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Bellevue builds its first downtown bike lane. But there's a catch

Michelle Baruchman

August 01, 2018 |

The Seattle Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Bellevue, Washington

Bellevue’s pilot bike lane project is starting slow and ready for feedback. By beginning the project with less than a mile of bike lanes downtown, the city made sure to brand it as a pilot, hoping to measure results and adapt accordingly. Also, the Bellevue Downtown Association had a clear voice in expectations for any bike lane project, all of which were met in the initial pilot. The city hopes that bringing on board urban planners, city council, and the downtown association will increase chances of long-term success.

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Lyft will pay you $550 to ditch your car for a month

Andrew J. Hawkins

July 31, 2018 |

The Verge |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Ride-sharing company Lyft is testing an experiment: they are offering $550 to 100 city residents who agree to give up their own car for one month. The $550 will come in the form of Lyft ride credit, a bike-share stipend, money toward Zipcar, and the rest toward the local public transportation train system. This is part of a greater discussion over whether personal car ownership will become obsolete; Lyft is betting the answer is yes. The company argues for the environmental and economic benefits of ride-sharing, and this test will help support that claim.

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Equity Makes Bike-Sharing Work, and Other Bike-Share Guidelines for Cities

Rachel Kaufman

July 23, 2018 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

New guidelines to help cities manage bike-share programs, based on feedback from 60 cities, could be the key to success for dockless vehicles. The guidelines include recommendations about permits and fines, ways to consider equity programs, and a reference guide to what cities are currently doing in this space. The idea is that, by planning ahead and being deliberate, cities can maximize the benefit that dockless vehicles bring to their cities while regulating any negatives.

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Hong Kong's Pedestrian Mecca Gets the Axe

Mary Hui

July 20, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: China, Hong Kong

Excessive noise, particularly from street performers, can sound the demise of pedestrian zones. After 18 years, Sai Yeung Choi Street South will reopen to cars. Another solution could have been better noise regulation, says a district councilor disappointed with the decision. That option seemed to work in a simulation project on the street.

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Three ways cities remodelled their streets for people, not cars

Anoush Darabi

June 08, 2018 |

Apolitical |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Pedestrian-oriented development takes many forms, but three cities have demonstrated success. In New York City, a local transit commissioner convinced the city to pedestrianize parts of Times Square using data to make the case. In San Paulo, local officials simply repainted streets to test redesign efforts. Finally, Barcelona is becoming known for its superblocks, which decrease car use by redesigning large city blocks.

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How to build a bike-share system for people of all abilities

Eillie Anzilotti

May 18, 2018 |

FastCompany |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

MoGo, a bike-sharing program in Detroit, listened to user feedback and launched an adaptive bicycle pilot program. Though only 13 bikes are part of the program, they will make urban biking accessible to people with limited mobility. If the pilot is deemed a success, Detroit will be a leader in the inclusive bike space in Michigan.

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Copenhagen Mastermind Jan Gehl Isn't Sold on 'Smart' Cities

Annette Becker Lessano Negussie

April 30, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Denmark, Copenhagen

Copenhagen is a highly livable city, thanks to policies that focus on making streets safe and convenient to walk. The bigger the city, the worse it is to design urban spaces only with cars in mind, says planner and architect Jan Gehl. His top advice is to gather data about people and their movements, making pedestrians as visible in city planning as automobile traffic.

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Stuck in traffic? These folks found a solution by joining a vanpool

David Gutman Michelle Baruchman

April 28, 2018 |

The Seattle Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

When public transportation is not an option and commuting alone is undesirable, vanpools are a great option for shared commuting. Seattle’s vanpool program is the largest in the country, with 1,469 vanpools, followed by Los Angeles and San Diego. Company buy-in helps, such as when Boeing and Microsoft offered subsidies to those using vanpools. The goal is to decrease costs and drive-alone rates in major cities.

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As Seattle struggles with bike lanes, Vancouver, B.C., has won the battle

David Gutman

April 23, 2018 |

The Seattle Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

As Seattle tries to implement bike lanes effectively, it can look to Vancouver as a success story. Vancouver’s bike lanes are physically separated from roads, making riders safer and increasing the number of people who commute by bike by 60% since 2013. After several tests and then responding to both positive and negative public feedback, Vancouver has miles of bike lanes connecting many parts of the city.

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Did a Hundred Homeowners Just Change the Great Lakes Forever?

Daniel J McGraw

March 19, 2018 |

Next City |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Euclid, Ohio

Lakefront homeowners in Euclid, Ohio didn't want to give up their land for public use until the city offered them a fair deal—the city will build a trail that reinforces the shoreline on their properties in exchange for public access. Their collaboration has another bonus: raising property value and beautifying the city.

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