Welcome to the week. Our sponsor today is NW Connector, an alliance of bike-friendly transit agencies that make getting to the coast a breeze.
Here are the most important stories we came across in the past week…
Saved by a battery: Author and framebuilder Lennard Zinn was faced with a choice: stop riding or get an e-bike. His story will help you understand why e-bike shouldn’t be a dirty word.
The King in the bike lane: This perfect LA Times editorial welcomes new NBA superstar LeBron James to town, and implores people to avoid hitting him with their cars.
Epic advocacy win: Happy for our comrades in New York City — and for our planet — that beautiful Central Park is now carfree.
Fewer cars in Paris: Oh look, when a big city has a mayor who makes bicycling a priority and introduces more regulations on driving, the result is less auto traffic, more biking, cleaner air, and so on.
New York’s slimeball senator: Brooklyn Republican State Senator Marty Golden is a repeat speed limit offender who’s using his legislative power to get rid of the cameras that caught him.
It gets worse: Five moms of kids who were killed by reckless drivers were arrested during a protest of Golden’s stance on the speed camera legislation.
Lose the labels: I repeat: How people choose to get around does not define who they are or what they believe in. Please stop judging and labeling people based on the vehicle they use. Thank you.
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“Mini-Hollands” work: London’s experiment with aggressive bicycle infrastructure updates in a few boroughs has resulted in not just more people bicycling — but even more people walking. And interestingly, researchers found that the proportion of residents with a positive view of cycling also increased.
Bike-friendly CBD: Floyd Landis, the former professional road racer who had his Tour de France title stripped over drug use violations, plans to expand his Floyd’s of Leadville products with three locations in Portland.
On second thought: California’s $5 billion transportation package is up against a challenge at the ballot box with a Republican-led effort to reverse a new gas tax and several vehicle-related fees. So far Oregon has been able to avoid a similar fate.
Banedoggles: USPIRG’s latest look at highway megaprojects does not pull any punches, saying they are wastes of money that don’t reduce congestion and siphon funds from more pressing transportation needs.
Passive-aggressive policy: Oslo faced backlash for a proposed car ban in their central city so they plan to do something more sneaky: Take away all the parking spaces.
Latest helmet research: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab just released new safety ratings for 30 bicycle helmets.
Last-mile by bike: To deal with demand for deliveries, a London-based company has launched a fleet of electric cargo bikes to whisk packages to their destination.
Shame on NHTSA! The story of deadly SUVs and how the federal government looks the other way while people (especially lower-income people of color) are hit and killed by them at an alarming rate and while corporations reap huge profits from selling them is unfortunately not surprising.
$920: Police in New Orleans pulled a man over for biking the wrong way on a street and when they were done writing up his ticket it included several charges that added up to a fine of $920.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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