The Monday Roundup

Authorities on the economy know why
transportation bills are in trouble: money.

Here’s the news and other cool stuff that caught our eyes this past week…

– Tragically, in Vancouver this weekend an 11-year-old boy was struck and killed by the operator of a C-Tran bus just a short distance from his home. (Editor’s note: We will have more coverage of this collision on the Front Page later today. – JM)

– Consequences for people killing others with their cars have changed drastically over the decades and The Atlantic Cities discusses how the dilution of consequences has been a result of a hard push by the automobile industry.

The Oregonian‘s Joseph Rose suggests it may be time to treat “texting while driving the same way [the law] handles a DUII conviction.”

– Reactions in California are mixed after a bill was introduced that would ban “panda portaits” and other mobile phone use while riding a bicycle.

– The economic authorities at The Economist get to the heart of the transportation funding issue in the United States: a gas tax that “is not indexed to inflation and has not increased since 1993.”

– A few people are confused by a new buffered bike lane through Golden Gate Park but many people find the new separated configuration better both for people biking and for people driving or parking in the park.

– More from the Bay Area: A guy with a camera mounted on his bike was hit by someone driving a car in Berkeley and the whole thing was caught on film. The car operator hit two men and then fled the scene, and thanks in part to the video footage, the police have caught and arrested the suspect.

The Onion has their own take on “bicycle-safety tips” including increasing your visibility by riding “with a lit highway flare in each hand.”

– Another satirical news story, again from The Onion, calls horrendous and disturbing collisions at a dangerous intersection in California “pretty cool” and the intersection itself “the single sweetest place to watch a traffic accident.”

– A man with extensive experience riding a bicycle died last week after colliding with a bollard designed to prevent people from illegally driving their motor vehicles on the trail where he was riding. (Editor’s note: We’ll have a guest article from Rob Sadowsky of the BTA on the topic of bollards later this week. — JM)

– One reason there are fewer women riding bikes than men in America might be because they are underrepresented in city advisory committees.

– A proposed law in Kentucky, described as a “heavy-handed law that limits right to free assembly” would require permits and fees for any organized ride with more than 50 people and “commercial” rides of any size.

– Tech blog Gizmodo is catching on to the cargo bike craze and explains exactly “why you should be on a cargo bike.”

– And if you think cargo bikes are too heavy, or your local weather is too hot, you should read about the experience of Shawn McCarty, a Florida resident who found an electric Yuba Mundo to be the perfect fit in his car-lite life.

– Lars Larson’s “bicycle story of the day” discusses why “normal people act like idiots when they get on a bicycle” but somehow forgets to mention the traffic violations of people who drive cars.

– If you know someone who incessantly hollers “Drill, baby, drill!” you could try pointing them to this article that breaks down the myths perpetuated by the American Petroleum Institute.

NPR shared a slideshow of bicycle portraits from South Africa, a place they point out is free of the “hipsterization of bike culture.”

– Think Portland has cool bike racks? Check out this bike rack shaped like a giant microphone installed in Nashville.

– In Chicago, new bike racks have been installed near transit stops including a set of double-decker racks similar to ones installed by TriMet at their Bike and Ride facilities. Unlike TriMet’s double-decker bike racks, the ones installed by CDOT are free to use without a subscription.

– A high school student from Danville, CA talks about why she rides a bike and the social challenges she and others face in a car-centric culture.

– Portland residents Russ Rocca and Laura Crawford of The Path Less Pedaled took a trip to Seattle to experience the city’s BikeCraft-inspired Pedaler’s Fair.

– The “UK’s top city bus operator”, Lothian Busses, has released an educational video to help road users, “especially cyclists”, learn how to keep their distance from large vehicles.

– And finally… Remember football and baseball star Bo Jackson? Well now he’s a biking star and his “Bo Bikes Bama” ride, a fundraiser for tornado victims, finished up this weekend in Tuscaloosa.


— Did you find something interesting that should be in next week’s Monday Roundup? Drop us a line. For more great links from around the web, follow us on Twitter @BikePortland.

Thanks for reading.

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Robin Canaday
Robin Canaday
12 years ago

From the Onion article: “Does your city have adequate bike paths? If not, consider bitching about it to your local government for the next 40 years.”

Okay, I LOLed.

Greg
Greg
12 years ago
Reply to  Robin Canaday

Me too. 11 years ago when that article came out 🙂

Nick Falbo
Nick Falbo
12 years ago

The Golden Gate Park bikeway is actually a cycle track (with a similar design to PSU’s), rather than a buffered bike lane. Just like at PSU, it’ll probably take some education to get people to realized they can’t park at the curb. I wish they would put in some plastic bollards to better protect the space.

Andrew K
Andrew K
12 years ago

Does Lars Larson really have a “Bicycle Story of the Day”? I’m willing to bet my entire year’s salary very few of those stories (if any) are positive ones.

I made the dumb mistake of listening to the broadcast in the link. How idiotic. The stupid intro to the story alone made me want to punch a wall and sets the tone for bicyclists as the “weaker” form of transportation. The “psycho analysis” he applied to bike riders breaking the law could easily be applied to drivers and pedestrians as well. Bicyclists break the law because they think they won’t get caught!? Doesn’t that apply to ANYONE breaking the law?

