Guests: Ed Blazina; John Surico
This episode of the podcast covers good news for cyclists in PA and a look at what’s happening in NYC – from the mayoral election to Central Park.
Ed Blazina has been a transportation writer in Pittsburgh for over 20 years and is or was employed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  I say is/was for a particular reason; he and his fellow journalists have been on strike for 2 ½ years! 
But that’s apart from the original reason I contacted him.  Apparently, bicyclists in Pennsylvania were NOT entitled to be on the road with other vehicles – until the state supreme court handed down a decision that said they were.
In July of 2021, Brendan Lindon was jra on a road in the Pittsburgh area when he was stopped and given a citation for impeding traffic.  Mr. Lindon decided not to back down and the case was off and running. 
Ed’s  story State Supreme Court affirms bicyclists’ rights to use roads with other vehicles – caught my attention
And that is the story we are going to talk about today.
In the second half of the show, I welcome back one of my favorite guests, NYC’s Professor John Surico.  Every month, I receive his informative newsletter, Streetbeat, and every month I have an extensive list of questions that come out of it.
But, since we don’t talk every month, I compile my thoughts and fire off the most relevant ones for our on-air conversations.
Today, we chat about NYC’s mayoral election, the presumptive and somewhat controversial Democratic nominee, Zorhan Mamdani, and the candidate’s thoughts on NYC transportation issues.  We also cover congestion pricing, the changes coming to Central Park, and more. As always, it’s enlightening!
As goes NYC so go many of the ideas for how cities might resolve some of their transportation, safety, and neighborhood issues. 
I want to add a bit of commentary about the Adventure Cycling Association and the ongoing saga of the board of directors’ unilateral decision to put the iconic headquarters building in Missoula up for sale.
I believe there may be a lot of reasons NOT to sell the building, chief among them that it won’t resolve the issues facing the organization going forward and may instead just sink it.
IMHO, there needs to be more transparency by the board and deeper explanations of what has been happening that has depleted the coffers and led to the decision to let go of most of the staff.
Yes, there are big changes in the demographic of the cyclist who rides his/her bike for adventure and travel.  If the board can’t figure out how to adapt to these changes and make better decisions about programs and products for that rider, they need to step aside and bring in new blood.
There is a petition, a commentary piece on my Substack,