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.

Autonomous bicycles

Posted on February 6, 2019 by jsallen

The dream of an autonomous bicycle is that it would control itself, relieving the rider of the need to know how to control it or ride safely. It would also have an electric motor so it could deliver itself to … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling | Leave a comment

Traffic-signal actuators — some documentation

Posted on November 29, 2018 by jsallen

As described in another post on this blog, metal detectors embedded in the street to trigger traffic signals first appeared around 1970, when transistorized electronics made them practical. By 1986 they were in fairly widespread use, and the definitive report … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling | 3 Comments

Parklet: win-win or win-lose?

Posted on November 14, 2018 by jsallen

Near the right side of the photo below is a “parklet,” a seating area which replaces a couple of parking spaces on Somerville Avenue in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA. A parklet may also contain a planting, as this one does. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycle facilities, Bike lanes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Bruce Epperson’s examination of bike-share legalities

Posted on October 11, 2018 by jsallen

Bruce Epperson is a lawyer and bicycle historian in Florida, USA. Bruce’s comment on a previous post drew my attention. Several years back (2014 or 2015) I wrote a detailed analysis of the legal status of bike-share operations in Florida. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, Laws | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mighk Wilson’s report on Orlando bicycle crashes

Posted on October 3, 2018 by jsallen

Mighk Wilson, who works for the Orlando, Florida metropolitan planning organization, has prepared a very interesting study of bicycle crashes in the Orlando area based on a database of 5,000 crashes, 2011-2017. The study is important in that it distinguishes … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycle facilities, Bicycling, Bike lanes, Crashes, Cycle tracks, Sidepaths | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Simultaneous greens: bicycle roundabout?

Posted on September 30, 2018 by jsallen

An article on the UKrant.nl Web site describes an intersection in the Netherlands with simultaneous green lights in all directions for bicyclists. The headline, “How to Survive Simultaneous Greens” misrepresents the installation (not all greens actually are simultaneous) and tends … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling | 2 Comments

Some comments on electric scooters

Posted on September 18, 2018 by jsallen

At various dates in 2018, companies Bird, Lime, Skip and Spin have released dockless electrically-powered scooters  into a number of US cities — sometimes with approval from the city government, sometimes without. These scooters represent more or less a third … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, Laws | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

New York Bike Lane Promotional Video

Posted on September 8, 2018 by jsallen

This video is long on promotion and unbalanced, weak on anything which approaches a description of a comprehensive bicycle program. Parking? Enforcement? Education? Other infrastructure? 0:00 Leads with fear and hyperbole. “Let’s be honest. For many people, the thought of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling | 3 Comments

The definitive paper about loop detectors, published 1986

Posted on August 30, 2018 by jsallen

The City of San Diego, California, USA published its Traffic Signal Bicycle Detection Study Final Report in 1986. I have scanned a copy of the document and posted it online. This report’s main topic is inductive-loop traffic-signal detectors. These are … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, Traffic Signals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Counterrotating spins about blind spots, from Germany

Posted on July 30, 2018 by jsallen

This post is a translation of an article on the site of the ADFC (German bicyclists’ association), to which I have added comments, in indented italics as here. The German original is at https://adfc-berlin.de/radverkehr/sicherheit/information-und-analyse/121-fahrradunfaelle-in-berlin-unfallstatistik/222-exkurs-der-tote-winkel.html. For a different approach which could … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling | Leave a comment