NCBW's Peter Moe addressed workshop participants at

the 15th National Conference on Chronic Disease Prevention

and Control in Washington, DC earlier this month. He presented

an outline for public health agencies and practitioners to create

policy and environmental changes to promote physical activity –

and encouraged outreach to bicycle and pedestrian professionals

and advocates already working to increase walking and bicycling.

According to BikeOz, the website of the Bicycle Industry

of Australia, "Known as the Federation Trail, a 27-km

planned trail linking Altona to Werribee, a critical

westerly route out of metro Melbourne, is under threat from

industrial companies that do not want the trail near their

properties. Running a big scare campaign that users will

raid their sites or be struck down by noxious fumes, this

anti-community, anti-cyclist threat is very real. We could

lose a critical high quality cycle route which has taken

years to win.

"Action is urgently needed to convince Transport Minister

Peter Batchelor to stick with the original route and not be

ambushed by a minority opposition with a case no stronger

than a wet paper bag. Claims that walkers and cyclists will

threaten industrial plant security are ludicrous, as if

they will be the hordes of Ghengis Khan. Instead these

industrialists want walkers and cyclists out alongside the

noise, fumes and brake dust of a huge new freeway..."

For more on how you can help save the trail project:

http://www.bikeoz.com/newsdetail.php?serial=54

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TRAILS INCREASE WALKING IN RURAL MISSOURI COUNTIES

According to an article in the April issue of the

American Journal of Preventive Medicine, "Walking trails

may be beneficial in promoting physical activity among

segments of the population at highest risk for inactivity,

in particular women and persons in lower socioeconomic

groups."

In conjunction with ongoing projects in Missouri, walking

trails are being built, promoted, and evaluated. Objectives

include "determining: (1) patterns and correlates of

walking, (2) the availability of places to walk and perform

other forms of physical activity, (3) the extent of walking

trail use and possible effects on rates of physical

activity, and (4) attitudes toward the trails and their

uses." The authors studied the results in 12 rural counties

in Missouri using a cross-sectional telephone survey to ask

a sample of residents over 18 years of age about their

walking behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes.

Some of the results: "Among persons with access to walking

trails, 38.8% had used the trails. Groups who were more

likely to have used the walking trails included women,

persons with more education, those making $35,000 or more

per year, and regular walkers. Among persons who had used

the trails, 55.2% reported they had increased their amount

of walking since they began using the trail. Women and

persons with a high school education or less were more than

twice as likely to have increased the amount of walking

since they began using the walking trails..."

Source:

http://www-east.elsevier.com/ajpm/ajpm183/ajpm0398abs.htm

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NEW ITE BIKE DESIGN CATALOG IN THE WORKS

Jumana Nabti of the City of Berkeley, Calif., is working

on a report for ITE that will catalog innovative bike

treatments used in the U.S. and abroad. Treatments can

include signage, stencils, striping or lane design,

intersection design, bike storage or parking, off-street

bicycle facilities, traffic calming accommodations for

bicyclists, or anything else that facilitates bicycling. If

you have information on innovative projects in your area,

or ones that you have been working on, contact Jumana Nabti

at JNabti@ci.berkeley.ca.us

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COLORADO STUDY QUESTIONS WIDE RESIDENTIAL STREETS

According to Peter Swift of Swift and Associates, "We

have conducted research on street typology and injury

accident frequency with some rather interesting preliminary

results. It should be noted that additional research has

been completed to fill out the data base and the paper is

currently under revision. Dr. Ewing is helping us complete

the paper currently. The current results are even better

that the preliminary work. Instead of having 4 times the

injury-accident rate between 24 and 36 foot curb face

streets we now find it to be 5 times as many. In addition

we found that there is no statistical correspondence to tree

and parking density. That is, parking and tree density has

no apparent effect on the injury accident rate. Please note

that we limited the study to streets with ADT at or less

than 2500 vpd, eliminated substance abuse related accidents

and those that happened due to adverse weather conditions."

Go to http://members.aol.com/Phswi/Swift-street.html for

the early work.

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I-N--T-H-E--N-E-W-S

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PERTH'S CYCLING 100 PROJECT

According to the Western Australia Dept. of

Environmental Protection's website, "In recognising that

small individual changes in travel behaviour can have major

impacts on environmental quality, the Department of

Environmental Protection and Bikewest launched the Cycling

100 Project.

"The Cycling 100 Project provides city workers who drive to

work for five days (10 trips) each week with a 'free' bike

for one year, provided they agreed to cycle at least four

commute trips each week over the 12 month period. If

participants successfully complete the programme - they get

to keep the bike! In this sense, the programme uses

individualised marketing to target non-cyclists and

encourage them to change travel behaviour with a direct

incentive of a 'free' bike.

