A Metro committee unanimously approved a $70.7 million package of federal "regional flexible funding" at a meeting of their Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) this morning. 14 projects (totaling $22.9 million) — including $2.0 million for the Portland Bike Sharing Project — were included in the passed resolution.

But prior to the vote, there was a heated exchange between Mayor Sam Adams and Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury. It came after two citizens gave testimony to the committee about concerns that equity considerations and public input around the bike sharing project has been inadequate. Kafoury supported the concerns and tried to delay a vote on the project, while Adams spoke up in its defense.

In a move that JPACT Chair and Metro Commissioner Carlotta Collette said was not their "usual operating mode" she allowed two members of the public to make a public comment prior to the vote. (Members of JPACT were told of this procedural change only upon getting to the meeting and ODOT Region 1 Manager Jason Tell expressed concerns about that later in the meeting.)

The two people who testified were: Alan Hipolito, representing the Native American Youth Center, the Urban League of Portland, and others; and Carla Danley, a citizen activist who also sits on the City of Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee.

Hipolito said he opposes the bike share proposal as currently designed, saying that while it goes into high detail with data and traffic analysis, it "proposes to address equity concerns later." Hipolito added that, "This is a clear recipe for failure. Equity commitments must be included from the beginning at the level of detail and action commensurate with its other commitments and they must be required prior to the vote on flexible funds."

"Basically, we're being asked to deal with the equity stuff later; that's not a good approach from our perspective."

Hipolito requested that a set of conditions, what he called an "equity agreement", be agreed to before any further action takes place on the project.

One of the key issues of concern for Hipolito and others is that the bike share program will only benefit downtown Portland, and not outlying neighborhoods (this isn't the first time we've heard opposition to this project on those grounds). There has been some talk of extending the rental kiosks and stations into neighborhoods, but so far no commitments have been made.

Carla Danley
(Photo taken in February 2011)
(Photo © J. Maus)

Carla Danley agreed with Hipolito. She has opposed the bike share project on equity concerns in the past. Back in August we reported that she called it a "Central City perk" and said that the project would be a "PR nightmare for PBOT" if it went forward because it fails to address the needs of "long-neglected neighborhoods."

At JPACT this morning, Danley said, "There appears to be a habitual pattern of flawed process and lack of meaningful public process from PBOT." Danley then brought up the N. Williams project as an example of where PBOT brought the community a "fairly developed project that they were ready to move ahead on and the community felt there hadn't been appropriate process."

"I think we're seeing a pattern around the city," continued Danley, "of communities really feeling as though they don't have meaningful public input in regards to transportation projects."

Commissioner Kafoury

After that testimony, Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury spoke up in support of Danley and Hipolito.

"I am somewhat bothered by the concerns that have been raised by the community of equity," Kafoury said, "equity is one of our priorities and commitments as we fund transportation projects and we have the opportunity right now to walk that talk."

Kafoury then put forth a motion to postpone the vote on the entire resolution until next month in order to "allow the City of Pprtland and the community of equity to come together and work out some language that is beneficial for both."

After Metro staff advised that it would be better to pull out just the bike project from the rest of the projects in the resolution, Mayor Sam Adams responded to Kafoury's motion.

Mayor Adams receiving counsel
from his transportation policy
director Catherine Ciarlo at the
meeting this morning.
(Photo © J. Maus)

"Commissioner," Adams said, directly to Kafoury, "I have to say that's pretty gutsy on your part, because your projects went through much less equity review than this project."

Adams continued:

"The fact that this project is controversial is that projects of this nature are controversial before they're implemented, much like other transportation innovations — whether that be streetcar or light rail or bikes in general... When we've done them the first time, locally or nationally, they're controversial. On this particular project, you've got downtown that's 52 times above the DEQ ambient requirement for air quality. Some of the most poor and diverse census tracts in central Portalnd.

I have to say that's kind of gutsy. I understand folks don't like this project. Fair enough. We agree to disagree.

This is, in addition to serving cent Portland, this serves PSU and will give free and affordable ways for people to get around that don't have opportunity to take their bike from other parts of the region as they attend college. It gives people who are low-income to have the ability to move around on bikes downtown that right now they don't have the financial ability to do.

I understand that people don't like this... I don't mind the high standards in terms of equity and I understand that in this particular proposal that equity might not be readily apparent; but I think that's a misunderstanding of what this proposal does for racial, geographic, and class equity and I'm happy to run all your projects through the equity filter that you have not done."

Kafoury then amended her motion to separate out the bike share project from the other projects and programs on the list. She then responded to Adams:

"I think it's a complete misrepresentation of my position to assume I am opposed to this project. I think we have the opportunity to make this project a national model by addressing one particular aspect. I'm sorry that you [Mayor Adams] think that I'm opposed to the project."

Mayor Adams:

"Are you willing to take your projects through [an equity filter]? Because your projects on the list here don't have the same high expectations around equity."

Commissioner Kafoury:

"I'd rather not get into an argument here; but if the community that has come forward and has addressed these concerns would like to say that our projects are equally flawed, then... But I haven't heard those comments. In addition, it was my understanding that the community of equity came to PBOT with their concerns and were told they'd be addressed and they weren't..."

Mayor Adams:

"This project doesn't even have an RFP yet. Our record at PBOT — as evidenced by the allocation of resources you're voting on today — where half of them, over half if you take out freight, is going to east Portland, that is evidence. It is very disingenuous for you to try to portray otherwise when the RFP isn't even written because we don't have the funds for it.

