RideTHISbike.comNews | Folding Bike Shop | Chat & Discuss Folding Bikes | Places To Ride | About Us

Thursday, February 26, 2009

E-Z Pack Now $159 - Shipping FREE

by Larry Lagarde

Here's a great deal on a folding bike that just got even better - $159 for a new E-Z Pack aluminum folding bike.

Formerly, I had been selling the E-Z Pack folding bicycle for $179 with the carry bag included; however, some customers felt they didn't need the bag. As a believer in the old adage that the customer knows best result, I've revised the E-Z Pack's order page and pricing so that the carry bag is now an optional accessory.

Having a carry bag to put the folding bike in can be a real plus. It keeps you and your bike cleaner, it removes your bike from sight, it makes the bike much easier to carry when you need to and it will gain you access to more places with your bike.

So to sum this up, if you DO want to order your E-Z Pack with a carry bag, you'll pay the same low $179 price as before. If you do NOT want the bag, now you can get the E-Z pack for $20 less.

And shipping within the USA (lower 48 states) is still free...
:-)

Labels:

Friday, February 20, 2009

Ride A Folding Bike At Mardi Gras

by Larry Lagarde

If you're coming to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, a folding bike is a great way to get around neighborhoods such as the French Quarter, Garden District, Uptown, Downtown, Warehouse District, Mid City, Bywater, Marigny and more.

New Orleans is a compact city. When Mardi Gras parades are rolling, traffic comes to a virtual standstill on most major arteries and side streets - unless you have a bicycle. So here's a deal that's hard to beat: buy a folding bike from RideTHISbike.com and (provided you're in New Orleans) your bike will be delivered directly to wherever you're staying (your home, condo, timeshare, apartment, hotel room, RV, campsite, etc.) - fully assembled and ready to go - all at no additional cost.

At the end of Mardi Gras, if you want to return the bike, as long as the bike's clean and undamaged, I'll refund all but $70 of the purchase price.

Flying out at the end of your stay? No Problem
If you are flying out of New Orleans and want to take the bike with you, I'll pick up the bike you used and give you a brand new replacement that's boxed and ready to go on the plane.

This offer is limited so contact me if you're interested.

LL

Labels:

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Folding Bikes On United Airlines

by Larry Lagarde

If you're taking a commercial flight and want to go cycling at your destination, packing a folding bike into your suitcase is a great way to see the sights and get some exercise too. Beware of the fees some airlines charge for even a folding bike though because they can be ridiculous.

Two weeks ago, I flew to Los Angeles on United. As when I fly on Southwest, I expected that I could carry my CarryMe micro folding bike onto the plane; however, to be safe, I called United. The customer service rep told me that any and all bikes are charged a $175 fee each way and that the bike would have to be checked. Yesterday, a customer flying United to Asia shared a similar story with me.

One of the primary benefits of micro folding adult bikes is that they are small and light enough to meet the baggage guidelines of commercial airlines. When an airline charges prohibitively for bags that meet their dimensional and weight limits, either the airline is simply unaware of the disparity or is greedy and/or desperate.

To make sure United was aware of this disparity, I wrote them the following:
When can United flyers expect to see an updated baggage policy that removes the "Special" status from bicycles that fold within United's weight and size limits for either a checked or carry on bag?

I manage RideTHISbike.com, a blog/website about bicycling that specializes in folding bikes and is read by 600-1100 unique users/day. I recently flew with United to attend a transit symposium in Los Angeles. The flight arrived on time and my experience with all the United service personnel I encountered was positive. Nevertheless, based on United's outdated baggage policy regarding folding bikes, I cannot in good conscience recommend that travelers with folding bikes fly United.

A variety of folding bicycles currently meet United's weight and size limits for checked or carry on bags (some examples: A-bike, Brompton, CarryMe, E-Z Pack); yet, United's baggage policies do not acknowedge this fact. As a result, rather than incur a $175 fee, passengers with these compact folding bikes are flying with other airlines instead of United.

