Cities and Countries

Streetfilms' Vancouver correspondent Frank Lopez reports on a development that will sow envy in the heart of anyone who walks or bikes over the narrow, congested paths of the Brooklyn and Pulaski bridges:

On the fourth Sunday of every month, cyclists take to the streets of Los Angeles for the "Black Kids on Bikes" (BKoB) ride. BKoB is part of a series of events called "Freedom Rides," aimed at getting more black Angelenos to enjoy the unique experience of group cycling. BKoB aims to provide a safe, fun venue for kids to ride the streets. Despite the name, the rides are open to cyclists of all races, ages, and skill levels.

A few weeks ago, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë announced a plan to transform his city's waterfront, closing 1.2 miles of expressway on the left bank of the Seine and slowing the highway along the right bank to the speed of a city boulevard. For an added bit of historical irony, the city's waterfront expressway is named for Georges Pompidou, the president responsible for scarring the nation's cities with highways -- the French Robert Moses, if you will.

"Folks, you ain't seen nothing yet," Mayor Bloomberg told an Earth Day crowd yesterday. "The best and greenest days are yet to come." The PlaNYC update coming in 2011, he implied, would have a slew of new initiatives to make our city more sustainable, and he's taking suggestions. 

Earth Day is coming around the bend, and cities are timing their new green initiatives to coincide with the public's heightened eco-consciousness. Here's one we're partial to: In Denver, Mayor John Hickenlooper and city leaders are using the occasion to launch their 500-bicycle, 50-station bike-share system. It will be the largest bike-share system in the U.S. until Minneapolis and Boston roll theirs out later this spring.

Denver bike-share firm B-cycle has set up a demo station at Pier 84 on the Hudson River Greenway. Reps should be there until around 5:00 today.

Long Beach, Los Angeles’s neighbor to the south, has started to put some serious effort into making cycling an attractive and safe mode of transportation, and it’s already paying dividends. Bicycling Magazine’s 2010 rankings for bike-friendly cities ranked Long Beach a respectable 23rd. But the city has more ambitious goals, aiming to ultimately become the … Continued

The House transportation committee is holding a hearing today on "innovative financing" for infrastructure projects -- a topic near and dear to lawmakers who continue to hunt for a politically feasible, sustainable strategy for funding a new six-year federal transport bill.