Articles
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BUUD Alert #1!
November 3, 2008
This is Bicycle-Unfriendly Urban Design (BUUD) Danger Alert #1!
Location: W Evelyn Ave and Hwy 85 onramp
Issue: Bikes exiting the Steven’s Creek trail find themselves on the sidewalk, with no ramp down to the bike lane prior to this intersection. The curvature of the intersection makes visibility difficult, and cars making a right turn are frequently in conflict with bikes/peds heading west.
Proposed Solution: Cut ramp in sidewalk at junction of bike trail and sidewalk, to allow bikes to join lane where visibility is better.
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Bicycle-Unfriendly Urban Design
November 3, 2008
This post inaugurates what, unfortunately, will become a regular feature here on the blog. I see so many gratuitously bad and dangerous examples of the urban-bike interface that I decided I should:
a) keep track of them, b) share awareness of the hazards with other cyclists, c) have a convenient place to which to refer public officials and planners when I d) make a habit of alerting said officials and planners to the dangers.
The first example will be highlighted in the next post. You will be able to find all the related posts by searching on “buud” or “bike danger”.
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Common Courtesies
October 24, 2008
Read moreOK, be forewarned… <rant>
What ever became of common courtesy among cyclists?
Even as the number of bike-commuters grows daily, I see less and less camaraderie in evidence – it should be us vs. the cars/trucks/buses/potholes, but there’s this negative vibe in the air of cyclist vs. cyclist.
It didn’t use to be this way. (oh God, I’m gonna sound like a geezer, but:) I remember when people on bikes watched out for each other, helped each other, said “hi” to each other. If you rode by someone else on a bike, you at least muttered a greeting; if someone was on the side of the road and their bike appeared to be broken, flatted, or such, you at least asked if they needed help.
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Airship coming to Moffett
October 23, 2008
Kind of cool – Airship Ventures is bringing their new Zeppelin NT airship to be based at Moffett, and it should be arriving some time this weekend. I really like their size comparison chart, which includes a giant squid! One-hour flights are a bit pricey at ~$500, but what a fun experience it would be! You can follow the progress of the airship on their blog, which features lots of nice low-altitude photos.
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Robots and Sci-Fi exhibit @ SFO
October 23, 2008
There’s a great exhibit in the north terminal connector at SFO, featuring the artifacts of the 50s-60s space craze. (SFO Museums has many exhibits of very high quality; I’ve always impressed by them, and I try to take a little extra time to look at them when walking through the airport!) This exhibit brought back many childhood memories…
Big robot! 
ANOTHER big robot! 
Ray guns for all! 