The Monday Roundup: An elaborate con, bad planning, Klay's bike ride, and more

Happy Monday!

Here are the most notable items our writers and readers came across in the past seven days…

“The people are assets”: An excellent piece this week in The Baffler connects Robert Moses to Pete Buttigieg and warns how even well-intentioned planners can go wrong when they value place over people.

Let it be carfree: Massive victory for human beings in San Francisco after their Board of Supervisors voted to keep JFK Drive free of car drivers forever!

It was all a lie: Fascinating story about a local racing legend who built a huge following in Virginia but turned out to be a total fraud when questions arose via his Strava results.

A new dawn: US DOT Sec Pete Buttigieg has set into motion a federal rulemaking process that could lead to new regulations on vehicle size, safety ratings, and so on.

Oh the irony: I love when a report validates a pet peeve I’ve had for years. In this case it’s about how overuse of cars leads to traffic which gets in the way of emergency response vehicles. To top it off, it’s often emergency agencies like fire departments who oppose infrastructure changes that would reduce car use!

Behind the curtain: Don’t miss the latest episode of The War on Cars as two of the hosts go behind enemy lines into the New York Auto Show.

Bike warrior: Klay Thompson, a big-time NBA star for the Golden State Warriors, showed up to a playoff game at San Francisco’s Chase Center on his bike like a boss.

Who rules transit?: It’s “elite projection” (to coin a phrase from Jarrett Walker) and racial/social injustice all wrapped up into one when we look at a new report from Transit Center that shows the extent to which most transit boards do not reflect actual ridership.

When “safety” distracts: Interesting research from Texas shows that those signs on freeways about crashes can actually lead to more crashes. It’s almost as if those fancy signs are more about construction contracts and job security for DOTs than actually improving safety outcomes.

Thanks to everyone who sent in links this week.

Jonathan Maus is BikePortland’s editor, publisher and founder. Contact him at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.