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Category Archives: advocacy

Our Urban Challenge: The Euro Thing

Want to see a sneer of disgust cross the face of your average, suburban Springfieldian? Just mention anything European. I’ve been accused — in public meetings even — of wanting to force Americans to live like Europeans. And “like Europeans” is always spoken in derision by the folks who accuse me. Well, their accusations are [...]

Posted 30 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology § policy ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: , , , , ,

Bicycle Commuter Rates

A reader alerted me to this map showing bicycle commuter rates in the U.S. Click the image for a choice of viewing sizes. Commuting is just one aspect of utility bicycling. I wonder if there’s more data on other kinds of trips, e.g. to the store, school, etc. Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle commuting, bicycle [...]

Posted 27 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged: , , ,

The Thrill is Gone

I’m reading $20 Per Gallon now and will soon be comparing it to The Long Emergency in a comment/review here. While reading the $10 chapter on what changes we can expect in cars, I realized that I have fallen out of love. I really and truly no longer give a hoot about cars. Last year [...]

Posted 27 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged: ,

Utility Cycling: There’s an App for That

Disclaimer: If you’re an iPhone user of long standing, this entry may be very boring for you. But do leave a comment if you have suggestions. Thanks! I’m a fairly recent convert to the iPhone. I bought my 3GS about two weeks before the new one hit the market (which saved me $$$). The app [...]

Posted 26 August 2010 † Andy Cline § bicycle equipment § ecology ‡ Comments (9) ° Tagged: , , ,

Bicycling Op-Ed in the N-L Today

STAR Team chairman Bruce Adib-Yazdi wrote an op-ed for the editorial page of the Springfield News-Leader today about alternative transportation. It’s also a promo for the Ozarks New Energy Conference that will be held October 7-8 at Plaster Student Union at Missouri State University. I’ll be part of a panel discussion on alternative transportation on 7 October at 2:15 [...]

Posted 25 August 2010 † Andy Cline § announcement § news ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , ,

Full Bicycle Racks At MSU

The school year has begun at Missouri State University, and the bicycle racks are full. Here’s some helpful information about bicycling in Springfield. Students interested in talking directly with me about bicycling in Springfield are welcome to drop by my office — #384 Craig Hall. Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, cycling

Posted 24 August 2010 † Andy Cline § announcement ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Our Urban Challenge: Make It Awesome

In my last installment of this series I said we’d need to “build it first” in order to attract people downtown (and to the urban core) to shop, play, learn, and live. Today I saw something like this idea in action. We have a new downtown market at the most prominent intersection — Walnut and South [...]

Posted 21 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , , , , ,

Faux Honk Report

On my way to the STAR Team meeting yesterday afternoon I noticed a distinctive car in my mirror as I was riding downtown — a Miles Electric Car owned by fellow team member Rick Scarlet. Unlike the hybrids, this is an electric-only vehicle. And it is quiet. He and I have discussed before the possibility [...]

Posted 19 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology § news ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged: , , , , , , ,

School Kids And Barrier Streets

One of the things I liked about graduate school was using critical theory to ask uncomfortable questions about social and cultural artifacts of various sorts. Another way to put it: It was fun learning to be an intellectual pain in the ass. Allow me to demonstrate… Consider this article (part of a series) in today’s [...]

Posted 16 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (13) ° Tagged: , , , , , , ,

A Dangerous Syllogism

See if you can spot the problem (from montrealgazette.com): A 2003 study published in the Injury Prevention Journal by Peter Lyndon Jacobsen concluded: “A motorist is less likely to collide with a person walking or bicycling if more people walk or bicycle. Policies that increase the numbers of people walking and bicycling appear to be [...]

Posted 11 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Smart Phones and Bicycle Sharing

Interesting news out of New York: This Fall, New York City denizens will have the opportunity to test an experimental public bike share system. SoBi, the Social Bicycle System, presents an alternative to traditional public transportation and will allow riders the freedom to find and unlock nearby available communal bikes using an Andriod or iPhone application. I [...]

Posted 11 August 2010 † Andy Cline § business § news ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged: , ,

Placement of Sharrows

A “sharrow” is a shared lane marker painted on the street. Sharrows should not create de facto bicycle lanes, i.e. be painted on the road in such a way that it shunts bicyclists to side of the road in the manner of a bicycle lane. Dan Gutierrez has posted some interesting photos on Facebook that show what’s [...]

Posted 03 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (6) ° Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Last Laugh

Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic (mandatory reading for all humans), posted a Slate column on Friday in which he considers how Hollywood treats non-drivers and bicyclists. We are, apparently, a bunch of losers and creeps. And the broader culture, apparently, is hip to this if not the source of it: Or perhaps it’s the wider society [...]

Posted 02 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged: , , ,

We’re On Our Own, Part 2

Last year I wrote about the role riding a bicycle can play in helping us stay healthy. I don’t ride for sport, so I usually don’t work up much of a sweat. But even pedaling at modest speeds is excellent exercise that pays big health dividends. Given the state of our health care system and its [...]

Posted 25 July 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged: , , , , ,

STAR Team Items for July

Just a few news items from the STAR Team meeting yesterday: If you like to race bicycles, or watch people race bicycles, you’ll enjoy the St. John’s Powerful Medicine Criterium on Sunday 25 July at 101 E. Commercial St. For more information, see StJohnsCycling.com. The third iteration of the Bicycle Friendly Springfield petition is available for your signature now. This year’s [...]

Posted 22 July 2010 † Andy Cline § news § policy ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , , , ,