The Monday Roundup: PBA corruption, scrapers do good, racist emissions, and more

Welcome to the week.

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

15 minutes for whomst?: Disability rights activist Anna Zivarts says any commitment to “15 minute cities” must come with full understanding that many people who rely on paratransit or other services cannot afford such luxuries.

Rider harassment campaign: After a police department in Philadelphia asked for the public’s help to crackdown on bicycle riders “causing traffic issues,” a local advocacy group called them out for targeting kids and wheelie riders.

Scrapers go mainstream: In 2010 we said the world needs more scraper bikes. That’s why I was so happy to see the news that Berkeley, California-based Original Scraper Bike Team has launched an after school program for fourth to seventh graders. Let’s do this Portland!

Racist emissions: New research hardens the case that vehicle emissions and other car and truck-borne pollutants have a much greater negative impact on Black, Indigenous and people of color. Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, chair of a key Senate environmental committee, tweeted this article and said, “I am committed to tackling this issue head-on.”

Cop lied about traffic stop: University of Oregon has sued a former campus cop who allegedly lied about an altercation with a bicycle rider that appears to have been a pretext/profiling traffic stop.

The PBA Way: The Portland Business Alliance, a staunch critic of many progressive cycling plans, was found to have violated lobbying rules 25 times, according to a City of Portland audit.

Feds don’t be freds: There’s a national call-to-action to encourage the Federal Highway Administration to “reframe and revise” the all-powerful Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices as it’s going through a major update.

“We Should All Be More Afraid of Driving”: This article in The Atlantic is a personal and poignant look at the mental impacts of traffic violence where the author comes to the conclusion that much of our road carnage is simply an “accident” and there’s nothing we can do about it.

Video of the Week: An informative primer to “How the Auto Industry Hijacked the American Dream”…

Bonus Video of the Week: Don’t miss Shimano’s “Ode to Dogs”…

— 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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