Day: January 26, 2009
Learning the law at the Share the Road safety class
Ellee Thalheimer is a new contributing writer to BikePortland. Her most recent story was a product review of women’s bike shorts designed for utility and fashion. Ellee is a yoga instructor and travel writer living in Southeast Portland. Check out her author page here.
We covered the beginnings of the Share the Road Safety Class; this is our first inside account by a BikePortland operative.
Chris Larsen, BTA instructor Gregg
Lavender, Officer James Sorensen,
and nurse Mike Morrison.
(Photos: Ellee Thalheimer)
“Bike laws are schizophrenic,” the judge in my case told me. “Sometimes you’re a vehicle, sometimes you’re a pedestrian.”
It’s true. The rules of the road are confusing, and for those of us who get around on two wheels, confusing can translate into lethal. That’s one reason self-proclaimed “safety geek” and Judge Chris Larsen wanted to create a better way to educate road users about how to operate legally, and safely, on city streets.
Nearly two years ago, Larsen initiated the Share the Road Safety Class, a two-hour lecture/discussion/presentation that takes place twice a month at Legacy Emanuel Hospital.
The class functions as an alternative to expensive, record-marring traffic tickets that leave offenders frustrated, but unfortunately, still ignorant about the rules of the road.
Fancy new staple racks dress up transit mall
SW 5th Ave.
(Photos © J. Maus)
The City of Portland has installed 90 stainless steel staple racks as part of the downtown transit mall project.
The racks — designed by architectural firm ZGF — are quite different from the standard blue staple racks. For starters, they’re made from a much more durable (and expensive) stainless steel material. The racks are also made from flat steel stock, compared to the round tube of the existing blue ones.
Oregon Attorney General John Kroger: Bike nut?
In the course of my reporting here at BikePortland.org, I don’t usually come in contact with the Oregon Attorney General. But I was surprised to find out this morning that Oregon top lawyer, John Kroger, is something of a bike lover.
In an AP story I read via the Seattle PI, Kroger was made out to be “tough on polluters”. Why is he so concerned about the environment? Here’s one reason, according to the article:
“…He attributes his interest in environmental issues to his love of hiking and bicycling. He discovered Oregon at the end of a cross-country bike trip.”
A promising new cargo bike, made in Eugene
(Photo: cleverchimp on Flickr)
The Monday Roundup
It’s time for the Monday news roundup!
Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire has elected to replace Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct freeway with a tunnel.
– Inauguration-related transportation was big news last week. The Washington Post’s Dr. Gridlock has published a three part “How It Worked” column, discussing the bicycle, walking, and carfree streets solutions DC used to make the big day accessible to all.
– Sarah Goodyear of the Livable Streets Network has compiled network member blog stories about the upcoming stimulus package and what it includes for transit and rail. Streetsblog has its own cutting analysis of what they call a “1950s-era stimulus package”: “Hire a construction worker, fire a bus driver?”