Welcome to a new week.
It’s a national holiday, and given the state of our nation we can’t think of a better time to reflect on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
We do our work because we believe knowledge is power. But knowledge without action is powerless. Like Dr. King did, like Congressman John Lewis did (and does) and like President Obama reminded us in his farewell speech, now is the time to get out in the streets and do the work it takes to make the change you want.
On that note, here are the best bike and transportation stories we came across last week…
Car culture at work: A horrifically bad law proposed in North Dakota (in response to Dakota Access Pipeline protests), would shift the burden of proof for collisions away from motor vehicle operators and toward vulnerable road users if the person was “blocking traffic.” This is sick and we hope it loses steam quickly. At least the online poll accompanying the article is overwhelmingly opposed to the idea.
More excuses for reckless driving: A lawyer in Washington said it’s not a crime to make an error in judgment when driving — even if that error happened during a risky maneuver that lead to multiple injuries.
Ford CEO knows the truth: Unveiling their concept for the “City of Tomorrow” at a major auto show the CEO of Ford Motor Company said bikeways should take priority on roads and that, “The answer to more cars is not to have more roads.”
Major victory for people over cars: After received tens of thousands of comments the Federal Highway Administration has ruled that traffic should be quantified by the number of people, not the number of motor vehicles.
Peak car in Seattle: The director of Seattle’s DOT says people need to stop driving so much because the city can’t handle any more cars.
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Bike share dead in Seattle: Unfortunately for Seattleites, bike share is no longer an option to driving — because their Mayor decided to put a nail in the coffin of the program.
How to bankrupt a city: Strong Towns breaks down why investing in new roads that encourage sprawl makes no economic sense in the long run.
Freeways cause dementia: Beyond simple math, another one of the many reasons that bigger roads are a bad idea is a new study that shows living near them increases your risk of dementia (in addition to heart disease, cancer, and asthma).
Nobody walks in Florida (and here’s why): Eight of the top 10 most deadly metro areas for walking are in the state of Florida.
Portland -> Copenhagen -> NYC: Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman — who used to live in Portland and now lives in New York City — shares cultural insights about why Manhattan’s bike infrastructure works.
See that little green light?: Some Citibikes will now come with a green bike lane symbol projected in front of them by an LED light.
Billion dollar budget: California Governor Jerry Brown has proposed $1 billion for biking and walking projects over ten years.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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