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.
• Canadian transit stations are pretty, but we just can’t compete with the likes of the Stockholm metro station pictured above which features pixel-art inspired by classic games. (BoingBoing)
•“Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century”, the US federal transportation authorization bill is up for debate in the Senate. Complete streets advocates were pleased to see that the draft bill makes bicycling and walking projects eligible under the core funding program and defines ‘road users’ as including people who walk and bicycle and use public transportation, as well as people with disabilities and older adults. (CompleteStreets.org)
• A recent study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin quantifies the massive savings in health care costs and mortality rates estimated from a shift towards using the bicycle to run short-distance errands. Using data from 11 Midwestern cities, “they found that if the Midwesterners ran half of their short-distance errands by bike rather than by car, 1,100 deaths would be avoided each year, and $7 billion would be saved in reduced health-care costs. The trips were 2.5 miles one way; less than a 25-minute bike ride.” (NPR)
• In Munich, a push to increase cycling’s modal share has been too successful – leaving cyclists demanding new space to meet the demand for facilities. Cyclists are expressing a preference for wider on-street bikelanes over the narrow cycletracks built 20-30 years ago. (BikePortland)
Image from BoingBoing
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2 comments
“‘road users’ as including people who walk and bicycle and use public transportation, as well as people with disabilities and older adults.”
Rob Ford will get upset when he sees this memo.
Montreal’s Metro stations have sublime design can certainly compete with Stockholm’s kitsch! Toronto has some exceptional stations too, with some masterpieces by the world’s top architects on the way.