Should be some snow today
- More bike related jobs, this time at Bike and Roll.
- The first time a train was ever used in warfare was during the Civil War. It was on the W&OD rail line. For the war's sesquicentennial, "Town officials have arranged for a replica locomotive from Strasburg, Va., to be brought to Caffi Field for a re-enactment of the June 17, 1861, Civil War battle."
- Helmet War! Mikael Colville-Andersen interviewed by theCityFix about "Why we shouldn't bike with a helmet." He doesn't really address that, but instead talks about why we shouldn't have bike helmet laws or heavily promote helmets - which is less controversial. I care even less for telling people they shouldn't wear a helmet than telling them they should.
- College Park wins its battle for a bike sharing station as an amenity for a new housing project.
One of the city's more notable requests was that developers include a bike-sharing station for residents.
"Bike-sharing was the one real issue," said city senior planner Elisa Vitale, adding that city officials hoped to agree on conditions by Jan. 11, but needed extra time to discuss the proposal. "That was really the one sticking point."
The city initially asked that Hanover pay $54,000 for an 11-dock station with seven bikes, but the sides eventually settled on a seven-dock station with four bikes.
Catlin said the bike station could help to decrease traffic in the city and along Route 1. He said city officials hope to enroll in a regional bike-sharing program and increase opportunities throughout the city.
"In a college town, the opportunities for increasing biking are pretty tremendous compared to any other place," Catlin said.
- ABC7 has a story on the Sycamore War. In some places, trees that block the river have a way of dying mysteriously. I would not be surprised if that happened here. If someone wants, they can start a petition about this here.
The helmet law rears it's head once again. Actually, since I've last posted on here about it I've become more education and no longer am quite so supportive of helmet laws and/or use.
I continue to use mine, but I was definitely misled about their (lack of) potential to prevent concussion and I no longer view unhelmeted cyclists as "crazy" like I formerly did.
Posted by: TurbineBlade | January 21, 2011 at 08:11 AM
Man I wish I had an edit button -- "educated"
Wash: Agreed that it is pretty pointless to tell people not to use or not use a helmet.
Posted by: TurbineBlade | January 21, 2011 at 08:12 AM
Did I miss something? Is College Park getting bike sharing or are they just requiring the developer to have a lone station?
Posted by: jeff | January 21, 2011 at 09:41 AM
I have the opposite viewpoint of TurbineBlade, to a degree. While I tend to agree that we don't need helmet laws, I'll continue to wear one, as on at least two occasions, it HAS saved me from a concussion.
Posted by: Froggie | January 21, 2011 at 09:59 AM
jeff, I'm unsure. There are some buildings that have bicycle fleets, but I think they're making the building pay money for a station in a future bike-sharing system.
Posted by: washcycle | January 21, 2011 at 10:04 AM
My favorite helmet phenomenon? When your average outraged driver wants to convey the full scope of the "scofflaw cyclist" problem in DC, so resorts to "I saw an arrogant cyclist who wasn't riding on the sidewalk--and he wasn't even wearing a helmet!!!!"
:)
Posted by: oboe | January 21, 2011 at 10:05 AM
One of my fantasies for getting the CaBi system expanded is to have city officials ask developers to fund local stations as part of the quid pro quo for building permits. And there is no reason this should be limited to the parts of DC and Arlington where the system already exists. Developers could be asked to fund a station right in front of the new development and another at the closest transit hub/shopping center/local landmark and voila, you have the beginnings of a system, to be added on to as future developers/sponsors come along.
Posted by: Liz | January 21, 2011 at 11:01 AM