So, our ability to address this further remains ahead and I'm happy to submit a motion if you want on bike sharing that we'll continue to meet with environmental justice folks and try to work out something... But the folks that don't want this to happen at all, I'm not going to satisfy them if this moves forward.

I have to point out to Allan and you (Carla Danley); I would like to see if the rest of the proposals, this is a $23 million expenditure, and one item is being pulled out by you and others for a criticism... If you want to talk equity, let's talk equity. This is $2 million out of $23 million, we can talk equity on every single one of these projects and at the last minute to try and pull out one is just, unfortunate."

I recorded the meeting and have uploaded the six minute exchange, which you can listen to below:
Download audio file (jpact_RFF_bikeshare1.mp3)

After that defense of the project by Mayor Adams, JPACT Chair Carlotta Collette asked if anyone would second Commissioner Kafoury's motion. No one responded. The original resolution then passed unanimously.

After the meeting, I spoke with one of bike sharing's most ardent supporters, BTA Advocacy Director Gerik Kransky. He acknowledged that there were "bumps in the road" in terms of getting the equity piece right in this process, and added that, "the most important thing we can do is build equity in at the beginning" of the funding allocation process. "We tried to do that with the process this time. Staff at Metro struggled with the issue. Task forces worked to get it right." But, Kransky added, "It's clear we've got more work to do when we have partners from the community saying their concerns aren't getting addressed."

With today's vote PBOT can now draft a request for proposals to hammer out the project details and find a bike share system vendor. For more background on the bike-sharing project, see our past coverage.

I'll post a separate story with details about the flexible funding process and other projects that were included in today's resolution.

On the day her company won the contract to operate what will be by far the nation's largest bike share system, Mia Birk held a small celebration in the courtyard behind her office in Southeast Portland. Birk, who's tenacity and vision helped lay the foundation of Portland's bikeway network in the 1990s (and became subject of her book), was beaming as she and colleagues took a moment to let the news sink in.

As announced yesterday, Birk's company, Alta Bicycle Share (which was founded three years ago as a spin-off of Alta Planning + Design, of which Birk is CEO) will partner with New York City's Department of Transportation on a 10,000 bike, 600 kiosk system with an estimated price tag of $50-60 million.

The Alta Bicycle Share team spent six months on the winning proposal. Birk says the victory is a game-changer, not just for her Portland-based company, but for bike share and urban bicycling in general.

"It's game-changing for our nation to have New York City jump into bike-sharing because it's such a large city and they're going to do it right and on a very large scale," she shared with me during a chat yesterday. "So many cities are going into this like bike share is an extra, a fluff thing, but New York City is saying 'no, this is a significant pillar of our transportation system'."

Birk said the new system will be a vital "fourth leg" of New York City's overcrowded transportation network that already consists of an excellent transit system, a burgeoning bike network, and sidewalks brimming with people on foot.

Bike share in New York City is expected to rack up one million rides in its first year, gobbling up the 22 percent of trips that are less than one mile and the 46 percent of trips that are three miles or less (stats which Birk rattled off without hesitation).

Birk sees the bike share decision by NYC DOT as just the latest sign that they are taking the bold steps necessary to make dramatic shifts in the car-centric status quo that plagues big American cities. "Just like they've done with cycle tracks, I think New York City has that kind of moxie, that kind of courage to say, we're going to do it right, it's going to be challenging, it will require some tradeoffs, but we're there."

As we spoke, Birk exuded her usual confidence and satisfaction that comes from a career built on doing big things in a field she loves; but there was also a sense that the unprecedented size and scope of the New York City contract will come with daunting responsibilities.

Birk estimates she'll hire about 200 people in New York City alone just to handle daily operations of the system. That will more than double the 120 staff Alta Bicycle Share currently has spread across their other systems in Washington D.C., Melbourne, and Boston. (The Portland office houses the finance, software, planning, communications, and logistics staff.)

"It's a huge challenge," she shared, "Staffing up to that level in a city where there's a lot of media attention, a lot of lawyers, a lot of humans, and a lot of politics... It's clearly a very big risk and a big challenge."

But, in a tone that many who have met Birk will recognize, she added, "But the exciting thing is, we're up for it... We are determined to do everything we can to create a more bike and pedestrian friendly world and we're willing to take risks to get there. We believe you have to take risks to be successful."

For a sense of how the New York City contract changes Alta Bicycle Share, consider this. The company currently operates about 2,500 bikes and 220 stations across their three systems. New York City Bike Share's 10,000 bikes and 600 stations will balloon those numbers and will make Alta the leading bike share company in North America (at this point they don't really have any competition*). "It's a big step up in our level of responsibility."

For Birk, the silver lining is that Alta is growing quickly in an economy where good news is rare. "We're trying to be a bright light in a dim economy. It's a great moment in terms of our growth."

Birk was referring to her company when she said "our growth," but it's not hard to see how the New York City project will set growth in motion in other ways as well.

(*B-cycle could qualify as Alta's competition, but the two companies' business models are different. B-cycle is focused on selling their bikes (made by Trek) and kiosks, while Alta is a full-service operator that provides bikes, kiosks, (which they purchase from Bixi in Montreal) and all the back-end services.)

