This is What Progressive, Forward thinking Societies Do – Snow Clearing for Bikes in Copenhagen

December 6, 2010 at 3:39 pm

(Source: Copenhagenize via Treehugger)

Bike Lane Snowplough

Image courtesy: Mikael Colville-Andersen via Copenhagenize.com

This one image says a thousand words, and many of them indicate how a society is thoughtful, accommodative, encouraging and appreciative of its citizens’ efforts to use alternative modes of transportation, even during the punishing winter weather conditions.    Our beloved bike blogger, Mikael Colville-Andersen at  Copenhagenize.com, writes about the snow-removal practices in Copenhagen, Denmark,  where the focus is also given not only to travel lanes for cars and trucks but also for those bike lanes in the city.  Copenhagen,  as many of us know, has one of the highest number of bicycle commuters, who regularly use these bike lanes to get around the city.  You may ask but why snow-removal for bike lanes is a priority in the winter? Here is what Mikael has to say on his blog about this:

The result? Clear channels on which the bicycle traffic can move. Prioritizing the bike lanes is, of course, a great and necessary way to encourage people to ride bicycles all through the year. On the other hand, it is also a practical necessity. If the bicycle lanes weren’t cleared, a whole lot of people on the day after a snowstorm wouldn’t ride.Tens of thousands. They would seek alternatives. Cars, perhaps, but mostly public transport. Imagine the complications of having tens of thousands of people suddenly show up at train stations and bus stops. A logistical nightmare. So keeping the bike lanes clear is an important factor in keeping Copenhagen moving.

Hope other cities, especially the ones in the US (DC/NYC) realize the importance of keeping the snow off the bike lanes. Click here to read Mikael’s blog post and a few more awesome pictures from his collection.

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Another “Made in China” effort enters the record books at 302mph – China claims new high-speed record for passenger train

December 3, 2010 at 5:51 pm

(Source: AFP via Yahoo)

A Chinese passenger train hit a record speed of 302 miles per hour (486 kilometers per hour) Friday during a test run of a yet-to-be opened link between Beijing and Shanghai, state media said.

The Xinhua News Agency said it was the fastest speed recorded by an unmodified conventional commercial train. Other types of trains in other countries have traveled faster.

A specially modified French TGV train reached 357.2 mph (574.8 kph) during a 2007 test, while a Japanese magnetically levitated train sped to 361 mph (581 kph) in 2003.

State television footage showed the sleek white train whipping past green farm fields in eastern China. It reached the top speed on a segment of the 824-mile (1,318-kilometer) -long line between Zaozhuang city in Shandong province and Bengbu city in Anhui province, Xinhua said.

Click here to read the entire article.

Note: I can’t help myself marvel at how different the conditions are for High Speed Rail deployment in two different ends of the globe – China vs. USA.  Here is a story that outlines how a  political game played in Washington is wreaking havoc to any chances of deploying a successful high-speed rail network.  While American politicians are embroiled in petty politics, Beijing’s communist rulers have already bought into he value of investing in such a network, especially with an exploding demand for transportation in the decades ahead as the nation’s wealth increases, and are determined to show their commitment to a successful, wide-spread deployment.  It makes one thing clear  – we in the West are not really lacking in ideas and ambitions; our pitfalls (and therefore the poor performance in a competitive economy) are in our inability to come together and look at common good beyond party lines. Somehow we managed to convince, not just the nation but the entire world, a $744+Billions war  (an utterly unprovoked and unnecessary war whose costs are still climbing at a giddying pace) is worth bleeding for in terms of national security.  But somehow we are not willing to look past our differences to come together and execute a project that is only going to make us better. Why are our politicians adamant to not realize that such modern infrastructure projects are good for our nation’s economic security in the long run? Oh well, its gotta be the Democracy that we are trying to export as a successful model.

Related articles

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Beefing Up For More Bikes – Copenhagen plans super highways … for bikes

December 2, 2010 at 8:19 pm

(Source: AFP via Yahoo)

Copenhagen, one of the world’s most bicycle-friendly cities, has begun turning its extensive network of cycle paths into bike highways in an effort to push more commuters to leave their cars at home.

Considered one of Europe’s two “bicycle capitals” along with Amsterdam, Copenhagen counts more bicycles than people and cycling is so popular that its numerous bike paths can become congested.

Two-wheeler traffic jams are especially regular on the main Noerrebrogade thoroughfare used by around 36,000 cyclists a day.