Since folding bike owners frequent my site when planning to travel, I am posting the above info there today. In the interest of fairness and accuracy, I will be happy to post any comment or reply I receive from United Airlines on this issue.
With United's bicycle policy requesting steps that clearly don't apply to folding bikes (like removing the pedals or turning in the handlebars), it's obvious that United bicycle policy was drafted to refer to standard, full size bikes. Hopefully, United will look at the facts and update their bike policy so flyers can rest assured that their compact folding bikes will no longer be subject to special fees.

9:30 PM: Just received United's acknowledgement of my complaint/comment. Unfortunately, it contains neither a direct reference to the issue (flyers being charged $175 for bikes that meet United's checked bag weight and dimensional guidelines) nor does it tell whether United intends to remove this unfair disparity. See for yourself:
Dear Mr. Lagarde,

I understand that you have concerns about United policy for carrying
Bicycles.

We want to understand how policy change feels from your point of view,
so your candid comments will be shared with our management teams
responsible for decisions about products and services our customers most
value. Your feedback will help us evaluate our decisions that impact
your choice of airline.

Additionally, I am delighted to read your report about your experience
with United.

We value your business and hope that you give us an opportunity to serve
you onboard United again soon.

Regards,

Manish Khurana
United Airlines Customer Relations

Labels: ,

Monday, February 16, 2009

Folding Bikes On Mass Transit - New Orleans

by Larry Lagarde

CarryMe folding bike - NORTA meetingFrom time to time, folding bike users express concern whether they're allowed to take folding bikes aboard transit. With that in mind, I met with the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA) last month proposing that they create a policy regarding folding bikes.

With NORTA's general manager and key staff in attendence, I demonstrated how compact folding bikes can be when folded. The impression I received was that they saw no problem with allowing folding bikes aboard the transit agencies buses and historic electric streetcar trolleys, provided that bikes are folded and placed in carrybags.

Strida folding bike - NORTA meetingThis afternoon, I placed a follow up call to Rosalind Blanco Cook, NORTA's Media & Public Relations Director. Rosalind had not received any word on a folding bike policy but she suggested that I contact Derrick Breun, one of the managers with Veolia Transportation (the multi-national transit management company that just got the contract to manage NORTA). Within 2 hours, I was copied on an internal memo authorizing the authority's transit drivers to allow folding bikes. WOW!

For the record, following is NORTA's new folding bike policy:
DRIVER’S ALERT!
Number 2009-11

To: All Operating Personnel

FROM: Gerard Guter
Assistant Director of Transportation

DATE: February 16, 2009

RE: Folding Bike Policy
______________________________________________________________________________


Effective immediately, passengers will be allowed to board all RTA vehicles with folding bikes. Passengers must place the bike under their seat; the bike cannot be placed on an additional seat. Also, as a safety precaution, the bikes cannot block the aisle.

Your usual cooperation is appreciated.


GG/wmm

Cc: Mark Major
Nazires Tolliver
Station Managers
Dale Delpit
Transit Police
Communication Dispatchers
Roz Cook
Justin Augustine
Derrick Breun
Brooke Monaco
Karen Wilson-Sider
Joseph Prier, President ATU Local #1560
Folding bike aboard the historic St Charles Ave electric streetcar trolleyI'm not sure whether even most micro folding bikes will fit under the seat of a streetcar trolley. Regardless, this is a great start on the part of NORTA & Veolia that shows a progressive and open attitude towards new ideas. Many thanks to both NORTA & Veolia.

Labels:

Effective Commuting Tools: Folding Bikes

by Larry Lagarde

The week before last, I flew to Los Angeles to attend and speak at a transit symposium. Organized by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), the point of the symposium was to "open the floor" to new ideas that offer commuters a realistic alternative to driving single occupancy motor vehicles. Demonstrating several folding bikes, I focused on the effectiveness of combining micro folding bikes with mass transit as a practical transportation alternative available now.

