Bicycle Safety
Self-driving car companies have proposed equipping bikes, pedestrians, and even pets with the ability to communicate their positions wirelessly. But should autonomous cars really need the help?
Slate
A study examines whether and why bicyclists break traffic laws to shed light on how rational those laws really are.
The Washington Post
Five of the nine experienced cyclists who were mowed down by a pickup truck on a rural road in Kalamazoo on June 7 died. While most bike crashes occur on urban roads, there are hidden dangers in biking in uncongested rural areas.
The Huffington Post
In the United States, not a single bikeshare rider has died in an accident so far. A report from the Mineta Transportation Institute considers why bikeshare may be safer than conventional biking.
Vox
Sharrows and 3-foot passing laws are meant to make biking safer in streets in the absence of bike lanes. Bike activists in Iowa want to take safety a step further by requiring motorists to move to another lane, just as they would if passing a car.
Globe Gazette
Beijing has strayed so far from its roots as a bicycling city that it now claims the title of the world's largest auto market, while only 12 per cent of commuters use bicycles. City planners wants to make it popular again to reduce air pollution.
The New York Times
Blog post
This past week at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning conference, planning academics shared their research on planning for bicycles including bike sharing, bicycle education, and the use of cargo bicycles.
A June 16 vote by the San Francisco MTA to improve safety will allow taxis, along with bicycles and Muni buses, but not ride-hailing services to make turns onto the downtown's main thoroughfare, Market Street, has upset San Francisco-based Uber.
San Francisco Chronicle
The Safer Market Street project is one of a package of traffic safety projects underway in San Francisco to achieve a Vision Zero goal to eliminate traffic deaths by 2024.
SFGate
Many Trek bikes produced in the past 15 years could be subject to a recall, after three crashes resulted from an open quick release mechanism on the front wheel coming into contact with the disc brake.
New York Daily News
According to new research, London's congestion pricing program has improved traffic safety both in the cordoned city center and in the free adjacent areas. Although traffic is moving faster, fatalities have been reduced.
The Guardian
A new ordinance to be considered by Oklahoma City in January puts the onus to pass with three feet of space on bikers, rather than drivers. Critics argue that the low will further marginalize bikers on city streets.
Bike OKC
"From cycletracks to helmet laws, 2014 has been a big year for bikes," according to Next City before looking back at what made 2014 such a big year for bikers.
Next City
Answering the question of why more women in the United States don't bike, researchers find that infrastructure and design only explains some of the gender gap. Another obstacle for women: a higher share of chores and child-supporting car trips.
The Guardian Bike Blog
On September 16, California's newest bicycle law went into effect, the "Three Feet for Safety Act" law. However, most motorists are unaware of it. Maybe a new sign will help.
San Jose Mercury News
What's the best street design to keep bicyclists safely out of the door zone? A buffered bike lane beats a conventional bike lane or "wide curb lane" according to a recent study published in TRB, based on observations in Chicago and Cambridge, Mass.
Chi.Streetsblog
Alan Davies writes from Down Under about a recent controversy in the Australian media about the “menace” of cycling in the urban core—where some are tired of the bicycle lobby's advancements of its cause.
Crikey - The Urbanist
Following the lead of New York City and San Francisco, Houston is the latest large American city to launch a program aimed at eliminating bike fatalities. The program includes funding for the creation of a Bicycle Master Plan.
Office of Mayor Annise Parker
A new bill in Congress would create a new $11 million program amidst the $1 billion Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan program. But can it deliver more safety improvements to under-served populations?
USA Today
Hoping to encourage other cities to follow San Francisco's successful application of protected bike lanes, Asm. Phillip Ting (D-S.F.) would have Caltrans "develop minimum safety design criteria" for what would be a new class of bikeways in the state.
San Francisco Bay Guardian
