Free Wheelies: Pedicabs of New York: An Endangered Species

I tracked down Frederic Choiniere. He's the film maker who presented his work at the pedicab workshop during the Towards car-free Cities Conference in Portland. Here's his film about the politics that swirl around New York's pedicab industry.

The pedicab solution

In yet another in a series of podcasts from the Towards Car-free Cities Conference in Portland last June, we examine the transformational power of human fueled machines on the urban landscape. I recorded a workshop on Pedicabs with Steve Meyer of Main Street Pedi-cabs, Peter Meitzler of Manhattan Rickshaw, filmaker Frederic Choiniere, and Jonathan Magnes of PDX Pedicabs.

Hat tip for the photo to cycleseven

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Cycling opens up civil society in Brazil

Sao Paolo activists open Bicycle Plaza

As every cyclist knows biking creates community. Instead of sitting in a tin can, cyclists are out in the world, reacting to their surroundings and interacting with the friends and strangers they meet along the road. Imagine the effect of even a small Critical Mass ride in a country that has been stultified by dictatorship for forty three years and robbed of its civil society?

In another in a series of podcasts from the Towards Car-free Cities Conference in Portland, we attend a talk by Brazilians Thiago Benicchio and Eduardo Green about how it is to ride a bike in their country. The slide show that accompanied the talk can be seen here and here.

Apocalipsemotorizado is in Portuguese but you can see the babelfish translation here.

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The Battle for San Francisco

Another in a series of podcasts from the Towards Car-free Cities Conference in Portland Oregon, Bikescape recorded a presentation about mobility and land use politics in San Francisco. From the origins of Critical Mass to the ascendency of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, the story is told by writer Chris Carlsson, Dave Snyder of San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, the SFBC's Leah Shahum, and CSU professor Jason Henderson.

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Towards Car-free Cities Keynote Speech: Gil Peñalosa

Gil Peñalosa kicks off the World Car-free Network's first ever conference in the United States with an inspirational Keynote address. Bikescape recorded it and attended the press conference that followed.

As Commissioner of Parks, Sports and Recreation Peñalosa initiated Bogata Columbia's trailblazing Ciclovias, where each Sunday ninety one km of streets are returned to the commons for non-motorized use. 1.5 Million people use the ciclovias each week as the practice migrates to Paris, Portland, New York and San Francisco.

Gill has spent five years in Mississauga Canada as commissioner of Parks and Recreation coming up with the thirty year Strategic Placemaking Initiative. He is a senior associate with The Project for Public Spaces, The executive director of Walk and Bike for Life, a senior consultant for Gill Architects, and sits on the boards of American Trails, the City Parks Alliance, the International Sport and Culture Association and the advisory committee of America Walks.

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depave a parking lot, put up a paradise

Movie by Elizabeth Press of Streetfilms

The opening event at the Towards Car-free Cities Conference in Portland, Oregon was the depaving of a 3000 sq foot parking lot. In its place will grow a community garden along with bike parking and a water catchment system. We cover the asphalt removal, then go on a tour of past depaving sites.

Bikescape was there to cover as much of the rest of the conference as one little podcaster could. Stay tuned for many more posts on this important get-together.

The closing song, Chicken or Beef was written and performed by Reptet at the bike art show at Portland City Hall.

I traveled with two San Franciscans who are blogging about the conference. Steve Jones is with the San Francisco Bay Guardian and is posting on their politics blog and Brian Smith runs the excellent Car Free USA blog.

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Democracy in action: The San Fracisco Bike Plan

Bikescape goes to a community meeting of the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Authority as the city solicits public input about the stalled bike plan. We encountered vociferous opposition from parents at three schools on Broadway who feel they must drive their kids to school each day. This begs the question: Why are double parkers considered "stakeholders" and why are their dangerous and illegal actions considered a "reality we must deal with" while all the while demanding harsher enforcement for "scofflaw bicyclists."

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Be sure to voice your opinion with the MTA!

Read former Bogata Columbia Mayor Enrique Peñalosa's op ed in The Sunday NY Times

Stay tuned for coverage of the Car-Free Cities Conference and Pedalpalooza in Portland

Police and media get it wrong in bike fatalities

Bikescape revisits the March killings of Kristie Gough and Matt Peterson during a training ride in the Bay Area by a sheriff's deputy who crossed onto the wrong side of the road and hit them head-on.

We speak with bicycle lawyer and Velo News columnist Bob Mionskie about police bias in this case and toward cyclists in general. Next, we meet with San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Leah Shahum to get to the bottom of the shameful blame the victim attitude taken by the mainstream media and how we can shape public attitudes.

Then we look at a new podcast by James Howard Kunstler and check out the events calendar.

NEW!! Leave voice messages about burning issues with Bikescape and be on the show! Just open Skype, call user name Bikescape and talk!

Mionskie's column on Velo News is here.


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Photo of Leah courtesy Martin Krieg
Photo of Bob courtesy Andy Thornley

Jim Kunstler on Colbert Report

"You're probably one of these people who think the world has a creamy nougat center of oil but it doesn't."



http://www.kunstler.com/

Bicycling and the Law, Bob Mionske speaks at the SF Bicycle Coalition

Two time U.S. Olympic cyclist and 1990 U.S. National Champion, Bob Mionske went on to practice law and now advocates for cyclists. His new book Bicycling and the Law: Your Rights as a Cyclist is a must read for activists. Bob also writes the Legally Speaking column in the Velo News.

He gave a talk at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition last month and Bikescape captured it for you here.




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