CarryMe folding bikeI had 2 minutes to make my point so I kept it short and sweet. Holding a folded CarryMe folding bike over my head, I said...
Here's an alternative transportation idea that's ready now. It requires no outlays of taxpayer dollars to implement or years of bureaucratic discussion to approve. It's an adult bicycle that weighs 18 lbs, unfolds in seconds, cruises at about 15 mph and costs just $495.

Transit studies show that most people will only walk half a mile or 15 minutes to get to a transit stop. With this bike, a person can cover over 2 miles in the same time span, making mass transit practical to users in an area 3 times larger. For people with difficulty balancing on a bike, there's even a 3 wheeled version that weighs just 20 lbs. Both versions are small enough to take aboard any transit vehicle and in 2 months, I'll be shipping a micro folding bike that weighs just 16 lbs and costs only $199.

No matter how light and compact they become, folding bikes are only part of the solution. Yet, a multi-modal approach combining folding bikes with mass transit can rival driving a car over even the longest of commutes.
By the way, while 55% of commuters in New York City use public transit, just 11% of Angelenos do the same in L.A. Hopefully, events such as LACMTA's transit symposium will help Angelenos discover that multi-modal commuting via mass transit and bikes that fold is a viable transportation solution now.

Labels:

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Including Bicycle Infrastructure In Stimulus Bill

by Larry Lagarde

The Economic Stimulus Bill passed today by Congress includes substantial funding for transportation; yet, it's possible that virtually all the transportation funds will go towards building more freeways. If you'd like to see a portion of the Stimulus funds going towards shovel ready bicycle projects, I suggest you read the following appeals and take action.

From the executive director at the National Center for Bicycling & Walking:

Today, Wednesday, February 11, 2009, members of Congress reconciled the House and Senate versions of The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more popularly known as the Economic Stimulus Bill. As you are likely aware, the economic stimulus bill has generated a tremendous amount of political hyperbole—both in favor of and against its passage. However, there are now three simple facts that remain: 1) the bill has passed both chambers; 2) very soon $800 billion will be allocated by Congress; and 3) a significant percentage of that amount will be devoted to transportation projects.

Making sure that the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists are looked after once the stimulus funding is disbursed to the states is now the primary concern of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking. We believe that the best way to ensure that this happens is to support the House bill which requires that 45 percent of transportation funding go through the Surface Transportation Program formula, which will preserve funding for the Transportation Enhancements program.

NCBW believes that this is the best compromise towards ensuring that bicycle-pedestrian projects are built by the state DOTs, that public accountability for transportation spending is maintained, and that transportation spending conforms to the will of the American people, as expressed in Congress’s passage of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act in 1991 and subsequent reauthorizations.

If you are ready to take action now, please follow this link to the League of American Bicyclists’ website.
http://tinyurl.com/al4y88

If you would like to learn more about America Bikes Collation’s stance on the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, please follow this link to our website.
http://www.bikewalk.org/economic_recovery.php

Sincerely,

Sharon Z. Roerty, AICP/PP
Executive Director
National Center for Bicycling & Walking
From the League of American Bicyclists:
Join The America Bikes Coalition to Protect Transportation Enhancement Funding

The House and the Senate have each passed their own version of the Economic Recovery Bill, aimed at creating jobs and stimulating the economy. Both bills include billions for transportation infrastructure, but only the House bill includes funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects in the Transportation Enhancements program.

The House Bill includes approximately $1.35 billion for Transportation Enhancements of which 50-60% is traditionally spent on bicycle and pedestrian projects. The Senate Bill does not explicitly include Transportation Enhancements, so its unclear whether this funding will be in the final bill.

This week there will be a conference committee where several members of the House and several members of the Senate will work together to reconcile the two bills. Conferees need to hear that Transportation Enhancements are important to stimulating the economy, creating green jobs, and moving us towards a sustainable future.

Please call your Senators and Representative and urge them to tell the Conferees to support Transportation Enhancements in the Economic Recovery bill.
From the Thunderhead Alliance:
Calling All Bicyclists and Pedestrians! Please Take Action Today!

