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Yep, Los Angeles has the world's worst traffic congestion — again

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FROM THE INSANITY FILES: U.S. cities dominate the world's top 10 most-traffic-congested urban areas, with Los Angeles leading in mind-numbing and costly gridlock, according to a new report issued Tuesday. La La Land, with its jam-packed freeways and driving culture despite billions being poured into rail transit, emerged from the 1,360 other cities in 38 countries to claim the worst-congestion title for the sixth consecutive year in the 2017 traffic scorecard by INRIX, a leader in transportation analytics and connected car services. Drivers in and around the City of the Angels spent 102 hours battling 2017 traffic congestion during peak hours, INRIX's 11th annual report said. Based on the overall findings, the U.S. ranked as the most traffic-congested developed nation in the world, with American drivers spending an average of 41 hours a year battling traffic during peak travel times of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. See USATODAY for complete article

Biking in Copenhagen - Example to ALL Cities

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37% of commuters use bikes in Copenhagen, and the city is trying to get that up to 50%. This video showcases a thrilling set of initiatives that the Danes have taken to make bicycling the main mode of transportation in the city, like bike lanes with LED lights set up to alert cars when a bike is making a turn. Are small kids and groceries part of your day in transportation? No problem. There are 30,000 "cargo bikes" in the city, nicknamed "SUV's". Watch this video and get some ideas from the Danes! http://www.nextworldtv.com/pag e/771.html P.S. Please share NextworldTV.com emails and videos with your friends and colleagues. That's how we grow. Thanks.

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Bike to Work

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Despite vast improvements in cycling infrastructure in many cities across the continent, the majority of North Americans still don’t bike to work. While the benefits of cycling to work are nearly innumerable, we managed to round them down to just ten so we wouldn’t run out of space on the Internet. Here are the top 10 reasons to bike to work: 1. Fun! Biking to work is fun, plain and simple. Many people look back wistfully on fond childhood memories of riding their bike around their neighborhood, wishing they could still be so carefree amid the rigors of working life. Biking to work allows you integrate that simple feeling of exhilaration into your daily grind. Observe your surroundings, listen to the birds and wave at passing cyclists as you ride. Soon enough, you’ll find yourself wishing your commute were longer. 2. Fitness Biking to work is good for you . While the exact calories burned on a ride varies between each person, their speed, and the topography, cycling on average bu

How to Become Bicycle Friendly

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Whether you’re a business owner, advocate, community member, or agency official, you can take steps to welcome and accommodate visiting bicycle travelers. Check out Bicycle Tourism Resources for links to more information, guidances, and examples. We encourage businesses to implement what is feasible for them.  ESSENTIALS Be welcoming to bicycle travelers and let them know that you’re bicycle-friendly. Post welcome signs, bicycle decals, or put up bicycle-related art.  Provide hospitality training for employees  Promote the bicycle amenities & services you offer through your website, social media, etc.  Provide tourism service information. Maps of the town or area.  Nearby services, like restaurants, grocery stores, breweries, lodging and camping, bike shops and outdoor stores, post office, library, and laundromats.  Local tourism activities – outdoor recreation, nearby trails, attractions & events, etc.  BUSINESSES In addition to the Bicycle Travel Frie

Bikes Mean Business

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Little did she know that they would hit the jackpot with bicycling By:  Carolyn Szczepanski Pat Brown was just hoping to hang on in a tough economy. When she relocated her art gallery in 2008, it was the rock-bottom rent that drew her to a still struggling strip of downtown Memphis, TN. “We were just trying to survive,” she said. Brown was betting on a small core of community members determined to transform Broad Avenue from a fast-moving thoroughfare, where traffic whizzed past boarded-up storefronts at 50 mph, into a bustling arts district. Little did she know that they would hit the jackpot with bicycling. Shortly after Brown opened T Clifton Gallery, Sarah Newstok walked in. The local nonprofit Newstok led, Livable Memphis, had a vision for Broad Avenue, too. They wanted to build a protected bike lane that would pass right by Brown’s door, creating a vital connection between a popular multi-use trail and the city’s largest park. “We’re a retail business, so any time there’s

Apple donates $1.8 million to Cupertino, CA for protected bike lanes

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It's starting to catch on across the country as more and more major corporations see the future in biking and are investing in safe biking infrastructure, siting "bikes are the way to go in reducing traffic, pollution and other mayhem caused by auto's." Separating cars from cyclists will be turning point in getting people on bikes and out of cars. The city of Cupertino, CA has received a $1.8 million donation from Apple Inc. that will help fund the first leg of a protected bike lane project. The City Council accepted the donation, and staff plans to work early next year with a consultant to design bike lanes separated from vehicular traffic. The planned bike lanes are called Class IV lanes, and according to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, they are “physically separated from the vehicle travel lane by more than the white stripe. This can entail grade separation, flexible bollards or permanent barriers.”   READ >>

Cycling is the New Golf

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From the Colorado Office of Economic Development "By now, you’ve probably seen the headlines exclaiming that “Cycling is the New Golf.”  Business Insider  and the  New York Times  have covered the trend, and while golf has long been the go-to activity for business meetings outside the boardroom, there’s a new way to network. More and more business people are investing in bikes and hitting the pavement. This trend isn’t just on the rise in Silicon Valley or on the East Coast—thanks to its sunny weather and panoramic views, Colorado is home to dozens of top-notch golf courses, and has made a name for itself as a prime cycling destination, too. These days, it’s no longer just an after-work hobby—a cycling meeting is now a fairly standard way to network in Colorado."  READ  >>