"Trial outcomes are evaluated using fat loss, muscle mass,

cardio-vascular fitness, blood pressure, and cholesterol

measures. A range of work related measures are also used to

evaluate success (e.g., job satisfaction and work absentee

rates). The wider social benefits of less pollution and

less traffic congestion are also measured in terms of

greenhouse gases 'saved' by cycling and reduction in car

trips. ..."

For the rest of the story:

http://www.environ.wa.gov.au/DEP/cycling100/background.htm

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PHILADELPHIA PEDS KILLED BY TRAINS

According to a Dec. 5th article in the Philadelphia

Inquirer, "The deaths last week of two pedestrians struck

by trains while crossing railroad tracks have prompted

SEPTA officials to renew their call for train safety. 'We

need to convince people not to cross railroad tracks,' a

SEPTA spokesman, Richard Maloney, said. 'It is a point that

we drive home over and over and over. Any time there is a

tragedy, it sends shudders through the entire community,'

he said. 'Each of these incidents we view as a personal

tragedy.'..."

For the rest of the story:

http://inq.philly.com:80/content/inquirer/2000/12/05/city/NTRAIN05.htm

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COMMUTING'S HIGH COST IN ATLANTA

According to a Dec. 1st article in the Atlanta

Journal-Constitution, "Sandra McCooey did the math during

her hour-long drive between home in Alpharetta and work in

downtown Atlanta. The 23-mile commute costs her about 40

days --- and $5,000 --- a year. Something had to give. So,

in the coming months, McCooey will trade in her

4,400-square foot Alpharetta home for a 1,200-square-foot

condominium just blocks from her business.

"'I'm 50 and I'm wasting my whole life in the car,' said

McCooey, who co-owns Fairlie Poplar Arts Works. And, like

many Atlantans, she's spending more money on transportation

than residents in almost any other city in the country.

"A study released Thursday by the Surface Transportation

Policy Project and the Center for Neighborhood Technology

shows that metro Atlantans spend proportionately more for

transportation than residents of any other metropolitan

area in the United States except Houston. The study also

shows metro Atlantans on average spend more on

transportation than on housing, food and health care...."

For the rest of the story:

http://www.accessatlanta.com:80/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/friday/local_news_a3722592b2cf229210e0.html

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KEY WEST POLICE PUSH FOR BIKE REGISTRATION

According to a Nov. 30th story in the Miami Herald,

"Getting around by bicycle is popular on Key West's

traffic-clogged streets, but soon it may not be the most

hassle-free method of transportation if local

law-enforcement officials have their way. The Key West

Police Department is trying to revamp an old rule that

requires everyone on the island to register bikes with the

city.

Two years ago, bike owners and renters were given 80 days

to register their bicycles, but few responded to the

deadline despite a series of bike registration sessions

around the city. With bicycle thefts on the rise throughout

Key West, police officials now are determined to enforce

the ordinance, insisting that registration of bikes will

better control the theft problem and help recover stolen

property.

City commissioners aren't so sure they agree. At a meeting

last week, the five-member board tabled the matter until

March after receiving dozens of calls and e-mails from

local cyclists who oppose the ordinance. Commissioner Tom

Oosterhoudt insists that police have yet to convince the

commission and public that registering bicycles will deter

crime and not lead to other problems such as

discrimination..."

For the rest of the story:

http://www.herald.com:80/content/thu/news/keys/digdocs/099092.htm

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AUSTRALIAN GOVT. BOOSTS BIKE COMMUTING

According to a Nov. 16th story on the BikeOz website of

Bicycle Industry Australia, "Peter Reith, Federal Minister

for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business,

launched a 19 page 'Cycle to work' HOW TO booklet at the

Bicycle Victoria Ride To Work Day breakfast in Melbourne,

November 16. Reith actually rode to the Yarra River bank

venue, joining a number of other State politicians and

hundreds of riders heading for office desks around the City.

"The booklet relates riding a bike to work to the

Australian Workplace Agreements legislation. It includes

suggestions for businesses and employees, examples of

workplaces encouraging cycling, examples of facilities and

other arrangements needed to encourage a take-up of riding

a bike to work. An extensive Internet 'contacts' list,

including our own industry links and the Cycling Promotion

Fund, are included. BITA was involved in the development of

the booklet.

