We're Not Blocking Traffic, We Are Traffic

In a car-centric viewpoint bicycles are considered obstacles rather than a legal means of transportation considered part of vehicular traffic.  For those of us who enjoy factoids those that follow are a treat. We know Councilwoman Barth is fact friendly as she is purported to be a record breaker on the dais for giving the most concise deliberations of any council person. Not only a master of concision (word for the day meaning an economy in writing and speaking achieved by expressing a great deal in a few words), she is an avowed bike rider for pleasure and function. Today's picture at the Cardiff Library. Barth is a longtime Friend of the Cardiff Library.

In honor of May as bike month, a bunch of facts. Even though so many public gatherings, news stories can be relatively fact-free, there are large numbers of people who still base decisions and life choices on facts, rational thought and critical analysis. This post is for you. And for those of us not biking in any regular way yet, the education is part of the process.

Cars are involved in 250,000 deaths and..

                ..10,000,000 injuries a year

Bicycles exceed ownership of autos worldwide 2:1

approximately 800,000,000 to 400,000,000

Bike production beats car production 3:1

Number of bicycles that fit in one car parking space: 14

Number of bicycles that fit into one car road space: 8

Average bicycle speed on urban streets: 10-15 mph

Average bus speed for urban mass transit: 13 mph

Average car speed in downtown urban areas: 20 mph

In a major city area, you would move 8 times the number of

people on an urban road with bicycles than with cars, and they

would arrive at their destination at about the same time as if

they were driving

1 mile of highway consumes 25 acres of land

It costs $ 10,000 to construct a mile of urban railway

It costs $100,000 to construct a mile of urban highway

40-50% of US land is devoted to roads and parking for autos,

accounting for nearly 600,000 square miles of earth, now under

asphalt

Autos use approximately half of all the oil consumed in the US

20% of the world's citizens have the means to buy a car,

85% of the world's citizens have the means to buy a bicycle

American motorists spends 1 Billion hours/year stuck in traffic,

wasting 2 Billion gallons of gasoline,

(costing 10-30 Billion US Dollars)

Motorists make about 1,000 round trips under 5 miles a year

The most dangerous time to ride a bike in the city is between

3:00 and 6:00 pm

5 miles is an easy ride on a bicycle, even with baskets and

bags attached

40% of cyclists are commuters

Motor transportation is the single largest contributor to air

pollution in the US, accounting for:

   49% of total hydro-carbon emissions

   85% of carbon-monoxide emissions

   47% of nitrogen oxide emissions and

    9% of particulate emissions (rust, rubber, and dust)

In cities motor vehicles are the primary source of air pollution,

emitting carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide particulates including lead,

asbestos from brake linings, and tire particles and hydrocarbons