Hi,
If you are a cyclist, a cycling advocate or even if you sometimes order sandwiches for bike delivery, you are bound to hear it from time to time: Cyclists don’t obey laws!
A lot of people are concerned about this type of road user's obedience to traffic laws. But those who surround her present the real threat. Photo: Gothamist
Suddenly you are on the defensive. It doesn’t matter if you are the patron saint of stoplight obedience. One time someone saw a cyclist run a red light, and well, now you’re going to hear about it.
Even cycling advocates are likely to take part in the finger-pointing, chastising their lesser-behaved counterparts for making everyone look bad. Lyndsey Skofield at This Big City spreads the blame around:
Pedestrians in the Wrong. Every time I walk down Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, I spot at least 5 pedestrians carelessly cross into the separated & painted bike path without looking to see if a cyclist is approaching (it’s a well-used lane, so there often is). Sometimes it’s a child straying from the un-watchful eyes of their parents, sometimes it’s a person jumping out of their car and bee-lining it for the sidewalk. Whatever the case is, this is not just a phenomenon in Park Slope; it happens throughout New York’s five boroughs, and other cities, no doubt.
Cyclists in the Wrong. But I have also nearly been run over by cyclists riding the wrong way down streets and running red lights. Every time I leave my apartment, I can guarantee you that I will encounter at least several cyclists totally ignoring street rules, regardless of whether the road is busy or not.
Drivers in the Wrong. When I was a Campus Organizer across the river in Newark, NJ, I had to contend with drivers who seemed to be wearing special goggles that blocked out the sight of pedestrians. In front of the Student Center was a marked zebra crosswalk, complete with an in-street “Yield to Pedestrians” sign. Still, the cars would not stop. If you weren’t bold enough to continue inching out into the road in front of them, you could easily watch 10, 20, 30 cars continue on their way without so much as a foot on the brake.
The thing is, you rarely hear drivers calling on fellow motorists to clean up their act, and that’s a shame, since motorists are responsible for 35,000 deaths annually, with fully one-third of motor vehicle fatalities being alcohol related. Car crashes kill more Americans a year than do handguns, and thousands of car crash victims are not drivers.
When a cyclist or pedestrian breaks a traffic law, it’s usually an annoyance more than anything, and is likely the result of a transportation system that marginalizes anyone outside of a private auto. In fact, research shows that having more cyclists on roads and streets can decrease the likelihood of cyclist-pedestrian collisions. To the extent that pedestrians cause any injuries it is mostly to themselves. Blaming pedestrians for bad behavior is like blaming livestock for walking into a slaughterhouse.
Not to excuse carelessness, but the fact is people are flawed. They get distracted. They drink. They get sleepy. This world would be much safer for everyone if less of those people were driving cars and more were walking or biking.
Elsewhere on the Network: Greater Greater Washington offers a traffic congestion solution for Fairfax County, Virginia: Make it safe for more children to walk to school. And Free Public Transit reports that the city of Rochester, New York exports $1.5 million daily to pay for gas.
Here in CASA, University College London, we are currently waiting for the final part of our home made RepRap 3D Printer. Unfortunately it is a crucial part - the hot head that melts the plastic, allowing the printer to lay down layers of material and create objects.
While we are waiting, Steven Gray has modified the RepRap and replaced the hot head with a marker pen. This simple swap is actually an interesting concept, allowing the printer to draw:
In many ways its a high tech automated Etch A Sketch and for that we love it...
This ultra-efficient home is repaying owner Scott Shackleton with money from putting excess electricity into the grid. Located on a narrow lot in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, the shotgun-style home generates nearly two-times the electricity it uses with a 4.7 kW solar array on the roof. That plus about 85% of domestic water is pre-heated with solar thermal, resulting in more energy savings.
Shackleton House has 1,400 square feet with a bedroom, bathroom, living room, dining room, and kitchen on the first level and a home office and master suite on the second level. An operable skylight at the top of the stair shaft can be opened in the summer — taking advantage of the chimney effect — to cool the interior.
Using the same approach taken in the net-zero energy Kaneda House, south-facing windows in the Shackleton House filter sunlight, which warms the concrete floors, and the floors then release retained heat when it cools down at night.
