rack and step-through frames. One of the reasons I added a diamond frame bicycle to my collection was to have something I could toss onto a rack and take on vacation. The simplicity of hoisting this bike onto the rack, strapping it down, and walking away was such a relief compared to the handful of times I have tried to take Blue Belle somewhere. In that case, it was 30+ minutes of wedging, readjusting, swearing, getting greasy, and snagging delicate cables, followed by rage at the failure of the rack manufacturer to accommodate my precious bicycles. Several people have suggested using a 'boom bar' to create a good mounting point, a bar that grips onto the stem and seatpost. But my old-fashioned seatpost does not have the little knobby clamp that would make it secure on that end, and my stem/ headtube area has bells and shifters and other stuff mounted to it that would get damaged. So, ironically, I had to go out and get a bike to fit my bike rack.

Anyway, the other reason for the Schwinn was the beautiful, wooded, utterly tempting forest roads near this cabin, which we visit regularly. We would often take long walks along the paved and unpaved roads, talking about how much fun they would be on two wheels. I was not interested in crazy rock-jumping trails, but those bumpy roads leading back into the woods were too much to resist. And they were no place for a city bike.

That looks steep. And slippery. Help!

The Schwinn has fat tires with a slightly knobby texture, an extra-sturdy frame and fork, 21 gears, a slightly shorter wheelbase, and probably some other stuff I don't know about. It's an older-style mountain bike though, so it is made of steel and doesn't use shocks. The way they used to do it! It also still doesn't have bar tape or a new chain - I've been busy.

He's done this before...

The Beau coached me through the basics of riding on unpaved surfaces, gravel, leaves, ruts, etc. It's a lot like riding past a construction area or something, where there is gravel and sand spilled. He gave me some tips for climbing, corners, avoiding hazards, and going down long grades (don't ride your brakes). And then we rode up a mountain. It was fun, though heavy breathing replaced conversation after a while. It was also hunting season, which worried us both a bit. We got all the way up to the top of the ridge.

Ridgeline

Then we rode back down the mountain. There was screaming. There was hollering. My arms and hands got tired from holding on to the vibrating, bouncing handlebars. I felt like I was going way too fast. It was a scary and entirely new experience, but also loads of fun! Like a roller coaster! But you don't have to stand in line and the view is much nicer. I'll definitely do it again.

Looking pleased with myself after a successful ride on forest roads

Meanwhile, back in Atlanta

2010-11-14T22:28:00.000-05:00

My trip to New York gave me a lot to think about, but I was really only there for a couple of days. Life back in Atlanta has been pretty routine. Riding to work, finding creative places to lock a bicycle at interesting new (and old) drinking establishments, oiling chains and trying to rearrange the house so there will be enough places to squeeze in a bike or two. There were a couple of days when I hardly saw anyone else on a bicycle, even though the weather was lovely. Then there was the Chomp and Stomp in Cabbagetown last weekend (yes, I am a week behind in postings!).

It really goes to show how important location is for bicycle culture. I saw that in NYC too. There are certain neighborhoods where cycling becomes really popular, even in the midst of a city with minimal bicycle mode share. Part of it may be due to young, trendy residents picking up on trends from elsewhere - fixed-gear aficionados and celebrity sightings. But it seems to follow the infrastructure as well.

Both Little Five Points and East Atlanta, where bicycle culture seems to congregate, have good bike lanes connecting them to the downtown area (Edgewood Ave. and Glenwood Ave., respectively). They also have a pretty good network of local streets that allow bicycle riders to get around the neighborhood on quiet, low-speed side streets. They also have small commercial centers that make it possible for local residents to meet their daily needs without going across town. Now if you could just connect those two neighborhoods with a bike lane on Moreland Ave., we'd be all set!

The point is, if you hold a funky festival in the midst of these bike-happy places, you get a whole lot of bicycles. Atlanta Bicycle Coalition set up a bike valet station to provide free bicycle parking (donations welcome), and it was full up. I can't even guess how many hundreds of bikes came through there that day. And there were still many more who didn't make it over to the valet at all.

Bicycle parking here!

Parking this many bikes takes organization

Rockin' the mixte (a unisex bicycle frame)

I see about one tandem for every hundred bicycles or so

On the far side of the festival, bikes were parked three deep

Best of NYC

2010-11-10T15:53:00.001-05:00

To wrap up my trip to New York City, here are a few of my favorite shots...

Dodging pedestrian on Brooklyn Bridge

A chap enters the riverside bicycle path

Folding bikes are popular in a city with limited parking

Another mini bike

Williamsburg

Nitty Gritty City

2010-11-08T17:18:00.000-05:00

When I visited NYC last week, I specifically left myself some extra time to wander around looking at the city's new bicycle infrastructure. 200 new miles of bike lanes in the past three years, for over 1500 total lane-miles. Impressive, no?

Bike lane on Broadway

Well, yes and no. The infrastructure itself is first class. I mean, I am really jealous, and I wish we could get anything that looks like that in Atlanta! Many of the lanes used colored pavement to make them stand out. Most of them are buffered, at least at key points. A beautiful bicycle-only path loops most of the way around the island of Manhattan, offering views of waterfront parks, and the bridges have designated bicycle lanes separated from motorized traffic. Altogether, it forms a pretty comprehensive network until you get out toward the edges of the city.

Traversing the Williamsburg Bridge on a dedicated bike lane. The pedestrian route is on the opposite side, also elevated above traffic.

Newly installed buffered lane with bike signal and signage

Using the lane

Bicycle facilities on the Brooklyn Bridge

A separated path next to 11th Avenue

However, I saw very few bicyclists relative to the total volume of traffic. There are streets in Atlanta with more frequent bicycle traffic than many parts of Manhattan! The majority of the people I did see on bicycles were making deliveries - men transporting restaurant take-out and flower bouquets for low wages. There were also a handful of spandex-clad athletes, some groups of tourists on rented bikes around major attractions, and a smattering of hipsters and everyday folks on basic city bikes. Hardly anyone was riding in the bicycle lanes. A large percentage were riding the wrong way, against traffic, in either the general purpose lane or a bike lane. Some were on the sidewalk.

Empty delivery basket, traveling wrong-way in the bicycle lane

A woman rides against traffic on a quiet street

Rented bicycles near Times Square

Chinese food trumps traffic controls

What's going on? I suspect it is the local transportation "culture". Every city has one. NYC has a dominant pedestrian culture in which motorists tend to expect people to be in the street. They drive cautiously compared to other cities and are very good about yielding to pedestrians. People cross the street whenever there is a break in traffic, regardless of signals or pavement markings. It seems to be understood that pedestrian travel is an essential part of a functioning city. This was the only place I have ever been in America where I felt like drivers interacted with me person-to-person when I was on foot. This is good for bicyclists, because drivers are expecting to see people in the roadway and to be respectful towards them. It does have drawbacks, though, as pedestrians often take over bicycle lanes.

Annexed bike lane

Bells are required in NYC - and used frequently on the Brooklyn Bridge to shoo pedestrians out of the bike lane

There is also an issue of supply and demand. Central Park and the waterfront path were popular. These routes had few pedestrians and ample room. Better yet, they allowed cyclists to travel at full speed, bypassing the traffic signals and congestion on parallel streets. But they didn't go where the people on bicycles were trying to go. For the delivery guys trying to transport hot food a few blocks away, as fast as possible, it seemed most expedient to ride up the nearest street even if traffic was going the opposite way. With lots of one-way streets and few curb cuts, the bike lanes rarely took cyclists to the front door of their destination. Instead they used the closest lane, often on the opposite side of the street from the bicycle facility, and rode up the sidewalk from the corner. The unprotected bike lanes served little purpose at all, filled with delivery trucks and double-parked cars, and the rest of the traffic was moving at bicycle speed anyway. At the Brooklyn Bridge, a one-way vehicular ramp forced bicycle riders coming from lower Manhattan to make a large lap around the block to reach the bike route; most rode wrong-way up the ramp instead.

One-way access to the Brooklyn Bridge bike route

Theft is clearly an issue, and bicycles of any apparent value were rare. The vintage steel frame bicycles that I love were fairly common, probably because they are cheap, less attractive to thieves, and come equipped for city riding with baskets and fenders. Pedicabs were available in a few places, but the prices were exorbitant relative to a taxicab ($20 for 15 minutes).

A riderless pedicab using a brand new lane

Here are my recommendation to Mayor Bloomberg, who I'm sure is reading this, and to transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan:

New York City needs a bike share program! Transportation in NYC is all about flexibility - take the subway to work, then walk to a nearby restaurant to meet friends, share a taxi over to the Village, maybe catch the bus home. But if you ride a bicycle somewhere, you are stuck with it. If your friends are taking a cab, you have to ride and meet them, or leave the bicycle behind and hope you can come back for it later. With a bike share, that flexibility is restored. It can be substituted for any other mode without committing you for the rest of the day. Friends can spontaneously decide to cycle somewhere together. And theft is not a concern for the rider.

I would also recommend buffered two-way bike lanes, contraflow lanes, and, where feasible, separated bicycle paths that give riders an advantage over traffic. They could also use official recognition of the bicycle delivery operators, and ask them what type of infrastructure they need - priority bicycle parking? They could also support pedicab expansion and freight distribution management.

The waterfront path

Public Streets, Public Life

2010-11-05T16:00:00.000-04:00

I know everyone is sick of hearing about politics, including me, so I won't address it directly. But I do want to make some observations about general concepts of political engagement and public discourse as they relate to urban form.

A few things struck me in New York City... One was the frequency with which I encountered parks, plazas, and community gardens. You didn't have to intentionally go to a park, you just kind of wound up in one on your way somewhere. There is Central Park, of course, an enormous presence throughout upper Manhattan. But there are also delightful public spaces crammed into every available spot. Benches and landscaping invite passerby to linger for a few extra minutes, and friends meet on street corners and near subway stations.

