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A key challenge in planning, funding, and implementing bicycle and pedestrian projects is the lack of good data to guide policymaking. As Janie Nham notes on the NRDC…

LADOT GM nominee Seleta Reynolds (right) with former New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan (left) In case there was any doubt, Los Angeles has officially joined the…

San Francisco ambitiously seeks to expand bicycling to 20 percent of all trips by 2020. Yet, real concerns over safety remain the single greatest obstacle to expanding bicycling…

In discussions of street safety there is a tendency to view traffic fatalities as isolated incidents or just another statistic. It’s important to reinforce the human element of…

There’s long been a heated debate surrounding mandatory helmet laws, but up until now sexism hadn’t really been one of the talking points. However, a recent complaint from…

Last week we looked at the Dangerous by Design report. One of the useful features is the map tool, which overlays the locations of every pedestrian fatality in…

Street safety depends on the fair enforcement of traffic laws, but enforcement is not always fair. The juxtaposition of two stories over the past week illustrates the incongruent…

In discussions of street safety, there is a tendency to stereotype pedestrian and bicycle advocates as hipsters, gentrifiers, yuppies, and a host of other terms that connote a…

The City of Berkeley is a well-known leader in environmentalism, social justice, and public health. Given that active transportation plays an integral role in each of these fields,…

Telegraph Avenue is one of Oakland’s key transportation corridors, linking Downtown Oakland with Downtown Berkeley. It serves thousands of transit riders, drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians every day, and…

Bicycle accidents and auto accidents, technically, are treated identically under California law. The rules of determining who is at fault are the same. Practically Are They Treated Different?…

A year ago, 17 year old Hanren Chang was hit and killed by a drunk driver while crossing Sloat Boulevard in San Francisco. Hanren, a student at Lowell…

The rise of bicycling and the expansion of bike lanes can at times provoke strong negative reactions in people, whether it’s at public meetings, newspaper comment boards, or…

As cities across California seek to build safer, healthier, greener “complete streets,” many have come into conflict with Caltrans over what constitutes an acceptable (and legally defensible) design….

As technology continues to become even more integrated into our everyday lives, existing laws can become fuzzy when it comes to how emerging technologies should be treated. Case…

A recent piece of legislation proposed by Georgia Representative Carl Rogers requiring cyclists to register their bike with the state (and obtain a license) managed to inspire enough…

We all intuitively understand that texting while driving is dangerous – but a look at the statistics shows just how frighteningly dangerous (and pervasive) texting while driving is….

Nobody said running a multi-million dollar professional sports franchise would be easy. On top of issues surrounding players’ criminal activities, and their alleged drug use improprieties, have come…

Famed director Werner Herzog’s powerful new documentary about texting and driving has already reached more than 1.5 million views on YouTube and is bringing even more attention to…

16 students from 13 different high schools came together to participate in our summer internship designed to expose young adults to a potential career in law. The internship…

With the overall number of applicants to accredited law schools down 34 percent from their peak in 2010, schools are doing whatever they can to keep attendance up…

One of the most common objections to wearing a bike helmet is that it’s simply not portable. Once you’ve arrived at your destination and chained your bike to…

The team at Grist has put together a nice little video of “biking basics for folks who’ve always wanted to ride, but didn’t dare.” Although a lot of…

A report released earlier this week is urging San Francisco’s mayor and Board of Supervisors to increase efforts to reduce bike fatalities, calling for an ultimate goal of…

Two states have legalized cannabis and 17 states (18 including Washington, D.C.) have legalized medical cannabis. As the nation slowly shifts towards decriminalization, numerous questions arise on how…

As advocates for street safety and supporters of alternative transportation, we at GJEL try to align ourselves with local non-profits actively working to influence public policy and make…

Recently released studies have confirmed what we already know, but too often ignore: texting and driving is not a safe combination. Even though you’re 23 times more likely…

Cyclists across the pond have come up with a creative way to make sure surrounding motorists treat their safety with the appropriate amount of respect. By wearing reflective…

After compiling over 65,000 company reviews during 2012 and evaluating multiple factors that influence an employee’s job satisfaction, CareerBliss released their list of the happiest and unhappiest jobs…

As proof that it’s not just young celebrities who can be terrible role models, 76-year-old screen icon Robert Redford recently boasted he drives at speeds in excess of…

Much like most major cities, in Seattle there are currently a number of construction projects underway. Old buildings have been demolished to give way to new apartment complexes,…

Although the widely reported accident took place almost a year ago, the San Francisco cyclist who collided with 71-year-old Sutchi Hui on March 29, 2012 has recently been…

A California Senate bill proposing restrictions on motorcycle lane splitting was placed on hold this week pending a safety study currently being conducted by UC-Berkeley. The bill, which…

The National Law Journal released its annual list of the Top 50 Go-To Law Schools, with the University of Pennsylvania topping the list for the second consecutive year….

According to a preliminary report from the National Safety Council, the number of traffic fatalities during 2012 increased by 5 percent over the previous year. This marks the…

Despite offering a good starting point, there’s still plenty of information missing when you look at the Walkscore of a specific location. As has been pointed out plenty…

Distracted driving is a serious threat to street safety, but what about distracted walking? A new bill in Nevada would make it illegal for pedestrians to text, enter…

It may seem counterintuitive, but despite near unanimous support for the use of helmets, many cycling advocates disagree with the notion that helmet usage should be required by…

Earlier this week, Florida teen Penelope Soto got international attention when a video of her mouthing off to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat started making the rounds online….

