[Dear LTA] "We need a ‘Mr. Cycling’ or a ‘Miss Cycling,’ a unit that actually takes responsibility" - Paul Barter in Wall Street Journal blog

Once again, Paul (who blogs here in Cycling in Singapore as well, makes the call for LTA to investigate the problem with some seriousness. How long will LTA wait?

NParks has surged ahead with their park connector network, which they are able to control in the area within their jurisdiction. Some of the connectors, though, are obstacle courses due to what seems to be a lack of support from other agencies.

LTA does have a National Cycling Plan restricted to cycling paths in seven HDB towns. It's time to take a more holistic approach to the issue. And they can call upon many in the community to help out.

---

"Cycling in Singapore: An Uphill Battle?" By Matthew Allen. Driver Street (The Wall Street Journal blog), 03 Feb 2012. [pdf]

"... cycling, at least in theory, should be more popular. The local public transport network has lost its luster after a series of calamitous train breakdowns late last year, and buying a car costs a small fortune due to high ownership levies in the city-state. On top of that, taxi fares have just been hiked.

One reason for the dearth of cyclists is that Singapore’s hot and humid climate makes pedaling a sweaty pursuit. Cyclists also complain of a lack of secure parking spaces, high rates of bicycle theft and restrictions on taking foldable bikes onto buses and trains.

However, proponents of cycling point to another set of problems they believe can and should be addressed: The overall lack of infrastructure for cyclists on Singapore’s roads, and the bad attitudes of other road users, many of whom don’t acknowledge cyclists’ right to be there in the first place."

"Paul Barter, an assistant professor teaching infrastructure and transport policy at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, says there seems to be a kind of mantra among the authorities, when defending a lack of cycling infrastructure, that Singapore is dense and short of space, but that authorities may not have actually looked into it in detail.

“If they do that, and they look around the world where cities have squeezed in bicycle infrastructure, they’ll probably find that Singapore’s road reserves are rather generous by world standards and it’s a design problem (installing cycling infrastructure) but it’s by no means impossible.”

In an unpublished paper in 2008 [see link here], Barter wrote that “bicycles appear to have been ignored in the design of Singapore’s roads” and that “there has been relatively little official encouragement of bicycle use in Singapore.” He told the Wall Street Journal that he still largely holds those views, and says a major step towards countering the problem would be the appointment of a cycling czar, to oversee investment in cycling infrastructure.

“Somebody needs to take responsibility. We need a ‘Mr. Cycling’ or a ‘Miss Cycling,’ a unit that actually takes responsibility,” he says."

Read on...

The 11 most bicycle-friendly cities in the world

Via: Motorcycle Insurance

Thanks to Tym via twitter @bubblevicious

"Copenhagenisation"

"Bicycle-friendly Copenhagen a model for big cities," by Henriette Jacobsen. Reuters, 14 Dec 2009.

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The world is gathered in Copenhagen for the U.N. climate summit, but Denmark"s bicycle-friendly capital has also given its name to a movement of cities trying to find a kinder way to commute.

Nearly 40 percent of Copenhagen's population cycle to work or school on ubiquitous paved cycle paths. Many residents take to their bikes year-round, braving rain and snow through the winter in a city where the bicycles outnumber the people.

"Only when there's half a meter of snow outside would I consider using the underground," said 24-year old student Louise Kristensen.

Amsterdam and Beijing too are known for their bicycles, but the Danish capital is where urban planners from around the world have been looking for ways to get their people out of cars and up onto bikes, an effort known as Copenhagenisation.

"We're trying to strike a balance in our transportation network which means having streets that can accommodate everyone," New York Transport Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said.

Klaus Bondam, Copenhagen's technical and environmental chief, calls himself a "mega cyclist" and says the bike's popularity stems partly from high taxes on cars which meant working-class Danes could not afford to drive in the 1930s and '40s.

"Today you'll meet everybody on the bicycle lanes -- women and men, rich and poor, old and young," Bondam said.

The municipality has during the last three years invested more than 250 million crowns ($49.42 million) in bicycle lanes and to make the traffic safer for bicyclists.

City Hall has also made a rule that when it snows, the bike paths get cleared before car lanes.

Today around a third of the population drive cars to work or study, another third take public transport, while 37 percent cycle -- a figure the city aims to boost to 50 percent by 2015.

Bondam said there are many benefits when citizens choose bicycles over cars: pollution and noise decline, public health improves, and more people on bikes or walking creates a sense of safety in the city.

Fewer parked cars leaves more space for playgrounds, parks, shopping areas and other useful public amenities.

