Focus Interview with UAP's Ralph Buehler Highlights Cycling Culture and Infrastructure

UAP Professor Ralph Buehler was a guest speaker today on Focus, an Illinois public radio program that "features a mix of newsmakers, authors and regular guests to talk about the ideas and issues that affect your life." (http://will.illinois.edu/focus)

This morning's program focused on "cycling, infrastructure and why some in the [Champaign, Illinois] area are working to empower a strong cycling and pedestrian community." Read more about Focus and listen to today's program at http://will.illinois.edu/focus/program/city-cycling.

Tues Apr 9: UAP's Ralph Buehler to Link Planning, Increased Cycling at MNCPPC Speaker Series

Update: Ralph Buehler's Montgomery County presentation has been posted online; watch the video at http://vimeo.com/63861859


Courtesy of Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission:

"SILVER SPRING – Take a look around and it’s easy to see that cycling is booming. The roads of Washington, D.C. are crisscrossed with bike lanes, and the District-based Capital Bikeshare program bills itself as the largest in the nation.



To delve into how good planning equates to safe, accessible, enjoyable cycling, Virginia Tech professor Ralph Buehler will present at the Montgomery County Planning Department’s speaker series on Tuesday, April 9. His talk, Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from Europe and North America, will link transportation and land-use policies with bike use.

Co-editor of the recently published book City Cycling (MIT Press), Buehler will report on cycling trends and policies in North American, European, and Australian cities and tie those to how planners and local government officials can promote cycling in their communities.

In his book and classes, Buehler contends that cycling should not be limited to those who are highly trained, extremely fit, and daring enough to battle traffic on busy roads. His presentation will describe ways to make cycling feasible, convenient, and safe for commutes to work and school, shopping, and other daily transportation needs.

Specifically, Buehler’s presentation will offer information on:

• cycling safety
• bikeways and bike parking
• integrating cycling with public transportation
• promoting cycling for everyone

Buehler is assistant professor of Urban Affairs & Planning and a Faculty Fellow with the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech in Alexandria, VA. Originally from Germany, Buehler’s research focuses on comparing transportation and land-use policies in Western Europe and North America and how policies affect travel behavior. In 2008, Buehler’s dissertation comparing German travel behavior and transportation policy was selected as the best planning dissertation by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.
Continuing education credits (1.5 hours) have been approved for planning professionals.

Who:
Ralph Buehler, Assistant Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning, Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech

What:
Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from Europe and North America

When:
7 p.m. Tuesday, April 9

Where:
Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium
8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring"

Two New Reports on #Transportation & #LandUse in #Stuttgart and #DC, #Cycling in #DC

UAP Professor Ralph Buehler recently co-authored the report "Transportation and Land-Use Planning in Germany and the U.S.: Lessons from the Stuttgart and Washington, DC Regions,” with Wolfgang Jung.  The report was published by the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies and is part of their project on The Transatlantic Climate and Energy Dialogue: Urban and Regional Transportation and Energy Problems and Solutions.

Read more and download the report at http://www.aicgs.org/publication/transportation-and-land-use-planning-in-germany-and-the-u-s-lessons-from-the-stuttgart-and-washington-dc-regions/?secureIdCustomer=1.

Buehler also co-authored the report, “Trends and Determinants of Cycling in the Washington D.C. Region,” with Andrea Hamre (a UAP graduate assistant), Dan Sonenklar, and Paul Goger.  The report was published by the Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center.

Tues Feb 19 Lecture in #AlexandriaVa on "Making Cycling Irresistible in Alexandria, Lessons from European & N. American Cities"

From the City of Alexandria's Local Motion Newsletter:

"The Alexandria Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory (BPAC) Committee is delighted to announce that Ralph Buehler, co-author of City Cycling, will give a lecture on "Making Cycling Irresistible in Alexandria, Lessons from European and North American Cities."

Time: Tuesday February 19, 6:30 pm
Place: Durant Center, 1605 Cameron St, 22314
Cost: Free and open to the public

This lecture will be followed by the regular monthly meeting of the BPAC committee at 7:30 pm. BPAC meetings are also open to the public.

BPAC has the goal of making walking and bicycling attractive and fun for Alexandrians of all ages and abilities. We hope you will attend.

To learn more about BPAC click HERE "

Ralph Buehler’s ‘City Cycling’ finds way to Parliamentary session to ‘Get Britain Cycling’

by Barbara L. Micale

The book “City Cycling” appears in a photo taken during a session in Great Britain’s House of Commons last week, where a motion to “Get Britain Cycling” gained momentum, garnering 125 supportive signatures from members of Parliament. “City Cycling,” recently published by MIT Press, is coedited by Ralph Buehler, assistant professor in the School of Public and International Affairs, Virginia Tech National Capital Region, and John Pucher, professor in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University.

Last week’s Parliamentary session is the first of six inquiries that will examine the barriers which are preventing more people from cycling in the United Kingdom, where cycling makes up only two percent of all journeys, compared to 27 percent in the Netherlands and 18 percent in Denmark. Some European towns have more than 50 percent of all journeys made by bike.

The Early Day Motion 679 on January 23 stated, “That this House notes that cycling benefits public health, the economy, the environment and quality of life; further notes the strength of public and parliamentary support for The Times newspaper’s Cities fit for Cycling campaign, and its backing for an inquiry by the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group on Getting Britain Cycling; further notes calls from national cycling organisations for a cycling action plan to increase cycling among people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, and to reduce the actual and perceived risks of cycling, whether for day-to-day travel, outdoor recreation or sport; and calls on the Government to provide leadership, resources and Cabinet-level co-ordination across Government departments and external partners to produce and implement such a plan as part of our Olympic legacy, including measures to strengthen road traffic law and its enforcement, improve cycling conditions and perceptions of safety, integrate cycling with public transport, promote cycling through schools, colleges, workplaces, community organisations and beyond, and embed cycling into the heart of transport, planning and other relevant policies.”

