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Category Archives: news

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 § advocacy § announcement ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , ,

Bicycle-Truck Crash on Hwy. 160

From the Springfield News Leader: A Springfield bicyclist was seriously injured Monday after being struck while trying to cross Highway 160. Nicholas White, 32, was taken to Cox South Hospital in Springfield after the accident Monday morning, the Missouri Highway Patrol reports. The report does not include whether White was wearing a helmet. Sharon Hancock, [...]

Posted 24 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ‡ Comments (10) ° Tagged: ,

Is Commuting Killing You?

A new Gallup study suggests that long commutes are bad for your well-being. I don’t find that surprising. What’s disappointing about the study is that it doesn’t take mode into account. I don’t think I’m going very far out on a limb to claim that long car commutes can drive you crazy — like what [...]

Posted 23 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: ,

Don’t Laugh, Really, Don’t…

So the Chinese are now driving more than ever. And the results are predictable. China will eventually regret its growing love of the automobile. From the story on the traffic jam: “Insufficient traffic capacity on the National Expressway 110 caused by maintenance construction since August 19 is the major cause of the congestion,” a publicity officer with [...]

Posted 23 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology ‡ Comments (1) ° 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 § advocacy § ecology § 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 § advocacy § ecology ‡ 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 § advocacy § ecology § 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 § advocacy § ecology § 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 § advocacy § business ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged: , ,

Will Bicyclists and Pedestrians Squeeze Out Cars?

Tom Madigan, writing for National Journal, asks 10 experts if efforts to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians risks squeezing out cars. On first blush, considering the overwhelming odds in favor of cars (numbers plus massive subsidies), the question seems absurd. Read the whole thing. Very interesting. Several of the respondents do not like the question because, for example, the situation [...]

Posted 05 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology § policy ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: , , , , , ,

Warning! Our Cover Is Blown!

Well, we’ve been found out. Cell 42: 293879(&wwe(&& Cell: 77: 338)(&88^^#9900 Cell: 109: 87*&%666 You have your orders. Nex ut licentia! Now back to my regular blogging in which I pretend to be a mild-mannered, slightly rumpled and befuddled college professor. Technorati Tags: bicycle politics, cycling

Posted 04 August 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology § policy ‡ Comments (6) ° 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 § advocacy § ecology § policy ‡ Comments (6) ° 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 § advocacy § ecology § 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 § advocacy § policy ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , , , ,

Boy Hurt in Crash

The details from the News-Leader are sketchy: A 7-year-old boy on a bicycle collided with a van at the intersection of Kansas Expressway and Hovey St. The child suffered a broken leg. I found this interesting: Phillips said the boy, who was riding a bike, and the van met at the corner of Hovey Street [...]

Posted 21 July 2010 † Andy Cline § bicycle safety § policy ‡ Comments (10) ° Tagged: , , ,