Park benches and gardens line the Broadway median

A cyclist greets friends at Union Square

Moments of beauty in everyday life

They are even reclaiming parts of the roadway, using planters, paint, and attractive fences to create places to walk and sit. (I'll describe how this affects bicycling in another post.)

The sidewalks themselves are enormous compared to most other cities. And with good reason; there are thousands - millions? - of people using them all day and night. I can't even guess how many people I came face-to-face with in the day I spent walking around. There are social norms in place so that you limit your actual interaction with others to a manageable level, such as not quite making eye contact. But you can interact if you want to, especially with people you encounter regularly. No matter what, you realize that you are in a diverse community but still have much in common with its members.

This opportunity for interaction is largely lacking in Atlanta, and people are noticing. At a recent meeting, one person after another said, in their own ways, "We don't have a public life in the Atlanta region. We don't have public places to meet, to express ourselves to the community, to interact with people who aren't exactly like us, to create a society. Everything is gated, commercialized, privatized. There is no commons."

One of the facts I heard about NYC, while I was there at my conference, was that 80% of their public space is their streets. This includes the sidewalks and bikeways. So the way that they use that space is crucial for creating a society, a public realm. I would assume the figures are similar for Atlanta's public space, but ours in almost entirely used for motor vehicles. You can't interact from a car. Honking and shouting are not a basis for community. Even rolling the window down to talk to a neighbor feels somewhat divisive, as you strain your voice over the sound of the motor and continually glance behind you for approaching traffic. And although local streets make up most of the transportation network, the majority of car travel takes place on major roads and highways where no meaningful interaction is possible at all.

How does this affect our perception of society? Will we support different public policies as a result? Does it change our perception of our role in the political system? Does it limit our ability to get unbiased information about the world around us? And if it is changing our sense of community for the worse, what can we do about it? Will we have the strength to change the existing policies, and create a new social and political future?

The High Line: NYC created a new park on elevated train tracks several stories off the ground

New Amsterdam?

2010-11-02T15:08:00.001-04:00

There were several moments in New York City that made me wonder - had I been transported from New Amsterdam to old Amsterdam? Narrow, crooked streets were lined with narrow brick buildings, flower boxes bloomed from windows, and practical city bicycles were chained to every stationary object.

A stylish, mature woman in a camel blazer rode past, accompanied by the rhythmic creak of various worn bicycle parts.

Some blocks further on, a bicycle shop - the famous Adeline Adeline - offered Dutch-style city bikes from Batavus, Workcycles, Pashley, and Abici.

Bicycles in the Big Apple

2010-10-31T22:50:00.000-04:00

I spent Thursday through Saturday in New York City. Observations on the infrastructure and the people I saw cycling will come in the next few days... For now, let me just share a couple of the unusual bicycles I came across: a "Heavy Duti", a "Von Hulst" from the Netherlands, and a "Monocle".

Greetings

2010-10-27T19:32:00.000-04:00

A couple of times recently, people have seen me pulling out my camera as they approached. I felt that I should acknowledge them and the fact that I was photographing them, without actually causing them delays. So I yell something like, "I like your bike!" This seems to be the right thing to say, as I've gotten some great waves and "fingerbangs" in response.

He knew he was cool

Family of three - one in the front and one in the trailer

Mom was busy watching traffic, but the girl in back was watching me closely

Who's the Bad Guy?

2010-10-26T10:53:00.000-04:00

I just stumbled across a news article about a fatal bicycle-pedestrian crash on a trail in Dallas. A jogger, wearing earbuds, changed direction suddenly into the path of an oncoming bicycle. The impact knocked her to the ground and she sustained fatal head injuries. There was no mention of injuries to the bicycle rider or other details about the crash.

Going by the photos, the trail is a standard 12-foot path without any pavement markings. There is a pedestrian sidepath along some stretches. Local residents complain that the trail gets unbearably crowded at certain times of day.

Response to the incident has been a little bit rash. People identifying themselves as walkers, joggers, or bicyclists have been confronting each other at meetings and in the media. The trail managers have issued a long list of safety guidelines - such as 'stay to the right' and 'turn down volume on your headphones' - and are hosting safety classes. Many local leaders are calling for a 10 MPH speed limit for bicycles.

This gets to the heart of how we collectively understand bicycling and non-motorized facilities. First of all, imagine if someone hits and kills a pedestrian while driving their car on the road, with the pedestrian at fault. Would the speed limit on that road promptly be cut in half? Would all drivers be demonized? Not a bit. It would probably be ignored. If anything, they might put up warning signs or barricades for pedestrians. Not that I advocate restricting pedestrian access, but many of our traffic engineers do...

There was no information about the speed at which the bicycle was traveling with the crash occurred, so there are no grounds for saying that a speed limit would have prevented it. Even if you could enforce a speed limit. They have no laws governing bicycle or pedestrian operations on a trail, and thus no way to determine if someone is behaving unsafely - coming to close to other users, swerving/running into another user's path, or failing to control dogs or children. Did the jogger do something truly wrong by changing direction into the path of a bicyclist without looking? Should that action be illegal?

Although shared-use trails create a high potential for conflict between bicycle riders and people on foot, they are considered "safe" spaces where a single crash is unacceptable, even if you have to compromise convenience of use. On the street, we assume that crashes will happen and hesitate to impede vehicle flow to prevent them. Is this right?

Ultimately, the real fault here is the design of the trail. It has been way over capacity for years. If three feet is generally regarded as the safe passing distance at speed, how wide would the trail need to be to have two-way traffic with frequent passing? Bicycles need about 4 feet of operating width each, and pedestrians need 2.5 feet or more per person. Add children - in baby strollers and bike trailers - and you need even more space. And rollerbladers have a 9-foot operational width.

If the Katy Trail were a road, it probably would have been widened, or at least redesigned. But again, it was not held to the same standards as roads, leading to congestion and conflicts. Shooing cyclists off the path onto local streets isn't the answer either, unless your city has done a heck of a job making them bicycle-friendly. If the trail is popular, there is a reason for that. We shouldn't have to choose between unsafe trails and unpopular ones... So let's hope that America's trail engineers study this incident, and use it to create safer path designs with appropriate capacity for all their users.

From Gap to Bump

2010-10-24T21:37:00.000-04:00

A week or two ago, I wrote about a sinkhole on Spring Street. Now it looks like this...

Health Versus Health Care

2010-10-21T14:21:00.000-04:00

Riding a bicycle is good for your heart. I went to the doctor for an annual checkup the other day. Not to brag or anything, but my cholesterol levels are awesome. Super-good on everything. And I don't exactly have a healthy diet. I eat lots of veggies and whole grains, but I'm also a big fan of butter and bacon. I'd like to think that my daily physical activity, on the bicycle, is keeping me healthy.

I expect that most physicians would like to encourage their patients to be more active. All of the data I read shows Atlantans getting sick from heart disease and strokes and diabetes and other diseases that can be alleviated with exercise. So wouldn't it make sense for Emory Midtown medical center to promote cycling to their visitors?

Apparently not. Here is just part of the building that houses the physicians' group, hospital services, and other medical offices. I didn't see the fire code rating, but I would assume that several thousand people can occupy this building at any given time. Guess how many of them will find bicycle parking?

About five. There is one standard bicycle rack for the entire building. It's in a good location, visible from the front door and valet stand (for security) and closer to the entrance than the car garage. That's great. Now you just need about a hundred more of them.

I did get a little smile from the bikes that I found sharing the rack with me - a classic and well-maintained Centurion mixte in this lovely shade of copper, and a new steel-framed Raleigh with fenders and a Brooks saddle.

The Day the Streets Came to Life

2010-10-18T21:27:00.001-04:00

Atlanta Streets Alive 2. Let the photos speak for themselves.

Downtown Atlanta without cars

Fun for all ages

Attendance was diverse

Love that basket!

This girl must have made 10 laps around the event route

Some people rode with attitude

Some had style to spare

Flowers on the basket and a matching dress

Do not mess with this little girl, she has somewhere to go!

Visitors showed off their dog-walking skills

And their ability to carry friends

Traffic flowed quietly up and down Edgewood

There were a number of new and vintage folding bikes

Friends caught up with each other

Friends shared a laugh

Families had a good time too!

Kids could test their skills in the bike rodeo - braking, obstacle avoidance, and coaching

Like it says... Sopo was busting out the free repair clinic

One more day to try out bicycle culture in Atlanta

Parade

2010-10-17T23:06:00.001-04:00

The Little Five Points annual Halloween parade is an Atlanta institution. It is one of the few things I actually drag my lazy butt out to see consistently. We rode up early - uncostumed - to find a good spot to sit. The hill in front of the Bass Lofts provided good seating, good vantage of the parade route, and plenty of railings for bicycle parking. We were more than an hour early, but the pre-parade crowd was just as entertaining as the main event. Costumes, bicycles, the everyday weirdness of L5P, and the futile attempts by motorists to find parking or even find a path through the crowds and barricades.

Looking for a good spot

Bikes, floats, bands

Coordinated transportation and accessories

Trapped cars


I may have nightmares about this

The show begins

Atlanta Pride Excursion

2010-10-15T14:21:00.000-04:00

Better late than never... Last Sunday a friend and I ventured up to Piedmont Park to check out Pride. If you somehow aren't familiar, this is the major gay and lesbian celebration (plus advocacy) event of the year. Tens if not hundreds of thousands attend from all over the southeast and beyond. There is a huge, fabulous parade with floats and costumes, then revelry in the park... Booths, carnival food, music, karaoke, and lots of socializing.

Naturally, we went by bicycle to avoid traffic and parking issues. And because it's fun.

Lots of other people were on bikes too, at the park and coming and going in all directions.

Be Part of Atlanta Streets Alive - This Sunday

2010-10-14T10:48:00.006-04:00

Come out, come out for a bigger, better Streets Alive in downtown Atlanta! This ciclovia-style event will designate several miles of city streets for the exclusive use of people, rather than cars. The route will be open to any form of non-motorized movement - walking, running, bicycling, cartwheeling, skateboarding, and so on.

