The City of Portland is taking Oregon’s new cell phone law one step further when it comes to their own employees.

A new state law prohibits the use of hand-held “mobile communication devices” while driving, but it makes two major exceptions: hands-free use is still allowed and so is using a cell phone “in the scope of the person’s employment.”

While the law gives specific exceptions for emergency responders and CB radio operators, it left the door wide open to others who drive on the job. The City of Portland has now closed that door for their employees.

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Here’s the news that caught our eye this week:

- The ballooning recall of Toyota models with sticky accellerators has cast light on the reluctance with which the auto industry responds to safety issues.

- While many of our Portland readers were at City Hall to rally and attend the new bicycle plan hearing, the federal HUD secretary was a few blocks away at PSU announcing the opening of a new federal department with strong potential links to transportation issues, the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities.

- On Streetsblog, a discussion of the “invisible” side of bicycling—that many people who ride don’t do so out of choice and aren’t in a position to access knowledge about cycling or to advocate for themselves. (The discussion is continued here.)

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Carnage awaits at the Chariot Wars event.
(Photo © J. Maus)

This year’s Mini Bike Winter is shaping up to be one of the best ever.

The event — which tries to capture the fun and creative culture of Portland’s beloved Zoobomb community — features parties, competitions, and this year, even a panel discussion.

Mini Bike Winter kicks off on Thursday night (2/11) with a panel discussion titled, “Should Bikes Save the Planet?” Panelists include: Author of Efficiency Shifting, Conrad Schmidt; Bicycle Pornographer Reverend Phil Sano; President of Umbrella and Director of the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition, Stephanie Routh; owner of Portland Pedicabs Ryan Hashagen; and PSU Professor of Sociology, Erin Rose Michaels.

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The myth that the City of Portland’s Bicycle Plan for 2030 comes with a $600 million price tag continues to spread among various media outlets, despite the fact that the plan commits the city to no spending of any kind.

The Oregonian’s misleading front page article last week, (which their Editorial Board reinforced the next day) got the ball rolling.

The Oregonian article saying the plan had a “hefty price tag” was put out on the Associated Press newswire and is now being picked up and republished by media outlets all over the country. Even though the 2030 bike plan has zero financial impact on the City of Portland, The Oregonian story is being republished with misleading headlines.

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The scene at Mt. Tabor during the
2008 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Mt. Hood Cycling Classic, a major, multi-stage road race that draws top professional athletes from all over the country, is set to return to Portland in 2010.

The six-stage race will begin with a prologue on June 1st at Portland International Raceway in north Portland. The following day, the race moves to Mt. Tabor Park in Southeast Portland for a “lung and leg busting” circuit race.

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Covered bike parking? Free
bike bells? Thumbs waaay up!
(Photo © BikePortland/2006)

The Portland Trail Blazers will pass out 6,500 custom-branded Blazer bike bells at tonight’s home game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Bike-riding fans will also enjoy a new roof over their head at the arena’s main bike parking area.

Charlie Burr, from the Blazers PR firm, told me yesterday (with tongue firmly in cheek) that, “We believe the sound of alternative transportation will serve to disorient our Los Angeles brethren, giving us a critical advantage.”

Noisemakers in the crowd are common at Rose Garden Arena, but the team usually hands out cowbells.

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Michelle Poyourow at the Tweed Ride.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Confirming a rumor first published by the Portland Mecury on Wednesday, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance has announced that Advocacy Manager Michelle Poyourow is leaving the organization.

In a blog post published today, the BTA wrote:

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Portland Mayor Sam Adams delivered his State of the City speech to the City Club of Portland today. In it, he addressed many of the issues facing Portland. His largest focus was the economy and jobs, but he also touched on transportation.

A slide of a new streetcar line envisioned for the Lents neighborhood featured a big, green bike lane. Other mentions of bicycling came later, after he introduced a new, city-managed curbside composting program.

Here is the text from his speech where he mentioned bicycling:

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Dar k blue = cycle tracks.
(Graphic: Metro)

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced that funding decisions for their stimulus minded Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program will be made no later than February 17th.

To refresh your memory, last fall Metro submitted a TIGER grant request for $98 million in active transportation projects throughout the Portland region. One of those projects is a $38 million proposal to build a dense and complete neighborhood bikeway system in 13 square miles of North and Northeast Portland.

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Detail of new route. Start planning now!

Adventure Cycling, a 44,000 member non profit that promotes bike touring, has announced their latest route and it goes right through some of Oregon’s best riding areas. The 2,392 mile Sierra Cascades Bicycle Route runs from Sumas, Washington to Tecate, California.

