Each week we will be focusing on blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues in Toronto.
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• This Friday is PARK(ing) Day 2009, the fifth annual one-day event, where city dwellers around the world buy metered parking spots in order to temporarily transform them into usable public space.
• Bike paramedics in Norfolk, England form an integral part of the city’s emergency services by lessening the burden on ambulances and reducing emergency response times by minutes.
• In New York City, a bike isn’t just a bike, it’s a fashion accessory. The New York Times reports on “fashion’s…bike moment” and the increase of designer bikes on the city’s streets.
• The New York fashion industry’s recent fascination with the bicycle is almost certainly linked to the fact that, since 2006, the city has seen a 45% increase in the number of commuter cyclists. The growth of cycling in New York is itself the result of a number of bike-friendly initiatives (including the construction of new lanes and racks) the city has pursued over the last three years.
• Cyclists in the European Union may soon be rejoicing as the European Parliament considers a plan to significantly increase funding for cycling friendly initiatives.
• Check out the world’s first life-size Lego house, a two-story home being constructed on a vineyard in Surrey, England, that will contain over two million plastic Lego blocks.
• The longest automated metro system in the world and the first urban metro system in the Gulf opened last week in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. The $7.6 billion project, meant to ease traffic in the constantly congested city, is also gaining attention for its luxurious V.I.P cars which come equipped with free Wi-Fi and air conditioning.
photo by Rebar Art Collective
7 comments
Of note, NYC does not have an mandatory adult helmet law.
And on that point, Antony, serious injuries and fatalities to cyclists has fallen dramatically in overall numbers (to say nothing of the *rate*) even with the exponential growth in cycling in NYC. Which demonstrates that far more important than dictating measures to prevent injury once a rider has fallen, it is much better to promote a culture of safety – and simply getting a lot more people on bikes in a city is one thing that does this.
Well put, McKingford. I think local writer Peter Kuitenbrouwer in the National Post agrees with you today (and then some): http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2009/09/15/give-cyclists-5-a-day.aspx
Wow, in Dubai, the VIPs will get air conditioning!
Two corrections: Vancouver’s SkyTrain is still the longest driverless metro in the world. Dubai only clams the crown once its unopened second line comes online.
Also, the whole system has A/C, so even the proles won’t be sweating it out. No idea what kind of bonuses you get in the V.I.P. car. Extra-cold A/C?
Okay okay, no mas. We get it bike people: Bike lanes first (or better yet segregate facilities). How wrong of anyone to suggest that mandatory helmets would be a good idea to improving the safety of all those who share the street.
Everyone in my mid-sized office who bikes wears a helmet. I’m guessing they’d still do so if bike lanes were provided. Bikes still run through intersections, collide with one another as well as cars and pedestrians. Helmets would help minimize serious injury in any case.
I feel sorry for the fool who first suggested this ridiculous notion. Yeesh.
According to the Brain Injury Association of Canada:
This organization keeps pushing for cycling helmets, yet I have never heard them push for motoring helmets.