tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41777137470926795182024-02-19T01:34:24.155+00:00Beauty and the BikeThe cycle paths to happy cycling - digging deeperinconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-84578824943713635122016-10-13T13:53:00.000+01:002016-10-13T13:53:29.688+01:00We're Blogging from Bremen(ize)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bremenize.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bremenize" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiN5dr_eMoqwGV8vTqRy0_zFnyBrZuy9UqdPEDxXIDQHRFEkA9VZOuDht07p9VuFP8rjSRwZiZopSKqAadXvP3EP0AK9GgzzU3x6AamXIWDqyJZmRNow4RTzz1rz1_WaPaSVhbVKoV0A/s1600/Bremenize+round+logo.jpg" title="Bremenize" /></a></div>
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Settled in the cycling city of Bremen, we have set up a blog to reflect our engagement with Bremen cycling policy. Feel free to pop over to <a href="http://www.bremenize.com/" target="_blank">bremenize</a> to see what we are up to!</div>
inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-43959618620989355542013-05-29T14:57:00.000+01:002013-05-29T14:57:04.051+01:00The Media and the Message<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What with the ongoing <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/" target="_blank">Times Cities Fit For Cycling</a> campaign, and the significant debates surrounding the <a href="http://allpartycycling.org/inquiry/" target="_blank">Parliamentary Enquiry into Cycling</a>, it's easy to forget the typical media take on cycling. </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Yesterday we welcomed members of <a href="http://www.camcycle.org.uk/" target="_blank">Cambridge Cycling Campaign</a> to Bremen for a tour of the city's infrastructure. The fact that the Campaign contacted us, rather than the <a href="http://www.adfc-bremen.de/" target="_blank">ADFC</a> or the local authority, is itself a significant reflection of Bremen's lack of official international engagement. But we were more than happy to offer a semi-outsider's narrative of why our home city is so cycling friendly.</span></div>
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The tour itself took in a series of examples of infrastructure that explained the historical and cultural stories <span style="text-align: center;">behind <a href="http://bremen.de/home/_1-million-cyclists-cross-the-wilhelm-kaisen-bridge-28191111" target="_blank">Bremen's remarkable status as <u><b>the</b></u> German cycling city</a> - one of the first cycle paths (early 1900's) along Am Wall; the rather tired and ageing cycle paths of the 1920's that are suffering from tree roots, the site of the great battle of the 1970's, Mozartstrasse, that stopped the building of an urban motorway through a residential district and helped transform the city's transport policy; the resultant calming of the area through a series of one-way streets for motor traffic, all passable two-way for cyclists; the provision of decent-quality cycle paths along all major routes; and some of the most recent developments, such as a new protected cycle lane on Herdentor, created through the conversion of a full-width traffic lane. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Throughout the three-hour tour, we were followed by a very friendly camera crew from Radio Bremen, who wanted to produce a short piece for that evening's local news transmission. Now we were so caught up in preparing the content of the tour - you know the stuff, history, culture, technical standards of infrastructure and so on - that we quite overlooked the media take on what we were doing, and how it might be redacted by our nice TV crew. Radio Bremen, along with the wider trend in broadcast television, is increasingly interested in populist angles, amusing titbits that make the audience smile, but might not impart much knowledge about the subject in question. But sometimes it works.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Let's have a bit of fun ourselves, shall we, and consider the piece that went out last night her in Bremen:</span><br />
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Viewers who understand German will have already taken in much of what is to follow, but for the rest here is a brief explanation.<br />
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The opening intro describes Cambridge as the city with the highest number of Nobel Prize winners in the world. But here comes a delegation from the city who want to learn something from us, ie German cycling culture. We cut to the first shot from the report - of James, the most eccentric-looking (ie typical English prof type) of the delegation (as it happens I would add one of the most intelligent and thoughtful). Cue Elgar music and the first voice over <i>"This here is for many, many Bremer the worst of all - a bicycle journey around the Stern roundabout....But for the lobby group from Cambridge, it's a paradise"</i>.<br />
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James explains to camera why it is good (the cross-hatching separating cyclists from traffic), and that it's something worth trying in the UK. First statement of disbelief from the reporter, given that this roundabout is an accident hotspot. But bear in mind, the whole point of introducing the cross-hatching, which was added just 3 years ago, is to try to reduce these accidents. We filmed previous visitors (from <a href="http://newcycling.org/" target="_blank">Newcastle Cycling Campaign</a>) to this roundabout last year:<br />
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Another member of the Cambridge Campaign, Klaas Brumann, then explains a key point - that Bremen motorists are much more mindful of cyclists than their English counterparts, and this helps at the roundabout.</div>
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On to another scene, and another Cambridge campaigner, Martin, marvels at the quality of Bremen cycling infrastructure. Second statement of disbelief from the reporter. <i>"Strange, we Bremer are not so enthusiastic. The cycle paths are too narrow, and haven't been improved enough"</i>. The dearth of cycling infrastructure in England is then explained.<br />
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We then cut to a shot of a row of parked kids bikes, probably outside a kindergarten. We explain how good infrastructure means freedom for kids on bikes, even at the age of 4. And for German viewers, it is explained that young kids "don't cycle". Not strictly true, of course, they "play" on their (normally stabiliser-equipped) bikes, but don't go to nursery on them.<br />
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The piece ends with a funny quip about one universal characteristic of cyclists everywhere - their hatred of car drivers. We return to James, who declares that <i>"pedestrians deserve the best surface, cyclists the second best, and motorised vehicles the worst. Motorists don't need a flat surface." </i>Even so, the reporter is happy that visitors to Bremen have come, seen, and enthused about cycling in the city.<br />
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Did it work? I suspect the piece made Bremen viewers smile at the stereotypical English James. And in between the smiles, perhaps it was helpful to remind people that they've got, by international standards, a good quality network of cycling infrastructure. Even we can get too caught up in the internal debates around the <a href="http://beautyandthebike.blogspot.de/2013/02/reports-from-cycling-city2-bremens.html" target="_blank">Bremen Traffic Development Plan</a>, and forget the solid grounding that underlies much of what is done in Bremen.<br />
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What we don't see in this particular edit is the scene right at the beginning of our tour, when we are showing the map of Bremen cycling infrastructure to our visitors, and the looks of disbelief on their faces.<br />
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As we explained, every red line on this map represents a cycle path. And every busy, main road has a cycle path alongside it. This is something that campaigners in the UK can only dream of. Yet it is now built into the DNA of Bremen (though not all German) traffic planners. Busy main roads must provide for good quality, safe and attractive cycling infrastructure. This is what makes Bremen a cycling city. This is what the Cambridge visitors really appreciated.inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-30075183972085380302013-03-05T16:45:00.000+00:002013-03-05T16:45:03.343+00:00Cycling City in the Sunshine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This winter has been one of the greyest on record in Germany. Never mind the cold temperatures, it has been the permanent cloud that has really got the population into a depression these last few weeks, with few people venturing out in their spare time. There was really only one exception - the wonderful Bremen tradition of <a href="http://www.armin-grewe.com/holiday/kohlfahrt/kohlfahrt.htm" target="_blank">Kohl und Pinkelfahrt</a> in January and February. </div>
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But yesterday the first sunshine for what seemed like months finally arrived, and today it was even slightly warm. And in Bremen that means that thousands of people, young, middling and old, meet up along the river after school or work, or if they're lucky earlier in the day, to soak up the joy-giving rays of sunshine. And inevitably, most of them get to and from the river by bicycle.</div>
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Many people gather in groups on the river dyke to chat, play ball games or have an impromptu drink. Groups like this one, older teenagers, will have cycled at least 2 or 3 kilometres from school, and will be cycling another 3 or 4 kilometres to their various homes. In towns and cities where cycling is not the norm, these events are unlikely to take place. Schoolkids who rely on public transport, walking, or even worse being collected by mama taxi service, find it a real hassle to take such a detour on their way home. But here it is part of the deal that comes with the independence cycling offers.</div>
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The great thing is that, on days like this, all kinds of people arrive by bike to enjoy the sun, side by side, in their different ways. As we moved along the river, our first thought was that a fair number of people might have arrived by some other means, since we often spotted them without bicycles. But then we watched as individual started to head off home and, almost inevitably, they walked the 30 metres or so to where their bicycle was parked before cycling off. Far more people, it seems, are cycling into the sun today.</div>
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<br />inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0Bremen, Germany53.079296199999987 8.801693699999987152.774361199999987 8.1562466999999863 53.384231199999988 9.4471406999999878tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-23116846757322977992013-02-28T14:29:00.001+00:002013-03-12T14:42:27.117+00:00When Will People Ditch Their Cars?Last week we attended a further round of public engagement in Bremen's ongoing Traffic Development Plan 2025. One of the interesting discussions we had involved another woman from the Viertel, our area of Bremen where private car mobility has only an 18% split, whilst cycling accounts for 28% of trips.<br />
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Despite such low car usage, our streets are still full with parked vehicles, many of which apparently belong to local residents. The woman we encountered at last week's meeting would appear to be typical of a lot of our fellow locals, in that she said that she "only rarely" uses her car for special trips out of the city. Most of the time, she guards "her" precious parking spot by not using it. We asked her what "rarely" meant and she replied with "perhaps once or twice a month".<br />
Of course we were somewhat taken aback by this. The Viertel has a comprehensive car sharing scheme, with 10 different pickup locations within an area no larger than two square kiometres. Why not save money and use this instead? No, she said, she had already done the figures, and reckoned that it was "cheaper" to keep her own car.<br />
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Intrigued, we decided to look at the figures for a typical car owner in Bremen ourselves, and compare these with the car-sharing scheme. We pay €9 a month as a couple to be members of Cambio, plus a per-hour and per-kilometre charge. But as long-term members, our tariff is no longer available. So I checked the Cambio website for the latest figures.<br />
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A new member now pays a one-off joining fee of €30, and a monthly fee of just €3. Charges for car use vary according to the size of the vehicle (another advantage, having access to small cars or large vans), but a medium-sized car costs €2.90 per hour and €0.36 per kilometre. So a typical trip to an out of town furniture shop or village cafe could take up to 4 hours and involve up to 40 kilometres of driving. The cost of such a trip would be:<br />
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(4 x €2.90) +(40 x €0.36) = €26<br />
