Biking is a common approach for sustainable transportation. Dedicated bike lanes or “Greenways” have been implemented by city planners to encourage this behavior, but still less than 2% of people rely on bicycles for their transportation needs. One approach for increasing the bicyclist population is by focusing on female riders. “In the U.S., men’s cycling trips surpass women’s by at least 2:1.” However in other countries there is parity if not more female bicyclists. Studies have shown women are more risk averse than men. So a greater population of women bikers would indicate a safe infrastructure for biking. Women are less likely to use dedicated bike lanes then men, choosing an longer route that places them on low traffic side streets. ” Other data support those findings. In New York City, men are three times as likely to be cyclists as women. Yet a bicycle count found that an off-street bike path in Central Park had 44 percent female riders.”
EXPERT: John Pucher, a professor of urban planning at Rutgers University and longtime bike scholar
Phone (732) 932-3822 x722
Janette Sadik-Khan NYC DOT Commisioner
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=getting-more-bicyclists-on-the-road
2009 Federal Transportation Bill
Transportation for America is a coalition of (primarily) non-profit organizations, co-chaired by Smart Growth America and Reconnecting America, formed in 2008 to advocate for a 2009 federal transportation bill that more effectively addresses challenging environmental, social, and economic issues created by the current automobile oriented transportation system. http://www.livablestreets.com/streetswiki/2009-federal-transportation-bill
“Safe Routes to School works to reverse the decline in children walking and biking to school. In 1969, approximately 50% of children walked or bicycled to school; 87% of children living within one mile of school did so. Today, fewer than 15% of schoolchildren walk or bicycle to school. As a result, kids today are less active, less independent, and less healthy. Parents driving their children to schools can generate as much as 20% to 30% of morning traffic. Additionally, traffic-related crashes are the number one cause of death and major injury for U.S. children ages 1 to 17.”
http://www.bta4bikes.org/at_work/saferoutes_conference.html
Cycling doubled after congestion charge was instituted.
21% commute by bike in Boulder
Resources
http://www.bta4bikes.org/at_work/index.php
http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/boulder-goes-bike-platinum/
http://www.livablestreets.com/streetswiki/cycle-chic
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikemain.shtml
http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/
http://www.1world2wheels.org/about (collaboration with Trek Corp)
