This is an interesting Disney animation from 1950 that shows how “normal” people can become maniacal behind the wheel of a car. Sadly enough, cyclists and pedestrians are still the brunt of this motorist abuse 58 years later.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZAZ_xu0DCg
[Source: Commute by Bike]
Model D recently posted this great video on the Dequindre Cut. Tom Woiwode from the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan has been a major champion of this project from the start.
The big question is when will it be open. As of last week it was 90% to 95% completed. There are still some finishing touches to be completed. The target grand opening is October 1st.
After recently experimenting with a custom handlebar camera mount, I took some sample video along the soon-to-be-officially-opened Dequindre Cut trail in Detroit. Yes, the video is a little jittery, which was due in part to the stiffer ride of my road bike. Future trials will be from a mountain bike.
Here’s more video from NBC Nightly News on America’s growing switch to bike commuting. As noted, many cities across the U.S. have the infrastructure to help their residents make that switch. Unfortunately that is not the case in nearly all of Detroit’s suburbs.
Many cities… have a well-established infrastructure of bike lanes, bike-friendly public transit systems, and bike parking, making switching from four wheels to two easy for drivers fed up with high gas prices.
This video show families and kids biking and walking to school. It’s simply amazing to see such a high level of participation — and all of these kids developing a positive healthy lifestyle. It’s a huge contrast from schools in Metro Detroit which are often clogged with parents chauffeuring their children to school, causing area traffic congestion, and fostering a dependence on commuting by car rather than by biking or walking.
This video was taken by David Hembrow who adds “It’s important to realize that this is not an exceptional day, nor an exceptional school. Dutch children [are] everywhere, every day travel like this.”
Additional resources: National Center for Safe Routes to School, Michigan Safe Routes to School