October 18, 2013

  

Kittie Knox, 19th Century Bicycling Pioneer Gets Recognition at Last

(Photo courtesy of Boston Globe)

 

Long-forgotten bicycling pioneer who broke race and gender barriers honored Boston Globe​

Dan Adams-- In the late 1800s, when Boston emerged as the epicenter of a national bicycling craze, women initially were relegated to tricycles. But as they began switching to the kind of two-wheeled bikes men rode, publications offered stern advice on how a lady ought to dress while cycling.

In an 1894 New York Times story headlined, “Garb of Man Makes a Fool of a Woman She Declares and She is Waging a War Against It,” Mary Sargent Hopkins said: “Now, if there is one thing I hate, it is a masculine woman. It has made my heart sore to see the women who have been putting on knickerbockers . . . racing and scorching with the men.”

So it is no surprise that Hopkins, a Boston resident who published the women’s bicycling magazine The Wheelwoman, found little to like about Kittie Knox.

 

Worcester’s downtown dreams are still unrealized​ Boston Globe

Lonnie Shekhtman--Ten years ago, Worcester’s downtown was going to hum. A consortium of city officials and investors pledged to turn 21 acres of blight into offices, stores, entertainment sites, and luxury residences. The $565 million project — to be privately and publicly funded — was named CitySquare.

Today, CitySquare is still a far-off promise, an unrealized revitalization effort that is all too common in the region’s old mill and manufacturing cities.

 

Millennials, even those with children, are multimodal and urban Better Cities

If anyone is under the impression that young adults’ preference for urban, multimodal living is a passing fad, they need to think again. Unlike previous generations, Millennials are unlikely to move to distant suburbs in droves as soon as they start raising families, according to a just-released study by the American Public Transportation Association based in Washington, DC.

 

For Bangkok bikers, gridlock intimidates, inspires Boston.com

Thanyarat Doksone--Thailand’s transport minister got some advice from his mother when she learned he was going to bike the chaotic streets of Bangkok to open a bicycle campaign: ‘‘Bring your ID card. In case you get run over, they can contact home.’’

Bicycling has long been almost nonexistent in this city of 10 million, where those who dare to pedal must cope with unfriendly road designs, crumbling pavement, sweltering heat and growing hordes of cars, buses and motorcycles.

 

"Streets"

  • New twists and turns in traffic in the Fenway Boston.com
  • Blue Hill Avenue residents celebrate their neighborhood Boston Globe
  • Circle the City takes over Blue Hill Ave. Boston.com
  • Inspector General says Red Sox Yawkey Way deal based on outdated values Boston Herald
  • East Somerville residents decry unsafe roads at design sessions Wicked Local
  • Why you can’t stop checking your phone Boston Globe
  • North End residents demand solution to trash problems on neighborhood streets Boston.com
  • Boston Society of Architects Hosts City Hall Exhibit of Rare Drawings Boston Magazine
  • Downtown View: New Mayor, Ponder Civic Design​ North End Waterfront
  • Worcester’s downtown dreams are still unrealized​ Boston Globe

Walking

  • Child in stroller, parents struck by teenage driver in South End Boston Globe

Bicycling

  • Long-forgotten bicycling pioneer who broke race and gender barriers honored Boston Globe​
  • Must People Die For Existing Laws To Be Reevaluated? Isolate Cyclist
  • Round-up: Most Dangerous Intersections for Boston Bikers Boston Magazine
  • Pros & Cons of Biking to Work BostInno
  • Hubway To Stay Open Well Into Fall, Expands With 11 New Stations Boston Biker
  • Letter: Lessons on cycling from the Netherlands Wicked Local
  • Bike Thefts on the Rise BU
  • Letter: Lessons on cycling from the Netherlands Wicked Local
  • Letter: Make cyclists carry insurance Wicked Local
  • Bicyclist taken away in ambulance after getting hit by city trash truck Universal Hub
  • Buca Boot: Local innovator creates a bicycle basket that stores like a car trunk Boston.com
  • MassDOT Issues Groundbreaking Directive MassBike
  • Hubway comes to JP; community input limited JP Gazette
  • Greenway Extension Eastie Times
  • Revisiting a dangerous spot for bicycles Boston Globe
  • THE RIGHT TO BE ON THE ROAD: When Bicyclists Have To Pull Over, When Cars Can Pass LivableStreets
  • Put Your Helmet On! BU

Transit

  • Transportation Secretary Rich Davey on why he chose Normandy for Parcel 9 BizJournals
  • Prepping for peaking Pike tolls, and the temporary fate of Amtrak Boston.com
  • Smart phones: Making buses cool again? Boston.com
  • The Seaport’s Silver Line solution Boston Globe
  • Letters: Public transit needs a boost to steer us away from our cars Boston Globe
  • MBTA Announces Winner of Map Redesign Competition Boston Magazine
  • Letter: Thanks to all who are making Somerville's Green Line Extension possible Wicked Local
  • Op-Ed: Starving MBTA will stunt Boston’s growth​ Boston Globe
  • New MBTA map announced Walking Bostonian
  • MBTA GM Beverly Scott Urges Bostonians to Imagine if we Removed the T BostInno
  • Newton aldermen approve development at Riverside MBTA station Boston Globe
  • MBTA: Purchase Tickets to Foxborough for Pats Games: mTicket BostInno
  • Route 39 improvements hit snag JP Gazette
  • The Fairmount's next stop: DMUs DOT News
  • Board declines business request to move bus stop Wicked Local
  • Individual approach to building results in a big collective transportation problem Cambridge Day
  • Letters: We can’t afford not to invest in transportation Boston Globe

