Brooklyn by Bike

Stumbled upon this video with my namesake and had to post it up. According to the guy taking us over the Brooklyn bridge to Williamsburg (which doesn’t even take you there) you can find David Byrne’s bike rack called the “hipster.” Good for a laugh. Enjoy.

Last Tuesday I headed over to see David Byrne speak about cycling on a panel with Janet Sadik-Khan, Paul Steely White of Transportation Alternatives and Mitchell Joachim. Byrne’s most entertaining bit consisted of showing slides of large urban/suburban street intersections and saying something like, “What’s going on here? There’s no people!” He wasn’t the best speaker but the panel was informative and entertaining nonetheless. Janet Sadik-Khan was the true highlight but to be fair, she talked to New Yorkers about how great NYC cycling infrastructure is and how great it is going to be. How could you not love that?

Though it is technically legal, cops are giving tickets to cyclists now for not using the bike lane . Thanks to @mattupstate for the note.

I tweeted that I’d prefer if they’d start ticketing those who ran stoplights first, self included. This caused 20+ people to reply telling me that I was stupid or that stoplights are not really stops for cyclists and they’d rather see cops ticket cars parked in bike lanes. Can’t really disagree with some of that but I do know we as cyclists have got to slow down for pedestrians. I’ve made a conscious decision to do so and have noticed how pedestrians grimace when they see a cyclist approaching even when the ped has right of way. It’s not right.

In other news, there is a robot who will pedal your tandem and a line of cycling specific gear designed for women! About time, ladies…just wish the stuff didn’t look like it walked out of 1992.

We’ve been meaning to write about the NYC bike rack design competition for some time now but between the shocking news in Bombay, turkey and Britney’s “Off the Record,” we’ve been full and busy. Oh wait, did we just admit we watched that terrible documentary? Like we said…we’ve been busy. 

So bike racks yes! New York City held a competition for a bike rack redesign…another step towards making the city a more friendly place for cyclists. The CityRack wesite reports.

“Although bicycle lanes are the most noticeable element of the City’s cycling infrastructure, access to parking is also essential. Indeed, a study conducted by the Department of City Planning found that lack of access to secure bike parking was the primary reason cyclists did not ride to work. The current standard fixture for bicycle parking consists of variations of a fabricated square steel tube called the “CityRack” that is mounted on sidewalks. These fixtures occupy little space on the sidewalk and do not obstruct the flow of people or goods. New York City currently has thousands of CityRacks within its five boroughs and plans to add thousands more in the foreseeable future. The CityRack design, however, has been in use for over ten years and does not fulfill the potential to be an icon for New York City cycling.”

That’s right! The city is open to change and what a great way to encourge new design by holding a competition. Out of the nine finalists shown on their website, the design below was chosen as the new flagship. What do you think?

[via Gothamist]

See more bike rack designs from David Byrne.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brCk1-AVvRk&eurl=http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/innovative-and-stylish-racks-for-your-bike&feature=player_embedded]

[via WSJ]