@mbonsma@mastodon.social
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mbonsma

@mbonsma@mastodon.social

Data Sciences Institute postdoc (bikes + data), biophysics PhD, Bike Ottawa board member, mom. I post about bikes and safe streets, local politics, and sometimes science. She/her.

#DataScience #BikeTooter #OttBike #BikeTO #ActiveTravel #Transportation #UrbanPlanning #CargoBike #eBike #biking #maps #science #Python #cats #fedi22

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mbonsma, to random
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Pedestrians, it should be our right to be distracted. It should be our right to walk and listen to music / look at the sky / cute dogs / snowflakes and not worry about getting killed. Nothing about that is dangerous except for CARS. Don't let them make you believe you are the problem.

mbonsma, to random
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I have never felt more respected or validated in my life than when I drove this onto the elementary school playground this morning

mbonsma, to random
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Biking will never be a transportation solution for everyone all the time. But what e-bikes (and especially e-cargo bikes) do is expand the range of bikeable situations, giving more people more options for an incredibly fun way to get around!

mbonsma,
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With an e-cargo bike, I can bike:

  • 9 months pregnant
  • with heavy stuff and kids
  • uphill and in "bad" weather
  • to go on big adventures I would never have considered before

All of these are situations I used to NOT bike, and having an e-bike has massively expanded my world.

A photo of my e-bike with my toddler standing beside it, all in front of a pile of City of Toronto compost bags with several bags in the bike
A photo of my cargo bike in a snowy park with skis sticking out the back
A photo of me with my cargo bike loaded with camping gear and my toddler in the back

mbonsma, to random
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"An arms race on our streets." Oversized SUVs and pickups are bad for all of us: pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and drivers. It's not fair that safety testing in Canada is only for those on the inside of the vehicle. Sign the federal petition here: https://ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4944

An excellent article and report about the issue of large vehicles: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-report-from-advocacy-groups-urges-tighter-regulations-for-suvs-and/

#DeadlyByDesign

mbonsma, to SciComm
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We've all been there: it's puzzle time, but once you dump out the pieces and start laying them flat, you realize you don't have enough space on your table. Join me as we use physics to find out ✨HOW BIG A TABLE YOU NEED FOR YOUR JIGSAW PUZZLE ✨

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2312.04588

mbonsma,
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TL;DR: an unassembled jigsaw puzzle takes up an area that is the square root of 3 times the area of the assembled puzzle, or about 1.7 times the assembled area. This is independent of the number of pieces.

mbonsma, to random
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"If you care about safety you can't dismiss dangerous behaviour by cyclists"

Sure thing. I'll just spend 40,000 minutes working against the danger of cars for every minute I spend addressing the danger of bikes. Why? That's about the difference in rates of killing people.

mbonsma, to random
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It's hard to describe the startling QUIET of these open streets. Hundreds of people out, and all you hear are birds singing, the click of a bike mechanism, and the murmur of conversation. Cities aren't loud, cars are loud.

People walking down an open street in Montreal, with the sound of birds chirping, a bike, and conversation and laughter.

mbonsma, to random
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18-inch close pass from a lady in a Tesla.
Me: you passed me way too close
Her: you need to share the road!!!! You need to ride close to the side!!!

Write this on my tombstone when the next asshole kills me:

YOU DO NOT NEED TO STAY TO THE RIGHT WHEN THE LANE IS TOO NARROW TO SHARE

mbonsma, to transit
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In August my family did an 8-day camping trip in Southern Ontario, completely car-free. We left our home in Toronto and my parents left their home in Niagara on bikes, and we did this lovely loop along the shore of Lake Erie. A thread about our trip!

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1Gs7bSlq3J_Oz8XLAIyTb3Bbqe0wuBVc&ll=42.86414190950249%2C-80.34004962717535&z=9

My parents, husband, and toddler with bikes on a rail bridge in Waterford
My husband biking along a road next to blue Lake Erie on a sunny day
Four bikes and some picnicners next to the shore of Lake Erie

mbonsma, to random
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Actually it SHOULD be difficult and stressful to drive a car in a city and if it's not then you're not taking your responsibility seriously enough

mbonsma, to random
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This morning a woman walked out onto the street in front of me without looking and I just went around her and everyone went on with their day, because I was going 15 km/h on a bike and not driving a 1500 kg tank through a city at 50 km/h

mbonsma, to random
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This is so cool. An overwhelming "yes" vote from McMaster students to add a small bike share fee to their tuition, and it becomes the largest source of funding for the system. The kids are alright!!

