A pair of studies finds separate but related evidence that as more people are biking, more people are getting injured while biking. What to do about it is still under debate.
Michaeleen Doucleff reports: "Hospital admissions because of bike injuries more than doubled between 1998 and 2013, doctors reported Tuesday in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association. And the rise was the biggest with bikers ages 45 and over."
"Another study, published last month in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found a similar trend with bicycle deaths: While the death rate among child cyclists has plummeted in the past four decades, the mortality rate among cyclists ages 35 to 54 has tripled."
The article goes on to examine a pair of viewpoints about how to mitigate the public health risk presented by riding a bike. Dr. Benjamin Breyer, who led the study published in JAMA recommends helmets and bike lights. Jason Vargo, however, who studies urban planning at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and led the second study cited above, "says society also needs to change the definition of what a road is to implicitly include bikers."
FULL STORY: As more adults pedal, their biking injuries and deaths spike, too
Bike Helmets No Longer Required in Seattle After Research Reveals Enforcement Disparities
The data on bike helmets have changed. Laws are starting to change too.
Nation's Top Safety Board Recommends Protected Bike Lanes
The NTSB chair issued a stark warning on Nov. 5: "If we do not improve roadway infrastructure for bicyclists, bicyclists will die who otherwise would not," stated Robert Sumwalt in introducing their first report in 47 years devoted to bike safety.
Studies on Media Coverage of Bike and Pedestrian Crashes Reveal Bias
Road safety advocates, particularly those who promote walking and biking, have long understood the importance of language, such as using "crash" rather than "accident." Two new media studies shed more light on bias in media coverage of crashes.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
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Journal of the American Planning Association