"At the launch, BITA Executive Officer Michael Oxer

publicly acknowledged the significance of this addition to

promotion efforts and thanked Minister Reith for his

initiative."

The booklet can be downloaded as a PDF from:

http://www.dewrsb.gov.au/workplaceRelations/publications/CycleToWork/default.asp

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ALABAMA TO ESTABLISH SMART GROWTH COMMISSION

According to a Dec. 7th story in the Birmingham (AL)

News, "A 'smart growth' commission should be established to

tackle urban sprawl - one of the most important problems

facing Alabama's environment, members of a governor's

advisory commission decided Wednesday.

"The Alabama Commission on Environmental Initiatives,

established to hash out the governor's environmental agenda

for the next legislative session, voted on 60 other

proposals Wednesday. But the anti-sprawl resolution was the

sleeper proposal, popped in at the end, in spite of a

no-disagreement rule. ..."

For the rest of the story, go to:

http://www.al.com:80/news/birmingham/Dec2000/7-e429051b.html

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BIKE EXPRESSWAY PART OF COLORADO'S U.S. 36 PROJECT

According to a Dec. 3rd story in the Rocky Mountain

News, "Commuter rail, a bicycle expressway and four

additional lanes on the Denver-Boulder Turnpike received

the green light last week from leaders along the U.S. 36

corridor. Under the $631 million plan, two 12-mile bus

rapid-transit lanes would pad the median of U.S. 36; four

stations would serve the line at Westminster, Church Ranch

Boulevard, Broomfield and 96th Street. Additional stops in

Boulder would include Table Mesa and 30th and Pearl streets.

Car poolers would also have access to the lanes.

"A $15 million, 10-foot 'bicycle expressway' was also

endorsed in the package. It would run from Table Mesa to

Sheridan Boulevard. 'This is a major victory for bicyclists

and for people who care about nonpolluting transportation

options," said Neal Lurie, a Sun Microsystems employee and

leader of Build the Bikeway.'...." For the rest of the

story, go to:

http://insidedenver.com:80/news/1203hwy7.shtml

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NO REASON FOR CYCLISTS TO DIE ON THE STREETS

According to a Nov. 30th article in the San Jose Mercury

News, "...Chris Robertson died after being run over by a

big rig Nov. 17 on Fourth Street, not far from the new

ballpark and the Caltrain station. He was part of a large

group of cyclists traveling in a bunch in the roadway as

they returned from a funeral. Early on, published reports

speculated it was a case of road rage. Cyclists physically

restrained the driver of the truck from leaving the scene.

"Chris Robertson's considerable circle of friends -- bike

messengers, recreational cyclists, bicycle commuters,

customers of Rainbow Grocery where he worked -- have been

trying to make sure that his death is not chalked up as

just another unfortunate 'accident' in the war between cars

and anything smaller and slower -- like bikers and

pedestrians....."

For the rest of the story:

http://www0.mercurycenter.com:80/premium/local/docs/chungbike30.htm

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SATURDAY IN SYDNEY'S CENTENNIAL PARK

According to an Dec. 2nd. article in the Sydney Morning

Herald, "One hundred and twelve years ago, NSW Prime

Minister Sir Henry Parkes opened 209 hectares of greenery

in the middle of Sydney. It was a "people's park" called

Centennial Park. 'You must,' Parkes told a grateful nation,

'always take as much interest in it as if by your own hands

you had planted the flowers.'

And haven't we just. Today, that great green lung sucks in

three million visitors a year, a tide of humanity with its

own peculiar ebb and flow. Brian Page, a ranger of eight

years who lives in the park, reckons there are distinct

dawn-to-dusk movements in and out: 'Oh, I can rattle that

off easily," he says. 'It begins first thing in the morning

with the horse riders from the equestrian centre, then come

the cyclists and the dog walkers, followed by the joggers

and ...'

Herald photographer Quentin Jones and I waited at the

Randwick Gates in Darley Road one overcast Saturday morning

for ranger Tim McCarthy to open up. It was 5.35am, cold

enough for a light jacket over a T-shirt. The forecast was

for rain..."

For the rest of the story:

http://www.smh.com.au:80/news/0012/02/text/features11.html

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SEATTLE CONSIDERS I-90 HOV LANES AND NARROWING BIKE PATH

According to a Dec. 6th story in the Seattle Times,

"Squeezing two more car-pool lanes onto Interstate 90

between Bellevue and Seattle would be costly and

controversial, but it is an intriguing idea worth further

study, a Seattle City Council panel agreed yesterday. While

reserving the right to change its position, the

Transportation Committee voiced support for an

environmental study of the option, which has drawn flak

from the Federal Highway Administration, 1000 Friends of

Washington and the Cascade Bicycle Club.