There will be some booths along the way, offering bicycle repairs or information about bike-share programs, and some food and entertainment. But most of the people who come will just be there to experience Atlanta without cars. It's hard to describe what that feels like - you just have to come and see for yourself. The pictures from the May event offer a hint.

If you think this is a great idea, get involved. Check out the volunteer calendar on the home page - there is an orientation session tonight and some sign-making sessions. You can also pick up some posters from the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign office and post them around work and your usual hangouts. There are also graphics that you can use on your blog, Facebook page, and email signature.

How Fast Can You Change?

2010-10-13T11:02:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share this video about New York City's innovations in the bicycle, pedestrian, and transit environment. As they point out, it took NYC only 3 years to build 200 miles of bicycle lanes and to reclaim significant pedestrian areas like Times Square. In that 3 years, they also increased the average life expectancy by more than a year.

Friends

2010-10-12T22:30:00.000-04:00

Mind the Gap

2010-10-09T21:23:00.001-04:00

The Atlanta bicycle rider encounters certain hazards in her travels. Shoddy pavement, broken glass and nails, and misaligned sewer grates are common, not to mention Atlanta's notorious steel plates which are "temporarily" placed over work in progress. "Temporarily" can apparently mean "for months".

After enough years of abuse, local cyclists start to find ways to outsmart the bumps and hazards. Sprung saddles are much more effective than the front shocks of your average mountain bike, and they don't slow you down or add much weight. Steel-framed bicycles are heavier, but they provide a combination of strength and flex that you just won't get from aluminum (or carbon fiber, of course); the result is a feeling of smoothness rather than jarring or rattling. And wider tires absorb shock right at the pavement, while being less likely to get stuck in a gap or to rupture on a hard bump. Contrary to popular opinion, wide tires are not particularly slower than skinny ones; they can actually be faster on rough pavement because they transmit less vibration (vertical movement) to the frame and rider.

Anyway, I've been taking note of some of the most egregious holes and gaps. Maybe someday the city will put together a "bike hazard posse", like former Mayor Franklin's "pothole posse"?

The turn from Centennial Olympic Drive onto Baker has a tire-eating grate.

A deep but smallish sinkhole opened up in W. Peachtree Street... It takes up half a lane and has been there for over a month!

A 3-inch gap on the Georgia Ave bicycle route. Be careful!

Garden-variety tire trap on Centennial Olympic Drive

Grant Street

2010-10-07T13:26:00.000-04:00

I'm afraid I've been too busy to write much for this blog this week. It's a shame, because I sure have lots of thoughts in my head! I still have the camera at the ready, though, and I hope some fun pictures will get me by for a little while... Here are a few scenes from near the Grant Park neighborhood, mostly on Grant Street.

Art in motion

A two-wheeled pedestrian - he ordered the kickscooter from Europe

Good traffic skills

A couple heads toward the Braves game

We Are Family

2010-10-05T16:02:00.000-04:00

I've been seeing more families and kids on bicycles lately. Specifically, families making a trip by bicycle, as opposed to riding around in the park or in front of their house. I hope these kids are learning that they can get around town safely and independently (with their parents' permission of course).

Father and son in East Atlanta

Like baby ducklings on wheels, following mom...

On the Town

2010-10-03T21:23:00.000-04:00

There's a good reason why people who ride bicycles have friends who ride bicycles - it's more fun to go out on the town that way! Everyone can ride together, but they are still independently mobile. You don't have to split up into cars or worry seriously about parking. And if dinner is particularly rich, you can just burn off the extra calories on the ride home.

On Friday night, we started off with part of our group heading east. We were getting together for Japanese food and drink with some friends we hadn't seen in a while. Our destination was Miso on Edgewood Avenue. The fun thing about doing anything along Edgewood is that you can watch the bicycle traffic using the popular bike lane there. As we were leaving, several groups of people whizzed past us in the dusk.

Soon we made our own twinkling entourage and headed over to FLUX in Castleberry Hill.

What a scene! Block after block of art, tucked into every little corner - shipping containers by the railroad, empty storefronts, and between buildings.

Tons of people were out having fun. Many of them had made the unfortunate choice of driving there, and were stuck in traffic. The bicycles ruled the night, however. I saw more bikes parked there than I've ever seen in one place in Atlanta. They were stashed in the bike valet parking, piled on railings, and clustered around signposts. I really enjoyed wandering around and seeing all of the classy vintage bicycles and shiny new city bikes, and the wide range of people who arrived on them.

There was even a bicycle-powered food cart.

Everyday Bicycle Dates

2010-10-01T12:06:00.000-04:00

The Beau and I have had many opportunities to ride around town together, lately. Cycling with someone creates an interesting conversation pattern, as you pause for a moment to negotiate traffic, or punctuate your thoughts with "oh, look at that". Serious points are made at traffic lights, one-word comments are tossed out as you catch up and then zoom past each other. Talk slows on steep hills and becomes intermittent on the path where we constantly ring bells and dodge dog leashes.

On Thursday, The Beau was making a trip over to A Capella Books, in Little Five Points, to pick up the newly-released, much-anticipated Southern Foodways Alliance cookbook. This was a perfect excuse to ride there together after work. We picked up the book and then wandered over to The Porter for a beer or two. We ran into several people we knew there, all cyclists. What I would call "avid" cyclists, people who put on special cycling clothes and go on organized rides and buy special bicycles just to use on those rides. There were clearly other people who had arrived there by bicycle as well - it's funny how you notice these things if you are aware of them - they guy in a button-down shirt and jeans with a reflective ankle strap on his right leg, the couple with a helmet resting on their table.

Anyway, we had a great time hanging out and socializing with folks. Afterwards, we made a stop into Sevananda for some groceries and headed off into the evening. On the way home, I discovered a gang of folks making temporary crosswalk and bike lane markings for FLUX 2010, a "one-night public art celebration in the streets and empty spaces of the Castleberry Hill Art District" that takes place tonight - October 1st.

Proof - More People are Cycling

2010-09-29T13:20:00.000-04:00

We won, we won!

OK, no, we didn't really win anything. But according to the latest figures from the League of American Bicyclists, Atlanta has increased its bicycle commuter share by 111%! From 2008 to 2009, ridership increased from 0.51% to 1.08%, more than doubling the presence of bicycle commuters on the road.

It's still a pretty small number, but it feels great to be out of the zeros... You can also think of it this way - on average, one cyclist will ride past for about every hundred cars that you see. That's enough to start making an impression on people, to make them think that cycling really is a legitimate way to get to work. And these are still 2009 numbers; based on my experience, I would guess that we have continued to increase mode share from 2009 to 2010.

There are some surprises, too. Portland, OR, and Minneapolis both saw a slight decrease in ridership, as did many other cities, including New York City. Atlanta's rate is slightly higher than the average for all 70 cities surveyed.

Atlanta is now ranked 22nd in the U.S. for bicycle commuting. The figures just refer to the City of Atlanta, not the metropolitan region. Data was taken from the American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Read the press release for more information about this data.

Groovy Bicycles in the Wild

2010-09-28T21:16:00.000-04:00

Have you lost your tall bike? This one has been parked at the same spot on Peachtree Street for weeks now.

This is one of the most customized bikes I have ever seen.

An Evening of Bicycles, Delights, and Good Causes

2010-09-25T23:02:00.000-04:00

The fundraiser for Atlanta Streets Alive was last night. It was amazing! There were highly-coveted silent auction items, largely bicycle themed. Tons of people turned out and a fair bit of money was raised. Some market vendors stayed open late, tempting us with delicious pastries and the famous Grindhouse Burgers. There was also a line of food trucks (some of Atlanta's first!) parked outside. I had Asian beef tacos with sesame salad. Bicycles were strewn everywhere.

There were bands, a DJ, and a group of drummers arranged around a dance floor where a woman was teaching dance steps to children. The event was at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, which is large enough to have multiple bands playing at once without interference. The fun continued outside, where a Capoeira team performed their moves in front of the bike valet area.

If you couldn't make it to the event, don't worry - just pop on over to their website to make a donation. And mark your calendar for the main event on October 17th!

How to Make Your City Bikeable

2010-09-24T13:21:00.001-04:00

I have just discovered that my bicycle planning hero, Jan Gehl, is the influence behind New York City's vast expansion of bicycle infrastructure. I first heard Mr. Gehl speak at a Rail~Volution conference in about 2006, and was instantly inspired.

He described how Copenhagen had changed, one street at a time, from a lifeless, car choked place to a vibrant city with thriving businesses, healthy and happy people, and some of the best bicycle infrastructure in the world. Of course, the Dutch like to say theirs is the best, but it's really too close to call. Copenhagen never did studies or official bicycle plans. They just added a bike lane on this major street and then another one, replaced a few parking spaces with some café seating, added medians, built plazas.

There's been some debate over the left-side bike lanes in New York. From the perspective of using the West Peachtree Street bicycle lane - and the constant dodging of MARTA and XPress buses that it entails - I am all in favor of finding some way to separate the two. In much of Europe, they construct bus stop islands and route the bike lane behind them. This is ideal, it seems, but probably more costly.

What do you suppose he would suggest for metro Atlanta?

For Atlanta, Car-Free Day Means Road Rage Day

2010-09-23T18:24:00.000-04:00

Maybe it's just because I'm sick. Maybe my clogged sinuses and incessant nose-blowing are clouding my perspective. But it seemed like everyone was being obnoxious yesterday, whether in a car, on a bicycle, or on foot.

The optimist in me wants to think that was due to International Car-Free Day. Perhaps there were so many bicycles and pedestrians on the roads that everyone became disoriented! I hope so. Otherwise how do you explain two cars honking from behind me? And the driver preparing to turn left onto a one-way street, who didn't see me walking in the crosswalk from the other direction and only stopped in time due to my loud screeching?

