Monday Roundup: Highway robbery, carfree in America, and more

It’s Monday! Time to round up the best news and stories from the past week…

Mad about models: This week’s must-read is a breakdown of very troubling traffic modeling used by DOTs and highway builders to justify spending billions on megaprojects just like our very own freeway expansion between Portland and Vancouver. This article dovetails perfectly with part of the conversation between Je Amaechi and I last week. (Dissent Magazine)

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Sidewalks matter: A haunting story about a six-year-old boy who was killed by a driver on a road in a Black neighborhood without sidewalks 35 years ago. (KFF Health News)

A carfree status report: Always interesting when a mainstream media outlet parachutes into our world. In this case, a reporter talked to Americans who’ve — shock! — managed to give up a car and not regret it. I like how the takeaway is that, given the choice, most people would be happy to live low-car or carfree lives. (The Washington Post)

College paper chimes in on Willamette bike lanes: PBOT’s big project to change the design of N Willamette Blvd is directly adjacent to University of Portland and the college’s newspaper reports why students are watching its progress closely. (The Beacon)

Speed limits during races: Interesting situation has bubbled up in the UK after authorities establish 20 mph zones and organizers of cycling races must detour around the zones in order to keep their caravans in compliance. (Cycling Weekly)

Lessons learned: I’ve been a fan of Russ Roca since the early days of BikePortland and it’s been amazing to watch him grow into such a respected YouTuber while not compromising his vision or independence. His recent post on things in his life and the bike industry he wished he’d known sooner is well worth watching. (Path Less Pedaled on YouTube)

War for a carfree road: The battle playing out in San Francisco over a measure that would permanently prohibit drivers from using a portion of a coastal road is just the latest example of how deeply some people resist change — especially when it involves cars. (The San Francisco Standard)

For the record: I was happy to at see our state’s main news outlet attempt to correct the record about the type of vehicle a Tigard teen was riding when he was killed on a road in Tualatin last week, but then the article still mentions “e-bike” so many times I’m not sure it really helps much. (The Oregonian)

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.