In their official comments on the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) says the City is not doing enough to realize bicycling’s potential. The BTA is also calling for several “near-term benchmarks” to keep the City on task before 2030.

In a letter to the Plan’s project manager Ellen Vanderslice, BTA Executive Director Scott Bricker and BTA Board Member Jim Middaugh write that in the fifteen years since the previous Bicycle Master Plan was adopted in 1996, the City “has not demonstrated a sufficient commitment to bicycling investments nor to making the fundamental shift required to make bicycling a realistic travel option for all.”

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A BikePortland reader has some ideas
of what can be done to improve the
I-5 crossing of the Columbia River.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Since a new era of planning for a new I-5 crossing of the Columbia River seems to be upon us, I thought I’d share a comment from last week that lays out several ways to move forward.

The comment was left by a reader named John Reinhold, who also happens to be a member of Metro’s Transportation Policy Alternatives Committee (TPAC). TPAC provides technical input to the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) on “transportation planning and funding priorities for the Portland metropolitan region”. Read Reinhold’s ideas below:

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A woman crossing SE Foster at 80th.
(Still taken from Oregonian video
– watch it below).

Responding to a week where several Portlanders were injured and one woman was killed while walking across SE Foster Blvd, Portland Mayor Sam Adams visited the site this morning. His visit comes on the eve of an awareness action by local safety advocates and on the same morning that national organization Transportation For America released a new report about pedestrian safety.

Adams said he walked several blocks around the intersection of Foster and 80th. After his walk Adams updated his Twitter account saying he would “recommend some immediate changes today.”

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Racers roll through the Thunderdome.
-Slideshow below/Gallery-
(Photos © J. Maus)

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

- Warren Buffett has made his largest investment ever: $34 billion to purchase the BNSF rail company. He eloquently praises the promise of rail freight transportation, calls the move “a bet on the country.”

- An interesting article about how politically progressive inner cities are primarily white (which explicitly ties in bicycling with this dynamic) has drawn smart critics who look at the statistics and anecdotal evidence to show that bicycling is not a racially one-sided passion.

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The vision by 2030.

If you have something to say about the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 (a.k.a. the Bicycle Master Plan), Sunday (11/8) is your last chance to do it.

PBOT will take all comments received by Sunday night and try to work them into revisions of the Plan before it is finalized and goes in front of City Council for official adoption on January 20th (you can also show up to City Hall to testify on that day).

The 118 page Plan (download the whole thing or parts of it here) was over two years in the making and it will help dictate how our bikeway network is built out for the next 20 years.

So far, it has been generally well-supported, but we have also heard some criticisms and suggestions on how to make it better.

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Raingear comes in all styles, forms
— and budgets.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Now that the rain has arrived in earnest, it’s time to get the daily wet weather riding routine down pat.

For many of us, that isn’t going to include shopping for a new, name brand rain jacket and pants, fancy washable wool, or a new bike with disc brakes.

Fortunately there are plenty of local options for staying warm and reasonably dry without going broke.

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Portlanders like to take care of their beloved bikes. Here are a few locally made examples; some by an entrepreneurial builder and one sent in by a reader who did it DIY style.

Local artist and craftsman Brennan Conaway has found yet another niche to serve in Portland’s fast-growing population of bike lovers — bike sheds.

Conaway’s bike sheds — which he designs and builds in Portland along with other small backyard structures under his Micro-Structures brand — look like an attractive way to keep your bikes secure and out of the weather.

Here are a few of his designs:

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On Sunday night, two young women were struck by a car while attempting to cross the street at SE 80th and Foster; one was killed and the other seriously injured. Several other traffic incidents in which people on foot were killed or sustained major injuries also occurred in the past week in Oregon.

Portland’s pedestrian advocacy group, the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition (WPC), says these incidents demonstrate an acute need for more investment in complete streets. They plan to hold an awareness action at the site of the fatality on Foster Road to bring attention to this issue. Here are more details on the event:

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Two excellent bike-related job opportunities have been listed on the BikePortland Job Listings this week. Check out the details below and good luck if you apply!

• Lead Mechanic — Portland State University Bike Hub
• Advertising Sales Account Manager — Momentum Magazine

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A ‘cross racer dressed up like a swamp monster riding through a huge wall of bubbly foam: It must be SSCXWC.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Better late than never, here are your weekend bike events!

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Groups want to start the
planning process over.
(Photo © J. Maus)

A coalition of five local non-profit groups are calling for “an immediate restart of the deadlocked I-5 planning process.”