Then there was the young lady who suddenly swerved from a side street onto the sidewalk, nearly hitting me. Being ill, I was feeling particularly hostile, and yelled at her that riding on the sidewalk is illegal. She said she knew, but called Spring Street "dangerous". It's a street I ride on every day. Intimidating, yes, but lots of people ride on it, and it's not necessarily worse than any other street in Midtown. Riding on the sidewalk was probably putting her in more danger. If my head hadn't been so foggy, I could have told her these things, and emphasized that if she still wanted to get on the sidewalk then she should dismount and walk. But I just grumbled something, probably rude, and turned away. Ironically, I saw several other people riding on Spring Street with great aplomb, just moments before and after this incident.


Lousy picture, stylish bicycle - the girl in the purple shirt executed a flawless turn onto Fifth

No stationary bike at the gym for this guy!

This Friday, Support Atlanta Streets Alive!

2010-09-22T13:41:00.000-04:00

A very special event is taking place on Friday, September 24th - the "Evening at the Curb Market" fundraising event to support Atlanta Streets Alive. If you attended the May event and loved it, or if you were inspired by my post about it, or just think ciclovias are a good idea, then come join us on Friday! You can donate, bid on a groovy auction item, or volunteer.

More about the event, totally plagiarized from AtlantaStreetsAlive.com... Turn down your speaker volume before you click on the links, though.

In celebration of the upcoming Fall 2010 Atlanta Streets Alive! (mark your calendars: it’s happening Sunday, Oct 17th from 1-6pm!) the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, in partnership with City Councilman Kwanza Hall and the Atlanta Street Food Coalition will be hosting an evening of music, dance, drinks, food & shopping at the historic Sweet Auburn Curb Market on Friday, Sept 24th from 6:30-9:00pm.

You’ll be treated to a sneak preview of our fall event with performances from select ASA activities partners (dancing, hooping, martial arts & other surprises), live bluegrass, jazz & DJ, free drinks (beer/wine/etc), a wealth of dinner options from favorite Curb Market restaurants (open late to serve) and some of the city’s best street food vendors. We’ll also have ciclovia film & photography on display, as well as a silent auction benefiting the Oct 17th Atlanta Streets Alive! The event is free to attend, however donations are always welcome.

Come celebrate with us, show your support for the neighborhood, and learn more about one of the most exciting new projects happening within the city of Atlanta & the livable streets movement taking place across the US.

For more information, including participating market vendors, food trucks, auction items, and more, see http://www.atlantastreetsalive.com/curbmarketparty/.

Imagining the Future

2010-09-20T15:10:00.000-04:00

I attended a meeting a few weeks ago about the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail. Their consulting team - Perkins+Will and James Corner Field Operations (who designed New York City's High Line project) have been hard at work taking the BeltLine trail concept to completion for this segment.

It was exciting to see how the corridor could be transformed.

But there are still many very sticky situations to resolve, and some very big questions looming. It will be a major transportation facility - but what if the City of Atlanta sees it as a park and wants to close it at night? How do you design a "driveway" for bicyclists to get on the trail from nearby streets, while directing pedestrians down to the crosswalk and providing connections for wheelchair users? How wide does it need to be for unknown future volumes of bicycle and pedestrian traffic (and the associated dogs, strollers, trailers, etc.)?

At the moment, certain parts of the project look fairly dire, such as the northern terminus of this trail segment, which enters Monroe Drive about 100 feet north of Tenth Street. Until the entire three-way intersection can be reconstructed, it will be extremely difficult to get on or off the trail. There currently is no crosswalk across Monroe on the northern side of the intersection and no phase of the traffic signal which does not have vehicles moving through that leg of the intersection. Someone walking down the BeltLine to go to Park Tavern or Piedmont Park would have to walk past Tenth, cross Monroe, and cross Tenth, adding at least a minute of delay. Or they can make a run for it north of the intersection - since Kanuga Street, the next street to the north, is not signalized, it is legal to cross mid-block as long as you yield to vehicular traffic.

Bicycles are threatened with a forced dismount here. They would experience considerable delay and have no safe way to re-enter traffic flow on Monroe or Tenth. And of course, very few people would actually dismount and misconceptions about cycling would be reinforced... Adding a curb cut here, and everywhere, has the added challenge of how to prevent it from being mistaken as a continuing path by a blind pedestrian, who then wanders into the road. An important question, but not one that should bring such a major project into uselessness. Especially since ADA violations for blind pedestrians are rampant throughout the city, even on brand new sidewalks, with missing tactile strips at curb cuts, ramps that angle towards the center of the intersection rather than the crosswalk, and crosswalks that change direction without any detectable warning. For the BeltLine, we need some sort of "do not enter" cue. A mountable curb seems like the most obvious option - it would feel like a curb to someone holding a cane, but is only a few inches high and can be ridden over by a cyclist.

The temporary solution for pedestrians may be a new all-red phase at the traffic signal, presumably paired with a pedestrian scramble. But bicyclists cannot really proceed on a pedestrian signal, and would still have to travel on the sidewalk to get to it. The obvious answer to me is an advanced stop bar on southbound Monroe before the Park Tavern driveway (which should not be blocked by traffic anyway). This would create a traffic-free stretch of road that bicycles could enter during the all-red phase.

Now is the time to deal with these questions - while the designers are still drawing and the BeltLine is still a channel of dirt, gravel, and kudzu. Let's not wait for users to get frustrated, disillusioned, or injured. Let's give this transportation project, and its users, the same level of priority that we would give to a road project. No delays, no long detours, no missing intersections. A reason to travel by bicycle.

Bicycling is Contagious

2010-09-17T23:44:00.001-04:00

I was quite surprised to learn that two of my neighbors cycled to work today. They'd always been so skeptical of my habits. This comes on top of lots of other promising signs - people who used to ask if a store had free parking now point out that it's easy to bike there. Random folks ask how they can start getting around by bicycle. And I see more and more folks riding around in ordinary work and dress clothes.

You absolutely would not have seen this a year ago in Atlanta. Maybe the occasional rarity, but not every time you stepped outside. I have to wonder where their inspiration came from. Did they just feel like wearing nice clothes and riding a bike, out of the blue? Did they see something on TV or read a blog? Are their friends doing it? Whatever it is, it seems to be spreading rapidly. Could this be you?

Left and Right

2010-09-15T22:12:00.001-04:00

No, this isn't commentary on the recent primary elections. It's about those times when a bicyclist shouldn't stay to the right of the lane. For example, pass to the left of a car that is preparing to turn right. The fellow in the white shirt and shoulder bag is in a very bad place:

I've had a couple of terrifying moments recently, when I saw cyclists squeeze by on the right side of cars that were turning right. This guy tried to share a lane that was too narrow, putting himself and other road users in a risky situation. Two blocks later, he zipped by on the right of a car as it started to make a turn into a parking garage. No one expects to be passed on the right when they are in the right lane signalling a turn. That includes bike-on-bike situations too - I've had people squeeze past me on the right as I was turning. Scary!

On the other hand, I have also seen motorists try to make a right turn from the left lane rather than merging (safely) into or behind bicycle traffic in the right lane. This is neither safe, legal, nor practical. After all, there is more traffic behind the cyclist that will have to be dealt with.

There doesn't seem to be total agreement about right turns in a wide right lane or next to a bicycle lane. Many people see the bicycle lane being similar to a crosswalk or sidewalk, meaning that motorist turn across it after yielding to any traffic in that lane. I tend to prefer that drivers merge into the lane so I can pass them on the left, where I know they won't cross my path. This is especially true if it is a wide shared lane without bike lane markings. But I see many drivers get confused by the presence of a cyclist, swinging to the left of the lane so I have room to pass on the right - that just means I have to merge over further in order to pass on the left instead. What do others prefer?

Please drive and ride safely!

More Skirts

2010-09-14T13:44:00.000-04:00

I headed to work in one of my long skirts the other day.

I hadn't ridden in it before, but it worked just fine. It is an A-line cut with a slit on the front left side. This allowed my left knee to poke up out of the skirt while pedaling. But it was long enough that nothing was revealed... I did push the fabric further down between my legs in front, just to be modest.

The hem stayed neatly away from chains and spokes. But when I got to work, I discovered the very corner of the hem, next to the slit, had rubbed against the wheel and gotten a few smudges on it. They came out pretty easily in the bathroom, unlike the nasty grease stain I got on an escalator last year! That one has never come out; you can still faintly see it in the top photo.

To prevent any further incidents, I secured the errant bit of hem with a coordinated hair clip. This kept the fabric tucked neatly beside my left knee and unsoiled.

Gents

2010-09-12T23:00:00.000-04:00

Fair is fair...I have to point out some of the stylish guys I've seen lately. These are all around Tech Square, not because the guys are concentrated there, but just because I'm more likely to have my camera accessible there. Enjoy!


This guy has attitude to spare

Older men on bikes make me feel hopeful...

His shirt just happens to match his shiny blue fenders, right?

Trails Survey

2010-09-10T09:46:00.000-04:00

Please take this short online questionnaire about shared use paths and trails. With construction of the first "real" section of the BeltLine trail imminent, it is important to learn from the design of our existing paths and the experiences you have had on them. Thanks!

Skirtchasing

2010-09-09T15:42:00.000-04:00

I've been fielding a number of questions about riding in a skirt, so I thought I would provide a few tips.

In general, cycling in a skirt is no different from wearing anything else. Sure, if you're planning to ride more than 20 miles at one go, I would change into some cycling-specific clothes with padding and no oddly placed seams. But if you are going 5 or 10 miles around town, it's all about the same. It just seems unfamiliar.

Some outfits may give you trouble on a bike. But this is no different from finding that your new skirt bunches up when you walk down the hallway, or gets twisted, or tends to snag on furniture. The only thing that really doesn't work is a tightly-fitted pencil skirt, unless it has a major slit (preferably in the back) or a kick pleat. This black shirt is fairly straight, but the material stretches and there is a 4 inch slit in the back.

