Streetsblog New York City

A little end-of-day action from the Streetsblog Flickr pool, courtesy of BeyondDC: Here's Denver's 16th Street Shuttle, also called the MallRide. Check out those three low-floor doors for easy-on, easy-off boarding and alighting.

The MallRide travels up and down a mile-long pedestrian mall -- the only vehicle allowed there -- arriving every 90 seconds. It's also integrated into Denver's light rail system, connecting with all five lines. Oh yeah, and it's free.

BeyondDC also shared a pic of a nicely landscaped contraflow bike lane in nearby Boulder, which comes after the jump. To contribute to our photo pool, add the "Streetsblog" tag to your Flickr submissions.

We just love when we hear Streetfilms motivational stories from around the globe. Our latest report comes out of Boulder, Colorado.

Last year, I traveled there for four days to document the city's League of American Bicyclists Platinum Status. As is usual on one of these trips, we try to designate one night for a screening of Streetfilms, and nearly 100 people turned out to an event graciously hosted by local bike shop Full Cycle.

One of the films we screened was Portland's "Intersection Repair." A few days ago I received an email from Cara Priem, who thanked us for the event. "I was in attendance," she wrote, "and was inspired by your 'Intersection Repair' video to do the same thing in our Boulder neighborhood."

As reported by The Daily Camera, that neighborhood is Martin Acres, in south Boulder, where residents painted a 30' by 30' street mural a few weekends ago.

This is what Streetfilms is all about: trying to inspire, educate, entertain, and inform through the medium of video, and providing a resource for cities to see what others are doing better. If you'd like to arrange a Streetfilms showing in your city and have a venue, just drop us a line at info@streetfilms.org.

Finally, another Boulder news item. I just checked out a new film called "Boulder Bike Story," put together by Mathew Barlow of Bikes Belong, which contained a startling fact: In 2008, Boulder devoted 46 percent of its transportation budget to bikes, transit and pedestrians. If more cities were doing that kind of funding split, we could solve a lot of problems fast.

Clarence Eckerson rounds out Streetfilms' series on Boulder, Colorado with this long-form opus. Boulder was recently awarded a rare platinum rating from the League of American Bicyclists, and here we get a flavor for the city's bike network and the story behind it. I like this telling detail: When it snows, Boulder's bike paths get plowed first.

Clarence notes a more significant hallmark of cities that place a high priority on safe biking:

Having produced Streetfilms on all three platinum bike cities, one thing that is beginning to emerge as a tell tale sign of a healthy biking city: the numbers of youngsters riding bicycles. Boulder has numerous programs to encourage kids to walk and bike and we were lucky enough to include two of them here.

The third Streetfilm in Clarence Eckerson's Boulder series has a lot of good ideas for cities looking to make bus service a viable alternative to driving. In the words of former mayor Will Toor, Boulder's bus system has evolved over the last 20 years from a "social service" to a mode "that can compete for people who have other choices." Today, more than a quarter of the city's population rides the bus every day.

The keys to building ridership? High-frequency service, catchy branding (sample route names: JUMP, DASH and BOLT), and the Eco Pass -- a card that allows local employees and residents to ride buses system-wide for free.

Inspired by Boulder's bus branding, Clarence is holding the first Streetfilms T-shirt contest. To enter, submit a creative name for a New York City bus line by this Friday. The pokiness of our local buses seems to be the major inspiration for entries so far.

Here's another Streetfilm from Clarence Eckerson's trip to Boulder, Colorado, where Pueblo Bank & Trust "has been providing bicycle customers a bike drive-thru window for some time now, complete with a bike rack and H2O for thirsty travelers!"

Although this is the first bank I've heard about, in Portland, Oregon there are a number of cafes and restaurants that have been providing bicycle customers with window services. It only seems civilized, right?

Right?

Here's the first Streetfilm from Clarence Eckerson's trip to Boulder, Colorado, recent winner of the League of American Bicyclists' Platinum status designation. This vid shows off a three-block contra-flow bike lane, connecting the Pearl Street pedestrian mall to a greenway network.

Where in NYC might contra-flow lanes be useful?

Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson, Jr. just returned from Boulder, Colorado -- recent recipient of the League of American Bicyclists' Platinum award for bike-friendliness. He writes:

Boulder "gets it" big time -- bicycling is important to its residents. So is a healthy walking and green living environment. But please note: this is not a car-free utopia -- the vast majority of residents own cars. The difference here is there are many safe and convenient options available (transit, walk, bike, etc.) and its denizens can choose the way they want to go.

Inter-modal transportation is highly encouraged, there are many types of bus passes available, and the city is constantly looking to the next way to improve their streets.

Streetfilms will soon be posting videos from the visit. In the meantime, here's more from Clarence.  

Last week, the League of American Bicyclists announced the most recent additions to the ranks of Bicycle Friendly Communities, which means this StreetsWiki entry is ripe for an update:

The Bicycle-Friendly Communities Campaign is an awards program administered by the League of American Bicyclists that recognizes municipalities actively supporting bicycling. [1] Cities wishing to be designated a Bicycle-Friendly Community complete an application which covers bicycling facilities as well as related traffic enforcement, promotion of bicycling, and education of bicyclists and drivers to create a better environment for bicycling.

The League of American Bicyclists recognizes newly designated Bicycle Friendly Communities with an awards ceremony, a Bicycle-Friendly Community road sign, and a formal press announcement. As of May 2008, only two communities -- Davis, California, and Portland, Oregon -- had received a platinum rating, the highest available. There were 82 cities designated gold, silver, or bronze. A total of 212 communities had applied for BFC designation since the program’s inception in 2003.

The League has been admirably stingy in doling out the coveted platinum rating. Now there's a third city joining Portland and Davis at the top of the ranks: Boulder, Colorado. (New York's a bronze.)

If, like me, you're curious about how Boulder has become a great biking town, stay tuned to Streetfilms. Clarence Eckerson is on location this very moment, gathering footage and interviews to tell the story.