“Denying” use of cars is “evil”: How to respond to a carfree naysayer

“I seriously disagree with… taking an entire neighborhood and denying them the use of their cars, which I think is an evil thing to do to people, even if just for one Sunday.”–talk show host Lars Larson On the opening day of the Towards Carfree Cities Conference, right-wing talk radio personality Lars Larson invited Meghan … Read more


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2,100 miles for Pedalpalooza

“You ain’t gonna get Pedalpalooza in Tulsa-frickin’-Oklahoma.”–Tulsa resident Paul Tay, who’s currently visiting Portland Paul Tay, from Tulsa Oklahoma, is a great example of how you can’t judge someone’s character by their style of commenting on a blog. Some of you might recall Paul as a frequent BikePortland.org commenter that goes by the annoyingly self-promotional … Read more


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A look inside New York City’s burgeoning ‘livable streets movement’

The “Street Fight” presentation at the Carfree Conference taking place at Portland State University through Friday.(Photos © J. Maus) With 840,000 motor vehicles entering into New York City’s central business district each day, New York City has its share of challenges in creating livable, safe and people-friendly streets. But thanks to a burgeoning collaborative effort … Read more


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Penalosa inspires, gives Portland a reality check

Gil Penalosa at the Carfree Cities Conference.(Photos © J. Maus) During his inspiring keynote speech at the Carfree Conference yesterday, Gil Penalosa gave Portlanders a lot to think about. Penalosa is the former Commissioner of Parks, Sport, and Recreation for the city of Bogota, Colombia. During his tenure, he transformed that city (population 7 million) … Read more