Bike News Roundup: Kelli has joined the chat! + Creating ‘virtual traffic jams’ with a red wagon full of phones

(Video transcript)

I am very excited to try out an all-new feature for the Bike News Roundup: Video commentary! I will still be posting links to news and other interesting stuff from around the region and around the world like I have for the better part of the past decade. So if you’re just here for the links, they aren’t going anywhere. But now the roundup will also come with a video where we’ll walk through some highlights and talk about them. It could be a good opportunity to bring in guests, too. We’ll see where it goes. Post your feedback on the format in the comments below or on YouTube.

Kelli Refer joined me for this week’s chat. Kelli was Legislative Aide to Councilmember Mike O’Brien until his term ended at the end of 2019. She also happens to be my amazing spouse. Thanks, Kelli!

First up in the roundup, performance artist Simon Weckert put 99 smart phones in a little red wagon, loaded Google Maps directions on all of them and then walked around central Berlin creating “virtual traffic jams.”

Pacific Northwest News

• Why Are People Worried About Alex Pedersen as Transportation Chair? – Slog – The Stranger
• Better ways to fund and invest in a transportation system for all – The Seattle Times
• Feet First: Stop Building New Highway Lanes, Fund Local Streets and Transit First | The Urbanist
• In Defense of Dumb Cities – Mike McGinn – Medium
• Kitsap Transit selects construction company for Bainbridge Bike Barn makeover | Bainbridge Island Review
• KUOW – Scooters are sending more people to the hospital; Seattle still doesn’t have them
• KUOW – This is what Seattle’s new neighborhood could look like
• Metro picks New Flyer for big electric bus purchase – Seattle Transit Blog
• New report presents clearer picture on e-scooter safety issues | SCC Insight
• Pedestrian killed in Lynnwood car crash | The Seattle Times
• Police: Yakima man runs over bicyclist for ‘staring at him’ | KOMO
• Seattle commuters fuming over cost of getting an Uber or Lyft after mass shooting downtown – The Seattle Times
• Seattle police officer contributed to man’s death with ruse that ‘shocked the conscience,’ investigation finds – The Seattle Times
• Senate Democrats Propose Car Tab ‘Fix’ with $2.9 Billion Hit to Sound Transit | The Urbanist
• Announcing the 2020 Cascade Advocacy Leadership Institute Training Schedule | Cascade Bicycle Club

Halftime Show! The city of Ghent in Belgium instituted a new “traffic circulation plan” that has dramatically reduced driving in the city center and prioritized walking, biking and transit. So, how’s that working out? See for yourself in this StreetFilm:

National & Global News

• Tearing Down an Urban Highway Can Give Rise to a Whole New City – CityLab
• Bike Group to Feds: Helmet Laws are Bad – Streetsblog USA
• Emissions Report: Cars Are Still Our Biggest Problem – Streetsblog USA
• Feds propose oil and gas leasing on Moab’s Slickrock trail – The Salt Lake Tribune
• How depression almost derailed BART director Janice Li before she got a transit revolution started – SFGate
• Inside Buttigieg’s $1 Trillion Infrastructure Plan – CityLab
• LeBron James surprises teens in Harlem, backs bike lanes
• Maximizing bike-share ridership: New research says it’s all about location: 10% increase in bike-availability levels increases ridership by 12% — ScienceDaily
• New York State Governor Mulls Car Helmet Compulsion To Discourage Motoring | Forbes
• No Cars in Downtown San Francisco? It’s Happening. – CityLab
• Op-Ed: Yes, Gov. Cuomo, Car Helmets Could Save Lives – Streetsblog New York City
• Pedestrians hit by car in Kansas City complain to police | The Kansas City Star
• Police Detain 185 Climate Protesters at Brussels Car Show | World News | US News
• 13 Investigates: Millions of vehicles have unexpected, dangerous front blind zone – 13 Investigates – 13 WTHR Indianapolis