Bike/Ped

The Associated Press reports that Senator Barack Obama, taking a brief respite before launching his general election bid, enjoyed a bike ride with his family this weekend:

Transportation Alternatives is looking for a few good sources to help handle all the media requests coming their way these days. Here's how Streetsbloggers can lend a hand:

Like media outlets everywhere, CNNMoney.com is reporting with greater frequency on rising fuel prices, with headlines like "Six fixes for pricey gasoline" and "Bad news for Detroit: Miles per gallon." In a recent online poll, the financial website asked a question that is surely on the minds of many Americans: "The next vehicle I buy will be...?" In the non-random sample of 42,275 respondents, more people said they are leaning towards a bike than a truck or SUV.

This number from cartoonist Bob Lafay makes a good companion to last week's news that some bike models are in short supply throughout New York City, perhaps reflecting the effect of gas prices on manufacturers' inventories. The panic subsides once you start pedaling.

Customers check out the selection at Bicycle Habitat in SoHo

 On Tuesday, voters in Portland, Oregon elected Sam Adams as their next mayor. A former Congressional staffer and current Portland city commissioner, Adams -- who is a cyclist -- ran on a platform that emphasized environmental and progressive growth initiatives, including, in the words of the Oregonian, "use [of] the Portland Streetcar and better planning to spur urban renewal." Adams received strong support from the livable streets community, which helped earn him a 52-34 percent margin of victory.

A tipster sends these photos of more storefront bike-ped advocacy, this time at Paragon Sports on Broadway, north of Union Square.

In a piece from the March issue of Outside Magazine that seems especially relevant today, Tim Sohn writes about public space reform in New York City. His article is accompanied by an illustration of what the future of our city could look like: complete streets with dedicated bus and bike lanes, traffic calming gardens, and sidewalks wide enough to accommodate window shoppers without slowing pedestrian traffic -- none of which would depend on Albany for approval.

Copenhagen-based Flickr photographer Zakkalicious tells us that this cartoon was originally published in the May 1933 issue of Toy World magazine and also appeared in David Herhily's 2004 book, "Bicycle."