This Old (Healthy) House Older and better? (Kate Glicksberg for The New York Times) Many people opt for newer homes because they are cleaner, bigger and often have more amenities. But new research shows old houses in old neighborhoods may be better for your health. University of Utah researchers found that people who live in… read more
Advocacy
Watuppa Bicycle and Recreation Path
The Watuppa Bicycle and Recreation Path, the first part of the Fall River Bikeway, will open formally on August 20th at 12:30 p.m. in a ribbon cutting ceremony. “Mayor Robert Correia and StateRepresentative Michael Rodrigues will jointly cut the ribbon on the Watuppa shoreline”, announced Rev. James Hornsby, organizer for the event. “The goal of… read more
Now if we could just get IKEA in Providence!
FLATPACK TO GO: IKEA Debuts Bike Trailers by Mike Chino IKEA, that patent purveyor of all things flat-pack just announced that it has just teamed up with Velorbis to offer an exciting new service to its Danish customers: bike trailers. The arrangement will supply IKEA stores with a fleet of free trailer bikes, giving Danes… read more
Financing a Crumbling Infrastructure
Surprise, surprise… according to an article in the Woonsocket Call, the State is forecasting a significant financial shortfall. Rhode Island needs approximately $600 million a year to fix and maintain its highways and bridges and otherwise operate the state Department of Transportation (RIDOT); its current revenue stream provides about $300 million. Here’s a crazy idea,… read more
Keeping Kids On Bikes
I joined a fellow cyclist during the commute home last night as he picked up his daughter from day-care. The kids were outside playing in a fenced in area. As he went in to get his daughter, I stood by the fence to wait. Before long, I had attracted most of the kids in the… read more
Bike Lanes and RI Law
Now that we have a shiny new bike trail in Providence, I thought it prudent that we take a few minutes and review what the RI General Laws Title 31 Motor & Other Vehicles section has to say specifically about bike lanes. This way, we can all be aware of our rights while pedaling through… read more
2. TRANSPORTATION: Altered habits may mean drastic changes to highway reauthorization (07/07/2008) Josh Voorhees, E&E Daily reporter Shifting American transportation habits fueled by soaring gas prices are helping to paint an uncertain picture for the forthcoming reauthorization of the current national surface transportation law. “The American attitude toward energy and transportation has fundamentally changed, and… read more
Change land use, change congestion
2. TRANSPORTATION: Land-use planning more powerful tool Debra Kahn, ClimateWire reporter SAN FRANCISCO — California’s global warming plan is the first in the country to attempt to include land-use planning in estimating possible future emissions reductions. Transportation experts are saying the state could go even further in pursuit of emissions cuts from that method today,… read more
PBC Comments on Long-Range Transportation Plan and TIP
Comments on behalf of the Providence Bicycle Coalition (PBC): Long-Range Plan and TIP Overall comments We commend the program for its honesty in identifying and presenting scenarios for outcomes based on current spending and priorities. This greater transparency is needed to understand the costs of different choices and help the public indicate where we want… read more
TIP and Transportation 2030 meetings
From Barry Schiller off the advocacy list: Reminder that on Thursday, June 26 at 1pm and at 6:30pm in Room 300 of DEM (off Promenade St just west of I-95 in Providence) there are public hearings on both the 4-year Transporation Impriovement program (TIP) and the long-term Transportation 2030 plan. I hope some wil speak… read more
editorial cartoon by Ariail
As gas prices continue to rise, it’s time to think outside the box…
RI Driver’s Manual
I was curious what the RI Driver’s Manual had to say about bicycles. Not surprisingly, there wasn’t much in there. They have one small section, which oddly enough spends the majority of the time telling cyclists how to behave, rather than discussing how motorists should interact with bicycles. I think it could be helpful to… read more