Adventures in Active Transportation is a blog post by Tannis Braithwaite, a member of the BC Cycling Coalition. In it, she highlights some of the barriers to active transportation in B.C., especially as they apply to provincial (non-municipal) highways. The focus here is still on moving motor vehicles, not active transportation.
Are you going green? Is an e-bike something that you are considering the purchase of to help you get around? Buying an electric bicycle or adding an electric motor to a conventional bicycle to help out with the chore of pedalling uphill or giving a boost to your efforts on level ground sure sounds good!
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has issued a report on Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) and pedestrian crash risk. Current AEB systems with pedestrian detection are effective, but only during the daytime.
TranBC is introducing Automated Flagger Assistance Devices (AFAD) to B.C. Drivers. Apparently those drivers pay more attention to the AFAD than they do to a human traffic controller! In addition, if an AFAD is "killed" in a collision, it is simply replaced.
According to the Association of School Transportation Services of British Columbia, travel by school bus is statistically the safest method of ground transportation in Canada and by a substantial margin. We all expect and demand nothing less when our children and grandchildren are riding those buses to and from schools and school related events. Surely all drivers should understand this and not hesitate to stop when the red lights on a stopped bus are flashing.
Are the drivers going through your neighbourhood going too fast? Do you want to do something about it? Your first reaction might be to approach authorities to install a stop sign or speed bumps. This may or may not be the appropriate way to deal with the situation.
The case of Siegrist v Wiens takes place on Highway 1 near Canoe. 17 year old Kenton Wiens was driving a farm tractor pulling a hay wagon loaded with large round bales southbound. Helen Siegrist was following behind in a Nissan Sentra. When oncoming traffic cleared, Mrs. Siegrist attempted to pass Mr. Wiens.
We place a high value on our children and signify that with school and playground zones. Traffic is required to slow to the lowest speed limit that we normally post and drivers are expected to pay more attention than usual. Students must get to and from school safely.
PlugShare is a database that currently offers information on over 200,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Canada and the US. It even lists the personal home charging stations of EV drivers who will share their them with others. Until charging stations become as ubiquitous as service stations selling fossil fuels, being a member of plugshare can help you avoid becoming stuck with no charge when you travel in unfamiliar areas.
While the Walk Audit Tool Kit is a publication of the AARP, it's not just for seniors. It teaches how to assess and report on the safety and walkability of a street, intersection or neighbourhood, hoping to inspire any needed changes. Anyone who walks can use information from the kit to do an audit.