Bicycle Driving

Moped Lessons

Paul Schimek — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:12:38 +0000

Peter DeMarco’s “Who Taught You to Drive?” column recently took up the subject of mopeds. This topic is timely, since people are discovering these small motorcycles now that gas is more than $4/gallon. He also brings up two issues related to non-motorized bicyclists: passing between lanes of stopped traffic and parking on Boston sidewalks. (more…)

Oh, Freedom

SiteAdmin — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:34:09 +0000

This month the trolley tracks in Jamaica Plain were paved over. All gone. It took two days. They had been a hazard and a nuisance, especially for cyclists, causing many injuries. And they had not been used by a trolley since December 1985. That’s 22 and 1/2 years of unnecessary pain. Completely unnecessary, because the plans for trolley “restoration” always called for replacing the existing tracks to provide greater support for the “Light Rail Vehicles” that are now the only kind used on the Green Line (and which are ironically heavier than the old PCC cars previously used in Jamaica Plain). (more…)

Aaron Fine and Rosie Shatz

Paul Schimek — Wed, 14 May 2008 02:46:44 +0000

UPDATE June 27, 2008: Aaron Fine was sentenced to two years, but only two months in prison, followed by a suspended sentence for six years with supervised probation, including these special conditions: mental health counseling, abstaining from driving for four months, 600 hours of community service, and no contact with the Shatz family. (more…)

Bike Week Challenge

Paul Schimek — Tue, 13 May 2008 02:48:51 +0000

The City of Boston is co-sponsoring a “Commuter Challenge” as part of Bay State Bike Week. Well, I have a Bike Week Challenge for the City of Boston. Here are some critical policy changes–and a few fixes–that we desperately need. Will we see them this week? Bike Week 2009? (more…)

Potholes

Paul Schimek — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:44:48 +0000

Newsflash: In Boston, the filling of potholes “appears to be a totally subjective decision of the supervisors and is unsupported by any records, data bases, or even a planned survey approach.” (more…)

Bikes Belong?

Paul Schimek — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:58:39 +0000

This morning I cycled past a bus shelter near home and noticed that there was a Bikes Belong ad:

Remember Me? I was the first birthday gift that you asked for and actually got. We’d get away and explore new places, limited only by imagination and sunlight. All the other kids wished they were you: lucky, fast, and free. What do kids wish for now? (more…)

New Bike

Paul Schimek — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 02:32:38 +0000

A few weeks ago I bought a new bike — a Jamis Commuter 3.0. Mine is black, the 2008 model, but Harris Cyclery was good enough to put on the 2007 bars, which are more of the moustache variety, and a shorter stem. I also put on a lighter, narrower seat, a Delta rack, toe clips, and Cateye LED lights. It’s been great fun to ride. (more…)

New Look, New Purpose

Paul Schimek — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:14:16 +0000

I’m finally getting around to redoing the old “Bicycle Transportation Institute” website. BTI was a noble idea. We made a good attempt at getting the organization going, but it never quite got going and hasn’t been functioning for many years now.

I wanted to use this site to make available several pieces of work I’ve done over the years that many people have found useful:

The Dilemmas of Bicycle Planning, a good place to get started
A Guide to Improving Traffic Law Relating to Bicycling (note: I will be doing updates)
Enhancing Bicycle Safety: Law Enforcement’s Role (Note: remove pop-up blocker.)

I also wanted to use the site to highlight new developments as they come up. I hope that we will also feature posts from other authors.