Welcome to the week. Here are the most noteworthy stories we came across in the past seven days…
Enforcement is out: Stating that, “this summer served as an admittedly painfully long-overdue tipping point,” the League of American Bicyclists has dropped “Enforcement” from their framework for evaluating bicycle-friendly communities.
First responder by bike: Paris is testing a fleet of electric-assist “emergency bikes” that will allow first responders to roll easily through city traffic to address medical-related calls.
Essential planning: This story of lessons-learned by Oakland city planners around their pandemic-inspired slow streets program feels very relevant to Portland.
Women and the boom: A big reduction in drivers and cars on streets during the pandemic — and the fear associated with sharing streets with them — has led to more women cycling in New York City (and likely elsewhere).
Bike industrial complexities: The U.S. could solve its bike shortage problem by taking more intentional steps to boost domestic industrial capacity and limit sole supplier dominance (like Shimano), says this op-ed in Wired.
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Wet blanket on AV rhetoric: Surprise! Turns out rush the rush to prep for a future of automous vehicles was premature because its widespread adoption is still years away (and all those planners and consultants who told us it would be here by now are laughing all the way to the bank).
Speaking of tech: NY Times has the latest on auto industry efforts to improve bike-car communication technology, an entire industry that wouldn’t be necessary if we would just design and use vehicles responsibly in the first place.
Drivers as endangered species: The mobility revolution continues for Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo as she reveals plans to double-down on bikeways and makes it clear that driving is not welcome.
African activists: The Covid-19 bike boom is strong in Africa and activists are seizing the moment to help planners and politicians make roads safer for new riders.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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