The Monday Roundup

Money for roads increases; Cash for Clunkers grows; distracted driving censured; boating fees provide test case; a bike bell crackdown; the trajectory of big ideas; bike sharing praised; skateboards get the spotlight.

Here are the news stories that caught our eye in the last week:

– Oregon’s governor has signed a new transportation bill into law — Chris Smith reports that there’s plenty of money for roads and highways (including the Newberg/Dundee bypass and — probably — the Columbia River Crossing) but not much for other modes.

– Speaking of the CRC, Joe Cortwright has an op-ed in the Oregonian about how we don’t need it and can’t afford it, and the O’s editorial board has a piece calling for our political leaders to push it through quickly.

– We won’t have a new national transportation bill until fall — but the Senate just passed a $7 billion patch for the Highway Trust Fund to tide us over until then. Unfortunately, it lacks money for transit.

– Fully 17% of federal road stimulus money has been spent on widening roads rather than maintaining existing ones.

– The federal “Cash for Clunkers” new car subsidy ran out of money, but never fear, the U.S. House has already approved $2 billion more dollars (although the Senate might kill the extension when they vote on it tomorrow).

– The New York Times now has a one-stop go-to resource page for all its coverage of distracted driving issues. CNN has also weighed in — unsympathetically — on texting while driving. And finally on this topic, the prototypical cautionary tale has at last emerged.

Sprawl just plain costs more than building up existing communities, find the Australians.

– Sound familiar? The Oregon Legislature this year passed a $5 annual permit fee for the use of boats like canoes, kayaks, and drift boats (i.e., “manually propelled” boats) on Oregon waters. Officials are at a loss as to how to enforce the fee, or how to get the word out about the new $20 fee for out of state visitors to use a motorboat.

Fatigue is one of the most common causes of fatal collisions across all modes of transportation, according to new research by the National Transportation Safety Board.

– Portland lawyer and champion of bike rights Bob Mionske’s latest column deals with how to respond to road rage. His first rule: Don’t engage.

– In the aftermath of a horrifying car-bike crash in Ottawa, Canada, police held a major, across-the-board enforcement action. People ticketed while bicycling were apparently surprised to receive fines — citations ranged from $35 for sidewalk riding to $110 for not having a bell to $180 for running a red light (for the latter, the same fine applied to those in cars).

– Wired Magazine is the latest to pose the not entirely neutral question of whether or not bikes should be regulated and taxed in the same way as cars.

– A nice essay by Tom Vanderbilt discusses the evolution of ideas from “silly” to “obvious,” particularly in light of criticisms of NYC’s recent spate of transportation reforms.

– The BBC has an audio documentary on the “Anatomy of a Car Crash,” with both parties involved in an incident explaining how the crash changed their lives forever.

– Another strong case for bike sharing is made on Copenhagenize — taking a look at how the Vélib system has transformed Paris. Worldchanging also has an article about Paris, and how it is becoming a model green city.

– Bikes reign supreme, but Portland is apparently also the skateboard capitol of the world.

– Traveling photographer and bike activist Russ Roca and his partner Laura came to Portland this weekend and enthusiastically participated in that quintessential Portland bike event, a cross-town bike move. You can meet Russ and Laura tonight at our 6pm event at Roots Brewery.

Photo of author

Elly Blue (Columnist)

Elly Blue has been writing about bicycling and carfree issues for BikePortland.org since 2006. Find her at http://takingthelane.com

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

1 Comment
oldest
newest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Craig
Craig
14 years ago

In the 5:00am darkeness (wearing clear safety shop glasses) of Sunday morning, met three buddies and rode from Lloyd Center (with our lights on of course), across the Broadway Bridge, up Lovejoy, then south on NW 23rd and up Vista Avenue to reach Council Crest before sunrise. So nice, I think this will become my regular morning workout. No cars on the streets, cool morning air, a stout but gracious hillclimb–1000 feet, but with plenty of level rest intervals for those who want them, and WAY safer in terms of safe shoulders and speeding morotists than Cornell or (God forbid) Burnside. And the view was damn fine. Followed immediately by another climb, this time up to Washinton Park, the zoo, and arboretum. Short and sweet, it’s not De Ronde van Oeste Portlandia, but it’ll do in a pinch!