Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition

Recently National Public Radio had a news story about a section of Buenos Aires that decided on a different kind of book fair. Bookstores along the seven blocks of Corrientes Ave. closed off the streets in the summer, set up chairs, tables, and sofas and celebrated books and literature. While we tend to think of ciclovias as being for bicycles, any type of outdoor activity will do.

Recently National Public Radio had a news story about a section of Buenos Aires that decided on a different kind of book fair. Bookstores along the seven blocks of Corrientes Ave. closed off the streets in the summer, set up chairs, tables, and sofas and celebrated books and literature. While we tend to think of ciclovias as being for bicycles, any type of outdoor activity will do.

Of course we all know that line from Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" but it also describes the current state of cycling on the Peninsula and in the South Bay.

A cyclist was struck by a car and killed on December 18 while crossing Hwy. 101 on Hillsdale Blvd. in San Mateo. The victim was an as yet unidentified 68 year old man. He was hit by a Caltrans vehicle.

San Francisco cyclists can now download CycleTracks, the free app that generates maps and statistics of your rides that you can share with friends. The app is now available on Android phones and iPhones.

TransForm has recently released a report titled, "Windfall For All: How Connected, Convenient Neighborhoods Can Protect Our Climate and Safeguard California’s Economy." The report looks at the four main population areas of the state - Southern CA, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, and Sacramento - and finds that residents could save $31 billion if all communities had the same level of efficient design and access to public transportation as the best 20%.

Well, it could be worse, but it certainly could be better, too. Transportation for America just released a report on the most dangerous metropolitan areas for pedestrians. The report takes into account the percentage of residents who walk to work and the average annual pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people to acheive a "Pedestrian Danger Index," or PDI. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area received a PDI of 71.9.

When we talk about progressive bike cities; places such as Portland, Davis, Montreal, and Seattle always come to mind; but New York, yes New York has made some amazing progress in the last three years.