(Photo © J. Maus)
Below are some of the many opportunities to get involved and make a difference on transportation projects and issues throughout our region this week…
Tuesday, November 15th
Adult Bike Riding Class, Part I
PBOT is sponsoring classes to get adults riding bikes. Do you know healthy adults that would like to ride, but never learned how as a child, or are concerned about riding after many years off their bike? Come to Harvey Scott School, 6700 NE Prescott from 3:00 – 4:30 and learn, with confidence. More info.
Portland Plan Public Hearing
5:30 – 9:00 pm, Parkrose High School (12003 NE Shaver St)
The Portland Plan is a road map for what the city will prioritize in the next 20 years. Rather than a geographic plan, it’s more of a business plan or management plan. According to Planning and Sustainability Commission member Chris Smith, “The Portland Plan will create the strategy that drives the update of the Comprehensive Plan (which includes the Transportation System Plan). The “Comp Plan” will be finished in about two years, but if you want to see a policy in the Comp Plan you better look for the strategy that supports it in the Portland Plan.”
If you think bicycles should be prioritized in the city’s decisions over the next 20 years, come to the public hearing and speak your mind. There are two remaining Public Hearings tonight in East Portland and downtown on the 29th.
Clackamas “Transportation System Plan” update
6:30 – 9:00 pm, Clackamas County Services Building, Room 115 (150 Beavercreek Road, Oregon City)
A county’s “TSP” dictates how and where it spends its money on transportation. Clackamas is updating its plan and this is the second of several meetings. The public is invited to attend. More info.
You can also take a survey to let officials know if you support bicycling improvements.
Portland Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting
7:00 – 9:00 pm, Pettygrove Room, City Hall
The PAC addresses the issues important to people traveling by foot in Portland. Expect about 15 members of the committee, staffer April Bertelson, and a handful of observers.
More info
Wednesday, November 16th
Adult Bike Riding Class, Part II
3:00 – 4:30pm at Harvey Scott School (6700 NE Prescott)
PBOT is sponsoring classes to get adults riding bikes. This is the second half of the course. More info.
BTA Legal Clinic
6:00 – 7:00pm, BTA Offices (618 NW Glisan, Suite 401)
Bicycling Lawyer Ray Thomas hosts a periodic legal guide to bicycling, sponsored by the BTA. Come learn your rights, your responsibilities, and what you should do if you ever get threatened or hit by a car. This is a terrific service offered to the bicycling community. If you haven’t attended one of Ray’s seminars in the past, come to this one, or make plans to attend one in a future month. RSVP to stephanie[at]btaoregon.org. More info.
Thursday, November 17th
Bicycle Brownbag Discussion Series
12 noon (bring your lunch!) City Hall, Lovejoy Room (1221 SW 4th Ave)
This month’s topic: Bike Train Lessons. From the website: “Kiel Johnson will talk about his experiences organizing bike trains, group rides to school along prearranged routes. Last year he helped organize bike trains at 12 Portland schools, resulting in parents and children riding over 3,200 times.” More info.
N/NE Quadrant Stakeholder Advisory Committee Meeting
This committee is about widening I-5 through the Rose Quarter and reconfiguring all the bicycle routes around Broadway/Weidler and Vancouver/Williams. Call for time and location details. More info.
BTA Office Open House & Give!Guide Kickoff
6:00 – 8:00 pm, BTA Headquarters (618 NW Glisan, Suite 401)
The BTA has moved into new offices on NW Glisan. Come to their open house to mix and mingle. Special guests include five Oregon Manifest entrants.
Have you wondered what the BTA is doing? Do you have suggestions for what they could be doing more of? Come to the Open House. More info.
East Portland Action Plan (EPAP) Meeting
6:30 – 8:30 pm, Muchas Gracias (1307 NE 102nd Ave)
EPAP is a community group seeking to accelerate the advance of bicycling infrastructure and culture into East Portland. Come join the movement! More info.
Friday, November 18th
PSU Lecture: Methods to understand road safety
12:00 – 1:00 pm, PSU Urban Center, Distance Learning Wing, Room 204
For the extra-wonkish, the PSU weekly transportation seminar looks to be a good one. Visiting researcher David Noyce will talk about how we can assess road safety. As you might imagine, it’s a complex topic, with a wide range of factors. When you ride through an intersection and fear for your life, can you articulate exactly what makes it dangerous? Can you place the danger in a family of dangers? And could you propose changes to policy or standard designs that would prevent this type of engineering error from being made again?
From the web page: “This lecture will consider several safety issues facing transportation agencies, namely median crossover crashes, permissive left-turn crashes, and roundabout safety, presenting thoughts and findings on related research. Additionally, this lecture will integrate the attributes of full-scale driving simulators and explore how this tool can effectively enhance understanding related to traffic control devices, design decisions, road safety audits, and the most important variable in transportation – the road user.”
Monday, November 21st
Deadline for applications to serve on the North Portland Greenway Committee
Would you like to help shape the North Portland Greenway? The city is taking applications for the stakeholder committee. You’ll get to attend regular meetings, learn about trail options, and help with public outreach. More info
Successfully Starting a Bike Train (workshop)
5:30 – 7:00 pm, Rigler School (5401 NE Prescott St)
Do you want to help kids ride their bikes to school? Consider starting a “bike train” to have them do it in a supervised group. Learn how at this workshop sponsored by the Portland Bureau of Transportation. More info.
Upcoming
Mon Nov 28
* North Williams Community Forum More info.
Tues Nov 29
* Portland Plan Public Hearing, 1900 SW 4th More info
Wed Nov 30
* Streetcar Open House More info.
* Deadline for comments on The Portland Plan
Comments, corrections, additions?
What are in your plans this week?
A better link for the North Portland Greenway Committee info and application is http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index.cfm?c=56617
–Thanks Sandra. I fixed the link — JM
Ted, I think you mean “Parkrose High” not “Rose Park” for the Portland Plan public hearing on Tuesday.
This just in: No website, so I’m pasting in the entire event description:
St. Johns open house for transportation safety on N Fessenden, N St. Louis is Thursday
The Portland Bureau of Transportation invited St. Johns residents and businesses to participate in a public open house on Thursday to learn about efforts to improve safety and traffic movement along N Fessenden Street and N St. Louis Avenue. The event will be held at the St. Johns Community Center on Thursday, November 17, from 6 to 8 p.m. Project team staff will give a short formal presentation beginning at 7 p.m.
PBOT is evaluating the feasibility of redesigning the intersection of N Portland Road and N Columbia Boulevard thanks to support from a Federal grant. As part of the study, the team is investigating connecting ramps to channel southbound trucks traveling on N Portland Road onto N Columbia Blvd. as the preferred route to the Rivergate Industrial area and the St. Johns Bridge. The current configuration of the intersection encourages non-local traffic to travel southbound under N Columbia Blvd, from N Portland Rd. onto N Columbia Way, through the St. Johns neighborhood via N Fessenden and N St. Louis. This traffic has raised concerns about street safety throughout the neighborhoods.
This project supports the objectives of the Portland Freight Master Plan and the St. Johns Truck Strategy to provide a continuous and improved route for trucks and to increase safety and livability along streets such as N Fessenden and N St. Louis.
For more information about the open house or how to be involved, please contact PBOT’s Bob Hillier at 503-823-7567 or robert.hillier@portlandoregon.gov.