Month: February 2009

Weekend Guide and Open Thread

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Friday (2/27)

Seen in Portland-3.jpg

North Freaker “Dutch”
on his tallbike.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Critical Mass
A celebration of bicycle traffic on the last Friday of every month.

North Park Blocks (NW Park and Couch, by the elephant)
Meet at 5:30, ride at 6:00pm

Freak Friday!
North Freak is a collective for people who love freak bicycles, such as tall bikes, choppers, swing bikes, minibikes and anything else fun and creative you can think of.

North Freak has a freak bicycle ride (all cyclists are welcome, on any bike) on the fourth Friday of every month, followed by jousting at a mystery location. Tall bikes and helmets/pads will be available to the public! Try one for the first time!

Irving Park, NE 7th Ave & Irving Park Path
Meet at 10:30pm, ride to mystery jousting location.

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Adams’ office: No guarantees on Safe Routes funding

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

“Our hope is to find funding to backfill the Safe Routes program…but we can’t guarantee that.”
— Catherine Ciarlo, transportation policy advisor for Mayor Adams

Mayor Adams made his first State of the City address at the City Club in downtown Portland today.

According to a report just published by the Portland Tribune, he apologized for the distraction of the Beau Breedlove situation and he outlined his efforts to make Portland a sustainability leader. The Trib writes that Adams was “warmly received” and that he received a partial standing ovation and hearty applause from the crowd (more coverage of the event here).

The Portland Mercury reports that he was questioned after his speech about a 40% drop in Safe Routes to Schools funding in the Bureau of Transportation’s requested budget. Here’s how it went:

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The BTA on the CRC: “12 lanes is just a number”

“… it’s less about the number of lanes, per se, and more about the impact on the community.”
— Scott Bricker, executive director of the BTA

This week’s decision by City Council to authorize Mayor Adams to vote in favor of a 12-lane Columbia River Crossing bridge has sparked outrage among many Portlanders. Several comments here on BikePortland have turned into an effort to organize a rally to express concerns about the bridge and disappointment in Mayor Adams and City Council.

Meanwhile, the Portland Mercury has reported on the reaction to Adams’ decision by local green and environmental groups:

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Local builders in Indianapolis for handmade bike show

Oregon Manifest Bike Show Day 2-153

Portland builder Aaron Hayes is in
Indianapolis for NAHBS this weekend.
He earned the “Best New Builder”
award last year.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) (that was hosted by Portland in 2008), may have moved to Indianapolis this year, but Portland builders will still make an impact.

The event, which is expected to draw over 7,000 attendees, opens today and runs through the weekend.

Among the Portland builders in attendance are; Mitch Pryor (MAP Bicycles), Sacha White (Vanilla Bicycles), Jordan Hufnagel (Hufnagel Cycles), Chris King (Cielo), Joseph Ahearne (Ahearne Cycles), Matt Cardinal and Nate Meschke (Signal Cycles) and Aaron Hayes (Courage).

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Portland embarks on a new era of off-road advocacy

With the voting in of six new board members at their monthly meeting earlier this week, the Portland United Mountain Pedalers (PUMP) are set to embark a new era of off-road advocacy.

These new board members mark a significant turning point for PUMP, a group that some advocates for more off-road riding opportunities in Portland had all but given up on. Back in May 2008, we reported on a new advocacy group that was being formed to fill the “off-road advocacy void.” That group never really gelled into a distinct organization.

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Metro grant will help CCC reach into more communities

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
visit to Community Cycling Center

The CCC’s retail location on
NE Alberta.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The northeast Portland-based Community Cycling Center has won a grant for a project to help them “understand cultural and economic barriers to bicycling.”

According to a statement from the CCC, the project will help them perform a needs assessment to better understand the “unique cultural and economic barriers to bicycling encountered by minority and low-income community members.”

The nearly $80,000 grant from Metro also comes with the expertise of Kristin Lensen, a consultant with Alta Planning + Design and Portland State University’s Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation.

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Adams gets council support for his 12-lane CRC compromise

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Commissioner Fritz voiced many concerns
before voting “no” on the proposal
last night.
(Image: City of Portland)

At their meeting last night, Portland’s City Council gave Mayor Sam Adams authorization to vote in favor of a 12-lane Columbia River Crossing (CRC) bridge.

But, according to Adams’ office, the vote does not mean the Mayor (and council) have signed off on a 12-lane bridge.

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Local distillery’s vodka label homes in on passion for bikes

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

(Photos © Elly Blue)

Portland-based New Deal Distillery will unveil a new label for their signature Portland 88 vodka next month.

The label features an illustration of a woman standing valiantly astride a fat-tired cruiser bicycle, sporting striped kneesocks, a flowing dress, and a playing card in the spokes. Think of her as Portlandia (Portland’s patron saint that adorns the City of Portland building downtown) on wheels.

Hoping to learn more about New Deal, I headed over to the distillery one sunny day (it’s right across the street from our office) to check out their operation and see the new label.

That happened to be during the Worst Day of the Year Ride, and the distillery had opened its doors to invite ride participants in for tastings. I chatted briefly with founders and co-owners Tom Burkleaux and Matthew Van Winkle before a bunch of costumed riders came in to sample the lemongrass vodka.

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