Under pressure from the bicycle and pro-transit groups, the

committee also agreed that a second, less-intensive

alternative for reconfiguring I-90's lanes should receive

equal attention in an upcoming environmental study. That

alternative would leave the east- and westbound lanes

unchanged, but I-90's two-lane, reversible center roadway

would be split into two opposing lanes for all-day bus and

car-pool use only.

"...Shrinking the width of the bicycle and pedestrian path

'would only increase the likelihood of accidents for

bicyclists and pedestrians, create a more dangerous

facility and ultimately discourage users,' said Rebecca

Slivka, vice chair of the Cascade Bicycle Club's advocacy

committee.

The Transportation Committee made it clear yesterday it

won't support narrowing the bicycle lane, which is used by

about 430 bicyclists each midweek day, according to counts

done by the city of Bellevue last spring. On weekends,

about 600 bicyclists are on the I-90 trail each day. One

way to help insulate bikes from cars, according to Sound

Transit, would be to install a wind and debris screen

similar to the green-plastic glare reflectors used on state

Route 520."

For the rest of the story, go to:

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com:80/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/display?slug=brid06m&date=20001206

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R-E-S-O-U-R-C-E-S

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"FY 2001 HIGHWAY APPORTIONMENTS - COMPUTATION TABLES"

Want to check out your state's Federal transportation dollars

for the year 2001? Like to know how much safety

construction money could be available for bike and ped

projects? Download this 69-page book of tables and see for

yourself!

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tea21/cmptbl01.pdf

"NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY AND THE PREVALENCE OF PHYSICAL

INACTIVITY"

"...Overall, higher levels of perceived neighborhood

safety were associated with lower levels of physical

inactivity; the differences were greatest among persons

aged greater than or equal to 65 years (from 38.6%

{extremely safe} to 63.1% {not at all safe}) and

racial/ethnic minorities (from 29.9% {extremely safe} to

44.6% {not at all safe}). For respondents with more than a

high school education, little difference in physical

inactivity was noted among persons who perceived their

neighborhood as unsafe and persons who perceived their

neighborhood as safe (24.5% and 23.0%, respectively)..."

Source:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056582.htm

"RESIDENTIAL STREET TYPOLOGY AND INJURY ACCIDENT

FREQUENCY"

"Approximately 20,000 police accident reports from the City

of Longmont, Colorado were reviewed and compared against

five criteria that would signify the probability that the

street design contributed to the accidents. Once catalogued

and entered into a database, each accident location was

mapped and described by thirteen physical characteristics.

Comparing injury accidents per mile per year against other

factors, several correlations were explored. The most

significant relationships to injury accidents were found to

be street width and street curvature. The analysis

illustrates that as street width widens, accidents per mile

per year increases exponentially, and that the safest

residential street width is 24 feet (curb face)..." The

preliminary report is available at:

http://members.aol.com/Phswi/Swift-street.html

"A TALE OF TWO MID-SIZED CITIES"

According to this article by Molly O'Meara about Portland

Oregon and Curitiba, Brazil, "Contrary to popular

impressions, the urbanizing of the world means a

proliferation not only of giant "megacities" but also of a

larger faster-growing class of middle-sized cities..."

Source:

http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/livcomm/two.htm

"TRAFFIC CALMING ON MAJOR ROADS" 

A series of brief reports produced by the Transport

Research Laboratory (TRL) for the British Department of

Environment, Transport and the Regions. The purpose was to

monitor and report on comprehensive traffic calming schemes

installed in villages, particularly on trunk roads. "The

criteria for schemes in this study were that traffic flows

should be greater than 8,000 vehicles per day, and heavy

goods vehicles should form at least 10% of the flow. The

overall objective of the project was to see if schemes

could be designed that would reduce the 85th percentile

speed of vehicles to no more than the relevant speed limit

at each site."

Source:

http://www.roads.detr.gov.uk/roadnetwork/ditm/tal/traffic/01_00/index.htm

And now for something completely different...

"THE PHYSICS OF GRIDLOCK"

According to a December 2000 article in the Atlantic

Monthly, "...A recent study funded by nine state

departments of transportation to examine the doubling in

congestion on urban highways and primary roads that has

occurred over the past two decades listed in its final

report various ways that traffic engineers have tried to

alleviate the problem. These included 'add road space' and

'lower the number of vehicles.' This would not, as the

saying goes, appear to be rocket science..."

