End of Bike Philly, Beginning of Ciclovia?

[gren]

The Bicycle Coalition won't be doing Bike Philly, its car-free ride through Center City and Fairmount Park.

Unfortunately, Bike Philly has not grown in the way we needed in order to offset its rising costs. Bike Philly took everyone and everything we had to put on every year, and we loved doing it. But as an event it has grown harder, not easier, to pull off. After intense deliberation, we have determined that we cannot sustain the event.

But take heart! This is not the end of family-friendly bicycling events in Philadelphia. Every major American city has a ciclovia (aka Summer Streets) event except us. More festival than ride, a ciclovia is a block party in motion, stretching over several miles. So we are redirecting the work we put into Bike Philly to bring a ciclovia to Philadelphia in 2013.

Greater Philadelphia Bicycle News: An Important Announcement Concerning Bike Philly

[supersupper]

I just got the memo. That's too bad.

I always liked the ride, and in fact it got me started doing other group and charity rides. Now I'm thinking of traveling to other states to participate in such rides.

It's weird how more and more people are biking in this area, yet Bike Philly disappears and the Cycling tour is very close to dying as well.

[desolate]

Online post recounts how bicyclist hit pedestrian

Ellen Huet

Friday, April 6, 2012

A bicyclist who could face vehicular manslaughter charges for plowing into a pedestrian in San Francisco's Castro district admitted in an online post that he sped into a crowded crosswalk, prosecutors believe.

The post's author writes of the pedestrian, "I really hope he makes it," and at the end dedicates his retelling of the incident to his "late helmet" that "died in heroic fashion today."

The pedestrian, Sutchi Hui, 71, of San Bruno, died at San Francisco General Hospital on Monday, four days after the collision.

The cyclist, Chris Bucchere, hit Hui at the intersection of Market and Castro streets just before 8 a.m. March 29, authorities said.

Bucchere, who was also hospitalized for injuries in the crash, apparently posted his thoughts on the accident at 5:16 p.m. the same day to the Mission Cycling AM Riders Google group.

Bucchere and his attorney, Ted Cassman, declined to comment when contacted by The Chronicle.
Account linked to e-mail

Prosecutors are treating the post as having been written by Bucchere, said district attorney's spokesman Omid Talai. The post's author is listed as "Bucchere Chris," and the poster's account is linked to Bucchere's e-mail address.

"We've seen it," Talai said of the post, which has since been removed from the forum. "It's troubling."

The post states that the author was traveling south on Divisadero Street, which becomes Castro just north of Market, and was about to cross Market when the traffic light ahead of him turned yellow.

"I was already way too committed to stop," the post states. "The light turned red as I was cruising through the middle of the intersection and then, almost instantly, the southern crosswalk on Market and Castro filled up with people coming from both directions. ... I couldn't see a line through the crowd and I couldn't stop, so I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk in the least-populated place I could find."

[desolate]

By ERICA ORDEN

About 1,000 pedestrians are injured statewide each year due to accidents involving bicyclists, and 55% of the incidents occur in New York City, according to a study released Monday.

The study found that Brooklyn pedestrians were the most likely in the city to end up visiting a hospital as a result of a collision with a cyclist, with 34% of such incidents occurring in the borough. Manhattan was second-highest, with 28%, followed by the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. East Harlem was the neighborhood with the most incidents in the city.

Enlarge Image
nybike0919a
nybike0919a
Getty Images

Pedestrians and a cyclist cross the Brooklyn Bridge.

The overall state numbers far exceed those in a study last year, which estimated that injuries to pedestrians by cyclists hovered around 1,000 nationwide.

Hunter College professor Peter Tuckel, who co-author of both studies with colleague William Milczarski, attributed the disparity to the previous study being based on an estimate from a random sampling of hospitals across the country; the new study relies on data from every hospital in New York state.

The study released Monday, which tallied pedestrians who visited hospitals after colliding with a cyclist, is based on four years of figures obtained from the state Department of Health's system for collecting patient data.

Released on behalf of the Stuart C. Gruskin Foundation, whose namesake was killed by a delivery biker traveling in the wrong direction, the study comes amid a dramatic increase in the number of cyclists on city streets. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, has made encouraging cycling a priority by installing miles of bike lanes.

New Study Sees More Pedestrian Injuries Caused by Cyclists - WSJ.com

[desolate]

Oh man... I'm so sad your traffic snarling party has ended. Could you tell?

