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Here are the most notable items the BikePortland community came across in the past seven days…
Catch them speeders: A new enforcement detail has been created in London to focus specifically on high-risk speeders who are taking advantage of empty streets.
New Zealand’s pandemic streets response: Imagine living in a country where the head of transportation is a regular bike rider who steps up to subsidize bike lanes and sidewalks to create more safety and space during the coronavirus lockdown.
“Fragility” of car-dominant cities: The nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute says the coronavirus has exposed how fragile our auto-centric cities are and creates even more urgency to create places where cars are not needed.
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No car, no service: This past week we saw several examples of drive-thru health and other virus-related services that explicitly denied access to people without cars.
No tour, no cycling economy? In many ways, the Tour de France is the sun in the cycling industry ecosystem and some fear that if it doesn’t happen things could go sideways very quickly.
More pressure on Portland leaders: “I find it very insulting that our leaders think that we are unruly citizens who are going to start throwing block parties and licking each other’s faces because a street opened up,” said Portlander Sam Balto in this Portland Monthly article.
Seattle’s walking boom: Older people in Seattle are starting to walk more during the lockdown and the ones profiled in this article think their city should create safer streets so they can continue to do so post-pandemic.
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Making it stick: “Right now, we have an incredible opportunity to reimagine the future of cities…How can communities like the Bronx, which has one of the worst asthma rates in the state, go back to diesel trucks polluting the air?,” says an advocate from New York City in this article from E&E News.
Easier to change?: “When people see how much easier it is to breathe outside, I think it will make it harder for decision-makers to avoid taking steps to make this norm, not the exception,” quotes a researcher in this Fast Company article about dramatic declines in air pollution.
Climate and Covid: “We need to design the stimulus not only to help the U.S. economy recover but to also become more resilient to the climate crisis,” according to this op-ed in the NY Times.
Government that works: “Councils [in London] can now cut red tape governing temporary road closures. This could help people walk and cycle whilst social distancing,” says an article just published by the BBC.
Video of the Week: The great Clarence Eckerson of Streetfilms has footage of New York City streets before-and-after the lockdown and says, “Coronavirus has changed our streets and we need to heed those lessons.”
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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