Tag: marketing

Grid Shots: Political and advocacy statements

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An anti-dooring sticker is posted on a pole on Wells Street. These were printed by individuals several years ago. The website has been defunct for a long time. Photo by Michelle Stenzel. 

Cyclists being doored is a major issue. It led to one death this year and in 2010, it comprised almost 20% of all reported bicycling-automobile crashes. There’s a political and advocacy cause in this issue: road designs must be changed and people driving and bicycling need to be continually educated and reminded about avoiding a collision.

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Hannah’s Bretzel stores have bikes with big baskets out front with the message “low emission vehicle”. Are these used for delivery, or just parked here? Photo by Seth Anderson.

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An advertisement spans Elston Avenue on a railroad viaduct that says “Save Health, Save Jobs, SaveSafetyNet.com”. Photo by Michelle Stenzel.

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A ghost bike is prepared in Daley Plaza for Jepson Livingston at the Ride of Silence in May. Photo by Drew Baker.

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In July 2011, Grid Chicago asked the United States Postal Service to stop parking its trucks in bike lanes.

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A mannequin placed on Wacker Drive by the Chicago Department of Transportation wears a black t-shirt printed with “One of 32 pedestrians killed last year [2010] in Chicago”. 36 pedestrians were killed by automobiles traffic in 2011. Photo by Mike Travis.

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Exposing people to “strange” new pavement markings

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Mark, a former Chicagoan, now Bostonian, posted this photo of a flyer he received in his “motor vehicle excise tax” bill (think of it like the annual city sticker, but much more costly). It describes and displays the new kinds of pavement markings that are showing up around Boston. It says, “New pavement markings for cyclists are cropping up around the city. Here’s what they mean for drivers.”

The two-sided flyer uses graphics from the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide to show bike lanes, shared lanes, bike boxes, and cycle tracks. The opposite side thanks Bostonians for making Boston America’s safest city for walking and cycling. I didn’t know it was – I’d like to know more about this and which data source or metric they’re using.

A pamphlet in property tax bills and city sticker applications could be the start of a wider campaign to bring awareness to different street designs (which were put in place to make one or more transportation modes safer than before). The best bet for sustainable awareness raising is to start moving towards mobility education in schools and at the DMV.

Continue reading Exposing people to “strange” new pavement markings

Tales from #bikeCHI

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Texting while cycling is illegal in Chicago, since November 2011. Photo by Eric Pancer. 

#bikeCHI is the Twitter #hashtag to use if you’re talking about riding a bike in Chicago. Here’re two interesting tweets from tonight, both from Dan Ciskey, in order:

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I sympathize with the first one: “just another day in the bike lane” is the new “just another day at the office”. It doesn’t matter, though, if you ride in the bike lane or not, there are hazards everywhere. Continue reading Tales from #bikeCHI