Next is the dozens of "walks" that trash 76 every weekend.

Even you people don't like them.

The river drives' popularity crowding out some fans

[gren]

...

[Colin P. Varga]

I just got the memo. That's too bad.

I always liked the ride, and in fact it got me started doing other group and charity rides. Now I'm thinking of traveling to other states to participate in such rides.

It's weird how more and more people are biking in this area, yet Bike Philly disappears and the Cycling tour is very close to dying as well.

If more people are biking then maybe these type of events aren't needed to promote cycling. I suspect money and convenience are the main reasons people are biking more.

[Colin P. Varga]

Aside from Desolate's blatant disregard of copyright and reproducing work that seems to only available to subscribers, cyclists hitting pedestrians is a real problem.

A bicycle is a vehicle which can be used for transport and it can kill people. Bike lanes, special events, and special rules of the road seem to be creating a ghetto as soon as someone mounts their bicycle and helping some cyclists believe that bicycles are magic carpets: harmless and only doing good wherever they go even on a sidewalk. If it's a vehicle it should be in the street with other vehicles following the rules of the road regardless of toe clips, personal philosophies, etc.

(Desolate seems to live in a ghetto that as long as you are talking about bicycles the Copyright Law of the US doesn't apply and you can do whatever you want.)

By ERICA ORDEN

About 1,000 pedestrians ...

New Study Sees More Pedestrian Injuries Caused by Cyclists - WSJ.com

[MarketStEl]

Aside from Desolate's blatant disregard of copyright and reproducing work that seems to only available to subscribers, cyclists hitting pedestrians is a real problem.

A bicycle is a vehicle which can be used for transport and it can kill people. Bike lanes, special events, and special rules of the road seem to be creating a ghetto as soon as someone mounts their bicycle and helping some cyclists believe that bicycles are magic carpets: harmless and only doing good wherever they go even on a sidewalk. If it's a vehicle it should be in the street with other vehicles following the rules of the road regardless of toe clips, personal philosophies, etc.

(Desolate seems to live in a ghetto that as long as you are talking about bicycles the Copyright Law of the US doesn't apply and you can do whatever you want.)

Unless he copied the entire article into his post, I think desolate's action falls under the "fair use" provisions of our copyright law. It is legal to excerpt copyrighted material, even extensively, for the purpose of advancing a larger argument or conversation.

Remember your college professor's "bulk packs" of articles from journals back in the day? Same thing.

--Sandy, board moderator, whose livelihood depends to a degree on copyright law

[Debbie1125]

Most of those riding bicycles run right through red lights. I am very careful when crossing the street, especially downtown because I've almost been hit more times than I can count.

A few weeks ago a rider came less than an inch from hitting two women crossing on 20th & JFK Blvd.

[dartmo]

The river drives' popularity crowding out some fans

It would be nice if some of these walks got moved up to other parts of Fairmount Park as it is ridiculous that there is some sort of walk just about every weekend. Some of them you can jog/run/ride past but others are such a mass of slow walkers that you can't. To be fair, the closures are all readily available, it's the first google hit:

Fairmount Park

But why not have some walks head up into the park, on the horticultural drives, up by Please Touch, etc. There is a lot of underutilized parkland up there. Or even on the east side of the river up by the resevoir.

Finally why do all walks have to be in the morning? Why not have some in the late afternoon and keep the WRD closed passed 4PM.

[Sailaway]

(Desolate seems to live in a ghetto that as long as you are talking about bicycles the Copyright Law of the US doesn't apply and you can do whatever you want.)

Ironically, this seems also to be the attitude of an awful lot of - if not the whopping majority of - bicyclists.

[Hiki]

Most of those riding bicycles run right through red lights. I am very careful when crossing the street, especially downtown because I've almost been hit more times than I can count.

A few weeks ago a rider came less than an inch from hitting two women crossing on 20th & JFK Blvd.

I love the "almost" stories.

The Earth was almost hit by an asteroid. There was a terrible storm that almost produced a tornado. I almost fell down the stairs. There are a million of them and they mean jack because something that almost happened, didn't actually happen. The fear ingrained in people today is so pervalent people fear things almost happening.

I'd lose count if I tried to figure out how many times I almost get hit by a cars every day. If you enter a lane of trafffic you have a chance of getting hit, especially if you or the operator of the vehicle isn't paying attention and with the prevalance of noses in phones it is more than likely someone's not watching what they are doing.

