Pedal Power. Bicycle Politics: Review Essay. (2 of 4)

Welcome back to this second post in a series of four taken from Dr Jennifer Bonham’s Bicycle Politics Review Essay IDEAS IN MOTION: ON THE BIKE. In the last post, Dr Bonham (Uni of Adelaide) provided an introduction and background for this essay and established the histo-politico-social context. This post reviews the first (of three) American books on Bicycle Politics. Thanks again to Dr Bonham. If you have not yet read this book, check out this review and see if you want to head to your local library for more. Enjoy! NG.

Wray, J. H. (2008). Pedal power: The quiet rise of the bicycle in American public life. Boulder, CA: Paradigm Publishers.

Pedal Power

J. Harry Wray’s Pedal Power: The Quiet Rise of the Bicycle in American Public Life is an immensely readable account of the nascent shift toward bike friendliness in the United States. Wray has written both a cycling advocacy text and, as a professor of politics at De Paul University in Chicago, an accessible introductory text for students taking courses in culture and politics. Each chapter offers an entry point into discussions about the nature of politics, political theory, the mechanisms that foster particular meanings and values over others, and the processes of political struggle and change.

The early chapters of Pedal Power establish the background for the pivotal third chapter after which the discussion turns to the development of a bicycle culture and the process of creating political change. Wray opens his case with a “bicycle view” strategy—that of the touring cyclist— to contrast the embodied experiences and social interactions enabled through cycling and car driving. He uses a familiar set of concepts in making this comparison: the surface of the road reverberating through the body; muscles responding to topography; elements assailing the flesh.

Further, the fact of sitting “on” a bike and “in” a car facilitates different types of relations with co-travelers (those who walk, ride, drive (passenger) alongside), “by-standers” (those not going anywhere—for the moment), and other species and things. Wray links these different experiences of mobility to different political positions arguing the bicyclist tends to a more progressive (and preferable) politics as the cyclist is always located within his/her context whereas driving tends to isolate and insulate motorists from their environment.

Clearly, the bicycle and the motorcar will enable different experiences and interactions but Wray misses a number of opportunities by simplifying the argument into a bicycle versus car dichotomy. It works toward fixing differences between cars and bikes and smoothes over the processes through which bodies, machines, materials, spaces, and concepts have been, and continue to be, wrought together. Further, it limits our view of other ways of getting around and the diversity of experiences and interactions these enable. To illustrate this point, we could assemble cycling (racing, utility, etc.), walking (jogging, running), taking the tram, bus or train, riding a scooter, wheelchair or sled, skateboarding, being a passenger in a car, driving a truck, taxi or automobile, rickshaw cycling, parcour and rollerblading. We could then question the apparatuses through which these particular categories have been created, or excised, from the mass of human experience and bracketed into discrete sets of mobility. Picking apart these categories (the practices, emotions, concepts, materials and interactions they entail) is a political tactic through which we would scramble our existing categories, create new ones and challenge the valuing or prioritization of any one set of practices over another. The point Wray makes in contrasting bicycling and driving is to challenge the privilege accorded to motoring practices. However, he also re-inscribes the car/bike hierarchy as he seeks to value the very characteristics through which cycling has been devalued.

The second and third chapters contrast the politics and culture of bike riding in the Netherlands and the United States. Wray explains bicycle culture in the Netherlands in terms of a sense of shared responsibility and a political pragmatism that was brought to bear on the 1960s/1970s backlash against the motor vehicle. This explanation prepares the ground for a discussion of cycling and motoring in relation to the core American values of individualism and materialism. He is specifically concerned with whether and how cycling and motoring foster and extend each of these values. The “myth” of individualism, and its strong links to materialism, are explained as the outcome of the country’s Protestant roots, (initial) fluid class system and the stories Americans tell about their long frontier history. This individualism was transformed through the process of industrialization where it was reconstituted as “personal product choices” (61).

It is within this context that the motor vehicle figures as a symbol and mechanism for the further elaboration of consumption and individualism. The motorcar represents the U.S.’s extreme form of individualism— isolation and separation. Writing in the lead-up to the 2008 election campaign, Wray argues that growing disillusionment and discontent in the United States provides fertile ground for alternative cultural norms. The bicycle is a symbol of that alternative. Importantly, Wray links the bicycle to both a “tamer” form of individualism and community cohesion. Rather than the bicycle being a “private” means of transport, Wray emphasizes the particular social interactions it enables thereby making a powerful challenge to the traditional public/private transport dichotomy.

The second half of Pedal Power is devoted to challenging current cultural norms, the mechanisms by which participation in everyday cycling is being encouraged and the role of different players working inside and outside formal political processes to revalue the bicycle. Wray devotes a chapter each to the role of: individual cyclists and advocates who provide alternative ways of seeing and being in the world; bike advocacy groups which reinforce each other as they lobby for funding and legislative changes from the national through to the local scale; bicycle activism that engages the wider citizenry in bicycle politics by encouraging participation in myriad bike-related activities; and sympathetic politicians who can influence legislation and funding decisions to further the interests of cycling. These chapters are alive with detail as Wray offers numerous examples of the people, groups, activities, and legislative changes he believes are facilitating a culture of bicycle use and political change.

