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Fietsen in Nederland (bicycling in the Netherlands)

September 27, 2009 / / 0 Comments

If you and I have chatted about bicycling in the past six months, I’ve probably mentioned the Dutch in our conversation.

Why?

I want a Dutch bicycle. Explaining this one will take another blog post – compiling all my reasons takes a long time. But in addition to cool bikes, here’re a couple other things they do:

  • They (the Dutch) make bicycling better (safer and easier). More people ride their bikes than drive cars for a majority of trips. They have the lowest cycling injury and fatality rate.
  • They build bicycling infrastructure beyond what I can imagine. Bike highways connect small towns and big cities. 4,000 space parking garages.

I started reading a blog called “A view from the cycle path” written by Briton David Hembrow living in The Netherlands. He writes about bicycling history in the country, posts ridership statistics, discusses his commute, and sends readers to more information about it all.

I also read Marc van Woudenberg’s blog, Amsterdamize. I found it either via Flickr, or via web search, when I looked for other WorkCycles Fr8 owners and users. I want the Fr8 bike (pictured below). I can get one from the local WorkCycles (build their own bikes and sell other manufacturers’) dealer, Dutch Bike Chicago.

Remind me to post my paper and presentation about the past, present and future of bicycle planning in The Netherlands I will submit for my Sustainable Development Techniques class at UIC.

What the Census says about bicycle commuting

September 26, 2009 / / 0 Comments

UPDATE 11-08-10: I wrote a post comparing the commuting statistics between Chicago, Minneapolis, and St. Paul.

UPDATE 02-12-11: Added 2009 data.

Prompted by this entry on BikePortland about the rise of bicycle commuting and the bicycle mode share in Portland, Oregon, I decided to research what the American Community Survey says about the mode share of bicycles as part of commuting where I live: Chicago. I’ll also post bicycle’s share of commuting for other locales, as well.

Some definitions, first:

  • Commuting means travel to and from work – the Census Bureau calls this “MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION TO WORK.” The Census Bureau does not collect information on travel to shopping, medical services, and other places in the decennial census or the yearly American Community Survey (which will supposedly replace the decennial census).
  • Block means the smallest area for which the Census Bureau reports statistics. Any smaller and the possibility that someone could personally identify you from the responses increases. Find your block. The American Community Survey reports information for much larger areas: In some cases, researchers can only select data at the county level. The Census Bureau provides information for the City of Chicago and other municipal divisions of many counties in Illinois.
  • Subject definitions. These describe the question asked to participants and include clarifying information in the case the participant doesn’t understand the question, or their answer is complex. Download the subject definitions for the 2008 American Community Survey.
  • Margin of error (MOE) means the high and low end of confidence. Read more about margin of error on the Census Bureau’s website.

For the American Community Survey, I found table S0801, Commuting Characteristics by Sex. In the decennial census, I found table  P30. MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION TO WORK FOR WORKERS 16 YEARS AND OVER. If you want to check my research, look for these tables of sample data.

Chicago:
Margin of error for male and female categories varied. Combined always reported 0.2%.

  • 2009 – 1.1% travel to work by bicycle. 1.8% male (MOE: 0.3%), 0.4% female (MOE: 0.1%). Workers over 16: 1,271,744. Permalink.
  • 2008 – 1.0% travel to work by bicycle. 1.5% male (MOE: 0.3%), 0.5% female (MOE: 0.2%). Workers over 16: 1,260,741. Permalink.
  • 2007 – 1.1% travel to work by bicycle. 1.4% male (MOE: 0.3%), 0.7% female (MOE: 0.2%). Workers over 16: 1,230,933. Permalink.
  • 2006 – 0.9% travel to work by bicycle. 1.2% male (MOE: 0.3%), 0.7% female (MOE: 0.2%). Workers over 16: 1,209,122. Permalink.
  • 2005 – 0.7% travel to work by bicycle. 0.9% male (MOE: 0.1%), 0.4% female (MOE: 0.1%). Workers over 16: 1,162,550. Permalink.

United States:
Margin of error happened to be the same for each reported category (combined, male, female).

