Knox County Pedestrian struck twice, killed near her home

On Tuesday night, around 10:30 PM, a pedestrian was struck by first one car, and then a second going the opposite direction on Snyder Rd near Catlett Ln near her home. The newspaper reports are available here, with a followup here. Those who live in the area can attest to the strong rainstorms that were in the area that night. A senseless tragedy, no doubt.

Electric Bicycles - HummingBike

This report on a Knoxville startup company, HummingBike, that makes electric bicycles serves as a reminder to advantages that these vehicles bring. Most of the advantages are there regardless of whether the bike is electric or not. The advantages listed in the article are as follows.

Another view on Sharing the Road

This comment from fellow touring cyclist David Irvine.

The Yehuda Moon comic strip has some interesting commentary from its readers.  Here is a link to comment about bikers sharing the road with cars and trucks:

http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2008/11/shared-space.html

The Scottsboro ride had elements of an epiphany for me; namely, I really detest what rumble stripping does to destroy what little bike lane may be available on a highway shoulder; and I really detest sharing the road with dense car traffic when there is absolutely no bike lane or shoulder (i.e., the ride into Winchester when the local school let out).  I agree with the blog writer Hembrow about "shared space", it's a bogus concept, at least around here.  Give me a rail-trail, a bike lane, a rural road, or a highway with a bike lane type shoulder; I don't want to "share" my space any more.  Getting crabby in my old age.
DTI

Share the Road License Plates - Deadline extended to June 2011

The Jeff Roth Cycling Foundation is trying to get people to sign up for "Share the Road" (3 ft law) specialty license plates. They need at least 1000 pre-orders by June 2011 for the plates to go into production, and as of today, they only have 189 orders. The deadline was already extended once; it's unlikely to be extended again. Please consider signing up for this worthy cause.

Oak Ridge Turnpike - phase I expansion complete

Oak Ridge Turnpike, one of the main thoroughfares through the city of Oak Ridge, has had a 4 mi section widened with 5 ft sidewalks and 6 ft bike lanes on both sides. The phase I widening project extended from Illinois Ave to Westover Drive. More details are available at the Oak Ridger Website. The project cost $26.1 million.

NYC Reclaims it's Streets from Automobiles

If New York City can create more than 200 miles of bike lanes. If New York City can begin that transition of turning their streets into places for people rather than places for personal vehicles. Just think what the rest of us can do!

Take a look at this video put together by EMBARQ. It shows what New York City has done, and it just may spark some ideas for the rest of us.

http://www.grist.org/article/2010-10-11-how-nycs-streets-are-being-reclaimed-from-the-automobile-video

Rumbles again

On a recent ride we encountered this bit of rumbling along TN SR 290 in Bedford Co between Chapel Hill and Shelbyville. The part in Marshall Co was not rumbled, had the same shoulder and same traffic. The part in Marshall Co felt perfectly safe but the part in Bedford Co did not. The bit of shoulder that was left was too narrow to ride, especially when there was a multi foot drop off from pavement to grass. After almost falling when being chased off the travel lane by a horse hauling truck and trailer having to move back to the right to accommodate oncoming traffic, we searched and found a usable side road. This road has no special merit except for being direct and easy to follow and in the future I will avoid 290 entirely. However it does highlight several issues.

Is there safety in numbers?

Elly Blue, reporting for grist, discusses the phenomenon of "safety in numbers" that has occurred as more and more people take to the streets on their bicycles. In her article she discusses the findings of Peter Jacobsen, a public health researcher, who studied the crash data of various communities.

What Jacobsen found was surprising. "The number of crashes involving bikes correlated with the number of riders in a community. As ridership fluctuated, so did the crash rate. More riders, fewer crashes; fewer riders, more crashes."

Knoxville News Sentinel Editorial - Tennesseans can walk away from obesity

In an editorial Friday, the Knoxville News Sentinel noted that healthy lifestyles are not inherited, and that Tennessee ranks second in the nation (tied with Alabama) for obesity rates. A new free program by the Knoxville Track Club seeks to get people walking rather than running, meeting every Tuesday and Thursday evening at 6:30 PM at Cherokee Blvd. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee is also encouraging school walking programs.

Active Healthy Transportation Developments website

Here's a website that really does look at the positive outcomes taking into consideration alternative active modes of transportation. Their goals?

Pedestrian bridge over Alcoa Hwy under construction

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel a bridge connecting greenways on both sides of Alcoa Hwy (US-129) was put into place Sunday. Plans call for the bridge to be opened in early December.

Alcoa Highway is a high-speed road that's notorious for car crashes, and having a way to safety cross it is an improvement. Perhaps more importantly is the fact that neighborhoods will be linked to the Blount County greenway system that were previously separated by the road. For transportation infrastructure to be functional and useful, they have to go to enough places that people want to go; network breaks are highly destructive. Hopefully we have just eliminated one such break in the network.

NE TN Regional Directors of Bike Walk TN Invite You To an OCTOBER 10'th Gathering

CANCELED UNTIL NOVEMBER

IMPORTANT GATHERING OF BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN ADVOCATES: 
How we can affect policies and attitudes concerning:
- Safety for bicyclists and pedestrians
- Enforcement of existing laws
- Better municipal and regional planning for alternative transportation
- Increased funding for bicycle and pedestrian facilities
- Challenging attitudes toward those who choose to bike and walk
Click here for More Info , Visit us at BWT Region 6