Dr Jennifer Bonham is a senior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, University of Adelaide. She has a background in human geography specializing in urbanization and cultural practices of travel. Her research focuses on devalued mobilities as it explores the complex relationship between bodies, spaces, practices, and meanings of travel. Her current research explores the gendering of cycling. Jennifer’s work is informed by a concern for equitable and ecologically sustainable cities.

Contact details: School of Social Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia. jennifer.bonham@adelaide.edu.au

This excerpt is from: Bonham, J. (2011). Bicycle politics: Review essay. Transfers, 1(1), 137. doi:10.3167/trans.2011.010110.

Images included here are not part of the original publication.

08/04/201926/04/2019

The Solution of Cycling. Bicycle Politics: Review Essay. (1 of 4)

Work on my community bicycle PhD research project requires me to read a lot of academic literature on bikes. Whilst it is my immense pleasure, there is always more to read. Recently, I came across a review essay by Dr Jennifer Bonham (University of Adelaide) that summarised and appraised three key (and popular) American ‘bicycle politics’ books. This essay a very interesting read as it identifies critical histo-politico-social aspects of bicycling from each of the books in an accessible, succinct and thoughtful way. Woohoo! What a gift! So here is Dr Bonham’s full essay IDEAS IN MOTION: ON THE BIKE as a series of four blog posts. This first post covers the intro and background, followed by three more – one post each reviewing, in turn, the three bicycle books below. A massive thank you to Jennifer for her analytical synthesis explaining why riding a bike is a political act. Enjoy! NG.

Wray, J. H. (2008). Pedal power: The quiet rise of the bicycle in American public life. Boulder, CA: Paradigm Publishers.
Furness, Z. (2010). One less car: Bicycling and the politics of automobility. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Mapes, J. (2009). Pedaling revolution: How cyclists are changing American cities. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press.

Bicycle Politics: Review Essay. The Solution of Cycling. 1 of 4. Bicycles Create Change.com. 8th April, 2019. — Image: Golfian.com

Introduction: The Solution of Cycling

by Dr Jennifer Bonham (University of Adelaide).

Since the mid-1990s, bicycling has been identified as a solution to problems ranging from climate change and peak oil to urban livability, congestion and public health. A plethora of guidelines, strategies, policy statements, plans and behavior change programs have been produced— especially in industrialized countries—in an effort to encourage cycling. Despite many localities registering increases in cycling over the past decade, English-speaking countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and United States continue to have extremely low national rates of cycling. The benefits of cycling are widely accepted and barriers well documented but changes are slow, uneven, and often contested. The disjuncture between government rhetoric and commitment to bicycling (via legislation, funding, infrastructure) foregrounds the broader cultural and political context within which cycling is located.

Implementing pro-cycling1 policies is difficult in cultural contexts where bicycles/bicyclists are set in a hierarchical relation with automobiles/ motorists and the latter valued over the former. It is equally difficult to effect cultural change when decision makers fail to prioritize cycling on the political agenda. A key research problem has been to understand how the hierarchical relation between different travel practices has been established and reproduced. Often, this problem is approached by centering the automobile in the analysis:2 a tactic which positions the motor vehicle in a series of dichotomous relations with “other” travel practices—private/public, motorized/non-motorized, choice/captive.

Such dichotomous approaches have been widely criticized for re-creating rather than undermining established hierarchies.3 An alternative tactic involves unpicking the mechanisms through which these categories are produced and bodies are differentially valued. Recently the bike has been placed at the centre of the analysis in an effort to unsettle its persistent marginalization. However, this type of analysis will be limited if it simply reproduces the bicycle/automobile dichotomy.

Throughout the late twentieth century, “cyclists” and everyday practices of cycling have been constituted through concepts and research practices within the field of transport and positioned as problematic—in terms of safety, efficiency, orderliness. But the past 15 years4 have seen researchers from a range of disciplines—health, political science, geography, sociology, urban planning and transport—creating new “versions” of cycling.5 As they centre bicycling in their work and offer recommendations on “what is lacking” and “what should change” they also provide insights into the mechanisms by which cyclists have been explicitly excluded from or marginalized within public space, academic study and public policy. This literature is a fundamental part of political and cultural change not so much for the veracity of its claims but in re-constituting cycling as an object of study and opening the path to alternative ways of thinking about and practicing mobility.

From the early 2000s, there has been a steady growth in research into practices of cycling and cycling sub-cultures.6 Arguably, this ethnographically oriented work can be traced to Michel de Certeau’s seminal essay Walking in the City,7 which made apparent the historical and cultural specificity of contemporary travel practices. There has been a steady growth in research into particular travel/mobility practices and sub-cultural groups who identify through their mobility.8 The study of local cycling groups and cycling sub-cultures challenges hegemonic meanings, which devalue bicycling, and offers alternative mobility futures. They can also link bike riders to more mainstream values and beliefs thereby questioning their marginal status. The very practice of riding a bike and/ or being part of a cycling sub-culture is implicitly political as it challenges dominant forms of mobility. However, some individuals and sub-cultural groups are explicitly political as they use the subject position of cyclist as a means by which to resist exclusion and advocate for bike riding.