  • 2009 – 0.6% travel to work by bicycle. 0.8% male, 0.3% female. MOE: 0.1%. Workers over 16: 138,591,804 (decrease). Permalink.
  • 2008 – 0.5% travel to work by bicycle. 0.8% male, 0.3% female. MOE: 0.1%. Workers over 16: 143,995,967. Permalink.
  • 2007 – 0.5% travel to work by bicycle. 0.7% male, 0.2% female. MOE: 0.1%. Workers over 16: 139,259,684. Permalink.
  • 2006 – 0.5% travel to work by bicycle. 0.6% male, 0.2% female. MOE: 0.1%. Workers over 16: 138,265,905. Permalink.
  • 2005 – 0.4% travel to work by bicycle. 0.6% male, 0.2% female. MOE: 0.1%. Workers over 16: 133,091,043. Permalink.

Read the BikePortland article if you want to know that Portland has a higher share of commuters traveling by bicycle than Chicago has.

And what about my block? As I mentioned above, we can only find information at the block group level in the decennial census. I live in Block Group 1 of Census Tract 6009 in Chicago, Illinois. I didn’t live here in 2000, though, the last time the decennial census occurred. Back then, out of 168 workers over 16, 4 of them rode their bikes to work! That equals .024% of the worker population in my block group. Oddly, though, the Census Bureau reported 946 people living in this Block Group. Looking at table P8 (Sex By Age), I see that 674 have at least 16 years of age. 178 people have at least 55 years. Does this mean a lot of people in the Block Group didn’t work at the time of the survey in 2000? I don’t know. Permalink to data.

By far, though, driving alone won as the most popular way to get to work: 71.423% of the worker population.

I enjoy PARK(ing) day

September 22, 2009 / / 0 Comments



I enjoy PARK(ing) day

Originally uploaded by Steven Vance

UIC’s Office of Sustainability hosted a PARK(ing) day installation at the surface parking lot at Halsted and Polk Streets, Friday, September 18, 2009.

I stopped by on my commute to work downtown from Bridgeport.

Check me out reading a magazine (sorry, totally staged – I was really just chatting with Noah and Andy for 20 minutes).

Andy posted more photos on the PARK(ing) Day website (including 2 of me!).

What’s up with bicycling in Minneapolis, part 2

September 11, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Part 2 of What’s up with bicycling in Minneapolis:

  • I feel better knowing that Metro Transit has a similar bike parking problem like Metra and the Chicago Transit authority. Metro Transit doesn’t provide bike parking at the Mall of America light rail station so several bicyclists locked their bikes to the most secure object at the station: the platform handrails. Thankfully, the bicyclists had the sense to lock far away from the trains – locking to handrails can be dangerous in emergencies, and trains occasionally have emergencies. I think I know what the station designers thought when they planned (or didn’t plan) bike facilities at the Mall of America station: “Who will need to park their bike here? This is a trip destination, not origin.” Don’t underestimate the needs of bicyclists who use transit. Every station needs bike parking, no matter its location or perceived use. I imagine at least three reasons these bicyclists locked here (ask me).
  • I experienced a little shock when I finally found the Intercampus Transitway I initially viewed from Google Maps satellite view. The roadway serves exclusively bicyclists and buses traveling between the busy University of Minnesota campus and the busy State Fair (when operating). An off-street trail matches most of the length of the roadway, but I had to enter the transitway when the trail ended but the road continued. The 10 buses who passed me (the State Fair must be popular) respected my space and safety, a very appreciable behavior.
  • One of the many bridges spanning the Mississippi River connects both campuses of the University. The upper deck carries bicycle and foot traffic where bridge designers installed a completely enclosed walkway.

Midtown Greenway at Chicago Avenue in MPLS

September 10, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Open space advocates and planners should investigate the development, design, and construction of the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Greenway opened up acres of green space to residents, and created new spaces, like this ramp to the multi-use trail between Chicago and 11th Avenues.

Sorry, I won’t do the research for you, because the bicycling facilities component of the multi-use trail and corridor interest me more. Start here: http://www.midtowngreenway.org/

I will continue sharing photos of my trip to “trail city.”