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Our lady from the Viertel said she uses her car "once or twice a month", so lets say twice a month. On that basis her first year costs for being a member of Cambio would be:<br />
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€30 + (12 x €3) + (24 x €26) = €690 per year.<br />
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Now let's look at the costs of running a private car in Germany. The ADAC, Germany's motoring club, provides an online tool to calculate the costs of running a private car. Here you can choose a car model and check running costs. One medium sized vehicle in the Cambio fleet is the Opel Astra Estate. According to the ADAC, this will cost an owner at least €571 per month to own, or €6,852 per year. This figure assumes a number of underlying assumptions, which may not be appropriate for our Viertel lady, however. First, they start with a new car, at a cost of €21,115. Anyone who knows the Viertel will realise that this is definitely not a place for a new car. On the other hand, Cambio cars are rarely older than 3 years, and often spanking new. So it would be fairer to assume that the private car purchase would be of a second hand car. The ADAC figures include a depreciation figure of €305 per month, so if we take a 3 year old Astra Estate, the market price becomes <br />
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€21,115 - (36 x €305) = €10,135<br />
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Spread over a life of 7 years, that would mean a monthly cost of €120.65, without taking any borrowing costs into account. The ADAC tool then adds to this capital cost repairs and fixed costs of €169 per month. Our "twice a month" trips involve 80 kilometres, which in an Opel Astra estate would mean some 5 litres of diesel @ €1.42 per litre, or €7.10 per month. This will mean our second hand Astra, used twice a month, would cost <br />
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12 x (€169 + €7.10) = €2,113.20 per year.<br />
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This is over 3 times the cost of using Cambio. So why does our good lady still believe that owning her own car is cheaper? Well, perhaps she doesn't really use her car "one or two times a month". Just as British voters historically find it embarrassing to own up to voting Tory, perhaps she is under-estimating her use to make it look good. Let's say she uses her car twice a week instead. On this basis, Cambio's costs would rise to €2,770, compared to €2,241 for a private car. This might be one explanation. <br />
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But more likely, the up front costs of running a car are forgotten. We notice an awful lot of vehicles standing in the same parking spot for weeks on end. Car ownership in the Viertel is still high. But as the official figures show, car use is low. Many car owners conveniently forget the costs of buying a car in the first place when calculating running costs. And of course there is a reason. Other, non-financial, advantages to car ownership include convenience (as long as it can be parked outside your door), flexibility (especially when compared to public transport) and that most difficult of areas, the car as an extension of the self (identity through car ownership). Consciously or sub-consciously, car owners like to factor these in, especially where there is no car share facility nearby, public transport is poor, and car culture dominates.<br />
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Yet in the Viertel, none of these apply. And the bicycle satisfies all three advantages. Could it be a quirk of Bremen's transport history that a cycling culture has been developed alongside an equally strong car culture? The fact is, once the car is gone, we always think twice about hiring a Cambio car. Do we really need a car for this or that trip? 95% of the time, the answer is no. A bicycle, or for longer distances a train plus a bicycle, is more attractive. So in the end we use Cambio about 6 times a year.<br />
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As a footnote, new figures have just been published showing what the average German spends on motoring in his or her lifetime. Typically, Germans drive for 54 years of their lives, and spend €332,000 in the process. That's €6,148 for every year. When compared with what we spend on our Cambio membership and on public transport, about €1000 a year between us, it's nice to know that we are saving enough for a comfortable retirement. <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZFxF4qf65WEZkiEtvIrTSnDPhUj3bt9Ovse9LJOUjdPxn10gIWv-jmTWntgnwkJia5sQoxRc_ftbrVHjUAyoq2BrSVFkcGSW8wb7EPXNEKwXtiWSjtx4UsEH8FYJqxSGnoLu65TXxh4/s640/blogger-image--1827585977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZFxF4qf65WEZkiEtvIrTSnDPhUj3bt9Ovse9LJOUjdPxn10gIWv-jmTWntgnwkJia5sQoxRc_ftbrVHjUAyoq2BrSVFkcGSW8wb7EPXNEKwXtiWSjtx4UsEH8FYJqxSGnoLu65TXxh4/s640/blogger-image--1827585977.jpg" /></a></div>inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-5892606170825081792013-02-11T12:03:00.000+00:002013-02-11T12:03:43.074+00:00Reports from a Cycling City2 - Bremen's Cycling Plan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="border: #000000 1px outset; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdH46ikroxEEjOGe2i8V4Us8kzQ5T296HVX6gWgMqiRTVj114zP-ws3pElUmSOEt_8HAATRsI9oVVe8vl3A5w_ql7pjY8xS4_KgyjkJdiuMG_dAWyk8sZ0esRSQrX3pfTEXxjqIbu4Ht0/s1600/Consultations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="1" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdH46ikroxEEjOGe2i8V4Us8kzQ5T296HVX6gWgMqiRTVj114zP-ws3pElUmSOEt_8HAATRsI9oVVe8vl3A5w_ql7pjY8xS4_KgyjkJdiuMG_dAWyk8sZ0esRSQrX3pfTEXxjqIbu4Ht0/s320/Consultations.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 5 Consultation Areas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Like many European towns and cities, Bremen is in the process of producing its transport plan for the next 10 to 15 years. In the UK it is known as <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwebarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk%2F20110509101621%2Fhttp%3A%2Fwww.dft.gov.uk%2Fadobepdf%2F165237%2Fltp-guidance.pdf" target="_blank">LTP3</a>. Here, using the German language's love of <a href="http://courses.csusm.edu/grmn201mh/long%20words.htm" target="_blank">crushing together a string of words into one</a>, we called it the <a href="http://www.bauumwelt.bremen.de/sixcms/detail.php?gsid=bremen213.c.5586.de" target="_blank">Verkehrsentwicklungsplan</a>, or VEP for short. Last month, I went along to one of the public consultations to see how they compared with the UK experience. The basis of the presentation is available <a href="http://bauumwelt.bremen.de/sixcms/media.php/13/130115_Vortrag_Buergerforum_Mitte.pdf" target="_blank">online here</a>. The consultation process involves 5 sessions for each of 5 areas in Bremen. This particular meeting was for central Bremen, where we live.<br />
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The first thing that struck me was that, in this city with around 25% of everyday trips being made by bicycle, cycling was given equal weight throughout the proceedings to all other modes of mobility. For example, following the initial presentations by the officers and their consultants (more on which later), the audience was given four standing areas to visit and comment, one for each of public transport, private motorised transport, walking, and cycling. In a way, it felt as though cycling was a given in terms of such status, and this time extra efforts were being made to give walking a higher status than previously afforded.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLGXzMBl8la2V9u0TmZEipbjZccR7a1-R34uI3bTWKphT-y-hKr89UvionAAr4HkEIazIYLpQr24BSUVDwim0cqDIL-5VWhrqcA29rxdcDJgcm9YumwQQMXl7eiqd0AxmyA-lXxip5iTQ/s1600/Wide+Shot+VEP+consultation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="1" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLGXzMBl8la2V9u0TmZEipbjZccR7a1-R34uI3bTWKphT-y-hKr89UvionAAr4HkEIazIYLpQr24BSUVDwim0cqDIL-5VWhrqcA29rxdcDJgcm9YumwQQMXl7eiqd0AxmyA-lXxip5iTQ/s320/Wide+Shot+VEP+consultation.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cycling Stand</td></tr>
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At each of these stands, an officer or consultant was on hand to discuss issues with members of the public. Alongside the maps and statistics was a blank canvas. We were invited to fill in different coloured cards with suggestions - blue cards for wishes, green cards for positive aspects of the existing infrastructure that should be build on (<i>Anknüpfungspunkte</i> means something like <i>starting points</i>), and yellow cards for negative comments. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FUd55vNuIzShllEfRuir1sx7QqXOpXmgcJYqzMev9cpLK9Tl9eg0yST8ij9yYGI72F88aMPT3RSw31DqfNWMR8xzPXQjzrWz1K8R-Rvv2Mu5QNC2sV00xjseWYoHzeabevc32U6_OGg/s1600/Cycling+Cards+Suggestions.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="1" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FUd55vNuIzShllEfRuir1sx7QqXOpXmgcJYqzMev9cpLK9Tl9eg0yST8ij9yYGI72F88aMPT3RSw31DqfNWMR8xzPXQjzrWz1K8R-Rvv2Mu5QNC2sV00xjseWYoHzeabevc32U6_OGg/s320/Cycling+Cards+Suggestions.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cycling Canvas </td></tr>
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The blue "wishes" cards tend to argue for more space for cyclists, the green for more priority for cyclists, and the yellow identified individual problems - cobbled streets, the technical prohibition of cyclists in the city centre pedestrian zone (most cyclists ignore this), and so on. The consensus seems to be that Bremen has done well in the past, but that now a lot more needs to be done. Much of Bremen's cycling infrastructure dates back 40 years or more - the first Bremen cycle path was constructed in 1897! Sure enough, the statistics show that, when <a href="http://tu-dresden.de/die_tu_dresden/fakultaeten/vkw/ivs/srv/dateien/staedtevergleich_srv2008.pdf" target="_blank">compared to the large German cities</a>, Bremen has the highest cycling modal share of all. But how to progress?<br />
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During the initial presentations, it seemed that there was little critical contemporary evidence about cycling figures, whether they were rising or falling, who was cycling where. The available figures date back to 2008, now nearly 5 years old, and make for interesting reading. They show that, in Bremen as a whole, cycling's share of all journeys stands at a healthy 25%. In our area, Bremen Mitte, this rises to 28%. Moreover <b>all</b> sustainable travel modes are higher than the Bremen average in our area. In contrast, car use in the city stands at 40%, whilst in Bremen Mitte this falls to just 18%. This is significant.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWffUs8e-rwtPGAQ6t0iSQJv2oo2AwYwG5Y2ywgqBi8v4sO4BVGb219oRWeIVkL-aqe6ODUIBmNDw3q8J9NHJYEfEafGOs13maEUf_l2ID82SemfUVxTRfqj0sm5jPaLgO2344bzp1otw/s1600/Bremen+Modal+Split+2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWffUs8e-rwtPGAQ6t0iSQJv2oo2AwYwG5Y2ywgqBi8v4sO4BVGb219oRWeIVkL-aqe6ODUIBmNDw3q8J9NHJYEfEafGOs13maEUf_l2ID82SemfUVxTRfqj0sm5jPaLgO2344bzp1otw/s1600/Bremen+Modal+Split+2008.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bremen's Modal Split. Our area is highlighted in red.</td></tr>
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We often hear from politicians in the UK that they are restricted in what they can do for cycling because of the democratic process. The argument goes something like this. <i>"In a democracy politicians have to take the views of the electorate into account. If most voters drive rather than cycle, and cycling is in fact the domain of a few per cent of the population, then clearly the needs of motorists have to take precedence over cyclists. Thus, in a democracy, streets should be designed with the typical voter in mind".</i><br />
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You would expect, then that in the centre of Bremen, the opposite might be the case. Well here is our street:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtm8LTvziCsAEjqvBGq_sy_PXbxr9CK9f1ksW0qoTxLqFsRKOJ2su4fsxPdDkntBorri9oSGVjvsUBaISOhBI167EYDjRqE5HhentBe78fP-6ZtwTi_gjRtaCNryPhJM8UNXQrAbca5M/s1600/Prangenstrasse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtm8LTvziCsAEjqvBGq_sy_PXbxr9CK9f1ksW0qoTxLqFsRKOJ2su4fsxPdDkntBorri9oSGVjvsUBaISOhBI167EYDjRqE5HhentBe78fP-6ZtwTi_gjRtaCNryPhJM8UNXQrAbca5M/s400/Prangenstrasse.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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Something like 30% of the available street space, once pavement and road are taken into account, is allocated to parking for cars. This is a relatively quiet residential street, and because there are so many cyclists compared to drivers, most of the time cyclists feel safe to use the road, with car drivers accepting they should follow slowly (it is also a 30kph zone). <b>All the same, it does seem rather generous to the 18% to give them so much space simply to park their tin cans.</b><br />
