Mark Stosberg

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Who can walk to parks in Bloomington, Indiana?

Who can walk to parks in Bloomington, Indiana?

Here's a map of the buildings in Bloomington along with parks in light green and areas within a 10 minute walk in translucent green. Observations 1. The "Ped shed" around Cascades, the big park at the north appears too ambitious, perhaps because it's in

Measuring the Walk Potential of Large Amenities

Measuring the Walk Potential of Large Amenities

To calculate the Walk Potential around most amenities, we find the center of amenity, and generate a 10-minute walk radius around it. This area called a "ped shed" or more technically an isochrone. That works well for a small downtown store front, but it's not great

Child-size stuffed animal, Sleep Dog, works as pillow for leaning child in cargo bike next to field.

Training with Sleep Dog: First Long Ride with a Nap-prone Toddler

Sleep Dog worked hard. I had a particularly tough assignment for the large stuffed animal and I wasn't sure he was up to the task. I stood next to our bakfiets cargo bike, knelt down and asked my 16-month-old daughter Therese her opinion: "Are you ready to

natural tall grass in the foreground, trees in the background. Silhouette of large metal flower in the foreground.

The non-advice of my car-free mentor

I was nervous about giving up my car in Richmond, Indiana and heard that Wayne had been car-free for ten years. I invited him out to lunch to hear about his experiences. He accepted, but his experiences weren't what I expected. I braced myself for the horror stories.

How to find out if bike lanes will fit on your street for $25.

How to find out if bike lanes will fit on your street for $25.

There are likely roads in your own community that you suspect are already wide enough to accommodate a bike lane– They just need stripes to mark the lane. You can check road widths yourself by using a measuring wheel, found for about $25 on E-bay. A measuring wheel measures distances

Carrying a twin size mattress on a bike trailer behind an electric cargo bike.

How to carry a mattress on a bike

A twin-sized mattress can be carried on a bike by using the Bikes-at-Work Trailer. If you need a bike trailer just temporarily, you may get lucky and live a city where one might be rented or borrowed. Call your local bike shop to ask around. In the photo above, I

Why is biking not recommended on sidewalks, but is on multi-use paths?

Why is biking not recommended on sidewalks, but is on multi-use paths?

Plenty of bike advocates will recommend against biking on sidewalks, but at the same time will recommend biking on multi-use paths. Both are often next to roads and intersect with roads. So what's the safety difference between biking on a sidewalk on a multi-use path? Other similar bike