Click on the headline (link) for the full text.
Bogotá car-free day becomes car-free week
Zachary Shahan, Treehugger
Way back in 2000, before car-free days were on most people’s radars, Bogotá, Colombia Mayor Enrique Peñalosa organized Bogotá’s first car-free day. He also put up a proposal for it to be a permanent occasion. The proposal was approved, marking the approval of "the world’s first Car Free Referendum," according to Wikipedia. 14 years later, it seems like it’s time for an upgrade.
Mejor en Bici (translation: Better on Bike) is a local bike organization that has long been a key advocate of car-free day. Recently, it pushed for car-free day to be extended into an entire car-free week for the Colombian city. The city agreed. Now, the first-ever Bogotá car-free week (February 6–13) has just wrapped up…
(14 February 2014)
Tres Hombres Tall Ship Loads Rum and More in Caribbean; Additional Ship Readied for Europe Only
Jan Lundberg, Sail Transport Network
The Tres Hombres schooner brig continues its trade mission for European markets. On this its fifth voyage to the Caribbean, cargo was sailed to the Western Hemisphere as well: wine and olive oil to Brazil. From there, local "superfoods" were loaded. A BBC documentary crew hopped on board and has departed, and supporters of the Tres Hombres look forward to more publicity.
A second vessel has been added to the Fair Transport (Dutch company that owns the Tres Hombres) fleet: a 21-meter 141-year-old Norwegian ketch.
Good news for the sail transport movement: Fairtransport is actively looking for more ships. At the end of this report is a section on the latest vessel the Nordlys and its acquisition and refit.
Our last report on the Tres Hombres current epic voyage was on Dec. 29, recounting that she called at Belém, Brazil. Then she sailed to the Caribbean Sea via Barbados, and visited Grenada on Januarly 29 to load 25 000 bars of Grenada Chocolate Company’s superb product.
Now Tres Hombres has arrived in the Domincan Republic. The crew has just loaded (as opposed to got loaded on) 20 barrels of its very own brand of rum. Additionally, cocoa (powder, beans and butter) and some lovely fresh Tres Hombres Coffee were taken on. Sail Transport Network inquired of the ship’s company Fair Transport whether there would be room for the usual tea cargo taken on in the Azores in a few weeks. The response from Jorne Langelaan, one of the the firm’s founders and captains, was "We may have to fill the captain’s cabin with the tea because the ship is full! We had to turn away business in the Caribbean because of growing demand for our sailing cargo."
After leaving Boca Chica (DR), the Tres Hombres sails to Freeport, Bermuda, then to Horta in the Azores, then London, then Amsterdam, and home port Den Helder (NL) — with a visit to Oostende, Belgium before returning to Den Helder.
A BBC News crew joined the brief leg to Dominican Republic. The subject of the upcoming documentary is "people living on the sea."…
(9 February 2014)
The Rise of Open Streets
Streetfilms
The Rise of Open Streets from Streetfilms on Vimeo.
Streetfilms has been documenting the ciclovia/open streets movement for over seven years, beginning with our landmark film in 2007 on Bogota’s Ciclovia, currently our most popular film of all time.
Not soon after that film’s debut Mike Lydon of The Street Plans Collaborative decided to get one going in Miami in 2008 which led to his research for The Open Streets Project, a joint project with the Alliance for Biking & Walking.
In 2008, there were new events in over a dozen cities including San Francisco, Portland and NYC. Since 2006, open streets events have increased 10 fold.
Since Streetfilms has ample footage of nearly a dozen such events, we decided this was an opportune time to interview some of the most important people in the movement, including former City Transportation Commissioners Janette Sadik-Khan (NYC) and Gabe Klein (Chicago), as well as former Bogota Parks Commissioner Gil Penalosa and Enrique Jacoby, from the Pan American Health Organization.
"The Rise of Open Streets" looks at myriad angles of the Open Streets movement. From its little known origins to the joy it brings to participants. From the sundry types of programming to the health benefits it brings citizenry. From the inspiration it gives people to further change the balance of our streets to giving city residents a few hours of peace from the normal tumult of loud city traffic. And it not only looks at big cities like Los Angeles, but smaller ones like Fargo, Berkeley, and Lexington. We were proud to partner with The Street Plans Collaborative and the Alliance for Biking & Walking to produce this film, which we hope will give municipalities another tool and encourage even more events throughout the world. Funding for "The Rise of Open Streets" was graciously provided by the Fund for the Environment & Urban Life.
More here
(February 2014)
Which are Europes to Cycling and Walking Cities?
Infographic, European Environment Agency
Click to expand
(From 2013 data)
British Cycling launches 10-point plan to transform Britain into a true cycling nation
British Cycling
New research, published today and commissioned by British Cycling from Cambridge University, has also shown that if people replaced just five minutes of the 36 minutes they spend each day in the car with cycling, there would be an almost 5% annual reduction in the health burden from inactivity-related illnesses including heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some cancers. British Cycling today used the new research to launch a manifesto that details how national and local government should be prioritising cycling as a form of transport.
(10 February 2014)