Local staff of Southeast Portland-based Alta Bicycle Share are celebrating a huge victory this morning. New York City has formally announced that they've selected the company as the vendor for their massive 10,000 bike, 600 station New York City Bike Share system.

Officials estimate that bike share in New York City will lead to 27.5 million new bicycle trips every year.

New York City's system will dwarf Capital Bikeshare in Washington D.C. (also run by Alta Bicycle Share), which is currently the largest system in America with about 1,100 bicycles and 114 stations (Portland's plan is to have about 740 bikes and 74 stations). Bike share in New York City is expected to be similar to D.C.'s system because they'll use the same "Bixi" bikes (from Montreal) and the same vendor.

As they do for D.C.'s system, Alta will oversee New York City's entire system, assisting in permitting, funding strategies, program management, kiosk design and location analysis, and more. As reported back in March, the NYC contract is thought to be valued at about $200 million.

Alta Bicycle Share is a spin-off of Alta Planning + Design, one of the leading bicycling and walking planning and project consultants in the country. The CEO of Alta is Mia Birk, former bicycle coordinator for the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation (she's also author of the book, "Joyride"). Alta Bicycle Share currently has 17 employees at offices throughout the country. The company runs D.C.'s Capital Bikeshare, Boston's new "Hubway" system, and Melbourne Bike Share in Australia.

The New York City contract catapults Alta Bicycle Share into the top spot of North American bike share vendors and it raises their profile leading up to forthcoming vendor decisions by cities like San Francisco and Portland. Alta Bicycle Share was one of two vendors who showed up at a recent bike share demonstration in Portland.

Similar to what Portland officials have proposed, the New York City system will not require any public subsidy; the system will be paid for entirely by private sponsorships. You can bet that the City of Portland is watching how things develop in New York City very closely as they prepare their own Request for Proposals due out in the coming weeks.

Alta is planning a celebration in the parking lot behind their Portland offices today (711 SE Grand Ave, River City Bicycles parking lot) from 12:00 to 2:00. The public is invited.

New York City Bike Share is expected to begin operations next summer. Check out the just-launched NYCityBikeShare.com for more information.

—

If bike sharing comes to Portland as expected, it won't really be for cycling devotees, many of whom already take their bicycles everywhere.

No, bike sharing will be for people who rode in on buses, trains, planes or automobiles. That's what makes it so interesting, especially to transit people like me. That's also why the price for using Portland's future bike sharing system is going to be very, very important.

Nobody cares more about price than a newbie.

So let's look forward to fall 2013. After eight years of debate, Zipcar-style bike sharing has finally arrived in Portland and you're standing in front of a kiosk offering bikes for checkout. Maybe they're the big, 49-pound Bixis, the type Jonathan said he preferred riding in a post last week. How much will you be paying to pull that first bike off its station?

Based on the six major bike sharing systems in the U.S. and Canada -- Denver, Montreal, Toronto, Washington D.C., Minneapolis and Boston -- you're likely to be coughing up about $5 a day (the same as a TriMet daypass) or about $75 a year, plus another $1.50 for each ride that lasts between 30 and 60 minutes.

For longer trips, costs will stack up faster. But if you're a regular who knows the system, you'll rarely ride for longer than 30 minutes, let alone 60.

This price scheme is far from certain, and the Portland Bureau of Transportation couldn't be reached for comment on this story. But every major municipal system in both countries has so far followed the same pattern: a "membership" or "subscription" fee that can be bought by the day, week, month or year, plus a "trip" fee based on the trip's duration. In all such systems, the first 30 minutes are free.

Among the big six, the lowest annual fee is in Minneapolis, at $60, but most of the system's 3,700 memberships were sold during the spring sale, when they went for $40 each, Nice Ride Minnesota Executive Director Bill Dossett said Monday. The Twin Cities' system is open only from April to November. Other bikeshare prices (note that these days, Canadian dollars are basically equivalent to U.S. dollars):

• Denver (March-November): $65 a year
• Washington D.C. (year-round): $75 a year
• Montreal (April-November): $78 Canadian a year
• Boston (March to November): $85 a year
• Toronto (year-round): $95 Canadian a year

What about those per-trip fees? Dossett said regular bike-share users almost never take trips of more than 30 minutes. If Portland's future system offers the first half-hour free, as do most other modern systems, it's hard to imagine things being much different in Portland.

Portland has promised to do bikesharing a bit differently than other cities have, and things could wind up differently here. Guadalajara, Mexico, for example, charges just $15 a year for membership and relies on local businesses to sponsor each new bike station -- you can read local bike entrepreneur Ryan Hashagan's description of that system or listen to Lillian Karabaic's analysis on the next episode of Portland Afoot's new commuting podcast.

As a guy who goes almost everywhere by carrying his bicycle on TriMet, I don't think I'd personally use bike sharing enough to make it worth more than $40 a year -- though I'd be less likely to carry my bike on the MAX if my annual TriMet pass came with a bike share membership. But what about you?

And more importantly, what about your non-biking friends?

The September cover story of Portland Afoot profiles Don Baack, a Southwest Portland retiree who builds urban trails where the government won't. BikePortland readers can subscribe for $10 a year with discount code BIKEPORTLAND.

When Portland last hosted a bike share demonstration, the concept was still just a twinkle in PBOT's eye. But now with a green light to accept $2 million in federal seed funding, a similar demonstration held today in downtown Portland put the idea in a much different light.

Now, instead of wondering if bike-sharing will come to Portland, it's a matter of getting it right when it gets here.

