Welcome to the week. Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers have come across in the past seven days…
A DOT ray of hope: Washington’s state DOT has a new requirement to close bike network gaps whenever they do a major project on an arterial highway — and it looks like it’s going to lead to much better bike infrastructure. (The Urbanist)
Get on the bus (to National Parks): Cars are strangling “America’s Best Idea” so here’s an idea: resurrect Greyhound buses as the de facto tourist transit service at National Parks and get the cars out of nature. (City Hikes)
A safety tax for trucks: Great to see the another big-city editorial board get comfortable with the idea of more regulation on large and heavy SUVs and trucks as a route toward safer streets (L.A. Times)
Profit over people: The reason there are so many trucks in America — despite their terrible safety and climate change impacts — is largely due to the simple fact that quirks in the law make them more profitable than smaller vehicles. Yay capitalism!! (Washington Post)
The Netherlands bike story: A well-reputed podcast has published a detailed history of bicycle activism in Amsterdam that relays the inspiring story of the fight against car-centric planning and its remarkable aftermath. (99% Invisible)
Unprotected: San Francisco is mourning the loss of a cycling champion who was killed by a drunk driver while bicycling last week. It happened in a location where activists had called attention to the need for protected bike lanes. (SF Gate)
Doubting studies: Traffic impact studies and the Trip Generation Manual are the bedrock of street planning decisions, but they’re far from scientifically sound. (Streetsblog USA)
Enforcement debate: This article about the correlation between fewer police doing traffic enforcement is about Seattle but it could have easily been written about Portland. (NPR)
Scooters in Paris: All eyes in the micromobility world are on Paris where a non-binding referendum result showed vast opposition to electric scooters as Mayor Anne Hidalgo says they don’t fit into the cities plans to support biking and walking. (Tech Crunch)
Lyft and bike share: When Lyft raised fees for Biketown in Portland, it underscored the peril of having our bike share system owned by a private corporation and renewed talks of a public takeover. Turns out we’re not the only city whose close ties to Lyft causes stress. (Curbed)
Thanks to everyone who shared links this week.