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The Monday Roundup: Edmonton’s Freezeway, Uber for trucks & more


edmonton freezeway
Ice skating transportation.
(Image: Edmonton Freezeway)

Here are the bike-related links from around the world that caught our eyes this week:

Skate to work: Edmonton has released renderings of its Freezeway proposal: ice-skating route by winter, separated bikeway by summer.

Uber for trucks: It’s arrived. Can it reduce truck volumes and cut freight costs?

Belay that order: After Salt Lake City required that fast-food restaurants allow biking through late-night windows after their floors close, the State of Utah is considering overruling the city.

Still rolling: This 93-year-old UK World War II veteran biked 3,500 miles last year, 10 to 20 miles a day.

Network explosion: Minneapolis is considering a plan to add 31 miles of protected bike lanes in the city by 2020.

Bike share struggles: Copenhagen’s bike share system, equipped with tablets to help you navigate the city, is far below usage and scale projections.

Parking problem: Space for free bike parking in Amsterdam is so scarce that the city is planning to build an underwater garage — for much less than it’d cost to build one for 7,000 cars, of course.

Pennsylvania hospitality: Advocacy group Bike Pittsburgh has organized eight local businesses to provide free coffee and hot chocolate to participants in the city’s first winter bike to work day.

Lock override: A California thief armed with either superpowers or a mysterious electronic remote unlocked an Audi to steal a $15,000 bicycle.

Unequal transportation: From slashed New Orleans bus lines to deadly amounts of particulate pollution in Buffalo, transportation policy remains a major source of U.S. racial inequality, writes Slate.

Youth rising: Last month’s Youth Bike Summit in Seattle marked the first year that kids at the annual event have outnumbered adults.

Freeway money: The state of Washington, already leading the nation in highway spending growth, is angling for a gas tax hike of 12 cents per gallon. How much money the deal would send to mass transit, biking and walking is up for debate.

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Trend to watch: police-staffed safe spaces to meet up for Craigslist transactions.

Bike footrails: Seattle’s Department of Transportation has imported a new amenity from Europe.

Bike handrail at Blakeley and 25 Ave NE is in! Dig it. Nice work @seattledot

A photo posted by Anne-Marije (@amrook) on

Sidewalk funding: Rep. Julie Parrish (R-West Linn) and Rep. Shemia Fagan (D-East Portland) got into a public fight over whether city-owned sidewalks in Portland deserve state money.

Modern history: UK bike writer Carlton Reid’s latest book, Bike Boom, will be about the post-1970s revival of the vehicle. It’s available on Kickstarter starting at $12.50 for Kindle, $30 for print.

Signalized protection: Here’s an interesting example of lane-specific traffic lighting that can prevent right hooks into bike lanes.

Riding Hazel Dell: “I slog to get to the moments that matter,” writes Clark County resident Corbin Smith in an odd but charming diary of a week on his bike in the burbs.

Too-close citations: Advocacy group Bike Houston convinced their mayor to order bike cops to perform sting operations on people who violate the three-foot passing law while driving.

Bikemobile: Ford has patented a car with a removable bicycle frame tucked into its body.

Portland race: The would-be Grand Prix of Portland has been delayed a year, until 2016, presumably slowed by a search for sponsors.

Vision zero broken windows: There is a nonprofit dedicated to the eradication of vehicle-into-building crashes.

International model: Portland’s neighborhood greenway system is one of 10 global best practices for street design, according to Streetfilms. (Yes, its expansion is still stalled by cuts to the city’s active transportation budget.) The full list (which doesn’t have any spoken words, just action shots) is 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.

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