the “soot in your lungs while
cycling” stories from last week.
(Photo © J. Maus)
Here are the news stories that caught my eye this past week…
— In recent weeks we’ve been told by the media that riding a bike covers your lungs in soot and that people on bikes are a menace to those walking near them. Well, turns out the news isn’t as bad as you think. The “Numbers Guy” at the Wall Street Journal adds some valuable context to those stories.
— Some very solid increases in bicycling reported in Vancouver, B.C.. The reason? It likely has a lot to do with their new, physically separated bikeways.
— With numbers like that, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel seems to be on the right side of history with his “big push” for 100 new miles of separated bikeways.
— Who says bike trains are just for kids? Check out the Aire Valley Bike Bus.
— Here’s a scary thought: An article in the Montreal Gazzette says that iPads and similar devices are like the “Bicycle of the 21st century” for the current generation of “wired” kids. Let’s hope not.
— This happened back in July, but figured it might be of interest: A Virginia Beach man turned himself in and was charged with 33 counts of misdemeanor destruction of property for throwing thumbtack on the roads in hopes of flatting bicycle tires.
— Here’s something I’d love to see in Portland. In London — where “lorry” trucks account for a substantial percentage of bike-related traffic collisions — drivers now get mandatory “cyclist awareness” training.
— A lawyer from Los Angeles goes in-depth on that city’s newly passed “Cyclist Anti Harassment” ordinance.
— Three Miami police officers riding in a bike patrol where involved in a collision with a woman driving an SUV. Local advocates say they’ll be watching that case closely to see how the police handle this rare case that involves their fellow officers on bikes.
— Hugh Fergus from Hillsboro Oregon completed an 80-mile bike ride on his 80th birthday.
— Awesome. Now that congestion is considered a good economic indicator, does that mean we can stop pouring billions into wider highways?
— Head of the Cascade Policy Institute, John Charles, asks, “If you had $35 million to spend to improve three blocks of an urban street, how would you spend it?” His essay in Oregon Catalyst is worth a read.
— Seems like the global economic crisis is adding fuel to calls for higher speed limits. Both here in America and across the pond in England, officials are pushing forward on faster speeds, despite obvious environmental and safety concerns.
— Speaking of going fast, the urban fixed gear trend cannot be stopped. It has now taken over Paris. Is nowhere safe?!
— Up in Seattle, officials and activists are trying to mimic Portland’s success with neighborhood greenways. Two PBOT staffers, dubbed the “backstreet boys” for their expertise, recently gave a presentation to stoke that effort.
— And the latest sign that times are changing: “The Rise of Urban Biking” in The Nation.
Come across interesting articles? Drop me a line and I’ll put them in the Roundup next week!
Thanks for reading.
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“Two recent studies appear to expose cyclists as a potent urban menace.” I’m sorry but that introductory line makes absolutely no sense. How is it possible to spin the article about black carbon in cyclist’s lungs (regardless of the quantity) to fit that description?
I’m here to tell you, I’ve never been to a better city than Vancouver, B.C. and their bike friendliness is part of the reason.
Yeah, the Crosstown Rotary is practically a bicycle freeway!
The layers of cliches in the article in The Nation about who bikes is so thick you can cut it with a knife. Yikes.
Elitist and poor at the same time!
“One strand of the highly adaptive Homo pedalis can be identified by telltale markings: a single leg of skinny jeans rolled up, a plaid shirt unbuttoned to alleviate perspiration and a clumsy retro helmet. As many young professionals choose cities over suburbs, the rising cost of living has pushed newcomers to the fringes of the urban core.”
“But take a look across the country and bicyclists are a diverse lot, including immigrants who lack the documentation to get a driver’s license and people who are too poor to own a car. These are disproportionately minorities.”
“…they are working-class people just getting around town. It’s a transit choice more than a lifestyle choice.”
An interesting statistic (also from The Nation article):
“if New York is a guide, another bike on the street is undoubtedly safer than another car. In the past five years 766 pedestrians were killed by cars in New York City, compared with three pedestrians killed by bicyclists. Transportation Alternatives points to figures showing that adding a bike lane to a street reduces all collisions and injurious crashes—not just those involving bikes—by up to 40 percent.”
I woke up this morning wondering whether the 80 year old had ridden his 80 miles, after having read the story a few weeks/months ago. Thanks for the update. Love it.
