Boy Airlifted After Shooting In North Coventry

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Chester County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NORTH COVENTRY TOWNSHIP, PA— Two bicycles were left abandoned on the sidewalk of West Main Street in the South Pottstown section of the township Friday evening while emergency responders treated a child who suffered a gunshot wound.

The 8-year-old boy, according to witnesses, was riding his bicycle past the Pottstown Dance Studio near Coyne Alley when the incident happened.

An arch of blood that started near the bikes showed the path the victim took after the shooting. The crimson spots stopped in the grassy driveway next to the dance studio at 72 W. Main Street.

The child was not a student of the school, a dance studio official told The Mercury.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140509/boy-airlifted-after-shooting-in-north-coventry-video

Report: Traffic Deaths Rose In Pennsylvania And U.S. In 2012

Map of Pennsylvania, showing major cities and roads (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pennsylvania’s increase in traffic deaths in 2012 was smaller than the rise nationwide — the first increase in U.S. fatalities since 2005, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported today.

The NHTSA reported a 3.3 percent increase in U.S. traffic fatalities for the year to 33,561 people killed, an increase of 1,082 from 2011.

Seventy-two percent of the increase — 778 of the 1,082 deaths — came in the first quarter of the year, and over half of those deaths were motorcyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians and other people not in vehicles, NHTSA reported. The agency noted that the first quarter of the year was also the warmest on record.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2013/11/14/Report-Traffic-deaths-rose-in-Pennsylvania-and-U-S-in-2012/stories/201311140293#ixzz2kfoIVzGT

Reading’s New Spokes-Men: Police Expand Bicycle Patrols

Editor’s note:  We like this!!  Get those guys out there and visible.  It really is a crime deterrent!!

Six police officers in bright yellow shirts quietly pedaled through a courtyard toward Penn Street, emerging onto the sidewalk and startling pedestrians.

Several passers-by smiled at the men’s sudden appearance and one guy yelled out, “Hey, you look good!”

The officers were part of the Reading Police Department’s newly expanded bicycle patrols.

Eight officers were certified for the duty in May at the Reading Police Academy, bringing the total of certified bicycle officers to 30.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=490247

Changing Skyline: Philly Steering Toward Bike Sharing

Philadelphia didn’t need Bicycling magazine to confirm that it is one of America’s best biking cities (No. 17 on its 2012 list).  You can see it every day on the streets:

Near northeast corner, May 2005. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The steady stream of commuters sluicing down Center City‘s bike lanes.  The tangle of bikes hitched to U-shaped racks and bike corrals.  (More, please.)  The proliferation of neighborhood bike shops.

Philadelphia probably could have ranked higher in the magazine’s esteem if it had a bike-sharing program, like most of the list’s top 20 cities.  You can now find cheap, on-street bike rentals in more than 135 places around the world, many of them with worse weather and hillier streets than Philadelphia.  Yet the city has remained strangely ambivalent toward the concept, even as private bikes have become a popular transit option within the city.

But the sight of Mayor Nutter tooling around Rittenhouse Square last week on a canary-yellow cruiser suggests Philadelphia is finally ready to commit.  To show the city’s seriousness, his Transportation Department organized a daylong bike-sharing demonstration with three top vendors, supplying a docking-station’s worth of bikes in paint-box colors.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20130510_Changing_Skyline__City_steering_toward_bike_sharing.html#oeXi4rzPYwBAAXdv.99

Lancaster City Wants To Be A Haven For Bicyclists

Bicyclists are being welcomed onto Red Rose Transit buses, businesses are opening their doors to bikes or designating parking areas for them, and city officials are considering ways to improve bicycle transportation.

During May, national bike month, efforts are being made around Lancaster city to enhance cycling safety and promote cycling as a form of transportation.

For example, during National Bike to Work Week, May 13-17, RRTA is offering free rides to bicyclists.  They can mount their bikes on the racks on the front of the buses and ride in and out of the city without charge during the work week.

Each rack holds two bikes, RRTA marketing manager Jennifer Boley said.  Additional bikes may be carried in the aisle.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/847168_Lancaster-city-wants-to-be-a-haven-for-bicyclists.html#ixzz2Sl7ekt41

Sprawling Memphis Aims To Be A Friendlier Place For Cyclists

English: Memphis, Tennessee skyline from the air. A photograph by myself while in Memphis] (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

MEMPHIS — John Jordan, a 64-year-old condo appraiser here, has been pedaling his cruiser bicycle around town nearly every day, tooling about at lunchtime or zipping to downtown appointments.

“It’s my cholesterol-lowering device,” said Mr. Jordan, clad in a leather vest and wearing a bright white beard. “The problem is, the city needs to educate motorists to not run over” the bicyclists.

Bike-friendly behavior has never come naturally to Memphis, which has long been among the country’s most perilous places for cyclists.  In recent years, though, riders have taken to the streets like never before, spurred by a mayor who has worked to change the way residents think about commuting.

Mayor A. C. Wharton Jr., elected in 2009, assumed office a year after Bicycling magazine named Memphis one of the worst cities in America for cyclists, not the first time the city had received such a biking dishonor.  But Mr. Wharton spied an opportunity.

Read more:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/29/us/memphis-aims-to-be-a-friendlier-place-for-cyclists.html?ref=us

Lancaster Parking Authority Beefs Up Security With Bike Patrols And Saves Money

It is always nice to see an improvement in service while reducing costs.  The Lancaster Parking Authority has done just that by replacing security details patrolling the parking garages in center city by car with security officers on bicycles.  It is felt that the officers on bicycles are highly visible and approachable if help is needed by a customer.

The reason for this change was not due to any increased criminal activity.  The change was made to improve customer service and safety.  The side benefit is saving the Parking Authority money.  The city has contracted these services through Allied Barton.  The decision to go with Allied Barton was made using advice from Lancaster PD, Franklin & Marshall College and Lancaster General Hospital, as well as the Parking Authority.

Two officers were contracted for $70,000 through Allied Barton and will work 11 hours shifts riding around downtown Lancaster’s five garages, being highly visible in their yellow shirts.  The security officers carry handcuffs and mace.  In the event backup is needed, the Parking Authority bike officers will contact the James Street Improvement District bicycle ambassadors as first responders.  City police are only contacted as needed.  The James Street Improvement District already uses Allied Barton for their bicycle ambassador program.

This program will save the Parking Authority $10,000 to $20,000 per year by substituting Allied Barton staff for Parking Authority staff.  Allied Barton specializes in security and the Parking Authority specializes in parking cars so the change makes sense.  It is expected that the new bike team will put 40 miles per day on their bikes while patrolling.

If you want to learn more about Lancaster’s James Street Improvement District Ambassador program click here: http://www.jsidlancaster.org/bikesquad.cfm

To learn more about the Lancaster Parking Authority, click here:  http://lancasterparkingauthority.com/