Democracy Now! talks bikes, carfree conference in Portland
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor) on April 15th, 2008 at 8:55 am
National independent news program Democracy Now! stopped in Portland this morning and filmed a segment on Portland’s bike-friendliness.
Show host Amy Goodman sat down and talked with BTA Executive Director Scott Bricker about how Portland became so bike-friendly and she asked transportation activist Elly Blue about the upcoming International Toward Carfree Cities conference which is coming to Portland this June (and is being organized by Ms. Blue).
The segment is set to air locally on KBOO (90.7 in Portland) this morning at around 11:45 am. You can also watch or listen to it online at DemocracyNow.org.
Democracy Now! airs on NPR and over 700 stations nationwide.
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April 15th, 2008 10:31
I listened to this.
First Amy Goodman pronounced her name E-Lie, then later El-lee.
There wasn't much substance to the report itself. It was mostly a lot of 'Ra, Ra, Portland' fluff.
But also, if this piece or reports like it get people to move to p-town then I hope they leave their cars behind.
Just sayin.
April 15th, 2008 10:36
Nice! Amy Goodman is one of my heros.
April 15th, 2008 12:30
Streetfilms were featured on the show!
April 15th, 2008 12:48
DN is one of the best places to get news these days.
Qwendolyn, if you thought it was a fluff piece, check out the whole show. Amy's headlines at the top of the program are usually the best informed, most up to date, and broadest in scope you'll find.
April 15th, 2008 16:30
I want to move to Portland, and I don't even have a car (which is the main reason why I want to move to Portland)
April 15th, 2008 23:36
Yay to KBOO for broadcasting Democracy Now! every day.
April 16th, 2008 06:30
We're still looking for hosts for conference attendees if you're interested in helping out! E-mail me at housing{at}carfreeportland.org
April 16th, 2008 07:21
#5, Hey, Opus, the transportation DNA of PDX is the same as Garland, TX, Tulsa, OK, or just about anywhere in America.
PDX already has all the bike advocates it needs. Garland and Tulsa probably needs more. We could probably do without the suicide slots and the attendant boxes.
Maybe a bike billboard might crash the June Carfree conference. Stranger things have happened.
Ask NOT for what your town isn't and will never be. Ask how to be the change you want YOUR town to be.
April 16th, 2008 07:23
Link disabled?!
Towards Carfree Cities '08!
http://www.carfreeportland.org/
It works! Really!
April 16th, 2008 08:01
Hey Dr. Benjamin,
I didn't link to the site because a reader called me to say that her virus program detected something when she went to the home page. I assume the issue has been fixed and now I'll go and put the link back in.
April 16th, 2008 14:56
Our site was hacked, but it's been unhacked.
Thank you Democracy Now! for providing us with enough page hits to be worthy of such attentions.
April 16th, 2008 21:33
I have seen the street map of PDX, and there are some significant differences between it and where I live in Garland TX. One of the major differences is in PDX you have a choice of parallel routes, that isn't a choice in Garland, which was developed with the superblock and one way in/out planning (?) for residential development. This has the effect of requiring bike riders to mix with high-speed motor vehicle traffic without the benefit of bike lanes. With the general mentality of the "bubba" population this means that while the incidence of unfavorable interaction is low, it is generally quite bad for the cyclist, as that part of the population still thinks of the roads as their own personal speedway, and speed limits as suggestions of minimum speed rather than the maximum legal speed, and any interference with their drive as a capital offence. Thankfully this kind of moron is a low percentage of the population, unfortunately it only takes one to ruin your entire life, assuming you survive the encounter. The part of the population that regards the speed limit as a suggestion is much larger, and even without any malice make riding a hazardous proposition.
Roads planning in Garland decided long ago that the only way to get around would be by motor vehicle, as many of the streets have no sidewalks. Garland is deliberately designed to make alternative transportation difficult to impossible, depending on where you're trying to go or go from.
Like I said, by comparison with where i live, Portland is Nelvana (not quite Nirvana, but a real close second).
April 18th, 2008 16:07
Yep. The grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side.