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When it comes to walking, many businesses understand pretty intuitively the value of fostering good foot traffic - the ones that are surviving, anyway. With bicycling, however, a lot of business owners and political decision-makers just don't get it at all. When Elly Blue wrote "Why an additional road tax for bicyclists would be unfair," which was later followed by a series of posts on Grist under the banner of bikenomics, I started to view bicycling under a completely different lens. This view and emphasis on economics has influenced my own writing and advocacy ever since. Elly Blue (left) & April Economides (right) At Pro Walk-Pro Bike April Economides, principle of Green Octopus Consulting, who headed up the program to create bicycling friendly business districts in Long Beach, is another voice in the bike movement who has been emphasizing economics. She was recently hired by Bike Nation to manage their bike share program proposed in Long Beach. Blue and Economides got together for the first time for a presentation at Pro-Walk/Pro-Bike titled "Bikenomics & the Business Case for Bike-Friendly Business Districts". Their presentations complimented each other very well, with Blue setting up some of the conceptual framework for why looking at the economics of bicycling is important, while Economides outlined the nuts and bolts of the outreach and programs done so far in Long Beach. April encouraged people early on in her talk "to engage the business community; we can't just preach to the choir". Some of the most well known aspects of the Long Beach bicycle-friendly business districts are the discounts participating businesses offer for those arriving on bike, and the themed bike racks selected by and installed for businesses. Each business district also received its own cargo bike to be used by businesses for whatever use they may find for them. Given the difficulty of finding places to either buy or rent such utilitarian bicycles throughout most

Protected bike lanes are the latest approach US cities are taking to help their residents get around by bike. But these protected lanes lose their buffer separation at intersections, reducing the comfort and safety for people riding. What the protected bike lane needs is the protected intersection. This proposal for the George Mason University 2014 Cameron Rian Hays Outside the Box Competition presents a vision for a safe, clear intersection design that improves conditions for all users. Proper design of refuge islands, crossing position and signal timing can create a safe intersection that people of all ages and abilities would feel safe in. Learn more online at ProtectedIntersection.com

Seaway Trail PA is committed to joining NY in achieving the National Scenic Byway status, with both states seeking the All-American Road status. If successful, this designation will make the corridor eligible to receive additional grant funds for various types of improvements; including safety enhancements, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, scenic overlooks/pull-offs, streetscaping, information kiosks, interpretive signage, and visitors centers. A formal working relationship between the County of Erie and Seaway Trail, Inc. will only enhance the likelihood of receiving funding for corridor-wide improvements, with the partnership between NY and PA potentially leveraging additional Federal funds. Planning Tourism Development Plans for Seaway Trail regions, Byway Interpretation Plan, Conservation Plan (under development) and Bicycle Plan (under development). Seaway Trail, Inc. is pleased to extend the opportunity to our Seaway Trail partners in Pennsylvania to participate in a number of ongoing and new projects to enhance, interpret and market the Great Lakes Seaway Trail. If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of these projects further, please contact David Cutter. Bicycle Guidebook and Development Plan S 11,000.00 Existing total project cost $148.000.00; completion 12131106. * Add Pennsylvania to new byway bicycle map and guidebook as appropriate

Photo Caption: U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx at the 2014 Pro Walk, Pro Bike, Pro Place Conference This past January, Secretary Foxx challenged city leaders to raise the bar for bicyclist and pedestrian safety by joining a year-long "Mayors' Challenge for Safer People and Safer Streets" effort.

You might have noticed some shiny new bikes parked outside the Ruth Lilly Student Center. Marian University has started a new bicycle sharing program and the bikes are available to students, faculty, and staff. "We want to start a cycling culture on campus that extends beyond our 19-time championship cycling team. We want Marian University students, faculty, and staff to embrace cycling for fun, exercise, transportation and competition. These bikes are a great way to build on the cycling culture that is already a part of the Marian University community," said Deborah Lawrence, Senior Vice President Head Cycling Coach Dean Peterson worked with Marian University cycling team partner, Matthews Bicycles, to find bikes that everyone could easily use. They selected a beautiful fleet of Electra bikes that reflect the school: new and cutting edge with a vintage flair. In addition to the bikes, a former cycling team member, Miles Chandler, is leading an effort to start a cycling club on campus, and they have agreed to maintain the Electra bikes for the campus community. "It's quick, it's easy, it's free, and healthy for you, too!" said Scott Ralph, Marian University's Chief of Police. The bicycles will be available each day from dawn to dusk, seasonal weather permitting. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Safety and Police Services in the Ruth Lilly Student Center at 317.955.6789. Happy cycling!

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Bureau of Highway Safety and Traffic Engineering Crash Reporting System.

CYCLODEO is a website that allows you to take 'virtual' bike rides by replaying 'real' ones created and shared by other cyclists all around the world. HD videos recorded by the cycling community are synchronized with the corresponding GPS tracks and placed on a map. With this video documentation, visitors can 'feel' via their web browser the experience of a cyclist on a particular route. Route safety is one of the main problems that urban cyclists have to deal with every single day. Understandably, it is also one of the top reasons why so many citizens are afraid to ride their bicycles. Instead a majority prefer to use their car even for short distances. Cyclodeo helps address this issue by allowing anyone to see exactly what street conditions they might encounter on a particular ride. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a thousand pictures.