For the rest of heating, cooling, and ventilation, this home has radiant floors warmed by the solar thermal system and a back-up tankless water heater, three direct-vent gas fireplaces, a quad-zone ductless mini-split system for cooling (18.5 SEER), Energy Star ceiling fans, and a Broan SmartSense system to exhaust the kitchen and bathrooms.
The single-family home obtained an incredible HERS Rating of 7, meaning it’s 93% more efficient than a new home built to the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code. Verification for NAHB Gold level certification is complete but the paper still needs to be issued.
To achieve this level of performance, builder Craft Construction, LLC framed the home with 2″x6″ studs, 24″ on center, and insulated it using Icynene spray foam. Other than an antique entry door, windows and doors are Energy Star and so are appliances and lights.
Shackleton House, 16′ wide and 82′ long, is wrapped with HardiePlank lap siding, HardiePanel siding in a board and batten look, and cedar shakes. The roof is a long-lasting standing-seam metal version in a light color that reflects the sun.
Collection tanks hold 1,200 gallons of rainwater that’s filtered and used in the garden and for the dual-flush toilets. At the same time, it helps that the landscaping is completed with indigenous plantings that don’t require much water. There’s also a vegetable garden and small green house where the owner grows food during the year.
Owner Shackleton told Jetson Green he “wanted to show that it is possible to build an efficient home at a reasonable size for a reasonable price in an urban area.“ So he started with smart design and efficient construction before investing in green technology. In the end, the home cost $275,000 to build; however, the sale of extra electricity will enable a 10-year payback on upgrades.
Shackleton shared this solar-powered home with Jetson Green using the new green home submission form. If you have a great green home project or renovation, feel free to submit it to the editors for potential publication.
Photo credits: Scott Shackleton.
Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:
Oregon-based Grape Solar is now selling grid-tie capable, kilowatt-scale solar photovoltaic systems online via Amazon. These systems ship in various bundles which include a racking system, an inverter, and several 230-watt panels, depending on the size of the system.
For example, the 2.3 kW system is $9,999.99 ($4.35 per watt), the 3.68 kW system is $14,999.99 ($4.08 per watt), and the 5.06 kW system is $19,999.99 ($3.95 per watt), not including permits, installation, wiring, or electrical.
The system is marketed in a kind of consumer-direct, DIY manner, but self-installation may not be the greatest idea in the world. Installation pros can help make sure the array is oriented properly, connected safely, and optimized for the property.
[+] More info on Grape Solar PV Systems on Amazon.com.
Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:
Holy Land visitors of a deeply religious disposition risk being overwhelmed by the experiences of their trip. This type of culture shock is called Jerusalem Syndrome, after the city in which it often manifests itself. The syndrome involves obsessive, delusional and/or psychotic behaviour, not ...
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Finally, a system that allowed her to linger in her morning shower.
(Photo: Matthew Williams; Dwell)
We often think that well-respected, high-circulation national newspapers, like the Washington Post, are among the most influential institutions in the country. With this in mind, the Post‘s desperate effort to weave itself up with Facebook is a stunning indication of Facebook’s power in American society. Or, at least, the Washington’s Post‘s perception of Facebook’s power.
FiveThirtyEight has up a post about attitudes toward gun ownership in the U.S. Drawing on General Social Survey data, they show actual ownership of guns has gone down over time; less than 40% of American households now report having one:
You might expect that, as fewer Americans own guns themselves, support for the right to own personal firearms might decrease, as fewer people might feel a strong personal interest in the issue and restricting or banning access to guns wouldn’t, presumably, affect them directly or bring up an emotional image of agents storming into their homes. Yet we don’t see this at all. In fact, Gallup poll data indicate that support for banning handguns has decreased over time as well, with fewer than one third of Americans supporting such a policy:
Silver suggests that changes in political rhetoric, particularly more vocal and unequivocal support for gun rights by the Republicans and less emphasis on banning guns by Democrats, may explain some of this change. I’m sure that’s part of it; but that leaves unanswered why the political rhetoric changed, particularly after 1992 (when, as Silver demonstrates, the Republican Party platform became more pro-gun/anti-restriction, while the Democrats made sure to start stressing their overall support for some basic right to gun ownership by individuals, though still pushing for some regulations). And aside from that, the biggest drop in support for banning handguns came during the ’60s and ’70s, before the change in party rhetoric, so what do we make of that?
