OneWorld.net (U.S.)

In response to Alison Raphael's piece "Pealing Toward Cleaner Cities" (May 13, 2008).

No mention of Portland, Oregon??? While the national average of bike ridership may be on the decline, in Portland we have seen increases in ridership that are in the double digits.

According to the city auditor, 6 percent of Portlanders commute primarily by bicycle and another 10 percent use bicycles for a secondary means of commuting. In the best case scenario, that is 16 percent of the workforce in Portland commuting by bicycle.

This also does not account for the short trips for groceries, entertainment, etc. that are often done by bicycle in Portland.

The bicycle culture in Portland is something unique to anywhere else in the United States.

Both Portland and the United States in general have a very long way to go in order to catch up to many places in Europe and the rest of the world. However, Portland continues to see great successes in getting people to use bicycles and any article that does not mention the efforts and results in a major city, like Portland, does a great disservice to those who advocate bicycles.

Mykael Harmon Portland, OR