Here’s the news that caught our eye this week:
– A government-commissioned study in the UK has found, presumably to nobody’s surprise, that overall, most drivers don’t like sharing the roads with bikes when there is no bicycle infrastructure and that negative views of cyclists, generally of the “they don’t obey laws or pay for the roads” variety, abound.
– An academic study, also in the UK, and also just released, came to the conclusion that the non-cycling public thinks that bicycling is totally normal and cool, should be taken seriously, and should be accommodated on the road. The one thing the studies have in common: Nobody wants to take space away from cars.
– Also in the UK, the Mayor of London took the UK transport secretary to task for continuing to make public statements in the “cyclists don’t pay for the roads” vein.
– Wednesday finds more cities sitting out World Carfree Day than five years ago. Many, like Corvallis, Oregon and Tallinn, Estonia, still mark the day with encouragement and incentives to leave the car at home. Other cities, like Ashland, Oregon, boast street fairs and bike rides. But a greater number are focusing their efforts year round on Park(ing) Day celebrations, ciclovias/open streets (LA will host its first in October), and even weeklong events, like in Montreal, to explore questions of livability and mobility.
– The University of Toronto has made its campus roads carfree for a year-long pilot program. Instead of cars, the roads now offer tables, chairs and wi-fi.
– Bike lanes and sharrows have not yet come to the moon, but they are taking Spokane by storm, in the wake of a major surge in interest in bicycling in that city.
– Dallas, Texas is investing in a bicycle master plan but change won’t come easy, say planners.
– Interbike, the gargantuan North American bicycle industry trade show, has announced that next year it will be held in Anaheim, California after many years in Vegas.
– A new invention would allow bike paths to be eked out of narrow roadways by making use of the ditch.
– In Ohio, a fierce battle over rumble strips on a narrow highway is being waged between engineers and bicycle advocates.
– Singapore has just passed a law allowing drivers licenses to be suspended during traffic investigations for major driving offenses, rather than waiting for a court’s decision.
– Out of Canada: A car made of hemp.
– A nice story on the power of the bicycle when your only alternative is to walk long distances.
– In Jakarta, Indonesia, a bicycle-mounted librarian gives books to street kids.
– And finally, the video of the week: Gonna Ride My Bike Until I Get Home is charming the bike socks off internet procrastinators in large numbers.
Seen some worthy bike news we haven’t posted here? Add a link in the comments, use the del.icio.us tag “mondayroundup” or email elly at bikeportland dot org.
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Elly-
Welcome back. I missed reading the monday bikes vs cars
Jim, As I’ve stated before, I usually appreciate your view on topics discussed in these threads. But here, I’m not sure where you get your viewpoint.
I own cars and I own bikes. Am I against myself?
What I read is that most people who drive cars, would prefer not to share space with bikes. And there continues to be statements that cyclists don’t pay their fair share. Do you dispute these?
I don’t see this as a “us vs them”. How do you see it?
you acknowledge that motorists don’t want to share the public right of way with bicyclists and yet you don’t see this as an ‘us vs. them’ issue?
oy vey
Hey BURR,
When I drive my car, I would prefer not to share the public right of way with the other cars. I would prefer that other cyclists not be in my way. I bet the motorists polled would prefer not to stop for pedestrians either.
Why boil this down to cars vs bikes?
Rather than emphasize that bike riders do pay for road maintainence thru property taxes, having a car as well, etc etc…
…it is more effective to show how motorists are heavily subsidized for the driving habit. Its not just road maintainence that gas taxes can’t pay for. The hidden costs (health, environment, police and fire, injuries and fatalities, military to secure oil etc) make road upkeep look like a drop in the bucket.
This fantasy that motorists “pay for the road” needs to be refuted. Most people believe it, and it is a major reason for the conflict on the road today.
The deranged thing about the UK arguments about “road tax” (abolished 1932 by one, Winston Churchill on the grounds that motorists shouldn’t think that it paid for the roads), is that the annual Vehicle Excise Duty is based on exhaust emissions.
All zero or very low exhaust emission vehicles will pay nowt’. And just in case the obvious hasn’t occurred to someone, bicycles, being zero emission vehicles would also pay nowt’. I would therefore be perfectly willing to pay VED 😉
yes, it’d be nice if the local tv news outlets used their media power on Wed 9/22 Car Free Day to emphasize the things like cars not paying their way on the roads…
although I know if a news story comes on that’s not in line with your personal views you’ll probably just change the channel… all the local tv news outlets would need to do it…
where’s a flash mob when you need one? could you imagine a bunch of people holding signs “cars off the road now! start paying your share!”…
Hey BURR, I now see the “Cars vs Bikes”.
