I’ve been getting emails all morning because a bicycle is the lead photograph on CNN.com today. Here’s a screenshot…
Alexa ranks CNN.com as the 51st most popular website in the world so a prominent photo and story that shows biking as an alternative to cars is no small blip on the radar screen.
This headline — and the many others coming out almost every day lately — make it clear that driving is on a decline all over the country and for many people, going by bike is a natural alternative.
The best part of the CNN story is the accompanying “Quick Vote” that asks “Are you driving less because of rising gas prices?”. So far, 82% of the 183,000 respondents say yes.
On a local note, it is precisely these types of changes in driving behaviors that some are using to question the wisdom of pouring $4.2 billion into a new highway and bridge project — the Columbia River Crossing — whose base assumptions were made way before high gas prices become such a major issue.
We’re in for a very interesting summer.