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But the problem becomes acute when we look at the road at the far end of this picture, Sielwall, which is deemed a main through road with a 50kph speed limit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNKVsNiZzZaXrcM77_WLIVbxA2nI4vP5UeIGWA-U-SUZ2CcAQPGdv40RUhRXyk_fEmRGFoodk8bhg3FRkN5E2Z_huEIbV7udiLyVrrXMvT3ITd-ZlPwMHhyphenhyphenFdWYDZQv7iLVgrD7Tdqsqc/s1600/Sielwall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNKVsNiZzZaXrcM77_WLIVbxA2nI4vP5UeIGWA-U-SUZ2CcAQPGdv40RUhRXyk_fEmRGFoodk8bhg3FRkN5E2Z_huEIbV7udiLyVrrXMvT3ITd-ZlPwMHhyphenhyphenFdWYDZQv7iLVgrD7Tdqsqc/s1600/Sielwall.jpg" /></a></div>
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As this is a busier road with a 50kph speed limit, a cycle path runs along both sides of the road. But as you can see, parked cars tend to edge into the already too narrow path. The blue parking sign at the top of the picture instructs drivers to park partly on the road way and partly on the narrow strip of pavement between cycle path and road. But in practice, drivers move most of their vehicle up on to the pavement, probably in fear of their wing mirror getting clipped. Parking on this stretch of street amounts to around 20 spaces, yet it disrupts the safe flow of traffic for both cyclists and pedestrians alike.<br />
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So how does Bremen propose to address these problems? Back at the presentation, there was much talk of cycling as the <i>"new cool", </i>and of<i> </i> the phenomenon of car-free living, <a href="http://www.autofrei.de/" target="_blank">Autofrei Leben</a>, an increasingly attractive option for inhabitants of large cities like Bremen that have good public transport, <a href="http://www.cambio-carsharing.de/" target="_blank">car sharing schemes</a>, and reasonable cycling infrastructure. No specific target figure for increased cycling was presented, although 30% was mentioned briefly in passing during a summing up. <b>This perhaps reflects the rather imprecise cycling aims that currently appear in the official VEP Plan document:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>promote cycling</li>
<li>improve cyclist safety</li>
<li>improve cycling infrastructure </li>
</ul>
Interestingly, there is a clear aim in that document to "<i>shift private motorised transport towards public transport</i>", but there is no apparent equivalent for cycling. It is fair to say that the VEP's concrete project proposals will be developed over the coming months, so there is an inevitable vagueness about things to date. Moreover, there are a number of wider aims, for example dealing with environmental and urban planning issues, that suggest that cycling has a wider role to play. But even so, there is surely space for a clearer cycling strategy at this stage.<br />
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Bremen is often characterised as a "leading" cycling city, on the verge of becoming classified as a "cycling champion" or "pioneer" (the German national Cycling Plan's term) by the professionals. Indeed, the EU-funded <a href="http://www.presto-cycling.eu/en/cities-and-activities" target="_blank">PRESTO project</a> has already done so. In these circumstances, perhaps two questions need to be asked. First, how do we keep existing cyclists happy on their bikes? Second, how do we raise that modal share figure further? According to Germany's current <a href="http://www.nationaler-radverkehrsplan.de/nrvp2020/" target="_blank">National Cycling Plan</a>, pioneer municipalities like Bremen have little need for promotion - cycling as an everyday means of transport is self-evident - but rather needs to concentrate its efforts on infrastructure projects.<br />
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It also makes sense, when so many of the complaints from existing cyclists relate to the inadequacies of Bremen's ageing cycle paths, that priority is given to upgrades of existing infrastructure. For example, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_in_Copenhagen" target="_blank">Copenhagen's Bicycle Strategy 2011-2025</a> includes a target that "<i>80% of cyclists find the cycle tracks well maintained (2010: 50%)</i>". <b>So far in Bremen, such an approach, to upgrade existing cycling infrastructure, does not appear to have been adopted.</b> But attitudes towards Bremen's ageing cycle paths, and how problems such as that highlighted on Sielwall, constitute the key debates around Bremen's cycling vision. How that debate is resolved will have a major bearing on whether Bremen moves forward as a cycling champion, or sees its long history of everyday cycling eroded just when the wider world has woken up to its significance. inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-4823796038828852242013-01-23T15:53:00.000+00:002013-02-11T11:51:05.296+00:00Reports from a Cycling City<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6bXx-V4NWqtNvBaTol9tjrJj5_4ZHJxs3zR6RWbRzEXWcacEkKomlutZkhEUXxhTDKfYFxljRx77pxl7DugD5jLC3-lc4ijVyNS5Czm6ZPRNwPnIy00Xc3d1RKLKMbC_FENPi-oACgjw/s1600/9_16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bremen Cycle Chic" border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6bXx-V4NWqtNvBaTol9tjrJj5_4ZHJxs3zR6RWbRzEXWcacEkKomlutZkhEUXxhTDKfYFxljRx77pxl7DugD5jLC3-lc4ijVyNS5Czm6ZPRNwPnIy00Xc3d1RKLKMbC_FENPi-oACgjw/s400/9_16.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bremen Cycle Chic?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Whatever happened to Bremen's online presence in the global cycling advocacy community?</b><br />
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There's a better than good chance that anyone reading this post will be well aware of the great blogs that emanate from the world's most famous cycling cities. From the various -ize websites, <a href="http://amsterdamize.com/" target="_blank">Amsterdamize</a>, <a href="http://www.copenhagenize.com/" target="_blank">Copenhagenize</a>, <a href="http://portlandize.com/" target="_blank">Portlandize</a>, to the <a href="http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/" target="_blank">Cycle Chic republic</a> of blogs, to more unique sites like <a href="http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/" target="_blank">A View from the Cycle Path</a> and <a href="http://bikeportland.org/" target="_blank">BikePortland</a>, local cycling advocates routinely share their experiences in a cycling city with the outside world. They sit alongside an even more impressive range of blogs from activists in towns and cities around the world - <a href="http://ibikelondon.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">London</a>, <a href="http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">New York</a>, <a href="http://muenchenierung.blogspot.de/" target="_blank">Munich</a>, <a href="http://newcycling.org/" target="_blank">Newcastle</a>, that are striving to achieve cycling-friendly status. The dialogue between us all has created a strong sense that we are not only looking at developments at home, but looking outward, with, in the case of cycling cities, a sense of pioneering, or in the case of striving cities the desire to learn and progress.<br />
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Strange then, that here in Bremen, a city that boasts a cycling modal share of 26%, there is no such discernable web presence. Having scoured the web for any sign that Bremen has a pioneering cycling culture that is in tune with the best cycling initiatives being developed around the world, I could not find one. Instead, there are three web presences that might be said to represent cycling in Bremen.<br />
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First, there is the <a href="http://www.adfc-bremen.de/" target="_blank">official website of ADFC Bremen</a>, the rather large city branch of the national cycling organisation of Germany. As the mouthpiece for an official organisation, its job is to publicise their agreed aims, campaigns, and successes. Whilst the ADFC's campaigning work should be commended, its connections with deeper debates about cycling policy in the outside world is therefore limited.<br />
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Second, there is the <a href="http://www.bremen.de/aktuelles" target="_blank">official website of the municipality</a> itself. Here you need to dig deep to get to the various cycling pages, but of course they are all about current or past transport policy. Right now the municipality is working on developing a new <a href="http://www.senatspressestelle.bremen.de/sixcms/detail.php?gsid=bremen146.c.59958.de" target="_blank">Transport Development Plan</a> (in German Verkehrsentwicklungsplan or VEP for short). Nothing here suggests that Bremen is aware of its global standing alongside other cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen as a cycling city that needs to be pioneering the most effective strategies to further cycling as a key means of transport.<br />
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Third, there is one cycling website that does indeed have some connection with the wider world, but in the most peculiar way. <a href="http://www.criticalmass-bremen.de/" target="_blank">Bremen Critical Mass</a> organises monthly cycle rides, just like Critical Mass rides around the world, on the last Friday of each month. Unlike the vast majority of these, however, BCM is not campaigning for better cycling infrastructure. Rather, in a city that already boasts over seven hundred kilometres of separated cycle paths, they are riding for the right to cycle on the road, mixing with other traffic. This reflects recent legal battles about cyclists' rights in Germany. Until the late 1990's, wherever a cycle path existed, cyclists were legally expected to use it, no matter how poor its quality. Not surprisingly, the more sprightly cyclists felt that they would be better off using the road. So ADFC launched an ultimately successful campaign to repeal this obligation. BCM is in many ways an expression of that campaign.<br />
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None of these three sites has any connection with the world wide web's community of progressive cycling policy. And living here as a cycling activist, this makes the place feel even more parochial than dear old Darlington. To find a base from which to develop genuinely pioneering cycling policies, we are instead engaged as members of two groups. The <a href="http://www.gruene-bremen.de/" target="_blank">Bremen Green Party</a> is currently in power in the city in a coalition with the Social Democrats, and has a healthy internal debating mechanism for policy development. Over the past few months, it has been developing an update of their <a href="http://www.gruene-fraktion-bremen.de/fileadmin/media/LTF/fraktionbremen_de/homepage/masterplan_fuer_fahrradverkehr/masterplan_fuer_fahrradverkehr.pdf" target="_blank">Master Plan for Cycling</a>, and as ordinary members we have fed our thoughts and ideas into the process. The result is pretty positive, with a short-term aim of 30% modal share, and 50% in the longer term. Interestingly, it has just got a mention in the nearest -ize website to Bremen, <a href="http://www.hamburgize.blogspot.de/2013/01/mehr-radverkehr-in-bremen.html">hamburgize.com</a>.<br />
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Secondly, we are working with <a href="http://www.bund-bremen.net/">Friends of the Earth (BUND) Bremen</a> in a similar way, to develop a cycling policy that furthers the deeper aims of environmental protection and combating climate change.<br />
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Bremen needs to realise its potential as a pioneering cycling city. The lack of this <b>public</b> sense of a presence on the global bicycle culture stage - Bremen is regularly involved in <b>official</b> initiatives such as the EU funded <a href="http://www.presto-cycling.eu/en/home">PRESTO</a> project - might be more a symptom of the city's lack of collective self-confidence about its self-image, rather than a cause, but either way we sense economic as well as intellectual deficits. There is <a href="http://www.bremen-tourism.de/bremen-city-cycle-route">little</a> on the <a href="http://www.bremen-tourism.de/">Bremen tourism website</a> to attract cycling visitors, and new ideas to increase cycling are <a href="http://www.dac.dk/en/dac-cities/sustainable-cities-2/experts/enrique-penalosa---city-of-equality/">all</a> <a href="http://www.bike-eu.com/Home/General/2013/1/1st-Electric-Freeway-for-e-Bikes--e-Scooters-1153416W/?cmpid=NLC|Bike%20Europe|22-jan-2013|1st%20Electric%20Freeway%20for%20e-Bikes%20e-Scooters">coming</a> <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/contact/article3509225.ece">from</a> <a href="http://www.transportgooru.com/2010/12/beefing-up-for-more-bikes-copenhagen-plans-super-highways-for-bikes/">elsewhere</a>, yet with no discernible impact on the local debate.<br />
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The fact is, Bremen's lack of self-confidence (yes, we are the poorest State in western Germany) has caused it to grossly under-estimate its own achievements to date, and its potential standing on the world stage. This is not simply a cycling deficit - our 700-odd kilometres of cycle path is twice the Copenhagen total - but in many other areas as well. Bremen has an abundance of protected green areas, it has a thriving local cultural scene, a loveable football team with a stadium that is surrounded by solar panels, and its public transport system is comprehensive, comfortable, and headed by an inspiring team that, for example, <a href="http://www.radiobremen.de/nachrichten/gesellschaft/gesellschaftbsagobdachlose100.html">allow the homeless to ride the trams for free during a cold snap</a>.<br />
