Happy Monday everyone. I hope the smoke is dissipating. I’m down in Cypress, California all week visiting family and experiencing our own climate chaos: Last night we felt a bit of the hurriquake as rain pelted down usually dry suburban streets and we watched lamps in a cafe sway back-and-forth as we ate lunch. On a quick housekeeping note, posting is likely to be lighter around here until I’m back home next Wednesday.
Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers have come across in the past seven days…
Criminal financing: Economist and anti-freeway activist Joe Cortright explains why he thinks the 11th-hour move by the Oregon Legislature to commit $1 billion to the I-5/Interstate Bridge project was a “generational crime.” (The Oregonian)
Low-car politics: I love the concept of “Low Traffic Neighborhoods” (LTNs) being deployed in some U.K. neighborhoods — especially because they show how there are votes to gain by politicians who push through with low-car policies. (The New Statesmen)
Portland HSR: Washington politicians want $200M from the Biden administration for planning a future a bullet train between Portland and Vancouver BC. (Seattle Times)
Bike ban: I could not believe this story about a condominium association in Ohio that decided to prohibit bicycling on their streets in the name of safety was actually true. I just cannot believe Americans sometimes. (ABC)
Textbook outrage: It’s amazing how, no matter where in America a new bikeway project rolls out, the response from some motorists and TV news media is exactly the same. What a joke of a story this is, but in a way it should make us feel better that Portland isn’t alone. (CBS San Diego)
National bike network movement: I love the idea of seeing local bike projects as part of a national campaign a la the Interstate Highway System. (Streetsblog USA)
Too white and male: A major British bicycle nonprofit has published a report that says the bike industry is hurting because of the overwhelming number of white, heterosexual men in leadership positions. (Road.cc)
A pre-car bicycling vision: This 1895 essay by socialist and political activist Eugene Debs captures the hope and possibility of how bicycling could remake American life in a positive way — before the evil automobile swooped in to forever alter the arc of history. (Jacobin)
Maui e-scape: Two bike shops were devastated in the wildfire that engulfed Lahaina, and the owner of one of them narrowly escaped on an e-bike. (Bicycle Retailer)
Thanks to everyone who shared links this week!
