2hrs #BikeLaneSweeper'ing, 11.6mi +845ft Terwilliger from Taylors Ferry to Capitol Hwy, down to Barbur and north to downtown, Terwilliger mostly southbound with some back-and-forth #pdxBikes https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50268398
Can you believe PBOT just went through here with the big brushy truck full of water just 7 days ago? It rained once or twice, and the drivers keep driving / speeding.
@ascentale @ClintonAnderson @bikenite
#BikeNite A8:
I follow:
#wintercycling
#cycling
#BikeTooter
#30daysofbiking
#safestreets
#fedibike
#ebikes
#ElectricBikes
#bikenite
#Biketober
#bikeniteq
#bikestreak
#WorldBicycleDay
#CarsRuinEverything
#BikeTooter and #bikenite yield the most posts for me.
Are there any good ones I'm missing?
It’s Nice Not to Worry About the Rising Costs of Cars
"We don't have car loans, car insurance payments, registration fees, gas bills, parking tickets, or repair bills—it's almost $1,000 a month we don't pay. "Auto ownership used to be a symbol of freedom in America," said Dan Ashley of San Francisco's ABC affiliate. "But now, for many in the Bay Area, car ownership looks more like a ball and chain."
@dabeaz I teach 'em a lesson. I ride a bike instead of driving.
Americans Are Getting Seriously Behind on Car Payments
"As of January, roughly 6.5% of subprime auto loans are 60 days past due, which is the highest rate since 1994. According to credit research company Fitch Ratings, consumers with credit scores at 639 or below are considered subprime.
Among borrowers with higher scores, only 0.39% are 60 days delinquent. In January 2024, 0.35% were two months behind."
The worse traffic gets, the more fast food people eat
"When traffic was worse due to unexpected slowdowns, visits to fast food restaurants went up. This effect was especially strong if the traffic delays occurred around evening mealtimes, when drivers were leaving work and probably starting to feel some predinner hunger pangs."
So I guess we need to widen all the highways so people will be slimmer? 
https://www.fastcompany.com/91277842/the-worse-traffic-gets-the-more-fast-food-people-eat
Americans are finding it harder and harder to pay off their debt
“The news about auto loan delinquencies is troubling,” Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, said in commentary Thursday. “Many Americans simply have to have a car to get to work, so that’s often one of the highest priorities when paying bills. If they’re struggling to make those payments, it could be a sign that they’re struggling to make others as well.”
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/13/economy/us-household-debt-credit-q4/index.html
Miami Beach reopens Ocean Drive to two-way vehicle traffic, removing bike lanes
"The city of Miami Beach is reopening Ocean Drive for two-way vehicle traffic and will remove bike lanes...Ocean Drive has been pedestrian-friendly with only one-way vehicle traffic since 2020. A two-way bike lane was also added."
Reporter Joe Hren asks: Convention leaders pushing expansion along, but where's the parking?
Easy-Peasy! Provide a great pedestrian area, lots of buses and bike-shares, and we're in like Flynn! Who needs parking?
"Architects presented updated renderings and floor plans at a recent CIB meeting. The refinements help get the project within budget...The expansion amounts to about 61,000 square feet"
Traffic deaths in Los Angeles exceed murder total for second consecutive year
"The roads remain far deadlier than in the pre-pandemic era. In the 2010s, there were never more than 261 vehicle-related deaths in a single year in the city...
This also marks the second year in a row that the number of people killed in collisions exceeded the number of murder victims in the city (that also fell by a double-digit percentage in 2024)."
Get Your Kicks On Route 66 With Pedestrian Safety
"This stretch of Chippewa, part of the historic Route 66 that enshrines an image of fast-paced freedom through automobility, is a current flash point in the negotiations between the public, many of whom do not own cars and rely on public transit, biking, and walking, and the powers who control how our streets are designed."
https://christianfrommelt.substack.com/p/ted-drewes-carries-a-larger-lesson
Portland: A year placing signs at every fatal traffic crash site
"My inspiration to place a sign at every fatal crash site came from a desire to help people see how widespread Portland’s road safety problem is and pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to our car-centric transportation system."
Michigan: Bicyclist killed in downtown Grand Rapids was stagehand, driver had prior arrest
The driver, who is being investigated for DWI, came flying off an exit ramp and blew through a red light before hitting Steve Dowhan, 53.
What a surprise. Time is money for anyone in a vehicle. Walkers, runners and cyclists are all considered as doing leisurely activities that have less 'time-value', so they can just wait or get run over. A decision was deliberately made to make the vehicle time more important than the safety, time or life of someone not in a vehicle.
I really wanted to be snarky about this. But people who drive and then are responsible enough to not drive home after drinking? Good for them. But let's make it _normal_ to have 15-minute cities and transit and ways to get to a party without needing to drive, ok?
How extreme car dependency is driving Americans to unhappiness
"Extreme car dependence is affecting Americans’ quality of life, with a new study finding there is a tipping point at which more driving leads to deeper unhappiness. It found that while having a car is better than not for overall life satisfaction, having to drive for more than 50% of the time for out-of-home activities is linked to a decrease in life satisfaction."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/29/extreme-car-dependency-unhappiness-americans
@dennis A world of bikes and buses, I hope.
rt @jmshumway.bsky.social "Sen. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, says the
#orleg should have listened to advice from the state treasurer several years ago to set aside extra money for fires. He blames overgrown forests for worse fire seasons." 
#CarsRuinEverything
Depending on Cars Does Make Some People Happier … To a Point
"They do not feel like they are forced to depend on cars, even if they would undoubtedly struggle to get to work, or the grocery store, or simply to leave their homes without one. They just love the experience of driving — if not always their cars themselves, which tend towards the kind of used SUVs that can handle lake-effect snow — and have chosen a daily lifestyle that requires it"
https://usa.streetsblog.org/2024/12/16/study-depending-on-cars-does-make-some-people-happier
Today I stopped by The Place Where It Happened to see if I could find the bolt head or whether there was a washer. The bump that broke the camel's seat clamp bolt wasn't even that significant but these drain grates always ruin 95% of the lane width. (Move the flex posts left a little and maybe the street will quit disintegrating there.) #bhHwy #CarsRuinEverything