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Bremen's past cycling achievements - most kids cycle to school, Bremen car drivers are much more cyclist-aware, and the considerable existing infrastructure - makes it a city that is culturally prepared for another great leap forward. There is much to do to make Bremen's cycling infrastructure fit for a 50% modal share. That is exactly what the city should now focus on.inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-44344794459379284442012-08-11T15:31:00.001+01:002012-08-11T15:35:57.365+01:00Copenhagen<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116305049882283567764/CopenhagenTrip02#5775422602828537906"><img align="left" border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyuWL4eR_0hR6_ZiO0GSmM37hDv414BtPFsaEkBGycpAIDXgt6XOAuZsRNNkFRFwdlyocOAHWIVAFdu0WWnl_q-V_ZHI2l8zokgkEsVwmKKxqisZaMFrXIuekWT6FUy9BfIl_aCvjSRk8/s288/0.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 5px;" width="187" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116305049882283567764/CopenhagenTrip02#5775422622046741650"><img align="left" border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3l815SpmDwHn1A3MCDDDCPrM9GUKYVuHU3ToMDmr8Hrvum4fQhkTq4I8WvAzOu7VFN12PjDFDWuLw4aJJD73g4nWG74jA26JT3yPbGdvomRJvGxUPrEB89F8AvE044HkIsrCKlXhTxbY/s288/1.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="250" /></a><br />
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So, we've made it to Copenhagen! In some ways it's an advantage that we're staying out of town (in Gentofte). The suburbs are quite different from the city, where metropolitan rushing seems to be the order of the day. In fact mobility in Copenhagen altogether seems more frantic than the likes of Bremen. The wide cycle paths don't simply cater for large numbers. They cater for different styles - and speeds - of cycling.<br />
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Don't be fooled by the excellent Cycle Chic movement. Large numbers of Copenhagen's cyclists, chic or otherwise, seem to be in a mighty hurry to get to wherever they are going. Maybe they have taken the point that cycling is quicker than driving in a city to heart, and are desperate to prove it with every last heave of the pedal. The funny thing is, this speed cycling is not restricted to the helmet and lycra brigade. Today, for example, we were doing our usual 15 kilometres per hour pootle along the coast, on a lovely sunny day (it's my birthday, all the more reason to pootle), when we were overtaken by a frantic, bell ringing lass in her 30's, sitting more or less horizontal with head right down between her handlebars. Only they were dutch style handlebars, the grips a good foot back from her nose.<br />
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Could this strange (in our eyes) cultural phenomenon be simply a result of our having spent too many years in small, provincial Darlington, the "quiet town" of 1970s fame? Or is said birthday (shit, 59!!!!!) a watershed in the ageing process, when suddenly everything and everyone around you seems so young, fit and fast (ok, drop that last remark when applied to the young of Darlo)?<br />
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Maybe the Copenhagen Cycle Quick movement is related to the thousands of joggers we've also spotted around the city. There seems to be a positive plague of jogging going on here, and not just in the obvious places like parks and waterfronts. We sat outside our hotel last night here in quiet suburban Gentofte until just before midnight, and the two wildly exciting events were either a bus passing or a jogger jogging on the main street. But then I suppose hectic metropolitan life doesn't stop for silly things like sleep, so maybe we should expect such sights, even in Gentofte at midnight.<br />
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As for the serious stuff, cycling infrastructure, well we've done the videos, both in the city and out here in the suburbs, and we'll be editing them together over the next few weeks. Having cycled in to Copenhagen from the countryside, and before that from Germany, there are interesting comparisons to be made between the German rural/urban and Danish rural/urban approaches, and we'll be aiming to do that with the video material. Suffice to say right now, Copenhagen still has its car-centric legacy (motorways going right into the city, traffic jams, appalling noise) in many areas. But this simply illustrates the historical urgency of the pro-cycling policy. Much had to be done, much has been done, and much more is and will be done. And at its core, this involves taking space from motorised transport and using this to create substantial cycling infrastructure to a high standard. A standard, in fact, that needs to accomodate we pootlers, the cycle chic of the city, and the permanent rush-hourers. <br />
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Video report to come!<br />
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPadinconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-77861636049478763482012-08-05T22:28:00.000+01:002012-08-05T22:28:25.356+01:00A Brief Pause on the Cycle Path<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116305049882283567764/CopenhagenTrip02#5773302777368694802"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIIGy7UxcR-ykXuWTfxJKzz5XIxi26do4dXaaqzUaON5bs7wsLm-YxQ4eoIBvvBOmpUl8GALOBc-SxIBkkScMrnwmTmqUWuJQoO3FrBM9P4RlbBNKLwoMcQWtaoLU8x_KDRjPw3aUlM0/s288/0.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="500" /></a></center>
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Today started wet, developed into cloudy, ended sunny. More solid cycle paths along country roads, with variable provision in the villages. <br />
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After 3 days of such wide open spaces, it then came as a bit of a shock to arrive in Kühlungsborn.<br />
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<object data="http://www.youtube.com/v/_Qw6TwDoEyQ" height="300" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_Qw6TwDoEyQ" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><!-- Fallback content --><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qw6TwDoEyQ"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/_Qw6TwDoEyQ/0.jpg" width="400" height="300" />YouTube Video</a></object></div>
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Ah well. It got us out of the hotel and away from this iPad! <br />
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-Posted using BlogPress from my iPadinconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-67330977212465291592012-08-05T09:42:00.001+01:002012-08-05T09:49:15.889+01:00Schwerin to WismarThe 35 kilometres from Schwerin to Wismar follows the <b>Hamburg - Rügen cycle route</b>, with regular glimpses of the Schwerin Lake for the first 20, and a wonderful stretch of traffic-free cycle path for much of the rest.<br /><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/116305049882283567764/CopenhagenTrip02#5773105835618318178'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrUiKUPe5wcqYHlWQxYR09-ur3gjlfXAHauEAdtB2EKEwaVDIwAhmM4w2j44M_EVI4PRIv1vC6sLhmgEpBrzyRx-wWcbkwmP87Bl05PewYJu_7Gc7CEcN9PaiYzAE-zTWS9b8rFVkrImw/s288/0.jpg' border='0' width='350' height='262' align='left' style='margin:5px'></a><br />As I blogged yesterday, the cycle infrastructure development strategy relies heavily on the concept of sharing with pedestrians in villages. Our first stretch along the lake took us along a separated cycle path like this one between each village. As we approached a village, in this case Wickendorf, the path merged into a shared pedestrian/cycle path. As we left the village, the cycle path began again. There were odd pedestrians using the cycle path between villages, but this was expected and didn't cause either party any problems.<br />There were odd exceptions. The village of Dorf Mecklenburg had no pavement to share at the edge of the village, so both pedestrians and cyclists were on the road until the village centre, at which point it was assumed that cyclists used the road. This also happened to be the one stretch where were overtaken by two speeding cars, complete with loud disco glop blaring out the windows. <br />The stretch before and after said village was glorious. A long cycling-only country lane took us through wooded stretches and open fields, as we descended gently towards the sea. Then we caught our first glimpse of Wismar's shipyards in the distance.<br /><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/116305049882283567764/CopenhagenTrip02#5773106037466240098'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPemrl6zlIycEleRopDbZKe7gUoncL5bacDMixqhpplKXDnHjmM45eFtrm8hNFEabSaUsb_3sgNJax3SLnoQ8E24FffoyJFyILLWMKCqsNX8VZCbsu1GQLPO0fUCbqp6bo3iUYskQwOBY/s288/1.jpg' border='0' width='350' height='262' style='margin:5px'></a><br /><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/116305049882283567764/CopenhagenTrip02#5773106219692024450'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErhk5eTwgg5nv7_biE4HOsq0thhU_YWCkSA3Bgufut8H8PHqmeaOUoiCoN6tNmT0mQmKXjkAA4zF3Glb8uJUeAgD8poWnAFTg2qHFgF1L3qTK8qssq1aw-t7ikBrt94p2VU6N_l3vkhg/s288/2.jpg' border='0' width='350' height='262' style='margin:5px'></a><br />The sun was out for much of the day, but as with most of this summer in Germany, it was interrupted twice by thunderstorms, once in the early afternoon, so a perfect time for a lunch stop..<br /><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/116305049882283567764/CopenhagenTrip02#5773106440526213058'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPd7D9CqB9wc4wvRLu2viNrQJ8HrvYl6o5jcg5WT8n1qwRQlqAYh687m9PYnRfLoYaEwSTJ9j6q5ReRB5na0L2MNPCl-qihYP6zNBlhY3wOXTHSB0gNC5V1uuSyw03iaRT2JuLCfWAD9w/s288/3.jpg' border='0' width='250' height='187' align='left' style='margin:5px'></a><br />..and later again after we had arrived at our hotel, and were parking our bicycles in the hotel garage.<br /><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/116305049882283567764/CopenhagenTrip02#5773106537776653394'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-wYR9EV7nhRYJCGnm_6Naic0ADquv-eH7vR8Yym5D9exalPMRPeJ1ehZNwAWs6d_2aVOhh9PBod0ICuFfxTz7NH_aScjubExB7EdSjBAvzoyA6b1hDETg7LlEiHyPn38qgah1esm674/s288/4.jpg' border='0' width='250' height='187' align='right' style='margin:5px'></a><br />All in all, a wonderful easy day of cycling. Today we'll be pootling along the coast to Kühlungsborn, an old seaside resort, on the Baltic Sea route.<br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Wismar&z=10'>Wismar</a></p>inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-48258596239555554182012-08-03T23:53:00.002+01:002012-08-04T00:04:16.515+01:00Schwerin<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116305049882283567764/CopenhagenTrip02#5772496290347733330" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpH4M99CkxSbQzQm7KOMp8wwFLUBuRAoB9nTATIF3CM1GHwNkWZF98um5orUAuykOj2GA0XgNpjGS6BYCHZD2CRlRVls5OPbXLpv-nGuVFxvPMmURh4kxAr_5Sx7-SO7ZkDhR3lvVv0o/s288/0.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 5px;" width="250" /></a><br />
So as planned we take the train to Schwerin, along with 14 other bicycles. Here we are in the cycle wagon, somewhat full and, contrary to German stereotypes, most bikes have been placed in the wrong space. You book a space for your bike on inter-city trains in Germany, but we found ours were already occupied when we got on the train, so had to take someone else's. <br />
Once in Schwerin we decided on an afternoon ride around the large lake; very pretty, and a rather famous grand castle at the start. After 30 kms the rain closed in, so we had a fast peddle back to the hotel.<br />
As for cycling infrastructure, cyclists are fairly well catered for on the tourist circuit. Once in Schwerin, things are a bit less so. But in both cases an obvious strategy has been developed. Bearing in mind that the town was until 25 years ago part of the GDR, in that short time a fair amount has been done for cyclists, but based on this expedient of simply converting pavements to shared use cycle/pedestrian routes. The main road into Schwerin has this all the way down into town. As does much of the lake circuit, for example when passing through villages.<br />
But the expedient works for two reasons. First, pedestrians expect cyclists. And second, motorists are trained to give way to both pedestrians and cyclists at junctions. It's not perfect. There was a strategy in place for developing cycling in Schwerin, but it seems <a href="http://www.adfc-schwerin.de/radverkehrspolitik-schwerin-kritikenideen#comments" target="_blank">the town council have ditched it</a> in May. The German link suggests a familiar experience - politicians apparently listening to local cycling representatives, then suddenly ditching the whole discussion.<br />
Be that as it may, Schwerin has its positive points. There is certainly a strong cycling culture here, there are still trams running as I write this after midnight, and the town centre's pedestrian heart is more fully pedestrian than Darlington. Yes, there are cyclists (though not during peak hours, sadly), but perhaps more interesting is the way in which buses travel through the pedestrian area.<br />