To inform the selection of a bike-share vendor, garner media attention, and to whet the appetite of potential users of the service, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) hosted a demo of bike-sharing systems in downtown Portland today. Two of the most popular systems in the world — B-cycle and Bixi — were on display and open for testing.

B-cycle is a collaboration between Trek, Humana Corporation, and PR firm Crispin, Porter + Bogusky. B-cycle is currently in use in 11 U.S. cities including Madison, Denver, Boulder, and Chicago. Bixi was developed by the municipal parking authority of Montreal and is in use in cities around the world. Bixi has been licensed in the U.S. by Portland-based Alta Bicycle Share.

Both systems boast easy and quick rentals with credit card access, integrated RFID technology to track trips and prevent theft, and other latest-generation bells and whistles. B-cycle had a much more impressive display at the demo today, bringing along a fully operational kiosk and docking station.

Note the solar power, which means the stations are off the grid.

I rode both bikes and preferred the Bixi. The B-cycle was capable and worked fine, I just found the ride of the Bixi a bit more predictable and smooth. The B-cycle has a large front rack that not only makes the front end a bit twitchy/floppy (a few other test riders shared the same feeling), but it also inhibits the rider's view of the front wheel, which can be a bit strange at first.

Here are more shots of the B-cycle...

While the B-cycle is essentially a standard city bike with some modifications, the Bixi was clearly built from the ground-up to be the ultimate bike-share machine. With a more proprietary design, it looks more modern and futuristic than the relatively staid B-cycle.

In the end I was left with the feeling that either of these bikes would excel on Portland's downtown streets. Both have a way to carry a small bag or other cargo in a front rack, both have three-speeds with a wide enough gear range to handle downtown's hills, and both have very sturdy, weather-proof construction.

Beyond the design and features of the bikes, the bigger question for Portland is whether or not such a system would be popular. If the conversations I overhead are any indication, bike-share will be a big success here.

"I like riding bikes," said one well-dressed professional prior to a test ride, "but I don't want to own one. It just seems like such a hassle."

"I heard about this in the newspaper," said another man on his lunch break, "and it sounded cool. I live in Gresham and would never think about riding all the way into town. But this... yeah."

A rep from Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield I spoke with said he'd use it for short errands across town. Regence has already expressed interest in being a title sponsor of the system. Spokesperson Scott Burton said they see it as a perfect investment. For them, he said, support of bike sharing is a cost-control mechanism and an investment in preventative care. More active people mean lower overall health care costs, which mean lower premiums for Regence members.

With half the $4 million in seed funding needed to start bike share in Portland already in the bank, the next thing is to wait for PBOT's official Request for Proposals. The RFP — which both B-cycle and Alta Bicycle Share are sure to respond to — will give many more details about what type of system Portland is looking for, how they'll pay for it, and what they'll be looking for in a vendor.

— Read more coverage of today's bike share demo from The Oregonian.

Hot off the City Council adoption of a $2 million federal funding request to start bike sharing in Portland last month, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is set to host a public demonstration of what folks can expect once the project hits the streets.

The BTA says attendees of this coming Tuesday's (9/6) event will be able to kick the tires on several of the most popular bike share platforms currently in use throughout North America. Vendors expected to be at the demo include B-cycle (backed by Trek and two other corporations), Bixi (Montreal), NiceRide (Minneapolis/St. Paul), and Capital Bikeshare (Washington D.C.).

Bike share experts from B-cycle and from Portland-based Alta Bicycle Share (a spinoff company of Alta Planning + Design) will be on hand to answer questions. In addition to the various bikes, demo attendees will get to see how the kiosks look and how the docking stations work.

The event will likely be similar to one PBOT hosted back in June 2009.

While the Portland Bike Share project is the work of the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation, this event is further evidence that the BTA (Oregon's largest bicycle non-profit) wants to put their stamp on the concept. BTA staffer Gerik Kranksy told me yesterday the event will allow people to, "Imagine what Portland looks like with Bike Share bikes."

Event details are below:

Demonstration for the Portland Bike Share project
Hosted by the BTA
10:00 am - 2:00 pm, Tuesday September 6th
The courtyard at 200 SW Market Street

Learn more about bike-sharing via these FAQs published on the City's website. Check the BTA blog for more on the demo event.

City Council will vote today on
a funding request that includes the
Portland Bike Share project.
(Photo © J. Maus)

A request by the Portland Bureau of Transportation to fund a bike share project with $2 million from the federal government is up for a vote at City Council this morning.

(I'll reset the issue below. Scroll down to see live updates.)

Along with bike share, the $9 million request includes two other active transportation projects as well as one freight project. As you've read on BikePortland in the last few days, the decision to include $2 million for bike share has proved unpopular with some people. Bike share itself is a project with a lot of support, but advocates for projects that were passed over in favor of bike share feel that PBOT made the wrong decision.

Yesterday I detailed the concerns from the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition and Upstream Public Health. They are disappointed that funding bike share continues a long trend of geographic inequity when it comes to transportation spending. Those groups, along with neighborhood activists, feel that a plan for safety improvements on SW Barbur Boulevard — that has been in the planning books for over a decade — deserves the money before bike share.

