Mamdani and transit, traffic math, and more – BikePortland

Hi friends (and everyone else).

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

Fear of cycling: The Trump regime’s latest fear-mongering and opposition suppression tactic is to have the Department of Homeland Security deem cycling and other everyday activities at protests as a precursor for violent tactics. I’d LOL at this if we didn’t already live under a fascist government. (Wired)

Free transit follies: The debate over free transit raged this week when a progressive transportation journalist and advocate questioned NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s support of the idea. Is free good if it leads to service cuts? (Slate)

Wrong way deaths: What is wrong with some drivers in the state of Nevada? An effort to pass new legislation has picked up steam after a young girl became the latest of a whopping 150 people to die in freeway collisions resulting from someone driving the wrong way. (NBC Nevada)

A-pillars a problem: With the ever-increasing weight and girth of SUVs and other vehicles, automakers have increased the girth of the front “A” pillars. The aim is to protect occupants in rollover crashes, but they inhibit visibility of those outside cars and the industry is not encouraged to make them any smaller. (Bloomberg)

Bike Happy Hour prescription: Smart doctors are prescribing socializing and cycling as a way to treat a host of health issues, which makes me think that cycling to Bike Happy Hour once a week could be considered a miracle cure. (NPR)

It’s the model, stupid: Portland regional planning is based largely on traffic models, so it’s worth making sure those models are modeling the right things. Many of the models used by planners are outdated and exacerbate the problems we’re trying to solve. (Fast Company)

Service for whom: Another article on the idea that using “level of service” for drivers as a metric for planning road infrastructure is a dangerously outdated and inherently flawed way of decision making. Also, this topic is somewhat outdated too, but if you need a refresher on this concept, start here. (Fast Company)

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.