Thanks to calls from bicyclist and pedestrian advocates like you, the Senate refused to hear an amendment that would have blocked any Economic Recovery Bill money from being spent on biking and walking infrastructure projects. Now we need EVERYONE’S HELP to make certain that there is strong support for Transportation Enhancements $ for biking and walking in the final bill!

Support Bicycle and Pedestrian Projects in the Economic Recovery Bill

The House and the Senate have each passed their own version of the Economic Recovery Bill, aimed at creating jobs and stimulating the economy. Both bills include billions for transportation infrastructure, but only the House bill includes funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects in the Transportation Enhancements program. The House bill includes approximately $1.35 billion for Transportation Enhancements of which 50-60% is traditionally spent on bicycle and pedestrian projects. The Senate bill does not explicitly include Transportation Enhancements, so it’s unclear whether this funding will be in the final bill.

We need to make sure Transportation Enhancement funding is in the final bill.

This week there will be a conference committee where several members of the House and several members of the Senate will work together to reconcile the two bills. Conferees need to hear that Transportation Enhancements are important to stimulating the economy, creating green jobs, and moving us towards a sustainable future.

CALL TODAY! (link to the league’s advocacy center)

Please call your senators and representative and ask them to tell the Conferees to support Transportation Enhancements in the Economic Recovery bill. Tell them:

- Bicycle and pedestrian projects create jobs at the same or better rate than highway projects.
- These smaller projects can move quickly to hire local businesses and help local economies.
- Providing safe and convenient bicycle and pedestrian access gives families healthier and cheaper transportation options.
- Improving sidewalks and bike lanes can make a downtown a destination further helping the local economy.
- Better biking and walking options also help ensure greater energy independence, less pollution, and a healthier United States!
From the Rails To Trails Conservancy:

This is not a time to build [bike paths]. If we are going to invest in infrastructure, invest in infrastructure that actually makes the economy more efficient, such as roads that are needed.
-Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009

Dear Cyclist,

Comments like those above are misguided. Please act now for active transportation funding.

Along with others, like Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who offered an amendment to prohibit funding for walking and bicycling, Sen. Ensign does not realize that more trails means people walk and bike more and drive less. This translates into less congestion, healthier people, a healthier planet, more money available to our communities, and much, much more.

Moments ago, the U.S. Senate passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. Unlike the House of Representatives’ version of the bill, the Senate did not explicitly fund Transportation Enhancements (TE), the nation’s primary funding source for active transportation.

However, the Senate and House will work to reconcile their differences “in conference” over the next few days.

We must convince the Senate to protect TE in conference.

Please go here to get started.

This is exciting, because we know we can make an impact: After more than 15,000 of us signed Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s (RTC) petition to Congress and the president to explicitly fund active transportation in the recovery package, the House allocated $1.35 billion for TE.

Please give a few minutes of your time-I promise, together we can make a difference.

Thank you so much.

Kevin Mills,
Vice-President of Policy,
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

As you can see, there is unified concern among bicycling advocates that Stimulus funds will be steered away from worthy cycling projects. I cannot stress the importance of letting your voice be heard. Please take action and contact your federal representatives.

LL

Labels:

Monday, February 02, 2009

How Far People Walk For Mass Transit

by Larry Lagarde

I'm attending a transportation demand management symposium this week and was doing some research regarding how far people are willing to walk to get to a bus or light rail stop. A variety of studies have been done in North America; however, most found that the distance varied from a quarter mile to a half mile or roughly no more than 15 minutes on average.

If you'd like to see the data and references, read on.

North American Mass Transit Walking Distance Research Study Results/Statements:
(as collected & published by the Fairfax County Planning Commission Transit Oriented Development Committee for their TOD meeting of 9/7/2006)
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning/tod_docs/walking_distance_abstracts.pdf.

Calthorpe Associates: Project Sheets-TOD Guidelines
http://www.calthorpe.com/Project%20Sheets/TOD%20Guidelines.pdf
- Briefly defines TODs as mixed-use districts within a comfortable walking distance of transit - about 2,000 feet

Dittmar, H., and G. Ohland, eds.
The New Transit Town: Best Practices in Transit-Oriented Development.
2004. Island Press. Washington, D.C. p. 120.
"Locate development close to transit. Effective TOD places residential and office space as close to transit as possible. The optimal walking distance between a transit station or stop and a place of employment is 500 to 1,000 feet. Residents are willing to walk slightly longer distances to get to transit, between a quarter- and a half-mile."