In the recent flurry of local authority initiatives to promote cycling, the focus has been on junctions, cycle lanes, lorries and training. One question seems be almost totally neglected: "Where could I keep a bike?" For many people, a lack of secure storage rules out cycling completely.

Cycling campaigners are calling for a new law in Scotland to make motorists automatically at fault in an accident. The UK is one of only five European countries that do not currently have the law, known as "strict liability". Campaigners, including the mother of a 32-year-old Edinburgh man killed in a collision with a lorry in 2011, said the law would help reduce the number of cyclists killed and injured. But critics said it was unfair, and smacked of the "arrogance" of cyclists. Craig Newton, 32, died in a collision with a City of Edinburgh council lorry Seven cyclists were killed and more than 150 were seriously injured on Scottish roads during 2011, according to Transport Scotland figures. Under a strict liability law, motorists would be held responsible in the civil courts for all accidents involving cyclists - unless they can prove they were not to blame. Supporters of the Campaign for Strict Liability say it would greatly reduce the time it takes for accident victims to win compensation. Lynda Myles, whose son Craig Newton died after he was involved in a collision with a City of Edinburgh council lorry, said she fully supported the idea. "Over the two years since Craig's death, our whole family has been emotionally exhausted trying to make sense of what happened to him on that morning," she said.

Barber Center bike education program

Safe Kids

There is a map on page 60 that illustrates locations of both bicycle fatalities and collisions.

Included in their laws are electronic wireless usage. 12-1-35 VULNERABLE ROAD USERS. (a) In this section, a Vulnerable Road User means: (1) a pedestrian, including a runner, physically disabled person, child, skater, highway construction and maintenance worker, tow truck operator, utility worker, other worker with legitimate business in or near the road or right-of-way, or stranded motorist or passenger; (2) a person on horseback; (3) a person operating equipment other than a motor vehicle, including, but not limited to, a bicycle, handcycle, horse-driven conveyance, or unprotected farm equipment; or (4) a person operating a motorcycle, moped, motor-driven cycle, or motor-assisted scooter. (b) An operator of a motor vehicle passing a vulnerable road user operating on a highway or street shall: (1) vacate the lane in which the vulnerable road user is located if the highway has two or more marked lanes running in the same direction; or (2) pass the vulnerable road user at a safe distance. (c) For the purpose of Subsection (b)(2), when road conditions allow, safe distance is at least: (1) three feet if the operator's vehicle is a passenger car or light truck; or (2) six feet if the operator's vehicle is a truck, other than a light truck, or a commercial motor vehicle as defined by Texas Transportation Code Section 522.003. (d) An operator of a motor vehicle that is making a left turn at an intersection, including an intersection with an alley or private road or driveway, shall yield the right-of-way to a vulnerable road user who is approaching from the opposite direction and is in the intersection, or is in such proximity to the intersection as to be an immediate hazard. (e) An operator of a motor vehicle may not overtake a vulnerable road user traveling in the same direction and subsequently mak

By Jon Schmitz / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburgh has joined a growing list of cities using bright green paint to make on-street bike lanes more visible. The city last week painted about 200 feet of the bike lanes on Liberty Avenue at the approaches to the Bloomfield Bridge, with the help of a $23,000 grant from Bikes Belong, a national organization of bicycle suppliers and retailers. "That's our first green bike lane," said Stephen Patchan, the city's bike-pedestrian coordinator, who said the location was selected because of the large numbers of vehicles that make turns across the bike lanes. "It's a material that is slip-resistant, and it will last longer" than the paint used for road striping, he said. Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/transportation/pittsburgh-tests-green-paint-for-liberty-avenue-bike-lanes-686451/#ixzz2WHUrH6xM

In their new book, John Pucher and Ralph Buehler come right out and state their belief in plain English: "Cycling should be made feasible, convenient, and safe for everyone." The editors of City Cycling, just published by MIT Press, aim to further that cause by gathering together as much data as they could find to support their case that "it is hard to beat cycling when it comes to environmental, economic, and social sustainability." This is not a book of impassioned arguments or heartfelt polemics. Pucher and Buehler are academics, the former at Rutgers University and the latter at Virginia Tech. The 19 contributors to the book are also academics. Each chapter is followed by multiple pages of references and citations, and the entire book underwent peer review. City Cycling is unabashedly pro-bike, but its authors aren't relying on gut feeling. This is all about the numbers. Cycling advocates pushing for better bicycling infrastructure on streets around the world are accustomed to meeting with skeptical audiences. They will find a lot of ammunition here, much of it gleaned from studies of nations such as Germany and the Netherlands, where cycling is a routine part of daily life. Divided into chapters on subjects such as health benefits, safety, bikesharing systems around the world, cycling for women, and cycling for kids, the book marshals an impressive and fascinating assortment of facts, figures, trends, charts, and diagrams.

"A Sober, Data-Based Approach to Bicycle Advocacy"