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DCL
Well, they didn't officially start the tour in Portland, but the folks bringing the Bikestravaganza road show through the west are from there, and they're making a big loop to talk about bikes in 21 cities between Portland and Denver.
I caught them in Boulder and even though we're pretty bike-friendly here, they had slides to make any non-Portlander jealous of the bike culture in Portland.
They talked about the city's effort to reallocate car parking spaces to bike racks—a move that at first was controversial but after the first round was complete, was so popular that businesses have been calling the city asking for their storefront spaces to have bike racks, too.
And cleverly, they've been placed in parking spaces closest to intersections, to improve sight lines as you turn a corner.
Portland has come up with other popular concepts, including portable bike racks, but Elly Blue and Joe Biel showed how Portland has a ways to go, too, in getting the perception of biking and accommodations for bikes to where they need to be.
So they showed their activism with the People's Department of Transportation (which is worth a look—videos and everything). Then they hosted a lively discussion to share ideas about what's needed in terms of bike infrastructure and awareness—is bike sharing a good idea? Better crosswalks? And so on.
The conversation even touched on quick responses to bitter car-centric types who quip about who owns the road. (We all do, is the real answer—Elly's stat was that 25 percent of road maintenance expenses come from tolls, and the rest is general public funds.)
If Bikestravaganza is coming to your city, check it out and if not, follow their blog—they might have some helpful ideas for how to help your city be a more bike-friendly place.