A-line skirts, flared skirts, and full skirts are great. I like skirts just above the knee, preferably with a built-in slip. This places silky smooth fabric against your skin for total comfort, and the maximum in coverage. But you still get good air circulation, which is really important in the summer! My cream skirt has a soft slip under a lightweight embroidered cotton fabric with a gentle drape.

I no longer wear the very short skirts that I could get away with 10 years ago! But if you do like short skirts, rest assured that the saddle will keep most things covered. If you are nervous about riding in a skirt at first, or you aren't sure how your shorter skirts will behave, you can always layer a slip, fitted shorts, or even bloomers (a split slip) underneath. I used to wear some fitted ballet shorts under my skirts. But I eventually realized that I had nothing to worry about - nothing above mid-thigh ever seems to show.

If you have a very long, full skirt, there is a chance that it could get caught in your brakes, chain, or wheel, which could cause a crash. A full chain case and skirt guard will prevent this, and may be a good investment if you wear long skirts a lot. If you just need a one-time solution, you can simply gather up part of the hem and secure it with a know, a rubber band, or a hair clip. I prefer clips because they look nice and don't damage fabrics. They can also secure gauzy fabrics that fly around too much.

Having a step through frame makes it more brainless to ride in a skirt, but it's entirely doable on a diamond frame. You just need to keep your knees together as you mount the bicycle, and to have enough fabric to go over the top tube when your feet are on the ground or extended. It's easy!

Go Girls

2010-09-07T21:56:00.000-04:00

The cooler weather has brought forth hordes of new riders - or at least folks that I haven't seen before - particularly women. Trust me, for each picture that turned out decently, there were at least five that I missed, or that didn't come out.

Seersucker Style!

2010-09-05T00:18:00.004-04:00

And a good time was had by all...

Atlanta's first "Seersucker Social" started at Woodruff Park at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Including me!

And Atlanta City Council member Kwanza Hall.

Indra, the organizer of the event, looked smashing in a straw hat, dreamy organza top, seersucker tap pants, and fishnet knee-highs. She was riding a custom city bike with her nickname on the chainguard!

We rode up Peachtree Center Ave., through the midst of the Dragon*Con crowd - they were staring at us as much as we were staring at them! Nearly everyone who saw the ride seemed delighted and intrigued.

The riders were pretty delighted, too.

There were a few families along. This little gal had great traffic skills and easily kept up with the group.

We headed up Peachtree Street, over to Piedmont Park, and then through Virginia-Highland.

Eventually I had to slip off and run some errands...the rest of the group proceeded over to Oakland Cemetery for a picnic (with a popsicle stop en route). Very cool!

Bicycle to the Braves

2010-09-03T17:11:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, we got some cheap tickets to an Atlanta Braves game. I'm not much of a spectator sports fan, but it's fun once in a while. I scope out the crowd while The Beau cheers and does all of the special chants and gestures.

The stadium isn't far from my house, which makes it very convenient cycling distance. I would generally recommend bicycling there for any fan... The car traffic gets really bad and parking is super expensive. MARTA is a good way to go, but their buses get stuck in traffic sometimes, too. Walking or cycling to the stadium from Georgia State station is probably the second best alternative, if you live far away. The advantage of bicycling is that you can zip past traffic in the nearby bike lanes, bypass all of the barricades around the stadium entrance, and park at the front door. It's about 5 minutes from downtown Atlanta and 15 or 20 minutes from Midtown.

However, we discovered a problem with parking at the front door. Yes, the racks are horrible "wheel-benders" that you can barely get a U-lock around. Yes, there are only about 20 parking spaces for a stadium that seats 50,000. But the worst part is that they block off the area around the bicycle racks for the Friday night fireworks show. So, you have to leave before the game is over or you're stuck there for the next 30 minutes. There is one small sign that tells you this, but it was nowhere near the rack where The Beau and I were parked. In fact, I think it was hidden behind a promotional booth. Fortunately, an understanding security guard let us grab our bikes moments before the fireworks display started. About a dozen other cyclists weren't so lucky.

If Atlanta ever wants to get serious about bicycle parking, this is a good place to start. It could make car traffic and parking less burdensome on local residents. And it would be good for redevelopment in the area. No one should have to park like this at a major public attraction.

Rush Hour

2010-09-02T16:41:00.002-04:00

Nice Clothes=Nice People

2010-08-29T22:19:00.000-04:00

I finally made it over to the consignment shop to expand my summer wardrobe. I found lots of breezy, pretty, sleeveless tops that I can wear on the bike without overheating. This is greatly preferable to a plain old tank top. The tank top scenario is perfectly functional and I can layer more respectable items over them at my destination. But I prefer to look fully respectable while I am on the bicycle. Drivers seem to treat me better, and I also just feel like I'm doing a better job of representing the cycling world.

Atlanta's Magic Disappearing Bike Lanes

2010-08-27T14:26:00.001-04:00

Getting bike lanes around here is like "two pedals forward, one pedal back". We've had on-street bicycle lanes removed on two street segments in the past couple of years, one replaced with sharrows and one replaced with a (much less safe or convenient) side path. Elsewhere, new lanes or sharrows have been added, but almost always with some sort of defect.

Exhibit 1 is the bicycle lanes on Fifth Street/Ferst Ave and on Ivan Allen Boulevard. Apparently, these lanes were marked with very low quality paint, that has completely worn off in the past year. Below is a photo of the lane on the Fifth Street bridge over I-75/85. You can see how worn the inner line is compared to the marking on the edge of the road, which is probably thermoplast. This section is actually in better shape than the blocks to the west, where you can't even tell that a bike lane ever existed!

Ivan Allen Boulevard is in the same condition, even though it is newer. You can barely see the markings at all. It's there, I swear. You might have to look really closely. Up near the delivery truck, which is parked in the lane, you can see a "bike lane ends" sign.

And now, the fate of this lane gets even weirder. The state DOT just finished reconstructing part of this street, from the top of this hill over to Northside Drive. And this project actually involved continuing the bike lane through the intersection and across the bridge to the Georgia Dome. They had to know it was there, but maybe the absent markings confused them. Because the reconstructed section on this side of the nearest intersection has no bicycle lane. The lane starts again on the opposite side of the intersection.

This means that the bike lane and the right-hand general purpose lane merge unexpectedly, without any signs or markings. This could create a really dangerous situation, since there is now warning and no way to determine who has the right of way. Sure enough, while I was stopped there taking pictures, a cyclist came along in the bike lane and an SUV approached in the right-hand lane. The cyclist (circled in the photo, and partly obscured by an aggressive crape myrtle tree) was only a few feet ahead of the car when they reached the point where the lanes merged. The car gave way to the cyclist (which was correct relative to their positions), but also swerved slightly into the left lane. Fortunately, there were no other cars nearby. The car then slowed down, merged behind the bicycle, and made a right turn.

The DOT is aware of the mistake, but it will probably take a very long time and some taxpayer dollars to fix. Hopefully the intersection will be repaired before there are any serious incidents. In the meantime, the City of Atlanta needs to inspect and restripe any faded bike lane markings on their streets.

Midtown

2010-08-26T21:19:00.000-04:00

There are parts of Atlanta that have really come into their own. The city has changed dramatically since I moved here, almost 10 years ago. Midtown has been leading the way, with block after block of new mixed-use buildings, restaurants, plazas, and streetscapes. Tech Square, where I work, didn't even exist when I moved to Atlanta.

This new tower at Peachtree and Seventh actually has a couple of floors of parking above its first floor residents. I've heard criticism of their nouveau art nouveau flourishes, but at least they tried...

Some of the buildings are traditional brick and stone. I love the way they layer against each other.

Turning in the other direction, at Peachtree and 15th, the natural materials are contrasted with the sleek new face of the art museum and nearby towers of aluminum and glass.

Sweet Relief

2010-08-25T21:24:00.000-04:00

This city is finally starting to cool off a bit. I think today was the first day that it stayed below 90 degrees, and the lows are actually dipping into the 60s again. To me, it feels like the first spring thaw used to feel when I lived up north, like I have barely survived nature's brutality and can start to enjoy being outdoors again.

I have been coping with the heat as best I could, through popsicles and iced coffee, and low-exertion bicycle route choices (lots of shade and minimal hills). I've been using MARTA a lot, too. An effortless, air-conditioned train ride is awfully appealing, especially in the middle of the day when the sun is high and trains aren't too crowded.

Now the worst is over, and I'm really enjoying being on the streets again. So are a lot of other people. There were a couple of weeks where I hardly saw anyone riding a bicycle, at least relative to this past spring. But with reasonable weather, students back in school, and so forth, bikes are a noticeable portion of the traffic again. I'm glad to see the trend continuing.

I'm also really glad that I finally got a picture of this guy on his Dutch-style bicycle, who I've seen in the Castleberry Hill/Railroad District a few times before! It still isn't a good picture...the bike kind of looks like an Azor, with a built in rack and double top tube. Anyone know this bicycle?

Sunday Romp

2010-08-24T10:08:00.000-04:00

Ahhh, Sunday, the last day of fun before the work week starts again. It's a good day for shoving your chores aside and having fun. My friends were going to see a band at Vickery's in Glenwood Park on Sunday afternoon. The area is pretty bicycle friendly - a quiet neighborhood with traditional street layout at the junction of two bike lanes.We all met up by bicycle. The band never showed, but the setting was perfect for a beer and a game of bocce in the courtyard. We could see traffic along the Glenwood bike lane, a block away, and passing by the courtyard. There were lots of families towing a kid or two.

After a few games, we headed out of Glenwood Park, up Bill Kennedy Way and down Memorial to Carroll Street Café for dinner. Great food, but only bottled beer? Where are their priorities?

