Here are the most noteworthy items the BikePortland community came across in the past seven days…
$114 billion for transportation: Here’s a good breakdown of transportation funding within the $2 trillion coronavirus bill signed by the president on Friday.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Bike shop owners and employees nationwide are feeling the love from authorities and the public as many states and cities have deemed them “essential businesses.”
Cycling is essential too: CityLab has a good roundup of actions from cities responding to a boom in bicycling amid coronavirus restrictions.
Cities’ golden opportunity: There’s growing sentiment even outside advocacy circles that now is a great time for city leaders to reduce driving access and create safer, more equitable streets.
TDM on steroids: Traffic counting experts say we might soon completely eradicate congestion in cities thanks to measures put in place by cities that encourage less driving.
Bike rider testing: New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell says bicycle riders are welcome at the city’s new “drive-thru” coronavirus testing facilities (links to Facebook).
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Bike business boom: In cities across America, people are realizing that bicycles are the most resilient and desirable way to get around during the pandemic, and bike shops are seeing a rise in customers as a result.
Speeding fills the void: Statistics from New York City confirm that when most drivers have more space on the road they will always use it to go faster and drive more recklessly.
Spreading cheer: A school teacher from Vancouver, Washington is dressing up and cycling through her student’s neighborhoods to cheer them up during the lockdown.
Corporations and climate change: Go inside a meeting of fossil fuel industry leaders as they dish about how to make money off of climate change.
The power of cities: Covid-19 has led to a debate about cities vs suburbia. Micromobility expert Horace Dediu thinks, “the cohabitation, the collaboration, the concentrated conurbation,” inherent in cities will make them even stronger on the other side.
Don’t call it a bailout: The pandemic is killing transit across America, while highlighting the value of biking and walking networks. These modes should be boosted as part of a comprehensive Green New Deal for Transportation, a plan just released by TransitCenter, Transportation for America, Data for Progress and the Ian L. McHarg Center for Urbanism and Ecology.
Trumpism and road deaths: Safe streets advocates raised eyebrows last week when President Trump argued for relaxing the coronavirus response because we don’t prohibit driving even though it kills thousands of people a year.
Watch Stephen Colbert try to fix a flat:
The Tour de Quarantine is must-see TV:
Tour de Quarantine Stage 1 pic.twitter.com/uI8PRBS575
— Brad Sohner (@bradsohner) March 22, 2020
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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