Posts Tagged ‘biking’
present day thinking »
Monday, May 7th, 2012
Most days, I ride a bike over a hundred potholes, through half a dozen poorly designed intersections, and under a few thousand feet of raised track that looks as if it could fail at any moment. It’s sort of great but also sort of sad.
It’s clear our transit system is a disaster. But not because we cater to cars, don’t plan complete streets, or even that our maintenance lags desperately behind deterioration.
When we connected the cross-country rail lines, creating incredibly oppressive monopolies, trains were a big deal many couldn’t afford. When we created a nation-wide network of paved roads, displacing millions of poor people, cars were all the rage, if you could afford one. Both projects created Rome-in-a-day social and economic gains after substantial upfront costs. (more…)
when not to infographic »
Friday, March 23rd, 2012
First, let me start with a small lie and tell you with the utmost facetious honesty, I’m not an infographic snob. Sure, I can generally throw a Gestalt together; that’s irrelevant.
Have a look at this graphic and, within a few seconds, think of what it’s trying to tell you. Have a pretty good idea? Now on to it. (more…)
some dude’s transit plan »
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
I should have no influence in whom you vote for. In fact, most of you aren’t even in Chicago, so it won’t matter, right? Anyway, Rahm Emanuel recently released his transportation plans and it’s notable for a couple reasons.
First, because it’s amazing that anyone is putting any attention toward alternative forms of transportation. The Republicans are complete idiots on this. With the recent bailouts, cars are now patriotic—trains (or, shudder, bikes) are not.
It’s a bold move but the second reason is even broader. The parts specific to biking are sort of awesome. (more…)
complete bedlam »
Saturday, July 17th, 2010
Minneapolis: are you kidding?
It’s the best recreational bicycle city but it’s mediocre for commuters. The mass transit needs vast improvement and outside of the dense center (downtown, uptown), biking with drivers is dangerous.
The light rail should be an icon of a shift to shared transit and green commutes. It’s a symbol of shared mobility and clean travel. (more…)
chicago’s finest, critically »
Saturday, June 26th, 2010
Note: There’s inappropriate language within. I’m sort of annoyed. This never happens.
The fuck? (A video of Chicago police holding down [assaulting?] a man after he photographed another incident of excessive force.)
Dear cops: We’ve had encounters in varying forms and I know most of you are just “doing your jobs” but this sort of thing is abhorrent (sorry… it means, basically, “shitty”). (more…)