Next week is National Drive Electric Week 2015. On a fairly regular basis I hear a comment that autonomous and electric vehicles will solve a multitude of our worst transportation problems. Well, each will solve some problems. And create others. They’re far from a panacea, though. The personal benefits of Battery Electric Vehicles, BEV’s, are certainly […]
The title seems to be the belief of many in Minnesota when the subject of bicycling for transportation comes up. I often hear people say that we can never be anything like the Dutch because The Netherlands is flat, more temperate, less snowy, and bicycling is, after all, part of their culture, so we shouldn’t […]
In 1979 Sandra Soucheray asked her mom Marsha for a ride to an afternoon event at nearby Chippewa Middle School. Little did she realize what she was setting in motion. With the school only a mile away Marsha wasn’t buying Sandra’s argument that it was too scary and dangerous to ride her bike. At mom’s […]
I woke to a very sad tweet this morning from Nate Hood that the Ramsey County Commissioners voted to stop waiting on St. Paul’s dithering and will move forward with re-doing Cleveland Avenue without any bicycle facilities. I’m sad about this on many levels. Level 1: Missed Potential First is that St. Paul has the […]
The Bicycle Shop business in the U.S. is tough. Margins are thin, future sales tough to predict, good employees hard to find, and manufacturers refuse to protect bricks & mortar dealers from lower price online competitors. To owners, shops often seem more a labor of love than a source of income[1]. The National Bicycle Dealers […]
Have you ever gone by a house and seen a yard that you want to explore, but are afraid to ask? Do you like to plagiarize ideas from others’ yards (I do)? If so, local garden tours are for you. This past Saturday was the Saint Anthony Park Garden Club’s tour. Ten gardens and gardeners in […]
As an experiment in democracy, the United States of America fails in many ways. Still, let’s ponder and celebrate our freedoms on the 4th of July.
Pioneer Press columnist and Garage Logic host Joe Soucheray desires to live in a Euphorian world of cars where little gumption is required to get anywhere. The problem is, that world defies logic. He thinks that losing nine parking spaces will create a crisis for soccer moms trying to find parking. But, uh, we don’t know that. Or […]
Some years ago a surgeon told me about a time when he rushed from his home to a hospital to perform an emergency surgery. On his way he encountered a driver blocking the left lane who would not move to the right to let him get by. The highway was completely clear as far ahead […]
Last week’s train crash in Philadelphia was horrific. Fortunately, crashes like this and the associated deaths and injuries are quite rare; despite the horrific nature of these crashes, rail and air are exceptionally safe modes of transportation on the whole. Note: While the data above are accurate it is important to provide some context. […]