https://www.thepublicrecord.ca/2024/03/mcmaster-students-approve-bike-share-fee-of-24-50-per-student/

mbonsma, to random
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Oh my gosh 😭

A series of texts from me to my husband. The first is a screenshot of the previous toots, then a message from me sent at 11:25 am saying "I'll put money on him coming back with "ahhh but AS STATED your STATEMENT IS WRONG" about how I didn't say all the assumptions in that single tweet and then I'll be like bro........ just read the whole thread"
A reply from the reply guy sent at 11:28 that says "@mbonsma Right. I was just pointing out that your post didn’t make the parameters clear. That’s why I said “as stated” it was incorrect."

mbonsma, to random
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And for my next trick, a full cart of groceries loaded into... an SUV? No! A mere bicycle!

The grocery cart is empty and all the groceries are in the back panniers of my bike

mbonsma, to random
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Husband: as far as I'm concerned, the voting age should be 3. Hey [3-year-old], should we have more trains or less trains?
3-year-old: more trains!
Husband: see?

mbonsma, to random
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The pedal bike clicked for my 4-year-old this week. His grin, his squeals of laughter, his "I'm going really fast! This is fun!" while we ride beside him - one of the best feelings I've ever had as a parent.

mbonsma, to random
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My friend Jen was in a car crash a decade ago. Today she begins an epic four-week roll on the Camino after achieving her first self-propelled movement in ten years this past spring with this recumbent bike. Her journey is about so much more than bikes, but wow, that bike is cool.

Read more about her story and follow her trip on her blog: https://www.jenschuringa.com/

mbonsma, to random
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Ahhhh, Coquitlam. The red line shows the intended use by pedestrians. I know someone who walks to work every day by this route 😳

mbonsma, to random
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An SUV veered into the bike lane to pass someone else just as I was coming up beside on my bike. I gave him an "I'm disappointed" head shake, and the next time I passed him he rolled down the window and screamed "EAT MY AH*!!" Very normal and cool reaction! 🙃

Nope Shaking Head GIF

mbonsma, to random
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If you build it (a gap in the protected bike lane) they (cars) will come

mbonsma, to random
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THREE e-bikes at the Canadian Tire bike rack on a rainy late-December day. One man casually strapping a large box to his rack said he's put on 12,000 km in 3 years just doing errands around the city. "3 years ago I hardly saw any other bikes like this, now they're everywhere."

mbonsma,
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Why are people forgoing cars for cargo bikes or e-bikes? Lex Harvey explains beautifully here: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/many-torontonians-are-parking-their-cars-in-favour-of-bikes-heres-why/article_01ba9b1a-a5bc-11ee-a5c4-8fb39569a84c.html

mbonsma, to cycling
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NEW PAPER from me and a wonderful team of collaborators: ✨A Street-Specific Analysis of Level of Traffic Stress Trends in Strava Bicycle Ridership and its Implications for Low-Stress Bicycling Routes in Toronto✨

It's short and it's open access!
#BikeTO #BikeTooter #Strava #Urbanism

https://findingspress.org/article/92109-a-street-specific-analysis-of-level-of-traffic-stress-trends-in-strava-bicycle-ridership-and-its-implications-for-low-stress-bicycling-routes-in-toron

mbonsma,
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Many orgs and researchers use Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) as a measure of where people are willing to bike. Most people very understandably don't want to ride in mixed fast traffic! But does the LTS rating of a street actually translate to usage? We used Strava data in Toronto to find out!

mbonsma, to random
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Safety is the focus of this petition because people are being injured and killed right now. But there are so many other reasons to demand smaller vehicles, and here are some of them. 🧵
#DeadlyByDesign

https://mastodon.social/@mbonsma/112317556998235401

mbonsma,
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  1. One little-known fact is that most of the air pollution from vehicles today comes not from the tailpipe but from tire wear. Smaller vehicles produce less tire pollution.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/23/health-impact-tyre-particles-increasing-concern-air-pollution

  1. Big vehicles clog up the road and make traffic worse. A standard city bus that can hold 50 people is 12 metres long. An F-150, the best-selling vehicle in Canada, can be up to 6 metres long, while sedans or SUVs are typically 4 metres long.
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