The Coalition for a Livable Future, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Environment Oregon, Environment Washington, and Upstream Public Health just issued a joint news release saying they want a new plan for the Columbia River Crossing.

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Crowds were a bit
cramped at BikeCraft III.
(Photo © J.Maus)

BikeCraft is an annual holiday bazaar that gathers under one roof the many unique and interesting Portlanders who create handmade, cycling related crafts.

We can hardly believe it, but this is the fifth anniversary of BikeCraft!

Each year BikeCraft has grown by leaps and bounds, and this year we think we’ve finally found a space that can hold all of our talented, creative crafters, the people who flock to the event to purchase hand-made gifts, art, gear, and fashion…and even all of our bikes. Sandbox Studio, a former forklift warehouse turned gorgeous photography studio, has generously invited us to use their large, light-filled space.

The BikeCraft fair will be free and open to the public on Saturday, December 5 from 10am-5pm at Sandbox Studio located at 420 NE 9th Ave (between Flanders and Glisan).

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Next month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is sure to attract protesters who feel global leaders aren’t acting quickly enough. One group plans to make their point with a massive bicycle sculpture infused with the bodies of activists.

That alone seemed like something Portlanders could get behind. Then I read their rallying cry — “Put the fun between your legs” — and remembered how that slogan is commonly seen on t-shirts, stickers and patches made by Portland-based Microcosm Publishing.

(Graphic from FunBetwenYourLegs.info)

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Sunset Blvd like you’ve
never seen it before.
(Graphic: Colleen Corcoran/cicLAvia)

Two bits of news that came across my desk in the last 24 hours speak to the growing momentum (should we call it a revolution?) across America for carfree streets and more dedicated space for bike traffic.

According to an article published in the Los Angeles Times yesterday, a group of Angelenos calling themselves cicLAvia are pushing the city to plan an event similar to Bogota’s ciclovia (which also inspired Portland’s Sunday Parkways events).

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Imagine riding through this
with a few friends!

Since 1993, the Portland International Raceway (PIR) has hosted the holiday tradition known as Winter Wonderland. Each year, over 100,000 people drive their cars along the racetrack which is adorned with massive, holiday-themed light sculptures and animated displays accompanied by festive Christmas tunes and holiday cheer.

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Bike parking at Franklin
High School in Southeast Portland.
(Photos © J. Maus)

U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer announced a new bill yesterday that would expand the existing Safe Routes to Schools program to high schools. The Safe Routes to High Schools Act would enable high schools to vie for federal grants that would help them build walking and biking facilities for students.

The goal of the bill is to improve the health of our nation’s teenagers, make traffic around schools safer, and provide a less expensive way for kids to get to school.

A one-pager on the bill states that the obesity rate for kids between the ages of 12 and 19 have more than tripled in the past fifteen years, with 17.6% of high school age kids now classified as obese. Another statistic that provided impetus for this proposed legislation is a Centers for Disease Control estimate that 25% of traffic within three miles of a school comes from parents dropping off or picking up their children.

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Cover of new calendar that will
benefit Komen for the Cure.

For the past seven years, local bicycle component manufacturer Chris King has partnered with Komen for the Cure on a line of special edition products called “Pretty and Strong“.

This year, the partnership has expanded to include the photography of PDXCross and the creation of a calendar they hope will raise awareness of breast cancer.

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A scene from the SSCXWC last year.
(Photo © J. Maus)

After the Cross Crusade rampaged all last weekend in Astoria (and a bit too much if this thread on the OBRA email list is any indication), the cyclocross action will just get more heated this weekend.

Tonight there’s a pre-registration party for the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association’s 2009 Cyclocross Championships being held this weekend in Salem. The party goes from 6-8 pm at Hopworks Urban Brewery in Southeast Portland and it’s being hosted by the Buy Local Cycling Team. Racers will be treated to a live band, legendary Hopworks beer, race videos, a chance to preview the course, and more.

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Intersection of Willamette and Haven.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Bryan Parman with the Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division has just confirmed that the two people operating motor vehicles that struck and killed a man on N. Willamette this morning were cited for driving under the influence.

Portland Police PIO Mary Wheat has also released the identity of the man who was killed. It was 31-year old Portlander Kipp Daniel Crawford. Crawford was a local musician and member of the band Thanks Kipp.

According to a report just published by The Oregonian’s Noelle Crombie, the people operating motor vehicles in this incident were 41-year old Carlos Tyrone McCall and 44-year old Felisa Washington-Berry. Crombie also reports that:

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