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Free donuts and coffee for commuters!

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Bike Commute Breakfast at City HallBike Commute Breakfast at City Hall

In support of the ongoing BTA Bike Commute Challenge, PDOT held a Bike Commute Breakfast this morning in front of City Hall. Any chance I get to do bike stuff in front of City Hall I jump at the chance. It just feels good for some reason (and the free donuts and coffee didn’t hurt either!).

I met a bunch of great folks and listened to the ever-fabulous Trash Mountain Boys as hordes of bike commuters ate bagels, fruit and donuts and sipped hot coffee and tea. (unfortunately I talked so much I never snapped a photo of the great turnout!).

Another cool thing was test riding the City’s new “City Fleet” bike. It’s a Trek uber-city bike full of all the bells and whistles. It sort of rides like an SUV (in a good way). The best part is the custom “City of Portland” sticker on the downtube. Not the coolest graphic in the world, but at least they’re trying.

Apparently the city has a hodge-podge of bikes for use by city employees downtown but it sounds like most of them need some TLC. Is there a bike shop employee in the house? Maybe you should put in a call and see if you can hook up your shop with the city and get those bikes back in use. The PR alone would be worth the effort.

St. Johns Bridge dedication

St. Johns Bridge, Portland OR

This weekend is the official re-opening celebration of the St. Johns Bridge (Sat 11-11, Sun 11-6)…but it will be hard for many in the bike community to celebrate. As you may recall, the folks at the Oregon Dept. of Transportation (ODOT) decided to provide zero bike facilities on the bridge. This was despite the input of both the bike community and an independent consulting group. It was a wasted opportunity to connect the peninsula to Forest Park and to make Highway 30 a more viable commuting route into the city. It also frustrated and angered many people in the bike community. and got the attention of the the Willamette Week.

I’ve heard some rumors that some shared lane markings (“sharrows“) might be coming soon…but I haven’t heard a confirmation.

Bottom line is that the bridge in its current state is simply too dangerous for bikes. I have heard from both experienced riders and weekend warriors that it is just a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed.

There will be representatives of ODOT on hand at the celebration and I think it’d be great to have a good showing of cyclists. If nothing else, just to remind them that we’re here and that they shouldn’t ignore us.