Welcome to Monday.
I’m out of town at the moment on vacation with my family (typing this after everyone has gone to bed), so I’m even more grateful than usual for everyone who has flagged great stories for us this week. I’ll be back at 100% bike blogging power one week from today (8/27). Please hold down the fort while I’m gone.
Before we share the best stories from the past seven days, let’s give a shout-out to this week’s sponsor: Mark your calendar for September 2nd because Portland’s fun and fully-supported, multi-pub ride — the Tour de Lab — is coming!
And here are your stories of the week…
Portland’s future?: This article from Grist about e-bike share in Seattle is full of interesting nuggets and it’s framed through the lens of one of Lime’s 50 rebalancers.
East Portland history: Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson shared an excellent and readable history (via a Twitter thread) of how Portland added its eastern territory. Remember this the next time we cover a project or issue that impacts people who live east of 82nd.
From gridiron to open road: Legendary retired NFL running back Emmitt Smith is a verifiable bike nut — he’s even started his own fondo event.
SUVs kill: Most of you have probably read about how SUVs are deadly by design — but we’re including this in the Roundup because it’s notable that the source this time around is the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP).
It’s the transit, stupid: While it’s good to see NYC limit ride-sharing vehicles and it’s also a positive sign to see talk of congestion pricing becoming more mainstream; at the end of the day, Bruce Schaller, former Deputy Commissioner of Traffic and Planning at the New York City Department of Transportation says, the best solution is to simply make transit better.
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War on Cars Podcast: Three of the sharpest transportation reform activists we know — Sarah Goodyear, Doug Gordon, and Aaron Naparstek — have teamed up for a new podcast.
Checking in on “peak car”: “Owning a car is too expensive with all these alternatives around,” says more and more people who live in cities.
A big jump for bike share: Streetsblog NYC says the groundwork is there and the timing is right for the Big Apple to go bike for bike share.
All quiet on the scooter front: Besides a bit too much sidewalk riding, police in Dallas, Texas report that e-scooters and e-bike share are no big deal so far.
Scooter evangelism from the NY Times: The Times Editorial Board loves scooters and they want NYC’s Mayor to build more protected bike lanes for scooter riders to use.
Bike to birth: A New Zealand prime minister biked to the hospital to have her child and both love and hate that this is a major headline.
Portland should do this: In an effort to provide, “a legacy for future generations,” the city council of Edinburgh, Scotland will prohibit driving on one Sunday every month in parts of its downtown core and outlying commercial districts.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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