The books reviewed in this paper examine the bicycle culture-politics nexus in the context of the United States. They provide explanations for the marginalization of cycling but more particularly they are concerned with how to bring about change. Each author addresses culture and politics to different degrees, recognizing them as inextricably linked but emphasizing one or the other in their analyses. They draw upon research from health and environmental sciences, architecture, urban, and transport planning to support their arguments rather than reflecting on this knowledge as a fundamental part of contemporary culture or cultural change. Culture is discussed in terms of the sites through which meanings are attached to cycling—especially film and television, literature, advertising, and news reporting—and how these are being challenged through the bicycle cultures and everyday mobility practices that form part of a growing social movement in cycling.

Notes

Pedestrians, public transport users, scooter riders, roller bladers and so forth could be included along with cycling.
For example, James Flink, The Car Culture (Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1975); Peter Freund and George Martin, The Ecology of the Automobile (Montreal: Black Rose Books Ltd 1993); Mimi Sheller and John Urry, “The City and the Car,” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 24 no. 4 (2000): 737–757.
Feminists from Butler to Hekman have been at the forefront of this critique. Judith Butler, Gender Trouble (New York: Routledge, 1990); Susan Hekman, The Material of Knowledge: Feminist Disclosures (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010).
This timeline reflects research into everyday cycling in English-speaking countries.
Borrowing Annemarie Mol’s theorization of different versions of reality, I want to suggest we do not have a single object (the cyclist) which is studied through a different lens by each discipline; rather we create the cyclist in different ways through the methodologies we use within each discipline. Annemarie Mol, The Body Multiple: Ontology in Medical Practice (Durham: Duke University Press, 2002).
The Ethnographies of Cycling workshop held at Lancaster University in 2009 included presentations from a number of researchers working in this area since the early 2000s. http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/centres/cemore/event/2982/
Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984).

Contact details: School of Social Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia. jennifer.bonham@adelaide.edu.au

This excerpt is from: Bonham, J. (2011). Bicycle politics: Review essay. Transfers, 1(1), 137. doi:10.3167/trans.2011.010110.

Images included here are not part of the original publication.

22/02/201908/03/2019

Wheels of change: bicycles fight air pollution in Brazil

This blog prides itself on sharing the grassroots stories, events and experiences of local and international community cyclists. Around the world, cyclists are grappling with many issues – and this story from JP hit a particular nerve in drawing attention to the issue of air pollution. The article republished here was an open letter written by San Paulo local bicycle activist JP Amaral for Global Call to Climate Action at the end of last year. Recently, I reported on Areli Carreón who is the first ever Latin American Bicycle Mayor (Mexico City) because it is important to hear more from our concerned and proactive Latin American cycling brothers and sisters. A big thanks to JP for sharing his thoughts, research and insights with us. We applaud your work and are sending you much support from down under!

As government Ministers, city mayors and civil society from all over the globe head for the World Health Organisation’s first ever international conference on air pollution and health at the end of this month (30 October to 1 November 2018), one must wonder how big a problem the quality of the air we breathe has become.

I used to believe poor air quality was a major barrier to cycling in our urban centers and couldn’t understand the reason for my respiratory problems in my hometown São Paulo, where air pollution levels are 60% above the WHO’s safety limits and responsible for 6,421 deaths each year.

However, as I started cycling, the health benefits were immediate, especially for my respiratory system.

Now, after 10 years working on sustainable urban mobility, being co-founder of Bike Anjo, a large national network of volunteers promoting cycling as a means of transport in Brazil, and an active member of the international Bicycle Mayor Network, I understand that the health benefits of cycling and walking outweigh the harm from inhaling air loaded with traffic fumes.

This is a message we always try to get across to the people we help in learning to cycle or tracing their daily routes. Moreover, research studies have shown that car drivers in heavy traffic inhale more pollution.

The biggest metropolitan area in South America (population: 21.2 million), São Paulo is notorious for its traffic; a recent study found that São Paulo inhabitants spent 86 hours on average in 2017 stuck in traffic (or 22% of total drive time), putting it in the top five cities for traffic congestion.

In this city, cars and motorcycles are a much-desired escape from long, arduous journeys on public transport, especially for the poor living on the outskirts who commute every day into the city centre.

Over the past decade, Federal government incentives to the car industry have brought down the price of cars, making them significantly more accessible. It is not surprising then that the main source of air pollution in São Paulo – as in several world cities – is the vehicular fleet, accounting for 80% of total air pollutants.

Despite this unfavourable scenario, cycling has been growing in popularity in recent years: we’ve gone from 100,000 bike trips a day in 2007 to 300,000 trips a day in 2012, and a recent study by the Secretary of Transport estimated over 1 million bike trips a day in São Paulo.

Investments in cycling infrastructure and a series of incentives, such as 400 km of new bike lanes and bike paths, new bike sharing systems and banning car traffic in some of the city’s busiest streets on Sundays have contributed to this culture change. Surfing on this trend, Bike Anjo expanded its network of volunteers, helping “paulistanos” explore safe cycling routes and cycle with more confidence.

This year, our successful Bike to Work campaign has highlighted the health benefits of cycling, focusing on two women who agreed to ride their bikes to work for an entire month for the first time, whilst having their health monitored by doctors.

