Tag Archives: crash

Is the NACTO Guide a Design Manual?

In cities around the USA, politicians, under pressure from populist bicycling advocates, have pointed to the NACTO (National Association of City Transportation Officials) Urban Street Design Guide and directed their engineering staff to install treatments which it describes. I’ll say … Continue reading

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Bike Box at Charlesgate East

This post is about the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue eastbound and Charlesgate East in Boston, Massachusetts, an intersection with a “bike box” — a waiting area for bicyclists downstream of where motorists stop for traffic signals. More generally, this post … Continue reading

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Right-turn lane as dual-destination lane?

I’ve had criticism from an unusual side about the video below. The complaint, from another cyclist, was essentially that I was not following the rules of the road, not operating as the driver of a vehicle, by riding straight through … Continue reading

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Cycle track mania on the slippery slope in Somerville, Massachusetts

My attention recently was drawn to a proposed project for Beacon Street in Somerville Massachusetts, a couple of towns away from where I live.. A presentation from a public meeting is online here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1Y_jIpLYtpycEZNOUVTNUYxQVU/edit (I was unfortunately not able to … Continue reading

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The Photoshop School of Traffic Engineering strikes again!

The Photoshop School of Traffic Engineering strikes again, this time in Minneapolis. For background, please read the Minneapolis blog post: http://www.ouruptown.com/2012/08/potential-cycle-track-coming-to-36th-street Also please read John Schubert’s comment on that post. I’ve added a comment too — still in moderation as … Continue reading

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Fatality on Montreal cycle track

As reported in a Montreal Gazette article, a Montreal cyclist was killed on July 24, 2012 when traveling in a two-way cycle track at the location shown in the Google Street View image below. The cyclist entered the intersection from … Continue reading

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Why this crash?

The fancy, expensive bicycles and racing clothing are not matched by these cyclists’ bike handling skills. If you play the video through to the end, you will see that the wheel touch broke 4 of the 8 spokes on the … Continue reading

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A Cyclist Signs Up for Advanced Driver Training

What was an avid cyclist doing in a place like this? Advanced Driver Training, September 25, 2011 from John Allen on Vimeo. I like to ride my bicycle but sometimes I have to drive. Over 40 years ago on dirt … Continue reading

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Scaling up and scaling down

New York bicycling advocate Steve Faust has stated that some ways of accommodating bicycling do not “scale up” — that is, they work with small numbers of cyclists, but less well with larger numbers. His central complaint is that use … Continue reading

Posted in Bicycle facilities, Bicycling, Bike box, Bike lanes, New York City, Traffic Signals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

My September 11

My 10-year-old son Jacob’s school year hadn’t started yet on that brilliant, clear September morning. My wife had left for work. I  had a business appointment in Belmont, a few miles from our home. Jacob and I set out for … Continue reading

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