According to the just-published information on their website, AC says the new route “runs roughly parallel to the Pacific Crest Trail along the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.” Here’s a bit more detail on the Oregon portion:

Section 2 begins at Mt. Rainier National Park and runs south to the wind surfing country of the Columbia Gorge and Hood River, Oregon. From there it skirts the Three Sisters Mountains through Bend, Oregon ending in Crater Lake National Park. This section intersects the Lewis & Clark Bicycle Route in Hood River and the TransAmerica Trail in Sisters, Oregon… After leaving the spectacular scenery of Wizard Island and Crater Lake, the route continues south to Ashland, Oregon, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

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Last Thursday on Alberta: A tough crowd.
(Photos © J. Maus)

A community meeting this Monday (2/8) being hosted by Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz and Mayor Sam Adams could have a major impact on the future of the Last Thursday on Alberta event. The meeting’s event page states, “The Mayor and Commissioner are considering options for Last Thursday.”

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Ride poster. Very nice.

This year’s Cycle Oregon ride (which will be the 23rd annual), will take place from September 11-18 and it will have a “Round-Up” theme highlighted by a layover in Pendleton during the 100th Anniversary Pendleton Round-Up rodeo.

As per usual, the announcement came during a gala event at Nike Headquarters in Beaverton. I didn’t make it out to the kickoff party this year, but thankfully the Cycle Oregon website has all the details. Check the full details at CycleOregon.com or read the brief description below:

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— Check out my slideshow and recap of the Build It rally.
— Read live updates from the hearing.

They’d like to think a few things over.
(Photos © J. Maus)

The big news from today is that there’s no big news. City Council, expected to vote to adopt the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 at a public hearing today, postponed the vote until next week.

Council heard over two hours of public testimony about the plan today. The testimony was overwhelmingly positive, but there were a few people who showed up to express concerns. Representatives of the freight community expressed concern that some routes proposed as “City Bikeways” are on priority truck routes. One St. Johns residents made a strong point about how people on bicycles do not pass people walking with enough care and consideration. “Until more education and enforcement is done, I don’t support this plan.”

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[Refresh this story for latest updates. Don't miss my slideshow and recap of the rally prior to the hearing.]

Both levels of council
chambers are packed.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Things are underway here in Council Chambers at the 2030 Bike Plan hearing.

Mayor Adams kicked things off with an intro (this update of our 1996 plan began when he was Transportation Commissioner, he now continues to oversee PBOT as Mayor):

I always consider our transportation system to be in service to larger city goals… Bikes aren’t the total answer, but they’re a very important piece of acheiving those goals.

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Build It!
- Slideshow below –
(Photos © J. Maus)

The “Build It” rally outside City Hall in support of the 2030 Bike Plan just finished up and now folks are settling in for the big hearing.

The rally was an informal affair with many supporters (150-200?) holding signs. They all sang Devo’s “Whip It,” substituting “Build It” at the appropriate time. There were a lot of very enthusiastic supporters of the plan. Bike Gallery owner and Bike Plan Steering Committee Co-Chair Jay Graves told me he is “Cautiously optimistic” about how it will go inside Council Chambers. “With all the negative media coverage… But this is Portland, I’m hopeful.”

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The Portland Business Alliance released their letter on the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 today.

The six-page letter signed by CEO Sandra McDonough on behalf of 1,400 businesses expresses support “of the overall goal” of the plan but also calls out some concerns and offers several suggestions.

The PBA (download PDF here) calls the plan’s goal of 25% bike usage “unrealistically high” and questions the wisdom of emulating cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

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I thought it’d be fun to take a quick look at what you might hear from Mayor Adams and his colleagues on City Council at the 2030 Bike Plan hearing today. It’s sort of a foregone conclusion that they will all vote in support of the plan, but with politics, you just never know.

Here goes…

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Today is the Big Day for Portlanders — the day City Council holds a special hearing on the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030. We’ll have lots of coverage to come, both live from City Hall today and plenty of analysis tomorrow. For now, let me direct you to the conversation in greater Portland being furthered with help from our local media outlets.

Overnight there was a lot more coverage of the plan that I want to bring your attention to.

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According to a story in The Oregonian, Joe and Hau Hagedorn have settled a lawsuit brought against them when a man on a bicycle crashed into a dirt pile left out in front of their house. The pile-up happened at around 2:00 am in July of 2007 on SE 20th just south of Division.

From The Oregonian, here’s what happened:

“Jeremy Hooton was pedaling in the dark along 21st Avenue near Division Street at 2 a.m. when he hit the pile, causing him to fly over his handlebars and slam into the street, according to his Multnomah County Circuit Court complaint.”

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