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Post by Kimby on Dec 2, 2016 17:33:15 GMT
The Grant Creek Trail is pushing farther up my valley. The City Phase (2 miles within city limits) was completed two years ago, and the first phase of the County portion is being wrapped up now, as the first snowfall lies on the ground.
Only .6 mile (1 km) to go to get it into my neighborhood. This was the speech given at the recent Neighborhood Council meeting by the leader our group of volunteers who have worked to make it happen. “I’m KD, a longtime resident of the Grant Creek Valley and in my free time, I serve as President of the Grant Creek Trails Association, or GCTA. I’ve been asked to provide an update tonight on the Grant Creek Trail. For those of you new to our community trail project, GCTA has been decades in the making and obtained its formal 501c3 nonprofit status in 2006. We’re currently comprised of 10 board members who meet monthly about our Grant Creek Trail project, and our current members include me, BW, WB, KS, KB, JB, BL, PL, DC, and PM. I want to thank our current board members for their years of efforts to make our trail a reality, and probably more importantly, we want to thank you, the Missoula community. The Grant Creek Trail would not be possible without the financial matching donations of many Missoula residents and Grant Creek neighbors, the volunteer work of many others in this room, those who donated land easements for trail portions, and from the hard work of several Missoula City and Missoula County officials. As for the trail’s progress, we’re pleased to report that the paved trail now parallels a significant portion of Grant Creek Rd. Those of you who have recently driven up our valley have probably noticed this year’s progress, where the paved trail has been extended from last year’s terminus just north of Starwood Rd. , all the way to Mellot Lane – which is known as Missoula County Phase I. We’ve been in the planning stages of County Phase II, where we anticipate remaining trail construction from Mellot Lane to Snowbowl Rd., to occur sometime in 2018. Our GCTA is busy with the planning, attending County meetings to assist with necessary engineering, cost estimates, grants and fundraising, to engaging with affected neighbors, and in essence, to ensure that a safe and reasonable trail project is completed. Again, I want to thank those of you who have supported this trail project. I encourage you to contact us with questions, concerns, or to offer assistance. For additional information and to contact us, we’re available through our website and Facebook page- just Google GRANT CREEK TRAIL."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2017 16:22:20 GMT
A big change is coming to Paris because after 10 years and 30,000 municipal bikes, JC Decaux has lost the contract for the Paris metropolitan area. And it is furious. The Paris Vélib system is the largest in the world and it helped JC Decaux to get other contracts around the planet after its first pioneer system in Lyon. It currently equips about 30 systems around the world, including Brussels, Ljubljana, Dublin, Seville, Vienna, Vilnius...
The new Paris contract is for 15 years and has been won by a company in Montpellier called Smoovengo. While it is still considered to be a start-up, besides Montpellier, it already has the contracts for Strasbourg, Grenoble, Nice, Avignon, Vancouver, Moscow, Helsinki, Marrakesh, Astana, Corfu, Bangkok and Chicago among others.
Starting in September 2017, Smoovengo will begin installing the new bike stations, and installations will be completed in March 2018. The stations are completely different from the JC Decaux stations, which will remain in service through December 31, 2017 and then they will be removed. The new stations will begin operating on January 1st, 2018. 30% of the new bikes will have electrical assistance, so there will be stations in places where there were no stations before, like the top of Montmartre. The new bikes will also be lighter than the Vélib bikes and are impossible to rip loose from their moorings, unlike the JC Decaux bikes.
However, the new system will be a bit more expensive, principally because running a bike programme is the only business of Smoovengo whereas JC Decaux is an advertising company and was mostly remunerated for its services in exchange for municipal advertising contracts. The yearly subscription such as I have will rise from 29 euros a year to something like 35 euros a year. That's still less than 0.10€ a day, so I am certainly not complaining.
Nevertheless, it looks like the end of the year will be pretty messy in terms of road works and parking places are certainly going to suffer once again, just as they did when the Vélib and Autolib spaces were created.
