Author Archives: jsallen

About jsallen

John S. Allen is the author or co-author of numerous publications about bicycling including Bicycling Street Smarts, which has been adopted as the bicycle driver's manual in several US states. He has been active with the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition since 1978 and served as a member of the board of Directors of the League of American Bicyclists from 2003 through 2009.

Street Traffic Regulations: classic book online

My friend Bob Shanteau writes: Another reason scofflaws give [to justify their behavior] is that traffic laws are intended only for motorists, reflecting a total ignorance of the origins of those laws. Google has made the 1909 book “Street Traffic … Continue reading

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Alleycat racers

A British cyclist who goes by the online name gaz545 on YouTube has posted a version of one of Lucas Brunelle’s “alleycat race” videos, with voice-over commentary. Bravo gaz545! Lucas Brunelle is, or was, a bicycle courier, but he distinguishes … Continue reading

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Child passenger prohibitions — Massachusetts law, Oregon bill

Eli Damon, who lives in Massachusetts, as I do, has drawn attention to a bill introduced into the Oregon legislature to ban child passengers under 6 years old on bicycles. Eli cited an online article: “No Biking With Kids Under … Continue reading

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In defense of neighborhood traffic circles

In a post to an e-mail list, I made the statement: On narrow streets in residential areas…small traffic circles at intersections can slow traffic and reduce the temptation to use those streets for through travel… …which elicited the following response from … Continue reading

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Lyon study — cyclists ride faster in rush hour?

A blog posting published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology describes a study of cycling in Lyon, France. News accounts of the report are making some rather strange assertions, such as that cyclists ride faster during rush hour than in … Continue reading

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Bob Mionske on “Driver Sues Family of Deceased Cyclist”

In a Bicycling Magazine blog posting, Bicycling attorney Bob Mionske describes an appalling situation: a motorist driving over 80 mph in a 45 mph zone struck and killed a teenage bicyclist in Connecticut. The bicyclist’s family sued the driver — … Continue reading

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About bicycle lighting and onions

A chance meeting can lead to unexpected discoveries. I met and spoke with Kurt Cibulski following a reading from a new book by its author, a mutual friend. I had arrived at the reading by bicycle; Kurt and I were … Continue reading

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Davis Planners and Advocates Opine on Sidepaths

This post supplements my previous post linking to documents about Davis bicycle facilities. Please bear in mind that Davis was the first community to introduce bike lanes in the USA, and that its bicycle program strongly favors conventional bike lanes, … Continue reading

Posted in Bicycling, Bike lanes, Crashes, Cycle tracks, Sidepaths | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Davis, California historical documents

Thanks to John Ciccarelli, Robert Sommer and David Takemoto-Weerts — and David’s students — among others — I am able to post online a number of documents about bicycling in Davis, California and the Davis bicycle program. Davis has the … Continue reading

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Green Wave, Checkered Flag?

I am writing this post in response to comments by Mighk Wilson and Khalil Spencer on another post on this blog. They discussed the difficulty of cycling in a city with synchronized traffic signals (a “green wave”) set to a … Continue reading

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