Bloated DOTs, Bike Kill, Cyclists v ICE, and more – BikePortland

Welcome to Monday. I was up early this morning to get this done before I head to the Hilton downtown for the opening plenary speeches at the MPACT Conference.

Below are the most notable stories I came across in the past seven days. Thanks to everyone who suggested links this week!

The story of BikePortland: A major journalism school featured BikePortland as a “Local News Bright Spot” in their widely-read annual report on local media in America. (Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism)

The bike lane fig leaf: Love this framing of how people (including DOTs!) focus ire and attention on bike lanes as a way to obfuscate the more difficult to address, underlying traffic issues. (Minn Post)

Rivian’s new e-bike: The road to the cycling revolution is paved with good intentions by big companies trying to disrupt the bike industry. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Rivian’s spin-off bike brand, ALSO. (Velo)

Meme of the Week: If I had a dollar for every person who sent this “Local Kid Prepares To Dress Up As Bike Lane For Halloween To Really Frighten Elderly Neighbours” meme I’d be able to buy a nice lunch. (The Betoota Advocate)

Why highway projects cost so much: Quality of personnel and other factors lead to project cost bloat at some US DOTs. This is is a must-read for progressives who want to see more efficient and successful transportation projects. (I’ve been saying progressives must get better at leading the fiscal responsibility narrative.) (Bloomberg Citylab)

Cyclists stepping up: The long tradition of bicycle riders helping in crises continues in Chicago as groups of cyclists are buying out tamale vendors so they can stay home and stay safe from Trump’s Gestapo. (Block Club Chicago)

Some crashes are OK: When PBOT made major changes to SE Division Street, some of the haters used car crashes to argue the changes made the street less safe. This article gives important context to scenarios like that one and taught me the adage: “Better to have more cars in body shops and fewer people in body bags.” (The Happy Urbanist)

Cycling success in Glasgow: Every single time I read a story about a city moving the needle to create more bicycle riders there’s always some version of this line in the article: “Build safe, continuous, and visible bike lanes, and the bikes will come.” (Momentum Mag)

Brooklyn’s Bike Kill: I am so jealous of this event: Not only do I miss this type of freak bike culture energy in Portland, but as a cycling journalist I would have loved to have covered it! (The Guardian)

Thanks to everyone who sent in links this week. The Monday Roundup is a community effort, so please feel free to send us any great stories you come across.