My Bad—Or Was It?

I recognized the move because I’ve made it myself: You rear (pronounced more like “rare” in some regional dialects) back on your heels, throw your hands in the air, and give the offending person The Look. It’s the look that…Continue Reading

Go Ahead. Make My Day.

This post isn’t about what you think it is. It has nothing to do with Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry, or hand guns. Or anime, for that matter, if you’re thinking of a different movie/TV reference. And it’s not about the…Continue Reading

In my work at Washington State Department of Transportation, where I’m Director of the Active Transportation Division, I put out an e-newsletter 2-3 times a month. If you subscribe (everyone welcome!) you’ll get two types of emails: A news round-up…Continue Reading

Photo of a zombie woman crawling on the grass and reaching toward the photographer

Halloween provides the perfect excuse to make jokes about the zombie apocalypse. That isn’t the only potential — or real — disaster we face as a species, however. From hurricane relief to earthquakes, bicycles serve as a flexible, convenient utility…Continue Reading

Dangerous Intersection road sign, isolated on white

Data Rant Continued: What a Tangled Web

I like a good infographic as much as the next person. They’re eye-catching, they get passed around a lot, they’re more readable than dense academic papers full of footnotes (sorry, academics). So when I saw one highlighting “the most dangerous…Continue Reading

Road sign that reads Dangerous Intersection Ahead

A Bit of a Rant on Data

I’m a wee bit active on Twitter, where I find many resources, experts I can quickly question on a fine point of transportation policy or design, and inspiration. By now we all recognize the dark side as well — the…Continue Reading

Someone’s Sweetheart

The kind of text you DO NOT want to get from your sweetheart: “Car turned left in front. Hit car. Bike effed up. Phys. OK. Going to work.” — Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) April 8, 2017 This text set my heart…Continue Reading

Broken Elbow Style Is Sleeveless

On a balmy Tuesday evening in July I pedaled south along the Elliott Bay Trail en route from a meeting in Seattle’s Pioneer Square to my home in White Center. In a number of places along the heavily traveled multi-use…Continue Reading