(Editor’s Note: Earlier in the week when I asked for story suggestions in the new year, there was a mini-discussion of how the new meter-less parking downtown has reduced the amount of places for people to lock their bikes.  Apparently, we’re not alone.  For what it’s worth, LADOT tells me they’re working on a solution.  Stay tuned…)

One of the great things about the Streetsblog Network
is the way it can connect people in different parts of the country so
that they can share solutions to livable streets problems. So maybe
someone out there will be able to help Austin Bike Blog figure out what cyclists in that city should do when parking meters begin to be replaced by electronic parking kiosks:

A repurposed parking meter in Baltimore. Photo by bosconet via Flickr.

Should
Austin try to convert some of the removed parking meters to bicycle
parking, or should they remove them all and then install more bicycle
parking after the fact — and if they do, how long will it take? Are we
destined to have a “bicycle parking crisis” for a couple of years while
things get sorted out? Will cyclists riot in the street? Will a private
entity swoop in and save the day?

Also on the network today, M-Bike
in Detroit writes about a Detroit News columnist who started off the
year by listing some "fun facts" about auto crashes and fatalities. If
you’d like to tell him those facts aren’t fun, they’ve got all the
contact info for you.

We’d also like to bring to your attention the National Journal’s Transportation "Expert Blog,"
which puts out a question every week for a group of transpo honchos
including government officials and environmentalists. Some of the more
high-profile members of the panel, such as California governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Oregon congressman Earl Blumenauer, haven’t weighed
in lately. But a recent question about falling gas prices did elicit responses from such varied sources as NJ Transit Executive Director Rich Sarles and Robin Chase, writer of Streetsblog Network member blog Network Musings and founder of the GoLoco ridesharing network. It’s worth checking out.