Director David Hiller penned an
eloquent rebuttal to the age-old
“bikes don’t pay their way” rant.
(Photo © J. Maus)
From a distant and equally snowy land (Washington, DC New Haven, Connecticut), here’s your Monday news roundup.
A week of snow in Portland has created an unofficial carfree week. I’m not there (I’m on an East Coast Tour), but I’ve been following the action thanks to the Open Threads and friends via Twitter. My favorite comment so far is from Portlander Heather Andrews, aka wildsheepchase: “I took the lane on 82nd! As a pedestrian! It really is the Snowpocalypse!”
Now, onto news from around globe:
— The Cascade Bicycle Club‘s David Hiller, responds compellingly in the Seattle Times to the idea that cyclists don’t pay for roads.
— The latest in bicycling as a civil rights issue: A group of intrepid Los Angelenos have gone to the city council calling for a Cyclists Bill of Rights. One councillor objected strenuously to right #3: “the right to the full support of educated law enforcement.”
— Ben Fried at Streetsblog breaks down transportation issues in the upcoming stimulus bill in Want a Green Recovery? Stimulate Green Transportation, and asks you to make your voice heard.
— The Netherlands is planning a nationwide road pricing scheme. Meanwhile, London’s effective congestion charging is in trouble. [Via How We Drive]
— A newly released international study has made this unsurprising discovery: Leaner nations walk and bike more. [Via my latest blogroll addition, Carfree Tokyo]
— The Boston Globe has named Nicole Freedman, former Olympic cyclist and the city’s new bicycle programs coordinator, one of its Bostonians of the Year. They have a nice profile of Freedman and some hope for Boston’s notoriously bike-unfriendly streets.
That’s the roundup for this week. For up to the minute links and more interesting bike/transportation/carfree news from around the web, join the over 300 folks who now follow BikePortland on Twitter.
Stay tuned for reports and photos from Washington D.C. and other cities as my East Coast Tour continues.