But of course that wouldn’t make for good radio. After all, you have to make the evil elitist bike riders who are sucking up all the transportation dollars automobile drivers pay for (his words…) look like bad guys.

I’m so sick of these so called “journalists” putting out their commentary with no rebuttal, no fact checking, and no context. That goes for those on both the right and the left. It’s dangerous and irresponsible.

I know I know, I should just ignore it…

oskarbaanks
oskarbaanks
12 years ago
Reply to  Andrew K

…you should especially ignore Lars Larson.

Matt
Matt
12 years ago
Reply to  oskarbaanks

Lars wants to be King of the Blowhards but can’t quite manage it. He’s a bitter angry wannabe. Sad.

Mike
Mike
12 years ago

Did Lars Larson forget, or was that not part of his story?

Eveytime you write a story highlighting the misbehaviour of automobile drivers, do you also add in something about misbehaving cyclists? No, nor should you.

oskarbaanks
oskarbaanks
12 years ago

That may be true to an extent, but the presentation was framed in the predictably slanted fashion that Lars is famous for. There is no way you can ignore that, IMO.

oskarbaanks
oskarbaanks
12 years ago
Reply to  Mike

I am not sure, but I believe Lars’ exec. producer Tony Kastelnic is the guy who came up to me at Green Dragon two years ago and said ” I can tell by your hat your’e a cyclist. Did you know there’s a war going’ on out there? ” To which I glanced up from my Tripel and replied..” Gosh, have we been magically transported to Afghanistan? I don’t hear any shelling.”

q`Tzal
q`Tzal
12 years ago
Reply to  oskarbaanks

Where can I get this hipstery hat that I may always be readily identified as a cyclist?

A.K.
A.K.
12 years ago
Reply to  q`Tzal

Most any hipster bar in NE or SE Portland will have at least one person wearing a cycling cap you can steal…

A.K.
A.K.
12 years ago
Reply to  A.K.

Also, should add that this is a joke, not meant to insult people who wear cycling caps around. I quite like them myself.

q`Tzal
q`Tzal
12 years ago
Reply to  A.K.

I also need the whistle 😉

are
are
12 years ago
Reply to  oskarbaanks

the war in afghanistan is being fought specifically to preserve for a few years longer the exploitative consumerist culture the corporate overlords have cultivated here. hat or no hat.

Jim
Jim
12 years ago

Awwww those poor drivers in Golden Gate Park! Can’t door cyclists anymore, but may LOOSE their door to a car. They actually have to WALK 6 feet to WALK in the park. I can not believe the entitlement of some people!

Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
12 years ago

11-year-old boy struck and killed by operator of bus? I guess I haven’t read all accounts exhaustively, but I haven’t even seen any reference to which way the boy on the bike was travelling, and most accounts say the boy rode into the bus. So I’m surprised to see this wording, A. that the boy was struck (as opposed to vice versa, or a “joust”) and B. that it was the operator of the bus that did the striking. I’m familiar with JM’s preference for referring to people as opposed to mode labels, but was the kid really struck by an operator? If he crashed into the back of the bus, would he still have been struck by an operator? I’m not talking about fault, rather that fault (I don’t think) has been determined yet, so wording like “collided with” or “pulled under” or something other than implying that something the bus driver did caused the boy to “be struck”. Or have I missed something?

Matt
Matt
12 years ago
Reply to  Machu Picchu

Everything I read said the kid was riding against traffic. Given that, however, still shoulda seen him.

Pete
Pete
12 years ago
Reply to  Matt

I watched a boy about that age almost get hit by a right-turning car while riding against traffic. My girl and I were walking on the sidewalk and I think he may have popped out into the street to go around us (we’d have gladly moved over if we knew he was there). I think part of the problem is that many parents believe riding on the sidewalk is safer and are not equipped to educate their children to ride safely. I often see this scenario where someone is riding the wrong way on the street, but it’s often because they believe it’s only for a short distance so it’s therefore safe, and/or they are having to pop out on the street to avoid something in the way on the sidewalk. The driver I watched looked to the left as usual, but looked to the right *before* proceeding, which is often not the case (drivers tend to look to the right *as* proceeding, not before). I think the boy we watched was lucky to have encountered a particularly safe driver (and during non-rush times, which also plays a role), and I suspect he didn’t set out to ride the wrong way on the road.

I wish I could agree the driver “still could have seen him”, but there may be enough speed involved that the driver may have looked and not caught him. The fact that there were witnesses to say he was riding the wrong way may even be an indication of pedestrian count on the sidewalk. I’ve nearly hit cyclists who “came out of nowhere” in the past, and as a seasoned cyclist I pretty much know what to look for on the road. I know many of you don’t agree with me, but sometimes accidents of circumstance and timing do happen. My heart goes out to all involved.

Bob
Bob
12 years ago

Anybody know what kind of camera the cyclist was using? I have thought about putting a camera on my commuter bike, but don’t want to invest in something that won’t give useable footage.

April
April
12 years ago
Reply to  Bob

lots of folks use GoPro.