Hi y’all
Thanks for stopping by. I’m a community and regional planning master’s student at the University of Oregon. This summer I’m spending four weeks abroad studying bicycle transportation in Denmark and the Netherlands. This blog is where I record my experiences and insights related to bicycling and traveling. Below you’ll find some background about me and my path to planning, my introduction to biking as a means of transportation, and why I think studying bicycle transportation abroad is important.
Planning...what?
In 2014 I graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in environmental science and a hefty dose of disenchantment about what I could do with it. I knew then that I didn’t want to pursue an advanced degree in geology, my focus area, but I didn’t know what I DID want to pursue either, so I got a job. Before retuning to school I worked three different contract jobs, was a substitute teacher, had a fleeting stint as a barista (though I’m not sure that counts since the place hadn’t opened yet), and worked as an environmental inspector (by far the worst of the lot).
My first contract job had me bouncing across the globe surveying train and subway stations in major cities; Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Taipei, and Munich, among others. After that came the coffee shop job, then the environmental inspector job. As an inspector, I visited home construction sites all around Austin, checking weekly that sites had best management practices installed to prevent soil erosion and sediment laden runoff. It was after the inspector job and during my second contract job editing mapping applications, that I began to piece together my path towards planning. I reflected on the lifeless suburban sprawl encompassing Austin and the vibrant, energized cities I had seen abroad. I saw both through an environmental science lens which told me that widening highways and creating car dependent communities was neither environmentally nor fiscally sustainable. It made no sense to me that we were choosing to build in ways that offer less to future generations, isolate those too poor or old to drive, and further increase the inequalities we already struggle with. So back to school I went...
I had fallen in love with Eugene, Oregon a few year prior while on a trip, so moving there for school was an easy decision. Living there, however, was not something I was totally prepared for. Did I know that Oregon is one of the most progressive states when it comes to planning before I arrived? Did I know that grad school would pose more questions than it would give me answers and solutions? Did I know how damn grey it would be for months on end? Heeeeell no! Although perhaps I should have, I was warned, at least about the grey.
My first contract job had me bouncing across the globe surveying train and subway stations in major cities; Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Taipei, and Munich, among others. After that came the coffee shop job, then the environmental inspector job. As an inspector, I visited home construction sites all around Austin, checking weekly that sites had best management practices installed to prevent soil erosion and sediment laden runoff. It was after the inspector job and during my second contract job editing mapping applications, that I began to piece together my path towards planning. I reflected on the lifeless suburban sprawl encompassing Austin and the vibrant, energized cities I had seen abroad. I saw both through an environmental science lens which told me that widening highways and creating car dependent communities was neither environmentally nor fiscally sustainable. It made no sense to me that we were choosing to build in ways that offer less to future generations, isolate those too poor or old to drive, and further increase the inequalities we already struggle with. So back to school I went...
I had fallen in love with Eugene, Oregon a few year prior while on a trip, so moving there for school was an easy decision. Living there, however, was not something I was totally prepared for. Did I know that Oregon is one of the most progressive states when it comes to planning before I arrived? Did I know that grad school would pose more questions than it would give me answers and solutions? Did I know how damn grey it would be for months on end? Heeeeell no! Although perhaps I should have, I was warned, at least about the grey.
Those two wheeled things
I did not come to Oregon with an interest in bicycle transportation, I wanted to focus on retrofitting suburbia, but I stumbled into it nonetheless. Even now I wouldn’t even say I’m interested in bicycle transportation, I’m just interested in how we can get more people around to more places in more equitable and environmentally friendly ways. It just so happens that bikes are pretty good for that.
I am not a cyclists. I don’t even like that word really, “cyclist”, it makes me think of sweaty middle aged white guys in Lycra peddling away on high dollar racing bikes. I’m certainly not one of those people. But when a friend gave me a bike left by an old roommate and biking to campus meant I got to sit with my coffee for an extra ten minutes in the morning... well, I got on board with it.
I didn’t like it though. Even though my ride to campus was short I still had to ride in the street. NEXT TO CARS. Do you know how much a car weighs?! Do you know how much my bike and I weigh?! It doesn’t really matter, cuz the answer is the car weights a lot more. I could picture my father, the one who once told me “don’t run you’ll trip”, shaking his head at me. I got a helmet.
Biking to campus (I will not call it cycling!) was one thing, biking anywhere else in Eugene was another. In my car I’m a confident driver, I know the rules and what’s expected of me. On a bike I had no idea what to do. Which streets have bike lanes? Where am I allowed to be? Why won’t this car get off my ASS?!? In short, there is no “bike-ed” like there is a drivers-ed, and I could have really used some instruction. The best thing I bought all year was a $5 phone mount for my bike, and praise be to Google Maps for having biking directions.
I have since become a more confident biker, I bike to most destinations within two miles of me, which, in Eugene, is a lot. The best part? Flying by cars waiting on Alder as students cross the street in a never ending stream and not having to PARALLEL PARK. I cannot put into words how much I hate having to parallel park, I’m atrocious at it.
