The Monday Roundup

Here’s the news that caught our eye last week:

– The Centers for Disease Control estimate that in the U.S. the cost of motor vehicle crashes is over $99 billion per year—that’s $500 for every licensed driver.

– New York City has settled a nearly $1 million lawsuit brought by people who had been arrested or ticketed during Critical Mass between 2004 and 2006. Police reports that came out during the trial show the astonishing level and cost of resources that the department leveraged against the ride during those years.

– The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has launched an ambitious campaign called “Connecting the City” that would create major bicycle thoroughfares crisscrossing the city.

– Why wear a bike helmet when you could be wearing the Hövding: a bulky plastic collar containing an air bag that expands to protect your head when you go flying over your handlebars.

– Don’t worry, despite organizers’ controversial plans to move it, mega bike trade show Interbike will be in Vegas in September after all.

– Federal stimulus dollars have allowed Asheville, NC to double its bike lanes.

– The American Automobile Association (AAA) is beginning to take an interest in bicycling. But will it put its money where its mouth is?

– In NYC last week, dueling rallies were held to support and protest one of the city’s new bike lanes.

– Victoria, BC seems like the ideal city for Critical Mass to really take off, but it hasn’t…some thoughts on why.

– Multi-use paths are meant to be shared by people walking, jogging, biking, mushroom gathering, and more. But does that make it a good idea?

– A conservative makes a case for transit. Only rail transit though, please. Nobody wants to ride the bus.

– An expat’s observations about the Chinese car industry, and the changing culture of driving in China before and after the country’s “automotive awakening” in 2008.

– In a small town in Iran, officials have taken a legally dubious stand against women riding bicycles.

– How does your mode of transportation make you feel? A blogger ponders the mood of her commute.

– Could sustainable transportation save the world? One philanthropist thinks so.