Source:

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2000/12/budiansky.htm

C-A-L-E-N-D-A-R

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January 7-11, 2001: 80th Annual Meeting of the

Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC. Info: TRB,

2101 Constitution Ave, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418, voice:

(202) 334-2934 fax: (202) 334-2003

website: http://www4.nationalacademies.org/trb/annual.nsf

January 19-20, 2001: Redefining Community: A Smart Growth

Approach to Street and Neighborhood Design, Crime

Prevention, and Public Health and Safety conference, San

Diego, CA. Info: Michele Kelso, Local Government

Commission, 1414 K St, Ste 250, Sacramento, CA 95814,

voice: (916) 448-1198, e-mail: mkelso@lgc.org

website:

http://www.outreach.psu.edu/C&I/RedefiningCommunity/

February 20-22, 2001: Australia: Walking the 21st Century:

An International Walking Conference, Perth, Western

Australia. Info: John Seaton, Metropolitan Div., Dept. of

Transport, PO Box 7272 Cloisters Square, Perth, W.

Australia - 6850, voice: +61 8 9313 8680 fax: +61 8 9320

9497 e-mail: jseaton@transport.wa.gov.au

website:

http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/conferences/walking/index.html

March 28-30, 2001: National Bike Summit 2001, Washington,

DC. Info: Paul Weiss, League of American Bicyclists, 1612 K

Street NW, Suite 401, Washington, DC 20006-2082 voice:

(202) 822-1333 fax: (202) 822-1334 email: paul@bikeleague.org

website: http://www.bikeleague.org

March 25-28, 2001,17th Annual ITE Spring Conference:

Improving Transportation Performance and Productivity,

Monterey, CA. Info: ITE, 525 School Street, SW, Suite 410,

Washington, DC 20024 USA , voice: (202) 554-8050 fax:

(202) 863-5486, email: ite_staff@ite.org

website: https://www.ite.org/conference2001/sixdays.asp

July 3-6, 2001,Environmental Design Research Association

(EDRA) Annual Meeting, Edinburgh, Scotland. Info: EDRA,

P.O. Box 7146, Edmond, OK 73083-7146, voice: (405)330-4863

fax: (405)330-4150, email: edra@telepath.com

website: http://www.telepath.com/edra/home.html

September 17-21, 2001, Velo-city 2001, Edinburgh/Glasgow,

Scotland. Info: Meeting Makers Ltd, Jordanhill Campus, 76

Southbrae Drive, Glasgow G13 1PP, Scotland, voice: 0141 434

1500 fax: 434 1519, e-mail: Velo_city@meetingmakers.co.uk

website: http://velo-city2001.org/

J-O-B-S--G-R-A-N-T-S--A-N-D--R-F-P-S

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JOB > BICYCLE COLORADO OFFICE ASSISTANT

Bicycle Colorado will hire a half time office assistant as

of January 1st. Mostly routine office duties, including

lots of database management. Starting pay is modest, but

there is opportunity for advancement. The job is based in

the BC office in Salida. Send a resume to Bicycle Colorado,

PO Box 698, Salida CO 81201) postmarked by December 6th.

E-mail John Waitman John@bicyclecolo.org for a job

description.

GRANT > TCSP 2002 GRANT PROPOSALS DUE JAN. 31, 2001

The purpose of the Transportation and Community and System

Preservation Pilot Program (TCSP) is to fund grants and

research to investigate and address the relationship

between transportation and community and system

preservation. States, local governments, MPOs, tribal

governments, and other

local and regional public agencies are eligible for

discretionary grants for planning and implementation.

Applications for Fiscal Year 2002 grants and research

recommendations are due at your FHWA Division Office by

close of business on Jan. 31, 2001. For more information on

the program, visit:

http://tcsp-fhwa.volpe.dot.gov/index.html

H-O-U-S-E-K-E-E-P-I-N-G

------------------------------------------------------------

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COPYING: We encourage you to copy our content as long as

you identify the source in this way: "from CenterLines, the

e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling &

Walking."

------------------------------------------------------------

Contributors: Bill Wilkinson, Peter Moe

Editor: John Williams Send news items to: john@montana.com

Director: Bill Wilkinson

------------------------------------------------------------

National Center for Bicycling & Walking 1506 21st St NW,

Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20036 Voice: (202) 463-6622

Fax: (202) 463-6625

Email: info@bikewalk.org

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