[supersupper]

If more people are biking then maybe these type of events aren't needed to promote cycling. I suspect money and convenience are the main reasons people are biking more.

I'm not speaking for them, but it seems to me the coalition is not about promoting biking as much as it is interested in promoting bike safety and awareness, and promoting better and safer biking conditions on roads and trails.

The more members it has, the more clout it has with the powers that be, and the more influence they have with getting bikers to be more responsible on the streets and motorists to be more respectful as well. You can never have enough members.

[supersupper]

cyclists hitting pedestrians is a real problem

There are statistics for people killed by lightning (I think it's something in the 50's per year).

The statistics for people killed by a bicyclists are so low that the numbers are pretty much non-existent to report. In fact, Mr D had to resort to a study of New York State to even try and make a case because there was nothing else for him to cite.

Pathetic.

Nonetheless, it is still important for bicyclists to behave responsibly in a reasonable manner.


And for those pedestrians worried about bicyclists, I suggest you lock the door and cower in your home because there are far great threats and worries that await you.

[Gladys]

desolate the first two posts have nothing to do with this thread - you're just being a troll there.

the third post is trollish but at least on topic.

[Gladys]

Aside from Desolate's blatant disregard of copyright and reproducing work that seems to only available to subscribers, cyclists hitting pedestrians is a real problem.

A bicycle is a vehicle which can be used for transport and it can kill people. Bike lanes, special events, and special rules of the road seem to be creating a ghetto as soon as someone mounts their bicycle and helping some cyclists believe that bicycles are magic carpets: harmless and only doing good wherever they go even on a sidewalk. If it's a vehicle it should be in the street with other vehicles following the rules of the road regardless of toe clips, personal philosophies, etc.

(Desolate seems to live in a ghetto that as long as you are talking about bicycles the Copyright Law of the US doesn't apply and you can do whatever you want.)

a ghetto? really???

Oh man... I'm so sad your traffic snarling party has ended. Could you tell?

Next is the dozens of "walks" that trash 76 every weekend.

Even you people don't like them.

The river drives' popularity crowding out some fans

now you just sound like Archie Bunker, you know "you people".

[Colin P. Varga]

Unless he copied the entire article into his post, I think desolate's action falls under the "fair use" provisions of our copyright law. It is legal to excerpt copyrighted material, even extensively, for the purpose of advancing a larger argument or conversation.

Remember your college professor's "bulk packs" of articles from journals back in the day? Same thing.

--Sandy, board moderator, whose livelihood depends to a degree on copyright law

Fair Use? If it is excerpted which it doesn't seem to be. Mr. D went beyond the excerpted part that was available to non-subscribers. So, this would effect the value of the copyrighted material and therefore it is not Fair Use.

[Colin P. Varga]

There are statistics for people killed by lightning (I think it's something in the 50's per year).

The statistics for people killed by a bicyclists are so low that the numbers are pretty much non-existent to report. In fact, Mr D had to resort to a study of New York State to even try and make a case because there was nothing else for him to cite.

Pathetic.

Nonetheless, it is still important for bicyclists to behave responsibly in a reasonable manner.


And for those pedestrians worried about bicyclists, I suggest you lock the door and cower in your home because there are far great threats and worries that await you.

In general cyclist hitting peds is probably a low number, but cyclist on the sidewalk hitting peds is probably high enough. I speak as a cyclist and a pedestrian that has been hit by a cyclist on the sidewalk. Bicycles don't belong on the sidewalk.

[MarketStEl]

As I also know that the _WSJ_ makes only about the first two paragraphs (if that) of a paywalled article available to non-subscribers, it would be very difficult for someone to use a _WSJ_ piece to advance an argument or conversation or provide reference without violating copyright law under that standard.

Disclaimer: I am not a copyright lawyer, but I suspect that no one else on this thread is either. I do know that the case of the bulk packs, which I referenced in my prior post, would also fail the fair use test as you describe it - yet I also know that many of the copy shops that produced them included a statement claiming fair use, either citing or incorporating the relevant section of the copyright statute. (And I suspect rightly, for what was being done here was no different than someone going into a library, pulling out a journal issue, and copying an entire article from it for their own reference - or a friend's.)

I suspect we both might want to review case law on the subject. Until I'm convinced that this is not like the bulk packs (and that the bulk packs were ruled a violation of fair use), or that I'm interpreting fair use overly broadly, I'm leaving the post up as it is.