Having experienced so many physical and mental health benefits from this challenging experiment, they both decided to continue their daily bicycling commutes. We hope that this experience, featured on national television, has encouraged many Brazilians to do the same.

While behaviour change campaigns such as this one can make a difference, a long lasting change in transport culture must be underpinned by robust public policies that are conducive to active mobility. At the federal level, a progressive piece of policy framework was proposed as the “National Urban Mobility Act”, in 2012, putting forward active mobility as the prioritized mode of transport in Brazilian cities.

However, the national plan implementation depends entirely on the formulation of municipal urban mobility plans, which are either non existent or at early stages of implementation in most of Brazil’s municipalities. Through working with civil society actors, Bike Anjo and the Brazilian Cyclists’ Union (UCB) have been trying to assist municipalities in getting their plans off the paper and into action.

The gaps are numerous; from policy design to implementation, from federal to municipal level, and importantly, the tendency of treating issues in silos.

Health policies rarely engage in dialogue with mobility policies, despite existing evidence that reducing air pollution in urban centres through clean, sustainable transport results in better public health outcomes and significant savings in government expenditures.

Air pollution is now responsible for over 7 million premature deaths per year, globally. The urgency of reducing such mortality rates, coupled with that of mitigating the impacts of climate change, leaves us with no more time to tolerate carbon emissions from fossil fueled transport.

The latest UN scientific report has warned we may have only 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe if global warming exceeds 1.5C, singling out the transport sector as the fastest growing contributor to climate emissions

This first global WHO conference on health and air pollution is a unique occasion where national leaders from different sectors facing similar local challenges can meet and exchange experiences, learn from civil society and ultimately commit to agreed targets to meet the WHO’s air quality guidelines by 2030, matching the needs of reducing carbon emissions.

Clean, renewable energy, electric vehicles, the elimination of fossil fuels subsidies, smarter urban planning, and better public transport infrastructure are some of the choices policy makers can make to avoid countless preventable deaths, drastically improve air quality and health, and contribute towards a safer climate.

At the conference, I plan to highlight how cycling can play a major role in transforming mobility around the world. Given the convenience, health benefits and affordability of bicycles, they could provide a far greater proportion of sustainable urban transport, helping reduce not only air pollution, but energy use and CO2 emissions worldwide.

Active mobility is often underestimated, but if you think about it, bicycles could be the ultimate icon of sustainable transport. As the far right takes power in countries across the planet, including most recently Brazil, city level solutions offer real hope and the best bet for change.

About the author
JP Amaral is an active member of the international Bicycle Mayor Network initiated by Amsterdam based social enterprise BYCS, and co-founder of the Bike Anjo Network (bikeanjo.org), currently coordinating the “Bicycle in the Plans” project. He has a bachelor degree on Environmental Management at the University of São Paulo and has been working in sustainable urban mobility since 2008. He is certified as an auditor on the BYPAD methodology – Bicycle Planning Audit, and is the Bicycle Mayor of São Paulo. He is also fellow member of the Red Bull Amaphyko network for social entrepreneurs and of the German Chancellor Fellowship program for tomorrow’s leaders from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, working with international cooperation towards cycling promotion, especially between Brazil and Europe.

Bike Anjo (Bike Angels) is a network of voluntary cyclists who engage people to use bicycles as a mean of transforming cities – from teaching how to ride a bicycle to identifying safe cycling routes for São Paulo inhabitants and building national campaigns.

The Bicycle Mayor Network is a global network of changemakers – initiated by Amsterdam based social enterprise BYCS – that radically accelerates cycling progress in cities worldwide. The individual use the power of their network to influence politics and the broader public to start cycling. Bicycle mayors transform cities, cities transform the world.

23/11/201829/12/2018

Islamabad rides against climate change

One of the courses I teach at Griffith Uni is 1205MED Health Challenges for t he 21st century. It is a compulsory first-year undergrad course for all Health Sciences degrees. I really enjoy teaching it. The first major assessment is a research essay topic exploring the link between malaria (health) and climate change (environment). Climate change is a global issue that has serious repercussions that go far beyond health. I was delighted to see cyclists the world around rallying to raise awareness about climate change. This particular protest caught my attention because Pakistani cyclists are not often featured in international news – so it was great to see them out in force and mobilizing against climate change. NG.

Climate Diplomacy Day

Climate Diplomacy Day (CDD) is an annual date that is used to highlight climate change issues and action. Every year, countries host conferences, community events, debates, exhibitions, films and social media activities to encourage informed discussion and work towards more decisive joint responses to the climate challenge.

Collectively, these events hope to build on work strated by the December 2015 Paris Agreement, which was the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate.

This year, Islamabad set the bar high for Climate Diplomacy Day.

Pakistan is not the first country that usually comes to mind when we think of climate change action.

Even so, considering that Pakistan is predicted to be one of the most vulnerable nations to be impacted by climate change (despite the country’s low level of its global carbon emissions), it is understandable that CDD would make the news.

Islamabad rides against climate change

Islamabad celebrated CDD with three key events; a massive public bike protest, a documentary screening and an art competition.

This aim of this years’ event program was to encourage communities to take back the decision making control about climate policy out of bureaucracy hands and back give it back to the community.

The bike protest had a massive turn out. The protest saw riders taking over the streets of Islamabad as a way to highlight rampant greenhouse emissions by promoting bikes as a more eco-friendlier mode of transportation.

The ride was held in conjunction with the EU and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pakistan.

The ride was followed by a public screening of a documentary called Thank You For The Rain, which follows the damage climate change has had on a Kenyan farmer, his family and his village.

There was also a local exhibition called the Climate Diplomacy Art Competition, which showcased local students’ climate change inspirited art. The theme for the art competition was Challenges of Climate Change – Pakistan’s Youth on the Front Line.

Events like Islamabad’s CDD are very important in helping raise awareness for climate action.

It is also a sobering reminder that no matter where you are – in Pakistan, Australia or anywhere else in the world – we are all united by this common issue.

I find it reassuring there are so many people who are equally passionate about the environment, cycling and who want more positive environmental and community change.

Ride on brothers and sisters!

18/10/201829/11/2018

Ride 2 Work Day 2018

Ride@Work Day 2018. Bicycles Create Change.com 18th October, 2018 — Source: Bicycle Network

Yesterday was Australia’s Ride2Work Day 2018.

This event is a national program that encourages workers to feel good and have fun commuting to work by bike.

The aim of Ride2Work is to promote the health, financial and environmental benefits of riding and encourage more people to ride to work. Ride2Work Day helps people who have never commuted by bike before to give it a go and allows regular riders to stay motivated and encourage their work-mates to get involved.

To be involved, participants register their ride on Ride2Work Day website. Registering is a way peak bicycle advocacy groups can better understand bike commuter behaviour and help leverage campaigns for better riding facilities to councils, local and state governments.

Most capital cities hold a Ride2Work Day breakfast event. I went to last year breakfast in Brisbane and this year we had a Griffith Uni crew meeting there.

It has been raining for a week in Brisbane, but when I woke up early. It was a beautiful crisp morning, and I was looking forward to meeting the other 8 Griffith Uni cyclists in at the Brisbane Law Courts Plaza, 7.00 – 8.15am for a free cyclist’s breakfast, coffee, chat with some fellow riders and to see what the stalls and tents had to offer.

I was excited!

I took Leki and we arrived in the city early.

So I took a little sojourn along the Brisbane River. Then I started heading in the direction of the Law Courts and ended up joining up along the way with another rider named Peter. We chatted as we rode along, marvelling at the beautiful morning and how lucky we were that the rain broke for this event.

But when we arrived at the event site, this is what we saw…..

After a quick chat with a few other cyclists and some phone calls, we found out the event had been cancelled due to rain – obviously!

Funny, none of us knew the event had been cancelled or had received any notification.

I checked the Bicycle Queensland website and Instagram before I left and there was no notification – hence heading out. A friend said later there was a short post on Bicycle Queensland’s Facebook page – not so helpful for those who don’t use Facebook – perhaps an email for those who had registered?

And nothing from the other Griffith cyclists either – interesting…!

No matter!

It was such a beautiful morning. I was certainly not going to waste this opportunity! So with Peter’s directions, I headed out towards West End on an adventurous morning ride.

Unsurprisingly, I had a great time!

I went scouting for a cool cafe to stop at before the morning traffic got too much, but ended up having such a lovely ride along the river, I just keep going!

I chatted to a few other cyclists and really enjoyed watching the city wake up.

I went to parts of the city I have not seen before and rode the long way back along the Brisbane River using a bike path I’ve never been on. GOLD!

It was awesome.

Tired, sweaty and happy – I then started to head back.

So despite the Brisbane event being cancelled- I had a brilliant ride to work.

I hope you did too!

23/07/201824/07/2018

Achieving a Major Bike Mode Shift in Vancouver – Dale Bracewell

Nina Ginsberg and Dale Bracewell (Manager of Transportation Planning. City of Vancouver, Canada).

Recently I attended a very interesting event hosted by BikePedTrans. It was a presentation by Dale Bracewell, Manager of Transportation Planning for the City of Vancouver.

For many years now, Vancouver, Melbourne and Vienna have been jostling for the top positions in the top 5 ‘World’s Most Livable City’ rankings.

Vancouver has a particular sustainable and social interaction angle for its urban improvements that has created incredible positive change towards biking and active transportation – to a point where Vancouver is an exemplary urban cycling role model almost without rival.

As a bike enthusiast, this is very exciting! I wanted to hear more!

So here’s a quick overview of Dale’s session. It was called ‘From a Trickle to a Stream: Achieving a Major Bike Mode Shift in Canada’.

Ambitious Plans: Achieving a Major Bike Mode Shift in Vancouver

In 1997, Vancouver’s Transportation Plan identified there would be no increase in road capacity for cars and that walking, cycling and transit would be prioritised.

It also set an active travel mode share target of 40% to be achieved by 2008.

Significant progress has since been achieved and the plan was updated in 2012 that increased the targets even more – to 66% of all travel to be via walking bike or PT transit by 2040.

Remarkably, Vancouver achieved these goals well ahead of time – whereby 50% of travel set for 2020 was actually achieved by 2015.