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Post by whatagain on Apr 12, 2017 17:04:48 GMT
I took a ripped bike yesterday, whihc was handy because I left it at the door of my restaurant. however since had to (had to...) bike along the Seine I decide to take the quais. And I just didn't see that there was a small step. Which my front wheel did feel. So on top of being ripped loose it has no more front tyre. Poor bike.
I'll be happy if the new bikes are more complicated to destroy- my usual bike tation in Aubervilliers was out of order about 30% of the time. Less recently.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 7, 2018 22:44:52 GMT
Yes, because the only way of keeping most people from using their cars so much is better public transport, in smaller centres and more outlying suburbs, and that can't be done overnight any more than building the new tram lines in the Paris region can.
Modern technology could make smaller, autonomous public transport vehicles feasable for smaller centres.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 8, 2018 10:28:57 GMT
I only stop cycling when there is too much snow and above all, too much ice, and I'm sure I'm considerably older than the gilet jaune. Poor dear! I can't imagine that you get a lot of snow and ice in the southwest, except in the mountains, of course.
That mentality developed much later in most parts of Europe than in North America, but it seems to have firmly taken root, which will also be a public health problem later on...
I remember viewing a video about the tram system in Bordeaux and they actually installed signs advising people to walk to the next station rather than boarding the tram for such a short ride, as such lazy behaviour caused unneccesary congestion.
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Post by whatagain on Dec 8, 2018 12:19:17 GMT
Many people, especially in smaller towns, just don't walk. And in Paris a lot of people don't walk when on 'escalators or flat conveyors'. Something I'll never understand. When I go to Paris I cycle to nearest trainstation (less than 15 min of bike) and from there I take the train. When I go to Bruxelles, if I want to take my bike on the train (because if not I must take a bus or walk 50 min), I pay 2 € for me and ... 7 € for the bike. Crazy.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 8, 2018 13:56:43 GMT
In the Netherlands one has to pay for "normal" bicycles, but not for little folders like Bromptons. Of course Bromptons are expensive - I can only dream. I don't know if the rules are the same in Belgium.
Actually, I think some people are afraid of walking on those flat conveyors, so that may not be laziness. And some people do have mobility problems.
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Post by mossie on Dec 8, 2018 14:52:16 GMT
And some, like me, are bone idle.
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Post by bjd on Dec 8, 2018 17:36:02 GMT
My son took his bike on the train to Bordeaux when he commuted to the city: home - bike - train - bike - work. There was a section of the train for people with bikes and it doesn't cost more.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 8, 2018 18:52:23 GMT
Such commutes are common in the Netherlands, but a problem is that many people buy clunkers and leave them locked up at or near railway stations. The authorities are beginning to clamp down, but also have a carrot for the commuters - bikeshare vehicles for the "last km". I have friends who live in Rotterdam; one commuted to Amsterdam (retired now) the other still to the Hague.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 8, 2018 19:55:14 GMT
Yesterday, Vélib removed all of the bikes from about 350 stations in central Paris but I have not read anything about how many bikes were lost in the demonstrations last Saturday.
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Post by casimira on Dec 12, 2018 14:24:59 GMT
I was wondering about that Kerouac.... NOLA finally has a bike rental system!!!! There are currently only about 10 or so stations with the promise of more to come. I have to say that where they chose to place the original stations is pretty "bone headed" but I shan't complain. It's a long overdue start.
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Post by rikita on Dec 14, 2018 10:01:33 GMT
bike tickets on public transport here (u-bahn and s-bahn - they are not allowed on busses and trams, which is annoying if you always take along your bike, and then one day there is work on the tracks and they use a bus instead for that line) are a bit cheaper than the tickets for people. children's bikes are free as long as the child is also free (under age six), after that it's a normal bike ticket for the bike. so from mid-january, taking the train and especially taking along the bikes, will get a whole lot more expensive for us ...
