Proud to be shaping ‘Future of Transportation’

“American cities have started a gigantic pivot away from complete car-reliance toward multi-modal transportation systems that balance the needs of drivers alongside those of bus and train riders, pedestrians, cyclists, and taxi users.” That’s the “clearest lesson to emerge” from an 85-story series, “Future of Transportation,” that concluded Oct. 10 on CityLab.com. This walker, bike-commuter and rider of public transit is proud to be part of that shift.

Won a T-shirt in Oregon Drive Less Challenge

My husband Jonathan Donihue and I took our bikes with us on Rogue Valley Transportation District's Route 10 to the Front Street Station in Medford, where I picked up an Oregon Drive Less Challenge 2014‬ T-shirt. I earned the shirt by being one of the first 100 people to log trips for the challenge. Here I am on the pedestrian walkway over E. Barnett Road in Medford, during a return bike trip that took us as far as Talent, where we boarded the bus for the rest of the way home.

Take the Oregon Drive Less Challenge

Image source: Rogue Valley Transportation District on Facebook

With free bus fares all day today via Rogue Valley Transportation District, it's a great day to sign up and log trips toward the Oregon Drive Less Challenge. Or hop on your bicycle or consider walking if you're taking a shorter trip.

Sub-prime auto loans leave borrowers stranded

For CityLab, Sarah Goodyear documents a horrific consequence of society’s car-dependency. Sub-prime auto loans encourage borrowers to take out loans on cars that they’re unable to pay for. When they default on payments, lenders disable the cars remotely, leaving the borrowers without access to work, health care or basic goods and services.

Feminist Library On Wheels, books on custom tricycle

A ribbon cutting for the Feminist Library on Wheels.
Image credit: Feminist Library on Wheels on Facebook

The Feminist Library on Wheels, consisting of donated books shelved on a custom-built tricycle, is an “eclectic mix of analytical texts and more leisurely reads.” As related by Aminka Khan for the LA Times, librarians Jean Witte and Dawn Finley said they love “the crowdsourced definition of feminism on the library’s weathered shelves.” This library assistant and cyclist loves the idea of library outreach atop a bicycle.

Social sharing credit: Women Bike/League of American Bicyclists

Table-top ironing board balanced on bike rack

My latest delivery of sewn bills and crowns for Hat People in southern Oregon was a trip that saw me taking a table-top ironing board home.

Transit director argues, directors should ride public transit

Houston Metro by Sean Davis on Flickr
Licensed for use under Creative Commons

“If you’re going to be making decisions about transit, you really need to know what it’s actually like. Not what it’s like in theory, but what it’s actually like.” That’s according to Christof Spieler, as quoted by Eric Jaffe for CityLab/CityFixer.