We have a Bike to Work Day, just concluded, in the Washington area.  But, as I heard on CBC radio this morning, in one of my favorite cities – Halifax, Nova Scotia – they have a whole week devoted to bicycles - “Bike Week” is happening right now (http://www.halifax.ca/bikeweek/). 

Halifax is truly a civilized place – that’s not only because it home to one of the best museums around, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/index.html), and the part-time home of the Bluenose II (http://museum.gov.ns.ca/bluenose/index.html) - a replica of the famous racing schooner which appears on the Canadian dime, and a grand tribute to the common man (http://www.currencymuseum.ca/eng/learning/coins_dime.php). 

I’ve been to Halifax on several occasions, and each time I’ve gone, I’ve been amazed at the behavior of motorists towards pedestrians and cyclists:  cars often literally screech to a stop if you so much as lift your foot over the curb to cross at an intersection.  The municipality is also a green – not only do they require residents to recycle, they have a “green can” municipal composting program (http://www.halifax.ca/wrms/greencart.html).  Truly, Halifax is smaller then Washington, but it is the unofficial capital of Atlantic Canada, and it’s a place from which we here in Washington can learn a great deal.

-- posted by Chris