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<object data="http://www.youtube.com/v/mtKxjOlp4qY" height="300" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mtKxjOlp4qY" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><!-- Fallback content --><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtKxjOlp4qY"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/mtKxjOlp4qY/0.jpg" width="400" height="300" />YouTube Video</a></object></div>
Buses travelling at this kind of speed reinforce the idea that this part of the town belongs to the pedestrian, and others are invited. Intriguingly, we watched taxi drivers and a security car driver ignore this concept, suggesting that there is a clear political attempt, via the local bus company, to develop a culture of slow traffic in the town centre.<br />
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These phenomena - motorists giving way and slow buses- are no god-given behaviours. They are deliberately fostered by political will. The other side of the coin? I leave that to you, the reader, to describe.<br />
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Posted using BlogPress from my iPadinconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-35627931384395709632012-08-02T20:52:00.001+01:002012-08-02T20:53:28.524+01:00Pootling to Copenhagen<iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Bremen,+Deutschland&daddr=Schwerin,+Germany+to:Wismar,+Germany+to:K%C3%BChlungsborn,+Germany+to:Nienhagen,+Rostock,+Deutschland+to:Warnem%C3%BCnde,+Rostock,+Germany+to:Gedser,+Denmark+to:Nykobing+Falster,+Denmark+to:Roskilde+Municipality,+Denmark+to:Copenhagen,+Denmark&geocode=FQDtKQMdnk2GACk14-4MECixRzFR3zf5XIjowg%3BFbNdMgMdmiWuACmZ9w61ktmtRzHAgoSt6BolBA%3BFdZqNgMd0ryuACnfNqJrlritRzHggoSt6BolBA%3BFSM3OgMdMyuzACnz1h3wMKmtRzGAhYSt6BolBA%3BFSRCOgMdV725ACld-PAaH1isRzEBwLi06RolJg%3BFYuEOgMdhWC4ACmrcT9SIFasRzFcssb7gxASng%3BFVa9QAMdOg62AClra7FcQyKtRzEA3VAdzK8ACg%3BFW6nQwMdpDS1ACmHY09c1i-tRzEEIJlXt7pKRw%3BFbj4UAMdSd-4ACnPA__A3F9SRjHkbA_C7tY6hw%3BFcGMUQMdEce_ACkjPYBcPFNSRjG4Z5Tm3X7dBA&aq=1&oq=Nienhagen,&sll=54.358157,10.678711&sspn=3.07635,6.509399&t=h&hl=en&dirflg=w&mra=ltm&ie=UTF8&ll=54.358157,10.678711&spn=2.61866,3.76664&output=embed" width="425"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=embed&saddr=Bremen,+Deutschland&daddr=Schwerin,+Germany+to:Wismar,+Germany+to:K%C3%BChlungsborn,+Germany+to:Nienhagen,+Rostock,+Deutschland+to:Warnem%C3%BCnde,+Rostock,+Germany+to:Gedser,+Denmark+to:Nykobing+Falster,+Denmark+to:Roskilde+Municipality,+Denmark+to:Copenhagen,+Denmark&geocode=FQDtKQMdnk2GACk14-4MECixRzFR3zf5XIjowg%3BFbNdMgMdmiWuACmZ9w61ktmtRzHAgoSt6BolBA%3BFdZqNgMd0ryuACnfNqJrlritRzHggoSt6BolBA%3BFSM3OgMdMyuzACnz1h3wMKmtRzGAhYSt6BolBA%3BFSRCOgMdV725ACld-PAaH1isRzEBwLi06RolJg%3BFYuEOgMdhWC4ACmrcT9SIFasRzFcssb7gxASng%3BFVa9QAMdOg62AClra7FcQyKtRzEA3VAdzK8ACg%3BFW6nQwMdpDS1ACmHY09c1i-tRzEEIJlXt7pKRw%3BFbj4UAMdSd-4ACnPA__A3F9SRjHkbA_C7tY6hw%3BFcGMUQMdEce_ACkjPYBcPFNSRjG4Z5Tm3X7dBA&aq=1&oq=Nienhagen,&sll=54.358157,10.678711&sspn=3.07635,6.509399&t=h&hl=en&dirflg=w&mra=ltm&ie=UTF8&ll=54.358157,10.678711&spn=2.61866,3.76664" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small><br />
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Well, after all the travelling around Europe with our film, it's time to have a proper cycling holiday. And what better way to spend a week than cycling through northern Germany and Denmark to Copenhagen.<br />
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We're travelling with two good friends who live in nearby Lillienthal, and will be deliberately restrained about the distances we cover on the bikes. Lazy sods that we are, we'll happily take a train when time is tight or weather is crap. In fact we decided to get a head start and take a slight detour by train to Schwerin (B) tomorrow, thanks to the cheap tickets available here, and the easy booking of bicycles. Schwerin is the same size as Darlington, so it will be intriguing to compare traffic and cycling provision.<br />
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Then to Wismar, (C) and a few days on the Baltic Sea to Rostock (F). A couple of days will be spent as I try to reconnect with some people from the <a href="http://www.amber-online.com/archives/from-marks--spencer-to-marx-and-engels" target="_blank">Amber Film I helped make there 25 years ago</a>. Then a ferry to Gedser (G), a bit of pedalling north, and at some point in the same day a train up to Roskilde (I). Between there and Copenhagen we might just do a bit exploring around the north coast. Then it's back to Bremen on a train (yep, cheap tickets again). So this will be no great feat of sporting achievement a la Olympics, but rather a gentle pootle along proper cycle paths.<br />
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We'll be recording the trip, of course, but what we'll be interested in is the standard of signposted infrastructure in Germany and Denmark. There's an ongoing programme of long-distance cycle route building going on here, and <a href="http://www.cycletourer.co.uk/cycletouring/germany.shtml" target="_blank">standards are generally very good</a>. Even so, there have been cuts in the budget, from 94 million euros in 2010 to 60 million euros this year. Denmark, on the other hand is, outside the well-documented story of Copenhagen, an unknown to us. Some of the official cycle routes we explored on google street view looked distinctly British in nature, ie no cycle path on a busy road. The picture here, for example, is on one such official route, between Praesto and Faxe.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="240" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=Praesto,+Denmark&aq=0&oq=Praesto&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=64.752695,104.150391&t=h&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Praesto,+Denmark&layer=c&cbll=55.192798,12.07306&panoid=Jh5emQzI5qh8JufEIWH1Qw&cbp=13,330.71,,0,23.7&ll=55.186023,12.07303&spn=0.023521,0.072956&z=13&output=svembed" width="425"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=Praesto,+Denmark&aq=0&oq=Praesto&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=64.752695,104.150391&t=h&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Praesto,+Denmark&layer=c&cbll=55.192798,12.07306&panoid=Jh5emQzI5qh8JufEIWH1Qw&cbp=13,330.71,,0,23.7&ll=55.186023,12.07303&spn=0.023521,0.072956&z=13" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small>
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But there's nothing like seeing the real thing for yourself, so with iPad in Ortlieb bag we're off tomorrow!inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-53490964594984835442012-05-23T14:01:00.000+01:002012-05-26T15:22:27.121+01:00Homage to Auto*Mat<iframe width="540" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RtkwmhJnI0U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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Beauty and the Bike's screening in Prague in 2011 coincided with a critical mass ride organised by local NGO Auto*Mat. Here we celebrate the great work of that organisation, and meet some of their enthusiastic young members.<br />
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Prague is one of the most car-oriented cities we visited on our tour of the continent, in many ways even more of a nightmare than the UK. Auto*Mat combine engagement with local authorities through the production of cycling-friendly urban development proposals for the municipality, with direct action and participatory events like these monthly critical mass rides. Thousands regularly attend, making them an incredible celebration of a few hours of cycling/skateboarding/scootering on car-free streets. Amazingly, the majority of those take part will bring their bikes in a car or by public transport, rather than risk cycling in ones or twos. It's that dangerous.<br />
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One feature of the Critical Mass Ride that really caught our eye was the presence of a number of young people from Danish Embassy. Unlike officialdom and their many hangers-on in the UK, who look down on such street actions as an obstruction to traffic and generally the preserve of the unwashed hooligan, the Danes celebrated the bicycle alongside their Auto*Mat friends by joining in with an official presence, both on the ride and later by joining in the speeches at the ride's destination venue.<br />
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Visit Auto*Mat's English-language web presence, at http://www.livable-cities.org/en/prague/prague-about-us/ to get an idea of their work. Or if your Czech is up to it, try http://www.auto-mat.cz/ for the latest news from Prague. Auto*Mat are part of a thriving movement for change in Prague. If you ever visit the city, try ditching the usual tourist crap and instead explore some of the great local projects in and around the lesser-known urban areas. For a useful overview of such initiatives, check out the <a href="http://eng.urbangarden.cz/" target="_blank">Urban Garden</a> website.inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-50241103972630593592012-04-04T16:46:00.001+01:002012-04-04T16:46:21.312+01:00At Last - Beauty and the Bike 2 Underway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At last, our next production is off the ground! After two years of touring with our film, we are back in Darlington to start the pre-production phase of the official follow-up to Beauty and the Bike. We start with a casting session for our short drama on Saturday 14th February. Here is our press release:<br />
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<b><u>PRODUCERS SEEK LOCAL CYCLING ACTORS FOR NEW FILM</u></b></div>
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Local film production cooperative Darlington Media Group are seeking local acting talent to star in the follow-up production to their widely-acclaimed documentary Beauty and the Bike. The production team will be filming a short drama for the big-screen later this year, but are now seeking out 3 local women and one local man for the lead roles with a casting session on Saturday 14th April, starting at 2pm, at their media workshop base at Darlington Arts Centre.<br />
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Beauty and the Bike, filmed largely in Darlington in 2009, has been screened in towns and cities across the world, from Vancouver to Prague to Melbourne, as well as extensively throughout the UK. It won the public prize for best film at last year’s Bicycle Film Festival in Germany, and is still getting tens of thousands of hits on YouTube. Darlington Media Group’s new film will dramatize some of the many stories to emerge from the experience of women trying out cycling in their everyday lives. Producer Beatrix Wupperman explained:<br />
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“We need to cast for the film now, as we want to have 4 confident cyclists by the time we start production. Some of the scenes will involve dialogue whilst riding a bicycle, and they will need to have plenty of time to practice. With this in mind, we are going to give the 4 actors a dutch bike each to use regularly between now and our shoot”.<br />
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The storyline for the new film is still under wraps, but will involve a lead role based on the dual personalities of a famous cycling twitterer from the town.<br />
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Anyone between 24 and 40 years old interested in taking part in the casting should contact the producers by email, at dmg@bikebeauty.org, or by telephone on 07967 972092.<br />