Bondam said car traffic should be limited, though a car-less society is probably impossible. However, cars that cannot be avoided should be electric rather than run on fossil fuels.

COPENHAGENISATION

From 70 to 80 percent of the world's carbon emissions, blamed by scientists for global warming, come from big cities.

As more and more people have become concerned with the climate, officials from around the world have come to Copenhagen to learn about its bike culture.

But Danish architect and professor Jan Gehl, who coined the term Copenhagenisaton, says the concept is broader than that and entails cities becoming lively, safe, sustainable and healthy.

For the past decade Gehl has helped cities around the world, including New York, Seattle, San Francisco, London, Stockholm, Oslo, Melbourne, Sydney and Amman, to "Copenhagenise."

"Depending on culture, region, climate and topography, there are good solutions for every city," Gehl said.

He noted that in most parts of the world car travel has only been common after the Second World War.

"Sixty years is a short time in the greater perspective, so people should be able to change their habits once again," the architect said.

New York has initiatives to improve the look, feel and mobility of its streets, according to Sadik-Khan.

For instance, in the last three years, the city has installed 200 miles of bicycle lanes to boost safety for cyclists and pedestrians and has transformed old railway land into public spaces to improve the quality of life in residential and business districts.

"The response has been tremendous, and we hope to keep the momentum going by expanding it next year," Sadik-Khan said.

From 2008-2009 the city saw a 26 percent increase in bike commuting, and a recent survey in Times Square and Herald Square found that 93 percent said the plazas made the area a better place and one to which they wanted to return.

Gehl said that making cities better for pedestrians and cyclists is even smarter in poor, fast-growing developing countries and cities because it is cost-effective.

"It's a good solution for the climate, the economy and the poor," he said.

Though many officials want citizens on bikes for climate reasons, back in Copenhagen, Kristensen said: "Biking is just the easiest way to get around here."

($1=5.059 Danish Crown)

Thanks to WildSingapore for the alert!

More numbers on safety in numbers

On 6 June I wrote about the safety-in-numbers effect.

There are some more numbers corroborating the effect from London, Copenhagen and the Netherlands. See this post on the "How we drive" blog.

Safety in Numbers

Cycling seems rather dangerous in Singapore. So are we crazy or irresponsible to be promoting more bicycle use?

I think not. The more people use bicycles the safer it will become for each individual bicycle user.

New York City cyclists seem to be getting the benefits of safety in numbers after some years of increases in the amount of cycling (and some effort to make it safer). This image comes via Streetsblog.


That there is safety in numbers for cyclists and pedestrians was the (more scientific) finding of a 2003 paper in Injury Prevention journal by Peter Jacobsen, which found:

A motorist is less likely to collide with a person walking and bicycling if more people walk or bicycle. Policies that increase the numbers of people walking and bicycling appear to be an effective route to improving the safety of people walking and bicycling.

The safety in numbers argument reassures us that we are not being irresponsible to promote more cycling.

Don't forget the positive vision: cycling as safe and convenient

Tonight's Ride of Silence in Singapore and Worldwide is an important event to raise awareness of the need to make cycling in Singapore much safer.

But as we pay our respects to those who have been killed or injured, let's not forget that we have a positive vision for cycling. Riding a bicycle can and should be safe and convenient for ordinary people, not just heroic athletes in lycra and helments.

A post today at Streetsblog asks if pro-cycling organisations are making a mistake to emphasise the danger so much. Dutch and Danish bicycle promotion efforts make bicycles seem fun, easy to use and safe (see the bike promotion poster below from the Netherlands).

Let's work towards the day when we can truthfully promote cycling in Singapore in the same way.

An expat's view of cycling in Singapore

I was sharing my experience of promoting the use of folding bike at work. One of my expat colleague share with me his perspective of cycling in Singapore.
I don't agree with everything he said, but some of his views based on his experience in Japan, Holland and now Singapore is indeed refreshing:

"I was reflecting on cultures that have higher usage of cycles and ahead of Singapore in the affluence wave – Japan and Holland (China is losing its cycling culture in its burgeoning affluence). On the weather I think there are different conditions for cycling for fun and cycling for transport. Whilst Singapore might be more suited to casual cycling it’s less suited to transport cycling as you would need to shower at your destination to be appropriate. Whilst there are a number of weather factors in Singapore that generally appear more welcoming to cycling it would seem that the self-consciousness of Singaporeans is likely not to change any time soon. Also the city’s lack of flexibility toward community changes and thus any change in the number of cyclists is unlikely to change the design of urban corridors and public transport infrastructure in favour of cycles whilst there is a substantial government reliance on oil-based taxes and investment in said industry infrastructure. Something about Japan and Holland is that cycles are accommodated at all manner of destinations and by dedicated paths/lanes or under law (in Japan cyclists have right of way on larger vehicles). Whilst the two cultures have a very different attitude to theft that doesn’t impede on the viability of such transport.

