“…a pedestrian, a bicyclist and an automobile driver enter an intersection. The person in the car turns and hits either the person on foot or the person on the bike, killing her. Question: What happens to the driver? In most states, nothing.”
— Alex Marshall, Senior Fellow at The Regional Plan Association
Here’s the news and other interesting stuff that caught our eyes this past week…
– The opinion pages of Sunday’s NY Times featured an interesting take on the ethics of illegal bike riding from Randy “The Ethicist” Cohen: If Kant were a New York Cyclist.
– The driver of an Olympic bus was arrested after they killed a person riding a bike while transporting members of the media between events.
– In reaction to the collision at the Olympics, Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins suggested victims of collisions can’t “argue” with the outcome if they’re not wearing a helmet but later insisted he was not calling for mandatory helmet laws.
– The high-profile cycling death even got a response from The Economist, who reminded readers that riding a bike in London is “safer than you think.”
– Alex Marshal thinks current laws protecting people walking and biking are “crazy” and that America has no chance of building truly livable cities until people driving cars do a better job looking out for people walking and biking.
– The City of Oakland is being sued in a wrongful death lawsuit after a man was stuck by a person driving a car on roads the city allegedly knew were in disrepair.
– Bay Area commuters are looking forward to Fridays in August when Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) will lift its rush-hour ban on bicycles.
– The surge in electric bicycle sales continues and a new study suggests the market for e-bikes will triple in the next 6 years.
– If you think you can’t go bike camping with kids, think again: Portland’s Kidical Mass camping trip was a huge success, drawing around a dozen families.
– Do walking advocates simply need to build a better sense of “self-righteousness” to gain more awareness for their issues?
– The people of Paris have reason to celebrate after the mayor successfully fought to build parks along the banks of the Seine, which, when completed, will replace expressways that have dominated the river since the 1960s.
– Research into the benefits of bicycles is expanding in America’s universities.
– Portland’s “growing marketplace” for bikes is highlighted as a “silver lining” in a CNN Money piece on the Gates Corp belt drive.
– Successful tech start-ups are flocking to San Francisco due in part to the city’s well-known bike-friendliness.
– Riding on rural roads could be a little safer thanks to a “magic trick” ODOT is trying out on OR 211.
– Research has shown that economic activity is increasing around bike share stations in the Twin Cities.
– A young man drove his truck into a ravine moments after he sent a text message telling a friend about his “need to quit texting.” And his first name is Chance. Seriously.
– Cello player Ben Sollee is touring by bicycle (with his cello in tow) to raise awareness of mountain top removal strip mining in Appalachia.
– The latest successful spin-off from the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is the Multicultural Communities for Mobility, a group working to help low-income people who travel by bicycle in L.A.
– The Maryland State Highway Administration has posted signs reading “Bicycles May Use Full Lane” along a two-mile stretch of state highway.
– One Seattle man had to take matters into his own hands to recover his stolen bike a year after it was originally taken from him.
– One of our DIY projects of the week is an elegant homemade pegboard cart, perfect for organizing all manner of tools.
– Or if you’re looking for a cheaper yet challenging project, check out this $9 bicycle built from recycled cardboard.
– And finally, a pack of glowing, pedal-powered sea creatures has been roaming around Sydney, Australia during the city’s VIVID light festival.
— 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.