Author: Steven Vance

Boulder envisions its bike future

September 9, 2007 / / 0 Comments

Boulder envisions its bike future:

Topics at the summit mentioned in this article included car-free streets, bike service stations, education initiatives, better transit integration, additional trail development, and more recreational and sport cycling promotion. Creating a vision, and continually pushing the envelope, is an important component of any advocacy effort.

I want car-free streets in Chicago so badly. We could create bike expressways on the major commute routes during certain times of the day and year. Perhaps close off one lane of Ashland Ave. for North-South bike travel because we all know Halsted is too crowded and the roadway has too many patches.
Similarly, Portland just created a double-wide bike lane across one of its bridges so that faster riders can safely pass slower riders.

Living close by

September 9, 2007 / / 0 Comments

The 20-Minute Rule:

The common thread in communities that are now drawing the entrepreneurial, 25-40-year-olds, says University of Michigan architecture and urban design professor Christopher B. Leinberger, is walkable urbanism. “From an urban planning point of view it means a place where, within a quarter-mile to a half-mile radius, you can get pretty much everything you need and maybe even walk to work,” said Leinberger.

For myself, I chose to live in Pilsen on 18th St. because it is 1.0 miles away from most campus classrooms and only 0.7 miles away from my work. My housing is not central to these locations, but south of each – still an awesome place to be situated.What would happen if my work changed and I was further than 0.7 miles? Thankfully, I’m very adept at bicycling throughout the city and would not be hindered by increased distance. I would also consider moving to a new apartment.UPDATE: A similar urban planning topic is “constant travel budget hypothesis” which states that a person will either change their transportation mode or travel distance to maintain consistent travel costs.Â