Thursday Afternoon Commute - Distorted

Good afternoon

• 6 CaBi bike stations will have to be temporarily removed for the inauguration. "There were 199,127 trips and 221,809 miles traveled in October 2012. The number of trips decreased by 9.0% from September" But that's up from 123,497 trips and 140,402 miles a month in October 2011 - ~60% year-to-year increase in both.
• The DC Council Committee meeting on bicycle and pedestrian safety mentioned this morning has been postponed into the next year. No word on the topless bars hearing. 
• A utility pole was recently installed on the MacArthur Boulevard Trail in Montgomery County - and also, continuing coverage of the war on everyone else. (Photo by John Kelly)
• "Advocates for Holmes Run Park Trail are pushing to install mile markers along the West End greenway to quicken emergency response times." Rather than using posts, they might just paint the markers on the trail. It could help with emergency response or responding to assaults on the trail - of which there have been two this year. 
• Using recycled tires to make water pervious trails. Win win win.
• According to a recent study the risks of walking, biking and driving are about the same for men - except for young men. "risks were similar for men aged between 21 and 49 for all three modes of transport and for female pedestrians and drivers aged 21 and 69 years," said lead author Dr Jennifer Mindell (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health). "However, we found that for young male cyclists between 17 and 20 years of age, cycling was markedly safer than travelling by car....research regarding the safety of cycling tends to be distorted by a number of errors which are found repeatedly in published papers and policy documents, with many substantially overstating cycling injuries and under-reporting pedestrian injuries." I can't tell if cycling is safer for women than walking and driving or less safe. But my boys are not getting cars until they're 20 (at which point, they'll just get jetpacks instead). 
• Bike bays.

Related articles

Cycling is far safer than driving for men under 21

Comments

[just another rider]

mile markers stick out of the ground so they can lunge and bite passing cyclers. Of course, painting on the ground is nice, but they get covered by gravel & dirt at the bottom of wash basins (tho those might not apply... depends, I guess on where), snow and then wear off. --If the tree roots don't upset the pavement to make them unreadable first. *sigh*

[Best Stock Analysis]

I think the things you covered through the post are quiet impressive, good job and great efforts. I found it very interesting and enjoyed reading all of it...keeps it up, lovely job.

[contrarian]

By the time your boys are 20 piloting your own automobile on a public way will be illegal. But I agree in principle, I'm in zero hurry to get my kids driving.