Portland Newscast Offers Biking Conditions With the Weather Report

1:37 PM EDT on June 25, 2014

Showers arrive early Wednesday afternoon. Best to get that bike ride in early. #fox12 pic.twitter.com/4b1pWX57mi
— FOX 12 Oregon KPTV (@fox12oregon) June 25, 2014

Here's a local newscast that's getting something right. FOX 12 in Portland, Oregon, has taken to reporting the conditions for cycling along with the weather report.

"They've been doing it for a while now," says Jonathan Maus at Bike Portland. "Just responding to market demand."

The station reported on June 24th: "Not a bad day to take the bike out for a spin. Roads should be dry most of the day."

On June 19th: "Looking to get out on the bike? Ideal riding conditions Thursday."

Is this the future of the local nightly news?

Steven Vance at Streetsblog Chicago reports that local cyclists have been lobbying the local NPR affiliate to broadcast conditions -- including construction updates, wind speed, and wave conditions -- on the Lakefront Trail, the busiest biking and walking path in the country.

Angie Schmitt

Angie Schmitt is the author of Right of Way: Race, Class and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America, and the former editor of Streetsblog USA.

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