Envisioning Neighborhoods with Transit-Oriented Development Potential
http://transweb.sjsu.edu/publications/envisioning/Envisioning.htm
- Defines walking distance (<1/2 mile), bicycling distance (<2 miles), and five-mile driving or transit distance. These ranges of analysis include the areas where residents of possible TODs might work, shop, or prefer to go for services. Case studies are from bay Area of San Francisco (Campbell light rail, Fruitvale BART in Oakland, Hayward BART, Mountain View CalTrain/light rail, Redwood City CalTrain, and the Sacramento 65th Street Station). Study uses these distances as a starting point, not as a point of research.

TOD Manual Walking Distance Recommendations from Other Jurisdictions/Transit Agencies
- Mass Transit Administration (Maryland): 1500 ft. (0.28 mi.)
- Mid-America Regional Council (Kansas City, Missouri): 1500 ft. (0.28 mi.)
- NJTransit (New Jersey): ¼ - ½ mi
- Ontario Ministry of Transportation: 400m (0.25 mi.)
- Regional Plan Association (NY, CT, NJ Tri-metro area: ¼ mi.
- Snohomish County Trans. Authority (Snohomish Cty, Washington): 1000 ft. (0.19 mi.)

Mass Transit Administration (1988) Access by Design: Transit’s Role in Land Development. Maryland Department of Transportation.
- Recommended spacing for bus stops is calculated based on a cachment area of 1500 feet (0.28 mi.) from each side of the road traveled, defined as the are from which most passengers can easily walk to access transit service. Passengers within this distance are considered to be "adequately served." Closer spacing is recommended for higher density areas (section 5.1.2).

Mid-America Regional Council (No Date) Transit-Supportive Development Guidebook. (Kansas City, Missouri). http://www.marc.org/transportation/TSD%20Guidebook.pdf
- Indicates most people are willing to walk 1500 feet (0.28 mi.) to shopping or transit (Chapter 4, Pedestrian Scale Blocks, p. 48), and suggests that short, walkable blocks increase the attractiveness of pedestrian transit. NJTransit (1994) Planning for Transit-Friendly Land Use A Handbook for New Jersey Communities. Defines reasonable walking distance by general understanding of willingness to walk 5-15 minutes to get to or from a transit stop, corresponding to ¼ to ½ mile, but varies based on topography, sense of safety and security, presence of interesting activity (Section 1.3).

Ontario Ministry of Transportation (1992) Transit-Supportive Land Use Planning Guidelines. Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/userfiles/page_attachments/business/transuppguid/transuppguid-e.pdf
- Transit-oriented design guidelines developed by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation reference 400m (1/4 mile) walking distance throughout this document as a basis for recommendations.

Regional Plan Association (1997) Building Transit-Friendly Communities A Design and Development Strategy for the Tri-State Metropolitan Region. (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut).
- Defines transit-friendly communities as intensively developed areas within ¼ - ½ mile of rail stations. A distance that can be comfortably walked in 5-10 minutes and a distance most people are willing to walk to train stations or other community uses. These areas include mixed uses, pedestrian connections, and traffic calming design. Cites a study showing that residents living within ¼ mi. of rail stations are five-to-seven times more likely to use rail than other area residents (Relationship Between Transit and Urban Form Handbook, Transit Cooperative Research Program TCRP H-1, November 1995, page 29.)

Snohomish County Transportation Authority (1989) A Guide to Land Use and Public Transportation for Snohomish County, Washington. (Snohomish County, Washington).
http://ntl.bts.gov/DOCS/GL.html
- "People can be expected to walk no more than 1,000 feet to a bus stop or a park- and-ride parking space. The walking distance increases slightly, to 1,320-1,758 feet (1/4 to 1/3 of a mile), for rail station access." (Chapter 3).

Quantitative Studies:
Best Development Practices: A Primer.
Ewing, R. (1999) EPA Smart Growth Network, pp. 1-29.
http://www.epa.gov/dced/pdf/BestDevprimer.pdf
- See p. 8. Suggest destinations to which we expect people to walk should be no further than ¼ mile distance. (References data from: Tabulations from the 1990 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS).)

Pedestrian and Transit Friendly Design: A Primer for Smart Growth.
Ewing, R. (2000) EPA Smart Growth Network, pp. 1-22.
http://www.epa.gov/dced/pdf/ptfd_primer.pdf
- Also cites the same 1990 NPTS Study (see page 5). These documents both present brief summary of quantitative analysis not discussed in these publications.

References:
P.N. Seneviratne, "Acceptable Walking Distances in Central Areas," Journal of Transportation Engineering, Vol. 3, 1985, pp. 365-376
(Abstract can be found at: http://www.pubs.asce.org/WWWdisplay.cgi?8501920 . For registered subscribers of The Journal of Transportation Engineering, full text is available at:
http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=JTPEDI00=0129000006000684000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes )
From footnote: "Travel distances were estimated assuming everyone walked at the National Personal Transportation Survey average speed of 3.16 mph. Curves were smoothed to account for people’s tendency to round off travel times."

Bureau of Transportation Statistics:
http://www.bts.gov/programs/national_household_travel_survey/

National Household Travel Survey:
http://nhts.ornl.gov/2001/index.shtml

TCRP Report 102: "Transit-Oriented Development in the United States: Experiences, Challenges and Prospects" Transportation Research Board, 2004.
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_102.pdf
Cites 1987 WMATA study by JHK and Associates (Development-Related Survey I)
*See attached Table 8.1 "Modal Splits for Residential Projects Near Metrorail Stations, Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Area, 1987.

Relationship Between Transit and Urban Form Handbook, Transit Cooperative Research Program TCRP H-1, November 1995, page 29
Digest version: http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rrd_07.pdf
- Study of ridership among housing and commercial developments near 4 rail stations in Canada found a "walking impact zone" as far as 4,000 feet (3/4 mile) from a station, a "distance that can accommodate around 1,200 acres of development, sufficient to create strong transit-oriented communities."

- Study by JHK and Associates in 1986, 1989 showed that the "share of trips by rail or bus transit declined by around .65 percent for every 100-foot increase in distance of a residential site from a Metrorail station portal."

- Cervero et. al 1993 - In the Bay Area, 92 percent of those living within ¼ mile of a BART station and commuting to San Francisco where parking costs were over $2 per day commute via rail transit.

Rail Transit Impact Studies: Atlanta, Washington, San Diego.
Paget, Donnelly, Price, Williams and Associates. March 1982. p. 28.
- In the Washington metropolitan area, it was found that the average walk to/from a Metrorail station ranged between ¼ to 1/3 mile. Walking time/distance ratios appear to coincide with actual land use development in the stations vicinity—station area development had occurred primarily within ¼ mile of the station.

BART’s First Five Years; Transportation and Travel Impacts
(April 1979) DOT-P-30-79-8.
- (This study surveyed mode of access which was then converted to distance) In the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART), 80% of the pedestrians using BART during peak hour periods walked less than 10 minutes to the station, while somewhat over half of those pedestrians walking under 6 minutes to reach their destination. The distance for a 6 minute walk was estimated to be a quarter of a mile.

