Pedaling Revolution
Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities by Jeff Mapes
My coffee cup rating 4/5:
☕️ ☕️ ☕️ ☕️
If a book has the word cycling in its title or a bicycle on its cover, you can bet it’s on my reading list. I’ve heard of Jeff Mapes's book from many different people over the years and decided to get a copy. Somehow my excitement wained and it ended up sitting on my bookshelf waiting for the right time. That time finally came after reading Jeff Speck's book Walkable City. Hearing Speck reference Jeff Mapes book numerous times it dawned on me, I have that book already. So I immediately put it to the top of my reading list, and I’m glad I did.
Cycling Revolution by Jeff Mapes is one of the most well-rounded books on urban cycling I’ve read thus far. Jeff begins with a quick yet punchy history of the bicycle and its politics surrounding it. [Note* If you want to dive deeper into the history of the bicycle on US roads Bike Battles by James Longhurst is great.] One such topic introduced in this chapter is the vehicular cycling approach. Championed by John Forester in the 1970s, vehicular cycling is the practice of mimicking the way cars drive but with your bike. This approach has its pros and cons and is a continual discussion point with bike advocates and cyclists alike. Jeff points out later on that the fierce advocates of vehicular cycling have mainly been in opposition to bike infrastructure because it hinders their ability to ride with cars in the street. This compounded with bigger issues like ramped car use and suburban sprawl have long stunted cycling infrastructure in the US.
Without this infrastructure in place, cycling will only be delegated to a minority, not the majority of people. I’m familiar with this as my current city has virtually no bike accommodation to speak of, with vehicular cycling being the only way to effectively get around. Although I'm pretty comfortable with this practice now, I don’t see it as something most people will do. It just doesn’t feel safe playing Russian roulette with huge steel boxes barreling down on you. If we want more people choosing to ride, we need to make it feel safe, and cycling infrastructure is a great way to help facilitate that. For the more bikes that are on the road, statistically speaking, the safer riding becomes.
Jeff spends a good amount of time giving examples of cities that are making cycling safe and accessible to everyone. As most people know about Portland and New York as cycling cities, I was surprised to learn about this little place called Davis, California. A small suburb of Sacramento, Davis is a cycling oasis smack dab in the middle of farmland and freeways. Unbeknownst to me, this city played an integral part in pioneering bike lanes, signage, and pathways that many other cities have since replicated. Much of this was spurred on by the local university and its pro-cycling staff. Jeff also cites his hometown of Portland, Oregon and its proactive approach to cycling in the city. What is fascinating to me about Portland is they were able to slowly achieve bike friendliness with Oregon State allocating just 1% of its transportation budget toward cycling and pedestrians. What if more states and cities were able to do this? Their road systems could become more sustainable for pennies on the dollar. New York has also been a major player in bike infrastructure and friendliness. Jeff interviews many city officials for the book, including those from New York, who are making its concrete jungle equally available to all road users.
My only gripe I have with the book is I think it hasn’t aged all that well. As I read this ten years after its release, I can’t help but wonder whether those cities have been successful at what they proposed in the book. Also, many of the statistical projections slated for future timelines have come and gone. I would love to see an updated edition that could answer some of these questions. All that to say, I still loved the book and think it has something for everyone. Especially anyone in a position to vote on, create, or design our road and transit systems.