🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏
After two weeks of a once-in-a-generation winter storm that pelted Portland into submission, the Bureau of Transportation is now in full clean up mode.
A few days after the first snow fell, we turned our attention to how gravel laid down by PBOT to break up the ice was impacting bikeways. Back on December 16th, they didn’t mince words in telling us that we shouldn’t expect the gravel to be picked up “any time soon.”
Filmed by Bike is Portland’s very own bike film festival. Each year, the event has exceeded the organizer’s expectations. If you’d like to be part of this event as an intern, check out the opportunity listed below…
The League of American Bicyclists has announced details of the workshops that will be presented at their annual National Bike Summit that will take place in Washington D.C. on March 10 – 13th.
The event is both an educational and networking opportunity for bike advocates across the country as well as a chance to lobby lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Here are some workshops that caught my eye (followed by my thoughts):
Bicycle advocates and industry leaders united for change.
The bicycle industry is more involved than ever in advocacy. Learn how we can more effectively work together in the corridors of power.
[This story was written by BikePortland.org Managing Editor Elly Blue. She’s on an East Coast Tour. Follow her adventures here.]
Here’s the latest storm advisory from the Bureau of Transportation. The release below has updates on road conditions, maintenance priorities, and so on (also available online here).
City Crews Begin Street Cleanup
Released: December 29, 2008
(PORTLAND, OR) – The Portland Bureau of Transportation is transitioning work crews to cleanup operations as the city recovers from a two-week severe winter weather event. Sewer crews are clearing clogged catch basins, culverts, and trash racks of debris to prevent drainage problems and street flooding. Street-sweepers are beginning sand and gravel cleanup. The Bureau will continue to staff according to conditions throughout this phase of the recovery effort and any new storm system that may arrive.
I’m down in California, but judging from reader emails and a story this morning on KGW-TV, it looks like Portland’s bike lanes are in bad shape following an unprecedented storm that has left streets with mountains of snow, gravel, and other assorted hazards.
I left town just as The Big Thaw was about to begin and I can only imagine what it’s like out there now.
“It’s just a bummer that occasionally the bike lanes end up being the snow plow lanes and there are mounds of snow coming my way!”
— SW Portland resident Adam Ortman, speaking to KGW TV
I haven’t been following the news as closely as usual this week, but here are some interesting stories I’ve come across from Portland and beyond…
– Local NBC affiliate station KGW has a story this morning about all the gravel left on Portland roads after the big snow storm. The story covered the perils of gravel for people in cars (little rocks are breaking windshields) and for people riding bikes. Check out the full story here.
– Reuters is running an interesting editorial titled “Electric cars will not cure environmental woes.” The writer’s conclusion isn’t all one might hope, but it’s good to see this reality check on an increasing trend of public faith in the redemptive power of electric cars.