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<br /></div>inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-51799839131014876692012-02-22T11:15:00.001+00:002012-02-22T14:58:02.055+00:00From Road to Cycle Path and Back Again<table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFxIgWS9uuNY_K7ha-7VqZb7wdXcpr6ua8rdsmT0ak_ajTDGkuYJmzPW1SNPzmY-rCW7ulUFohADNmoPcRtk0ooEZVaoIckjuzTTgCA5flBHTw_enCnc49vBKxeoFJSBCmkpmPB34STE/s1600/Humboldtstr+Meeting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFxIgWS9uuNY_K7ha-7VqZb7wdXcpr6ua8rdsmT0ak_ajTDGkuYJmzPW1SNPzmY-rCW7ulUFohADNmoPcRtk0ooEZVaoIckjuzTTgCA5flBHTw_enCnc49vBKxeoFJSBCmkpmPB34STE/s320/Humboldtstr+Meeting.jpg" border="0" height="194" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The meeting of local residents last night on Humboldtstraße</td></tr></tbody></table> <b><span style="font-size:large;">When Objective and Subjective Safety Clash</span></b><br /><br />Last night saw what for me was a remarkable sight - a local authority anticipating the digging up of a road by one of the utilities (in this case water to renew a main sewer), and actually planning to take advantage by developing plans for infrastructure improvements when the work is finished and the road needs relaid. What's more this is the Viertel in Bremen, an area of the city with higher than normal cycling rates in a city that averages 25%. Our local mayor <a href="http://www.ortsamtmitte.bremen.de/sixcms/detail.php?gsid=bremen96.c.2671.de" target="_blank">Robert Bücking</a>, who chaired the event, represents the Green Party that recently won 45% of the vote in our district at last year's election. Both local government policy and popular will were heavily weighted towards cycling-friendly improvements.<br /><br />Local utility company <a href="http://www.hansewasser.de/" target="_blank">HanseWasser </a>will begin work on renewing the main sewer that runs beneath Humboldtstraße in April, and last night's meeting was called to discuss local authority proposals to convert the street into a Cycle Street following completion of the works. Humboldtstraße has a problem that is increasing in Bremen - cycle paths built in the 1980s that are deteriorating, whilst the numbers of cyclists using them continues to increase. Figures released at the meeting last night show that somewhere around 4,000 cyclists use the street daily, a number that is equal to the number of motor vehicles. Humboldtstraße is a residential street, with a series of small local shops dotted along the its 800 metre length. Though no arterial road, it is often used as a handy alternative link between the main city hospital and the city centre.<br /><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiceIU9NUfv9o5LdhgK4LkKTlDB3vUqutVyGjQ2GwqmlkRJvb9xZH0MQAa0EqjBHhXX2WH2PcfkCMWhfAU-nMve0S2S_I6cOT0Hj8NRN5yWQkEv0_r8XajCG-JFJ1T_AVANgOlmzkVaG0Q/s1600/Humboltstr+View.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiceIU9NUfv9o5LdhgK4LkKTlDB3vUqutVyGjQ2GwqmlkRJvb9xZH0MQAa0EqjBHhXX2WH2PcfkCMWhfAU-nMve0S2S_I6cOT0Hj8NRN5yWQkEv0_r8XajCG-JFJ1T_AVANgOlmzkVaG0Q/s320/Humboltstr+View.JPG" border="0" height="155" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Humboldtstraße</td></tr></tbody></table>The local authority proposal is to convert Humboldtstraße into a <a href="http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrradstra%C3%9Fe" target="_blank">Fahrradstraße</a> (Cycling Street), removing the existing cycle paths, narrowing the main road by a metre, and giving more space to the pavements, and car and bicycle parking. The street will continue as a 30kph (20mph) zone, but unlike now will have priority at all side junctions. Currently, junctions use the "priority to the right" system as an alternative to "give way" signs, but it seems in this case many drivers have historically acted as if Humboldtstraße already had priority over side streets.<br /><br />One principle argument for Fahrradstraße is objective safety. Especially at junctions, cyclists are more visible on the main road when compared with the cycle path. In Germany, cycle paths and pedestrians have priority at side junctions, so any accidents involving a cyclist/motor vehicle collision will almost inevitably be due to the driver failing to see the cyclist. Such collisions are less likely to occur if the cyclist is out on the road. Of course this argument is used regularly by vehicular cyclists in the UK and USA, who have amassed <a href="http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/digest/research.html" target="_blank">considerable evidence to argue their case</a>. But unlike these studies, the Fahrradstraße discussion last night was primarily concerned with quality issues. How would cyclist priority on the street work in practice? Is the 30kph speed limit respected by all users? What happens at night when there are few cyclists? Clearly on-road cycling here will be quite different to the average UK or USA road.<br /><br />But most interesting of all, concerns from the audience, and women in particular, revolved around <a href="http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2008/09/three-types-of-safety.html" target="_blank">subjective safety</a>. Many said they feared any kind of mixing with motorised traffic, and predicted they would instead cycle on the widened pavements promised in the plan. Others questioned whether the role given to cyclists - to calm motorised traffic - was fair on small children or the elderly. Here, the "experts" from the <a href="http://verkehrsinfo.bremen.de/fahrrad/fahrradfreundliches-bremen/radweg-oder-fahrbahn.html" target="_blank">local authority</a>, the <a href="http://www.adfc.de/" target="_blank">ADFC</a> (German Cyclists Federation), and even one local politician who explained her surprise when she was shown the statistics about Fahrradstraße safety, were unable to reconcile their objective statistics about safety with the subjective feelings expressed by members of the audience.<br /><br />Yet subjective safety is a widely recognised and important concept. In this case, it raises the question about the "feel" of the street for users, and to what extent it is more of a space for slow moving traffic - pedestrians and cyclists - than for fast, or potentially fast-moving motorised vehicles. Many in the audience felt that giving Humboldtstraße continuous priority over all side streets will only encourage reckless driving, despite the speed limit. Humboldtstraße runs in a straight line from one end to the other. These criticisms seemed to suggest a wish for a street design that better stated the intentions of the planners to "tame the motor vehicle". One woman suggested taking motorised traffic out of the street altogether. Perhaps here there are even some <a href="http://www.sustrans.org.uk/resources/in-the-news/Quality-streets-for-all" target="_blank">lessons for Bremen from the UK</a> after all.<br /><br />It is gratifying that the public debate last night hardly touched on issues of convenience for motorised traffic. Pretty well all who attended agreed on the aim of making Humboldtstraße a better living street by reducing the dominance of the car (although that pesky issue of parking space remains a popular demand). But if our local authority is to properly address residents' concerns, a range of options from Fahrradstraße to Fussgängerzone (Pedestrian Zone) should now be explored. As one attendee said last night, Bremen is going through a deep cultural change, from car-centricity to liveable streets. But the journey from one to the other is not a simple one, and mistakes could be made on the way.<br /><br />In a deeply democratic country like Germany, this debate will continue for some time to come here in the <a href="http://dasviertel.de/" target="_blank">Viertel</a>. We'll let you know how the proposals develop.inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com2Humboldtstraße, 28203 Bremen, Germany53.0744876 8.829196253.0697176 8.8193257 53.0792576 8.8390667tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-90725443265922445762012-01-27T16:18:00.006+00:002012-01-27T16:25:53.397+00:00Space Reallocation - An Example in Britain<div><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Cycling Embassy of Britain is asking cycling policy activists to contribute to their debate about infrastructure this weekend, and we are happy to help as much as we can.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">There is a very interesting and successful example in Britain, in the city of Hull: Here they dared to take considerable space away from cars by re-organising dual carriage ways: “The project involved reallocating road space on seven busy roads within the city through the introduction of cycle lanes. This was achieved by removing one lane of traffic in each direction which was then replaced by a cycle lane and parking bays.” They also allowed cyclists clear priority at junctions. That was not expensive but they were able to raise the number of cyclists considerably by 100 % in the same year as its installation and to reduce accidents by 55%.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The quality of these cycle lanes is not necessarily the best. But the point of this example is the amount of road space that has been taken from motorised traffic and reallocated to cycling. The allocation of road space is a key factor in any infrastructure development, and as cycling advocates are well aware, the UK’s track record on this is pretty poor. Here in Hull we have an example that shows that even in the UK reallocation of space is possible.</span></p></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-QvzK_ALsHsMFcgSTwr0Dad7Jtep14d97CNyvEQDJCIauxWSF722sul_s_OMstm_Ql6hhwrITAiFNgu7rcKR9oKxxE2G9SnSXfsdvw3BZQA81bN9pCTJQEwrtVM7vqOZ_peZlK_gtQc/s1600/Hessle+Road%252C+Hull.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-QvzK_ALsHsMFcgSTwr0Dad7Jtep14d97CNyvEQDJCIauxWSF722sul_s_OMstm_Ql6hhwrITAiFNgu7rcKR9oKxxE2G9SnSXfsdvw3BZQA81bN9pCTJQEwrtVM7vqOZ_peZlK_gtQc/s400/Hessle+Road%252C+Hull.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702347603327286226" /></a> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">If you want to read more and see pictures, look at this short paper by Hull City Council and Cycling England about one of the roads:</span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s2"><a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110407094607/http://www.dft.gov.uk/cyclingengland/site/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/hessle_road_hull.pdf">http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110407094607/http://www.dft.gov.uk/cyclingengland/site/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/hessle_road_hull.pdf</a></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">There is also a report by SQW Consulting to Cycling England from December 2008, where they compare five different projects in England but Hull gets the best results:</span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s2"><a href="http://www.nici.org.uk/downloads/planning-for-cycling-report-10-3-09.pdf">http://www.nici.org.uk/downloads/planning-for-cycling-report-10-3-09.pdf</a></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">The Hull project is described on pages 30 and 48 to 50, and for a better assessment of the results see page 39.</span></p>wuppidochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12146251197662222605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-10574296085381663452011-10-06T13:08:00.010+01:002011-10-06T13:55:57.705+01:00"Beauty and the Bike" besucht Bremen am 11. Oktober 2011<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8bDKXGX-ONpCUExOQV01CzxztNCG7T8NzoC9uzqDdCBa25nEf3C2KkF5NHh-w4jGjfOA9JEWB18mQ7_nn7tCqLv00NKU0pjweWo2iXHntXVNnYPIMnPyTkLDvJslJq5Woawuy-USq8w/s1600/SabineBungert5.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8bDKXGX-ONpCUExOQV01CzxztNCG7T8NzoC9uzqDdCBa25nEf3C2KkF5NHh-w4jGjfOA9JEWB18mQ7_nn7tCqLv00NKU0pjweWo2iXHntXVNnYPIMnPyTkLDvJslJq5Woawuy-USq8w/s320/SabineBungert5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660361684088508002" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"></span>Am Dienstag, den 11. Oktober um 19:00 Uhr zeigen wir unseren Film im Haus des <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">BUND Bremen, Am Dobben 44</span>, 28203 Bremen. Einlass ab 18:30 Uhr.<br /><br />Da die Plätze begrenzt sind, bitten wir um telefonische Anmeldung unter:<br />0421 79 00 20<br /><br />Nähere Informationen bietet der <a href="http://www.bund-bremen.net/">BUND</a>wuppidochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12146251197662222605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-6581562044860145102011-09-28T11:14:00.009+01:002011-09-28T11:40:09.735+01:00Beauty and the Bike at International Cycling Film Festival in Herne 8. October 2011<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJcr5-SNXYvNJME_PhzUuVB9hfWBT6FiE6_4l5kZsJ281kGasGjSPK_cCOfXP8DGgFgbDV2wTmAUr0l_y-5yMu9iWfypZfemE6yDjtEDKjnCq_jY-WMXr6ODQB3ZstkuH1YgC-C8ySSjs/s1600/Herne+Logo.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJcr5-SNXYvNJME_PhzUuVB9hfWBT6FiE6_4l5kZsJ281kGasGjSPK_cCOfXP8DGgFgbDV2wTmAUr0l_y-5yMu9iWfypZfemE6yDjtEDKjnCq_jY-WMXr6ODQB3ZstkuH1YgC-C8ySSjs/s320/Herne+Logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657356564406628114" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Beauty and the Bike</span> will run in the competition at the International Cycling Film Festival in Herne, Flottmann Hallen, Germany, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday 8th October 2011.</span><br /><br />We are entered for the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Goldene Kurbel</span> award, but really we are happy to just attend and discuss our film with the audience.<br /><br />You can find the Program here:<br /><a href="http://www.cyclingfilms.de/programm/"><br />International Film Festival Herne</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Beauty and the Bike</span> will be screened before 21:00!!<br /><br />There is also a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Critical Mass Ride</span> during the afternoon!!!<br /><span lang="EN-US"><span>15:00 Uhr Critical Mass <span style="font-weight: bold;">Bochum goes Flottmann</span></span></span><br />Start at Bochum Rathaus – Town hall/Rathaus<span></span><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> <span>20:00 Uhr</span><br /><span>6th International Cycling Film Festival 2011</span><br />20 films from 10 countries</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Beauty and the Bike</span> between 20:00 und 21:00<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> <span>23:00 Uhr</span><br /><span>Award ceremony<br /></span></span></p>wuppidochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12146251197662222605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-75592652765174489602011-09-28T10:24:00.003+01:002011-09-28T10:39:06.586+01:00Beauty and the Bike in Braunschweig am 7. Oktober 2011Im Rahmen einer Tagung junger MobilitätsforscherInnen wird unser Film am Freitag, den 7. Oktober 2011 im Abendprogramm gezeigt werden.<br />Ort: TU Braunschweig, Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, ab 19:30 Uhr.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.tu-braunschweig.de/innenpolitik/aktuelles/pegasustagung2011">Mehr Informationen</a><br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Anmeldung unter<br />s.sikatzki@tu-braunschweig.de</span>wuppidochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12146251197662222605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-69615555284887664172011-07-19T14:40:00.000+01:002011-07-19T14:26:45.296+01:00The cycle paths to happy cycling - digging deeperWith the launch of our new website, our work now turns to exploring the political, social and economic constraints on cycling. We recently published an article in the new magazine Cycling Mobility, which explored the influence of habitus on cycling policies in the UK and Germany. This set us thinking about the many hours of material that were never used in the final production, and how there are many other stories that could be told by these young women. We featured short portraits of Darlington girls Sofija, Kate and Lauren during their visit to Bremen in 2009, but the Bremen girls, and their perspectives on cycling, are just as interesting. They reveal how there is much more to what David Hembrow calls "<a href="http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2008/09/three-types-of-safety.html">subjective safety</a>" than has so far been written. And how our understanding of <i>cycling</i> can be so different.<br />