 

“Get Britain Cycling” is the result of a campaign launched by “The Times,” which conducted an online survey asking 14,000 people what could be done to encourage people to cycle. More than 25 percent suggested segregated cycle lanes, 23 percent called for simpler and safer junctions and 16 percent wanted 20mph speed limits and road surface improvements. 

As Parliament moves forward on its motion, there are plans for five more sessions to be held through early March to get the views of experts, government departments, and cycling luminaries. A report with recommendations will be published in mid-April.

“Successful promotion of city cycling depends on coordinating infrastructure, programs, and government policies, so it is heartening to see that Great Britain’s leaders are taking these issues seriously,” Buehler said.
"City Cycling" reports on cycling trends and policies in countries and cities in North America, Europe, and Australia, and covers such topics as cycling safety, cycling infrastructure provisions including bikeways and bike parking, the wide range of bike designs and bike equipment, integration of cycling with public transportation, and promoting cycling for women and children. The book offers detailed examinations and illustrations of cycling conditions in different urban environments: small cities, large cities, and “megacities.” And it takes a closer look at how cities both with and without historical cycling cultures have developed cycling programs over time.

In the chapter, “International Overview: Cycling Trends in Western Europe, North America, and Australia,” Buehler and Pucher noted the following in regard to the United Kingdom:

• The daily distance cycled per capita in the United Kingdom is 0.2 km compared to 1 km in Germany, 1.6 km in Denmark, and 2.5 km in the Netherlands.
• The bike mode share in the United States and the United Kingdom is less than two percent, far lower than the 27 percent bike share of trips in the Netherlands, 18 percent in Denmark, and 10 percent in Germany.
• Travel to work or school accounts for only 30 percent of all bike trips in the United Kingdom.
• Women account for less than 30 percent of cyclists in the United Kingdom, compared to a country like Netherlands where women account for 56 percent of cyclists.
• High levels of car ownership are not necessarily incompatible with high levels of cycling.
• For example, while Germany has 20 percent more cars per capita than the United Kingdom, the bike share of trips in Germany is ten times higher than in the United Kingdom.

“I had no prior knowledge that “City Cycling” would be noted in any way during the parliamentary session,” said Buehler.  “Of course it is flattering to see the book used in British politics.”

"City Cycling" Focus of Get Britain Cycling Initiative Discussion in UK Parliament

"City Cycling" is among many books on hand as Members of Parliament discuss cycling in Britain (photo by Carlton Reid)  See the image at http://flic.kr/p/dP1kHm

The new book, "City Cycling," (authored by UAP professor Ralph Buehler and MIT's John Pucher) was the focus of a session in the British House of Commons on Wednesday, January 23, as part of the Get Britain Cycling initiative.  Read more about the the motion supporting the initiative at http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/679.

Ralph Buehler coedits book on cycling trends and policies in North America, Europe, and Australia

From VT News:

Ralph Buehler, Ph.D.

"NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION, Nov. 27, 2012 – Health and environmental benefits, time and cost savings, more and better bike lanes and paths, innovative bike sharing programs, and the sheer fun of riding have contributed to a bicycling boom in many North American and European cities.

This urban cycling renaissance has created enthusiasm for "City Cycling", a newly published book on cycling trends and policies edited by Ralph Buehler, assistant professor in the School of Public and International Affairs, Virginia Tech National Capital Region, and John Pucher, professor in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University. "  Read more at http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2012/11/112712-ncr-buehlerbook.html.

Call for Abstracts | Bicycle Urbanism Symposium | June 2013

From the Planet Listserve:

"CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

The International Bicycle Urbanism Symposium will take place at the College of Built Environments, University of Washington, Seattle from June 19-22, 2013.

You are invited to submit abstracts for papers dealings with:
Ways that cities can best encourage and accommodate bicycle use 20-30 years in the future
Leading research that addresses bicycle use and effects of innovation in infrastructure and programs
Best practices and how these can inform long-term planning for bicycle use.

Intended participants include planning and design professionals, researchers, bicycle advocates, and public officials. Selected papers will be edited for one or more referred books.

A fuller description of the Symposium and its program can be found at www.be.washington.edu/bicycleurbanism. Questions can be addressed at bikeurb@uw.edu."

Video, Article by @UAPVirginiaTech's Ralph Buehler on Cycling Research

UAP Assistant Professor Ralph Buehler recently spoke at the CyCity conference in Stockholm, Sweden on cycle planning in an international context, including policy development and trends.  The video is embedded below and Dr. Buehler's remarks begin at about the 40 minute point of the recording.

The panel was moderated by Dr. Pelle Envall and also included a presentation by Jörg Thiemann-Linden on cycle infrastructure design: state of the art in Europe and its role in increasing cycling. 



Dr. Buehler's research also was featured in a recent Atlantic Cities article, entitled "5 Reasons Germans Ride 5 Times More Mass Transit Than Americans." The story was based on a 2012 article by Dr. Buehler and Dr. John Pucher, “Demand for Public Transport in Germany and the USA: An Analysis of Rider Characteristics,” Transport Reviews, Vol. 32, No. 5, pp. 541-567.

He and Dr. Pucher are co-editors of the forthcoming book, City Cycling.  Pre-order your copy of the book at this link.