30 October 2008 Archives

Portland bike traffic up 28% over last year

Bike traffic in Portland.
(Photo � J. Maus)

The City of Portland is sitting on loads of interesting and important data about bike ridership. Full reports on summer bike counts at locations throughout the city and survey results from the City Auditor’s Office are all due out in the coming weeks.

However, a few numbers have trickled out of PDOT in recent days.

I’ll share a full look at the numbers once the reports are ready, but some of the early numbers I’ve gleaned from various sources are very exciting.

An annual survey compiled by the City of Portland Auditor’s Office (the Service Efforts and Accomplishments Survey) is set to reveal that 8% of Portlanders (citywide) now say that the bicycle is the mode of transportation they use to get to and from work.

Actor Matthew Modine will narrate
Veer, a documentary about bike
culture in Portland.
(Photo � Dimitrios Kambouris/
WireImage.com)

The creators of Veer, a feature-length documentary film that chronicles the people and culture behind bikes in Portland, announced today that they’ve picked Golden Globe-nominated actor Matthew Modine to be the film’s narrator.

Modine is known for his role in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987) and more recently as a recurring guest star on the Showtime TV series Weeds.

Modine is also no stranger to bicycling. He made headlines back in September when 14,000 people showed up for the launch of his Bicycle For a Day campaign in New York City.

The intersection of Glen Echo and 99E/McLoughlin.
Google Map

A 17-year-old boy passed away yesterday morning due to injuries he sustained in a collision with a car on Highway 99E/McLoughlin Blvd. in Gladstone (10 miles south of downtown Portland) just before midnight on Tuesday.

The Oregon State Police say the boy, Nicolas Levi Moreno, was attempting to cross McLoughlin Blvd. at SE Glen Echo Road when he was struck by a Honda Prelude driven by 49-year-old Philip Teters. Moreno was ~~eastbound~~ westbound on Glen Echo and Teters was driving north on McLoughlin.

Here are two tales of bike thefts that didn’t go quite as planned.

The first, sent in by a reader named Armando, comes from an all-too familiar spot — the loggia of the Portland Building. Here’s a photo of the suspect:

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Marion Rice and daughter Gleneden

This article was written by our Family Biking columnist Marion Rice. For previous articles in this series, and for links to other articles and photos on family biking, check out the Family Biking Page.

Imagine the Willamette Greenway
Trail extending the Esplanade
to St. Johns.
(Photo: Scott Mizee/npGreenway)

It’s that time of year again when Metro seeks your comments on how they should spend millions of dollars in federal funds through their regional flexible funding program (also known as MTIP, the Metropolitian Transportation Improvement Program).

A key part of that process is gathering public comment so decision makers at Metro can make the most informed choices on how to spend $21.6 million. Sounds like a lot of money right? Well, the rub is that Metro has received applications for projects totaling $57.8 million — so that means they need your help to whittle down the list (JPACT, a Metro advisory committee has thankfully set a minimum of $7.2 million that must be spent on bike/ped projects).

Portland bike traffic up 28% over last year

Actor/advocate Matthew Modine will narrate Portland bike documentary

Gladstone teen dies from injuries sustained in McLoughlin Blvd. collision

Bike thieves, interrupted

Keeping kids warm and dry on the bike

Tonight (or online): Tell Metro where to spend $28 million in federal funds

Latest Headlines

Dispatch from hiatus and update on the future

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Guest Article: Demand a pause on PBOT’s SW Alder decision

Guest Opinion: The bike beat lives on in all of us

From the Archives

The 10 busiest bicycling spots in Portland