Welcome to September.
I know there’s a lot of despairing news these days. All the floods, fires, and fools in position of power are enough to make you want to drop everything and ride your bike off into the sunset. But if we’re going to get out of this mess, we can’t divert our eyes. (Especially those of us who are relatively well-off compared to those knee-deep in the stuggle.) We must learn what’s happening — and more importantly why it’s happening. In our little part of this world, one way we can help is by sharing the most important stories from the bike-transportation-mobility webospheres.
So without further delay, here are the most important stories we came across last week…
Sexism, still: UK-based Cycling Weekly magazine mistakenly printed a photo with “token attractive woman” as a caption. Now the magazine is facing mockery and a boycott from women who are tired of the sexist attitudes that pervade the industry.
VZ and LMI POC: Slow Roll Chicago Co-founder Oboi Reed says vision zero plans for neighborhoods where people of color and/or low-income people live need to be “owned” and implemented by residents — not by transportation professionals.
Auto-inspired sprawl has consequences: With an estimated 500,000 cars destroyed by Harvey, people in the Houston region — where many see sprawl as a huge culprit — now find themselves in the middle of a mobility crisis.
The security case for carfree cities: Taras Grescoe uses the NYT Opinion page to remind us of the importance of carfree zones in cities — and the urgent reason to create and fortify them.
A friend in high places: Former Secretary of State John Kerry worked the phones to find people willing to fund a struggling U.S. professional cycling team.
Trans-Canada trail fully connected: It’s now possible to cycle 24,000 km across the great country to our north. Time to plan a trip.
Woonerf in DC: Our nation’s capitol is about to unveil a section of their downtown that will have no curbs or striping and where all users — including those on foot, on bikes and in cars — will be expected to share the space.
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Light rail and bikeways: Oh look, in Edinburgh a new light-rail line will come with separated bike infrastructure after advocates raised concerns about crashing on tracks. Your move, Portland.
‘White people’ and e-bikes: The debate about e-bikes on the streets of New York City is missing a key constituency: The mostly immigrant workers who rely on them for their delivery jobs.
Big biz in Dallas wants human-centered streets: What’s this? The city council of Dallas, Texas, USA has voted in favor of making its downtown less auto-centric and more friendly to humans — because AT&T demanded it.
Citibike going dockless: Gothamist reports that Motivate — the company that operates Citibike bike share in NYC (and Biketown for that matter) — is working on a dockless bike.
Reviled and revered: The Washington Post is the latest outlet to cover the dockless bike share revolution that’s on the verge of sweeping through the U.S.
Problems with dockless bike share: And the NY Times has a story about the serious problems that dockless bike share has wrought on Chinese cities where more than 16 million dockless bikes are in use.
Congestion pricing equity: “People who worry about harms to the poor when roads are priced, and not when roads are free, may be worried more about the prices than the poor,” says UCLA urban planning professor Michael Manville.
97-percent carfree: A small city in Spain reduced its car use by nearly 100 percent in its central core and over 50 percent citywide. The result? “Quality of life in Pontevedra has drastically improved.”
The ladies of Bike Loud PDX: Get to know Bike Loud PDX co-chairs Emily Guise and Jessica Engelman in the latest episode of Sprocket Podcast.
Thanks to everyone who sent in suggestions this week. Did you know you can get The Monday Roundup delivered to your inbox? It’s easy and free. Sign up here.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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