Flaneurs, ODOT’s error, speed cameras, and more – BikePortland

Welcome to the week. Here are the most notable news items our community has come across in the past seven days…

Concern trolling tolling: When the Trump Administration says congestion pricing is “elitist” they’re not considering the fact that the revenue goes directly to helping low-income people who rely on public transit. (Vox)

A speed camera option: Gotta’ love it when the head of a driver lobbying group realizes his hatred of speed enforcement cameras leads him to support safer street designs. Sounds good to me! (Route Fifty)

Silver bullet for streets: The more data that comes out of Manhattan since congestion pricing began, the more it seems like a silver bullet for many urban ills, and the more the Trump Administration looks completely out of touch with reality. In this example, we learn that Manhattan’s economy has been humming with fewer drivers on the roads. (Streetsblog NYC)

City budget: On Friday, Portland’s city administrator launched the opening salvo in what will be a very strained conversation about the budget. (OPB)

Tariffs are good, actually?: Just kidding. But I’ll be very interested to see what happens to the vehicle choice decision-making process when/if cars get much more expensive then they already are. (Bloomberg)

ODOT cannot be trusted: The latest example of how ODOT governance is broken and the agency should not be trusted in its current form is a one billion accounting mistake. (Willamette Week)

Walking and talking: As a flaneur and lover of chance public encounters, it’s a bummer to me that folks don’t hang out and chat on city sidewalks as much as they used to. Sidewalks are third spaces and not immune to broad societal shifts that have made folks less likely to linger. (Bloomberg)

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.