Winter Cycling in Oil Country

Winter Cycling in Oil Country

Author: The War on Cars, LLC May 21, 2024 Duration: 1:43:19

An unlikely cycling revolution is happening in one of the coldest big cities on the planet: Edmonton, Alberta. Despite freezing temps, lots of sprawl, big trucks and an economy built on pulling oil out of the Albertan tar sands, the Western Canadian city is in the midst of a four-year, $100 million CAD investment in active transportation that will connect far-flung neighborhoods with a network of safe, high-quality, protected bike lanes. Many of these bike lanes will even get priority over roads for cars when it comes to snow removal. We traveled to the home of the NHL's Edmonton Oilers to attend the Winter Cycling Congress, where we talked with the people pushing for this transformation, including the city's former mayor, Don Iveson. Plus, hear our appearance on drive-time radio in the heart of oil country.

*** Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive access to ad-free versions of all our episodes, exclusive bonus content and stickers. ***

This episode was sponsored by Bullmoose Soft Goods and Cleverhood. Listen to the episode for the latest discount codes.

LINKS:

Tom Babin of Shifter says Edmonton is "the most exciting bike city in North America."

Learn more about Edmonton's former mayor, Don Iveson and City Councillor Michael Janz.

Check out The Winter Cycling Federation and listen to Sarah's dispatch from the 2020 Winter Cycling Congress in Finland.

Read all about the Edmonton Bike Plan.

Learn more about "Oil Country Urbanism" from Oh The Urbanity! and check out About Here on YouTube.

Lorne Gunter of the Edmonton Sun thinks charging drivers to park is a "war on cars."

Buy toques, t-shirts, stickers and more in The War on Cars merch store. Save 10% with code BIKEMONTH.

Find us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps people find us!

This episode was recorded by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio. It was edited by Doug Gordon and Ali Lemer. Our theme music is by Nathaniel Goodyear.

TheWarOnCars.org

 


Imagine a world not built around traffic jams and parking lots, but shaped for people. The War on Cars is a dispatch from the front lines of that effort, a collective conversation questioning the automobile’s dominance over our cities, our environment, and our daily lives. Each episode digs into the real-world fight to reclaim public space, examining everything from the politics of a new bike lane to the history of how cars came to rule. You’ll hear from urban planners, activists, historians, and ordinary people pushing back, offering a mix of sharp analysis, on-the-ground reporting, and compelling narratives. This isn’t just about transportation; it’s about the culture and societal choices that have led us here, and the tangible, often inspiring work to create safer, quieter, and more connected communities. Tune in for a thoughtful and necessary critique of the status quo, a podcast dedicated to the idea that our streets can-and should-be for so much more.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The War on Cars
Podcast Episodes
The Texas Freeway Fight with Megan Kimble [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:14
In the 20th century, planners and policymakers smashed Interstate highways through the middle of every major city in the United States. In the 21st century, we understand the many ways that urban freeways were economic,…
Car Insurance is Too Cheap [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:01
It has never been more expensive to insure a car in the United States. Today, the average annual premium for full coverage is more than $2,500, up from more than $1,700 just a few years ago. There are a lot of reasons fo…
Live from New York with Bernie Wagenblast [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:35
In January, we held our third annual live show at Caveat on Manhattan's Lower East Side. We were so thrilled to be in the same room as so many listeners and friends of the podcast. We were also happy to welcome Bernie Wa…
TEASER: Super Bowl Extra [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:00
***This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars.*** In this bonus episode, we continue the conversation w…
Super Bowl LVIII Roundup [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:02
In what's become an annual tradition, we take a critical look at the car ads that aired during the Super Bowl and consider what they say about driving, culture, consumerism, and the United States… which is all the same t…
Should SUV Ads Be Banned? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:03
Did you ever see a car advertisement that you thought was so ridiculously irresponsible it should be banned? Well, the people at Adfree Cities, an advocacy group based in the United Kingdom, did, and they decided to do s…
TEASER: Delivering the Goods with Shawon and Fokhrul [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:42
This is a preview of a special bonus episode for Patreon supporters of The War on Cars! In the last episode of the podcast we spent some time with Baruch, Shawon, and their battery-swapping startup company, PopWheels. Wh…
The Future of Transportation Has Arrived With Your Pad Thai [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:38
Baruch Herzfeld is the CEO and co-founder of PopWheels, where he is working to develop New York City's first e-bike battery-swapping network. PopWheels aims to solve the growing problem of e-bike battery fires. The compa…
Fixing America's Car Culture with David Zipper [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:50
Happy New Year! We're kicking off 2024 by bringing you our conversation with David Zipper, one of the hardest-working analysts on the transportation scene today. You may be familiar with David from his writing at Bloombe…
TEASER: Listener Origin Stories [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:27
Last month the three hosts told their origin stories, or how they first became aware of the problems associated with cars and automobile dependency. Our stories included everything from lessons learned during early drivi…