Happy Monday friends. Hope you had a good weekend.
This week’s Roundup is sponsored by The eBike Store. If you’re e-bike curious, check out The eBike Store. Portland’s original, all-electric bike shop offers great service and solid brands. Swing in for a test ride today!
Here are the best stories and other items we came across in the past seven days…
How to do carfree streets: This week’s must read is all about how Canadian cities are realizing carfree zones are a huge win. I like how this piece shares how successful they can be, and how to get around potential pitfalls. (CBC)
Letter from Sweden: It doesn’t have to be like this. Portland could elevate itself into one of the greatest cities in the world if we took steps toward charging car users more to enter our beautiful central city. Don’t believe me, learn about what happened when two Swedish cities took the leap. (Streetsblog NYC)
Future of northwest Portland: The planned streetcar line extension into the far reaches of industrial northwest Portland hold a lot of promise if we get the details right. (Portland Mercury)
Constructueur moderne: Portland’s Ira Ryan is back to building custom bicycles on his own after splitting off from Breadwinner Cycles, and this profile catches up to him in his backyard shop. (The Radavist)
‘Vagina girl’ and swollen labia: Far too many women who ride frequently suffer from swollen labia that often leads to permanent changes that force them to stop riding. Embarrassment and cycling’s suffering culture are just a few reasons why this problem has only just now emerged as a “silent epidemic”. (Bicycling)
Non-drivers in spotlight: Thanks to an excellent new book by Anna Zivarts, the idea that about one-third of Americans cannot drive cars is finally getting its due. (The War on Cars Podcast & Streetsblog USA)
Cell signals and safety: A coalition of major bike brands is coming together to push for “Connected Vehicle to Everything” or C-V2X technology so that one day car and bike users will have a direct line of communication — and maybe even stop running into each other so often. (Ars Technica)
Better bike parking: NYC’s DOT plans to launch a major bike parking initiative that will bring enclosed, secure stations to residential and urban locations in the coming years. It will be the largest attempt at next-gen municipal bike parking in the country and I’ll be watching very closely to see how it works. (Gothamist)
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.