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Ricarda, one of the <a href="http://www.bikebeauty.org/english/Bikebeauty_2010_English/The_Project.html">Beauty and the Bike</a> girls from Bremen, spoke of "<i>cycling</i>" in the UK not being what she understood as "<i>cycling</i>" at all. We later queried her about this, and she talked a lot about cycling on roads with motorised traffic, whether in a lane or without, as being completely alien to her. There was an interesting aside about this when we were filming the two groups of girls in Bremen. Ricarda asks Harri what she thought of cycling along a mandatory cycle lane that had recently been <a href="http://www.nationaler-radverkehrsplan.de/praxisbeispiele/anzeige.phtml?id=2054">developed on Hamburger Strasse</a>. Harri responds by saying how safe she felt. But Ricarda later stated that she prefers to cycle "on the pavement" - this mandatory cycle lane just wasn't up to the standard that she wanted from cycling infrastructure.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzxxFrLqNyxNm2EgEZp8Nky8QamozoZYMgzd6sg8cDFw0-LFyyxwWTp6xfq24GzCX_nkBpdwQpKFlJlm92iTg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
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Of course Ricarda didn't actually mean that she preferred to use the pedestrian space we call the pavement or sidewalk. What she was saying was that her idea of <i>cycling</i> was very much divorced from roads designed for motorised traffic. Living in Bremen, it was possible to get around most places without actually using a busy road. Yet here was a bit of new infrastructure that contradicted this vision. The road engineer who worked on this project also hinted that it was a "little bit different" for Bremen to be developing cycling infrastructure on the road - historically, Bremen's cycle paths have been built, as Ricarda says, on pavements.<br />
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From an infrastructure point of view, Hamburger Strasse is deemed an advance for cycling. Considerable space was taken away from motorised traffic to create the cycle lanes, and in fact they are often on the pavement as well. Bremen's older on-pavement cycle paths are often painfully narrow. But from a cycling culture point of view, it seems like a bit of a backward step to be putting cyclists on a road - albeit with some sense of safety provided by the nature of the mandatory lane.<br />
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Ricarda's vision of cycling as having nothing whatever to do with on-road activity has some pretty interesting cultural repercussions. If cycling is less like vehicular traffic and more like walking, well we can chat and take our time, can't we? We can use umbrellas, stop and window-gaze at every little shop,<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMLqlbQKEP3mXDoZZ0Tla775dJilCYwZuqYq0hOCCbIo1JWVRNVaod5GwxpCkNI0Q5oAExm-DME12HmPBmfQtrL-HXzSE8qEXcMzAf1sb17w7OyYvMdBP0zgEIagZ2Whxipi9g5wZU8Sw/s1600/Taking+it+Easy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMLqlbQKEP3mXDoZZ0Tla775dJilCYwZuqYq0hOCCbIo1JWVRNVaod5GwxpCkNI0Q5oAExm-DME12HmPBmfQtrL-HXzSE8qEXcMzAf1sb17w7OyYvMdBP0zgEIagZ2Whxipi9g5wZU8Sw/s400/Taking+it+Easy.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">play at <i>look no hands</i> as we cycle along, the possibilities are endless. And a long way away from the health and safety oriented vision of cycling in countries like the UK and the USA. Yet these contrasting ideas about <i>cycling</i> are shaping how <i>cycling</i> develops culturally. </div><br />
I would suggest this is a bit like pedestrians and pavements. In most countries with little or no infrastructure, roads/dirt tracks are shared by all. In most western societies, pavements have developed in urban areas for pedestrians. As pedestrians, we would find it alien to have to share all urban roads with motorised traffic.<br />
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Bicycling is a different mode of transport, with its own needs, speed, age ranges, that logically does not tally with the very different needs of motorised traffic. Yet certain countries deem it acceptable to continue to insist on cyclists doing just that. Perhaps for consistency, we should begin to rip up our pavements and insist that pedestrians also share road space. After all, some American cities <a href="http://www.walkinginfo.org/problems/problems-sidewalks.cfm">organise their streets</a> in exactly this way.<br />
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How to best integrate different transport modes requires a clear understanding of the nature of each. To take an obvious example, speed. On urban roads with a 30mph (48km/h) speed limit, average free flowing traffic speeds are <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dft.gov.uk%2Fadobepdf%2F162469%2F221412%2F221546%2F226956%2F261695%2Froadstats09tsc.pdf">in fact just that - 30mph (2009)</a>. The average free-flow urban cycling speed in cities with dedicated infrastructure <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftram.mcgill.ca%2FResearch%2FPublications%2FBicycle_travel_speed.pdf">lies between 6.2 mph (10 km/h) and 17.4mph (28 km/h) with a majority of the reported speeds in the literature being between 7.5mph (12 km/h) and 12.4 mph (20 km/h)</a>. Average walking speed is about 4mph (6.5km/h).<br />
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Clearly, any decision to combine two or three of these modes requires careful consideration about the impact one mode might have on others. Thus mixed cycling and walking space is typically designed primarily around the needs of (slower) walkers, with cyclists treated as <i>invited guests</i>. Similarly, mixed walking, cycling and motoring space such as Home Zones are <a href="http://www.homezones.org.uk/public/guidance/index.cfm">designed to make motorists feel that they are a <i>guest</i> in the street, and must make it difficult for them to travel at speeds of more than 10 mph.</a> In both these cases, priority is given to slower, more vulnerable traffic member.<br />
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Applying the same principle to mixing cyclists and motorists also makes absolute sense. Thus in countries with a more developed planning approach to cycling, facilities like Cycle Streets are designed as cyclist-priority streets with access for motorised traffic. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoxv8iyaJPdIyutp7u3xtF0hlcg7rKnDXN20voCMqusfo-TI8O8MkXIRPeRFzAEpODOVcj_ST3Qk74jIs-wfLfeIQnMdQRc6iXYUSuGPvBx1J3xheQOg6tKR1j5eLQrOC3pWJ0AjQ3ZE/s1600/Picture+6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoxv8iyaJPdIyutp7u3xtF0hlcg7rKnDXN20voCMqusfo-TI8O8MkXIRPeRFzAEpODOVcj_ST3Qk74jIs-wfLfeIQnMdQRc6iXYUSuGPvBx1J3xheQOg6tKR1j5eLQrOC3pWJ0AjQ3ZE/s400/Picture+6.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cycle Street in Bremen, Germany</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Similarly, the aim of the <a href="http://www.20splentyforus.org.uk/">20's Plenty Campaign</a> is to establish a speed limit norm of 20mph (30km/h) in residential areas, as a means of moving towards streets that again can be used by residents and their children. What is particularly interesting is what happens in residential streets when such speed limits are combined with a strong cycling culture - the subject of our next post. But undoubtedly the great exception to these principles is the mixing of cyclists and motorists on busy 30mph roads. The illogic of this is only sustained as long as the number of cyclists is kept to a minimum, or in some cases <a href="http://austinontwowheels.org/2010/06/08/colorado-town-bans-bicycle-for-safety/">legally eliminated altogether</a>. In the vast majority of towns and cities where this is the norm, cycling numbers remain stubbornly low. <i>Dutch style infrastructure</i>, as currently being <a href="http://lcc.org.uk/pages/main-roads">considered by London Cycling Campaign</a>, and advocated by both <a href="http://bikedarlington.blogspot.com/">Darlington</a> and <a href="http://cyclefriendlytooncom.fatcow.com/index.html">Newcastle</a> Cycling Campaigns, as well as a host of <a href="http://hembrow.blogspot.com/">other</a> <a href="http://ibikelondon.blogspot.com/">online</a> <a href="http://crapwalthamforest.blogspot.com/">commentators</a>, means good quality cycle paths alongside busy arterial roads. <br />
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Without this key strategic understanding, all the well-funded work going on around 20mph speed limits, cycle training, the marketing of cycling as healthy, and so on will have little effect on the levels of cycling in countries like the UK. "<i>Cycling"</i>, as understood by Ricarda in our film, will continue to be a pipe dream.inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-13513709533353213992011-06-13T14:47:00.001+01:002011-06-13T17:02:56.586+01:00New Research Confirms - It’s the Infrastructure<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTCFnMd5sPElSc0fZYy1kz0Od8W6t7XHw_nVzLxPi7GNKviq-2aOEz9vPJvK4wzfHDZnRxHcino-Ez5BgupMQME3Ln3dXIWuBdBE5K9nDFOBbpERicoSxDo3gxYDRM__ZNWLEZftW020/s1600/Bike09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTCFnMd5sPElSc0fZYy1kz0Od8W6t7XHw_nVzLxPi7GNKviq-2aOEz9vPJvK4wzfHDZnRxHcino-Ez5BgupMQME3Ln3dXIWuBdBE5K9nDFOBbpERicoSxDo3gxYDRM__ZNWLEZftW020/s400/Bike09.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
High quality, dedicated infrastructure will be required if Britain is to become a mass-cycling country, according to <a href="http://www.lec.lancs.ac.uk/research/society_and_environment/walking_and_cycling.php">new research</a>. Academics from Lancaster University, the University of Leeds and Oxford Brookes University have just released the results of a three year in-depth study of cycling in four English towns (Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester and Worcester). The work is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Key findings are summarised on the <a href="http://www.bikehub.co.uk/news/sustainability/save-our-cities-build-for-bicycles-not-cars/">Bike Hub blog</a>.<br />
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The research found that, broadly, two cycling cultures existed. In more affluent communities where people largely understood the message that cycling is “a good idea”, there is none the less widespread reluctance to use the bicycle on an everyday basis. As Dr. David Horton, one of the researchers, wrote, “<i>The idea of it is too hard, too strange, and far too dangerous. They do cycle though, predominantly for pleasure, and especially on sunny summer Sundays. Away from the roads.</i>”<br />
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In the second cycling culture, predominantly amongst less affluent working class communities, the bicycle is simply seen as irrelevant to transport, a child’s toy. Here, the bicycle is used more as a second-rate substitute for a car due to lack of affordability of the latter. As Dr. Horton writes, “<i>although people from these communities tend not to rate cycling very highly, some do nontheless ride, through necessity, and on the footway. They ride on footways for two main reasons: first, because they feel safer there; and second, in order to stay out of the way of cars, which they don’t want to delay</i>”.<br />
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The research concludes that our towns and cities have, over the past 50 years, been successfully developed for car use. Now we need to re-develop them for bicycle use. And the clear and well-tested policy of slow-speed residential streets combined with high quality separated cycle infrastructure on busy urban roads is confirmed as the way forward:<br />
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<i>“We need radically to restructure our urban mobility systems in ways which will get people out of their cars and make them cycle. Half of the infrastructural change required is underway – the push for a maximum speed limit of 20 mph on residential streets is gaining momentum. But the other half of the key infrastructural change required needs a similar push, and this push should be for very high quality and continuous segregated cycling infrastructure on our biggest and busiest urban roads, the kind of roads on which almost everyone today refuses to cycle”.</i><br />
