Transcript (auto-generated .txt)

It’s time for the Bike News Roundup. I started collecting the stories for this edition before the COVID-19 outbreak really took over the news and, you know, our whole lives. So there are glimpses of another time in here.

Also, be sure to check out the Bike News Roundup video with Kelli Refer. We talk through a few pieces from the list, plus she shows off the styling new reusable face masks she made using this design. And at the end, we play a few minutes of the indie video game Knights and Bikes. The Roundup video also works as something to listen to in the background.

First up, if you haven’t seen the News Tribune video of Matthew Fleming biking around Tacoma yelling people’s messages to each other, well, enjoy:

Pacific Northwest News

• ‘They’re telling us we’re trespassers’: King County vs. longtime Lake Sammamish waterfront homeowners | The Seattle Times
• A police officer’s lie, a Seattle man’s suicide: Family and friends learn what really happened | The Seattle Times
• Bicycle shops see steady business as Washington grinds to a halt | The Spokesman-Review
• Bicycling event calendars wiped clean by COVID-19 pandemic this spring – Biking Bis
• Car-tab taxes aren’t going down yet, King County judge rules. Next stop: state Supreme Court. | The Seattle Times
• City creates interactive map to help residents support small businesses – My Ballard
• Crowdsourced King County COVID Volunteer Opportunities – Google Sheets
• Despite survey, Sound Transit votes to retain original name of University Street Station … for now – seattlepi.com
• Dispatch from Olympia: As Legislature Signs Off, Transit Funding Is Preserved for Now – Transportation Choices Coalition
• Driver who struck bicyclist said she was lighting a cigarette | Kitsap Sun
• Gondolas Offer A Way to Rise Above West Seattle’s ST3 Controversy | The Urbanist
• Hiram M. Chittenden Locks closing pedestrian gates to all visitors > USACE Seattle District News Releases
• In These Strange Times – Bike Style Life
• King County ombudsman begins investigation into Metro Transit’s bus cleaning amid coronavirus outbreak | The Seattle Times
• Legislature Authorizes $10 Billion in Highway Spending | The Urbanist
• Man killed near Lynnwood over a parking dispute was shot in the back of the head; suspect charged | The Seattle Times
• Meeting (and exceeding) 2019 Levy to Move Seattle deliverables – SDOT Blog
• Metro’s Northgate Bus-to-Link Proposal Could Use a Little Love for Fremont | The Urbanist
• NHL Seattle Will Fund Free Transit for Home Game Attendees | The Urbanist
• Our Advocacy during COVID-19 – Puget Sound Sage
• P-Patch Rescue Obscures Raw Deal on Seattle Center’s Mercer Garage | The Urbanist
• Quarantined City: Seattle Under Siege by the Coronavirus (Part I) – La Vue Atypique
• Ride the Ducks Seattle shuts its doors for good | My Northwest
• Social Distancing Is Impossible on Most Seattle Sidewalks | Seattle Met
• To Promote Social Distancing, Some Cities Are Giving Roadways Over to Cyclists. Should Seattle? – Slog – The Stranger
• With love for raised crosswalk, speed humps, curb ramps, curb bulbs, and protected bike lanes, Melrose next for Capitol Hill street overhauls | CHS Capitol Hill Seattle
• WSDOT Prepares to Open Brand New Seven-Lane Road through Seattle | The Urbanist
• Yakama Nation Tribal Council propose 150 miles of trails from White Swan to Union Gap | KIMA
• A decade of punishment and heavy traffic catches up to the West Seattle Bridge | The Seattle Times
• Economic crisis is not inevitable if Washington state acts now | Crosscut
• Seattle Destroyed Homeless Encampments as the Pandemic Raged | The Nation

Halftime show! Bike Works has reopened its shop in an outbreak-safe way. Q13 had a good story about the measures they are taking:

National & Global News

• Why the US Sucks at Building Public Transit – VICE
• Bird lays off about 30% of workforce amid COVID-19 pandemic – TechCrunch
• Coronavirus could mean catastrophe for public transit | Crosscut
• Every Street In Paris To Be Cycle-Friendly By 2024, Promises Mayor
• Experts: Senate Bill’s $25B for Transit Won’t Be Enough – Streetsblog New York City
• GardaWorld built an armored truck empire while taking shortcuts. Mayhem followed. An investigation by the Tampa Bay Times | Investigations | Tampa Bay Times
• How I Learned to Cycle Like a Dutchman | The New Yorker
• How the crossover utility vehicle made us comfortable with SUVs – Vox
• How Your City Can Use Cycling to Cope With COVID-19 | TransAlt
• Plastics Industry Promoted Recycling To Help Keep Oil And Gas Profits High : NPR
• Ten Simple Policies to Subtract Cars From Our Streets – Streetsblog USA
• Ten Ways Every City Should Respond to COVID-19 On Its Streets, Compiled by NACTO – Streetsblog USA
• The Buzzer blog » Metro Vancouver’s cycling network nearly tripled last decade
• The Way We Talk About Bike Helmets Is a Problem – 5280
• Transportation For America The Congestion Con – Transportation For America
• WEBINAR: Rebalancing Streets for People – Toole Design
• ‘London throat’: Toxic brake dust could cause condition, scientists say – BBC News
• Where America Didn’t Stay Home Even as the Virus Spread – The New York Times
• Coronavirus stay-at-home orders reduced traffic accidents by half – Los Angeles Times
• How much distance should you leave to the cyclist ahead in a time of pandemic? | road.cc

This is an open thread.