We wrapped up the evening at the new Ziba's Wine Bar on Boulevard (formerly Solstice, formerly Taqueria Nayarit and home of the best handmade tortillas in town). There wasn't much bicycle parking there, so I grabbed the one available railing, while the waiter invited Stephanie and Reeves to roll their bikes inside. There was a perfect spot by the door for them.

Need Your Nuts Tightened?

2010-08-22T14:26:00.001-04:00

Atlanta's newest bike shop, Loose Nuts, specializes in wheelbuilding. They also do repairs, carry parts and accessories, and sell new and used bicycles. I haven't used their wheelbuilding or repair services (yet) but I have bought parts there a few times now. I really like the shop. It's in an old commercial space in historic Grant Park, that feels very comfortable, like the total opposite of the big warehouse stores.

Their emphasis is clearly on quality over quantity. They only stock a few versions of each item, typically one well-made affordable version and one top quality version - for instance, Wald and Nitto handlebars. Tiny little Knog lights and high-powered Planet Bike lighting sets. No plastic, nothing flimsy. They clearly cater to the urban transportation cyclist who wants durable parts that will look good year after year. They also have items for the BMX and fixie crowds. I've bought tubes, a new chain, and cable housing there. The only complaint I have is that they accidentally crimped the brake cable housing when they cut it from the roll. Allegedly, this is the mark of a 'rookie' bicycle repair person.

They have a lovely matched set of Nottingham Raleighs (his and hers) for sale, in decent condition, along with a few other bikes on consignment. Then, they have several new Civia bicycles on the floor, and Leader frames hanging on the wall. They also build up custom rides. I would love to test ride one of the Civias some time - there is an adorable porteur design that looks sturdy and fun.

[Please note that I did not receive any sort of compensation for writing this review.]

Ride Between the Raindrops

2010-08-21T13:33:00.000-04:00

Mikael Colville-Anderson - over at Copenhagen Cycle Chic/Copenhagenize - has claimed that the average person who rides a bicycle for transportation will rarely encounter rain. After this week, I'm starting to believe him. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, I narrowly missed rainstorms on my evening commute. On Friday, I actually left work just as the sprinkles were subsiding, had a dry and pleasant ride, and felt the raindrops start to fall again within a block from home.

I don't object to riding in the rain. I have the gear I need to stay dry where it matters. Being out in the rain can be refreshing, and I certainly don't melt. Anyone who knows me will tell you that there isn't an ounce of sugar in my ingredient list. I do avoid riding when lightning is present.

I'm really, really glad that it is raining regularly. The past month had been hot and dry, and my garden was struggling. But it is inconvenient to ride in the rain - covering everything up and trying to keep my camera dry! I like the current pattern, in which it rains every day but stops when I need to go somewhere.

Addendum to Society, Image, and Change

2010-08-19T12:54:00.000-04:00

In yesterday's post, I failed to mention the most outrageous anti-bicycle sentiment of all - the Colorado gubernatorial candidate who claims that bike share programs are an international conspiracy to deprive Americans of their "personal freedoms"! At least this guy's wackiness is obvious to the average American.

I also came across a thought-provoking post on Bikehugger, asking if there are fundamental differences between the U.S. and countries with better bicycling policies, like Denmark and the Netherlands. I would say that yes, there are fundamental differences. But that they don't stop us from adopting bicycling, they just mean that we will go about it differently.

Bikehugger also captures a perfect example of the "how dare you interfere with my reckless driving privilege?" attitude. This really supports my belief that motorist anger toward bicycles actually stems from fears about their own ability to share the road.

Craziness abounds, but here in Atlanta we're doing just fine.

Society, Image, and Change

2010-08-18T22:31:00.000-04:00

Transportation becomes a public forum for society. Social norms, technology, interpersonal interaction take place in that public space reserved for travel (and very little else these days). And so this is where conflicts, misconduct, and systemic change (or systemic failure) first become visible. At least, that's my theory.

Recent media coverage on bicycling - particularly about sharing the road - indicates a civilization in flux. While bicycles have been around slightly longer than cars, and while this debate has bubbled on for decades, it seems to take on a new urgency. Motorists act like they are being threatened. Governments waiver between restricting the rights of pedestrians and cyclists, and investing in new bicycle-friendly, walkable infrastructure. Bicycle riders respond with everything from Critical Mass-style protest rides to Cycle Chic parties.

I started thinking about this after reading some recent articles from the Charlotte Observer. They started with an article explaining traffic laws and talking about conflicts between cars and bicycles. This item was actually in response to an earlier feature in the Charlotte Creative Loafing, which combined the worst of fear-mongering journalism with rampant misuse of statistics and motorist entitlement. If you click through to the article, please don't believe any of it! Anyway, these articles generated intense debate among the 'traveling public' and the discussion became so acrimonious that the newspaper had to disable, and even delete, the comments section. The debate raged on through another article and an editorial.

Is this representative of Charlotte's citizenry? Is it even representative of the newspaper's viewpoint, or just a single reporter? Probably not. It's just another part of the public discourse about social norms. And to me, it sounds very self-conscious. I think people know that they sometimes drive with distractions, after drinking too much, or that they take risks behind the wheel. We comfort ourselves with the (erroneous) belief that airbags, seatbelts, and anti-lock brakes will prevent something terrible from happening as a result. Acknowledging the legitimacy of bicycle traffic means taking responsibility for one's actions on the road, and giving up all of the excuses that people use to justify reckless driving.

I do not think that confrontation is the antidote to the situation. I believe the best response is to continue portraying the "citizen cyclist", the ordinary person on a bike, who could be your neighbor, your friend, your future spouse. The Charlotte Observer published this cute human interest piece a few days later, although it still caught the end of the rules-of-the-road firestorm. In addition, the Elle Magazine website did an entire bicycle feature in their street chic section, and a group of women in Seattle got inspired by Atlanta's Heels on Wheels events!

Across the pond, the Guardian (London) has been following debates over bicycle lanes, traffic laws, and some high-profile collisions. The article that caught my attention the most, however, was this one about one woman's strategy for dealing with sexist remarks while she bikes through the city. (You can link to their other cycling articles along the right side of the page).

Bike Racks are for Bicycles

2010-08-16T15:46:00.000-04:00

My office got an email from Georgia Tech facilities management the other day, warning that all motorcycles, mopeds, and other motorized vehicles would be aggressively ticketed for parking on the sidewalk or at a bicycle rack. I haven't had any issues at my building, but I've seen lots of problems elsewhere. A few misplaced scooters, and the bicycle parking can become completely inaccessible. I hope sufficient parking for motorcycles and scooters will be provided around campus - they are not lower in emissions in cars, but they are more fuel-efficient and much nicer to share the road with than a big SUV! But I'm also glad that parking regulations are being enforced and bicycle parking is protected from encroachment.

Parking violation

Bikes and Banh Mi

2010-08-14T23:55:00.000-04:00

The Beau and I have continued exploring the Buford Highway area on two wheels, and continue to be amazed at how easy it is to reach certain sections of the corridor that way. Some of the most delicious sections, I might add!

We begin by riding MARTA to the Doraville station. That puts us out onto New Peachtree Road, a fairly quiet road of either four lanes or two sharing-width lanes. It's far better to be here by bicycle than on foot, because sidewalks are pretty intermittent.

Our first stop this time was legendary banh mi house, Quoc Huong. (Technically, some of those vowels are supposed to have accents over them, but I'm not sure how well they would render over the internet in ASCII code...use your imagination.) The sandwiches were absolutely scrumptious and ridiculously cheap. Like $2.00 for a 10-inch baguette filled with paté and vegetables. They had all the other Vietnamese specialties, too - pho and bun and com and delicate spring rolls. Yum! Their address is on Buford Highway, but you can enter the parking lot right off of New Peachtree.

Fortified, we continued on to the Buford Highway Farmers Market, whose parking lot is also accessible just a few feet from New Peachtree Road. I didn't go totally crazy there, but I sure did stock up. Everything from Russian rye crackers to fresh mackerel to five pounds of whole wheat bread flour. Asian noodles. Organic tofu. Fresh-baked bread. And popsicle molds for making summer treats. They have a great little kitchen supply section. I almost bought a tortilla press. I was pretty good about sticking to my shopping list, but Blue Belle was loaded to the brim nonetheless.

I would have stepped back further to take the picture, but I could barely hold the bike up; there was no way to prop her against anything. I was lucky I had gotten a parking spot at the end of the bike rack, where I had some room to maneuver. The short ride back to the MARTA station took lots of concentration. Blue Belle felt like she was gyrating or something! This is definitely the maximum amount of weight I can carry over the rear wheel - maybe forty pounds. The Beau exercised more restraint and had a very manageable load.

Chatty Thursday

2010-08-13T22:26:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was unusually friendly for some reason. There was the sporty cyclist who made conversation at the red light, before sprinting away on the green. And then there were at least 3 pedestrians who said 'hi' or 'hey baby' or something as I passed them. I even had a few greetings from nearby motorists. Very unusual!

Maybe the Raleigh, which I've been riding most of the week, seems friendlier than other bicycles. I don't have time to respond to any of this, unless I'm at a light, but I kind of like it. It emphasizes the different effect that bicycles have on the social environment relative to cars. Cars are kind of impersonal. If you stand next to a road full of cars, you don't get the sense that any other people are nearby, even though they are just a few feet away. But if you stand next to a busy bicycle lane or path, you see lots of people and it feels very connected even if you don't actually interact in any way.

Fifth Street Scene

2010-08-12T22:24:00.001-04:00

After all the traveling, it's good to be back in the heart of the growing bicycle scene in Atlanta. Here's a few of the people riding down Fifth St. recently.

Fun in Atlanta - New Blogs and a Seersucker Social

2010-08-11T17:18:00.000-04:00

If you haven't heard, we have a few new bloggers amongst us. T at Just Like Riding a Bike is chronicling her urban explorations by bicycle. And the new Atlanta Street Fashion blog will include regular cycle chic entries - the very first entry was already featured on Copenhagen Cycle Chic!

