This article details the recent rise in consciousness pertaining to bike and pedestrian infrastructure in the US. The author gives an all encompassing view of the benefits of commuting by bike and its promising future. Though many see bike infrastructure as strictly bike lanes, the article highlights the other crucial, and oftentimes forgotten, aspects of creating an effective and productive way to travel by bike, including racks, shelters, and traffic signs. Also focused on is the benefit that cycling has on the community, with multiple studies cited showing that bikers are more likely to stop at businesses along their route as opposed to those in a car. Closing off the article, the author provides a variety of different bills, all of which were introduced in just the first few months of 2021 that show the promising future bike commuting holds. From bills asking for funding for bike infrastructure, proposed ideas for bike sharing systems, to even tax credits dedicated towards the purchase of e-bikes, it is made clear that bike commuting is the way of the future. 

This article discusses the City of Montreal’s plan to introduce 200 kilometers worth of biking infrastructure to the city. This project will take the span of five years, and is the most complete bicyclist-pedestrian infrastructure plan ever produced and approved by the City of Montreal. The project is called The ‘Vision Vélo 2023-2027’ and will cost the city over 30 million dollars to implement. The City of Montreal expects to counter this investment with the economic growth it expects in the upcoming and following years to its opening. It is an inter-neighborhood network of bike paths which means that it will be vastly accessible to homeowners in Montreal, and will easily connect them to other trail networks and city transport, like the express train. Bike advocates in the area have been pushing for secured-bike paths, especially in Northern Montreal, for decades. Before this plan, there was no safe biking infrastructure in North Montreal. Jean-François Rhéault, president of a biking advocacy group in Montreal, says that, “the number of people that have been injured on St-Denis was like 300 in the last eight years. When we build safer roads, we save lives.” St Denis Street, an infamous and busy street in Montreal, has seen many store foreclosures since the pandemic. This plan will help revitalize areas like St Denis, and create more economic cooperation for biking plans like this in the future.

The authors discuss a newly proposed bill for New York City that would allow for civilians to earn a reward for reporting illegally parked cars that block certain things, like bike lanes but they argue that the new bill could have adverse effects. There is a pattern of violence against traffic enforcement agents, and they fear that that violence would spread to more citizens. There is no argument that more tickets will be generated with this program since a similar one, which calls out idling cars, has been very effective in generating them, but the current tickets might be too harsh for those receiving them. Mostly wealthier white people report such vehicles, and the $175 ticket is nearly too much for the residents making minimum wage. The authors end by saying that we shouldn’t just do it the easy way, we should do it the equitable way that serves the community instead of hurting it.

In this brief, Harasym studies the effect of the rise of bike-sharing on the use of bicycles in Oakland, California. Additionally, Harasym used both qualitative and quantitative methods to measure the growth of (and the problems facing) bike use and bike infrastructure in Oakland. Starting with an overview of data on bicycle injuries (including severity of injury) of different census block groups, Harasym then looks at the larger scale number of injuries (grouped by severity) from 2015-2019. His graph shows the steady reduction of bicycle-related injuries from 2015-2019, suggesting that bike infrastructure (or automotive behavior towards cyclers) has improved in favor of the bicycler. Harasym then goes out into the field and observes the behavior of bicyclers and car drivers at a particularly dangerous intersection (one that has no bicycle infrastructure whatsoever) and also interviews three cyclers about their experiences. Harasym makes note of the growth of the bikeshare industry coupled with California's legislative efforts to tackle climate change as major reasons of the increase in the use of bicycles in recent years. However, Harasym's brief does not include pandemic or post-pandemic data, which I believe to be a major detractor in his brief since COVID likely dramatically altered the prevalence of bicycles as a mode of transportation. As such, his brief, despite being made in the summer of 2022, is a little outdated in terms of usefulness to the city of Oakland. 

This article goes into the impact that cars not respecting the bike lanes has upon bicycle transportation. Bike lane cameras will be deployed in New York City if this bill is passed, and this act will improve the safety of the cyclists in the area. Though the ideal solution is a divider for the bike lane against the car lanes, the cameras will hopefully reduce the casualties of bicyclists in the bike lanes, and due to the increased safety factor, it will increase the use of cyclists and use of the lanes. Full protected and safe bike lanes are rare in North America, due to fatal crashes and other cyclist safety issues, the city introduced the bill to use cameras on bike lanes.  

In this article, Shrikant shows that cities with higher walk scores on the walkability index are better for the economy and more accessible to all residents. Making cities more walkable requires several key changes, including reshaping roads and streets to include pedestrian and bike friendly travel modes, as well as shifting our cities to mixed-use zoning allowing residences to be in the same area as grocery stores and doctor's offices and other necessary locations. People that walk or use public transit spend less money downtown per trip they make but they also make more trips which makes it better for the economy of a downtown overall. Walkability can often lead to gentrification, but areas with greater transportation choice (instead of being car-dependent) often are more suitable to all incomes. The article finishes with a call to action, asking cities to shift to more modes of transportation for the sake of the environment and for the sake of their economies.