1976 survey data included in Appendix:
- 30% of trips walked to BART station
- Of that 30% who walked, 80% walked less than 10 minutes (45% walked under 6 minutes (approximately 1350 feet) and 35% walked between 6-10 minutes, approximately 1350 to 2250 feet)
- Distance for a 6 minute walk was estimated to be about ¼ mile
- Overall average walking time for all who walked to the BART stations was 8.8 minutes
- Generally considered that the average person walks about 225 feet per minute
- Overall average length of walk was probably about 1,980 feet (.375 miles)
- Average walking time for walkers to their destination at end of trip was 7.2 minutes or about 1,600 feet (1/3 mile)

Northern Virginia Metro Station Impact Study: Development Potentials at Metro Stations.
Gladstone Associates. June 1974, p. 23.
- Gladstone study identified a primary area of development potential within 1000 feet (.19 miles) of a Metrorail entrance and a secondary area within one half mile of the station site. Planned station areas in Alexandria and Arlington County generally reflect this concept. Alexandria’s King Street Station study area is within a 5 minute walk (approx. 1300 feet, .25 miles) of the station with the remaining area within a 10 minute, one half mile walk. Arlington’s Ballston and Courthouse planning areas encompass acreage generally within .4 and .3 miles, respectively, of the station.)

- Montgomery County’s Takoma Park station had a primary transit impact area within 1000 foot radius of the station with the secondary area of impact encompassing acreage within a half mile radius. The transit impact area for the Forest Glen, Glenmont and White Flint stations was identified as acreage within a 2000 foot radius from the station. Note that natural or man-made barriers such as floodplains, railroads and highways affected that actual area studied (for example King Street’s adjacent railroad right-of-way formed the western boundary to the study area even though a portion of the acreage on the opposite side was within ¼ mile of the station.

Gruen, Victor, The Heart of Our Cities. The Urban Crisis: Diagnosis and Cure.
Simon and Schuster 1964, New York, p. 250: (used in Fairfax County Metro Station Areas Study, 1982)
Chart to illustrate people’s tolerance for walking in various environments:
- 20 min or 5000' in a highly attractive, completely weather- protected and artificially climatized environment
- 10 min or 2500' in a highly attractive environment in which sidewalks are protected from sunshine and rain
- 5 min or 1250' in an attractive but not weather-protected area during periods of inclement weather
- 2 min or 600' iIn an unattractive environment (parking lot, garage, traffic-congested streets)

Planning for Man and Motor
Ritter, Paul, Pergamon Press, New York, 1964, p. 14
- "An average walk is at a speed of 2.5 miles per hour. This converts to 13,200 feet per hour or 220 feet per minute. On this basis, a 5-minute walk would be 1,100 feet and a 10-minute walk would be 2,200 feet."

Public Transportation and Land Use Policy
Pushkarev and Zupan. Indiana University Press from a study by Regional Plan Association of New York (RPA).
- "In Montreal, in order to maximize pedestrian access to stations, the stations were planned 0.6 miles apart assuming maximum reasonable
walking distance of .3 miles.
- Tri-State Regional Planning Commission’s 1963 Home Interview Survey indicates that, outside downtown areas, people reported their walk to a bus to be, on the average, in the 3-4 minute range, their walk to a subway or rail station to be in the 5-10 minute range, and their drive to rail stops to average 7-15 minutes.
- The pedestrian access trip to stations responds to station spacing only in a very limited manner. The median walk to subway stations does increase from 0.17 miles in midtown Manhattan, where stations are very closely spaced, to about 0.32 miles at the edge of the subway-served territory.
- It appears that no matter how station-spacing increases, 50 percent of the people will not walk more than 6 minutes or 0.3 miles to a non- downtown rail station, even if there is a fraction of 1 percent who will walk over 30 minutes or more than 1.5 miles. This is not inconsistent with the finding that a distance of 2,500 feet or a 9-minute walking time (assuming, all the while, an average walking speed of 3.1 miles per hour), 50 percent or more of those traveling that distance will prefer a feeder bus to walking, even in a low-income area, with a double fare."

WMATA 2005 Development Related Ridership Survey Final Report, March 2006
(Update to 1989 survey to determine if changes in population growth, the regional economy, and the built environment had affected modal splits at certain types of land uses in Metrorail station areas, and if certain physical attributes of these land uses impact transit ridership.)
- "2005 survey results confirmed previous findings that the walking distance between a site and the Metrorail station affects transit ridership. In general, the closer a site is to the station, the greater the likelihood those traveling to/from a site choose Metrorail as their travel mode. Based on the survey results, this relationship was stronger for residential sites than for office sites."

