Been a week or so since you last saw a piece on how Portland is ever so bikable and all-round wonderful?
This self-declared Bicycle Capital of the nation is even drawing fact-finding missions from other cities and nations. Indeed, groups arrive almost weekly to pedal the streets and hear from city staff how Portland has accomplished what no other major U.S. city has: getting people out of their cars and onto the bike paths coursing through this hilly metropolis.
This I didn’t know:
Even kids get around differently. Nationally, only 13% of children walk or bike to school, according to the National Household Travel Survey. Here, 31% do, in part because of a program that gives every public school student between fourth and 10th grade a 12-week course on how to ride a bicycle safely.
USA Today story here.
From the linked article’s headline:
OK… there are many bikes on the road in Portland, but let’s not get carried away.
On a separate note, the point about businesses benefiting from cycling infrastructure (e.g., bike parking corrals) is a very important one.