I'm not sure why I think this would be interesting to bicyclists in a city three thousand kilometres away, but here I go anyway...
Vancouver just completed a civic election in which bicycle-lovin' juice baron mayor Gregor Robertson won a third term against bicycle-ambivalent journo Kirk LaPointe. Here's an analysis of the election in the local daily, Vancouver Sun: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Vancouver+election+voters+chose+party+with+Vision+future/10386297/story.html which I think does a good job of capturing the lessons of the election. (What he doesn't mention is that the major's party lost share to the other party in every neighborhood in the city, relative to the previous election three years ago, but not enough to make the mayoral contest even close - this despite a different challenger chewing off the left wing of the mayor's party without anybody to the right of LaPointe doing the same to him.) A key wedge issue in the election was a small number of fairly modest (by Scandinavian standards) bicycle facility improvements, most notably the conversion of the two-lane Point Grey Road from a quick and narrow auto route from my West Point Grey neighborhood to downtown Vancouver into a all-skills bike route with only local auto access. LaPointe famously said he would consider undoing the conversion, Rob Ford style. My point, I suppose: what a long strange journey it's been from a few decades ago when bicycle transportation advocates were a giggle-worthy fringe constituency to the winning majority in a major city. Auto worshippers are on the wrong side of history. -- Scott M. Rose West Point Grey, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Res ipsa loquitur
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