Car Culture
Streetsblog Basics
Pelosi, Reid and Emanuel Push for Carmaker Bailout
Over the weekend, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate urged the Bush administration to extend financial aid intended for Wall Street to struggling domestic carmakers, a move that could have the support of President-elect Obama.
November 10, 2008
Texas Governor Rick Perry Celebrates 18 Lanes of “Freedom”
Texas officials this week marked the opening of new lanes on the Katy Freeway, a stretch of Interstate 10 that runs 40 miles west from downtown Houston. The state has added 20 miles of interior lanes, including 12 miles of HOV lanes, which officials say will eventually be converted to variable-rate HOT use. The rebuilt Katy Freeway is 18 lanes wide.
October 30, 2008
No Takers for Contest to Make Fun of Walking, Biking, Transit
From the Competitive Enterprise Institute -- the Phillip Morris-Amoco-Texaco-Ford-funded activist "think tank" that brought you such informational videos as "Where's the Warming?" -- comes this attack on World Carfree Day.
October 27, 2008
Flouting Traffic Laws: The Gateway to Lying to Police
Everyone following the blow-by-blow of the presidential race is now familiar with Ashley Todd, the undergrad campaign volunteer who falsely claimed that a black man carved the letter "B" in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker. Before Todd's story was proven to be a total fabrication, her Twitter feed surfaced on the Smoking Gun, revealing a preoccupation with traffic, reckless driving, and weaseling out of traffic tickets:
October 27, 2008
Memo to MTV: “Pimp My Bike” = Ratings Gold
Via TreeHugger, this YouTube clip features Oakland's Trunk Boiz boasting about their scraper bikes, which sport custom-painted frames and rims to match (more photos here). The video has become an online sensation, drawing more than two million views. Tyrone Stevenson, one of the creators of the scraper bike style, is ready to capitalize, reports NPR:
September 29, 2008
Culture War on Wheels
Having dispensed with the question of whether an African-American or woman will ever make it to the White House, conservative Culture Warriors have moved on to defining and dividing Americans over their chosen mode of transportation. These two images have been floating around the right wing blogosphere under the shrieky, all-caps headline, "THIS IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW." Somehow or another this strikes me as a promising development.
September 17, 2008
Cartoon Tuesday: On-Street Edition
This intriguing bit of street art is the work of Peter Gibson, a.k.a. "Roadsworth", who's been painting Montreal streets, sidewalks, and public spaces since 2001. He's motivated by "a desire for more bike paths in the city and a questioning of 'car culture' in general," according to the design blog Toxel, where you can catch more of his pieces.
September 16, 2008
This Just In: The Media Business Is Auto-Dependent Too
Think web sites are saturated with car ads? The internet's got nothing on local TV.
August 8, 2008
“Traffic” Author Tom Vanderbilt on Leonard Lopate Today at Noon
Author Tom Vanderbilt will be on Leonard Lopate at noon today, WNYC, 93.9 FM. Streetsbloggers will want to tune in.
July 29, 2008
Can’t We All Just Share the Road?
Two recent road rage incidents are all over the news in Portland. Earlier this month, a drunken man on a bike became aggravated when a driver, himself a self-described bike advocate, reprimanded the cyclist for blowing a stoplight. The cyclist threatened the driver, picking up his bike and hitting the car with it. Then this week, a driver struck a cyclist and continued to drive as the victim, who escaped without serious injury, clung to the windshield.
July 17, 2008