This week’s Monday Roundup is brought to you by the Weekender, Cycle Oregon’s two-day bike bash based in McMinnville July 7th-9th.
Welcome to another Monday in paradise. Hope you enjoyed the sun this past weekend and are rested and ready for another week of news, views, and other fun stuff.
Here are the most noteworthy stories we came across last week…
Vancouver tops in Cascadia: Sightline crunches the numbers (and several other factors) and finds that of the Big Three bike cities in Cascadia, Vancouver tops Portland and a rising Seattle.
Uber’s flying taxis: It’s absolutely amazing that entrepreneurs and rocket scientists will try anything to solve our transportation problems — instead of actually solving our transportation problems.
Musk’s latest: See above.
Road rage with guns is trending: Hate to say it, but this might be a strong vote in favor of not yelling at, or otherwise engaging with, people who drive like idiots.
Remote controlled big rigs: If you wondered why Mayor Wheeler and PBOT announced an autonomous vehicle initiative last month, here’s one reason why: private companies are moving into that field and we might as well be ready.
State funding primer: California passed a major transportation infrastructure funding bill that will pump $5 billion (with a “b”) a year into projects. With Oregon hoping to do something similar, it behooves us to study their methods.
Advertisement
E-bike wave is here: Anecdotally they are surging in use here in Portland, and sales trends all over the country show a similar pattern.
Proof of phone use: A “textalyzer” device that police could use to determine if someone was using their phone prior to a crash? Seems like an idea worth considering.
Bicycling = big money: A new report by the Outdoor Industry Association says that Americans spend over $96 billion a year on “wheel sports”, part of $887 billion in annual outdoor-related consumer spending.
Dooring in Chicago: City data shows a 50 percent jump in “dooring” crashes. Whether it’s a reporting/enforcement anomaly or not, it has put new light on the issue.
Green wave, 2.0: The green wave (timing signals for bicycling speeds like we do in parts of Portland) is one thing; but this new “Flo” system in Utrecht is a next-level.
Thanks to everyone who emailed and tweeted suggestions this week! Keep them coming.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
BikePortland is supported by the community (that means you!). Please become a subscriber or make a donation today.