Category Archives: General News

General cycling blog news about bicycling in San Diego, bicycle accident prevention tips and information about local bicycling events.

What’s Stopping a Dockless Bike Sharing Program in San Diego?

Have you ever wished you could summon a bicycle with your smartphone, take it where you need to go, then leave it wherever you wish? Dockless bikes, which have locking rear wheels to use when the bikes are no longer needed, are rapidly becoming popular throughout California. Imperial Beach, National City, Coronado and many college campuses already have networks of dockless bikes. But will the trend reach San Diego, the largest market in the region? If so, it could be a while. The city has an exclusive deal with docked bike sharing provider DecoBike which could prevent any other companies from providing similar services. San Diego is the only city in the region where this potential conflict arises. Dockless bike companies believe that there is enough of a difference between docked bike sharing and dockless bike sharing that the exclusive contract does not preclude the implementation of dockless bike sharing. Allowing dockless bike sharing could be the key to bolstering bicycle ridership in San…
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Bike-Counting Camera Troubles Making Trouble for City Planners

One of the ways that San Diego has been gathering data on bicycling in the city is through the use of cameras. The cameras are mounted at intersections, next to the stoplights, and are being used to help the city plan for future transportation projects. However, the cameras, purchased in 2014, are not always working as intended. They are supposed to use patented technology to count bicyclists and extend green lights to help bicyclists get through intersections safely. But the footage is telling a different story than the sensors. By looking back at the recorded footage and counting, by hand, how many bicyclists are coming through, city engineers have seen that the hand counts are different from the automated tallies. How different? The engineers would not say. They instead explained that the technology to distinguish between bikes and cars is still evolving and that the company who makes the cameras,…
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More Support Comes Out for “Idaho Stop” Law

In Idaho for the past 35 years, cyclists have been allowed to treat stop signs like yield signs. After determining an intersection is safe, bicyclists are allowed to just roll through, preventing a loss of momentum or balance. Until recently, Idaho was the only state where this was allowed. Delaware recently passed a bill that would legalize the “Idaho stop” there, and the campaign is ramping up to make it legal in California as well. New Idaho Stop Bill A bipartisan bike bill (AB 1103) would do just that. And advocates hope that, since California is the nation’s most populous state and highly influential, that a change here could help other states adopt the practice. Several states have tried and failed to enact an Idaho stop law, despite a study by DePaul University showing that 96 percent of cyclists have, at some point, treated a stop sign like a yield….
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