Thanks Spiffy
How about one of those ditch/bike lane things on Skyline? A bike lane on that road would be a real benefit.
Jeff-
Monday roundup you can usually read about the evil cars… good bikes…
car free society…
“Nobody wants to take space away from cars” – right there, you’ve framed the issue as taking away something from drivers and giving it to cyclists. Us v. Them.
Maybe this wasn’t what jim was getting at, but it’s put me in rant mode. The cycling community is unusually large in Portland, but it’s still a minority. A tiny minority. We like to blame media for Us v Them syndrome, but cyclists seem to do it just as often, if not more. Car Free Day? Why not Walk & Bike Day? Street Party Day? Meet Your Neighbors Day? No, we deliberately choose to frame the entire event as being Against one thing, driving, rather than For a multitude of positive things, like having fun outside and meeting new people. And we will always, always loose that battle in the long run.
The CRC is another classic example – protests, countless online hand-wringing sessions, not over the presence and quality of mass transit and cycling facilities, but on how big the car facilities will be.
I have bad news for everyone: cars are not going away. Every oil well in the world can run dry tomorrow, and in ten years time you won’t see freeways converted to bikeways. You’ll see freeways full of cars, powered by LiFePo batteries, hydrogen, and Fischer-Tropsch gasoline.
So let’s try to get along. Lets focus on what makes riding fun, not what makes driving a pain. Let’s not talk about keeping people out of cars, and instead talk about keeping butts in saddles.
Yay! Welcome back Elly.
I don’t know where in M.R.U is there a us vs. them agenda, as it’s a collection of articles written by OTHERS.
What is does do is highlight what’s happening in the world of cycling outside our own little world. Sometimes these articles shed light on “modal bias”, an issue important to folks who want more rights and safety for ALL modes of transit.
Are SOME of these articles pro bike? You are aware that the name of this BLOG is BikePortland.org, right? Don’t buy a dog then complain about it’s hair.
Singapore has figured out how to control traffic congestion and pay for infrastructure. They do not sell more licenses than they have roads to drive on and the market sets the rate.
Read more:
http://a-singapore-economist.blogspot.com/2006/07/traffic-congestion-in-singapore.html
AWESOME MUSIC VIDEO!!!!!!
Hey folks,
I try to focus on stuff in the Monday Roundup that’s primarily about bicycling. Pro, anti, sad, fun, whatever comes through the pipeline that week. I probably post more anti-bike stories than anti-car stories. It’s unavoidable that my editorial perspective will show through to some extent, as it does (and should) in any news source (seen the Wall Street Journal lately?). I do trust you the readers to be smart enough to draw your own conclusions, as is clearly happening based on your comments. Thanks! And feel free to send me stories that you’d like to see posted here, that’s always helpful.
Elly
PS About Carfree Day…well, don’t you think the idea of a street without cars on it could be a positive thing? I sure do. And so, apparently, do the many municipalities, businesses, and extremely mainstream organizations that are promoting carfree issues every year.
I find nothing–neither here on BPO nor elsewhere–about the observance of World Carefree Day here in Portland, whether public or private. Not even one thing on the SHIFT calendar.
What gives?
Maybe I missed it, but did you guys put up something about DC Bikeshare launching yesterday? Alta Bicycle Share is one of the partners. http://www.capitalbikeshare.com/
Carfree Day has apparently gone the way of Critical Mass in PDX.
Elly-
I do enjoy monday roundup.
-Jim
Jim–thanks!
Boriskat, doh! Dirty secret, I actually filed this week’s roundup last friday, and have been on the train from then until this afternoon. Got that one flagged now, thanks.
Craig and BURR — There’ve been three giant carfree day celebrations in Portland in the last decade, but nobody’s stepped up to organize one since 2006. It’s a lot of work but there’s no need to do it alone. If anyone (cough) wants to start planning something for 2011, now’d be a great time.
You’ve got to admit though that Sunday Parkways is pretty good as far as car free days go. I’d still like to see an actual day without cars all over the city…
kind of like “the day the earth stood still”? no planes, no trains, no cabs, no freight trucks? that would be a pretty cool holiday.
Just wanted to make sure this extremely sad and poignant incident from this weekend didn’t escape your attention:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-pettigrew-killed-20100921,0,553111.story