The other project that was passed over in favor of bike share was a $1.25 million request to fund planning and design for the Sullivan's Gulch Corridor (note that advocates have dropped the "Trail" and replaced it with "Corridor" - good move!). Member of the Sullivan's Gulch Corridor Committee, Paul Manson, wrote a letter to Mayor Adams yesterday outlining his disagreement with PBOT's request.

"... the proposed slate of projects... is leaving amazing opportunities off the table. For the Sullivan’s Gulch Corridor Trail, funding is extremely difficult to come by as it is for all trails in the region.... We ask that the project selection be re-evaluated and updated to reflect how we can really achieve the goals of the Bicycle Master Plan and the vision of our city to create healthier communities, reduce our impact on the climate, and encourage new riders."

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is strongly backing the bike share project. Feeling heat from usual allies for prioritizing it over the Barbur and Sullivan's Gulch projects, the BTA posted their case for bike share on their blog yesterday.

Politically in Portland, a proposal needs just three out of five commissioners (which includes the Mayor) to pass. Right now, bike share has two strong yes votes. Mayor Adams is a big booster of the project and Commissioner Randy Leonard told me yesterday that, after seeing bike share in action in London last year, "he's an enthusiastic yes vote."

Commissioner Amanda Fritz has been very public about her opposition to the bike share funding request. She'd rather fund safety improvements on Barbur and she won't vote for bike share until what she perceives as "dangerous" bicycling behavior downtown subsides.

The other two commissioners, Nick Fish and Dan Saltzman, haven't shared their feelings on the issue yet. As a frequent bike rider himself, my hunch is that Fish is a yes vote. He also happens to be a close friend of Mia Birk, who happens to be CEO of Alta Planning + Design, the parent company of Alta Bicycle Share, which is one of the premier bike share operators in the country.

If Council approves the PBOT funding request today, it's likely that Metro's Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation will also approve the list. However, there is a 30-day public comment period that will begin in September before the final decision is made.

See below for live updates from City Council...(also read me on Twitter).

Read updates from City Hall below... (Most recent at the bottom, also follow BikePortland on Twitter).

---

Mayor Adams introduces the proposal. Amazingly he didn't even mention the term "bike share" when he listed them all. He called it a "new transportation option for Portlanders." Adams talked about how difficult the choices are with this money, but maintained that because East Portland has more traffic "carnage" than SW Portland, he stands by his funding request. "We don't have luxury of dealing with all dangerous places, we have the grim task of dealing with just the most dangerous places... It's a tough trade-off."

Adams:

"I'll be blunt. Over the years I have put more money into East Portland than into Southwest... That's where the most carnage is... It's not an easy decision, but I stand by it."

On bike share, Adams said advocates have been asking him for it "the entire time I've been transportation commissioner." He said he's waited because he wanted to learn lessons from other cities. Adams cited successful programs in other cities and said bike share is "the cheapest form of public transit available."

In closing, Adams opened up the debate by saying, "I'm not going to say list is perfect, I'm open to amendments."

And Commissioner Nick Fish got the ball rolling quickly...

---

Commissioner Fish jumped right in with a proposed amendment to PBOT's resolution. Saying that he feels the Sullivan's Gulch project could be a "game changer" and that SW Barbur Blvd improvements are "equally, if not more compelling" than other projects on the list, he put forth a proposal for $750,000 for Barbur and $500,000 for Sullivan's Gulch.

Fish's proposal passed unanimously. "These aren't maybe going to be funded," said Mayor Adams, "We will identify sources of funding."

The proposal commits the City to finding $1.25 in new funding and does not impact the existing proposal. Fish said the bike share project is a "unique opportunity" because the $2 million federal grant would leverage another $2 million in private funds needed for start-up costs to get the project up and running. "The fact that $2 [million] could become $4 [million] is compelling."

Fish's Barbur proposal would be used for improvements between 19th and 26th streets and would use a mix of ODOT grants, "project-cost savings" and "PBOT safey accounts" to pay for it. For Sullivan's Gulch, Fish said it would go to design and construction "on existing right-of-way" (that's key, because much of the corridor is held by Union Pacific Railroad, which hasn't shown interest in working with the City on the project yet).

---

PBOT staff presented the project list. Interim Division Manager for Transportation Options, Dan Bower, presented on bike share. Bower showed the Streetfilms about the NiceRide bike share system in Minneapolis. Following the film, Bower (and other PBOT staff) faced a lot of questions from Commissioners Dan Saltzman and Amanda Fritz.

Saltzman asked about PBOT's confidence in the expected $2 million match. Bower acknowledged that the actual match could vary, but that they are confident in the number. "What if you get just $500,000?" asked Saltzman, to which Bower replied that, while bike share is scalable, they've learned from other cities that it's best to "go big or don't go at all." "It's like a trapeze," Bower said, drawing a comparing to how many kiosks are installed, "You won't get on if you don't think another one will come... We think $4 million will get Portland what it wants."

Bower (and Adams) assured Saltzman that no City money would be used for the bike share project.

---

Commissioner Fritz then questioned PBOT staff. "My understanding was that the Sullivan's Gulch project was preferred by the Bicycle Advisory Committee rather than bike share... So how did it leapfrog?" PBOT Planning Manager Paul Smith explained that the BAC wasn't the only group whose input was weighed in making their decision.

---

Following up on concerns I shared yesterday, Fritz asked PBOT staff, "How will we educate riders that ride on sidewalks?" Adams interjected, "That's an incredibly fair and useful question." Adams said he and PBOT plan to come back to Council with a plan to address that concern in about three weeks.

