By Dave Hartman
More and more, cities are encouraging or even requiring new construction to be sustainable. There are many facets to sustainable design, and one is fostering an environment that is friendly to bicycles. Bicycles not only promote health and fitness, they also help to reduce the use of petroleum-based fuels as well as the CO2 produced.
According to iBike.org, here are a few reasons to promote and support bicycling:
- Most bicycles contain less than 30 pounds of metal and plastic
- Bicycling promotes physical and mental health as well as leaving a cleaner and quieter environment
- Bicycling is consistent with the Ethics of many religions to “do no harm”, which in this case, extends to the environment
- Bicycling is cheaper than owning and operating a car or truck
- Good cyclists have fewer accidents
- Cyclists tend to be leaders in their communities
See the full article here: http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/why-bicycle-101.pdf
Here at Structures and Interiors, we’ve noticed that cities are beginning to require bicycle racks as part of site planning, notably the City of Ft. Worth and the Town of Little Elm. More than likely other forward-thinking cities in the North Texas area will be joining this trend. There is good news for the denizens of Ft. Worth: the city is offering free bicycle racks!
http://fortworthtexas.gov/citynews/default.aspx?id=89786
Useful links:
http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/