Month: February 2008

Submissions rolling in for bike film fest, photo exhibition

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Filmed by Bike

The scene outside last year’s
Filmed by Bike.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Filmmakers and photographers are scrambling to submit their work for consideration in two upcoming shows: the sixth annual Filmed by Bike film festival and the first-ever Cycle Seen photo and two-dimensional art exhibition. Both shows have a March 1st submission deadline.

Filmed by Bike is an eagerly anticipated showcase of short bikey films that has grown by leaps and bounds since its humble beginnings back in 2003. Show organizer and founder Ayleen Crotty says “Submissions are going very well so far,” and that, “a lot of them come in at the last minute, which is a bit nerve-wracking.”

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Homeless connect with free bike repair, safety tips

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Project Homeless Connect-2.jpg

Tony watches as Ian Stude from
the PSU Bike Co-op adjusts
the brakes on his bike.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Community groups and local bike shops came together yesterday to keep Portland’s homeless population rolling smooth on two wheels.

Thousands of families and individuals in need of basic health and social services came to the Memorial Coliseum in Portland yesterday for the annual Project Homeless Connect event. Among the many stations offering services was a transportation area that offered free bike helmets, lights, maps, and tune-ups.

Ian Stude from the PSU Bike Co-op and Alex Criss from River City Bicycles worked non-stop throughout the day to tighten, clean, repair and replace parts on numerous bikes. One bike makeover recipient was a man named Tony (he didn’t want to share his last name).

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Citizen citation yields success; driver pleads “no contest”

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Lawyer Chris Heaps was not
satisfied with the Police response
to a bike/car crash, so he
pursued justice himself…and got it.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Christopher Heaps, the Portland lawyer who mounted a “citizen initiated” campaign last December to bring the driver who hit Siobhan Doyle to justice, says we can “chalk one up for the good guys.”

Heaps learned this morning that the driver, Lisa Wheeler, has plead “no contest” and will have to pay a $182 fine for violation of ORS 811.050, or “failure to yield to a bicycle in a bike lane”.

Back in November, Doyle was riding her bike down N. Interstate Ave. when Wheeler, who was also traveling on Interstate turned right onto Greeley, hitting Doyle in the process. The collision put Doyle in the hospital with serious injuries, but due to Police policies that (used to) only require investigations when “Trauma-level” injuries were sustained, no investigation was performed at the scene, and therefore, no citation was issued.

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Guest article: Officer Robert Pickett on humility

Robert Pickett.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Robert Pickett is a member of the Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee, an Alice Award nominee, a regular commenter and contributor to the Forums here on BikePortland.org, and he’s also a Portland Police Officer.

Formerly a member of the Southeast Bike Patrol Unit, he now coordinates that unit along with being a Neighborhood Response Team officer.

Officer Pickett was recently recognized by the Police Bureau for his community policing efforts.

He previously wrote an article explaining why cops ride on sidewalks.

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Sales and Service Positions (The Bike Gallery)

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Job Title
Sales and Service positions

Company/Organization
The Bike Gallery

Job Description
The Bike Gallery is seeking enthusiastic individuals to join our retail sales forceand our service departments. If you are driven, service oriented and passionate about cycling and the cycling lifestyle, then we want to hear from you!

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Document Production Specialist (Alta Planning)

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Sorry…but this job has been filled as of 4/4/08.

Job Title
Document Production Specialist

Company/Organization
Alta Planning + Design – website

Job Description
Alta Planning and Design is a 35-person consulting firm with a mission to provide green infrastructure and program solutions that help people have active daily lives. We specialize in bicycle, pedestrian, trail, park, and greenway planning, design, and implementation, in addition to outreach and education programs. For more information, see our website at www.altaplanning.com.

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BTA, TriMet announce bus/bike safety initiatives

TriMet GM Fred Hansen

TriMet GM Fred Hansen
is working with the BTA
on bus/bike safety.
(Photos © J. Maus)

In the wake of the tragic death of 15 year-old Austin Miller, who was killed when he and a TriMet bus collided in Beaverton earlier this month, TriMet has issued a press release (full text below) that outlines immediate, near-term, and long-term actions they will take “to make it safer for bicyclists and buses.”

Working in partnership with the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA), TriMet says in the statement that after the Miller fatality, “it became clear to the leadership at TriMet and the BTA that preventing future crashes like this one would take more than simply admonishing bicyclists and drivers.”

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Bike Commuter Act, “Hummer tax loophole” up for House vote tomorrow

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
National Bike Summit 07

Blumenauer, shown here at the National Bike
Summit last year, hopes his Bike Commuter
Act will finally fly with lawmakers.
(Photo © J. Maus)

On the heels of record profits by the big five oil companies, U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) will once again try to enact a tax benefit for bike commuters and close the “Hummer tax loophole.”

The bike commuter tax benefit (a.k.a. the Bike Commuter Act and the Conserve By Bike provision) would amend the IRS code to include “bicycles” in the definition of transportation covered by fringe benefits. The Hummer tax loophole would fix what Blumenauer refers to as “a serious mistake” in the tax code that provides an additional tax break for business purchases of luxury SUVs weighing over 6,000 lbs.

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