Implementation of an impressive protected bike lane network and an Active Transportation Promotion & Enabling Plan saw daily cycling trips in Vancouver increase to over 50% from 2013 to 2016.

Vancouver’s vision is to support happy and health living by inspiring and enabling people of all ages and abilities to walk or cycle as their prefered way of getting around Vancouver.

Vancouver’s mission is to be leaders and partners in creating and promoting a world-class Active Transporation network in Vancouver.

Vancouver is looking beyond transport and mobility as the foundation for their Active Transportation policy. Their focus addresses and prioritises other eco-socio-cultural dimensions of urban living, to include health, safety, accessibility, economy, public life, environment and resiliency.

Vancouver has 5 Key Cycling Directions:

Upgrade and expand the bike network with routes that are comfortable and convenient
Improve integration with other modes, including via public bike share
Provide secure and abundant paring and end-of-trip facilities
Focus on education and safety
Promote cycling as an everyday option

The implementation principles for Vancouver’s Active Transportation Promotion & Enabling Plan are:

Think Big Picture
Be Opportunistic
Work Together
Invest Wisely
Innovate
Learn and Adapt

Data and Monitoring is key to everything!

Monitoring is key to tracking changes, recording data and observing trends. It is also imperative as evidence to prove positive changes and to encourage (stubborn?) politicians and administrators to act on increasing active transportation.

Vancouver’s monitoring program is impressive. Dale said a number of times that ‘you need to love the data!’. For example, evidence on the time spent sitting and being sedentary can be used to demonstrate causal impacts on health and physical activity outcomes. Dale also stressed the importance of female participation rates as an indicator of achievement of all ages design. Collect data and use it as evidence of success and to justify future initiatives.

What were some of the most interesting ideas?

Dale’s presentation was filled with interesting facts, ideas, learnings, suggestions and insights about Vancouver’s 2040 Transport Plan for biking. There was so much that was interesting, more than I can share here (contact Dale for more!). A quick review of some of the most interesting ideas include:

All ages and all abilities design – the end goal is for all Vancouver cycling infrastructure to all AAA standard. What a great idea!

Must have solid policy backing. Policy needs to recognise and drive issues that are broader than just mobility, for example, safety, health, accessibility, housing affordability, liveability and environment.
High-frequency mass transit is critical in shifting more locals towards using active transportation modes and away from private vehicles. To achieve this, having a minimum grid, forward-thinking strategic decision making and close consultations with stakeholders were key to building interest and momentum.
This presentation was the first time I heard the term ‘conversational bike lanes’ as a way to describe the width of a bike lane. This is used to describe how some bike lanes need to be wider in some places where two bike riders can ride alongside each other (to chat conversationally) as well as having room for one rider coming in the opposite direction (as opposed to just one bike width going both directions). What a lovely ‘social’ way of understanding bike lane usability.

It was inspiring to hear from Dale what could be achieved with political will and a clear strategic vision. What a brilliant model for other cities – a bikable city is achievable.

I am sure I was not the only one in the audience thinking why/how Brisbane could get to this same kind of state.

A trip to Vancouver anyone?

Achieving a Major Bike Mode Shift in Vancouver - Dale Bracewell's Presentation. Bicycles Create Change.com July 23rd 2018 — Twitter: @Dale_Bracewell

All images my own and/or from Dale Bracewell’s PPT presentation.

21/11/201705/12/2017

Helmet Law Survey Results

The results of the Bicycle Network Helmet Law Survey are in! Big ups to all those who responded to the survey online and via my blog post on September 19th. A summary of the key findings are at the end of this post. Very interesting!

A survey of almost 20,000 people has found that nearly two-thirds don’t believe you should have to wear a helmet every time you ride a bike in Australia.

It also found that if current mandatory helmet laws change to allow Australians to ride a bike without wearing a helmet, more than 30% of people would ride a bike more often.

The survey was conducted in August and September this year as part of Bicycle Network’s mandatory helmet law policy review.

Currently under the law, it is compulsory to wear a helmet whenever riding a bike in Australia, excluding the Northern Territory.

Bicycle Network CEO, Craig Richards, said the responses received from its members and the public will help the organisation evaluate its position on helmets, forming one part of a wider review which also includes a literature review and evaluation of expert opinion.

“It’s great to get such a large amount of public opinion about bike helmets. It’s something people are clearly passionate about and it’s helpful to see how Australia’s helmet laws may impact people’s decision to ride,” said Mr Richards.

“The opinion of our members and people who ride bikes is important and will help inform our policy on Australia’s mandatory helmet law. Along with academic research and information from experts, we will be able to make a fully informed decision.”

When it comes to relaxing laws, it’s not one-size-fits-all

While most people said they don’t support mandatory helmet laws, there was a divide in whether laws should be fully relaxed, or adapted in specific situations.

41% think helmets should still be mandatory in some circumstances, such as riding in ‘high risk’ situations, like racing, riding on roads or under 18 years of age.

“Understandably, there are people that feel safer wearing a helmet. But there are situations where some people have told us they would feel safe without a helmet, like riding on a trail next to the beach,” added Mr Richards.

“If we were to change our policy on Australia’s mandatory helmet laws, it may not be as simple as saying you’ll never have to wear one again.”

