Link roundup: May 7

May 7, 2012 • Posted by: Michael McKisson

How a Bicycle is Made (1945) from British Council Film on Vimeo.

How a bicycle is made.
Post any interesting links in the comment section.

Local

National

International

Evolution of cycling

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Streetcar construction update: May 7 →

4 comments

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Orvis

The comments Star comments devolved quickly. Why they're difficult for me to read is they don't ever acknowledge the things people driving cars do when in traffic. Rolling through stops, running wide into the next lane on a turn, constant and chronic speeding, bizarre u-turns in the middle of the road, stretching lights. Stooping to the pettiness on Margaret's comment I'll add that there is nothing more annoying than being stuck behind a car on 4th Avenue or downtown when the person driving the car is either lost or hunting for a parking space. Was it three wheeler that mentioned not using the crossing devices to stop traffic to cross? I can't remember it was so long ago. I used to be in that camp. I'd just go ahead and wait out the traffic and then cross. Not anymore because all to often the cars accelerate when you're crossing in some weird attempt at intimidation. Screw that buddy I'm gonna push the magic button and make you stop. Not to mention that it's simply a whole lot safer. Cars cheating, how about all the people I see turning left from Country Club on to 3rd or the folks I see out and out run the light at Campbell and 3rd making u-turns. The light's red, I've got a green and yet they're still u-turning into my path. Not one not two but 3. University and Stone, the cars use the toucan to cross Stone in both directions in direct violation of the right turn only signs on 3rd. I am aware of a very nice person who admitted to me that she will use this tactic to get out of Dunbar Spring when she is running late. Crosswalk riding pales in comparison doesn't it.

Orvis

Cars are all about leveraging cheap energy to create the illusion of speeding things up. That the real world cost of using your right foot to accelerate a car remains largely hidden by the energy policies of this country is why people drive the way they do. It's a process product thing which helps to explain the frustration the drivers of automobiles feel when confronted with anything the creates the perception that they are being impeded in their progress. Why Margaret Koenig begrudges anyone access to just a little bit of what she enjoys as an automobile driver, efficiency, is beyond me. Pause and reflect Ms Koenig. Those Hawk crossings are placed where they are placed for a reason. These are dangerous intersections for pedestrians and bicyclists. They aren't for cars, they're for peds and bikes. The quid pro quo is if I use the Hawk at Lester and First Ave I won't be impeding your left or right turn at Grant and 1st. You know we might not have ever needed the Hawks and Toucans if the operators of motor vehicles had simply obeyed the speed limits on inner city roadways. That traffic is almost always bunched is a function of acceleration and speeding. No the speed limit in a 35 mph zone is not 45. Adding 10 is not the law. When the vast majority of cars are operated in excess of the roadway design speeds you are going to end up with things like Hawks and Toucans. The political will for enforcement just isn't there so traffic engineers use the only tools available to them. That and if cars would only actually reliably yield to pedestrians the need for Hawks would dissipate.

StrawHousePig

Some kind of Us and Them mentality. It's easy to fall into it, but I imagine most cyclists around here are or have also been drivers while the opposite is most often not true for drivers. And most drivers know it's easy to transform from Mr. Walker to Mr. Wheeler when driving a car. I think a lesson that should be taught more is that streets are for people. That's not a car, that's a person. That's not a bicycle, that's a person. Just like me. Hard sell in a society built solely around, and to sustain, the automobile.

Pazu Zuzu

The comments on the Arizona Daily Star article are horrifyingly clueless. If you're in a car, and a bike is crossing, there is zero benefit for you if the cyclist dismounts and walks. In fact, you have to wait *longer* for them to cross. What is up with these people?