Welcome to the week.
Today’s Monday Roundup is made possible by Action LED, where you can find high quality bike lights to keep riding through winter.
Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers came across in the past seven days…
The driving delusion: Cars aren’t freedom machines for everyone, especially those who have the most to lose when our system offers them no other choice. (NY Times Opinion)
Affordable mobility: Portugal has become the first country in the EU to take advantage of a policy that allows member nations to reduce taxes on the purchase of bicycles. (European Cyclists’ Federation)
Remove or remodel?: There’s growing tension between people who want to use the new federal “Reconnecting Communities” grant fund to remove highways or to simply add a bit of lipstick here and there (cough…. ODOT in Albina… cough). (Route Fifty)
Serious about public spaces: How can you tell when your city is moving from rhetoric to action on carfree places and other high quality public spaces? When they hire a full-time position to oversee the job like New York City is doing. (Streetsblog NYC)
Not Just Bikes: Amsterdam makes its transit highly accessible to, thanks in part to a new program that will give free fares to low-income riders. (NL Times)
Cars are not people: I am beside myself that the California Coastal Commission ruled that a bunch of restaurants near San Diego have to replace outdoor dining areas with car parking on absurd grounds like “privatizing public space” and “beach accessibility.” This is a backward, car-centric, anti-human planning decision that is a case study of transportation discrimination. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
A license for vigilantism: A few New York City activists are so fed up with people breaking parking laws by intentionally covering up their license plates they’ve started to fix the plates themselves. (NY Times)
Drivers behaving badly: A year-end survey from AAA shows how drivers know they are doing bad things but many of them admit to doing them anyways. (Auto Blog)
Gender and the carfree movement: Women are at the forefront of efforts to remove cars from Berlin roads and their fight illustrates how male-centric perspectives often dominates road design decisions. (Yes Magazine)
One-wheel, one mission: A teenager is cycling 3,000 miles on a unicycle from Maine to Florida to raise money and awareness for the East Coast Greenway path project. (The Guardian)
Thanks to everyone who shared links this week.