In this article, González-Hermoso advocated for a different kind of policy than the tax reduction or direct payments used to alleviate the expensive gas crisis. He proposes that rather than abolish or temporarily remove a gas tax, that states should invest in alternative transit options (especially non-motorized ones) for their citizens to use as a separate option. For the future, we need people to be on bikes or using public transportation, and subsidizing gas vehicles is the wrong direction. He praises the state of Connecticut's move to suspend bus fares during this period, and encourages other states to adopt support for alternative transport.

In a brief editorial history of bicycling habits of the city of Salem, OR, Sue Bell provides proof of a concept sought by many cities hoping to become bicycling capitals. Eugene, OR has been biking for a while, a trend captured by the relative progressiveness of the city, and through the lack of various progressive city administrations, and the city continues to be an example of bike/pedestrian infrastructure to this day. This information is important because bicycling is seen as “normal” in Eugene. Cyclists aren't foreigners from far away, they are neighbors, friendly coworkers, or friends. This community of cyclists self sustains itself through a status quo, and the thriving bike community of Eugene is important if you want to recognize how they got there.

New York's Brookland Atlantic Avenue is one of the worst roads in the US for pedestrian safety. One commenter even said, "I avoid walking along here because it’s so unpleasant." The road is so bad that the mere thought of even walking near it is too much. Another described the road like, “It was sort of like [a] border, a demarcation." Instead of serving as an avenue for transport, Atlantic Avenue does the exact opposite. 

So what is happening to make it better? Currently nothing but prayers, but after being stalled by the pandemic a proposal has been made for improving the road. The biggest of the proposed changes is a center bike lane. To fit this, 4 car lanes will shrink to 2 and there will be a slight median to separate the cyclist from the barreling tons of steel.

Most importantly though, when will this happen? Honestly, nobody knows, if even ever

In this article, Jeelani discusses the construction of a bike/ped infrastructure project in Minneapolis called the Samatar Crossing. The Samatar Crossing repurposes a highway ramp, making a path that spans across I-35 and directly connects Cedar-Riverside to Downtown Minneapolis. It includes separate pathways and pedestrian scale lighting, and public art was commissioned to make it a more welcoming space. Hussein Samatar (the pathway's namesake) was a key figure in the significant Somali-American community in Cedar-Riverside, and was one of the first Somali-American's to be elected to public office. The pathway was named after him because he worked to bridge gaps between the immigrant community of Cedar-Riverside and the mainstream, which the bridge does (quite literally) for the first time since the Interstate's construction.

Prior to Covid-19 America was so deep-set in cars that it was near impossible to break out the cycle. Cars were essential in order to get to work, until all of a sudden, they weren't. The pandemic turned America on its head but also provided the means for radical new changes. Cities across the country; specifically Seattle, Pitsburg, and Austen; began closing and shrinking roads to make space for cyclists and pedestrians. Seattle's Mayor even made the changes permanent. The best part is these ideas aren't new. Our "love affair" with cars has been waning for years. As Krizek put it "the pandemic has allowed us to see into the future of our cities." 

In this article, the author details the growth of the Tempe, Arizona biking infrastructure, including the opening of a new bike bridge. The bridge is connected to many parts of the city, leading to it becoming an accessible way for cyclists, and pedestrians to commute to locations, including both employment and commercial. The article also talks about how there is an increase in cycling infrastructure around the Arizona State University campus, due to the increase in student population and the movement away from cars. The push towards pedestrian and cycling focused infrastructure in the Tempe area has led to those unable to afford cars to find employment in the area. The advancements in infrastructure are also improving the economy of the Tempe area, creating more accessible employment opportunities.  

Bike Rodeos can be a very daunting prospect, but this PowerPoint presentation can help out. It breaks down different parts of the process and crucially provides sources to present to cities for why they should hold these 

Marija Gavrilov asserts that autonomous cars and the convenience of cycling for short trips will bring an end to "macromobility", especially in the USA. Companies like BMW, Volvo, Cadillac, Ford, and Porsche have all begun shifting towards the idea that people want transportation, not necessarily a car by launching bikesharing and carsharing services and a variety of other programs. Along with these various programs, Marija also notes how e-bikes are becoming more and more due to how they make it significantly easier to traverse through the crowded streets of many cities. Finally, the need for a change in infrastructure for autonomous cars presents an amazing opportunity for overall safety improvements for everyone. The author wrote this to bring attention to the need for these changes and to how it is the ripe opportunity to do so. She, as an avid cyclist, cares about the environment and public health and hopes to influence readers into considering and taking micromobility alternatives for their own trips.