Out of Town

Here is an interesting bike infrastructure story out of Copenhagen, Denmark. 30,000 Cyclists Get the Green Wave:

Who is the big bad graffito -- all of those automobile tailpipes or the guy scrubbing soot off the wall of this tunnel in Sao Paulo? A Streetsblog tipster sends along news about a cool new urban art form:

Via a Streetsblog tipster: In Valley Village, Calif., near L.A., people leave their trash in the bike lane for the convenience of the sanitation crews.

The New York Times has a story today about efforts underway to develop a creative new playground near the South Street Seaport. The city has been working with David Rockwell interior designer for Nobu and the Mohegan Sun Casino, on a playground that eschews traditional playground aparati in favor of foam blocks, water, cardboard tubes, burlap bags, ramps, climbing nets and, most interesting, "play workers" to attend to the facility and guide kids through it. Gothamist, as always, provides a nice synposis. 

Just when it seemed like congestion pricing proponent Carolyn Curiel and Portland native David Shipley were helping to steer the the New York Times in a greener more urban environmentally aware direction, the Times launches Wheels, their new Auto Blog. Its mission: Cover the Detroit Auto Show and help drivers and auto enthusiasts know new cars to watch for and which new concept car that is turning heads.

As soon as Mayor Bloomberg finally decides to deal with New York City's shameful and destructive government employee parking abuse situation, all he has to do is steal the simple new parking policy being instituted by Aetna Inc., a major employer in Hartford, Connecticut. The Hartford Courant reports:

A few of us from Project for Public Spaces were recently in Dubai to train a group of the city's leading real estate developers in Placemaking. The largest city in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai has experienced explosive growth in recent years, emerging as the region's financial and cultural capital. 

The Vauban Department of Transportation gets to work. Schritt Tempo: Walking Speed.

Following the news about the new sidewalk extensions and bike racks being installed in place of car parking space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Clarence Eckerson of Streetfilms sends along this short video looking at on-street bicycle parking in Portland, Oregon, that cyclists' Shangri-La. As Greg Raisman from Portland DOT says, "After we put it in, it was so successful that businesses two blocks away unanimously asked for another one..."