Maintaining cycling infrastructure is a matter of course in the Netherlands, a country boasting 35,000 kilometers of bicycle paths. Still, the Dutch province of Friesland managed to make waves when it re-paved a bicycle highway last fall. A 1-kilometer stretch of the bike roadway connecting the Frisian capital of Leeuwarden to the town of Stiens has the distinction of being the world’s first bicycle lane paved with toilet paper. Recycled toilet paper, that is. Most roads in t

Another day on Pershing Drive in Arlington, Va., and another near miss for Mobility Momma on her bike. Yes, “Motor City Maniac Dear Son,” age 14, and “Blown-the-Coup Bike-Only College Kid,” 18, did warn me to stick to roadways with bike lanes or, better yet, stay on the bike path. I thought the vibe would be better early on a Sunday morning. And it was: there were fewer cars and the new four-way stop at Irving and Pershing did seem to slow the traffic. Nevertheless, ignoring

Seconds after a powerful earthquake struck Mexico City on September 19, the mobile phone network was down. Stoplights ceased to function as electricity failed, and the city’s streets had turned into one vast traffic jam. In a few frantic minutes, millions of people were driven out of buildings into the public space, incommunicado except for the wi-fi network. In the aftermath, the quality of the city’s public infrastructure became of supreme importance for its citizens—and in

In the 2015 mayoral race, then-candidate Jim Kenney pledged to build more than 30 miles of protected bicycle lanes in Philadelphia, to accompany the more than 400 miles of unprotected bicycle lanes that already separate bicycle and automotive traffic. Last April, the city won funds for thirteen protected bicycle lane projects, which would fulfill the thirty miles pledge. But actual construction on those projects has lagged since, frustrating many bicyclists who voted for the

Like many other automakers, Volkswagen Group is targeting the next decade as a major turning point for autonomous cars. By 2021, the automaker will introduce a fleet of self-driving EVs for ride-hailing services, reports Automotive News. The first fleets will arrive in “two to five” cities around the world by the year 2021, says Johann Jungwirth, head of digitization strategy for VW Group. The public will be able to hail these autonomous vehicles through Moia and Gett, two mo

Chinese bike-sharing startup Mobike has arrived in Washington D.C., its first U.S. city. The launch comes as myriad bike-sharing companies launch similar services across the country. To recap, Mobike provides cities with the bikes and the technology platform, including mobile apps, allowing riders to unlock a bike by scanning a QR code with their phone. For longevity, the bikes are chainless, have puncture-proof airless tires, and are supported by an anti-rust aluminium frame

In North America, gondolas are usually used on a ski vacation to access amazing terrain in ritzy towns like Aspen or Whistler. Increasingly, however, urban areas in the United States are considering proposals for gondolas and cable cars to efficiently move people from place to place. In New York City, the East River Skyway would connect Williamsburg in Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan. Elsewhere, the Chicago Skyline project wants to use cable cars to transport tourists along the c

Autonomous vehicles offer the opportunity to radically rethink how we implement mass transport in the future, and save billions of dollars in public infrastructure spend. But the challenge in our current way of thinking for all involved, from OEM’s to government, is how best to implement this technology into real world applications, and what economic model will best serve the general population and manufacturers/operators simultaneously, says a white paper published earlier t