(Source: Copenhagenize via Treehugger)

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.

Related articles

• A Picture Is Worth: Snow Removal In Copenhagen (treehugger.com)
• Copenhagen Cargo Bikes (streetfilms.org)
• copenhagen to berlin – in a box bike (ask.metafilter.com)
• Copenhagen to build superhighway for bikes (americablog.com)
• Copenhagen plans bike superhighways (grist.org)

(Source: TreeHugger; HuffingtonPost & Bike Europe)

While news of the four-wheel variety remains bleak with news that GM is on the brinkof bankruptcy, news for the two wheel set is mostly good. In fact, more bicycles were bought in the first quarter of 2009 than cars and trucks. Dennis Markatos @ HuffingtonPost points out, the news isn’t all good. Overall, bicycle sales are down 30 percent for the year, but the good news is that bikes are outperforming cars. In total, around 2.6 million bicycles were sold, compared to less than 2.5 million cars and trucks.  That doesn’t mean all is well for the American bicycle market and it is hard to say that bicycle sales are unfazed by the recession.  In units the Americans imported 1.1 million bicycles less this year. Remarkably the average value increased by 37.2% in the same period. The average FOB value now stands at US$ 96.60 against US$ 70.41 in 2008.

But that percentage drop is slower than the35+% drop in sales for cars and trucks. Since nationwide gasoline prices are now rising above $2.40 per gallon at the pump, we may see another wave of US residents shifting to bicycles for their everyday trips. The large savings from riding a bike over short distances rather than driving can help consumer confidence and support economic recovery.

(Source: CNN; TreeHugger; Jalopnik ; Autoblog ; AutoblogGreen)

Chrysler reaches key Canada labor accord Tentative agreement, aimed at cutting costs and keeping automaker out of bankruptcy, to be presented to workers for ratification.

 Time running out on Chrysler  The embattled automaker has one week to reach deals with Fiat, unions and banks, raising doubts it can avoid bankruptcy and a shutdown. 

Fox Car Report Live: Ford Fiesta, Chrysler Bankruptcy [Official Car Pundit Drinking Game] …imaginary Chryslers on conservative cable channel website. [Fox Car Report Live]

(Source:  Tree Hugger) 

(Source: TreeHugger; Photo via: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com)

The American auto industry has gotten a bad wrap over the years, and justly so in many ways. While a lot of negative responses continue to circulate around the Big Three, their Bailout, and their past inferior vehicles, they have actually risen above this ridicule and at the very least deserve a second look.

(Source: Treehugger)

Is this the “Holy Grail” Battery We’ve Been Waiting For?

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: Autobloggreen)

Autobloggreen article says ” One of the problems for some of the smaller teams that want to win part of the $10 million Automotive X Prize is that they might not have enough funds to get their cars into the streets for the competition. The X Prize team is looking out for them, though, and recently posted a notice about Startup Nation’s 2009 Elevator Pitch Contest that is offering cash to the best ideas to come across the Intertubes. Even if you’re not participating in the AXP, you can still submit a two-minute audio or video file here and tell them why you need X million dollars for your idea. The deadline is March 20. ”     Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: Treehugger;  Photo viaSakarya54.net)

Excerpts from Tree Hugger report:

Americans aren’t the only ones newly enamored of high-speed rail. Turkey’s first fast train makes its official debut this week, but railway officials are already envisioning anetwork spanning the country, which has been woefully under-served by train routes of any kind. (Though Turkey’s long-haul bus system puts Greyhound to shame.)

That first fast line, between the capital city, Ankara, and Eskişehir, about 210 kilometers away, will have its coming-out party on Friday. Test runs show it should cut the travel time between the two cities from 180 minutes to 70 or 80 minutes. The train will make eight round-trips a day, carrying up to 419 passengers and will include a business section with power outlets to charge laptops, eight cafeterias, and LCD screens for watching TV at each seat.

 (Source: TreeHugger)

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: Treehugger)