Bicycle Network is Australia’s largest bike riding organisation representing 50,000 members.

It’s mandatory helmet law policy review began in August this year and is expected to be completed by April 2018.

Summary of Bicycle Network’s mandatory helmet law survey

The survey was completed by 19,327 respondents
Respondents were mostly Bicycle Network members and people who ride bikes with varying regularity. 2.6% of respondents were from overseas, and 1.9% of respondents said they never ride a bike.
58.3% of respondents said there should be a change to helmet laws, while the remaining 41.7% said helmets should be mandatory all the time
40.7% believe helmets should only be mandatory when the risk is high, for example, when racing, on road or for young people
30.4% would ride more if helmets weren’t mandatory
If laws changed, almost all people who currently wear a helmet when they ride would continue to do so and the number of people who never wear a helmet when riding would only increase by 3.7%

This post was first published by Bicycle Network on 21st Nov, 2017.

07/10/201717/10/2017

Bike Picnic – Casino Plaza Protest

I’ve been working on my PhD Confirmation submission, officially due yesterday. A PhD is self-directed research, so I self-directed and gave myself permission to hand in on Monday. It is so close. Rushing it will not cut it – and not handing it now will be subpar. It needs to be done right, but I won’t compromise my work, health, sleep or sanity to meet an arbitrary date. It is really shaping up and will be ready to go in no time! Hang in there!

For the last big editing push, I went to the Queensland State Library to work on my manuscript. I decided to take a break for lunch and pop across the river to see what bikey events were going on. What do you know – a bike picnic protest was underway! The perfect brain break! NG.

Bike Picnic – Casino Plaza Protest

Space For Cycling (Brisbane) was holding a picnic on the site of the future public plaza and events space at the bottom of Queens Wharf Road in protest of the new Casino development.

It is right in the middle of the concrete jungle, between the North Quay Ferry terminal and Queens Wharf Road.

Part of the protest was, that unlike the final plaza, they weren’t blocking the Bicentennial Bikeway, so riders and people still had a clear thoroughfare. Their event was to the side of the bikeway and utilising the paved areas for family and bike event such as speed out ballets, playing games and

It was all very civilised!!

A quick raw edit

I threw together a quick hack raw edit (1’30”) while I was there (see below). My brain is struggling with all the fresh air and sunshine after working so much – but it is good to capture a little of the event.

Bicycles Create Change: Brisbane Bike Picnic Protest of Queens Wharf Road Casino Plaza Redevelopment from Bicycles Create Change on Vimeo.

So how was the event?

There was music going and it was nice to see people milling about and socialising. Some cyclists stopped to chat, while others passed through. A few kids and families hung out and drew in chalk on the road, music was playing the BBQ keep everyone happy.

It was a good place for a protest picnic because it was underneath the Riverside Expressway, so the ‘ambiance’ was not your usual outdoor, park-style picnic feel, more the ‘urban, motorway, fumes and congestion’ kind of picnic feel – which was also kind of the point as the new development it a touting the new soon-to-be plaza as being a social space for people to mingle and hang out….right under the noisy, busy motorway – hilarious!

Click here to get more info about the redevelopment or want to lodge an objection.

As the Space for Cycling BNE Facebook page detailed: The Queens Wharf Casino and Resort Development will put a plaza and events space in the middle of the Bicentennial Bikeway. It’s a recipe for conflict and confusion. It’s simply poor planning! We held a picnic on the plaza to protest.

Old fashioned picnic games

As part of the fun, there were some old-fashioned party games on offer. Aside from being fun, the games were suggestive of the difficulties riders will be contenting with after the development is finished….like:
* Turtle races where the slowest rider won – to indicate how cumbersome the future trip along this stretch will be for riders trying to navigate the sea of pedestrians
* Obstacle courses – simulating having to make your way between stationary and moving obstacles without hitting anything or upsetting anyone
* Bicycle bell ringing championships – very much needed for safety (I was sorry I didn’t get to see this one! its one of my fav bike events!)

Reasoning for the protest

The Spaces for Cycling (BNE) website explains that: According to the group’s spokesperson, Belinda Ward, “The Bicentennial Bikeway is a very busy route for bicycle riders, and this decision will put all of those people on bicycles in a shared zone with pedestrians.”

“We are concerned that this will cause conflict between people who are moving through the area on bikes, and tourists and visitors attending events in the plaza”, she said. “Currently, the Bicentennial Bikeway is a way for people commuting by bicycle to avoid the congested promenade at South Bank, but it could soon end up even more crowded.”

“We decided to highlight the issue by occupying the space to have a picnic with some old-fashioned games for entertainment. But unlike the future casino development which will monopolise this public space, we’ll be ensuring the route is left open for people to travel through.”

Bike Picnic - Casino Plaza Protest. Bicycles Create — Bike Picnic – Casino Plaza Protest. Source: Space for Cycling (BNE)

19/09/201722/11/2017

Helmet Survey – Last Chance!

Do you agree with compulsory helmet laws?

Helmet use for cyclists is an ongoing and contentious issue.

Lately, there have been some very heated, passionate and convincing arguments being thrown around.

