The city of Toronto clearly underestimated the passion of cyclists when it decided to remove the popular Jarvis Street bike lane. When large street scrubbing trucks showed up on Jarvis Monday to remove the bike lane, crews encountered dozens of bicyclists who chose to literally use their rights and lie down to protect their safe traffic lane. It wasn’t long before the police were called to crash the party.

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Post tags: arrests, bicycles, bike lane removal, bike lanes, david miller, Jarvis Street, Mayor Rob Ford, police, toronto

If you’ve ever been freaked out over the dangers of riding your bicycle at night, the Xfire Bike Lane Safety Light might be able to offer you a little more security. This battery-powered safety light clamps to your bike frame and projects highly visible red laser images on the ground on either side of your bike, simulating an instant bike lane that helps alert drivers to your presence. Xfire says the intense laser markers are visible over a mile away, even under headlights and streetlights.

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Post tags: bicycle, bike, bike lanes, biking, cycle safety, cycling, green design, green transportation, lane, laser bike lane, laser-generated bike lane, Light, night, night cycling, safety, xfire

Cycling advocates from across the country are convening in Washington, DC this week to discuss the future of cycling in America, and to voice their support for national cycling and pedestrian programs. Two years ago, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood made an immediate impression on cycling advocates when he climbed up on a table at the 2010 National Bike Summit and commended them for their hard work. LaHood hasn’t jumped on any tables at this year’s summit, but he conveyed a similar sense of urgency when addressing the record crowd at the annual event in the nation’s capital.

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Post tags: bicycling, bike lanes, bikes, biking, green transportation, house transportation bill, pedestrians, ray lahood, senate transportation bill, transportation bill, urban cycling

Philadelphia is already known as a bike-friendly city, ranking number one in bike commuting per capita in the United States (2011). Perhaps this rank has spurred inspiration for their new city-wide redesign, which will accommodate more bike lanes for commuters. The city has recently conducted a test project, which turned a driving lane into a bikes-only lane for two weeks.

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Post tags: bike lanes, eco design, green commuting, green design, green transportation, philadelphia, sustainable design

Vacant lots littered with trash. Streets that lack bike lanes. We’ve all passed urban spaces that are in need of some sprucing up, and artist Eve Mosher and 350.org have come up with a bold, graphic way to (literally) point out some of the spots around NYC that could use a green makeover. With  Insert ____ Here, a new local (and soon global) art project, Mosher is painting giant yellow arrows around NYC, offering not-so-subtle suggestions (for example: “Insert bike lane Here,” or “Insert community garden here”) for climate change solutions.

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Post tags: 350.org, Art, bike lanes, community gardens, Eve Mosher, green roofs, Insert Here Project, NYC, Street art

We’re already big fans of biking infrastructure, and now a new report, “Estimating the Employment Impacts of Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Road Infrastructure,” reveals that pedestrian and bicycle projects create twice as many jobs per dollar spent than regular road projects. The study, which focused on Baltimore, says, “pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure projects create 11-14 jobs per $1 million of spending while road infrastructure projects create approximately 7 jobs per $1 million of expenditures.”

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Post tags: alternative transportation, bike lanes, biking, biking infrastructure, green transportation, job market, pedestrian infrastructure, ray lahood, road projects

As a way to encourage bike commuting and improve safety for bicyclists on the road, London is opening a series of bike superhighways along important commuter routes. The first two Barclays Cycle Superhighways just launched today to mark the beginning of what London Mayor, Boris Johnson, calls a “cycle revolution“. Painted a bold, bright blue, the cycle highways are 1.5 meters wide and they provide a safer space and more efficient routes for cyclists to travel.

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Post tags: alternative transportation, barclays cycle superhighways, bicycle superhighway, bike highway, bike infrastructure, bike lanes, bike network, eco design, green design, green transportation, London, sustainable travel

Longing to leave the confines of your cubicle and venture to the great outdoors? Technology can make it a lot easier for you! From GPS units to iPhone apps like Starmap, check out all of our best tips on how to use technology to enjoy the great outdoors here.

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Post tags: 3g router, bicycle apps, bike lanes, bike routes, BrakeLights app, Cychosis app, DeLorme, EVDO card, Every Trail app, Garmin, Google maps, Google maps for bikes, gps, handheld GPS units, hymini, iPhone, iphone apps, nPower PEG, outdoor technology, renewable energy chargers, SoLuna, stargazer apps, Starmap app, suntrica, using technology to get outside

Since we usually venture to the great outdoors to escape from the fast-paced modern world, it might seem a little counter-intuitive to use technology to get there. Lo and behold though, gadgets and gizmos like GPS units and apps like Starmap make getting to and experiencing everything nature has to offer a breeze. Check out our favorite tips for how to use technology to enjoy the great outdoors here.

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Post tags: 3g router, bicycle apps, bike lanes, bike routes, BrakeLights app, Cychosis app, DeLorme, EVDO card, Every Trail app, Garmin, Google maps, Google maps for bikes, gps, handheld GPS units, hymini, iPhone, iphone apps, nPower PEG, outdoor technology, renewable energy chargers, SoLuna, stargazer apps, Starmap app, suntrica, using technology to get outside