Welcome back to Monday everyone. Here are the news items and other interesting tidbits that caught our eye last week…
– President Obama and his family enjoyed a bike ride on their recent trip to Martha’s Vineyard. This news video (below) of the Obama bike path sighting is priceless (note the part where the witness says a secret service car followed them on the path… that’s not allowed!):
– My how far the Dutch bike invasion has come in the last few years. The Wall St. Journal takes a look at another posh, Euro-centric bike shop in New York City.
– If this article in the Herald Extra is any indication, bike jousting seems to be catching on in Provo, Utah. The best part is that the folks putting on the joust, BikeProvo.org, say they’re doing it “To pull bicyclists together” and build the voice of bicycling in the community.
– There’s another massive traffic jam in China. Thankfully (this time) there’s a voice of reason among the madness. A Chinese urban planner is using the disaster to pressure authorities to build up the subway system, light rail, and bus service.
– In Copenhagen, the number of motor vehicle parking spaces is decreasing and those that remain are more expensive. While some cry foul, the City is standing strong on their policy “to pressure people to use a bicycle or public transport instead of the car.”
– This 2008 photo taken by UK bike journalist Carlton Reid is getting a lot of attention. Peter Drew of Adelaide, Australia is the artist who so eloquently calls out the difference between bikes and cars.
– The Pentagon is building a flying car? Seriously?! Seems our government will do just about anything (Cash for Clunkers, financial bailout, etc., etc., etc…) to make sure the automobile industry flourishes well into the future.
– Here’s a headline from Vancouver BC that will sound all too familiar: “Proposed Vancouver bike lane will have catastrophic effects, businesses say.”
– Up in Seattle, an editorial columnist for the Times says now is just not the time for a City plan to raise taxes to pay for projects that will improve transportation safety. Too bad her argument loses credibility for its stereotypes and other glaringly anti-bike assertions.
– Despite decades of PSAs and MADD advocacy, drunk driving is still out of control in America. In recent months we’ve had several high-profile examples here in Portland (Oregonian Editorial Page Editor Bob Caldwell, owner of Mt. Hood Ski Bowl Kirk Hanna, City Council candidate Mary Volm), and now the NHTSA has released results of a drunk driving study showing that an estimated 17 million people admitted to driving drunk in the last 12 months.
— Come across an interesting bit of bike news? Tag it “bikeportland” on Delicious, let us know via Twitter, or just send the link via email and we’ll include it in next week’s Roundup.