  • The currently jammed bike paths will be widened up to four metres (yards) on either side of the road, which will itself will be reserved for buses only.
  • The goal is to hike the percentage of suburban commuters cycling to and from the city from the 37 percent it is today to over 50 percent by 2015.
  • Within the city, 55 percent of all commuters already travel by bike, according to the municipality.
  • Already Copenhagen stands out among other European capitals for its cycling infrastructure, counting more than 390 kilometres (242 miles) of bike paths.
  • Between 2006 and 2010, it spent 250 million kroner (33.6 million euros) in bike infrastructure and an extra 75 million kroner were allotted for 2011.
  • The first two city-to-suburb bicycle highways are due to open at the end of 2011 and reach a distance of 15 kilometres from central Copenhagen, while a third, going as far as 20 kilometres from the capital’s centre, will be put into service in 2012.

Click here to read the entire story.

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Transportation-related Side-Events at the UN Climate Change Conference, Cancun Mexico

December 2, 2010 at 5:39 pm

(Source: Bridging the Gap)

The latest edition of the United Nations Climate Change Conference CoP 16 opened its doors in Cancun, Mexico on November 29th  (duration – Nov 29th thru Dec 10) and our friends at Transport 2012 have created a compilation of side-events related to transportation issues at this conference.  Transportgooru is glad to share this with its readers (hoping some of you are already in Cancun, Mexico attending this event). Please check the Transport2012 website for an updated list:

Bridging the Gap: Pathways for Transport in the Post 2012 Process‘ is an initiative of GTZ, TRL, UITP, ITDP and Veolia Transport created to tackle CO2emissions from land transport and to integrate this major contributor to climate change into the international climate negotiation process. Click here to learn more about Bridging the Gap.

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A nice infographic shows the power of auction value – Most expensive vehicles sold on ebay

November 27, 2010 at 1:04 pm

(Source: Ebay Motorsblog)

Click Image to Enlarge

TSA sends Holiday message – And the concerned citizens from “Land of the Free” respond

November 22, 2010 at 7:47 pm

(Source TSA via You Tube via  Gizmodo)

Dear Mr. Pistole , here are some responses (a mere sampling) from concerned citizens’  about this situation at airport security check points:

http://assets.arlosites.com/stills/17587011/2a87999b00.jpg

Image Courtesy: Land of the free? by David Vincent Wolf

Image Courtesy: Slate.com

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Quantifying The Mess – An Awesome Infographic Captures Cities With The Most Frustrating Traffic Problems

November 22, 2010 at 1:29 am

(Source: Good)

Click Image to Enlarge

A GOOD.is Transparency

Cities with the most frustrating traffic problems

Electrifying Houston – City Gets Private Electric Car Charging Network

November 21, 2010 at 8:14 pm

(Source: Good)

Houston, Texas, may end up being the first American city with a great electric car charging infrastructure. NRG Energy is rolling out what is supposedly the world’s first privately funded comprehensive electric vehicle ecosystem. Here are some interesting nuggets:

  • The system (or “ecosystem,” in their overwrought marketing speak), called eVgo, employs a very interesting business model. Subscribers sign a three-year contract and then pay a monthly fee, ranging from $49 to $89, for both a home charger and varying levels of access to this network of public chargers.
  • NRG plans to install between 50 and 150 high-speed chargers in public places— shopping centers and the like—by the end of 2011. They’ll also be installing chargers in people’s homes.
  • The high-speed chargers distributed around the city can charge a car to 80 percent  within 30 minutes.

Click here to read more.

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Downtown From Behind On Bikes- Aussie Photog Artfully Captures The “Heartbeat of New York City”

November 21, 2010 at 5:03 pm

(Source: New York Times)

Click here for more details

ONE is wearing a couture gown, another just a pair of red underwear. One is lugging a huge bouquet of flowering rhododendrons on his shoulder, another a suckling pig. They are all riding bicycles in the middle of streets downtown, and they are all shown from behind, having passed by, headed toward some unknown destination — a party, a garden, a pig roast.

The photographs are by Bridget Fleming, 30, who moved to the Lower East Side from Australia in 2008. She is halfway through an ambitious project to capture downtown denizens riding on two wheels down each of the approximately 200 streets below 14th Street. She posts some of the photographs on a blog, Downtown From Behind, and hopes the project, which she describes as a glamorous ode to “the heartbeat of New York,” will culminate this spring with a gallery exhibition and Web site.

downtown_from_behind_blair

Image Courtesy: Downtown from Behind

Click here for more on this story and for the awesome interactive.

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With this new hour glass design, you will never get a ticket for red light jumping

November 20, 2010 at 6:32 pm

(Source: Gizmodo)

Concept Traffic Light Shows How Much Time Is Left Through A Sand Glass

Image Courtesy: Gizmodo

Concept Traffic Light Shows How Much Time Is Left Through A Sand Glass

Image Courtesy: Gizmodo

It’s an incredibly simple idea: LED lights trickle down in a virtual sand glass that countdowns how much more Red and Green there will be. When it approaches 3 seconds left, the LEDs switch to yellow and give you an exact count on what’s left.

Click here to read the entire article.

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