Streetsblog New York City

This project takes the spirit of intersection repair to new heights. You're looking at the Elevado Costa e Silva, a two-mile stretch of 1970s-vintage elevated highway in the middle of gridlocked Sao Paulo, Brazil. It's known informally as the minhocão ("giant worm"), and according to local blog Inside Sao Paulo, a project to remove the structure is on hold despite some form of support from the City Council. For now, the minhocão is closed to traffic on Sundays, when it opens to the public for ciclovia-style recreation.

About a week ago, local artist Felipe Morozini organized this massive pavement-painting endeavor, covering a swath of the minhocão with 75 enormous flowers (more pictures here). Unlike your usual pavement paintings and intersection repairs, which calm traffic by adding a layer of intrigue to existing spaces, the Sao Paulo paintjob feels like an assertion of what else could spring to life if the highway disappeared.

So, who wants to lay down a work of art on the Sheridan Expressway?

The average commuter in São Paulo, Brazil spends nearly three hours a day stuck in traffic. Gridlock is so prevalent and stifling that the wealthy prefer to get about via helicopter. But the recent São Paulo Intermodal Challenge suggests that human-powered ground transport may be the way to go. PSFK reports:

The means of transportation chosen ranged from cars, bikes, motorbikes, and a helicopter to buses, metro, their own feet and even a wheelchair. Contrary to all forecasts, a biker won the challenge, with a total time of 22 minutes -- more than 10 minutes faster than the person on the helicopter, who spent a total of 33 minutes and 30 seconds between going to the heliport, waiting for takeoff clearance, flying and landing. The car came way behind, with a total time of 1:22 -- slower than the runner, who took 1:06, the bus (1:11) and just 10 minutes faster than the person who chose to walk the whole path (1:32).

Maybe Mayor Mike could save his next chopper ride for next year's TA commuter race.

(h/t Brooklyn)

On a recent trip to Brazil, Streetfilms' Elizabeth Press visited ASCOBIKE, a bicycle parking garage outside São Paulo. ASCOBIKE serves 1,700 riders daily, many of whom hop a train to complete their commute from Mauá, "a city with zero bike infrastructure." Membership perks include safety and maintenance tips, bike repair service and even legal advice, all financed by a nominal $5-per-month fee.

Says Elizabeth: "ASCOBIKE isn't your average bicycle parking station."