The P-Word

According to conservative columnist, George Will, Portland (termed the P-Word in his article) is a dirty cancerous lump of "smart growth" and "new urbanism" and "progressive as all get-out" projects. Seriously? That sounds pretty awesome to me. Think again America, it's an evil plot to rob you of your personal rights, like the right to endure long commutes to your job, and your right to unbridled use of the incandescent light bulb after 2014. At first glance, I thought this might be an opening skit for the Colbert Report.

I wondered why Newsweek even pedaled this garbage. Then, Jesse pointed out that both Will and the magazine probably only grow in popularity (online hits-wise) when they usher inflammatory, borderline insane arguments as opposed to the usual boring stuff. Reading his op-ed piece is like going to a freak show; you don't want to say for long, but can't help looking at the lizard baby again and again. So, that's why I'm not linking to his story. Find it on your own, it shouldn't be that hard.

Eventually, I was able to disregard Will's dismissive attitude on how many people actually ride bikes to work. I get the point, it's insanely small right now. What annoyed me most was his misrepresentation of early suburban history and speaking to the ideals of "scores of millions" of Americans. Let me repeat, Scores of Millions of Americans! In one breath he casually melds the streetcar suburbs of the early 20th century with post-war sprawl that has run rampant in the past few decades. Will conflates this history as some sort of proof that "meatloaf, macaroni-and-cheese, down-to-earth" (i.e. real) Americans have an innate need for automobiles and lots of space to protect their precious personal freedom.

Granted, early streetcars did enable freedom from crowded and dirty center cities. However, these edge neighborhoods were no more than a few miles away as opposed distant places accessed only by freeways and personal automobiles. Oh, and also? Those streetcar suburb dwellers didn't ride in their own trolley car to work. They sat by their neighbors on the trip downtown, willingly participating in "communitarian moments." I personally think a more worthy Newsweek topic might be: How the heck did those generations of trolley riders survive without the advent of mp3 players and noise-canceling headphones?!

Even though 2.8% is still a small number for bike commuters in Portland, it's significantly better than the national average. That has to be worth something right? Portland isn't constantly voted one of the most livable and walkable cities in the country for no reason. As I was reading Will's piece and about to boil over, Jesse got a phone call from the front door. It was the SmartTrips guy delivering (by bike) our bag full of information on enjoying the city by bike and foot. We got an awesome book on walking tours, a nice road map showing city bike routes, a bike safety manual, and a guide for getting around Portland without a car. Oh the delicious irony. I couldn't stop smiling all day -- certainly we must outnumber the George Wills of America.