US/Canada routing

Here's a new thread specifically for issues you might have spotted with our US and Canada directions and cartography. If you find a route that isn't what you'd expect, or want to make any other comment, post it here!

Utrecht's whizzy displays show bike spaces

Utrecht has long been the world capital of bike parking, with a 4,200-space park at the station and 12,500 more under construction. But with all this parking comes one question – how do you find a free space?

Yesterday the city unveiled its answer: digital displays showing available spaces.

Unveiled yesterday by alderman Lot van Hooijdonk (pictured in photo by Mark Wagenbuur), 21 digital signs across the city show the number of free spaces at six key bike parks. Though such signs are common for multi-storey car parks the world over, this is believed to be the first such system for cyclists.

Free spaces are monitored in two ways. First, cyclists swipe their ‘OV Chip Card’ to check their bike in and out of the indoor bike parks. This enables a charge to be made when parking for an extended time. Second, the racks themselves contain electronic sensors in which monitor when a bike is taken in or out – a nifty system which also allows the cycle parks to be monitored for abandoned bikes. The counts of free spaces are then transmitted electronically to the network of displays.

100,000 people cycle through the centre of Utrecht every day, out of a population of 330,000. This week the city was named the third best in the world for cycling, behind only Copenhagen and Amsterdam. Copenhagenize calls it “a world leader for cycling among smaller urban areas”.

London gets its first 'Tiger Crossing'

Zebras, pelicans, toucans, puffins, pegasuses (pegasi?)… there’s a bewildering number of types of road crossing, and now London has a Tiger crossing to add to the mix. It’s like a normal zebra crossing with flashing yellow lights, but with a bike crossing alongside. The idea is that motorists will recognise the zebra and stop for cyclists to cross the road. This new one forms part of London Cycle Network route 9 in Hackney, and the London Cycling Campaign calls it “simple and effective”.

Eight more miles of off-street routes

Birmingham City Council has pledged to build another eight miles of off-road cycle route. The Grand Union Canal towpath will be improved further towards Solihull, and the Tame Valley Canal towards Walsall, while a series of links in country parks will connect up existing paths. Councillor Lisa Trickett said the aim was to make cycling “an attractive, affordable and healthy mode of transport in the city”.

Blackpool hire scheme closes again

Blackpool’s network of hire bikes has been substantially closed down after low usage. Most of the 50 ‘hubs’ around the town have been shut, though bikes will still be available for hire from the council’s sports centres. Council chiefs had hoped to find a sponsor to defray the expenses of the scheme.