Network Roundup

A tip of the hat goes to our member blog Fort Worthology for being part of the bike parking solution in Fort Worth, Texas.

Last year, we posted a piece about a couple of shock jocks in Detroit who thought it was funny to talk about throwing things at bicyclists.

This morning on the Streetsblog Network, a bike parking success story from Los Angeles.

Get ready for another Streetsblog Network slide show.

Here's an indicator of how important bike lanes are in the city of Portland.

It might seem like a simple idea -- that having an enormous parking lot in front of a business makes it unattractive to pedestrians and disrupts the fabric of a neighborhood. Unfortunately, this is the way that huge swaths of American towns and cities are designed.

Big thanks to Streetsblog Network member Iowa Bike Blog for alerting us to a post on the website of Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH). You may remember that LaTourette caused a bit of a stir in the bicycling community last month with some remarks he made while questioning DOT officials last month about funding for bicycle infrastructure. According to reports, he said, among other things, ""What job is going to be created by having a bike lane?" and suggested in a jocular fashion that perhaps US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood was on drugs for thinking bike facilities should get substantial funding.

Today on the Streetsblog Network, we hear about new plans for Bus Rapid Transit from the blog of the Metropolitan Planning Council (the MPC is "an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization…[that] serves communities and residents by developing, promoting and implementing solutions for sound regional growth").

Today on the Streetsblog Network, Jarrett Walker at Human Transit talks about how the push for better transit in Los Angeles provides an example for planners in other parts of the world, especially in newer cities that don't benefit from European-style density. Walker acknowledges that LA has a long, long way to go toward building a world-class transit system (read the post in full for all his caveats), but argues that the power of its image in popular culture gives it a unique influence as it moves forward: