WORLD CARFREE NEWS >>>
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Edition no. 9 - June 2004 - English version
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Contents:
IN BRIEF
WORLD NEWS
- LONDON POLICE REVIEW CYCLE LANES
- IRAQ FLOODED WITH CARS IN OCCUPATION'S WAKE
- MAYOR RIDES BIKE TO WORK (SORT OF)
- WORLD BANK TO PUBLISH HANDBOOK ON TRANSPORT AND AIR POLLUTION
- CYCLISTS AND RADIO STATION RESOLVE DISPUTE OVER INFLAMMATORY BROADCAST
- FILM FEST HITS THE RAILS
- CRITICAL MASS IN MOSCOW, ST. PETERSBURG
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
- SAVE TARA HILL, IRELAND
- INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION AND SOLIDARITY WITH JEFF 'FREE' LUERS
- EXHIBITION OF RESISTANCE TO BP AND BIG OIL, JUNE 15-21
NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS
- TOWARDS CARFREE CITIES IV, BERLIN - JULY 19-24
- 2005 CONFERENCE IN BUDAPEST
- CAR BUSTERS MAGAZINE #20
- WORLD CARFREE DAY 2004
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IN BRIEF >>
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- In Britain, Tesco is doing a trial of biodiesel called Global Diesel at
selected filling stations. However, it costs more than ordinary diesel and
even unleaded petrol.
- Despite widespread protests, German Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe
plans to issue recommendations to road authorities that would mean a slow
end to Germany's tree-lined roadways. The environmental organisation Robin
Wood has come out against the proposals. The controversial paper,
"Recommendations for preventing accidents involving collision with trees,"
was written by the Research Institute for Traffic and Roads for the Federal
Transport Ministry. The ministry's committee, however, is exclusively
composed of traffic and safety engineers, say critics.
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WORLD NEWS >>
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LONDON POLICE REVIEW CYCLE LANES
Police are calling for a review of cycle lanes after the death of a health
worker as she rode home. They want routes throughout the City of London to
be checked for safety risks after the cyclist was hit by a bus while using
a new lane to cross Blackfriars Bridge.
Vicki McCreery, 37, a senior physiotherapist at St. Thomas' Hospital,
had previously warned friends of the dangers of the lane because it left
riders isolated in the middle of the road. It was introduced only last
month by Transport for London, despite warnings from cyclists' groups and
the City of London Police.
The force said its warning about the danger of placing a narrow cycle
lane in the middle of Blackfriars Bridge - the busiest in the City, with
54,000 vehicles passing over it a day - had gone unheeded.
The lane on the bridge was introduced as part of the London Cycle
Network and has been promoted by the Department for Transport as a model
scheme. Statistics reveal that 19 cyclists died on London roads last year,
while 421 were seriously injured and 2,616 reported slight injuries.
MAYOR RIDES BIKE TO WORK (SORT OF)
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was one of around 40,000 cyclists who
participated in the city's Bike to Work Day on May 20. Unlike the other
bike commuters, however, Newsom had his bicycle trucked to a meeting point
downtown, from where he cycled to City Hall. In keeping Leah Shahum, head
of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, pedaled alongside Newsom much of
the way and briefed him about the need for more bike lanes and other
improvements. Newsom said he was in favour of more bike lanes but he also
said he understood the fears of merchants who believe bike lanes keep
customers in cars away. Five members of the city's Board of Supervisors
rode to work as well.
The San Franciso Bicycle Coalition, which organised the event, says that
30,000 San Franciscans regularly bike to work and that, on Bike to Work
Day, perhaps an extra 10,000 joined in. The bikers received free bananas
and bagels at 30 "energiser stations" set up all over town.
Nationwide, 14 cities or regions took part in Bike to Work Day. The
event was part of the 48th annual National Bike Month declared by the
League of American Bicyclists.
WORLD BANK TO PUBLISH HANDBOOK ON TRANSPORT AND AIR POLLUTION
The World Bank is about to issue a final draft of their new handbook on
mobile source air emissions, "Urban Air Pollution: A Framework for Mobile
Sources." The newest version of the document should be available on line at
<
http://www.cleanairnet.org/cai/1403/article-56396.html>.
Early versions of the handbook attracted sharp criticism from groups
ranging from the Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment to Natural
Resources Defense Council to the US Environmental Protection Agency. The
transport sector parts of the document were quite positive, supporting
non-motorised transport, bus priority systems, and congestion pricing. The
document drew most fire for recommending weaker fuel standards on sulfur
content than those currently being pursued in some major countries like
India and China. The critics felt the document would be misused to justify
weaker fuel quality standards. The handbook's authors discussed the
document at great length with their critics in a very participatory
process, and although critics are still not satisfied, the document has
moved closer to a consensus position.
CYCLISTS AND RADIO STATION RESOLVE DISPUTE OVER INFLAMMATORY BROADCAST
Bicyclists in Atlanta and the management of WNNX-FM (99X) have agreed on a
course of action to diffuse tensions following an April 23 broadcast in
which the hosts made dangerous and disparaging remarks about "running down
bicyclists." The measures include disciplinary action against the hosts of
the show, an on-air apology, and the broadcasting of a series of public
service announcements promoting bicycle safety and sharing the road.
FILM FEST HITS THE RAILS
How do you make a festival come to people instead of the other way round?
The organisers of the International Film Festival for Young People in Zlin,
Czech Republic, seem to have found a solution: the cinema train or "cinema
on the rails." The cinema train travels around the country, stopping in
various towns and cities for several screenings a day that kids can attend.
