The Monday Roundup: Extinction Rebellion, why words matter, light rail parking fail, and more

Welcome back from the long holiday weekend. I’ve been out of town for a week and I’m eager to get back to work!

Here are the most notable stories we came across in the past seven days (thanks to all the readers who sent in links)…

Light rail parking fail: Sightline’s Michael Andersen dissects the absurdity of TriMet’s plans to spend $168 million on free auto parking along the SW Corridor light rail line — twice as much as it will spend on affordable housing.

Better streets: From slow zones to congestion pricing, a New York-based architect and urban designer shares lessons on better streets gleaned from visits to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, London and Stockhom.

Words matter: On the same week as World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, the Houston Chronicle ran an excellent summary of why we must change how we talk about traffic crashes.

On the Media on the streets: I have yet to listen to the whole episode, but with guests like Streetsblog reporter Angie Schmitt, “Fighting Traffic” author Peter Norton and Citylab reporter Emily Badger, this week’s On the Media pod is sure to be a must-listen.

Cycling starlings: Scientific observations of Tour de France pelotons reveals insights about the collective behavior honed by professional cyclists that allows them to ride so closely to each other without crashing.

No freeway, no problem: Yet another example of a major freeway closure (this time in San Francisco) that didn’t lead to the expected consequence of more auto traffic.

Gone in 49 minutes: A German was caught speeding on the way home from his successful driving test. He was caught by police, banned from driving for a month and must undergo “retraining”.

Speed crackdown: Faced with a deluge of complaints, the mayor of a small Italian town installed traffic cameras and issued 58,000 speeding tickets in just two weeks.

UK steps up for cycling: The UK Department of Transport says they’ll add police staff to process video footage, increase driver education, step up bike lane enforcement, and more as part of dozens of measures aimed at making cycling safer.

Climate change urgency: A group calling themselves the “Extinction Rebellion” is shutting down streets in London to bring attention to the imminent threat of climate change.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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