---

Now the meeting moved on to public testimony...

Chris Smith, a very well-respected transportation activist, former City Council candidate and current City of Portland Planning Commissioner (speaking as personal opinion, not in an official capacity) expressed very strong support for bike share.

"I believe bike share will be transformational; not because it will increase bike mode share, increase health, boost tourism... but because I believe it's a vital investment for the health of our Central City economy. To retain the position of our Central City in the region, we need to increase trips into it by about 50% in the next 20 years. That won't happen with cars... Bike share is an easy way to pick up those easy trips."

---

The tone of representatives from advocacy groups Upstream Public Health and the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition seemed to have softened today. Far from demanding a swap of the bike share project for the SW Barbur project, they seemed pleased to support Commissioner Fish's amendment.

Citizen activists who live in Southwest, however, weren't as conciliatory.

Marianne Fitzgerald rolled out a large map of the city showing the 50 arterials that lack sidewalks. "We believe we need safety improvements... Sunday Parkways won't even be held in our area because it's so dangerous. We've been waiting for a long time," she said.

Fitzgerald pointed out that the SW Barbur project would improve an area with a commercial node that includes a senior center, parks, bust stops, and many large stores. "We have all the ingredients of a 20 minute neighborhood except sidewalks and bike paths."

Fitzgerald also expressed dismay that the bike share program has never been brought to the board of Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc. and that there haven't been any public meetings about it.

Another Southwest Portland neighborhood activist (I didn't get his name) echoed Fitzgerald's comments. The man was concerned that Fish's amendment included funding that might never materialize. "There is a historical precedent here," he said, "We get many promises [in Southwest Portland], but very little actual funding... the funding sources aren't concrete... This sounds like a repetition of 12 years ago."

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The proposal passed 4-1. See below for testimony from each commissioner prior to their votes...

Saltzman votes yes; but with caveats. Saltzman said he expects that the Request for Proposals (RFP) will include language specifically stating that no public funds will be used to operate the bike share system and that, "The entire operating cost will be provided by the private sector and will use private sector employees." Saltzman said that he would "unequivocally" not support any public subsidies for bike share. He mentioned that Council heard today about a community mental health crisis in Portland and that, "To me, that's more important that funding bike share operating costs." "Also," he added, "if they [those costs] aren't being covered by user fees and sponsors, it tells me something is wrong with the business model."

Leonard votes yes, saying he's particularly impressed with how the project brings in private sector matches and how it creates jobs.

Fritz votes no. "I cannot support this." She also said there is, "No new money" to fund Fish's amendment. Fritz said we've got to start plugging away on the lack of sidewalks sometime or it will never happen. "As a reality check," she said, "one mile of sidewalks on SW Capitol Hwy would cost $19 million."

"This proposal prioritizes $2 million for a bike share program — which if it's such a good idea I don't know why the private sector hasn't done it — rather than putting money into basic services... It makes me very uncomfortable to fund more active transportation options when I can't get off the bus one stop earlier because there's no sidewalk... There's a lot to like in this proposal, but we have hundreds of millions of dollars of sidewalks and crossings needed and if we don't start plugging away we are not going to have them funded in my lifetime."

Fish votes yes. "In a perfect world we've have enough money to fund everything... but we don't operate in a perfect world. My amendment would make a substantial down payment." To thwart the equity concerns, Fish added that, "By my math [including the $1.25 in his proposal] 75% of these funds are being spent outside downtown."

Adams votes yes. "It's important that folks understand that these things [bike share] start in the most dense areas and then, with success, they can move further out. In our case, we have a significant concentration of low-income folks downtown and being able to provide them an ability to expand their mobility... I look forward to that... I also look forward to the opportunities on the Yellow MAX line Killingsworth stop near Portland Community College — which is a 15 minute walk and a three minute bike ride from the stop."

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That's it for today folks. A momentous day for bike share believers that sets into motion a project that PBOT first showed interest in way back in February 2007. And let's not forget that the project list also includes some major investments in bicycling and walking access improvements in East Portland (including neighborhood greenways, buffered bike lanes, and much more) and improved crossings of SE Foster.

From here, the project list will move to Metro where it's likely to be adopted in December. In the meantime, PBOT will work on its Request For Proposals to find a suitable operator for the bike share system. The federal flexible funds won't actually become available to the City until 2014, but Mayor Adams said today that, as per usual, Council could allocate money before that time to get a jumpstart on the projects.

Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz plans to vote against a PBOT request for federal funds that includes a bike share system when it comes in front of Council tomorrow.

Since her winning campaign back in 2008, Fritz has championed "basic services for all 95 neighborhoods" as the pillar of her policy making. Given that, when it was reported yesterday that she would vote no on bike share, I wasn't completely surprised.

What I am surprised about is that the "basic services first" mantra isn't the only reason she objects to the bike share project.

In an email to a constituent who urged Fritz to support bike share, the Commissioner said she won't support it because she sees too much bad bicycling behavior already downtown and she's concerned bike share will just make it worse. In the email, she also accuses "the cycling community" of not doing enough to curb what she calls "dangerous behaviors."

See Commissioner Fritz's email below (emphasis mine)...

"... My choice is basic infrastructure to make streets safer for all, before a bike rental program to encourage people to cycle in an unsafe environment.

