Seems like a week can’t go by without Portland making it onto another list.
If you’re keeping track, here’s two more I came across today, and they both specifically mention bike-friendliness as a reason for our inclusion.
The first one I found about via Jack Bog’s Blog. He points out that the AARP has named Portland to its “Top Five Cities to Live in 2007” list.
have helped us get on AARP’s list.
(File photo)
On their website they include this in a brief description of why we were chosen,
“50-plus residents love the miles of safe bike lanes and the revitalized Pearl District.”
I wonder if the AARP knows about PDOT’s Senior Cyclist Program?
And just minutes after learning of the AARP list, I came across this new list of “15 Green Cities” on Grist.com.
Grist ranks Portland the #2 green city in the world (behind Reykjavik, Iceland) and yet again bikes are mentioned:
“The City of Roses’ approach to urban planning and outdoor spaces has often earned it a spot…It also runs a comprehensive system of light rail, buses, and bike lanes to help keep cars off the roads…and more than 74 miles of hiking, running, and biking trails.”
These lists have a big impact and will undoubtedly lead to more people moving to Portland. How our city deals with this influx of new residents will be a major challenge for planners and policy makers in the future…
Wow, it sure doesn\’t feel like we\’re keeping cars off of the road! Especially when I can walk on the sidewalk with my bike faster than I can trying to squeeze through rush hour traffic downtown (even on one\’s bike, you get stuck if not in a bike lane). I\’d love to see more bikes out there, especially since it\’s summer! It\’s good to see this, but we still have a LONG way ahead of us. Thanks for the updates!
Yay us! It\’s rather awesome to know tat people are noticing the changes here.
We\’ll have an influx of people into this city one way or the other. If they come here because of these lists at least they\’ll be inclined to support bike and/or green policies.
I see this as a positive.
It is neat to be recognized, but I often feel like we are loosing ground. Congestion in Portland has gotten pretty crazy in the last 10 years. Of course some of you all who haven’t been in a car for awhile won’t know it. 🙂 Lucky.
Somebody referenced a great article about Vancouver BC on the Grist site. Vancouver resisted building freeways and focused on a higher density pedestrian city. Now they are able to save money on roads as the population grows.
I worry about challenges, but I love Portland for its progress and reputation. Momentum for sustainability is building and I hope Portland can continue to lead. I don’t know if it is just that I have recently immersed myself in cycling, but human-power seems to have a great momentum! I wish everybody could see how necessary it is to plan and build alternatives!
Here\’s the article
http://mlui.org/growthmanagement/fullarticle.asp?fileid=16377
\”Portland – It Reigns all the time\”
Uh….
Perhaps a posting on why there is a \”Jeep\” add on the Bike Portland site. Might make for some good discussion. Yeah I know, I drive mine up into the hills each week to Mt. Bike….
Guess I should elaborate a little on my comment.
I guess I see bikeportland as this little haven of ideas for the alternative transportation movement, just surprised me to see it.
\”Perhaps a posting on why there is a \”Jeep\” add on the Bike Portland site.\”
Sorry to interrupt this thread, but several people have pointed this out.
I realize Jeep ads are appearing on this site. I don\’t love them either, but Google Ads appear randomly.
I will look into it and see if it\’s possible to prevent automotive ads from appearing. If possible, I will consider it.
Jeeps are outdoorsy, and if you need to drive to get to your recreational destination before breaking out the bike, kayak, camp gear etc…why not be like everyone else and do it in a jeep! Oh wait…the Subarus are having babies, they\’re everywhere- eeesh! I like to break out the old Ford pu myself…so I don\’t go too far for $ reasons.
I was riding downtown at noon today, and for once I saw the point of the Broadway bike lane, (and I kind of liked it.) Traffic on Broadway was barely moving, but the bike lane was reasonably clear, and if it wasn\’t for the fact that I stopped for some peds that decided to cross against the light, (cause traffic wasn\’t moving anyways. I didn\’t exactly blame them,) I would have made all the lights in one pass…
This is a little off topic but relates to the friendliness of deputized enforcement in this town. There are all the obvious complints but I\’d like to report that yesterday, I was walking along SW Main, the block between 3rd and 4th Avenues, and heard a Multnomah County Sheriff Deputy right behind saying \”hit him, hit him\”. I looked to the street, the left lane of the one way street, and saw a cyclist in the center of the lane going around the Elk, with a car behind him.
I turned and said directly to the deputy, \”that\’s not a nice thing for a Sheriff Deputy to say about a cyclist\”. His comeback was \”well if they rode where they were supposed to I wouldn\’t have to say it\”. I responded that cyclists have a right to take the full lane. He and his buddy disagreed and said he needed to be to the far right in the right lane. I disagreed and they disagreed and then I gave up because it was clear they would not be convinced.
Just one more example of the discrimination we have to deal with out in the streets from the car enthusiasts!