Also the very real lack of care shown by Singaporean drivers and bystanders means that the cost of accident or collision is far greater than one would experience elsewhere. When I have seen cyclists hit in Australia and Japan, people rush to their aid, here people stand by and watch. Also if you’re lucky enough to end up at hospital the first thing you meet is a cashier not a nurse. I’m only beginning to understand this but Singapore’s cultural selfishness in both self-preservation and self-defense means there are a number of industries and pastimes like cycling that have a slim adoption.

I think that the folding option is a decent workaround for the lack of affordance offered to cyclists in Singapore yet it’s not a mass adoption candidate. If say even 10% of people were to take up such a cycle then there would be a noticeable negative difference in the space on the train and whilst shopping in malls.

I’m not trying to be a sour sport but if there was any country in the world that could make an concerted push toward everyone cycling and also switching the entire country to electric vehicles it would be Singapore but it seems that people’s desire for money and status here is too strong for that to change in the short term.

Ok that’s my take at the moment, it might change with time but I do think it’s pretty cool that you’ve got such a tight and viable business happening. I hope it grows too because we need more people exercising!"

Well, wouldn't it be wonderful that the folding bike creates a congestion problem in the MRT?

Try cycling and be pleasantly surprised

A new post over at One Less Car (another local Singapore pro-bicycle commuting blog) makes a great point.

It refers to a study from the Netherlands which investigated drivers who were forced to use a bicycle when their car was being repaired. Most found cycling a lot better than they had expected: less effort, weather not as bad, faster door-to-door, etc.

One Less Car has a nice graphic and a link to the report where he got it.

Here in Singapore people usually ask me about the heat and rain and are amazed to find that a gentle 15 minute ride on flat ground hardly raises a sweat.

One Less Car also highlights the other big one - door-to-door speed - which is a lot faster than non-cyclists imagine. Almost always faster than bus. Sometimes faster than car if car parking is difficult.

Resources on Dutch Bicycle Planning

If Singapore's transport planners ever decide that they really do want to take bicycles seriously as a form of transport then they will need to take a look at the Dutch experience.

Transport planners in the Netherlands know how to safely fit bicycle use into tight spaces. The country is one the most densely settled in the world, with compact cities and many older areas with narrow streets. They also have much higher car ownership than Singapore. It would be hard to argue that the Netherlands' cities have more space for bicycle facilities than we do in Singapore.

If you want to know the Dutch "secret" for a great bicycling environment then an excellent start would be the visually stunning, Cycling in the Netherlands (pdf), put out by the Dutch equivalent of the LTA.

One of its key points is that "bicycle policy works"!

... a consistent approach by Dutch policy makers to the bicycle has had a demonstrable effect. Municipalities which have had a focused bicycle policy for some time have a higher bicycle share than other cities. Traffic safety has also benefited from the bicycle policy. (p.19)

There is safety in numbers for bicycle users as this figure from page 13 shows. The more bicycle use there is in a city, the safer it is per km.

Page 64 of Cycling in the Netherlands also kindly lists further English-language resources on Dutch bicycle policy:

CROW, Sign up for the bike: Design manual for a bicycle-friendly infrastructure, 1996. This manual can still be supplied. See www.crow.nl. An English translation of the revised Ontwerpwijze Fietsverkeer (Cycle Traffic Design Method) may appear in 2007.

The SWOV organisation for traffic safety research also has an extensive website in English, containing considerable information about bicycle use and bicycle safety: www.swov.nl

The research unit of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, AVV, has a
large number of reports on traffic in the Netherlands in the English section of its website, including ‘passenger transport’ and various publications relevant to bicycle policy: www.rws-avv.nl

The Fietsberaad, or bicycle consultancy, recently issued an English-language publication outlining bicycle policy in a number of cycling cities: Continous and integral: The cycling policies of Groningen and other European cycling cities (Fietsberaad-publication no. 7, April 2006). This publication contains a number of accounts on the traffic policy of several cities characterised by a relatively high degree of bicycle use, extending over a prolonged period. Each account gives a specific picture of the ‘course of development’ of bicycle use in a municipality and the relationship between bicycle use and local policy. It covers five cities in the Netherlands known as ‘cycling cities’: Groningen, Amsterdam, Enschede, Zwolle and Veenendaal. This is augmented by a selection of five cities from other neighbouring countries also featuring a reasonable level of bicycle use: Münster and Freiburg in Germany, Copenhagen and Odense in Denmark and Ghent in Belgium. The publication can be downloaded from www.fietsberaad.nl, via ‘rapporten’.

