This week’s roundup is sponsored by Joe Bike, opening a second shop on SE Clinton and 25th later this month!
Here are the most noteworthy items the BikePortland community came across in the past seven days…
The freeway expansion scam: Transportation 4 America’s excellent new “Congestion Con” report found that while we’ve poured billions into wider freeways, congestion is only getting worse.
Good car tech: This new dooring warning system from Ford Europe flashes red lights and even prevents the driver’s door from opening when a bicycle rider approaches.
Out of control: Officials want stricter car control measures after a dude lost control of his truck and rammed into a sacred stone statue on Easter Island.
Boring stuff works: CityLab author says if our goal is safer and better transport systems we’d be wise to focus on “mundane” solutions like sidewalks, bike cars on trains, sidewalks, and so on.
Scooter perspective: A newly published study of 3,600 parked vehicles found just 0.8% of scooters and shared bikes were parked improperly while nearly 25% of cars were.
Google knows: A man became a suspect in a burglary after Google granted a “geofence warrant” to local authorities and they found his bike ride tracker data showed him near the scene of the crime.
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Too damn big: People are just now realizing that those irrationally large and dangerous trucks that are a symbol of selfish privilege by their owners and greed by their manufacturers don’t even fit in garages or parking spots. America is sick.
Safer intersections: We talk about the dangers of intersections a lot and now there’s a great article that shares how to make them safer.
New Belgium grants: This bike-friendly beer maker has announced their 2020 bike advocacy grant program. Go for it!
Good transport planning advice: The World Bank shared what it learned about women and “invisible” users of the transport system in an African country and how it made the system work better for them. These are great lessons many cities can learn from.
Local Focus
Light rail is the new highways: As if TriMet’s SW Corridor plan wasn’t bad enough, they’ve now downgraded their estimate for how many people will use it.
Portland’s other vision zero: The Parking Minute blog informs us that as of March 1st, all new Portland developments constructed near transit are able to offer zero parking parking spaces for car users.
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Traffic violence defined: A driver’s inability to control their vehicle resulted in them ramming through the window of a Red Robin restaurant in Clackamas and police simply called it an “accident” and issued no citation while an innocent family was permanently traumatized.
ODOT criticism, part I: A woman whose toddler was killed while walking in a north Portland crosswalk points out how ODOT’s priority for “safety” as a rationale to widen I-5 in the Rose Quarter is a sham.
ODOT criticism, part II: The latest part of our state where people are rising up against ODOT’s dangerous mismanagement of our roads is in Scappoose, where high school students are organizing to fix a Highway 30 intersection that nearly killed one of their teachers.
Tweets of the Week:
The selfishness of some car users is astounding to me:
We stopped 30 cars on HWY 26 this morning driving more than 21 MPH over the speed limit. Thank you Waze for all the police notifications while we were out there. Please slow down! pic.twitter.com/YhqQmZJ77v
— PPB Traffic Division (@ppbtraffic) March 3, 2020
Good perspective on how car culture works:
Food handler's card: Only good for 3 years and you must pass a test before each renewal.
Driver's license: Once you pass the behind-the-wheel test at 16 your ability to pilot a multiton vehicle at ungodly speeds will never be questioned again until your eyeballs stop working.
— ⛑️Car Helmets⛑️ (@CarHelmets) March 4, 2020
Summary of last night’s mayoral climate debate in live-sketch form!
So glad I live sketched last night's Mayoral Climate Debate (cohosted by @SunrisePDX & @350_PDX & others). Incisive, thought-provoking questions from young leaders answered by @tedwheeler, @sarahforpdx, @teressaformayor, @PiperCrowell, & @ozzie4pdxmayor. pic.twitter.com/Uv8QmQuM4z
— Lucy Bellwood (@LuBellWoo) March 9, 2020
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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