Heading into this week’s Super Bowl big game, Samsung has decided to poke a bit of fun at the fact advertisers aren’t allowed to mention the NFL’s trademarked…

An article from the DC Area blog “Greater Greater Washington” posed an interesting question about whether a recent pedestrian enforcement campaign is essentially “blaming the victim” by targeting…

Committing insurance fraud is already bad enough, but when you endanger your children in the process it reaches a whole new level of scuminess. For mother of five,…

This past Tuesday, Representatives from the Contra Costa County Public Works Department and Kinder Morgan held a meeting to discuss potential safety issues stemming from a jet fuel…

Despite the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in the state of Washington, the lines for what constitutes a DUI may remain somewhat fuzzy. Although the state’s new law…

The Washington Department of Transportation has $750,000 burning a hole in its pocket and it wants to give it to a new bike share program in King County…

With the end of the year fast approaching, our friends at TransForm are trying to set themselves up for success in 2013 by raising $75,000 to help them…

With Governor Brown’s recent veto of the three foot passing bill, there’s a new product popping up specifically for cyclists looking to preserve a bit of personal space….

It’s no secret that law school attendance is in serious decline. That’s what makes the decision to open a new law school in “the middle of history’s worst…

With the recent legalization of marijuana in both Washington and Colorado, police are in the process of determining how to enforce DUI laws in light of legislation that…

A bike lane on Jarvis St. in Toronto, Ontario was scheduled for removal but six protesters staged a sit-in to prevent construction workers from removing the lane. The removal crew…

It may seem like a punishment right out of a sitcom, but a Cleveland Municipal court judge has sentenced a Cleveland woman to wear a sign that says,…

San Francisco Municipal Railway kicked off a weeklong centennial celebration on Sunday by rolling out vintage streetcars on the city’s oldest existing rail line. Over the weekend, the…

On Saturday afternoon 92-year-old motorist Levon Arkelian was cited for failing to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk after he struck and injured two 14-year-old boys who were…

Last month the New York Times ran an editorial written by someone who found it refreshing that she could rent a bike for $2 in Paris and spend…

In a recent segment from Bloomberg Law, law firm consultant Bruce MacEwen has charged that the legal industry is currently facing an “excess capacity.” As a result, MacEwen…

A recent incident in Littleton, Colorado has highlighted the importance of always being alert and never taking your safety for granted. Last weekend a 55-year-old cyclist was injured…

The battle between cars and bikes rages on, as the insurance company of a New Zealand motorist attempted to sue a cyclist for vehicle damage occurring after the…

After relaxing the blackout periods on bikes during Friday’s in the month of August, Bay Area Rapid Transit conducted a survey to gauge passengers’ experiences with the temporarily…

This weekend, Bridgestone’s “Teens Drive Smart” campaign will be at the Alameda Point Naval Air Station on Saturday, September 22nd and Sunday, September 23rd. The free half-day program…

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is polling Bay Area residents on their customer experiences. The short survey asks for feedback on a variety of topics, from…

Saturday, September 15th will mark the 8th Annual Peak2Peak Walk, an event led by the pedestrian advocacy group Walk SF. The walk begins in the heart of the…

With people in Copenhagen already riding a combined 750,000 miles each day, a new “cycling superhighway” that plans to link the city’s surrounding suburbs is expected to get…

Behold, the bicycle minivan. Last week the Bay Citizen featured an article on how some San Francisco parents are opting to make the bike a family vehicle. The…

A recent experiment conducted by Brooklyn Spoke blog author Doug Gordon has confirmed what many people already suspected; simply having a barrier between the road and bike lane…

There are plenty of excuses people give for why they don’t wear a helmet. Reasons ranging from the understandable complaint that they’re bulky and hard to carry around…

Texting and driving is against the law, but enforcing distracted driving laws is easier said than done. Last week in Fargo, North Dakota, police setup a sting operation…

The seemingly unending war between motorists and cyclists had a bit more fuel thrown on the fire this week thanks to some vocal San Jose residents objecting to…

Reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that between 2001 and 2010 nearly 70 people were killed in Bay Area car crashes resulting from problems…

In a move that’s sure to raise privacy concerns and spark paranoia among Bay Area residents, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is exploring the idea of implementing a mileage…

In addition to having one of the highest traffic fatality rates of any Bay Area county, Sonoma County has also been the site of several recent cycling tragedies….

According to a study by Monash University that was recently published in Accident Analysis and Prevention, almost 40 percent of Australian cyclists admit to running a red light….

Remember when we said the bright spot in the new San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) budget was a pilot program that would provide low-income children with free…

Beginning next year, texting while driving will be legal in California…as long as you keep your hands off the phone. On Friday, July 13th, Gov. Jerry Brown signed…

Much has already been written about the cuts to pedestrian related projects in the new Federal Transportation Bill. Fortunately, there are still people out there actively campaigning for…

Thanks to a partnership between Better World Club and Portland’s Gales Creek Insurance Services, cyclists now have the opportunity to purchase the first nationwide comprehensive accident and liability…