I can’t believe that you would link to that John Charles piece at CPI. He is a two-faced liar, and I don’t believe statements like this for a second:
“I was down at Lincoln Street today for an hour watching the trees getting cut. It was one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen a governmental agency do.”
Given that his past positions include supporting massive freeway expansion, Urban Growth Boundary expansions, and limited government regulation, we are supposed to believe that he cares about trees? All he cares about is seeing Trimet reduced to a bare-bones bus service for the poor, and he will do anything necessary to accomplish that.
Remember Jonathan, the enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend. If John Charles had his way, we wouldn’t have any funding for bikes, either.
Thank you! I was about to say… I’m glad I’m not the only one who did a double take seeing “Cascade Policy Institute” in this article. I try to avoid talking about politics like the plague on the internet… but The Cascade Policy Institute is worth calling out. They are a libertarian leaning organization that has no real interest in the public good.
I’m not a CPI guy and object to their use of the word libertarian.
But we should never close ourselves off to the world of ideas. With the government broke – something both big parties are responsible for – and with the competition for whatever government funds are available getting extremely divisive we may indeed benefit from ideas outside of self-selected comfort zones.
Chris,
I linked to that story, not as an endorsement of what it contains, but because I thought it was interesting and worth people’s attention.
And when have I ever said that light rail or TriMet is “the enemy”? Please don’t put words/ideas in my mouth.
I think we need more rail skeptics and more critical thinking about our transportation investments. Good debates make us stronger and I’m afraid that we’ve lacked a vigorous debate when it comes to rail investments.
I think it is perfectly reasonable to critique transit spending. We all know that you can get more bang for your buck by investing in bike infrastructure. I just don’t think it is helpful to link to pieces like that. His arguments are disingenuous. It’s silly to discuss the merits of the money spent on this stretch of road, because it is required for the project. We should discuss the project in its entirety, or at least discuss components that are optional.
This work on Lincoln is required to link up to the new bridge in the South Waterfront. As anyone who has ridden on the existing busses across the Ross Island bridge at rush hour can tell you, there is a major congestion problem. This improvement will benefit light rail riders and bus riders, who will see greatly reduced transit times, particularly during periods of congestion. It isn’t clear from the planning documents whether or not an improved Lincoln St. will include cycling facilities. Have we been pushing for that?
We need to fight for more bike projects, but the money needs to come from highways, not transit projects. Giving publicity to people like John Charles does not help.
i agree cascade policy institute is a jerk. but are you saying trimet did not cut down trees for this project? and how exactly would you spend $35 mil. presumably not on tour buses.
Isn’t being dubbed “backstreet boys” an insult?
I am glad PBOT is n’sync with the needs of our communities, and hope they continue the greenways program.
Regarding the woman who ran into three cops on bikes in Miami:
“Reyes said the police were training as part of a week-long course for the bicycle squad, and there’s an officer in a patrol car who stays ahead of the pack and stops traffic when the cops need to cross streets.”
Hey – is that kind of like Critical Mass?
“It is not known whether Quintanilla simply did not see the officer or was unsure of whether to stop or not, Reyes said.”
Hm. And this is relevant, why?
“Just by her staying on the scene speaks volumes,” Reyes said. “I’m sure she didn’t intend for it to happen.”
Can we get/expect that kind of language in media coverage of these accidents when describing those who are not in cars? Amazing.
You’re being too kind to refer to CPI as “libertarian leaning.” They’re actually just corporate shills who are bought and paid for by people like the Koch Brothers and Exxon.
Their positions are not based on honest policy disagreements but instead are a clumsy attempt to use the veneer of an “institute” to legitimize whatever position their funders want.
That’s why it’s shocking to see them cited here –not because they’re conservative, but because they’re dishonest.
CPI’s stance on light rail criticized: http://tinyurl.com/3pnts2x
Those separated bikeways in BC are wonderful! All we need are those downtown! Buffered lanes would make many cyclists safer and encourage others to commute by bicycle. True buffered lanes, not just fancy bicycle lanes with dual paint stripes!
You’re confusing buffered bike lanes with cycletracks, two different things.
Bike politics down here in San Francisco:
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/video/#!/news/local/SF–Puppy—Pedal-Power-in-Politics/131118148