“…a phrase that has popped up around the country as cities spend more transportation dollars on transit; add streetcars, bus and bike lanes…”
— NPR’s Franklyn Cater discussing the “war on cars”
The Monday Roundup
Here’s the news and a handful of videos that caught our eyes this past week…
– Grim news this week from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration who estimate traffic deaths have jumped 13.5% from the same period a year ago.
– The Tour de Cure lured over a thousand people and their bicycles to the roads in Washington County, raising $400,000 for diabetes education, research and advocacy.
– There’s a new bike share system live and operational in North America, right the heart of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
– NPR aired a story on the supposed “war on cars” while many people point out investments in bicycling and transit benefits people driving cars too and another perspective says if there is a “war” against cars it’s being waged by other people who drive in situations where a car isn’t truly needed.
– Portland’s Elly Blue critiques the “Cycle Chic” movement popularized by some advocates as a way to show you don’t need special clothing to ride a bike but criticized by others for being sexist.
– The annual report card on “bikability” in the Emerald City from the Cascade Bicycle Club says Seattle is falling behind cities across the country in terms of bicycling infrastructure.
– Cascade also launched a campaign aimed at reducing the use of headphones on multi-use trails around Seattle.
– A swanky private club in London held a bicycle parking design contest and afficionados of bicycle rack design will certainly enjoy these images of the 68 design submissions.
– Speaking of both Seattle and bike parking, there are some who think Seattle could learn a thing or two about bike parking from Portland, while others point out that Portland has a shortage of parking spaces for bicycles too.
– Bicycles have made quite a splash at the 2012 Olympics in London. Police arrested nearly 50 people that were riding as part of the monthly Critical Mass ride, that just happened to take place he same night as the opening ceremonies. And did you notice all the biking spectators at the rowing completion?
– The myriad things we carry on our bicycles often imparts a sense of pride and accomplishment and at the same time, the things other people carry on their bicycles can be an inspiration.
– I’ve heard people deride poorly constructed department store bicycles as “Bike Shaped Objects” or “BSOs”, but this “BSO” from Brooks is so beautiful you’ll wish you could take it for a ride.
– If you’re the type that can’t turn away a DIY project, no matter how expensive or complicated, have a look at this video and instructions on how to build your own bicycle speedometer:
– The Bicycle Transportation Alliance shared the video below, of Copenhagen’s bicycle super highways, saying the Metro area would stand to benefit from investment in a similar urban-suburban bicycle corridor from downtown Portland to Beaverton:
– Bicycling in Washington County has been getting a lot of attention from the Oregonian lately and recently they’ve highlighted the Banks-Vernonia trail in two articles and the video below:
– And finally, you can see a small moderately-sized dog getting its 15 minutes of fame at the London Olympics as it darts across the road in the middle of a race:
