I just discovered recently that the City of Vancouver has a Cycling Spot Improvement Program. The program basically looks at small projects that affect a single block or intersection and try to improve the safety and comfort of those blocks and intersections. The main goal is to look at these projects through the cycling infrastructure lens. However, I think there can be improved pedestrian experiences … Continue reading DYK? Vancouver has a Cycling Spot Improvement Program.
I will admit upfront that I am more of a fairweather cyclist. If it’s raining, I hate riding my bike. Especially since I wear glasses most of the time, my vision is inevitably obscured by raindrops on my lenses if I ride in the rain. The other time I tend not to ride is in the dark. That’s why I seldom ride my bike in the winter in Vancouver. My cycling commute is usually from April to September. Why? It’s too dark when I leave work at 6pm to feel like I can safely navigate the alleys and streets of Vancouver by bike.
Bicycles are pretty ubiquitous in Japan and a part of the everyday fabric. Kids, salarymen, sales ladies, and seniors all seem to ride bikes everywhere in Japan. Bikes are on sidewalks and on the street and nobody thinks anything of them. There isn’t the hyped up car versus bicycle antagonism that exists here in Vancouver. So I really wanted to experience what riding a bike was like in Japan.
One of our shared house-mates had been talking about visiting the “pyramid” park. It sure sounded interesting to visit a park with pyramids. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a “pyramid” park. I envisioned some kitschy kids park with a large colourful pastel playground consisting of pyramids. Sure. Why not? So we had planned to go out there one afternoon after our language classes were done.
bicycles outside our share house
We had secured a couple bicycles from another shared house for our afternoon trip to the park. The park was apparently pretty far. With the bicycles ready to go, we set out for the “pyramid” park. However, we forgot to check what the name of the park was in Japanese. Oops.
So we rode out to the northeast of the city. Our house mate knew the general direction of the park, but he couldn’t quite remember exactly how far out the park was. We kept riding north past the freeway and we started to even pass farmland. We were out pretty far from the city limits.
Finally, though, we started to see a tall, pyramidal hill show up on the horizon. That was our destination. Now just where was the entrance exactly? I think we could have entered the park from the south side, but we ended up going to the north side. We locked up our bikes at the northwest entrance to the park.
With all the new segregated bike lanes going up in Vancouver, there’s been a lot of controversy about whether it’s necessary. Yes, it is definitely taking away road space. However, the city’s own car counts of vehicular traffic going in and out of the downtown core shows that our traffic in 2010 was almost the same as car traffic in 1965! So what else have … Continue reading Bike Lanes and Property Values
I haven’t visited Streetfilms in a long time. The Buzzer Blog posted one of their recent films about Vancouver transit and cycling integration. I wonder what a person from outside of the region thinks when they see this film. It certainly gives the impression of wonderful freedom and integration. However, the system is far from perfect, but we should toot our horn as a region … Continue reading Streetfilms – Vancouver transit and cycling integration
With the Vancouver summer extending deep into September, it’s been a great chance to bike to work. Usually, by this time of year, we are already covered in a blanket of grey. However, this year, we’ve been blessed with a warmer and drier than usual September. Even the leaves are only starting to change colour now. In some previous years, the trees are turning autumnal … Continue reading Summery September Cycling
Metro Vancouver’s Bike to Work Week is back again for its Spring 2012 edition. It runs from Monday, May 28th to Friday, June 1st. The organizing group, The Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition (VACC), has rebranded itself as HUB and has a new look and new colours. The Bike To Work website is the same and can be found at same website, though. If you and … Continue reading Bike to Work Week – Spring 2012
Fun infographic on health and bike use. I like the losing 13 lbs over 1 year of cycling part. I wish there were a graphic describing how much cycling it takes for me to lose my spare tire. Created by: Healthcare Management Degree Continue reading How bikes can save us?
metro babel 