(Photo: M.Andersen)
Here are the great bike-related links from around the world that caught our eyes this week:
Seattle’s showcase: Downtown Seattle’s new two-way protected bike lane, which replaced a one-way door-zone lane, seems to have immediately tripled bike traffic on the street.
Cop impersonator: In Palo Alto, a man seemingly impersonated a police officer while ordering two kids in a bike lane to ride single file instead of side by side. He then flashed a weapon at one of them.
Anti-theft success: Texas A&M’s four-year-old bike bait program seems to have doubled stolen bike recoveries from 24 percent to 54 percent.
Centerline reform: Double yellow lines increase bike/car friction by seeming to make it illegal to pass a bike, even when it’d be perfectly safe. Iamtraffic is looking for better solutions.
Walking fatality: BikeSnobNYC called for a one-weekend vacation from Strava after a person walking in Central Park was fatally wounded after a collision with a man on a bike.
Road-design lawsuit: The family of a right-hook victim is suing California and Laguna Beach on the grounds that the intersection where she died was designed to look like a “freeway onramp.”
Convicted of lane-taking: A Kentucky single mom who bike-commuted on a highway to save time has been found guilty of reckless driving because she didn’t bike on the rumble strip. She plans to appeal.
Electoral rules: National bike advocates have a useful infographic about the ways nonprofits are and aren’t allowed to get into elections.
Introducing H-bikes: Hydrogen fuel cells (as opposed to electric batteries) haven’t worked with cars yet. But a group of Australians is trying to make them work for bikes.
Nude jerseys: The Colombian Women’s Cycling Team dressed up in racing kits that resembled nude bellies and crotches.
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Protected intersection: Vancouver BC is proposing to install a Falbo-style protected intersection.
Speed record: Jens Voigt, 43, pedaled 32 miles in one hour last week, a world record. Velonews has an informative Q&A on the significance.
Mandating gentrification: On-site parking spaces drive up the cost of housing, an affordable-housing advocate from SF argued at the City Club last week. So why does the city require them?
Women biking: Mic.com shares photos of 21 women holding signs about why they ride bikes.
Gender gap explanations: A sign of progress on biking’s gender gap? These days, women’s lower biking rate comes as a surprise to a young female journalist.
Infrastructure vs. behavior: Responding to NYT columnist Timothy Egan’s call for people to start being nicer in response to a “death on a bike,” Brooklyn Spoke argues that the way you actually make this happen is with infrastructure.
Three-foot passing: A new California rule will switch from requiring a “safe distance” for passing bike riders (as Oregon does) to a firm standard: three feet. The state has a cute video to promote the change:
California progress: California’s governor also signed new laws recognizing protected bike lanes as state-approved designs and allowing cities to pay for bike facilities with vehicle surcharges.
Environmentalist prosperity: A major new study has concluded that lower fuel costs, fewer air pollution deaths and lower medical bills might completely offset the short-term economic cost of returning carbon emissions to levels that wouldn’t destroy human civilization.
Bikelash is “a great thing to be dealing with” because it “means we’re forcing difficult decisions,” say an array of smart advocates from around the country (including Portland filmmaker Joe Biel of Aftermass) in a useful new Streetfilm, your video of the week.
If you come across a noteworthy bicycle story, send it in via email, Tweet @bikeportland, or whatever else and we’ll consider adding it to next Monday’s roundup.