News

San Francisco Mayor Unveils First New Bike Lane in Three Years

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom joined cyclists, city leaders and neighborhood groups to welcome the city’s first new bike lane in over three years this past December. The bike lane came with other improvements, including the city’s first green-colored “Bike Box,” an advanced stop line that gives cyclists priority waiting room in front of cars at stop lights; new “sharrows,” shared lane markings; new sidewalk bike racks and new bicycle signage. The cycling upgrades come just days after the SF Superior Court partially lifted a three-year-old Bike Plan injunction which had halted any new bike improvements in the city. For more info, see sfbike.org

New Jersey Policy Promises Safer Streets for Cyclists

Bicycle and pedestrian advocates across New Jersey are celebrating the recent adoption of a “complete streets” policy by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The policy, signed by Commissioner Stephen Dilts on December 10, 2009, requires transportation projects to accommodate all road users, including cyclists and pedestrians. Advocates are now gearing up to make sure the policy translates into action. According to Jim Nicholson of the New Jersey Bicycle Coalition, “Our state bicycle summit in February is going to address the ‘trickle down’ of the policy to the local level. This will lay out a road map to getting complete streets to a level where the policy can benefit the most people.” To learn more about New Jersey’s new policy and the first New Jersey Bicycle Summit, visit njbike.org

Sharrows Now Legit

Sharrows, the shared lane markings that consist of a bicycle and two chevrons, have been admitted into the club of accepted US traffic devices. This January the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Devices voted to endorse the inclusion of sharrows in the next US federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The innovative road markings, pioneered in San Francisco in 2004, have had “experimental” status until now. Sharrows aim to keep cyclists away from parked cars on roads too narrow for bike lanes – while promoting cyclists’ right to the road – and can be spotted in North American cities, such as Chicago, Portland, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Edmonton and Winnipeg, among others. You may see them in a city near you soon. If sharrows are formally adopted in the new MUTCD, US cities will not have to seek experimental authorization from the Federal Highway Administration, thus removing some of the red tape that keeps officials from using the markings.

New Bike Racks Arriving for Pittsburgh Cyclists

Pittsburgh, PA cyclists will soon have more places to secure their bikes thanks to the 200 new bike racks being installed throughout the city. The City of Bridges’ new bike rack request program comes after Bike Pittsburgh secured funding for 100 racks and donated them to the city. The city matched the donation with another 100 racks. Area business owners can now request a rack for their cycling customers and employees through a simple online request form. Learn more at bike-pgh.org