Here are the best stories we came across last week…
Bike shop boycott: Efforts in the bicycle industry to boycott companies with ties to the National Rifle Association continue spread. UK-based industry outlet BikeBiz is covering the story closely and reports that Canada’s five million member strong Mountain Equipment Co-op (their version of REI) might announce their boycott today. In Portland, news of local shops dropping the NRA-connected brands was picked up by KOIN (CBS) and KPTV (Fox).
On being normal: Eben Weiss writes in Outside about how his experience riding a big cargo bike have helped him see just how “retrograde” American attitudes are toward bicycles.
Wake up, Democrats: Just because a politician has a “D” next to their name does not mean they can be counted on to push for transportation policies and projects that help slow climate change.
20 is plenty inspiration: Four years after instituing 20 mph zones in Bristol, a study from the University of West England has found that people are driving nearly 3 mph slower on average. Might not sound like much, but it has likely saved four lives a year.
The struggle is real: Using a story subject that spent a half-hour searching for a parking spot only to drive home and walk four blocks to school, campus newspaper The Beacon reports that despite having over 1,700 parking spaces for students, University of Portland officials are eager to add more.
Better bike lanes: Los Angeles is sick of paying out settlements to people who sue over poorly maintained bike lanes — so they’ve decided to take better care of them and set-aside money to keep them in tip-top shape.
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Cars are the problem, part 9,876: The incessant din of car engines in cities could be making you sick. This piece in The Atlantic traces the issue of environmental noise back over 100 years.
Go ahead and Jump: One stat jumped out at us from this Wired piece on S.F.’s fleet of Jump e-bikes: Each one in the 250-strong fleet are averaging four rides per day — a very strong number given how new the system is (Biketowns get around one ride per day, by comparison).
Oboi Reed is not messing around: Equiticity and Slow Roll Chicago founder Oboi Reed is on a massive global tour to spread his message that bicycles can be a powerful tool used to build community and create equality among diverse groups of urban-dwellers. And he’s coming to Eugene on May 24th!
Transit in Wakanda: U.S. transportation wonks are glowing over the transit featured in the hit movie Black Panther. Author and former NYC DOT Commish Janette Sadik-Khan tweeted “It’s one of the first movies to get urbanism right.”
Dirty EVs: Another reason cities should go all-in for walking and biking and transit is that the demand for EV batteries has been linked to deadly mines and child labor in Africa.
Speed bumps for bicycles: Perth is testing “speed control devices” aimed at slowing down bicycle riders on a popular path.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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