When a beloved teacher is tragically killed in a hit-and-run crash in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, a grassroots movement emerges to transform a notoriously dangerous four-lane boulevard into a safer, two-lane street with protected bike lanes.
With Edmontonians' right to safe transportation at risk, this is an important time to learn from other cycling communities and join together with neighbours who believe in safe infrastructure.
Admission by donation to Bike Edmonton at the door.
Film Review from Edmontonian Matt Campbell:
Changing Lanes
Directed by Ben Wolf
Starring David Byrne, Janette Sadik-Khan
Unrated
Runtime: 1 hour 15 minutes
by Matt Campbell, Staff Writer
“This is a human powered movie,” a title card in filmmaker Ben Wolf’s document Changing Lanes outlines at the start. The titles explain, the film was shot completely with gear that could be transported by bike (and bike trailer). With this sequence Wolf is telegraphing where his allegiances as a filmmaker of this subject align. Similarly let me start this review by disclosing that by the far the most dangerous activity I engage in is urban cycling, regularly commuting to and from work, my favorite movie theatre (shout out Metro Cinema), an improv venue (shout out Grindstone Theatre and Rapid Fire Theatre), or any of Edmonton’s various craft breweries (wow, I am a giant millennial early middle age cliche aren’t I). Most of these things are within a 5-7 kilometre ride (about 3-4.5 miles) of where I live and I have on average one near miss a month. All on routes that largely involved dedicated cycling/green infrastructure. So, yes, I am the target audience for a documentary., one that sets out to explore the intersection of urban planning, public safety, grievance politics, and the Culture War.
On May 18th, 2021 teacher Matthew Jensen was killed by a driver in a hit and run on McGuiness Blvd, while cycling, in Greenport, Brooklyn. This spurred a grass roots campaign to redesign the Blvd and make it safer for both pedestrians and cyclists, as several injuries and another death had occurred previously on the same road.. This tragedy and the subsequent public action is where the narrative of Changing Lanes starts. Though the use of several ‘talking head’ style interviews with former NYC Transit Commissioner, and urban planner, Janette Sadik-Khan and 40+ year cyclist and Talking Heads co founder David Byrne, as well as various NYC Department of Transport alumni and Make McGinness Safe organizers, Wolf outlines both the history of how we got to this point, and the challenge and struggle to find a way forward.
In the upcoming Summer issue of the Movie Jawn zine, I write about the creation of the motor hotel, or as it’s colloquially known, the motel. The motel was created as a result of the rise of the car. Mirrored with that in the history of urban planning, is the transition from streets to roads. A century ago cities had streets, scaled for people and serving multiple functions. As the car gained popularity, streets started being redesigned into roads. Prioritizing space for, and the movement of, cars - at the expense of all others. What I as a viewer, living in a city that is much younger than New York City, didn’t expect was how radical this shift happened in a city with the history and public transit infrastructure like NYC.
Changing Lanes shines a light on the politics of grievance and a wider culture war, things that anyone with a passing familiarity with politics, municipal or otherwise, is aware of. As the Department of Transportation of New York is nearing the finish line on improvements for McGuinness Blvd, an astroturfed campaign led by wealthy landowners and business folks starts to push back on the proposed changes at the 11th hour. This reactionary movement starts putting pressure on the government to pause the changes and maintain the status quo. Who does the government listen to? The data? Or the anecdotal feelings of those with more material wealth? Changing Lanes now starts scratching at the surface of the rising class disparity. Facts versus feelings. Renters versus owners. The 99% versus the 1%.
Ben Wolf’s Changing Lanes feels essential. By using one particular case, on one particular road, in one of the world’s largest cities, Wolf isn’t just telling a story about that street but about every city in North America. As capitalism cements and further creates wealth disparity, we’re told that options for change aren’t possible. They’re not realistic. Changing Lanes shows if that’s true, or a fallacy. Sometimes, change (as the film states) can be counter intuitive. I want all my neighbours who oppose green and active infrastructure to see this film. But will they? Will it win their hearts and minds? I don’t have an answer. What I do know is that I thoroughly enjoyed Changing Lanes. It made me feel less alone in the struggle for a different, a better, civil society. A place where cities are not a machine but a place to live. To quote Talking Heads, “home is where I want to be…never for money, always for love.” Oh and David Byrne, please wear a helmet