Welcome to the week.
Before we share the most notable items our writers and readers came across in the past seven days, please take a look at the services of one of our new advertisers — Used Dutch Bikes, a source for authentic Dutch bikes delivered to your door.
Low-car politics: Milan is experiencing an open streets renaissance (thanks in part to former NYC DOT chief Janette Sadik-Khan) and the politician who pushed cars out of the city center is wildly popular. Coincidence? We think not.
We’re back: Time Magazine named Portland one of the world’s greatest places in large part because of our new carfree bridges. The city that has shunned cycling, now basks in glory because of them. You’re welcome Portland!
Pedaling propaganda: Portland’s very own cycling TikTok influencer Jenna Phillips got her due with a profile in Business Insider!
Transit crime conundrum: Excellent, must-read piece in Governing addresses the problem of progressive cities not doing enough to create safe and clean conditions on transit and why a hesitancy to use police might be hurting more people than it’s helping.
Cost of cars: This (relatively) new research published in Ecological Economics found that, “motorists underestimate the full private costs of car ownership, while policy makers and planners underestimate social costs.
Gas station ban: Petrol stations are fossil-fuel infrastructure and some cities are moving to ban new ones; but are the political stakes of starving cars too high?
He’d get my vote: The man who created the “ciclovia” open street events in Bogota, Colombia that inspired Portland’s Sunday Parkways and who critiqued Portland city leaders for being too timid on reducing car use during a fiery speech here in 2008, is running for mayor of Toronto.
Preach David!: “If we want to embed genuine freedom in our infrastructure, we need bold investments that provide Americans with mobility options — instead of doubling down on car dependency,” says former Metro President, now Executive Director of Transit Center David Bragdon in a guest op-ed in The Hill.
The point of planning: Noted former Streetsblog writer and author Angie Schmitt thinks the urban planning profession should have made more noise to maintain access to public facilities and other spaces during the pandemic. (I agree! And it’s why I was so disappointed that PBOT severely cut back on Sunday Parkways-like events when we needed them most.)
E-bike boom: The gap between what politicians and city leaders do for electric cars versus electric bikes is even harder to swallow when you realize that e-bikes are outselling e-cars in America right now.
Video of the Week: I came across this amazing gem of a TriMet promo this week and hurt my chin when my jaw fell to my desk
Thanks to everyone who sent us links this week!