Here are the most notable items the BikePortland community came across in the past seven days.
Note: In light of our 15th anniversary, I want to point out that BikePortland has delivered this weekly roundup of important stories to you for the past 552 weeks. Since 2008! Thank you to our subscribers and supporters for making this possible.
Opportunity: Columnists and planners worldwide are urging cities to seize the day when it comes to changing our streets to reflect the new reality — or doing it because we can have a different reality when the virus recedes.
Racial disparities: There’s growing discussion about how calls for street changes ignore/exacerbate/impact existing racial discrimination. We cannot forget basic principles of mobility justice and the lived experiences of black, indigenous and people of color when we talk about how streets are planned and used.
Bias against people without cars: On March 13th we wondered when a city would discriminate against people for not being inside cars when it came to lining up for pandemic-related services. About three weeks later we got our answer: a city in Florida sternly advised people that not inside a car would not be served.
Bike-thrus in Seattle: An advocacy effort to ensure drive-thru access to people not using cars and partly inspired by Portland has sprung up in Seattle.
The next phase: “Our response [to transportation] requires both immediate solutions, and preparation for a long fight,” says this well-reasoned opinion piece from Canada that advises cities to lean on existing plans and reminds us bike infrastructure projects create more jobs than car/road projects.
Mask advice: Bicycling can help you understand the why and how of wearing a mask while riding.
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“Essential” bike shop? If a bike shop caters to high-end and competitive cycling enthusiasts they aren’t “essential” in the same way more service-oriented neighborhood-serving bike shops are.
Give us more lanes! Clark County drivers are eager for Oregon to widen freeways, environmental review be damned.
Cycling docs to watch: Need content for your indoor training rides? Here are 15 of the best cycling documentaries on YouTube according to CyclingTips.com.
Infrastructure stimulus: State DOTs are asking for $50 Billion in stimulus funding as part of an estimated $800 Billion infrastructure bill floating around Capitol Hill.
Reframing transit: The success of transit isn’t about ridership numbers, it’s about providing a basic and essential service argues Jarrett Walker.
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Budapest gets it: “The decrease in automobile traffic provides an opportunity to improve Budapest’s bicycle transport network with rapid intervention,” says an official statement from the capitol of Hungary.
Berlin gets it: This Amazing photo gallery shows how quickly the German city has changed streets to give bicycle users more space.
East London gets it: After crowd-sourcing ideas on social media, a neighborhood council will use simple diverters to block through driving access on some streets to increase safety and space for walkers and bicycle riders.
Boston, Minneapolis, Oakland, too: NY Times has a solid nationwide roundup of cities that have responded to the virus-outbreak with major street changes.
Car sales way up China: We can either seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to create healthy streets or we can wait until the impending driving boom makes it even harder.
Video of the Week: A brilliant way to explain the need for more street space in the time of social distancing:
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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