Also see our post on concealed weapon laws, increases in gun sale background checks, and changing images of guns in pop culture.
CNU is leading the charge to get new urbanists and firefighters to agree on a set of street design standards that are both attractive, useful, pedestrian-friendly and safer for all. We are pleased to announce the release of a report on street design and the international fire code authored by Carl Wren. Read the report here.
The Emergency Response & Street Design Initiative is a collaboration between the Congress for the New Urbanism, fire marshals across the United States and the U.S. EPA’s Smart Growth program. It has arrived at significant agreement on efforts to reconcile narrower streets and good emergency access.
The bottom line is a well-connected street grid network is essential to good urbanism, but also shortens emergency response times, both of which improve safety and quality of life.
Narrow streets encourage walking and slower traffic speeds, making the overall environment safer for walkers, bikers and drivers alike. Taken in isolation, a narrow street may inhibit emergency response vehicles, but a well-designed street network can provide ample alternative routes and accessibility.
A study in Longmont, Colorado by Swift-Painter-Goldstein indicated a 485 percent increase in accident rates per mile when streets are widened from 24 to 36 feet. Couple that with a study in Charlotte, North Carolina, indicating the per capita costs for fire service increased from $159 in the portion of the city with the best-connected street grid network to $740 in the least connected zone. This indicates that a good urban street grid is both efficient and safer.
Currently the International Fire Code (IFC) does not take in to account the street network, and CNU is working to create a coalition of allies and propose amendments to the fire code to make it more flexible with regard to street design. Our initial code revision was turned down, but we generated significant attention and a positive response from many participants, indicating that the principles of urbanism may have support in future efforts.
CNU’s next steps are additional research, outreach and pursuit of future code revisions to promote not only good urbanism, but overall improved safety.
Please join us in this effort!
Contact Heather Smith at hsmith@cnu.org.
There are 2.3 million people living in America with no car and without a supermarket within a one-mile radius. People living in these "food deserts" are often obese and unhealthy because they're stuck eating junk food from the convenience store. Slate has prepared an interactive map of the counties with the most people who live in food deserts as defined above.
The ones least likely with a car are also the most likely to live in neighborhoods where you need one.
[Link to Food Deserts]
Interested in advancing community interests and civic engagement in a variety of social, environmental, and community issues. Experienced in constructing and enforcing land use policy. Familiar with a variety of technical and informational tools to provide enhanced decision-making opportunities.
Oversee day-to-day administration of zoning ordinance. Work to provide a clear framework of land use policy.
Provided freelance writing, reviewing, and editing services to a variety of publishers and individuals.
Served as a Charter member of the Mayor's Committee for Veterans Affairs working to represent veterans and their families and a city-level. Efforts included policy recommendations, recognitions ceremonies, and collaboration among existing veterans group. Served as Vice-Char and Chair.
Worked in a variety of supervisory and functional positions within the United States Army Reserve. Deployed to Afghanistan (2005-2006) and Iraq (2010-2011). Fields of work included communications, engineering, construction, mapping, operations, and logistics.
Worked to enforce Buncombe County's land use regulations through conducting inspections and managing case documentation. Assisted in the construction of land use ordinances. Served public in a variety of customer service capacities.
Provided committee level input into the operations of City of Asheville Transit. Served as the representative on the Transit Master Plan Committee.
Worked with a variety of geospatial data and applications to produce visualization products and to produced geographic and environmental analyses.
Developed a training program designed for home improvement store employees and marketed the program throughout the community.
Conducted several educational seminars to various groups about the dangers of lead and how the public could be protected against it.
Worked to promote organizational message through a variety of media outlets and public outreach events.
Collaborated with other programs in the United States to improve aspects of local program and understanding of outreach opportunities.
Acted in a variety of Student Government positions ranging from Senator to Student Body Vice President in order to ensure that the needs of students were being met and that students had an adequate voice in forming campus policies.
Developed and implemented educational programs for school-age children.
Developed course materials to complement and expand existing educational programs.
Assisted in care of wildlife species as well as habitat maintenance and construction.
Developed press releases and promotional materials.
Assisted in development of website content including computer-based graphics design.
Worked to catalog the school's photographic library.
Trained users in the use of various software applications
Consulted outside clients on network computing systems and business specific applications.
Maintained corporate level security system (500+ end users).