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The emphasis on infrastructure is made because of successive government and local authority decisions to support some of the easier requirements for a mass cycling culture - improved cycle parking, cycle training, bicycle coops and shops, promotional events and activities, bike hire. And 20’s Plenty campaigns around the country (including in <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_197614173602463&ap=1">our own Darlington</a>) are gradually succeeding in moving local authorities to accept 20mph as the default speed limit in residential streets.<br />
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But the key need to address the quality of the cycling experience on busy main roads is consistently avoided, for fear of offending “the motorist”. With endless technical examples of best practice available from countries like<a href="http://hembrow.blogspot.com/"> the Netherlands,</a> the problem is clearly political. Yet even in this sphere, inspiring examples of successful political action to radically transform cities, such as <a href="http://bikedarlington.blogspot.com/2011/03/velo-city-from-copenhagen-to-seville.html">Seville</a> in Spain, can be found.<br />
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But in the end, it may well be down to who our politicians listen to, rather than any technical expertise or ideas of best practice. One positive sign is that cycling’s national organisations appear to be slowly coming round to the same conclusions of Beauty and the Bike, the EPSRC, and an increasing number of <a href="http://bikedarlington.blogspot.com/2011/02/cyclist-safety-two-approaches.html">cycling campaigns</a> around the country. Whether UK politicians take any notice, though, is another matter.inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-68173442404559617082011-03-02T14:26:00.002+00:002011-06-13T14:31:57.329+01:00Motorist Behaviour - From Darlington to Porto Alegre<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bikebeauty.org/english/Bikebeauty_2010_English/Blog/Entries/2011/3/2_Motorist_Behaviour_-_From_Darlington_to_Porto_Alegre_files/droppedImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bikebeauty.org/english/Bikebeauty_2010_English/Blog/Entries/2011/3/2_Motorist_Behaviour_-_From_Darlington_to_Porto_Alegre_files/droppedImage.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Two problems stood out when the Beauty and the Bike group from Bremen visited Darlington - the lack of good quality infrastructure, and the aggressive behaviour of motorists towards cyclists.<br />
This is a world-wide phenomenon in car-centric societies. First, roads are designed for the motorist. Second, cyclists are “invited” to share them. Third, motorists get frustrated with non-motorised traffic getting in the way on “their” road. Usually, these manifest themselves as isolated incidents between individuals. But a more serious event hit the headlines last week.<br />
Twenty cyclists were violently struck on Friday February 25 while participating in a Critical Mass ride in Porto Alegre, Brazil. An angry motorist attacked a section of the ride, hitting dozens of vulnerable cyclists. After being arrested, the driver Ricardo Neis, claims that he did this in self defence.<br />
Tonight, a ride will be organised entitled <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193303274033859">SACA LA BICI. RUTA POR LA PAZ</a> (Use the Bike, the Path to Peace), in Querétaro, Mexico, is one of a number of international protests seeking justice for cyclists, and the freeing of public spaces currently overrun by the irresponsible culture of the car.inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-82825991598703987462011-01-18T11:16:00.006+00:002011-01-26T14:12:17.989+00:00Learning from Copenhagen (and elsewhere)More evidence that informed thinking about successful cycling policies is coalescing around a move towards high quality and safe infrastructure on our arterial routes, couple with traffic calming on all residential streets. An interesting exchange of letters between <a href="http://onourowntwowheels.com/2010/12/23/can-the-copenhagen-model-be-applied-to-the-uk-3/">Richard Lewis</a>, a principal town and transport planner at the London Borough of Newham, and <a href="http://onourowntwowheels.com/2011/01/12/getting-britain-on-its-bike-can-copenhagen-show-us-the-way/#comment-210">Dave Horton</a> from Lancaster University, asks how much we can learn from the "Copenhagen model", a somewhat PR-influenced shorthand for "best European practice" as spelt out lucidly and repeatedly by our friend from Assen, <a href="http://hembrow.blogspot.com/">David Hembrow</a><br />
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Dave Horton <a href="http://onourowntwowheels.com/2010/12/08/copenhagen/">visited Copenhagen at the beginning of December</a> as part of a wider piece of research called On Our Own Two Wheels, documenting the experience of riding a bicycle in cities around the world. The exchange of letters followed that visit.<br />
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As David Horton concludes:<br />
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<i>“I think increased provision of specific and segregated cycling infrastructure might be key to getting the velorution rolling. The current and massive problem with otherwise wonderful initiatives such as Bikeability (a UK cycle training scheme, not to be confused with the Danish research project of the same name!) is that, given the existing cycling environment, we’re destined to lose the vast majority of those we train. However well we train them, only the hardy minority will stay on their bikes for long. We have strategically to crack, and then mine, the current dominance of car-based urban automobility, and the establishment of cycling corridors – a la Copenhagen and (in a fashion) London – on key, highly visible arterial routes seems one way of doing so.”</i><br />
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This echoes our conclusion which we published a year ago on this website. What is becoming clear is that such policies cannot be delivered at a purely local level, whatever the new government rhetoric about localism. Local cycling policies are dominated by the DfT's and CTC's <a href="http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4923">hierarchy of provision</a>, which ironically puts infrastructure at the bottom of the list in a table of "considerations" for local authorities to follow. Unlike the fate of Cycling England, this particular policy is likely to survive for some time<br />
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Dave Horton concludes his post with notice of a gathering of like minds at The Phoenix Digital Arts Centre in Leicester on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June 2011. Perhaps this will come up with strategies for making national in the UK, cycling policies that clearly are "best practice" elsewhere.inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-60571107179327365302011-01-13T11:09:00.002+00:002011-01-26T11:12:47.350+00:00A Sense of Safety<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="540" height="320" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/toJJ9Rw0gjE" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe><br />
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This great little video has just been posted on YouTube by Leigh Andrews. It explores how young women in London take on crap infrastructure and the need to share road space with motorised traffic by building their self-confidence and taking road space.inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-54053962491714081052010-12-09T11:02:00.008+00:002011-01-26T11:08:15.748+00:001 Year On - So Much Inspiration Out There!A year ago this week, our film and book were launched into the world, with public screenings in Bremen and Darlington. Since then, we have been sending copies out to cycling advocates, campaigns, officers and research organisations all around the world. We have produced an NTSC version, a new 26 minute edit, and are now putting the finishing touches on Spanish and Portuguese subtitles for a multi-lingual DVD.<br />
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All of this new work has been inspired by the remarkable range of people out there who are trying to make cycling more attractive as an everyday means of transport. Many of them got in touch with us to order a DVD or book. Many of them have used Beauty and the Bike to raise debate about the state of cycling in their town or region. <br />
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So starting today, we’d like to share with you some of the work, more often than not voluntary, that is going on around the world. The one common factor is that they have all used Beauty and the Bike in some way or another.<br />
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Within a few weeks of our premieres last year, we were contacted by Emily Crompton, a post-graduate in Manchester, England. She described her group there in the following terms:<br />
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<i>“I am .. from the group called <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thespokesmcr">The Spokes</a> (part of i bike mcr) - the UKs only all-women-bicycle-dance-troupe!”</i><br />
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With an introduction like that, it was impossible not to want to follow up the contact. Emily and her colleagues were organising a bike festival, and wanted to screen the film as part of that. So a couple of the girls from the film accompanied us down to Manchester on 31st March for a wild evening at the Lass o’ Gowrie pub.<br />
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The screening was dogged by a temperamental projector, but we were all too wowed by the amazing determination of this group of women to cycle on the roads of Manchester, whatever the conditions.<br />
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What was perhaps most remarkable was the obvious cultural gap between these women and Kate and Lauren, who had travelled down from Darlington for the evening. The former, with their light racing bikes and waterproof gear (as usual it was wet in Manchester), the latter changing into their high heels and lippie just before arriving on the train. It was an amusing encounter, ending with the promise from Manchester that, if they ever organised a Critical Mass Ride in Darlington, the Spokes women would be up there to help.<br />
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So as a thank you to Emily and the others in Manchester, sit back and enjoy one of their performances, from a Critical Mass event in Manchester.<br />
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<object height="288" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gEvjbrB7gjo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gEvjbrB7gjo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="288"></embed></object>inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177713747092679518.post-51769547956859606822010-08-23T10:42:00.014+01:002011-01-26T10:56:25.026+00:00Release of North American DVD<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPyR7C-EnrMZXw6AF6zbvGcjTgHcLEtqOwPZBLuINaCt0DQFag56RV037ZWTzbZ9akplI_vsA1wOmUDD48l5JNoTMCLsh7JO_rYRo6TxLf4lY4AX1OQlaqnwFemh4hnd1ck9iYH4gKgeQ/s1600/release+of+US+DVD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPyR7C-EnrMZXw6AF6zbvGcjTgHcLEtqOwPZBLuINaCt0DQFag56RV037ZWTzbZ9akplI_vsA1wOmUDD48l5JNoTMCLsh7JO_rYRo6TxLf4lY4AX1OQlaqnwFemh4hnd1ck9iYH4gKgeQ/s400/release+of+US+DVD.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">photo:Sabine Bungert</span></div><br />
A new version of <b><i>Beauty and the Bike</i></b> has now been released in the North American (NTSC) DVD standard. The release includes a new 27 minute version of the film, giving cycling advocates the choice of three screening versions (8minute, 27minute and 57minute) for different circumstances.<br />
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The 27 minute version was premiered at the ninth <a href="http://www.worldcarfree.net/conference/">Car-Free Cities Conference in York</a> this summer to wide acclaim. Its production follows a number of requests from activists wanting to show the full film, but needing more time for discussion<br />
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The NTSC DVD standard is widely used in the USA and Canada, as the default domestic DVD player standard. Most of the rest of the world uses the UK PAL standard, although all personal computers, and an increasing range of DVD players, can handle both formats<br />
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A special thanks must go to the wonderful <b>Tad & Lisa Salyards</b>, the Minneapolis cycling advocates, for their help and support during the production of the NTSC DVD. The NTSC version of <b><i>Beauty and the Bike</i></b> is available <a href="http://www.bikebeauty.org/english/Bikebeauty_2010_English/Buy.html">here</a>.inconvenient_truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17888983434920764431noreply@blogger.com0