This week’s Monday Roundup is brought to you by Western Bikeworks who reminds you to check out their big warehouse sale coming December 9-11th at their Tigard location.
Lots of fun stories to share this week so let’s get right to it.
Here are the best stories we came across last week…
The Portland “megaregion”: A mapping project highlighted by National Geographic holds important clues about geography and mobility. Can someone tell me why we don’t have high-speed trains along I-5 corridor yet?
Deal with the devil: The head of the once-influential National Motorists Association appears reasonable in this Q & A professing support of a gas tax increase — them he says he wants to raise speed limits and get rid of speed cameras.
More from the auto lobby: DC Transportation Engineer Bill Schultheiss tracked down this influential 2006 report (PDF) from the American Highway Users Alliance that was used to lobby politicians for more highway capacity on the premise it would be necessary for successful evacuations in emergencies. Right… because private auto use is the most efficient way to move large numbers of people. Got it.
Traffic on purpose in NYC: Looks like the NY Post has joined in the national trend of publishing fake news with a story claiming that traffic in Manhattan is nothing more than a conspiracy by anti-car lobbyists to force people onto bikes and transit.
Real skin in the game: Elected officials in the Canadian city of Hamilton have brought up bicycle licensing during a debate about infrastructure funding so that riders have “skin in the game” — even though the debate started after a woman was hit and killed while riding on a dangerous street.
Cyclist IDs? Umm no: Electeds in Sydney are just the latest leaders to come to the realization that schemes like licenses or special ID tags for cycling are much more complicated and ill-advised than they seem.
Why bike licensing is a bad idea: In case you need to brush up on your arguments, CityLab breaks it down for us.
Biking YouTube celeb: Famed NYC filmmaker Casey Neistat — known for his videos of riding a bike through Hurricane Sandy and car doors — has sold out to CNN. Hopefully be brings his bike to his new office.
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Speed related deaths: Glad to see that Portland isn’t on this list of cities with the most speed-related fatalities.
“Driver mode” for phones is good for business: Even the very pro-business magazine, The Economist — which is read by the most powerful people in the world — believes that ignoring your phone while you drive is a very good idea.
Lessons for Washington County?: This profile of a suburban area outside Washington D.C. asks an important question: “What happens when people without cars move to places built for driving?”
Vision Zero in neutral: Not a good sign in NYC when Mayor Bill de Blasio says Vision Zero “has just begun” when in fact he kicked off the effort over two years ago. This is the peril of Vision Zero — it gives politicians a powerful political tool and photo-op while not mandating any tangible actions.
Trump’s Transpo Sec: CityLab has a breakdown of what we can expect from Elaine Chao, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Transportation.
Reason to worry about Chao: The trucking and auto industries seem to like the Elaine Chao pick. That’s not a good sign for transportation reformers.
Biking boom in London…: A new report shows a massive jump in cycling traffic in London — in no small part due to a commensurate jump in protected bikeways.
… And it will continue: London’s mayor has pledged a whopping $1 billion investment to continue investment in infrastructure designed specifically to boost cycling rates. The money would give London similar per-capita cycling spending as the world’s best cycling cities in the Netherlands and Denmark.
Serious about sidewalks in L.A.: The $1.4 billion investment in sidewalks announced in Los Angeles sounds like a lot — until you realize that city has neglected them for 40 years so it has a lot of catching up to do.
Tokenization and coalition-building in a mostly white world: A report from The Untokening summit last month details a panel discussion where black leaders discussed the challenges of working in the bike advocacy sphere.
Distracted deviant: A 20-year-old man was using Facebook Live to show his speed at 115 mph just before he crashed into a truck.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
I went with @SHAQ to #ShopSmall for holiday gifts. A bond was formed over three wheels. #AmexAmbassador pic.twitter.com/D02r16FT8h
— Wanda Sykes (@iamwandasykes) December 1, 2016
Thanks to everyone who helped us find these gems.
— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org
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