I may support a bike sharing program downtown when I see bike riders using downtown streets and sidewalks in a safe manner. Daily, I see cyclists in the Light rail and bus lanes in front of my office. I see cyclists riding on the sidewalks, endangering and harassing pedestrians. I see cyclists running red lights and making illegal turns off the bus mall. And these are presumably experienced cyclists. I believe a bike rental program downtown would only add to these unsafe behaviors. The behaviors are unsafe for cyclists as well as pedestrians and drivers. The cycling community seems to be doing little or nothing to educate riders or reduce these dangerous behaviors.

Until downtown streets and sidewalks are safe for all modes of users, I will not support using scarce transportation dollars for projects that would exacerbate problems rather than providing basic services that enhance safety for all modes."

When I emailed Fritz asking to share reasons for her opposition, she replied that, "I would rather spend $2 million on structural improvements for cyclists and pedestrians on Barbur, or elsewhere in neighborhoods outside of downtown." She also added the sentiment about bicycling behavior:

"I am also concerned about behavior I see every day downtown, with cyclists riding on the sidewalks, bus and light rail lanes. Since even cyclists who are experienced riding downtown endanger themselves and other users of the right-of-way, I can't support a program encouraging additional, occasional cyclists downtown without a proactive education campaign first."

Fritz hasn't shared details of a plan that would adequately educate people about how to operate bicycles in traffic and she hasn't provided any benchmark for how much good behavior she'd like to see before she'd feel comfortable spending money on bike projects downtown.

Perhaps she'll flesh out her objections during testimony at City Council tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for a full report.

But, while this bike share funding decision is poised to become just the latest bike-related political/media punching bag, supporters of the project are confident and feel that the time is right to move forward.

At issue is whether or not a large-scale bike-sharing system deserves funding priority over other, more traditional biking and walking safety projects. Bike share is on a $6.6 million list of three active transportation projects that PBOT hopes to get adopted by City Council tomorrow. Not on that list is the SW Barbur Boulevard Streetscape project, which would improve a street that has claimed two lives in the last year and that many neighborhood activists have been working on for years.

City Commissioner Amanda Fritz has already made her opposition known based on her familiar mantra that PBOT should focus on "basic services" first. On the 11 o'clock news last night, a veteran southwest neighborhood activist expressed disappointment that the SW Barbur Streetscape Plan was passed over in favor of bike share. (KATU-TV framed the decision as Mayor Adams putting bike share in front of much-needed sidewalks.)

Also last night, a joint campaign to advocate for the Barbur project — instead of bike share — was launched by two non-profits. Upstream Public Health and the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition (WPC) are using Facebook and grassroots outreach to urge members and supporters to testify against PBOT's bike share funding request at City Council on Wednesday.

Upstream and the WPC's main objections are that bike share "does not address [geographic] equity in a meaningful way," that the safety improvements on SW Barbur are urgently needed and long overdue, and that bike share has not gone through an adequate public outreach process (many elements of the Barbur project where identified by neighborhood groups over 10 years ago).

This activism by Upstream and WPC puts them at odds with a usual ally, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. The BTA has been a vocal supporter of bike share and has emerged recently as its main booster, helping to build a coalition of public and private stakeholders around the project. In their recently released Strategic Plan, the BTA says, "We will push the City of Portland to launch bike sharing before the end of summer 2012."

BTA Advocacy Director Gerik Kransky says advocates should be working together to get a larger piece of the funding pie, instead of fighting over scraps. "We don't have enough money to fund all the priority projects we want, we have to work together to get more funding at every level. Period."

Kransky also said the BTA supports PBOT's funding request for bike share.

"We think bike sharing is a fantastic project that stands on its own merits, and in terms of how it increases access, safety and serves all Portlanders." (The safety argument for bike share has been bolstered by new research that shows a strong correlation between improved traffic safety and the use of a bike share system.)

Bike share is the only project on the list, Kransky points out, that doesn't rely on City funding (the plan is to use a mix of federal and private funds for the $4 million start up cost and and a mix of user fees and sponsorship for the $1.5 million yearly operational costs). He also says it's the only project that will create about 30-50 long-term (non-construction) jobs, some of which are already lined up to go to homeless and at-risk youth through a partnership with local non-profit New Avenues for Youth.

WPC Executive Director Stephanie Routh is also concerned that there hasn't been a robust public process for the bike share project. To that point, Kransky says the federal funds won't be available until 2014 and that there will be plenty of opportunities to fine-tune the project and hear public feedback about it before then.

Routh says she isn't opposed to the bike share project, she just feels it's not the right fit for this specific funding source at this time. "If, as a City, we are truly concerned with both the safety and the equitable distribution of our transportation resources," reads a sample letter to Commissioners, "then the Barbur project, in addition to the East Portland and Foster Road projects, is a clear choice for the Regional Flexible Funds."

In their defense, PBOT says the Barbur project is in flux due to an ongoing planning project and it wouldn't make sense to move forward on a project with so many undecided elements. They also feel that they've adequately addressed the equity issue. In a presentation they'll make to Council tomorrow, PBOT will point out that 70 percent of the $6.6 million they've requested for active transportation projects will benefit "low income and minority populations."

After Council votes tomorrow, the project list will be forwarded to Metro where a 30-day public comment period will commence in September. A Metro committee will make the final decision on December 8th, 2011.

— Stay tuned for more bike share project coverage and check out the BikePortland archives to learn more.

UPDATE: The BTA just posted on their blog about their support for bike share in light of the WPC's concerns.

