Comments on: Berlin’s Bicycle Boom http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/07/02/berlins-bicycle-boom/ Covering the New York City Streets Renaissance Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:07:22 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Chris in Sacramento http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/07/02/berlins-bicycle-boom/comment-page-1/#comment-33452 Chris in Sacramento Wed, 04 Jul 2007 23:32:38 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/07/02/berlins-bicycle-boom/#comment-33452 Better link (I hope) http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/BikeWalkPublicHealth_April%206.pdf Assuming the link works, you'll be treated to John Pucher's "kitchen sink" presentation at LAB's Nat'l Bike Summit in 2007 summarizing his life's research and visits to Europe, Canada, Australia and elsewhere. Better link (I hope)

http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/BikeWalkPublicHealth_April%206.pdf

Assuming the link works, you'll be treated to John Pucher's "kitchen sink" presentation at LAB's Nat'l Bike Summit in 2007 summarizing his life's research and visits to Europe, Canada, Australia and elsewhere.

]]> By: Chris in Sacramento http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/07/02/berlins-bicycle-boom/comment-page-1/#comment-33451 Chris in Sacramento Wed, 04 Jul 2007 23:19:45 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/07/02/berlins-bicycle-boom/#comment-33451 Two related papers that may be of interest are noted below. One by the renowned John Pucher argues that public policy measures enacted by German authorities have resulted in increased rates of bicycling. A second by Heath Maddox suggests that exogneous factors (and not proactive policy actions) led Germans to respond differently to the oil shocks of the 1970s than did Americans. Each paper is worth reading in full. "BICYCLING BOOM IN GERMANY: A REVIVAL ENGINEERED BY PUBLIC POLICY by Prof. John Pucher Rutgers University Abstract: Bicycling has increased dramatically in German cities over the past two decades, not only absolutely but even as a proportion of total travel. Overall, the bicycle share of urban trips in western Germany rose by 50% from 1972 to 1995. In many large cities, bicycling doubled or tripled, while the modal split share of auto travel fell, thus mitigating roadway congestion and pollution problems. The resurgence of bicycling as a practical mode of daily urban travel is due almost entirely to public policies that have greatly enhanced the safety, speed, and convenience of bicycling while making auto use more difficult and more expensive. The bicycle has triumphed in Germany in spite of rapid suburbanization, rising auto ownership, increasing trip lengths, and rising per capita incomes. This article shows that, with the right set of public policies, bicycling can be increased almost anywhere." http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:rpPVnIlbZEsJ:wicip.org/bcp2006/bta/admin/cycle_tq.pdf+pucher+germany+bicycle+boom&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us&client=safari (or google "Pucher Bicycling Boom Germany") or see this Powerpoint; www.policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/ pucher/BikeWalkPublicHealth_April%206.pdf ----------------- Another look at Germany's bicycle boom: implications for local transportation policy & planning strategy in the U.S.A. Heath Maddox There are conflicting views regarding the substantial growth in cycling in Germany since the early 1970s. Pucher argues that it is almost entirely attributable to public policy. A number of German experts would give planning and public policy far less credit, and attribute this growth in cycling instead to other factors, such as urban congestion, the oil shocks of the 1970s, environmental awareness, and changes in urban form. The article that follows is an attempt to explain the two diverging viewpoints and draw conclusions that nevertheless prove useful in the quest to promote cycling as a legitimate mode of transport. It calls for a more involved type of strategic planning that, in addition to traditional policy measures, seeks to build political consensus and power by strengthening community groups and coalitions. Scroll down at http://www.eco-logica.co.uk/WTPPabstracts07.html Two related papers that may be of interest are noted below. One by the renowned John Pucher argues that public policy measures enacted by German authorities have resulted in increased rates of bicycling. A second by Heath Maddox suggests that exogneous factors (and not proactive policy actions) led Germans to respond differently to the oil shocks of the 1970s than did Americans. Each paper is worth reading in full.

"BICYCLING BOOM IN GERMANY:
A REVIVAL ENGINEERED BY PUBLIC POLICY
by Prof. John Pucher
Rutgers University
Abstract: Bicycling has increased dramatically in German cities over the past two decades, not only
absolutely but even as a proportion of total travel. Overall, the bicycle share of urban trips in western Germany rose by
50% from 1972 to 1995. In many large cities, bicycling doubled or tripled, while the modal split share of auto travel
fell, thus mitigating roadway congestion and pollution problems. The resurgence of bicycling as a practical mode of
daily urban travel is due almost entirely to public policies that have greatly enhanced the safety, speed, and convenience
of bicycling while making auto use more difficult and more expensive. The bicycle has triumphed in Germany in spite
of rapid suburbanization, rising auto ownership, increasing trip lengths, and rising per capita incomes. This article
shows that, with the right set of public policies, bicycling can be increased almost anywhere."

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:rpPVnIlbZEsJ:wicip.org/bcp2006/bta/admin/cycle_tq.pdf+pucher+germany+bicycle+boom&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us&client=safari (or google "Pucher Bicycling Boom Germany") or see this Powerpoint;
http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/ pucher/BikeWalkPublicHealth_April%206.pdf
-----------------

Another look at Germany's bicycle boom: implications for local transportation policy & planning strategy in the U.S.A.

Heath Maddox

There are conflicting views regarding the substantial growth in cycling in Germany since the early 1970s. Pucher argues that it is almost entirely attributable to public policy. A number of German experts would give planning and public policy far less credit, and attribute this growth in cycling instead to other factors, such as urban congestion, the oil shocks of the 1970s, environmental awareness, and changes in urban form. The article that follows is an attempt to explain the two diverging viewpoints and draw conclusions that nevertheless prove useful in the quest to promote cycling as a legitimate mode of transport. It calls for a more involved type of strategic planning that, in addition to traditional policy measures, seeks to build political consensus and power by strengthening community groups and coalitions.

Scroll down at http://www.eco-logica.co.uk/WTPPabstracts07.html

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