The Monday Roundup
Posted by Elly Blue (Columnist) on November 8th, 2010 at 7:58 am
– When slow and fast sidewalk lanes appeared in NYC last year it was a joke, but now a group of London business owners are seriously lobbying to create a slow lane for tourists on the overflowing sidewalks of Oxford Street.
– A slideshow presentation on the little-acknowledged truth that it’s okay to be fat and ride a bike has been making the rounds. You can check out the pictures and read the accompanying script below.
– The city of Los Angeles is all set to pass a bicycle master plan. The only hitch? In an amazing feat in a famously fragmented city, the entire bike community has united against it .
– Washington State bike advocacy is at a turning point, with the state’s powerhouse advocacy group engaged in internal wrangling to determine if its future course will be more conservative or more outspoken. For more, here’s a level-headed analysis from a member.
– And in the realm of extremely local politics, it’s interesting to watch the unfolding saga of Washington’s ferry unloading policies and what they mean for maritime bike travel and transportation.
– In Colorado, the felony charge for a hit-and-run against a man on a bike has been dropped to a misdemeanor because prosecutors are concerned that the man behind the wheel in the crash might lose his job as a financial manager to the ultra-wealthy.
– A UK university is testing a bike lock system that uses silent alarms and closed circuit cameras to track bicycles using the device.
– A story out of Portland reveals the fine art of “epic bus riding”—long distance trips taken via a strategically planned series of local and regional bus systems.
– The dream of a nationwide bicycle route system is getting some federal attention. Meanwhile, the bicycle travel industry is on the rise across the country. Here‘s a rundown.
– A blogger in India finds a correlation between rising divorce rates and the increase in motorized transportation in the country.
– A US blogger talks about the need for a new discourse on city cycling in which there are options in between riding like a cowboy and being timidly rulebound.
– Looking for inspiration? You’ll find new sources on this list of “10 urban visionaries who aren’t Jane Jacobs.”
– And if you were hoping for design inspiration, here you go: a bookshelf that’s also a place to hang your road bike, and some enthusiastic meditation on the potential of the amphibious bicycle.
– Video of the week: An intrepid passenger films the man driving the next car over on the freeway as he simultaneously reads a book, checks his text messages, and glances at his kindle…
Elly Blue has been writing about bicycling and carfree issues for BikePortland.org since 2006. Find her at http://takingthelane.com
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