This Wednesday at City Council, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will make their pitch for four projects they want to fund with $9 million in federal Regional Flexible Funds. As per instructions from Metro (the agency that doles out the money), three of the four projects — $6.6 out of $9 million total available — are active transportation projects.

Not surprising to close readers of this site, PBOT has chosen Portland Bike Share as one of those three projects.

In addition to $2 million in seed money to start a bike share system (which they say will leverage another $2 million in private funding to aid start-up, with ongoing operations paid for through memberships and user fees), PBOT will ask Council to approve a request for $3.36 million to improve bicycling and walking in East Portland and $1.25 million for "safety enhancements" to SE Foster Road. (The fourth request is for a $2.36 million freight project in St. Johns.)

PBOT's list includes a new neighborhood
greenway that would pave and improve
an east-west route from
NE 130th to I-205.

The East Portland Active Transportation to Transit project will include new sidewalks and buffered bike lanes on SE Division Street, crossing improvements at 12 intersections, funding for two neighborhood greenways (one north-south on the 130's and east-west on Pacific-Oregon-Holladay), a shared-use path on the north side of SE Holgate, and bike parking at Holgate and Division MAX stations.

The Foster Road Safety Enhancements project would improve bicycling and walking crossings of Foster at three difficult intersections — at Foster and Holgate between SE 63rd to 67th, at 72nd Avenue, and between SE 80th and 84th.

These three active transportation projects were chosen from a short-list of five projects. The two that didn't make the cut were the SW Barbur Streetscape Plan and the Sullivan's Gulch Trail.

I met with PBOT Planning Manager Paul Smith, Acting Transportation Options Division Manager Dan Bower, and Traffic Safety Specialist Mark Lear today to discuss the decisions.

PBOT Planner Smith said, while they wish they could fund everything, Barbur and Sullivan's Gulch weren't on the list because planning processes are still ongoing for both projects. Barbur is the subject of a high capacity transit corridor planning study and plans for Sullivan's Gulch are also currently underway. In the case of Barbur, Smith said, "We don't even know what the final cross-section [roadway alignment] will be."

For those disappointed that SW Barbur won't get the federal largesse (especially after a collision on the street that killed Angela Burke back in December), Smith said PBOT has already met with the Oregon Department of Transportation to identify elements of the Streetscape Plan that might be compatible with the current planning project in order to make sure they are at the top of the list when improvements finally take place.

Overall, "The City feels good about this proposal," Lear said today.

"We have some projects where we're building a network — like the East Portland project — in parts of town that have a lot of disadvantaged populations that we think will be well-served with the sidewalks and bike facilities. In addition, we have an investment in Foster, primarily focused on safer crossings of Foster; and the bike share project, which we think really creates a new travel option for a huge portion of Portlanders."

While the East Portland projects will be welcomed by many, the big news is the $2 million request for bike share. That money would be the crucial seed funding to get the project rolling. Once those funds are secured — and, barring objections from City Council, it's likely they will be — PBOT says they've got another $2 million in private funds lined up (health care company Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield has already committed to being a title sponsor).

Bike share is new for Portland, and in these times of meager City budgets, the project already has detractors (The Oregonian reports that Commission Amanda Fritz will vote against it).

PBOT says the bike share system will focus on the Central City (on both sides of the river, similar to the new streetcar loop) because successful examples from other cities have shown that high density and urban land-use patterns are key. In addition, PBOT is expected to announce later today that the money will fund pilot projects in locations away from the Central City such as Multnomah Village, Hillsdale, and North Interstate near Killingsworth (along TriMet's Yellow MAX line).

"While we are confident the bike share project will have an immediate impact in the Central City," Lear said today, "we want to test some sites further out to figure out what might work in those type of locations."

It's likely that PBOT is doing those pilot projects in part to thwart criticism that bike share isn't necessary in the Central City, a place that some feel is already transit and bicycle-friendly compared to many other parts of the city. During a public meeting in June to garner feedback on their Flexible Fund project list, bike share was the only project to receive negative comments.

But PBOT is bullish on bike-sharing. They've been studying it for several years and feel they have learned lessons from systems across the country. "It creates a new travel option for a huge portion of Portlanders," PBOT's Bower said today. Bower also touted the "unprecedented" private support for the project including a new letter of support from the Portland Business Alliance.

Of the four projects on PBOT's funding list, bike sharing is the only one that doesn't rely on any City money.

Mark Lear says he believes bike share would also come with a traffic safety boost for all road users. In addition to what he calls more "mixed users" (people who use more than one type of mode) Lear says another "huge factor" that will improve safety are all the people who will hop on one of the rental bikes and, "get a perspective of what it's like to be a cyclist that they would never have gotten otherwise."

Lear made it clear today that, while they won't require helmets, PBOT wants to make their bike share program "one of the strongest" for encouraging helmet use. They plan to include helmets in all their marketing images and include information at rental kiosks on where to buy them."

If PBOT projects are adopted by City Council Wednesday, they'll be handed over to Metro on August 29th. Metro will hold a public comment period from September 9th to October 10th and then the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) will adopt the final list on December 8th, 2011.

While the federal funds wouldn't become available until 2014, PBOT says they could start moving forward with plans as soon as next year following final adoption of the project list.

Stay tuned for more coverage. To learn more about bike sharing in Portland, read BikePortland's extensive archives on the topic.