Bike Lane Standard Operation Procedure

1. Approach the lane at high speed because the sidewalk is 2 to 5 centimers higher.

2. After the hopefully soft landing, BREAK! (with the REAR wheel break!). Look forward to check for any pedestrians on the bike path, if found.. it might be too late already. Say "sorry" and continue to step 3

3. When reaching the other side. make the decision: take the road or enter the side-walk

4. After avoiding any obstacles and pedestrians on the side-walk, continue your journey.

U-Bikes in the wild

A positive sign. 2 (yes, two!) u-bikes seen at Fu-Xing South road.

They are out of their normal habitat (which is the Xin-Yi / 101 area)

Something is happening?

Construction work on Tun-Hua North Road yesterday.
Promising. The 1st Physically Separated Bike Lane in the City?


Sharing of the side-walk is hopefully something of the past.
















An artisitic implementation of painting bike lanes in the form of a triangle. How about circles?

Scooter parking need to give uo space to the bikes!
More, More and More of these please.

Attitude and driver education

Are roots of the problems. I strongly agree with car driver education process. A forum discussion here

Taipei closing it's holes

Hopefully the next "hole" the city will address is a detailed plan and roadmap for bike lanes published on the city's website. Read here.

Why the tax payers money is used to fix this issue and not out of the pocket of the companies which have the benefit of the holes? The (road) polluter should pay..

BTW the mayor was saying here.. "no no, please don't push me into this hole, I promise you nice bike lines. I promise!"

Substandard Traffic controls

Worth to be read. here.
If you are interested in Taipei current traffic conditions, look here
Read here why counters should only count down for red to green light.

Have it all in Taipei

"The best way to explore the city is... On a bicycle. To reduce the city's carbon footprint, the Taipei City Government recently launched the YouBike Program, which lets people rent bicycles for as little as NT$40 (S$2) a day. You can rent a bicycle from any of the many stations located throughout the city and return it at another station which is convenient. There are also bicycle paths everywhere in the city, ensuring the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists."

Source: here

A new law proposal

"Cyclists must also ride on bicycle-designated roadways and not on pedestrian walkways" Sounds good but eh.. . then we first need those "roadways" on EVERY street. See you in 2080 and all those paint already put on the streets have to be removed ... Why not do it right the first time?
Source here

The Most Natural Taipei Trip

-- February 2, 2009 --Given a choice between Metro, bus, or taxi as the primary mode for touring Taipei, which would you choose? When it comes to a place where transportation is as convenient as it is in Taipei, using any kind of mass transportation is both convenient and inexpensive, but one also loses a little bit of the enjoyment of seeing Taipei at leisure. So riding a bicycle around Taipei at one’s own pace seems to be a pretty good alternative. As one rides along the Jingmei, Xindian, Danshui, or Keelung Rivers, one can feel the light breeze upon one's skin, enjoy a view of Taipei's scenic riverbanks, and experience a true lightness of heart.

source: here
(True. .. exactly .. biking AROUND Taipei is not too bad!)

Berkely Example

A video here

Thank you Dahon

Taipei has well-developed bicycle-only tracks that skirt the city, but it lacks similar infrastructure in the city's core where cycling on the street can be dangerous. In addition, cyclists breathe in more tailpipe exhaust than other commuters. One British study even suggested that the benefits of the extra exercise are negated by filling your lungs with all that cancer-causing pollution. An annual survey of 1,000 residents conducted by the city's Department of Transportation found that less than three percent of Taipei residents use bicycles as their main form of transportation. "If Taipei could improve its bike lanes, we'd see more people riding bikes to work. We already see more people riding bikes since they started upgrading the bike lanes on the rivers. If you establish that same kind of network in the city, increase bike access on bridges, and introduce congestion charges, there would definitely be more people riding to work," said Dahon Vice President Josuha Hon (韓安石) in an e-mailed statement. His company saw its UK sales jump 40 percent after London started charging motorists to enter the city center in 2003, according to Dahon's Web site.
Source: here

Taipei "Bike" lanes

Yeah... it happens...


Source: here

Taipei critical mass ride

An interesting event here. however it's politized, that's a pity. Biking should not be linked to politics or be used as a tools for porpaganda of a party. If any city government - blue or green - in the past had seriously considered commuting on the bike in the city, the city would have looked much different already.

Taiwan Bike day 2009

One day the comfort of a road and then back to reality... the city sidewalks...

News here and here and here

3 more years, until paradise...