"The idea of going to see a film on a train is a novelty that will attract
kids - and not all of them would be able to come to Zlin for the annual
film festival - so we come to them instead," explained Viteslav Jandak, the
president of the festival. There is no fee and during screening the train
is parked at the railway station of the given town, so there's no danger of
your offspring taking off on a lengthy trip without you. The festival in
Zlin starts on May 30, but the cinema train will be in action throughout
the month of June.
CRITICAL MASS IN MOSCOW, ST. PETERSBURG
Moscow's first large Critical Mass event took placeon April 25, actively
organized and supported by "Carfree Russia" movement, "Muscovites for the
Tram" committee and other ecogroups and activists. The initiative was met
with support of city bikers community, and about 150 people gathered around
one of Moscow's central squares that Sunday. The mass immediately filled
the streets of the Russian capital for the 15 km distance. Afterwards,
participants were able to get free vegan food by "Food Not Bombs" and join
a carfree culture party in a local underground club.
Inspired by the huge success of Moscows Critical Mass, St. Petersburg
conducted its own local bike event on May 15, with the
help of local velo-activists. Because of poor weather conditions, the
number of bikers participating in the first St. Petersburg Critical Mass
was lower than expected, but 70 people were happy to ride even in the rain.
Against expectations, city officials, pedestrians and even car owners were
positive about it, and there were no accidents probably thanks to the
weekend.
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GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
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SAVE TARA HILL, IRELAND
The Irish government is letting a motorway be built right through the Tara
Skryne Valley, a site of immeasureable importance and significance. Tara is
the seat of the high Kings of Ireland. It is an area steeped in history,
cultural and mythological. Visit the website, sign the petition, and spread
the word: <
http://www.petitiononline.com/hilltara/petition.html>.
WORLD NAKED BIKE RIDE, JUNE 12
Mark your calendars: Saturday, June 12 is World Naked Bike Ride, an
international day to "protest oil dependency and celebrate the power and
individuality of our bodies." Events are held in various cities; either
join an existing ride or create your own: <
http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org>.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION AND SOLIDARITY WITH JEFF 'FREE' LUERS, JUNE 12
June marks the fourth year of Jeff "Free" Luers' 22-year jail sentence for
burning three sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) at Romania Chevrolet in Eugene,
Oregon, USA. Jeffs 22-year sentence is excessive and intolerable, and,
according to Free's Defense Network, was intended as a deterrent to social
and environmental movements all over. This June 12, Frees Defense Network
is promoting a day of action and solidarity with Jeff throughout the world.
The J12 Organizing Committees can help by providing you with flyers,
graphics, and merchandise such as videos, zines and stickers about Jeff's
case. <
http://www.freefreenow.org>.
EXHIBITION OF RESISTANCE TO BP AND BIG OIL, JUNE 15-21
London Rising Tide is organising several activities to celebrate the
beginning of the end of BP's sponsorship of the National Portrait Award, to
wipe away the mirage of "sustainable development" and "beyond petroleum" in
order to create a true portrait of an oil company. Events include an "art
not oil" happening in the National Portrait Gallery on June 16, greeting
visitors to the BP-sponsored relay of the opera Faust (appropriately, about
a man who sells his soul to the devil), and an art-on-the-move parade of
true portraits of an oil company: <
http://www.londonrisingtide.org.uk>.
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NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
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TOWARDS CARFREE CITIES IV, BERLIN - JULY 19-24
[Register today: <
www.worldcarfree.net/conference/>]
Not only is this going to be the most inspiring and educational event ever
witnessed by the carfree movement, but it's going to be all the better if
you join in! You should register immediately if you wish to find
accommodation available in Berlin at the height of the tourist season.
(Accommodation options, including hotel/hostel discounts and free basic
accommodation, can be found on the conference website.)
On top of all the activities previously listed in the programme
(
http://www.worldcarfree.net/conference/programme.php), we've added a video
camera training workshop for people interested in learning how to
effectively use this powerful medium. The video training is however limited
to eight people (who must also be attending the conference).
2005 CONFERENCE IN BUDAPEST
Clean Air Action Group - a World Carfree Network member organisation in
Budapest, Hungary - submitted the winning proposal to host Towards Carfree
Cities V in Budapest in 2005. An ad-hoc conference location selection
committee, formed by four participants of the carfree_network listserve,
made the decision on May 26. Congratulations to Levego Mukacsoport!
(That's Clean Air Action Group in Hungarian.) You can read more about them
at <
http://www.levego.hu/caag.htm>. Of course they don't get to host the
conference unless all of their staff participate in the World Naked Bike
Ride...
CAR BUSTERS #20
With the upcoming Berlin conference taking much of our time, and us wanting
to give conference participants room in Car Busters magazine, we have
decided to put off the "Car Free in the Countryside" theme until issue #21.
We have received many replies from people who live carfree outside of urban
centres. We always welcome any other submissions (art, etc.) on this theme.
WORLD CARFREE DAY 2004
World Carfree Day is September 22. We will be compiling creative action and
event ideas, and successful tactics and strategies, on the web page
<
http://www.worldcarfree.net/wcfd>. So please send in anything that would
be useful for others around the world. Ideas can also be exchanged on our
carfree_network listserve. To subscribe, just send a message to
<carfree_network-subscribelists.riseup.net>.
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DISCLAIMER >>
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We can sit back and read the news, or we can go out and make our own. And
if you think we missed reporting on some important event, write to us. We
especially want to hear about events outside the English-speaking world.
[end]
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A QUESTO RIGUARDO....
FORSE SAREBBE IL CASO CHE LE/I CMASSERS ROMANI SCRIVESSERO DELLA CIEMMONA!!!
baci e bici
toni_i
"La bicicletta è il veicolo più rapido nella via della delinquenza; perchè
la passione del pedale trascina al furto, alla truffa, alla grassazione!"
-Cesare Lombroso-