Cars/Parking

  • Innovation District traffic to get fixes​ Boston Globe
  • New signs to ease way out of Seaport Boston Globe
  • Car Free Development
    • Op-Ed: Car-free housing in Boston would create more problems than solved​ Boston Globe
    • Op-Ed: Car-free development in Boston hampered by 70s housing regulations Boston Globe
    • Car-free housing in Boston is natural Walking Bostonian
    • Editorial: Lovejoy Wharf: Boston should allow development without parking​ Boston Globe
    • Letters: Let us embrace car-free living as way of future​ Boston Globe
    • Letters: As lives change, so do people’s transportation needs Boston Globe
  • One less Avenue de One Way downtown Universal Hub
  • Arlington may cut parking spaces on Mass. Ave. Wicked Local
  • Even in transit-rich areas, car keys will be jingling Boston Globe
  • Unrealistic to assume we can do away with parking spaces Boston Globe

Transportation financing/Government

  • The BRA
    • To be or not to BRA: Is that the question? Commonwealth Mag
    • BRA speeding consideration of building proposals​ Boston Globe
    • Editorial: Boston Redevelopment Authority board -- Mayor Menino should let successor pick new members​ Boston Globe
  • Open letter of Thanks from Mayor Curtatone The Somerville Times
  • Developers wary of change looking for ‘predictability’​ Boston Herald

Parks

Development projects

  • Casey Overpass to close for ‘emergency repairs’ in October JP Gazette
  • For a change, something goes well on old Casey Overpass - no more shutdowns for repairs needed Universal Hub
  • State to shut crumbling Forest Hills overpass for emergency work to ensure winter drivers don't slide off it Universal Hub
  • New plans for Harbor Garage redevelopment focus on ground-level amenities Boston Globe
  • THE ART OF TRANSPORTATION (AND URBAN) PLANNING: Going Beyond the Technical Specs LivableStreets
  • A History of the Casey Overpass Arborway Matters
  • State asked to OK $1B plan to expand convention center​ Boston Globe
  • Downtown View: The Challenges of Housing​ North End Waterfront
  • Casey Overpass repairs prepare bridge for winter Boston.com
  • BRA approves South Boston hotel​ Boston Globe
  • Casey Arborway changes: Funding, busway, parking JP Gazette
  • UMass Boston proceeds apace on first phase of 25-year master plan DOT News

Land Use/Planning

  • Column: Open space in Somerville is great, but so is housing Wicked Local
  • IKEA sells final parcel of Somerville's Assembly Square land to FRIT Wicked Local
  • Neighbors look to create life under I-93 overpass between South Boston and the South End Boston.com
  • Harvard offers $38m to Allston community to sweeten development deal Boston.com
  • New plans could have big changes for Somerville's Assembly Square Wicked Local
  • Courthouse developers look to use First St. garage in East Cambridge Wicked Local

Out-of-state

  • CA
  • NY
    • Informed of Safety Benefits, Most NYC Voters Want Protected Bike Lanes StreetsBlog
    • Pulaski Bridge: Six Lanes for Cars, One Cramped Path for Peds and Bikes StreetsBlog
    • Let’s Build a New Bridge. No Cars Allowed. NY Times
    • Despite Hazards, Street Skateboarding Thrives NY Times
    • Transit Agency Expands Real-Time Bus Information to Manhattan NY Times
    • Street Redesign Advice From NYC DOT: Move Swiftly and Cheaply -- and Don't Forget About the Seating WNYC
    • In Sickness and in Health, Long After the Bike Is Due Back NY Times
    • City will slow down drivers with new ‘Slow Zones’ all over the city NY Daily News
  • IL
    • CDOT Reveals Plans for Chicago's First Raised Bike Lane on Roosevelt Road Chi StreetsBlog
    • Don't approve the Illiana Expressway Sun Times
    • Chicago Business Owner: No Protected Bike Lanes Is a Dealbreaker StreetsBlog
  • TX
    • Houston: The Surprising Contender in America’s Urban Revival Governing.com
  • DC
    • D.C. fails to pay Metro; funds held up due to shutdown Washington Post
    • SSTI to Transport Officials: Start Planning for a Future With Less Driving DC StreetsBlog
  • OR
    • County adds plastic 'candlestick' bollards to Hawthorne viaduct Bike Portland

National trends

International news

  • Can Hong Kong¹s Transit Development Model Work for New York? Next City
  • Locals applaud car-free month in Korean city DW.de
  • Best bike-sharing cities in the world USA Today
  • Car-Centric Spain Begins To Embrace The Bicycle​ NPR
  • Groningen: The World's Cycling City StreetFilms
  • For Bangkok bikers, gridlock intimidates, inspires Boston.com
  • The demonization of cyclists and anti-bike culture war in Toronto reaches new low with Rosie DiManno column TreeHugger