To these sources I would add the Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-ce), which is devoted to sharing Dutch bicycle planning expertise worldwide.

[Update: I wrote a follow-up to this post over at the Reinventing Urban Transport blog.]

Thanks to Cor-Henk for the link to the Cycling in the Netherlands document.

Awareness Test - Road Safety Video

At first this might not seem like a road safety message but it is. In fact, it is a bicycle safety message aimed at motorists.

It is just one-minute long and is from Transport for London. It is worth thousands of 'be careful' messages or posters.




Every over-confident Singapore motorist should see this.

The African Cyclist

Read abut The African Cyclist - Zakayo Nderi and Samwel Mwangi have won the Alpe d'Huez.

Thanks to Marcus Ng for the alert - he highlights the project of two very special Singaporean film makers in his post, "Born to Cycle."

TOO MANY folding bikes?

Here is a BBC article about the problem of TOO MANY folding bikes fighting the space with other passengers in the London tube: "The bicycle backlash unfolds," by Claire Heald. BBC News (Magazine), 06 May 2008.

"The bicycle. It's the model of green transport and sales of folding ones that fit on trains are stepping up a gear. But as they multiply, so does rush-hour resentment, as commuters and cyclists come to blows."


I do hope the announced trial to allow folding bike in the MRT will be organized such that, while getting more people to Cycle-to-MRT, does not cause inconvenient to other passengers.

Some suggest restrict the folding bikes to off-peak so that they won't affect commuters during the peak hours. But that would drastically reduce the usefulness of a folding bike, being an ideal commuter companion, isn't it?

Anothers idea is to remove the seats in the first or last cart to make more rooms available for folders. In a sense, the cyclist "paying" the space by not having the seats.

What else can we do to make folding bike, and eventually bicycle be part of a seamless MRT+ system?

Dutch Ministry - "Cycling in the Netherlands" (2007)

"Cycling in the Netherlands" says, "Based on the frequent requests for information from policy-makers, politicians and NGO’s from all over the world, we decided to produce a comprehensive brochure about cycling in the Netherlands, giving an actual overview on the results and findings of relevant studies and experiences."

See: "Cycling in the Netherlands."[pdf] The Directorate-General for Passenger Transport,
Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat (Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management), The Netherlands, 2007. 62pp.

Some titbits will be surprising. Perhaps the most startling: according to a mobility study, 70% of all journeys are 7.5km or less. And 61% of people making these trips either walk or cycle!

The Ministry's webpage says,

"Bicycles are fast – in the city, they are often faster than cars. Cycling is healthy. Bicycles are environmentally friendly. So the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management is promoting this means of transportation, particularly indirectly through provinces and municipalities, which will then build cycle paths and provide bicycle racks. There are many benefits to bicycles, both for you and for the country."

Cycling in Copenhagen

copenhagengirlsonbikes.blogspot.com is "about bicycle culture in Copenhagen, Denmark [where]. 35% of the population - 550,000 people - ride their bike to work or school each day."

"Perhaps we can inspire people in other countries to commute by bicycle or lobby for better bike conditions in their cities by providing a portrait of a city that lives and breathes bikes. At the very least, enjoy the view from our saddles."

They have a sister blog called Cycleliciousness - Copenhagen Bike Culture Blog - "less fashion and more stats and inspiration."

The City of Copenhagen biannual Cycle Policy Report (2006) finds that "73% of Copenhageners DON'T ride for recreation. The bike is not a hobby article used for recreation or excercise. It is transport."

It's a lovely change from the usual - "Such is the season here in Copenhagen. Long jackets, high boots, patterned bags and the everpresent wonky old Raleigh bike." Hop over and get a glimpse of cycling nirvana!

BBC's Top Gear: Get me to the airport in time (bus/tube, bike, car or boat?)

The British car television program Top Gear finds out the fastest way to get to the city airport through rush hour London - public transport, car, bicycle or speedboat?

Uploaded with Skitch!

In three parts on YouTube:







Thanks to Alvin Wong for the alert.

His take - it's crazy and hilarious; crazy Brits! Wonder what will happen in Singapore if someone tried the same thing - the cyclist will win if if was a short distance within city (must not have a highway component), and the boat will win to a downtown location close to the Singapore River. In an case, public transport sure lose (too many stops)!

