Here’s the news from around the globe that caught my eye this week…
– The snow continues! And in Minneapolis, people on bikes “seem to be the only ones prepared for the weather.” Meanwhile, the world’s bicycle snowplow fleet is being deployed.
– An Australian has won her years-long legal battle to be allowed to bicycle without a helmet.
– An academic debate rages in the theoretical underbelly of urban planning—should we build dense and high, or in a sort of “flow” with the natural landscape?
– Rahm Emanuel has officially entered the race for Mayor of Chicago, and he has already laid out a plan for bicycling and transit.
– In NYC, amid an atmosphere of increasing political posturing about transportation, a group of well-connected citizens have teamed up to sue for the removal of a separated bike lane along a major Brooklyn arterial.
– Cargo bike sales are up worldwide.
– A town in the Netherlands is installing solar panels on a stretch of bike lanes to power local traffic lights and more.
– UK cyclists are having some luck using helmet cameras to get traffic convictions for dangerous driving.
– The unique device created by a tallbike rider in San Francisco in order to be able to come to a full stop while aloft his steed has been declared legal by a judge.
– A new bike lane in Capetown, South Africa, is the occasion for racially charged political wrangling over the future of the country’s transportation system.
– Mobile, Alabama currently has under three miles of bike lanes and is looking into adding more.
– A small college in North Carolina is offering a minor in the field of Bicycling Studies.
– From Cambridge, Massachusetts, an inside look at what it’s like to be a carfree family.
– Organizers of a bike repair workshop for women in Rwanda were astounded by the turnout in the hundreds.
– I try not to beat Portland’s drum too loudly in this space, but check it out, the city government switched to cargo trike delivery for its substantial office supply needs.
– John McCain is taking aim at funding for airport bicycle parking.
– Don’t worry, the fixie craze is going stronger than ever in Jakarta, Indonesia.
– If you’re in the mood for a rant, this one points out that people on bikes aren’t slowing you down in your car—cars are.