Berkeley Bike Boulevards
In Berkeley, Calif. a citywide network of bicycle priority streets called Bicycle Boulevards allow cyclists to navigate safely. They are marked by smart traffic management, bountiful traffic calming, and the aura of livability and putting people first, cars second. Among their most unique trademarks are the purple signage and street stencils larger than a car!
In this trip to Berkeley, StreetFilms' Clarence Eckerson Jr. talks to advocates and users of the boulevards about their history and benefits.
After watching these Boulevard videos (the one in Portland too) I am wondering why this couldn't happen in NYC? Those stencils are wonderful. Good film.
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It’s super to see your film collection. They are very informative and helpful in educating people about our options and the possibilities for better active living spaces. Films like this make a strong case towards improving our health and environment. Keep it up the great work!
[...] section isn’t that bike-friendly by Berkeley standards, I should state there are wonderful Bike Boulevards that run adjacent to Shattuck. But still I found this fascinating, if no cars were pulling in or [...]
One of the many reasons I loved living in Berkeley. I used to bike everywhere. It would be nice if NYC implemented some of their techniques for making the city more bike friendly. I also noticed that the buses in the Bay Area are more eco-friendly.
From my experience riding in Berkely, I actually think the traffic calming treatment on Milvia St makes the street more dangerous for cyclists. Rather than winding back and forth in response to the bulbouts, many cars drive in a roughly straight line, crossing over the double yellow and creating a hazard for oncoming bicyclists at the bulbout choke points.
[...] Berkeley Bike Boulevards from Streetfilms shows some ideas about encouraging bicycle use in Berkeley, California. [...]
Bike boulevards are great, they really are, yeaahh!
However, drivers still use their cars on these streets, so I still claim a lane of Shattuck, MLK, San Pablo, etc., much to the chagrin of uppity Steve Jobs dopplegangers in their luxury sedans. A Kryptonite lock hanging off my front handlebars is a great deterrent prop to dissuade them from using their horns and driving up on my stink-wrinkle.
[...] in which Lehrer interviews the Forum's Lisa Chamberlain and Loreal Monroe while taking a look at a couple of Streetfilms. The registration deadline is June 2; submission deadline July 31. Filed by [...]
[...] It was also pointed out that while everyone in the room, who already bikes (including Ryan) is going to want bold plans and visionary leadership, ultimately the plan has to get passed by the City Council, and it has to actually be implementable politically. He tacitly did not point out that the previous BMP failed on this count. Actually, I think that we need a much clearer understanding of exactly what happened with the previous plan, to know what we’re doing here. My impression is that Dennis Crowley and friends put together a plan that they really liked, and got it passed by Council in 2000, but that Council didn’t really read it through or comprehend it. Then when Transportation actually got down to trying to implement it, they kind of freaked out and Council said “Yikes, we voted for what?”, and functionally revoked their approval of it, despite the fact that all the grand plans are still nominally on the record as being in the document. This allows everyone (City and bike advocates alike) today to somewhat disingenously point at the document and talk about how great it and we are, without facing up to the fact that in some parts of Pasadena, the residents won’t even let the City paint a stripe on the street, never mind putting in chicanes or roundabouts, or closing the road to through automobile traffic, as they’ve been doing to implement Berkeley’s Bike Boulevards: [...]