Flipping the Script: Understanding Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety in Chapel Hill-Carrboro

By Emma Vinella-Brusher, Angles Managing Editor Each year, over 3,000 pedestrians and 850 bicyclists are hit by vehicles here in North Carolina, making our state one of the least safe states for walking and biking[i]. Last month, the UNC Department of City & Regional Planning and Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety were joined by Tom Flood of Rovélo Creative and Arleigh Greenwald aka Bike … Continue reading Flipping the Script: Understanding Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety in Chapel Hill-Carrboro

The Chapel Hill Inventory of Resources for Bicycles (CHIRB)

By Eli Powell In May 2020, my supervisors on the Transportation Planning Team at the Town of Chapel Hill approached me about updating their bicycle parking inventory. It had not been touched since 2011 and the Planning Department wanted more current bicycle parking data in order to more thoroughly analyze how well developers were adhering to bicycle parking capacity requirements and design guidelines outlined in … Continue reading The Chapel Hill Inventory of Resources for Bicycles (CHIRB)

Bike on a Budget: Affordable Solutions to Improve the Bicycling Experience

By: Pierce Holloway Making your bike more comfortable can shift your biking experience from granny to great – And many of these solutions can be done for $20, or even free! First step: bicycle fit. Perhaps the easiest way to improve your riding experience is to make sure your saddle (seat) is at the right height. To check the height, enlist a friend to stand … Continue reading Bike on a Budget: Affordable Solutions to Improve the Bicycling Experience

The Future of Biking Across the United States

If you have ever felt compelled to confront the importance of planning in your daily life, try biking on the rumble strip of a highway. The discomfort of being distinctly out of place reveals underlying structures in the way things are built. In the summer of 2015, I biked across the country 4,295 miles from Portland, M.E., to Seattle, W.A., with the organization Bike the … Continue reading The Future of Biking Across the United States

Urban Freight Challenges with the Rise of E-Commerce

This piece was originally written by Tory Gibler for Planning Methods (PLAN 720) in November 2018. Have you purchased a product online and had it shipped to your home in the last year? It’s a good bet you have, given that online shopping is a large and growing portion of all US retails sales. It’s always a challenge for planners to predict the countless events … Continue reading Urban Freight Challenges with the Rise of E-Commerce

Carolina Angles’ First Semi-Annual Photo Contest

Fall break is a great opportunity to explore a nearby town or city. This year, Carolina Angles launched its first Semi-Annual Photo Contest. Planning students submitted their favorite photos from fall break for a chance to win. The winning photo shows us the Biltmore Conservatory in Asheville, NC. Other entries include beautiful scenery from Hanging Rock State Park, a Mid-century Modern Home from Moyaone Reserve, … Continue reading Carolina Angles’ First Semi-Annual Photo Contest

Busting Stereotypes One Wheel at a Time

The following is derived from an interview with Athena Wollin, a bicycle mechanic at Oak City Cycling Project, graphic designer, and board member of Oaks & Spokes, a bicycle advocacy nonprofit in Raleigh, NC. Originally from central Oregon, Athena has lived in Portland, Boulder, and now Raleigh. She loves bikes and the bicycle’s form and movement inspired her early graphic and animation work. This led … Continue reading Busting Stereotypes One Wheel at a Time

REPOST: American roads were built for bikes

Five o’clock rush hour is a concept that does not exist in car-centric cities such as Los Angeles. Because in these cities, traffic is a 24-hour nightmare. This car-dominated city, which is rumored to have more cars than people, leaves very little room to share the road with bicyclists. In an effort to accommodate more cars rather than more bikes, the city is lobbying to extend … Continue reading REPOST: American roads were built for bikes

Got Green Space?

Planning for Preventative Health Urban green space provides a place to escape the concrete and steel of urban city centers, spend time in nature, connect with others, and get moving. As Americans become increasingly sedentary, a push towards funding and implementing green space as a means of increasing individual health has gained traction. Doctors now write green prescriptions for patients to go walk at their … Continue reading Got Green Space?

Finding Your New Favorite Bike Route

Somewhere in the relief of cooler weather, the urgency of shortening days, and the beauty of the coming fall, is the drive to find a gradual slope and smooth descent. The only thing left to do is plan the ride. As a regular cyclist and a new North Carolinian, I looked through some of the tools I’ve previously used to plan new routes to see … Continue reading Finding Your New Favorite Bike Route