Finally, a local gal has set in motion Atlanta's first "Seersucker Social". This is a stylish summer picnic and bicycle ride, more appropriate for a Southern city, culturally and climatically, than a 'tweed ride'. In fact, you can read about the summer socials that used to be held in Atlanta's parks in the 1890's and the early part of the 20th century, typically attended by bicycle. Or by 'wheel' as they used to say. If you are on Facebook, you should be able to view the invitation here. The Seersucker Social will take place on September 4th from 4 pm to 11 pm, at the northern end of Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta.

Stupid Cars

2010-08-10T21:43:00.000-04:00

First of all, I apologize for the spotty postings recently. There was vacation, then I was sick for a couple of days...

Speaking of vacation, this recent trip was really the final straw for me regarding car travel. 10 hours in the car (plus stops) is just too much for a rational human being. Your back aches, your butt is going numb, you are bored out of your skull, and there is really nothing you can do about it. Maybe you can nap a little or play some road games, but you can't get up and walk around or do anything fun. If you're like me, reading or watching movies in the car makes you queasy. Even with two people along, you still have to do a lot of driving. Highway driving. Which is very stressful, so you spend hours suspended in a state of anxious immobility.

I'm a pretty good long distance driver. I have lived in the country before, where everything was an hour away. And I've had times in my life when I was making long trips almost every week, for various reasons. I still appreciate aimless drives through the countryside.

But in this case, driving was a nightmare. And expensive. And I realized there are better options. I have sworn never to do it again. Any time I can, I will take the train as far as I can, then rent a car or catch a bus. On the train, you can walk around, relax, read, or wander down to the dining car for a snack and a beer. That's traveling in style... If there's no train, maybe I will fly. Worst case, I'll break the driving up into two days.

To add injury and insult to, um, something, my water pump failed in "east boondocks North Carolina". We spent 5 hours and a couple hundred dollars getting it towed to Rocky Mount and repaired. The repair shop was just a few blocks from downtown Rocky Mount, so we had a little time to walk around and explore. There, we discovered a grand, historic train station that served 9 or 10 trains a day! It was right on the New York-Florida line. Just as we walked up, a couple of guys were bicycling away from the station. And a train to Florida was coming through in 30 minutes. Boy was it tempting to hop on board! But no, instead we had to head back to the garage, get the car, and drive until 5 in the morning.

Field Trip: Outer Banks

2010-08-06T14:05:00.002-04:00

I've been on the road again. The Beau and I went to Nag's Head, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. If you've never been, it's a beautiful location. The islands run for miles and miles, nearly continuously, off the North Carolina coast. They are less than a mile wide in most places. The beach itself was delightful, although the surf was kind of rough and filled with small, harmless jellyfish. We stayed in a lovely beach house with the rest of The Beau's family.

The house fronted on a two-lane road with rideable shoulders and a shared-use path along one side. This road saw quite a few bicyclists on the road and the path. Joggers and pedestrians also used the path, and there was no sidewalk on the other side. I was glad to see how popular the path was, but it needed to be a lot wider to accommodate all of those uses. There were also some visibility issues where it crossed driveways.

One block away was the 'big road', a four-lane highway featuring fast traffic, sprawling commercial developments with acres of surface parking, and an abundance of turn lanes and driveway cuts. There were no bicycle facilities. As you might expect, the big road was cars, cars, cars, and an occasional pedestrian.

Since the islands are long and narrow, north-south traffic is heavy. And since zoning codes obviously have not been written to create a walkable beach community, destinations are far apart and reached through parking lots. Transportation planning has followed the same bigger-is-better mindset you find everywhere else. There are a couple of signed bicycle routes, but very little has been implemented on the ground. The result is sprawl, traffic, and the depressing scenery of endless pavement.

When I go on vacation, I want to go someplace scenic. It's not enough to have a nice beach. When you walk off the beach and head for the restaurant or grocery store, you shouldn't immediately be surrounded by all the stuff you were trying to escape. The island should protect the things that draw people there. Scenery. Parks and preserves. Relaxation. The unique character of a beach community. The special feeling that you can wander around all day needing nothing but a beach bag and a pair of sunglasses.

In contrast, I remembered a trip I took last year to Bald Head Island. BHI is also in the Outer Banks, but further south - almost to the South Carolina border. There is no bridge to BHI, you have to take a ferry. Private cars are totally prohibited on the island. There are some maintenance trucks, emergency vehicles, and a couple of shuttles. All other travel is by foot, bicycle, or golf cart. It's just lovely. The roads are very narrow - maybe 20 feet wide for two-way traffic and a pair 10 or 12 foot one-way lanes to serve as the main road. Trees and flowers grow right up next to the pavement, providing shade and beauty. You ride along on your beach cruiser, listening to the birds chirp and waving a golf cart by every now and then. That's my idea of a vacation spot!

This Is Getting Out Of Control

2010-07-31T22:55:00.000-04:00

Lump charcoal. The big bag. I ran out, the hardware store had them, I was there. With Blue Belle. I thought the bag would fit in a basket, but instead I had to strap it onto the top...

Oh You Sweet Thing

2010-07-30T16:07:00.001-04:00

Enough of these dry subjects like parking and infrastructure for now. While these thoughts were running through my head, I personally was enjoying a few rain-free days on my Raleigh. Now, I adore Blue Belle and respect her comfort, reliability, and ability to carry several weeks worth of groceries. But it's the Raleigh that makes me swoon.

It's really not fancy, or practical in bad weather, or even in the greatest condition. But it is a pleasure to ride. The responsiveness of the old internal gear hub. The sturdy frame that smooths out bumps and maneuvers nimbly through the streets. The perfectly sized handlebars. I just love it. It makes me feel stately and graceful, too.

Parking. Will We Have Enough?

2010-07-30T02:09:00.000-04:00

Final thoughts on bicycle parking... One way I judge the increase in bicycle ridership is by the number of bikes I see parked. Lately, it seems like every rack I see is full (not to mention trees, signposts, and the like). At Georgia Tech, school is out for the summer but nearly every spot is taken at the racks, and only a few spaces are left on the street. What will happen when classes start up in the fall?

I've parked at the rack at Peachtree Center a number of times in the past, and I was the only one there. These days, it's nearly full with roadsters and smart commuter bikes (and the occasional scooter). Same with the secure racks inside various MARTA stations.

And that's where we are now, in the dog days of summer, with half the city seemingly on vacation. What happens if more and more people start riding? Is there an impending bicycle parking crisis in the future?

Parking - It's All About Location

2010-07-28T16:51:00.000-04:00

One benefit of cycling is that you can park almost anywhere. You don't have to pay for it, you don't have to circle the block waiting for a spot to open, and you don't have to waste valuable time wandering around in some creepy parking garage.

Unfortunately, many businesses are unaware that their customers and employees may be arriving by bicycle and expecting to find convenient parking close to the front door. Some places can't even tell you where the closest parking is located. In other cases, they direct you to a poorly-designed rack (see yesterday) buried inside a parking garage at least a block away. This defeats the purpose.

It can also discourage ridership overall. I know one woman whose commute, in the city of Decatur, is less than a mile. She is very interested in bicycle commuting, and makes other trips by bike. However, the closest designated bicycle parking is over two blocks away from her office, but she has a free parking space in a garage directly under her office building. She has a hard time justifying the change - the bicycle trip itself wouldn't add any noticeable time to her commute, but it is almost twice as long with the time spent walking back from the bike rack. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Georgia State University is notorious for this. When I went there for an admission interview, some years ago now, I was nearly late because I couldn't find the bike parking. [Side note - the only place I've ever seen signs directing you to bike parking in Atlanta is at Lindbergh Station.] Of course, GSU's parking was in this garage under the library. At that time, there were about 6 racks for the entire main campus, and two others near the Aderhold/Rialto area. I have to say that a couple of champions there have managed to get quite a bit more parking installed, but there is still room for improvement.

In Little Five Points, cyclists favor this railing in the center of Findley Plaza to the bike racks a block away in either direction.

A parking rack in front of Java Monkey, also in Decatur, is filled to overflowing.

Another shot from my trip to Buckhead. This development was on a bike lane and housed several desirable restaurants, including a Flying Biscuit location. There was a large plaza that clearly tried to evoke some walkable European heritage. An enormous driveway, valet service, a lofty arcade, benches and statues. But no apparent bicycle racks. After several inquiries, we wound up at a bad rack in the garage. (Look closely in the second picture. I swear it's back there!) You couldn't even ride to it - you had to dodge the entry gate cross into the exit lane (against traffic flow), and hoist your bike up a steep curb. There is no pedestrian entry, so you can't walk your bike in from the plaza. Really, would it kill them to put some racks somewhere out in the vast plaza area? Are parked cars somehow more scenic than a row of bicycles?

I'll wrap up with a good example from Trees Atlanta. I disagree with some of their other practices, but they got the parking right at their headquarters. This rack neatly handled a passel of fully-equipped bikes, and there were several more racks a few feet away. And, equally importantly, they were installed far enough from the wall, allowing the bicycle frames to be centered on the rack without turning the front wheel.

Parking - Nice Rack

2010-07-27T15:04:00.000-04:00

Bicycle rack designs are awfully frustrating. The world is awash in racks that are nearly impossible to actually lock your bike to. I don't even understand why these things are manufactured. Some will hold your front wheel, but you can't get your frame close enough to use your theft-resistant U-lock, while leaving most of the bicycle unsupported so it falls over and gets damaged... Some racks are okay for a skinny racing-style bicycle but won't fit a commuter bicycle with racks, baskets, and fenders. Other racks have artistic features that make them hard to use.