*See attached Table S-2, Figure 14 and Figure 15 O’Sullivan, Sean and John Morrall. Walking Distances to and from Light-Rail Transit Stations. Transportation Research Record 1538.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=cache:oEPEiEPfnFAJ:www.enhancements.org/trb%255C1538-003.pdf+O%27Sullivan+S.+and+Morrall,+J
Abstract:
"…For the city of Calgary the average walking distance to suburban stations is 649 m with a 75th-percentile distance of 840 m. At CBD stations the average walking distance is 326 m and the 75th-percentile distance is 419 m."
Average walking distance to suburban station=649m=2129 feet=0.4 miles
- 75th percentile (suburban stations): 840m=0.52 miles
In CBD, average walking distance = 326m=0.2 miles
- 75th percentile (CBD): 419m=0.26 miles
- Calgary, Canada: pedestrians are more than 25% of peak-period trips to or from suburban stations
- General walking distance is about 5 minutes or 400m (.25 miles)
- Analysis in San Francisco and Edmonton, Canada found that 1750m (1.08 mi) was maximum that people would walk to a station, and that walking accounts for more than 50% of the access mode from distances up to approximately 900m (0.56 mi).

Survey of walking distance guidelines used by North American companies
- Canada: guidelines range from 300m to 900m (0.18 mi to 0.56 mi)
- U.S.: generally between 400m and 800m (0.25 mi to 0.50 mi)

Labels:

Sunday, February 01, 2009

New $199 Mini Folding Bike

by Larry Lagarde

Here's a look at a new folding bike that weighs under 18 lbs and costs less than $200... the Mini 8 micro folding bicycle.

Practical, Mimimalist Japanese Design
Mini 8 folding bikeOutfitted with 8" balloon tires, rear suspension, a semi-enclosed dual crank drive, folding pedals, folding/height adjustable handlebar stem, a height adjustable seatpost and alloy cranks, this single speed, aluminum micro folder is ideal for urban, multi-modal commutes or rides under 2 miles.

The Mini 8 measures just 33" long unfolded and weighs 17 lbs. The dual crank drive increases the gear ratio so you can pedal at a normal pace.

For storage or transporting the bike on the bus or subway, most Mini 8 users will be satisfied by simply folding the handlebars and pedals; HOWEVER, it is possible to fold the frame. Doing so requires unfastening the front wheel and unbolting the rear suspension from the frame mount, allowing the rear wheel & drive train to swing forward. Thus, I'd only recommend this step to users that intend to fly with the bike and want it to fit in luggage that meets standard dimensions for checked baggage.

Mini 8 folding bikeWho This Bike Is For
If you're under 5' 11", weigh below 195 lbs. and need a bike for short hops, the Mini 8 folding bike is perfect for you. In fact, the reason I'm offering this new folding bicycle is because a fair number of women find the size and/or weight of most folding bicycles impractical for daily use. There are exceptions (the chic Strida Mini, CarryMe 1 spd or the swift CarryMe DS); however, the Mini 8 costs much less.

Colors & Options
The Mini 8 is being produced in British Racing Green with yellow highlights. Eventually, other color options and a carrybag will be available.

Price & Availability
The Mini 8 folding bike is in production now and is available only from RideTHISbike.com. The Mini 8 is priced at $199 with shipping included (within the USA lower 48 states). I'll be shipping bikes to customers within the next 90 days. Place your order now and your new Mini 8 folder will come with dual sided folding pedals (standard equipment are single sided pedals).

Order now!

Price: $199.00 - Shipping included -
Color: British Racing Green
Qty:

Labels:

RideTHISbike.com
Cycling for fun, fitness & practicality.

Phone: 504-324-2492
Bike Shop Street Address:
231 Dauphine St
New Orleans, LA. 70112
(1 block from Bourbon St; 2 blocks from Canal St)
In the French Quarter

Email Us

© 2005-2012 Areafocus.com. All rights reserved. Website Terms & Conditions