Happy new year! While I still don’t believe that the City of Providence is ready for a full-on bike sharing program (although the local colleges may be), here is another example of people pulling it off in a nearby municipality, Mystic. The organization behind the program has had over 100 bikes donated already, and over… read more
Advocacy
Which works out to be cheaper?
DAVID BEERS From Monday’s Globe and Mail December 15, 2008 at 12:00 AM EST Humanity is threatened by a global-warming crisis. Canada, facing the crisis of global financial meltdown, is looking for ways to keep people working. The time is ripe, it seems, for an era of massive, green public-works projects. Projects like a 12-kilometre… read more
Washington Bridge update
The rumors are true, RIDOT will soon be re-opening the narrow Washington Bridge sidewalk connecting India Point Park and East Providence. Late this month or early in January, the fences will be removed and bike commuters will no longer be forced to use the Henderson Bridge to cross the Seekonk River. This is a temporary… read more
preaching to the choir?
Perhaps so. In that case, just send this on to friends and family. Here is a tool for calculating the true cost to you of owning a car (not just the price of gas, registration and insurance!). http://www.commutesolutions.org/calc.htm Near the bottom of the page, you will find a link to a page showing where they… read more
Electric Bikes
TRANSPORTATION: Electric bicycles drawing U.S. consumer interest (12/05/2008) Sales of electric bikes — a category of vehicles that combine pedal power with electric assistance — are on the rise in the United States as major producers rush to put more of them on their shelves. U.S. consumers are projected to buy a record 170,000 e-bikes… read more
Bike-sharing at RISD?
Confirmed! Of course, it took college students to bring Providence its first bike-sharing program. Thanks to Greater City: Providence for passing this along. Story here. Now: expansion! (but first, back to Thanksgiving…)
FREE MONEY! (for bike projects!)
The Greenways Alliance of Rhode Island (GARI), thanks to the generosity of the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen, is soliciting grant requests from area organizations for projects that would benefit bicycling in our Ocean State and nearby parts of Massachusetts. Being a 501(c)3 is not a necessity. $1500 is still available for 2008, and $5000 will be… read more
Lorries Killing Cyclists
I frequently listen to The Bike Show podcast. It’s interesting to get a perspective on cycling from across the pond and listen to some of the activities and issues cyclists are facing in and around London. One of the recent shows entitled Emergency: Lorries Killing Cyclists really resonated with me, as I think we’ve all… read more
New bicycling resources
Our friends at REI have put together a handy web page with info about bikes as transportation: http://www.rei.com/bikeyourdrive While bikeprovidence.org is largely preaching to the choir, REI’s page is a great resource for novices. Check it out, and pass the link along to those who need it (or don’t know that they need it!). It… read more
yes, a tax break for bicycle commuters
Given that it was a relatively small addendum to last month’s $700 billion Wall St bailout bill, it may have escaped the notice of some that our United States now enables employers to provide a tax benefit to those who commute by bike, similar to that which is available for those who commute on public… read more
New Bedford Man Sentenced to 2 1/2 Years
Almost a year ago, we reported on an accident where a 13 year old boy was killed by a motorist driving while sending a text message. Yesterday, the driver was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to the charges. While I have to give the driver some credit, he took responsibility… read more
Fox Point / College Hill / Wayland charrette summary
Last night the city presented its summary of the charrette process for these 3 East Side neighborhoods. The following bullets are the specifically bicycle-related items in the summary. There is a bit of overlap due to items appearing in more than one area of the summary document. I have boldfaced a few items that I… read more