Cargo Bike

CPH bike sketch

So here's a little sketch of a potential bike. I can add some specs to it and make a little diagram showing measurements and what not.

The bike is based on the Specialized Globe Live.

bikes

 So here are some bikes that my brother thinks could be good commuter bikes. 
Loring pictured above
Electra

also he recommends we check out http://bicycletimesmag.com/
and this also led me to this http://www.interbike.com/ which seems to be the expo for bike design.

Carbon Belt System Technology + Bike-friendly bikes

ala Philip:

http://www.carbondrivesystems.com/overview.php?lang=us



Specialized Globe Carmel
the bicycles that sid's bikes rents out - $390


Specialized Live
built in bike rack

RFID

I was writing back and forth with my brother and he has explained to me the infeasibility of GPS units in the bicycles. This is because of several good reasons:

1. cost prohibitive; the cost of outfitting a bike with GPS cound cost more than the bike itself.
2. not maintenance free; how would you service it if it was embedded in the frame for theft reasons?
3. power; establishing a way to provide enough power to send/receive data requires more than a hub generator... lights only take a few watts but GPS is a different story.

So we started chatting about RFID as he began to convince me of the negatives associated with GPS technology and after ward I did some research about different frequencies of Radio Frequency IDentification.


This company I found, SMARTRAC, makes different RFID products for handling information as simple as a serial number to as complicated as bank account information. Lamenting the impracticality of GPS (which would be a really cool, though cliche) I had an idea:

At races of all kind RFID is used determine the exact start and stop times of individual racerswith sensors over or next to the roadway.... Why don't we do the same thing here. like cellphone relay boxes, a powered RFID reader could ascertain in real-time the number and information of bikes passing that point. This isn't nearly as cost prohibitive of a system as GPS in thousands and thousands of bikes that will all conceivably somewhat different (especially if we dredge bikes out of the harbor). They could be attached like parasites on the sides of lamposts, that would feed a multitude of information (speed, direction, time, density relative rideable lane width, etc...) to a central database, as well as function with our zip-car styled share network online.

It could be like the bike counter that was mentioned here a while back


Also, I hate to plagarize, but the latest post about a bike parking area in DC uses a really clever rack system whose function is very clever... this pic pretty much says it all:


Anywho, thats what I've been doing recently, sorry about not making it last night... see y'all sunday.

Criteria

Here are some notes on the criteria:
[see above BMP for visual references. unfortunately blogger doesnt accept PDF files - so i had to export as a BMP - click on the image to enlarge.]


# 4.1.1 The Bicycle Design

BUILT IN components:
-GPS to generate real-live web application for smartphones, internet and available at display screens at main stations [this can be used as a planning tool by learning from patterns and therefore being able to plan in a smarter way.]
-accessories: lights, rack, basket, rear lock, solar power

RE-USE abandoned bicycles? 8,000 bicycles were abandoned in 2008 alone. In what way can these be re-used? ... create community-bonding workshops on bicycle mechanics and building workshop using these salvaged bicycles... ? Use the salvaged bicycle parts to reconstruct some of the stations?

3 types of bicycles, in 2 sizes, for a TOTAL OF 6 types of bicycles.
-townie. 3-speed. [commuter/tourist/copenhagener]
-cargo. [copenhagener]
-salvaged bicycles. [commuter/tourist/copenhagener]

2 sizes:
one to fit 4ft-5ft
one to fit 5ft+
???


# 4.1.2 Storage

Currently there are 34,800 parking spaces, including 1,000 mobile racks.

With the figure of 37% of residents biking to their school or workplace, that means that 150,000 cyclists enter Copenhangen every morning. There is a great need for more parking racks.

Solutions:
-Create more stations for the bike share, and allow for private bicycle owners to use these facilities. Private bicycle owners can tap into this system by paying a minimal yearly fee, which would help generate some revenue for the bike share program.
-Design and implement a modular parking system. These can be available for sale to commercial entities so that they can attract customers. This will create revenue for the bike share program. This type of solution would intelligently solve the issue with privatization of city sidewalks [if one exists, as it does in New York City].
-Utilize the unused wall space for a vertical parking solution.
-Utilize vacant lots for a vertical parking solution.


# 4.1.3 Booking Access and Payment

Commuter: booking and payment can be done online and/or on smartphone. Minimal annual fees for upkeep and maintenance.

Tourist: primarily deals with booking and payment at the physical stations, usually in the main squares. Payment is structured more like a minimal charged rental.

Copenhagener: booking and payment can be done online and/or on smartphone. Minimal annual fees for upkeep and maintenance.

Research other cities’ booking access and payment programs.
Paris, Lyon, Barcelona, Beijing, etc

How to generate revenue to maintain the bike share:
-modular bike racks [private commercial businesses]
-advertisement ‘space’ on bicycles and station kiosks and shelters


# 4.2.1 Overall Design Concept

Bicycle share name... ?

"If it’s monuments you’re after in Copenhagen, don’t look up. Look all around you, right there at street level. Our greatest monument is motion. It is a massive, constant, rhythmic and life-sized legacy."

free form
immediacey
dynamic
inter-connectivity
decentralized
real time
scale- micro macro
interplay
urbanity
inter reactionary
trifecta

A physical infrastructure is integral in a successful bike share [bicycles, racks, pick-up/drop off stations, bike tracks/lanes, etc]. In this proposal, a digital infrastructure is also integral in the success of the bike share [GPS on the bicycles, GIS application - Google mashup -, text messaging, etc].

