The week’s top bike news from around the world, brought to you every Wednesday.
Local news
Should bike riders be licensed and/or bikes be registered?
Last week NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay expressed an inclination towards licensing bike riders. He said, “I’m increasingly persuaded that we need to look at licenses for cyclists.” Meanwhile, Victoria’s Bayside City Council is calling for bike registration. Bike riders and advocacy groups have spoken against the suggestions, explaining that bike registration and rider lincensing will only serve to deter people from riding. Read Bicycle Network CEO’s response in The Sydney Morning Herald, transport and urban development consultant Alan Davies’ piece on Crikey‘s The Urbanist blog, Bicycle Network’s Garry Brennan and RACV interviewed in The Age and see Brennan and Sydney Morning Herald journalist and bike blogger Michael O’Reilly‘s appearance on Channel Ten’s The Project (the segment starts at 24:25).
Why Adelaide will benefit from the Frome Street bikeway
Councillor Sophie MacCrae eloquently argues in favour of the new separated lanes. “All over the world, an effective mix of safe transport choices that includes cars and bikes as well as buses and rail, has made cities work. Now it is Adelaide’s turn,” she said.
Kwinana Freeway PSP upgrade update
Stage One of Perth’s Kwinana Freeway Principal Shared Path upgrade is expected to be complete by the end of next week and the current detour for riders will be reduced. Stage Two of the upgrade is expected to take a further four weeks. The upgrade includes widening the path to four metres where possible and improving retaining walls along the riverbank to minimise river overflow.
International news
US embraces separated lanes
Since 2011 the distance covered by separated bike lanes in the US has doubled, but it’s still not nearly enough. Advocacy group People for Bikes has put together a short video explaining how separated bike lanes benefit all road users.
If you build it they will come
According to a recent survey conducted by the Department for Transport and Sport England, national cycling levels are declining. However, there is a silver lining. Cycling rates are rising in areas where infrastructure and resources are seen as a priority. Claire Francis, head of policy at sustainable transport charity Sustrans said of the report: “It’s a damning reflection on road safety in the UK that cycling levels have decreased over the last year, but the few areas where numbers have increased show that when decision makers put their minds and resources into increasing cycling, real progress can be made.”
Nike to launch fleet of employee bikes
Sportswear giant Nike is preparing to launch a free bike share program to assist employees getting around its Beaverton ‘campus’. The scheme is similar to that used on many tech company campuses (most famously on the Google campus) and employees will be able to book the bikes via their mobile phones.
Health
Exercise in your 20s to be smarter in your 40s
New research conducted as part of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study has found that regular exercise in your 20s may lead to improved memory and cognition in your 40s. The study, which followed 2,700 participants for 25 years found that those who had exercised regularly in their 20s performed better on memory and cognition tests in their 40s.
Video
How to be a gentleman (or gentle lady) cyclist
Brush up on some basic bike etiquette.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-B6awDYcWI?]
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i think EVERYONE should be registered, a licence to cross the road, to pat a dog, one for swimming in the ocean, another for walking through a shopping centre carpark-because all these activities carry risk, and revenue raising will totally elliminate all those risks. Money changes everything. FOr example, screwing money out of the average Joe for the air we breathe and calling it a carbon tax-has just resolved all of the worlds environmental problems, including Fukishima. One would argue, that TREES clean the air, but apparently not. Money changes everything. These corrupt politicians can sit on wads of cash and I can ride knowing. ‘nothing will happen to me’. Why not? we seem to love policing and a nanny state here in australia, avoiding civil disobedienece. This measure will come. Nobody will protest or do a thing. I refuse to be licenced. Its the last bastion of anarchy civil rights we have