Portland goes Platinum
by Richard MasonerThe League of American Bicyclists announced that Portland, Oregon has been promoted to the platinum level of its Bicycle Friendly Community program. The designation of “Bicycle Friendly Community,” given at levels from Bronze to Platinum, recognizes those communities that are improving conditions for bicyclists and cycling safety. Portland is the first large U.S. city to gain the designation and joins Davis, California, as the only other Platinum city in the country.
Read more at Bike Portland.
Living in the Midwest in a automobile manufacturing town, I am often jealous of cities like Portland.
Fortunately much of my commuting is either on, around, or through the MSU campus, which allows safe and enjoyable bike travel, and bike lanes are slowly popping up. Still, much of the Lansing, MI area is very unfriendly to the cyclist, and motorists who seem to relish driving short distances alone at high speeds seem to resent cyclists and show it by passing as closely as possible with roaring engines. Nonetheless, it’s clearly nothing more than an impotent display of frustration and aggression which does nothing more than remind me how much more enjoyable it is to ride a bicycle.