Sunday, October 07, 2007

Music star pushes cycling lifestyle


From AMNewYork, 10.08.07:
Envisioning a city where bicycle traffic gets priority over automobiles, singer David Byrne, a longtime city bike commuter, hosted a program Saturday that explored ways to make New York's streets more like those of bike-friendly Copenhagen.

About 35 percent of the workforce in the Danish capital commutes by bike, said Byrne, the "Talking Heads" star who visited the city with the folding bicycle he carries around the world with him. Less than one percent of New Yorkers commute by bike.

Josh Benson, director of the DOT's bike program, told the large New Yorker Festival audience Saturday that "it's an exciting time to be a cyclist in New York," and said bike ridership has tripled in the past seven years. He described the city's new "complete streets" philosophy, which includes equal room for cars, pedestrians and bicycles. (Read more.)
Streetsblog previously reported David Byrne's commitment to bicycling. And now Byrne is using his celebrity to galvanize support for bicycling in New York, convening this public panel on bikes for transportation. Which gives me the opportunity to feature my favorite Heads tune on this blog.

Image: Talking Heads, "Life During Wartime."
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:20 AM

    Copenhagen is a vibrant, energetic city where leadership has proven that alternatives to auto work well. Congratulations to them and it's about time popular performers begin to speak out on these important issues. Thanks David and to Paul for the update!
    Jack

    ReplyDelete
  2. And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile.
    And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?

    ReplyDelete