"They say city is broke. We fix. No charge." Documenting what I see, not what I do. Photos: Martin Reis
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New Work by URS. Harbord Street. Saddletramp wrote: "The action-hero drama of dodging obstacles and potholes, escaping devil-may-care drivers in super-fast cars, and braving the fierce, temperamental elements, may seem, and feel, quite comic. Unless you're face-down on the pavement. With some wit, we endeavour to provide warning with humour; suggest danger with comedy; invite caution without frightening... and most importantly, we appeal to our fine city to remember that potholes aren't just uncomfortable, they really, really hurt."
More photos here
Fonts: Hobo & Badaboom
"The road is therefore, representative of many things on a symbolic, psychological, and practical level. It exists in a symbiotic relationship to the automobile for example, which is in turn related to the oil industry, which has a relationship to the military industrial complex and so on. The more roads there are, the more cars there are. The more cars there are, the more need for oil there is. The more need there is for oil, the more weapons are needed. The more weapons there are... This chain could equally be read in reverse, each link the catalyst for another chain reaction, and it is hard to say, at least for someone like myself who is not well versed in history, which came first: the chicken or the egg? The car or the cruise missile? This is inevitably a simplistic assessment of the situation but the point is, the road and its particular language (i.e. street markings) is for me, loaded with significance and therefore, ripe for re-interpretation. And because the road seems to take itself so seriously it is also a tempting target for satire. Road markings are for me, a metaphor for a certain state of mind and relationship to the outside world that is endemic of our time, and is engendered by driving." Via NY Arts Magazine
Signage idea for Sao Paulo (Brasil) Bike/Run 2010 "(No Bicycles/Pedestrians) Unless when economic interests may be at stake' Photo/Illustration by Tiago Costa Nepomuceno
By Steve Carey from the Times Colonist "Marr also mentioned that the folding of Victoria’s cycling advisory committee in 2009 into a new Environment and Infrastructure Public Advisory Committee is frustrating to Victoria’s cycling community, as there is no longer a formal communication channel. That frustration came out when a group painted sharrows, markers meant to remind motorists to share the road, along Hillside Road and other cycling routes. The markers are common in cycling hubs such as Seattle, and are used in Saanich. The Victoria sharrows were removed by the city, which cited liability issues. The GVCC board of directors states that better communication would prevent these actions."
Clearly the GVCC is out of touch with reality just as much as the City of Victoria.
The only thing preventing such wonderful actions is safe passage for cyclist in Victoria ...NOW!
Everything else is just talk. Taking action instead like painting the sharrows on Hillside Road is a pure declaration of love to the city of Victoria and all its residents and especially cyclists. Sadly those who think they are speaking and acting on behalf of cyclists and residents refuse to accept this love letter written in paint for what it is: sanity.
In 2007' World Carfree Day, more than 50 bicyclist's painted the first bike lane of Curitiba (Brazil). Three of them were arrested and accused of "environmental crime". The City decided to charge them in 3.000 reais (around 1.500 us dollars).
After some unsuccessfull appeals to the courts and directly to the Mayor, they decided to pay the bill and then charge the City for not following the Brazilian Traffic Code, that says that every city has to build infrastructure for bicyclists. Some fundraising events happened and the next chapter of the brave Curitiba Repair Squad X The Autocratic City battle has just begun.
Photos by Yvonne. This show is touring in the US now at the Graham Foundation, Chicago. Pictured URS Video 'Le Depart', Pink Bike Lane Stencil and Bike Lane Crapet by take the Tooker. Photo essay by Martin Reis/CCA
After Fernando Couto was killed by a bus in Sao Paulo on October 26 local activists and the bus drivers union got together to install a warning message designed to calm traffic at the site of the collision. Inspiring.
Photos by William Cruz: Link