Welcome to the week. Hope you had a nice holiday and were lucky enough to take advantage of the spectacular, sunny weather.
Here are the best stories we’ve come across in the past seven days — from sources you can trust.
The (bike) motor city: Imagine if Detroit became a hub of manufacturing and design for light electric vehicles like bicycles? Some folks are actually making that happen. (Bicycle Retailer & Industry News)
Size matters: There is no doubt that the ever-increasing size of SUVs (for no reason other than design trends) is terrible for people and the planet with a new report showing that auto emissions could have gone down significantly if cars were smaller. (The Guardian)
DOTs and deaths: Federal crash data proves a point many of us know far too well — that state-owned roads and highways claim a disproportionate amount of lives each year. (League of American Bicyclists)
Break car culture: An op-ed from New York City that has strong relevance in Portland because of how it addresses the need for leaders to lead and help us “break” car culture if we truly want to save public transit (and so much else). (Streetsblog NYC)
More of this, please: What happens in a country with functioning advertising regulations? Auto ads that show terribly irresponsible behavior are banned. This is a huge problem I’d love to see treated more aggressively here in the states. (Jalopnik)
Why are climate talks stalling? Maybe because some lobbyists from major oil and gas-producing countries in the Middle East are co-opting the most important international climate change conference to negotiate fossil fuel deals. (BBC)
Where Vision Zero is reality: “The idea behind Hoboken’s Vision Zero is to make its streets less car-focused, and more welcoming and accessible to all kinds of transport,” says mayor of the one American city that has tamed traffic to keep its residents safe. (Bloomberg, and for more about Hoboken’s recipe for safety success, see our profile of their DOT director from back in April.)
Just in case: A new company offers bike-specific insurance policies that will cover full cost of your damages in event of a crash or accident. (Bicycle Retailer & Industry News)
More coolness from Montreal: Imagine how cool it would be to rent a bike-share bike with studded tires so you can roll easy on snow and ice! (Cycling Magazine)
Thanks to everyone who sent in links this week. The Monday Roundup is a community effort, so please feel free to send us any great stories you come across.