Safer in Sydney: 50% increase in cyclists but death and injury numbers stable

"Safety argument against cycling doesn't travel," by Sunanda Creagh. Sydney Morning Herald, 08 Oct 2007.

Roads and Traffic Authority figures obtained by the Herald show that while the number of cyclists has jumped 50 per cent in the past three years, cyclist death and injury numbers have remained relatively stable over the past decade.

...

The chief executive of Bicycle NSW, Alex Unwin, said the figures showed motorists were becoming more aware of the approximately 3000 cyclists who rode into the city every day. "There would be other factors like the increase in off-road cycling paths, education programs and people riding together," he said.

"Cycle count data shows that commuters into the city has gone up by about 50 per cent in the last three years. This is on the back of improved infrastructure like the Anzac Bridge pathway, but petrol prices, health and greenhouse gas also contribute."

Bikes now outsell cars every year and enrolments for National Ride to Work Day on October 17 are up 300 per cent.

...

Thanks to John Larkin for the forward.

Women cyclists more at risk of death

Women cyclists are more likely to be killed by lorries than men because they obey red lights and then wait in drivers' blind spots.

Research by Transport for London, which has been kept secret since last July, suggests that cyclists who jump red lights may be safer than those who stick to the law.

Read more (read the comments as well)

Any street-savvy tips for Singapore?

Building a better bike lane

The WAll Street Journal
By NANCY KEATES
May 4, 2007; Page W1

COPENHAGEN -- No one wears bike helmets here. They're afraid they'll mess up their hair. "I have a big head and I would look silly," Mayor Klaus Bondam says.

People bike while pregnant, carrying two cups of coffee, smoking, eating bananas. At the airport, there are parking spaces for bikes. In the emergency room at Frederiksberg Hospital on weekends, half the biking accidents are from people riding drunk. Doctors say the drunk riders tend to run into poles.

Flat, compact and temperate, the Netherlands and Denmark have long been havens for bikers. In Amsterdam, 40% of commuters get to work by bike. In Copenhagen, more than a third of workers pedal to their offices. But as concern about global warming intensifies -- the European Union is already under emissions caps and tougher restrictions are expected -- the two cities are leading a fresh assault on car culture. A major thrust is a host of aggressive new measures designed to shift bike commuting into higher gear, including increased prison time for bike thieves and the construction of new parking facilities that can hold up to 10,000 bikes.

The rest of Europe is paying close attention. Officials from London, Munich and Zurich (plus a handful from the U.S.) have visited Amsterdam's transportation department for advice on developing bicycle-friendly infrastructure and policies. Norway aims to raise bicycle traffic to at least 8% of all travel by 2015 -- double its current level -- while Sweden hopes to move from 12% to 16% by 2010. This summer, Paris will put thousands of low-cost rental bikes throughout the city to cut traffic, reduce pollution and improve parking.


The city of Copenhagen plans to double its spending on biking infrastructure over the next three years, and Denmark is about to unveil a plan to increase spending on bike lanes on 2,000 kilometers, or 1,240 miles, of roads. Amsterdam is undertaking an ambitious capital-improvement program that includes building a 10,000-bike parking garage at the main train station -- construction is expected to start by the end of next year. The city is also trying to boost public transportation usage, and plans to soon enforce stricter car-parking fines and increase parking fees to discourage people from driving.

read more..

Toronto pavement cycling: more collisions but less severe

In 2003, the City of Toronto published a Bicycle/Motor-Vehicle Collision Study, based on 2,572 car/bike collisions reported to their police between 1997-1998.

From the report: "Almost 30% of the cyclists involved in reported motor vehicle collisions were cycling on the sidewalk immediately prior to their collisions" - making sidewalk (or pavement as we like to call it here in Singapore) cycling the most likely cause. However, the injuries on sidewalk were less severe than those cycling on roads.

"Young cyclists were much more likely to have been riding on the sidewalk than were adults" - Amongst cyclists involved in collisions:
<18 years old: >50% were sidewalk cycling
>+ 18 years old: <25% were sidewalk cycling.

Frequency of collisions involving sidewalk cycling
Outer areas of city: 46% (522 cases)
Central area collisions: 13% (188 cases).
Think of Punggol, Sengkang and Pasir Ris as outer areas and this is an interesting observation.

Read more:
Toronto Bicycle/Motor-Vehicle Collision Study (2003),
Toronto Cycling Map: Tips for avoiding car-bike collisions.

First posted in Otterman speaks.