It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! I just returned from half a month on a Pacific Northwest bike tour. I can wait to make you all sit through my photo slideshow. First I need to buy one of those carousel projector thingies that makes the cool clicky sound. And figure out if anyone in town still makes slides…

Anyway, first up in the roundup, Montreal! I like this video because it shows how a little extra attention to art and traffic calming can make any old neighborhood street corner into a vibrant and pleasant place to live.

A Montreal Neighborhood Intersection Morphs into a Wonderful Public Space from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Pacific Northwest News

• Apartment Blockers | Sightline Daily – Awesome analysis explaining step-by-step how parking requirements make it illegal to build affordable housing.
• B.C. police chiefs want tougher penalties for cyclists who don’t wear helmets – Sigh…
• Report: Seattle traffic signal system ‘trending towards failure’ | KOMO News
• Transportation Nag: Staircase with Runnel for Bikes: Helpful? Maybe.
• Bridge operator: ‘please do not bypass active bridge traffic control gates’ « Cascade Bike Blog
• Cycle the WAVE event joins the fight against domestic violence : The Issaquah Press
• SDOT has plan to relieve the 15th and Galer squeeze | CHS Capitol Hill Seattle
• Bridges: Portals to Somewhere | Bicycle Alliance of Washington
• More Portland expats moving to Seattle | FYI Guy | Seattle Times
• May Valley Road rumble strips — they’re coming back » Biking Bis
• UW study finds half distracted drivers are texting | KING5.com Seattle
• The Problem With Texting While Driving Isn’t the Texting | Seattle Met
• Community bike audit points to opportunities to make Edmonds a bicycling destination « Cascade Bike Blog
• City Council Smacks CVS With Minimum Density Legislation
• Radically sensible: 8 questions for Elly Blue, Portland’s pop bikenomist | BikePortland.org
• Inslee ready to drop Columbia River bridge to win a transportation package | The Seattle Times
• Cheap fix guide to smoother Seattle cycling | Crosscut.com
• Madison Park Blogger: And speaking of safer crossings…
• New2Biking Seattle Tickets, Seattle – Eventbrite
• Introducing Park-A-Park: Vancouver’s Recently Launched Mobile Parklet | Spacing Vancouver – OMG this is awesome.
• Welcome Lake Union Greenways! A coalition of… – Seattle Neighborhood Greenways

Halftime show! Here’s another extremely bizarre bike law video from Edmonton. This one explains how dashed bike lanes work.

National & Global News

• Cab Driver Who Severed Woman’s Leg: I’m the Victim | Streetsblog New York City
• “Slow biking” is the newest movement against mindless speed | Grist
• European Cyclists’ Federation – Big Day for Cycling Advocacy as Angela Merkel Attends Eurobike
• Reflections on Equitable Transportation | League of American Bicyclists – MUST READ
• Total jerk steals Chicago’s bicycle library | Grist
• Another milestone for U.S. biking: Highway Administration backs the NACTO guide – Green Lane Project
• LA Times – The air near L.A.’s freeways: How dangerous? – Air quality watch specifically excludes “mobile” polluters… (?) Look out for my new aluminum smelting plant ON WHEELS!
• Man Reclaims Stolen Bike from Thief, Replaces It with Drawing of a Bike
• Stranded in a Sea of Cars, Where Speedometers Barely Budge – NYTimes.com – Driving in Mexico City sounds truly terrible.
• Denver bike-share program to stay open year round
• Bikes, Boards, Blind – Visually impaired man begins tour of West Coast from Bainbridge to Tijuana on the back of a tandem.
• Bicycle path opens on new Bay Bridge span in Oakland » Biking Bis
• Parking Karma | Sightline Daily
• Meanwhile, In A Small Kingdom Called Denmark, The Citizens Were Happy, Healthy, And On Time To Work
• The American Bike-Share Fleet Has Doubled Since January | Streetsblog Capitol Hill
• When we lost the War on Pedestrians – Greater Greater Washington
• Woman sentenced to 20 years prison for cyclist’s death – Local – Northwest Florida Daily News
• One Simple Tip That Could Save a Cyclist’s Life – Sarah Goodyear – The Atlantic Cities – Seriously, how do we get this into the state’s driver’s ed courses and driving test?
• Past Predictions of the Future of Travel [20 Pics] | I Like To Waste My Time