The Monday Roundup: Mr. Barricade, Peatonito, play streets, and more

Welcome to what is going to be another stellar week!

Here are the most noteworthy items BikePortland editors and readers came across in the past seven days…

End the fantasy: The New Republic says cities should stop fawning over tech bro fantasies of autonomous cars and invest in the stuff that is actually real and ready and working today like buses, bike lanes and sidewalks.

Let the kids play in the streets: Closed playgrounds and no more recess during the pandemic have hurts kids’ hearts and minds, so we need more policies like “Playdays on the parkways“.

Food by bike: Not to be outdone by the Community Cycling Center in Portland, Seattle’s Cascade Bicycle Club has delivered 240,000 pounds of food by bike in a pandemic-inspired program they want to help replicate nationwide.

Secretary Pete gets it: In a new and relatively juicy interview from The Verge, US DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg once again hits many of the right notes when it comes to the future of transportation in America.

5-5-5: City Observatory has created a handy mnemonic device for understanding the CRC 2.0 project. Despite DOT propaganda that it’s just a bridge replacement, it’s actually a $5 billion megaproject that will widen five miles of freeways that will come with $5 in tolls for users.

Zooming while driving: Before you wag a finger at this Ohio state senator who got caught driving while in an online meeting, consider that the same thing happened at a City of Portland meeting last week (thankfully the staffer was reprimanded).

The wonderful Mr. Barricade: Vignesh Swaminathan is a star on Tik Tok where fans gobble up his engaging videos on everything from why protected intersections are so great to why redlining is so bad.

‘Jaywalking’ should not be a crime: Streetsblog USA has the latest on the growing national movement to decriminalize crossing laws — laws that were created by the automobile lobby and uphold a driving-centered street system that harms people of color and other groups commonly hassled by police.

Listen to Peatonito: Mexico City’s “urbanist legend” and masked defender of safe streets “Peatonito” (“little pedestrian” in Spanish), is enrolled in graduate school at UCLA where he could help foment a pedestrian revolution.

Throw the book away: Venerable journalist, author and rabble-rouser Angie Schmitt lays out a very strong case for why serious reform of the federal MUTCD is so badly needed.

Famed architect killed while biking: Noted Chicago architect Helmut Jahn died in a collision with two drivers while he biked on a rural road 20 miles outside of Chicago.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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