To make North American cities more bicycle friendly, planners should look to Stockholm, Sweden and Freiburg, Germany -- two European cities were bikes and cars happily co-exist on the street.
"In every city there are thousands of closet cyclists, people who would love to ride their bikes but don't dare. They see cycling in the city as something for bike couriers, for the fiendishly fit, for neighbours with nerves of steel.
Our cities are just bursting with pedaling potential, and it's time to set it loose on the streets. The key lies in building the right kind of infrastructure. Cycling routes designed by cyclists for cyclists.
To make my case, I'll take you to two cities in Europe, to Stockholm - a northern city that has plenty of ups and downs, and cold; and to Freiburg - bordering on Germany's Black Forest mountains.
Quite literally, cycling is for everybody. The bike paths are not separate recreation routes that may or may not actually serve the needs of everyday commuters and shoppers. Instead, they follow every road, like a parallel sidewalk.
Many intersections have designated traffic lights for bikes, often changing before the cars are set loose, so as to allow for the intersection to clear in advance of letting the cars through."
FULL STORY: How bikes and cars co-exist
A New Bicycle Master Plan for Arlington County
Arlington County planning staff have worked on a new bicycle master plan for the past two years. The Arlington County Board will consider the new plan this week.
Checking in on Philadelphia's Promised Protected Bike Lanes
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kinney is discovering on the job that planning is much easier than delivering when it comes to protected bike lanes—as is the case in many cities around the country.
Londoners Taking to Bicycles in Record Numbers
The number of commuters taking to bicycle in the city have tripled since 2000, while commuting by car has been cut in half.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Trump Approves Futuristic Automated Texas-Mexico Cargo Corridor
The project could remove tens of thousands of commercial trucks from roadways.
Austin's First Single Stair Apartment Building is Officially Underway
Eliminating the requirement for two staircases in multi-story residential buildings lets developers use smaller lots and more flexible designs to create denser housing.
Atlanta Bus System Redesign Will Nearly Triple Access
MARTA's Next Gen Bus Network will retool over 100 bus routes, expand frequent service.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)