World Carfree News #96 - Summer 2012 - English Version
QUOTATION OF THE MONTH
""We really need to have more truth of the costs reflected in transport" said Dirk Flege, general director of Allianz pro Schiene. "It should not be that precisely those transport users with the worst ecological record and the highest running costs should be subsidised by the general population."
The German organisation Allianz pro Schiene is calling for an extension of lorry taxes, as European regulations now allow for the assigning of external costs to the polluters, yet such a move is currently being blocked by the Minister of Transport, Peter Ramsauer.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
20 YEARS CRITICAL MASS
This year marks the anniversary of Critical Mass. San Francisco, the city where it all started, will mark the event with an anniversary ride. A book celebrating Critical Mass is also being published. Many events are planned for the occasion, and art submissions are being accepted as well. If you want to send an entry for the show, use this:
Critical Mass Welcome Committee
c/o Shaping San Francisco,
518 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
All information is on the SF Critical Mass blog, including
also book order info. Poster art by Hugh D'andrade @ www.hughillustration.com.
SF CM Blog Facebook page
SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY STREETS
The next Sunday Streets event for San Francisco will take
place in the Mission on August 5 and in Chinatown on August
26.
Read more
EU FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MULTI-MODE TRAVEL
There is a new funding mechanism available for EU countries
to promote multi-mode travel in their countries. This includes
support for Mobility week activities as well as financial
support to honour the best Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans
(SUMP).
Read more
EU-CHINA MAYORS' FORUM
There is an opportunity to twin European cities with Chinese
cities, in order to produce new models of sustainable,
low-carbon city planning. This will play a part of the first
EU-China mayors' forum, to take place in Brussels on September
20. CIVITAS will help facilitate the exchange. Cities
interested in cooperating may contact JSimpson@rec.org.
Read more
PISCATAQUIS VILLAGE ONLINE
There is a new website with information galore concerning the
carfree village project in Maine, USA. This will be a compact
village of 125 acres on a site of 500 acres, including design
elements from Europe and early North America
Read more
NEWS
Due to the London Olympics, 95% of the Games Lanes have
received a ban for cycling and bus lanes have also been
removed, in a controversial move by Transport for London.
Read more
A Sustrans report concludes that cycling in the National
Cycle Network of the UK has risen by 18% in 2011, which is the
equivalent of 40 million extra journeys by bike, the largest
ever increase.
Read more
At the same time, UK also reports the first increase in
traffic fatalities since 2003. Both pedestrian and car
occupant deaths are up, with cyclist deaths slightly down.
Read more
In New York City, a new museum is undergoing development: the
Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space. It features activists in the
East Village who took over abandoned property as well as other
stories from the glorious past of urban space reclamation. It
is the brainchild of Time's UP! and currently undergoing a
funding drive.
Read more
Using head cameras are slowly becoming a habit among cyclists
in places like NYC, where several accidents involving cars
were documented by the cameras, and thus the vehicles and
offending drivers could be caught.
Read more
ACTION AND NETWORKING
ECOTOPIA BIKE TOUR
Ecotopia Biketour 2012:Towards Degrowth (6th July - 19th September) - Join us!
The Ecotopia Bike Tour has
just gotten underway in Barcelona. But there is still time
to join! Along the route of just over 2,000km the tour will
visit squats, ecofarms and growing projects, social centres,
intentional communities, cycle activists and bike workshops
and take part in critical masses and actions against dirty
developments. The final destination is the international
Degrowth conference in Venice.
Read more
Download graphics
DEGROWTH CONFERENCE IN VENICE
This fall, Venice will host the 3rd International Conference
on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity,
between 19-23 September. Issues concerning transport and urban
sustainability will also be discussed. A core of people
affiliated with the World Carfree Network (WCN) plan to
attend, anxious for the opportunity to network with
like-minded activists, researchers and practitioners. Those
interested in WCN activities may contact justin@zofi.hu.
Read more
CYCLOCAMP 201
Plan ahead for the Cyclocamp in Leipzig, Germany, to take
place from August 28 to September 2. Watch the website for
updates and information.
Read more
CYCLE TOURISM CONFERENCE
The European Cyclists' Federation (ECF) and European
Greenways Association (EGWA) invite you to attend the first
Joint Conference on "EuroVelo, Greenways and Cycle Tourism".
It will take place on Wednesday 26th September 2012 in
Nantes, France
Read more
REPORTS
TEN WAYS TO TURN OFF OIL
What are ten ways that you can wean yourself of oil
dependency? The Sustainable City News offers a list of ten
ways you can do so. A compelling look at personal choice.
Read more
CYCLING SAFETY GUIDELINES
Bicycle Safety Audit Guidelines is a thick report and
How-to-Guide, put out by the US Department of Transportation,
which offers a hard look at the factors involved in
engineering safety for cyclists on the road. The downloadable
pdf is indispensable for all those dealing with cycling and
safety issues in the USA and elsewhere.
Read more
MEDIA
POP-UP ZEBRA CROSSINGS
Check out the short film and description of DIY Zebra
crossings. This was an initiative of the UK's Environmental
Transport Association, which unrolled this on Green Transport
Week 2012.
See more.
CUBAN BIKE CULTURE
Take a look at this photo essay of bikes and cycling in
Cuba, brought to you by Bike Portland.
See more
CARFREE ADVOCATE IN DETROIT
Using the Ignite presentation format, Jon Koller advocates
for carfree discounts for residents in Detroit neighborhoods,
as a way to spruce up the city.
Watch it
A ONE WEEK CARFREE EXPERIMENT
The Weather Channel in the USA has documented one man's
experiment in Tampa, Florida to walk to work for a week. The
experiment seems to have put smiles on the man's face.
Watch it
World Carfree News is published once a month by World Carfree Network.
Bulletin #96 by Justin Hyatt
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