into the unknown

human velocity

Talk about a graduation gift…

Nathan John, in his final year of college, won a fellowship competition that ~~allows~~ pays him to ride his bike, shooting stills and video, through several of the major metropolises of the world. The project is an attempt to document, artistically, the experience of traveling through the world at a human scale. His first (and so far only) video chronicles a ride through Shanghai with a thumping soundtrack by The Books.

Watch the video, check out his pictures from Shanghai and Tokyo, and read more about the day to day experience over at HumanVelocity.

roses

Even if your sewers are designed to resemble Roman aquaducts, the need for sewers stands to remind us that we’re all the same (inequalities of wealth be damned).

signs

Durham to get a skate park?

If you want it to happen, this is the time to speak up. If you want to make sure BMX bikes are not only allowed but included in design plans, come to this meeting. Below is the invitation/email from Camille Berry, Executive Director of Central Park.

Pictured, the skate park in Cary, NC.

You are invited to a community meeting on Thursday, November 16th, from 7-9pm at the Armory. We will discuss the potential installation of a Skatepark at Durham Central Park in downtown Durham. The Skatepark would be a significant design addition to Durham Central Park involving a large concrete bowl for skaters and skateboard-riders, located off of Rigsbee Ave. As a friend of Durham Central Park, your awareness of the goings-on at Durham Central Park is very important to us; so we hope you can join us for a community discussion this Thursday evening.

More information on the Skatepark, including a brief overview of this community meeting, will be available in our next e-newsletter.

Sincerely,
Camille Berry

Executive Director
Durham Central Park Inc.
115 Market St, Suite 213
Durham, NC 27701
919.682.2800
http://www.durhamcentralpark.org

update: County adopts Durham Bike Plan

As of just a few hours ago, the County Commissioners of Durham adopted the Durham Comprehensive Bicycle Transportation Plan on their consent agenda.

Thanks to all who wrote the County Commissioners showing your support. Next up, the City Council.

If you haven’t yet sent an email to City Council supporting the Bike Plan, you can find reasons to do so and a sample email here.

Thanks to Dan Clever for attending the meeting and reporting this good news.

highway robbery

So, who causes traffic congestion? The slow(er) bicyclist, or the car?

What you’re looking at is the visual representation of the difference between 35 people in single-occupant cars and those same 35 people in a multi-modal distribution. ~~The municipal government of Denver, CO was the creative force behind this visualization.~~

Edit: Thanks to Jacquie Phelan for noticing that the old Denver photos (hotlinked) had been removed. I replaced it here with photos staged in Muenster to much the same effect.