Sevananda Natural Food Store recently spent money to have their parking lot repaved, but failed to upgrade their rusty old bike rack. This large rack really only provides two parking spaces, because the center section does not provide slots wide enough to slide a bicycle into, plus the crossbars are high enough to hit the bottom of your frame or fender. I'm not even positive that it is a rack, and not some sort of repurposed barrier. Guess I should have gone to the members' meeting to discuss priorities...

The Buford Highway Farmers' Market suffers the same problem. You can see the difficulties cyclists had using it.

Georgia Tech invested in these double-T shaped racks. According to a diagram on the rack, you are supposed to hang your frame from it where the top tube meets the seat tube. But many of us have sloped or curved top tubes that don't fit over these things. Plus, a fully-equipped bicycle can be too heavy to lift that high, or put too much stress on that part of the frame. People use them creatively instead.

The best rack is always a staple rack, the ones that look like an upside-down U. It supports the frame and provides a variety of locking points, even if someone is parked on the other side. When you need more parking, you just install more of them. You can scatter them throughout a shopping district or provide long rows of them at major destinations. The renovated (and totally awesome!) pool at Piedmont Park got it right. They're going to need it - this array of racks was already half full when I visited the other day, and many people don't even know that the pool has reopened.

Parking - The Final Challenge

2010-07-25T22:49:00.000-04:00

The bicycle infrastructure in Atlanta is seriously inadequate, but at least we know how we could fix it. There are good and bad examples from around the world. Not so with bicycle parking. Even cities that do a great job with bicycle traffic have very little on-street bike parking and never enough at high-demand sites, like train stations. Some cities are experimenting with giant bicycle parking decks, on barges, with valet service, or with automated racks that lift bicycles up onto tightly-fitted storage shelves.

Even with the small but growing amount of bicycling that we have now, it is clear that parking will be great challenge for Atlanta. Nearly every rack is full these days. City parking requirements for parking at new buildings are not enforced, and many of the racks that exist are poorly designed and in inconvenient or unsafe locations. What will we do if more and more people start riding?

Sightings

2010-07-24T21:24:00.000-04:00

Who's riding around Atlanta these days?

Lock It Up

2010-07-22T16:31:00.000-04:00

One of my friends had her bike stolen this week. It was locked up with a cable lock at a parking garage bicycle rack. I hate bike racks in parking garages, and this is one of the reasons, that they seem particularly prone to crime. Here's a rack I encountered recently. And this photo was taken from only halfway to the entrance of the garage - from outside you could hardly see it at all.

Protect yourself. Always use a U-lock. If you need a cable lock to secure your quick-release parts or because a U-lock won't fit around the thing you're locking to, use it with a U-lock. I have a cable with no lock, just loops at the ends that I can secure with the U-lock that goes through my frame.

You can also double or triple up on your cable locks - it will only slow a thief down by a little bit, but will make your bike less attractive than the single-locked bicycle next to yours. The really thick chain locks, like they use in Amsterdam, are effective too. And parking in a visible location can discourage, but not completely prevent, someone from cutting your lock.

And if you see an older black Specialized HardRock, size small, with pink logos and a huge front basket, let me know!

Flexibility

2010-07-21T13:54:00.000-04:00

Cars are expensive and hard to repair. When something goes wrong with the car of my co-worker, who lives way out in Woodstock, she has to call in to work. In these cases, she can miss half a day of work while trying to get it towed and find some other way to the office.

Bicycle repairs are inexpensive and can often be performed at home. You don't have to have your bicycle towed to the shop. Best of all, bicycles are cheap and easy to store - get a few! If one bicycle breaks down - or if you wake up to discover a flat tire - you can just take the other one. At worst, maybe you take the bus or the train.

I was really looking forward to riding the Raleigh on Tuesday. I even picked out a cute outfit that would coordinate with its metallic brown paint. But the front tire was flat... No problem, I just grabbed Blue Belle and headed off to vote in the Georgia primaries. Note that she is still wearing the bow that came on one of my birthday presents last week!

Diamonds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend

2010-07-19T15:05:00.000-04:00

If you visit here regularly, you know that I love my step-through frame bicycles. They are so easy to hop on and off, in almost any type of skirt or dress. You can just swing your leg through the frame as you approach a driveway, tapping the brakes so that just as you leave the road, your feet are on the ground and the bike is stopped beside you. Graceful. Elegant. Exactly what you want in a city or city-country bicycle where you make shorter trips, wear fashionable outfits, and dismount fairly often.

However, these frames are not suited for all purposes. For off-road riding or carrying lots of gear on a long trip - as in touring or bicycle camping - it can be more practical to use a frame where the top tube is closer to horizontal. This is properly referred to as a diamond frame. The name references the diamond-ish shape created by the forward (headtube to seatpost) and rear (seatpost to rear hub) triangles of the frame itself. See Velouria's guide to classic bicycle frames if you want a visual. This design is remarkably stable. It can even make it easier to carry over obstacles, if you're going on that sort of trip. And for long inter-city rides, you are interested in comfort and efficiency of effort, and less interested in ease of dismounting.

Now there are plenty of touring bikes with step-through frames. Nearly every European manufacturer offers some touring and trekking bikes, and they almost all come in "men's" and "women's" versions. I have no idea how this affects their handling. Nonetheless, when I was looking to get a spare bicycle to leave at The Beau's house, I went for a diamond frame. It seemed to make sense to add some variation to my collection of bicycles. However, I have not used it for touring yet, nor finished setting it up. I don't even have a rack on it yet, which has led to some severe pouting as I try to stuff everything into my purse or hang it on the handlebars.

I also keep showing up in a skirt, and I have had to get the hang of mounting and dismounting without being arrested for indecent exposure. After several tries, I think I have the hang of it. As I read somewhere (bikeskirt, perhaps?), the trick is to kind of kick yourself in the butt while sliding your knee modestly over the top tube. Tilting the bicycle over a bit helps too. And riding is riding...I was in my corduroy pencil skirt with the deep front slit last weekend, one of my most difficult skirts. Hard to even sit in a chair without showing too much. It performed surprisingly well. My stretchy black skirt was a breeze this weekend. New tricks!

Bicycles per Minute

2010-07-17T18:39:00.000-04:00

There is definitely change afoot when you start counting the number of bicyclists you see per minute, rather than per day. Here is a fraction of the people I saw riding along Peachtree Street during Friday rush hour.

Bicycles, Beer, and Politicians

2010-07-16T17:07:00.000-04:00

As previously reported, yesterday was the date of the "Open House with Elected Officials" event, sponsored by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition. Some of us were a bit grumpy about trekking all the way up to Buckhead for the event. Using MARTA, it was very easy to reach by bicycle, even at rush hour. Not so much for the folks who drove there - one woman spent over an hour and a half to drive about 6 miles.

The Beau and I took our bikes on the train to Buckhead station. From the station, we only had to ride a 1/4 mile or so along Peachtree in a decent bicycle lane. Car traffic was nearly at a standstill, and we delighted in passing the long line of stopped cars. The only issue was from cars trying to enter the road from cross-streets and driveways, who tended to pull into the bike lane while waiting for a break in traffic. I was glad the Raleigh had a loud bell! The cyclist ahead of me was not so lucky; he simply had to stop and wait several times.

We arrived at the restaurant, which was in a new mixed-use development. They had made some good attempts at pedestrian-friendly urban design, but the bicycle parking was hard to find. I saw a number of curbside bicycle racks along Peachtree Street, but none near this particular building.

The event was attended by cyclists of all sort, from beginning to fervent. Most of the officials who attended were from the north and east of Atlanta, so maybe the location made sense - except that they all drove, and spent a long time in traffic anyway. Oh, well.

Mayor Jere Wood of Roswell talked about the infrastructure they have built, including some riverside paths and the region's first bike box, and Fred Boykin of the Decatur city commission discussed their bicycle plan and gave an inspiring commentary on the impact it could have on the health of city residents. Dianne Fries of Sandy Springs and Dan Thompson from Dunwoody also spoke briefly. Fulton County Commission Chairman Rob Pitts arrived at the beginning of the event, but had to leave before the main program started. There were also some staffers representing Atlanta city council members. I had personally emailed my city council representative, Cleta Winslow, but did not receive a response nor did she attend the event.

Hopefully this is just one more small step in creating a bicycle-friendly Atlanta region. I would love to be able to travel out to Roswell or Sandy Springs by bicycle. I would probably go there a lot more often! I always hate the idea of having to go home, fire up the car, sit in traffic, and then lugging the car around with me from parking lot to parking lot with each stop I make. I would much rather cruise out to nearby towns by train and bicycle whenever I want. I'm sure there are fantastic restaurants and stores I need to try.

Buckhead itself is becoming quite accessible. After the event was over, I rode home with The Beau and Rebecca Serna, our fearless leader of bicycle advocacy and creator of this event. We had a spectacular sunset ride down Peachtree Street and through the heart of Atlanta. This four to six lane thoroughfare becomes quite calm after rush hour is over. You pass so many Atlanta landmarks, from historic churches to the Amtrak station and the Fox Theater. The 9 mile trip took me just under an hour, and the Raleigh performed admirably on the rolling hills. Regrettably, I forgot to get a picture of myself with the Raleigh...next time!

Don't Forget! Elected Officials Event 7/15

2010-07-15T12:10:00.000-04:00

Connect with your elected officials this Thursday!

Mayor Sam Massell and Amir Farokhi are excited to invite you to the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition's Open House for Elected Officials on Thursday, July 15, 2010 from 6:00 to 8:00pm. A brief program will start around 6:30pm. The event will be at Cantina Restaurant in Buckhead (3280 Peachtree Road).

This Open House is a terrific opportunity to learn about the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition’s work making metro Atlanta a safer place to bike, as well as what your neighbor governments are doing to make it easier and more pleasant to bicycle. Click here to view the event page and to RSVP.

ABC will provide the opportunity for you to be inspired and challenged by fellow elected officials.

Appetizers will be provided by Cantina, and it’s just two blocks from the Buckhead MARTA station (on a bicycle lane).