So it is very timely that Bicycle Network (BN) is undertaking an open invitation to participate in a Helmet Survey to gauge current community feelings about compulsory helmet laws. Have you put your two cents in yet? Better hurry!

TAKE THE HELMET SURVEY HERE

The survey closes Friday 22nd September.

Anyone, anywhere can fill out the survey.

It will take about 5 minutes.

Bicycles Create Change.com Helmet Survey - Last Chance! — Source: Google

Bicycle Network is Australia’s largest bicycle advocacy group. It is the resultant amalgamation of Bicycle Victoria, Bicycle NSW and Bicycle Tasmania (QLD, SA and others opted not to join). This group has over 50,000 members and is proactive in responding to current issues and driving more positive change. Hence the survey!

I have been a member for a number of years. In Feburary this year, I went to Bicycle Network’s Bike Futures 2017 Conference. I was impressed by the range of sessions, quality of work undertaken and large number of attendees. The event was very well organised and it was exciting to be invovled with such a motivated community of cycling activists!

So it is no surprise that as of today, over 18 thousand people have already completed the Helmet Survey.

However, only 23% of respondents are female – which is a pitiful representative considering that women make up 1/3 of all cyclists.

Why the low representation of females in this survey? This is not good.

More females needed to complete the Helmet Survey, please!

Anyone can fill out this survey. You don’t even need to be a cyclist.

Bicycle Network would like to hear what the WHOLE community feels about this issue – including people who ride bikes – as well as those who don’t.

What to do?

Step 1: If you have not done so already, fill out the survey.
Step 2: Ask at least two female cycling mates to do the same!

In my discussions with people about this issue, I’ve heard the full gamut of positions, like:

Some people have strong opinions about helmets (both for and against)
Some people are still deciding
Some think this issue doesn’t affect them
Some haven’t thought much about it
Others couldn’t care less

Patrick Williams published a good little article for ABC Brisbane that touches on a few of the key issues and well worth a quick look if you are interested to hear a little more. (Very interesting reading some of the comments below this article as well!)

This is what Bicycle Network plans to do with the results of the survey…

25/08/201725/08/2017

PhD in Transport Opportunity

Here’s an opportunity for a bike-rider who wants a research challenge.

Earlier this week I met with Assoc. Prof. Matt Bourke after he contacted me to discuss a few projects he is working on and exchange some ideas. Matt is the Principal Research Fellow for the Cities Research Institute (CRI – Griffith Uni). I was delighted to find out he is a bike rider and to see cycling

I am always happy to met a fellow bike rider making positive change. It was great to see cycling paraphernalia dotted around his office. We need more prominent two-wheeling academics!

Matt and I have a number of research and interest overlap in non-motorised travel, physical activity and health and urban travel. However, my interests are squarely on bicycles, community engagement and contested spaces, whereas he is more transport planning, policy, design and implementation.

Which meant there was lots to talk about!

One interesting thing we discussed is that Matt is currently looking for a candidate to undertake a PhD in transport and equity with his team.

Anyone up for the challenge?

PhD in Transport Opportunity - Bicycles Create Change.com — Source: Griffith News Website

What is the focus area of this PhD?

The CRI forecasts requiring double the amount of post-graduate degree candidates within its first six months – this is part of that expansion.

Currently, CRI is focused on investigating ‘place based social policy in Australian cities’ and has over 100 students working on:

Urban planning and water: Towards a new institutional paradigm
Environmental management tools
Working with marginalised groups via cultural development practices
Improving state governance of Australian urban regions

What exactly is this PhD in Transport Opportunity?

Here are the details for SEEK. To apply and get the links click here.

Why is this PhD role so special?

This role also is very prestigious within the transport sector as it is working with CRI and Griffith University, which are highly regarded as:

Griffith University is in the top 100 in the world for Transportation Science & Technology in the latest Shanghai Rankings Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2017.
The Griffith Transport Research (GTR) team was awarded the Griffith Sciences ‘Excellence in a research team’ award for 2015.
GTR has at least ten PhD scholars working in transport research at any one time across the group.
The GRT has won six prestigious Australian Research Council grants since 2009, and they have collaborations with leading international researchers from Europe, North America and increasingly in Asia.
GTR work with and cross various disciplines including travel behaviour, transport & land use, transport economics, transport engineering, transport planning, transport law, logistics, and transport & environment.
Their work covers all modes including walking, cycling, public transport, ferries, roads, freight, shipping and aviation.
The new CRI is designed to become the pre-eminent Australian centre for trans-disciplinary research on the integration of infrastructure, place-making and community and economic development in cities.
This role is based at Griffith Uni’s Brisbane campus at Nathan in the Sir Samuel Griffith Building, which is an innovative flagship research building and is an award -winning 6-star sustainable building produces zero emissions.

I would love to see more bike riders taking an active role in research, planning and policy – and this is one great way to do it. A PhD is a serious undertaking, but for those who are up for the challenge, the results would be not only personal gains but would have significant positive and enduring impacts for the future of city development and for all community members. What a brilliant way to progress the cycling and active transportation agenda!

If interested, contact:

Assoc. Prof Burke
Skype or WeChat (with the username/ID ‘drmattburke’)
Phone: +61 7 3735 7106
Email: m.burke@griffith.edu.au