When I learned of the bicycle study abroad trip I was still a very hesitant biker, but I knew I shouldn’t let an opportunity like this pass me by. Initially, I was eager to visit Europe again, this time with a years worth of grad school and planning knowledge under my belt. Slowly though, I also got excited about biking in Europe. In my bicycle transportation class we watched clips of bicyclists in the Netherlands and elsewhere as they pedaled along, on their cell phones, toting kids and groceries, eating, doing exactly what we all do here but in cars (though they were also noticeably more fit than many of the people you see in cars). The thought of being in that environment, similar but also different from our own, was extremely enticing, needless to say I got excited.
I am not a cyclists. I don’t even like that word really, “cyclist”, it makes me think of sweaty middle aged white guys in Lycra peddling away on high dollar racing bikes. I’m certainly not one of those people. But when a friend gave me a bike left by an old roommate and biking to campus meant I got to sit with my coffee for an extra ten minutes in the morning... well, I got on board with it.
I didn’t like it though. Even though my ride to campus was short I still had to ride in the street. NEXT TO CARS. Do you know how much a car weighs?! Do you know how much my bike and I weigh?! It doesn’t really matter, cuz the answer is the car weights a lot more. I could picture my father, the one who once told me “don’t run you’ll trip”, shaking his head at me. I got a helmet.
Biking to campus (I will not call it cycling!) was one thing, biking anywhere else in Eugene was another. In my car I’m a confident driver, I know the rules and what’s expected of me. On a bike I had no idea what to do. Which streets have bike lanes? Where am I allowed to be? Why won’t this car get off my ASS?!? In short, there is no “bike-ed” like there is a drivers-ed, and I could have really used some instruction. The best thing I bought all year was a $5 phone mount for my bike, and praise be to Google Maps for having biking directions.
I have since become a more confident biker, I bike to most destinations within two miles of me, which, in Eugene, is a lot. The best part? Flying by cars waiting on Alder as students cross the street in a never ending stream and not having to PARALLEL PARK. I cannot put into words how much I hate having to parallel park, I’m atrocious at it.
When I learned of the bicycle study abroad trip I was still a very hesitant biker, but I knew I shouldn’t let an opportunity like this pass me by. Initially, I was eager to visit Europe again, this time with a years worth of grad school and planning knowledge under my belt. Slowly though, I also got excited about biking in Europe. In my bicycle transportation class we watched clips of bicyclists in the Netherlands and elsewhere as they pedaled along, on their cell phones, toting kids and groceries, eating, doing exactly what we all do here but in cars (though they were also noticeably more fit than many of the people you see in cars). The thought of being in that environment, similar but also different from our own, was extremely enticing, needless to say I got excited.
But why?
So I wanted to go abroad. Great, doing it. But what’s going to come out of it? What do I want to bring back? (aside from a few souvenirs that is)
Have you ever been on an electric scooter, an e-scooter? These dockless app based scooters began invading cities like Los Angeles and Austin a few years ago. They caused quite a ruckus, there were safety concerns, traffic concerns, and general dislike in some cases. Amidst all the issues though, e-scooters uncovered a latent demand for short, one-way trips and, despite their rocky introduction, they appear to be here to stay, and in some places are now being complimented by the addition of e-bikes.
What makes all of this really exciting is the pace at which people have been adopting e-scooter and e-bikes, it’s blown traditional bike-share, which has been around in the U.S since the early 2000s, out of the water. Even my Father tried one out, in his words, “this thing (e-bike) is pretty slick”. The rate of adoption came as a surprise to transportation officials and city planners, and while we can speculate on long term implications, there are still a lot of unknowns. What we do know is that people are using these “micro-mobility” modes of transportation and that many places we don’t have the policies and infrastructure in place to support them. People riding e-scooters on the sidewalk? Well maybe that’s because they don’t want to ride in the street with cars and we should add some bike lanes, maybe even some protected bike lanes *gasp*.
Have you ever been on an electric scooter, an e-scooter? These dockless app based scooters began invading cities like Los Angeles and Austin a few years ago. They caused quite a ruckus, there were safety concerns, traffic concerns, and general dislike in some cases. Amidst all the issues though, e-scooters uncovered a latent demand for short, one-way trips and, despite their rocky introduction, they appear to be here to stay, and in some places are now being complimented by the addition of e-bikes.
What makes all of this really exciting is the pace at which people have been adopting e-scooter and e-bikes, it’s blown traditional bike-share, which has been around in the U.S since the early 2000s, out of the water. Even my Father tried one out, in his words, “this thing (e-bike) is pretty slick”. The rate of adoption came as a surprise to transportation officials and city planners, and while we can speculate on long term implications, there are still a lot of unknowns. What we do know is that people are using these “micro-mobility” modes of transportation and that many places we don’t have the policies and infrastructure in place to support them. People riding e-scooters on the sidewalk? Well maybe that’s because they don’t want to ride in the street with cars and we should add some bike lanes, maybe even some protected bike lanes *gasp*.
The rise of e-scooters and e-bikes and the complementary push for policies and infrastructure to support them is an opportunity for us to rethink transportation. Can we design cities and create regulations that get more people to travel by bike? Can we promote and encourage hesitant would-be bikers, like I was, to ride? It certainly appears that Denmark and the Netherlands have been able to do it, so why not us? What can we learn from bicycle experts abroad that can be brought back and applied to cities like Eugene and Austin? Well, I’ll let you know when I find out.