Rob's Ramblings

There will be a rally for sustainable transportation in Surrey on Saturday, Sept. 24th. In our region transportation is the largest contribution to green house gas emissions and this is an event that directly deals with that issue. Some of us will be cycling to the event. View the proposed route here or below: <br><small><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: left;" href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=104443166972154694208.0004579717a05eb4331a7&ll=49.224173,-122.930973&spn=0.052352,0.26039&source=embed">View Larger Map</a></small>

I just read this rather frightening account of a NY State Senator almost crushing a cyclist and then threatening him .  It reminded me of a similar experience I had on Pacific Boulevard in Vancouver.  An SUV driver veered into the cycling lane, hit my arm which I had instinctively stretched out and then yelled at me not to touch his vehicle. But there is also a much more heartwarming account on No Impact Man's Blog where a confrontation ends with a handshake.  And that too reminded me of an incident here in Vancouver.  I was legally using the new bike box on the Carrall Street Greenway.  A delivery van driver started shouting and swearing at me because I was in the bike box.  I tried to explain what the bike box was but he just continued to yell at me telling me that what I was doing was wrong.  I followed him to his next stop and started to phone the number on the side of his truck.  He suddenly became much more resonable and I was able to explain to him how a bike box works.  ...

Using public transit, ferries and a bike I did a low C02 trip to Victoria for the Labour Day long weekend. The trip included some great examples of sustainable transportation infrastructure. A photo essay of the trip can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30261607@N00/sets/72157607167791879/

Lynn Valley PV Originally uploaded by Rob__ Work began last week on what will be the largest photovoltaic (solar electric) installation in the Lower Mainland. Located at the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver, BC the system will generate about 9 MWh of electricity per year. Installation work is being done by Vancovuer Renewable Energy ( http://www.vrec.ca/ ).

Quote of the day... "....is difficult to answer if giving meaning to life and our activities in the world is precluded by a philosophical predisposition to mistrust human action and human desire as flawed, duped, cancerous, and even the point of origin for our collective unhappiness." Chris Carlsson from here

car free vancouver Originally uploaded by Rob__ last year - one street this year - 3 major streets, and 21 side streets next year - the whole city?

With the Burrard Bridge bike lanes in the news again recently and today the start of bike month , it might be a good time to review the myths about the Burrard Bridge bike lanes . And I thought I would add another myth..... Myth: Vancouver is too cold / rainy / hilly and we will never have the large percentage of the general population cycling like they do in some European cities. Reality: Tronheim, Norway is one of the top cities in the world for cycling . 18% of the population uses a bike as a daily means of transportation. The city ranges in elevation from sea level to 565 metres (1850 ft). It experiences moderate snowfall from November to March. There are an average of 14 days each winter with at least 25 cm of snow cover on the ground. Other examples of hilly cities with high cycling populations: - hilly Aarhus, Denmark's second city ( 25% modal share ); - Gothenburg - Berne, Switzerland, where 25% of the population ride each day through a Alpen landsca...