Here are the best things we came across last week…
A bike racing “lifer”: Bill Elliston’s lifelong dedication to racing bikes and helping other people get into the sport is worth every word of this longform piece from Peter Flax at CyclingTips.com.
Meet Seattle’s top advocrat: Seattle’s chief traffic engineer Dongho Chang got a profile in the Seattle Times for his work to, “to make Seattle’s streets safer, more efficient.” (He’s also a fun follow on Twitter at @dongho_chang.)
Blame it on the rock: I’ll just leave this here: “Drivers can’t seem to stop hitting a giant rock in a suburban parking lot, despite it being an inanimate object surrounded by yellow-painted curbs.”
Fewer cars, more bikes: TreeHugger has a good roundup and overview of why most of the world’s great cities are making moves to restrict private auto use and promote cycling.
Cleveland’s big bike news: A “system of bicycle highways” in downtown Cleveland got a big boost with millions allocated for two physically protected cycle tracks.
Christmas traditions in the ‘Couve: Bike Clark County gave away over 600 bikes to kids at the 18th annual event that has been renamed after community leader Scott Campbell.
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Blame anything but cars: The always good 99% Invisibile podcast delves into the history of auto safety with a look at how automakers tried to ignore and obfuscate the role their cars had in thousands of deaths and injuries.
Bikelash sabotage: Victoria, Canada has been investing in bikeways and the city’s mayor thinks someone tried to sabotage her bike due to anger about it.
Free bikes post-fire: Sonoma County’s bike advocacy group rounded up 700 bicycles to give away free to people who lost theirs in recent fires.
Toll-paying psychology: People following our local congestion pricing efforts should read up on how people reacted to new dynamic tolling on a freeway in Virginia that reached a high of $40 during peak periods.
Enough is enough: Nothing that NHTSA, FHWA or USDOT says about traffic safety should be taken seriously until they get tough on automakers who are building even more distraction into their cars’ “infotainment” systems.
How London built support for real bike lanes: This must-watch Streetfilms vid not only shows the impressive transformation of cycling in London thanks to high-quality protected bikeways, it also explains how an advocacy group’s work to get business support helped make the lanes successful.
London Cycling Works: How savvy campaigning got 180 employers to support bike lanes from STREETFILMS on Vimeo.
Adding life to a “Boulevard of Death”: One of New York City’s most dangerous streets is undergoing a transformation thanks to lower speed limits, safer crossings, and fewer driving lanes. A model for PBOT’s work on outer SE Division?
And Streetfilms has a video on the “block-by-block transformation” of Queens Blvd:
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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