GPS to generate real-live web application for smartphones, internet and available at display screens at main stations.


# 4.2.2 Design and Form

Copenhagen blue [bike lane]

Utilize a strong branding identity. [Historic emblems, color] BOLD, SYMBOLIC.
One way to think about using the city symbol: Create the station, and on the shelter, enlarge the logo so it becomes more of an abstraction.

Propose stages for implementation:
Once these stages have been created, the program can advance to a further state depending on
demand/need, as seen fit by the City.

Stage 1 - X amount of bicycles, X amount of parking spaces, X amount of stations, etc.
Stage 2 - As the program is deemed successful and there is more demand, increase in amount of bicycles, parking spaces, stations, etc.
Stage 3 - As the program expands, increase... and institute more solutions for the increase of bicycles and space for storage - use empty walls for a vertical solution; use vacant lots, etc.

Each stage becomes increasingly more complex in terms of increase of fleet, increase in parking, etc - general increase in the infrastructure.


# 4.2.3 Visibility User Friendliness and Logistics

Utilize a strong branding identity. [Historic emblems, color] BOLD, SYMBOLIC.

Utilize lighting system. Look to the symbolism in the NYC Transit system’s lighting - the glow of the Green orb when a station is open. Use the same soft, glowing but vibrant and intense type of light at the bike share stations. The stations’ level of illumination corresponds with the stations’ bicycle availability.


# 4.2.4 Interaction with the City

With growing popularity of cycling and the implementation of the new bike share, cycle track congestion proves as a challenge for city planners.

Prime motive for cycling: more and wider cycle tracks and fewer cars.

2015 GOALS:
- 50% of people will go to their work place or educational institution in Copenhagen by bike. [In 2008 , 37%]
- The number of seriously injured cyclists in Copenhagen to be halved compared to today. [118 cyclists]
- At least 80% of cyclists in Copenhagen to feel safe and secure in traffic [58%]


quick idea of how we can represent our 3 personas:

the beginning

welcome.

november 11 is our deadline.

Emily's email:
General house keeping notes
Deadline: Wednesday Nov 18 - countdown is 6.5 weeks
Our team deadline: Wednesday Nov 11 / send out our submission on Thurs Nov 12.
Regularly scheduled meetings will be on Wednesdays at 7PM. These meetings may become more frequent as the deadline approaches. We will also have a blog to discuss our ideas. [Also, in terms of dinner - perhaps we can all agree to pick up our own food en route to the meeting. Ordering takes too long. These meetings will take place at Emily's apartment, and any other places we agree upon - other team members apartments/Pratt/offices, etc. And everyone should try to make the in-person meetings, but we understand that we all have other committments. I'd ask that everyone would act responsible and let everyone know if they can't make it. We will try to have a minimum of 3 people present for each week's meeting. There is also the blog.]


Specific tasks for the next week:
Sherry - Set up the blog and tags/labels that represent the criteria.
Emily - Look for shapefiles online to use in GIS to generate CPH map. CPH transportation [bus, train] maps.
Erik - Contact brother, our groundwork counterpart. Hard copy CPH maps. Modular locking system sketch.
Zack - Register the team. We can register at the next meeting, Wed Sept 30 at 7pm. Put together a binder of the printed material.
Darius - 3D model of previously designed bicycle. Branding concepts.

General tasks for the next week:
-Team name
-Read the competition brief and familiarize oneself with the additional readings on CPH bicycle culture
-Research precedents and extract ideas that we could implement
-Bicycle design [sketches, ideas]
-Consider the provided 3 personas: Commuter, tourist, Copenhagener
-Become famliar with criteria
-Consider reaching out to an academic advisor/consultant - Ron Shiffman, Transportation Alternatives, Jeannette Sadhik-Khan, etc.


We got a lot of ideas out on the table last night. For the next meeting, let's push to have some visual represtations of our ideas so we can generate more discussion. Sketches, precedents, diagrams, color swaths - this is the time to be creative!


In terms of team name/blog URL... i was reading over the words we generated last night... and i honed in on "free form, dynamic, interconnectivity, decentralized, interplay inter reactionary" - and i thought of EMERGENCE [from wikipedia: In philosophy, systems theory and science, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems.] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence the major issue with this word is that it has been over-used in the last couple of years and it's taken a different connotation in architecture. it seems like it has become more synonymous with scripting and GC and all that fancy stuff - which I, personally, am not into. But i still believe there is validity to this term and its meaning in regards to the urban environment. Maybe there is another word that deals with emergence but in a more specific urban context rather than digital science. I'm not sure what that would be - I'm just throwing it out there for discussion :] I also think that our team name, or rather, submission/project title is of importance because it needs to reflect our overarching concept in all parts of the design - bike, share, graphics. And as discussed last night, our general concepts will become more clear as we work thru the criteria and come to a more realized solution.

down here in our gray frame it says "labels for this post" and thats where all of our tags are!