Car loans, teen drivers, safer roads, and more – BikePortland

Hi friends (and everyone else).

10 days post-surgery and I’m still just slogging along. The silver lining of my leg not feeling super good is that I don’t really go anywhere or do much, so I had a lot of time last week to follow the transportation bill shenanigans. I’m really hoping I make good progress this week and feel good enough to be at Bike Happy Hour on Wednesday. In fact, I’m committing to that right now: I’ll see you in the plaza on Wednesday! We’ll unveil our new banners and pass out our new, 20th anniversary commemorative stickers!

Here are the most notable stories that came across my desk in the past seven days…

You missed something: It’s unfortunate that this mainstream article on the decline in children riding bikes doesn’t mention that huge trend of bike buses that’s sweeping the country and the urgent need for more of them to counter the historical downward spiral. (The Atlantic)

Are roads getting safer? Maybe it’s just a statistical anomaly, but it’s curious that New York City is seeing the same type of dramatic decline in road deaths so far this year that we’re seeing here in Portland — where fatalities are about 50% less than they were last year at this date. (New York Times)

Fewer cars, fewer dead people: A new study in London found that hundreds of lives have been saved thanks to the implementation of Low Traffic Neighborhood (LTN) streets, which are similar to Portland’s neighborhood greenways. It’s almost as if when you reduce the presence of cars, fewer people die. What a radical concept!! (Guardian)

Big, beautiful silver lining: A tiny provision in Trump’s budget bill that claws back the Reconnecting Communities grant program has very likely imperiled the future of the I-5 Rose Quarter project. (City Observatory)

Bicycle mayors: A network of bicycle mayors is a brilliant program that helps connect advocates and cycling ambassadors in cities around the world. (Reasons to Be Cheerful)

Distracted driving: I don’t even know what to say anymore when I read, “A alarming new study has found that som teen drivers in the US spend as much as 21% of their time at the wheel looking at their phones, creating a substantial risk of distracted driving crashes.” (9 to 5 Mac)

Tragic turns: We’ve all heard about the idea of banning right turns on red signals, but there’s also a strong case to be made that prohibiting left turns wherever possible could save lives as well. (The Conversation)

Out of reach: New figures show that nearly one in five Americans now have a monthly car loan that is $1,000 or more — which makes it all the more heartbreaking that we are still not investing in transit and other non-car transportation to the extent we should. (Jalopnik)

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.