A couple weeks ago I met up with Jessica to help her utilize a bike of hers that had been sitting around. She moved to Portland a few years back from the midwest, and has realized that riding a bike around here could be a pretty handy way to commute to and from school.

After getting Jessica and her bike equipped with all the necessary items from the local bike shop, it was time to ride. The main problem is that she lives in the middle of the hustle and bustle of downtown. However, by taking things slowly and informing her of what to expect down the road, both of us made our way down the street with ease.

Before we attempted the route to her school, we took a detour towards the beautiful waterfront. Not only is it wonderful to see people enjoying the park at all hours, but it provides a casual atmosphere to work out the kinks on a first ride! It is amazing how much less stress we encounter when cars are not zipping by.

Taking In The Sights of Portland with Jessica

We took a breather at water level along the Eastbank Esplanade. It is always a beautiful view. After mastering the off-street paths, we decided it was time to master her commute.

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Recent news shows that younger people are driving much less than they were just a handful of years ago, however, older Americans are not changing their habits much at all. In a world where the time to change is quickly ticking by, we need to wise up as a community (of old AND young people) and start driving less. I thought to be older meant you were wiser, but I am questioning that logic with the following graph that I observed recently on Publicola:

Young People Are Driving Less (VMT = Vehicle Miles Traveled)

For the older generation, prove to us that you are indeed wiser, change your ways so that your kids and grandkids will be left a cleaner world – isn’t that what you really want? It will take everybody to win this good fight. I know you can do it.

So, who continues to drive as much as they used to? For a few of ‘em, take a look at this video:
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I have shown MUCH about the Netherland’s bike infrastructure. However, I haven’t shown many of the people biking around.

35% of the trips in the Netherlands are made by bike. 35%………That is a lot of people! More women bike than men – 55% Women / 45% Men. This is rare – extremely rare! How come these people are the way they are? How come their lives are drastically different than ours? I think my previous posts of how the Netherlands approaches transportation partially answers that question quite well.

Here is a random sampling (probably not ‘scientific’, as I chose the fun ones…) of bikers on a typical sunny/rainy day in Amsterdam, Netherlands. I love what they have accomplished…

The 'Unicycle' Rider

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As I mentioned in my previous post, I am currently in Portland – but am just about to wrap up my remaining pictures from the Netherlands. These next few pictures are from around the country, when I had a bit of free time to go out and explore the land.

I can honestly say, the Netherlands continues to amaze me – to this day. The bike infrastructure was so enjoyable, it was really just common sense. We need as many people to see pictures like these, to show them that the change currently happening in today’s American cities isn’t really that bad. The changes to make more of a ‘complete street’ may catch some off guard, but I swear, it is going towards something AWESOME.

All you have to do is see these pictures to understand why…enjoy!

Bike Parking Outside of the Train Station

This bike parking facility attached to the train station is functional art at its finest. The apple shape helps lead to a spiral along the inside of the walls, allowing you to bike the spiral from the top to the bottom, in order to find a bike parking spot. No need to walk your bike up/down stairs! This also provides a connection to the train platform above, as well as the bike lanes underneath the train platform on the ground level. There is so much good about this bike parking! (Found at the Alphen aan den Rijn train station.)

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Ok, I have been back in Portland for just over a month now after visiting the Netherlands to research their transportation infrastructure for grad school. However, I still have a backlog of some fun and amazing pictures from their country – so stick with me while I have a few more posts related to the Netherlands. Pictures are always fun, even when they are old, right?

These few pictures were taken from when I went out with a fellow student to research specific areas in the Netherlands that focused on neighborhood greenways. Our research led to this report that I had highlighted in a previous post.

Look at this Bollard!

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The other day happened to be Bridge Pedal 2011! What a wonderful way to get the bike out, and explore the roads that we cannot typically explore during our normal daily rides. The ride had several different routes, I chose the 10 bridge route. Below are a few pictures capturing the amazing morning. If you missed it this year, be sure to mark it on the calendar for next year: August 12th, 2012.

The view from the Marquam Bridge.

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Alright, let’s get down to business and analyze West Burnside in downtown Portland, focusing on the intersections of 10th Avenue through 12th Avenue – and the related network.

To check out the report, just download this PDF, and be amazed!

Burnside 10th-12th Streetcar and Cycle Track Project ……. and The Appendices

It’s about time for a few more pictures……….

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs

A while back I reviewed Chapters 1-3 from The Death and Life of Great American Cities. It is now time for Chapter 4: “The Uses of Sidewalks: Assimilating Children”. That idea may seem odd, sidewalks are for walking, not assimilating children, right? Well, kids need to get outside to play, and in cities it is the sidewalks that are the closest public space to the privacy of one’s own home. This is the natural place for a kid to ‘hang out’ while remaining close to home. Therefore, it only makes sense to create our environment to allow for positive interactions in these such areas.

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(This post is a ‘chapter’ of a larger project – Sustainable Transportation in Houten)

Remember a couple weeks ago when I discussed how Houten, Netherlands was quite possibly bicycle heaven? Well, if you want some juicy details about the biking statistics, and how they planned their city the way they did, then you have come to the right place! A few of us worked together to create the following report.

Results of Houten’s Design (PDF)

Enjoy!

(This post is a ‘chapter’ of a larger project - Sustainable Transportation in Houten)

PS – New pics will be up soon, so I can grab your attention again after these last two ‘technical’ posts.

You may wonder what the heck I am talking about, saying things like ‘Lane Capacities, Phasing, and Green Times’. Well, if you ARE interested, you can read a report that I worked on with a couple of my fellow students. It all relates to signal timing, and provides an understanding of the basics and how these ideas can be used to create an efficient cycle length.

Take a gander by clicking here: CE 562 Group Homework #1

Enjoy!

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