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Post by onlyMark on Dec 14, 2018 11:19:36 GMT
Rikita, can you just update me on this. The years I lived in Frankfurt I used to sometimes take my bike to the end of the lines on the S Bahn, U bahn and Straßenbahn and ride back home. I don't remember at all having to pay for the bike ever. Do you have to pay for it where you are? Or is it a new thing? My favourite when I was feeling lazy was to get an S4 to Kronberg (im Taunus), have a cafe and Schokokuchen, then it was downhill all the way back.
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Post by rikita on Dec 14, 2018 12:57:18 GMT
no idea about frankfurt - in berlin you had to pay for as long as i can remember. but if you have a personalized month/year ticket (like, one that has your name and picture on it, rather than one you can pass on to other people), then the bikes used to be free. could be that this is still the case, but i haven't had one of those passes since i finished university ...
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Post by onlyMark on Dec 14, 2018 13:28:05 GMT
Thanks.
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Post by Kimby on Jan 20, 2019 14:37:57 GMT
And in Paris a lot of people don't walk when on 'escalators or flat conveyors'. Something I'll never understand. I LOVE walking on “moving sidewalks” in airports. The speed and wind in my hair makes me feel 6” taller!
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Post by Kimby on Jan 20, 2019 14:39:39 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 20, 2019 14:54:53 GMT
Link works fine. It is the generally the smaller media outlets that have been unable or unwilling to conform to European internet laws (which are basically just the obligation to obtain your specific consent before they can deposit cookie turds in your computer).
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Post by Kimby on Jan 20, 2019 15:43:58 GMT
Good to know, K2.
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Post by rikita on Jan 21, 2019 1:21:47 GMT
yeah, here there is discussion about protected bike lanes, too - the kind that are in your link, that are on the road but protected in some way. bike lanes as part of the side walk (so protected by a curbside) are pretty common and i feel safer on them than on the ones that are just separated from the road by a painted line, but those often get parking cars on them, or furniture people throw away, or pedestrians walking on them, and of course in some areas the side walks just aren't wide enough ...
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 21, 2019 4:53:46 GMT
Most of the roadworks in Paris are to create physical separators for the bike lanes, even on the Champs Elysées.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 25, 2019 6:00:53 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Jan 25, 2019 15:05:03 GMT
How do the people like them? Do drivers accept them, do cyclists use them?
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Post by lagatta on Jan 25, 2019 16:23:39 GMT
I don't see any physical separation except paint and a cyclist icon. Are they raised a bit? That lane does look very narrow, but it is a street with a lot of traffic for its width. Brava Mayor Hidalgo. On another subject, bicycles designed for older people. Though they would also be great for people with minor disabilities, whatever their age: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jan/25/islabikes-bicycle-firm-wants-keep-older-people-pedallingAnything new like this is expensive, but often the model is later taken up by lower-cost producers. They do look very sturdy. I know a fellow born in 1937 who cycles year-round, but imagine that our current weather-bomb might be an exception. He lives very close to a métro station and to good local shopping, so he isn't stuck.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 25, 2019 16:30:47 GMT
They are visibly raised except at intersections. We don't have to care if drivers accept them, Kimby. They are obliged to do so.
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Post by Kimby on Jan 25, 2019 17:55:17 GMT
It would be useful for those of us lobbying local governments for similar improvements to know how well they are working in other locales. Are they getting used? And do drivers appreciate having bikes removed from the vehicle lanes?
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 26, 2019 4:58:08 GMT
Inside Paris, 8% of the population use a bicycle to go to work. In the suburbs, it is only about 2%. Those figures used to be about 1% ten years ago.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 26, 2019 6:27:02 GMT
Here is a larger version of one of the pictures above showing the separators better. As for being narrow, many of the bike lanes are one way, so they are wide enough. i.postimg.cc/W1zbRWGT/velo-CE-2.jpg
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Post by lagatta on Jan 30, 2019 2:41:58 GMT
Thanks.
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