Sunday Parkways "Ciclovía" in Portland

Watch Video & Read Story

iPod/QuickTime Version
PORTLAND, Ore. - It's taken me way too long to post this great video by Clarence Eckerson, Jr. of Streetfilms.org. There so many bikey friends, from Aaron Tarfman and his transportation trike, Linda, Timo, and Coach Dan with the 411, and Jonathan Maus Channeling Gil Peñalosa and so many smiles from young and old.

Portland's first Sunday Parkways was a huge success with tens of thousands of Portlanders converging on the North Portland streets, parks and sidewalks. Don't be surprised if this kind of event, originally started in Bogotá, becomes a mainstay all over the world.

Here is the write up from Streetsblog:

Despite a very dreary and damp first half of the day, Portland's first Ciclovia-style street closure, Sunday Parkways, was a smashing success with countless thousands of city residents participating. It was like a giant community block party with walkers, bikers, joggers, bladers, families, and pets filling the 6 mile course.

There were plenty of fun activities in four northeast parks that were linked by the circuit, which was opened to bikes and pedestrian traffic only from 8 AM to 2 PM. For cities planning their own Ciclovias, here are some things I liked about Portland's event: knowledgeable volunteers, lots of fun chalk messages on the ground, easy to follow directions, lots of music & entertainment, and a huge number of bike stations for bike repair.

If you want more Sunday Parkways be sure to let people know.

Subscribe to our Video Podcast feed or at iTunes

Depaving Day at Carfree Conference

Watch Video & Read Story

iPod/MP4 Version
From Streetfilms.org
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Towards Carfree Cities VIII kicked off Monday in Portland, Oregon with an exciting community event. Hundreds of conference participants helped break and remove asphalt from a 3000 square foot parking lot. Depave.org is the mastermind behind the Fargo Garden Project. They promote the removal of unnecessary concrete and asphalt from urban areas. Depave.org will continue to work with Goldsmith Properties to transform this now asphalt-free site into a community greenspace. Once completed, the site will be used to educate the public about pavement removal and storm water drainage management. Notice an example of Depave's work in this video at founder Arif Khan's house.
Music by Reptet and Dreamtime Stilters.


Subscribe to our Video Podcast feed or at iTunes

Brooklyn to Manhattan Commuter Race

Watch Video & Read Story

iPod/Quicktime Version

From StreetFilms.org
NEW YORK, NY - Transportation Alternatives held its 7th annual Commuter Challenge pitting cyclist, driver, and bus/subway rider in the ultimate showdown of which mode of travel can be quickest (and cheapest!)

In the end, the bike proved swiftest over the 4.5 mile course which began in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene and ended in Manhattan’s Union Square. Jamie Favaro rolled up in just over 16 minutes and took home the gold and a bouquet of flowers for her efforts. Driver, Emmanuel Fuentebella (22 minutes) parked his car and sprinted to a surprise second place finish. Shortly after, disappointed MTA rider April Greene came in last at 29 minutes. But, as Wiley Norvell noted at the finish line, Transportation Alternatives also measured the carbon footprint of all the the riders and Greene came in a close second behind the cyclist.




Subscribe to our Video Podcast feed or at iTunes

National Bike To Work Day

Watch Video & Read Story

iPod/QuickTime Version
USA - So I got called from the StreetFilms folks to help with Friday's National Bike to Work Day video. They wanted video from cities all over the country. Only problem was, Portland was not celebrating National Bike to Work day. Don't know why.

But hey, every day is bike to work day in Portland. So I thought I'd strap and electronic gong to the back of the Disco Trike and ride in to see if I could find any bike commuters who liked to bang gongs and eat donuts.

My contribution to the video above is at the end after SF, Austin, and NYC represent. I feel I did my part in keeping Portland weird. Also, here is the 10-minute rough-cut version from my Friday morning adventure.

More info from StreetFilms

The League of American Bicyclists started Bike-to-Work Day in 1956 as a part of National Bike-to-Work Week, which in some cities has turned into Bike Month.

Bike-to-Work Day is an annual event that promotes and celebrates the bicycle as a viable mode of transportation. On Bike-to-Work Day, national, regional, and local bicycle advocacy groups often organize bicycle-related events.

Today’s Streetfilm features Bike-to-Work Day in Austin, San Francisco, New York City and Portland, Oregon.

If you haven’t already, check out the streetsblog open thread from Friday. And, contact us if you would like to participate in next year’s NBTWD film!

This video was produced by Elizabeth Press for StreetFilms
with help from
John Hamilton -SF
Dan Kaufman (me) - PDX
Brent Perdue - Austin
Carly Clark
Ali Qadeer
Elleinad

Subscribe to our Video Podcast feed or at iTunes

Hal Grades Your Bike Locking 5-years Later

Watch Video & Read Story

iPod/iPhone .m4v Version
NEW YORK CITY, NY -
From the StreetFilms Blog and Clarence Eckerson, Jr.

Nearly five years ago, legendary bike mechanic Hal Ruzal and I walked the streets surrounding Bicycle Habitat and graded the bike locking ability of New Yorkers - producing many humorous and enlightening anecdotes. The resulting video aired frequently on bikeTV and at many festivals, and because of it - Hal is still frequently asked by complete strangers to judge their bike locking.

I always endeavored doing another, but as with most sequels you need a new wrinkle. This time we thought we’d give Hal some company and invited former Recycle a Bicycle mechanic Kerri Martin (and founder of The Bike Church in Asbury Park, NJ) to weigh in with her expertise. Once again, bikes on the streets of SoHo provide lots of fodder for laughs and lessons to learn.

We didn’t plan to but we walked the same loop and even used the same one-hour time frame. The results? The grades were a little better than five years ago. Sure, still some bad locking out there, but many more people are now sporting multiple locks and better strategies! Good news, maybe we made a difference after all…

Subscribe to our Video Podcast feed or at iTunes

How to use a Bike Box

Watch Video & Read Story

iPod/QuickTime Version
NEW YORK CITY, NY - More bike boxes are coming to Portland. Former prize fighter, Clarence Eckerson, of Streetfilms shows us how to use 'em.

From Streetfilms Blog

The NYC DOT has been quietly rolling out dozens of bike boxes all over Gotham. It’s really quite remarkable. But since the majority of riders seem not to know what they are or how to use them just yet, StreetFilms thought this would be a fun way to educate cyclists to love and cherish the Bike Box.

Subscribe to our Video Podcast feed or at iTunes