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Welcome to the week.
The Monday Roundup is made possible by Showers Pass, makers of quality waterproof rainwear and gear that’s proudly designed and tested right here in Portland!
Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers came across in the past seven days…
Good drivers: It’s not just quality infrastructure that makes Dutch roads safer for cycling, it’s the fact that drivers are highly skilled due to the rigorous test all of them must pass before getting behind the wheel. (Streetsblog)
To free, or not to free: To stoke the ongoing debate about free transit, here’s an excellent article that argues eliminating fares would rob transit systems of the ability to fund themselves at the level required to make them functional and thus appeal to more people. (The Atlantic)
Kill stroads, blame engineers: A 10-year old book on walkability is out with new text that includes a scathing indictment of multilane “stroads” and the people who design them. (Bloomberg)
Covid’s carfree count: Only a few of the roads made carfree during covid will stay that way, but overall we made small strides to being a less car-centric country. (NPR)
E-car research: Electric car boosters might want to track this new research that says the emissions reductions gains some people dream about might be constrained by lack of availability of batteries. (Science Direct)
Winter riding: A snowy and cold city in Finland manages to keep 10% of its residents riding through winter in large part because bikeways get priority from snow plows. (We Love Cycling)
Festive without fear: Manhattan visitors are reveling in a carfree space on Fifth Avenue near the iconic Rockefeller Center tree — which makes me think we should do something similar around Pioneer Square. (Streetsblog)
It’s official! Ian Mackay (who we profiled in 2016) now owns the Official World Record for “greatest distance in 24 hours by mouth controlled motorised wheelchair,” after traveling over 180 miles on the roads of nearby Sauvie Island this past summer. (Guinness World Records)
Thanks to everyone who shared links this week.