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.

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 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 →

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About dockless bike share

Posted on July 25, 2018 by jsallen

Your bike: you own it and look after it. Docking bike share: the company owns it and it is secured at the dock when not being ridden. If you lose it, you bought it. Dockless bike: once it is locked … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling | 2 Comments

Fewer roads in the future?

Posted on July 2, 2018 by jsallen

I’m responding to a comment on the facebook post which started with the sharing of the 13-lane animation on which I commented in my previous post on this blog. A commenter stated: …I don’t think it oversells the space because … Continue reading →

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Another inaccurate use-of-space display

Posted on June 18, 2018 by jsallen

https://www.facebook.com/urbanthoughts11/videos/570538686622524/ Where is there a street with 13 lanes in one direction? Show me one, please. Not even in Los Angeles. Problem is, no city could have enough parking to support the amount of traffic such a street would carry, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Motordom and the Mohawk Trail

Posted on April 30, 2018 by jsallen

Relentless promotion, political and business manipulation by “motordom” (follow the money…) have been held largely responsible for the triumph of motoring in  the USA in the early 20th Century. Peter Norton’s book Fighting Traffic is the best-known work making this … Continue reading →

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Doored in Union Square

Posted on March 24, 2018 by jsallen

https://danconnor.com/posts/541542fd45b74d6952000001/on_the_video_in_which_i_am_doored_by_a_taxi (Note: the video is no longer online but a screen clip is on another page.) I see a lot of people who comment here discussing fault. Fault and crash prevention are not the same. I’ll take crash prevention any … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, Bike lanes, New York City, Sidepaths | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Description and history of the location of the Tempe crash

Posted on March 23, 2018 by jsallen

Comments from Reed Kempton, a Senior Planner with the Maricopa County Department of Transportation, late in the day on March 21. This is an addition to my earlier post about the crash. I thank Reed for his permission to post … Continue reading →

Posted in Crashes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Tempe crash

Posted on March 21, 2018 by jsallen

The dashcam video in the recent Tempe crash which killed a woman walking across the street with a bicycle has now been released. To me, it is quite clear that the human driver was dozing off or distracted and that … Continue reading →

Posted in Crashes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Another deceptive poster

Posted on February 9, 2018 by jsallen

More evidence that the anti-car crowd can’t think its way out of a paper bag. Even when they could make a much better case for themselves. The text, in Italian, reads “space necessary to transport 48 persons: auto, electric car, robotic … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, robotics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments