This guest post is by Michael Andersen of Portland Afoot, PDX's 10-minute newsmagazine and wiki for transit commuters.

Already known internationally for its top-notch website and pioneering use of open data, Portland's transit agency is about to take another leap toward making low-car life easy and intuitive.

With the launch of its new Regional Trip Planner – that's the link to the latest version, which will go live on TriMet's website tomorrow – TriMet will be the first American transit agency whose website uses open-source software to plan trips the way low-car humans do: by figuring out the best combination of bike, train, bus, foot and even, eventually (gasp) automobile.

"Multimodal functionality is a highly requested feature that not even Google can offer," said Bibiana McHugh, the TriMet data specialist who led TriMet's three-year effort, at a presentation Friday.

Using the interesting new "bicycle triangle" tool developed by TriMet's team, you'll be able to choose a balance among speed, safety and elevation changes, letting you customize the trip to your preferences and energy level.

Carolyn Young, TriMet's outgoing executive director for marketing and communications, predicted that the new planner "is going to be the envy of the transit industry."

Last week, Jonathan laid out the basic functions of the new planner, which was funded by two grants from Metro and executed by a team of in-house developers and interns and a contract with Open Plans (a nonprofit you might also know as the publisher of Streetsblog). Some new nuggets we learned Friday:

• The trip planner will soon include bike parking: TriMet bike and rides, city bike corrals and even bike staples.
• It already features Zipcar locations right on the map, and might eventually be able to tell you whether a particular Zipcar is available. To find this, click "carshare" in the lower left of the new map.
• Within the next year to 18 months, partnerships with nearby agencies C-Tran, SMART and CHERRIOTS will let you plan transit and bike trips all the way from Battle Ground, Wash., down to Salem.
• In two years or so, you'll even be able to build an auto trip to the nearest park-and-ride into your trip plan. TriMet is in talks with the Portland Police Bureau about gathering data on street directionality, speed limits and other necessary details.
• Third-party applications – the sort that could, for example, let you use your mobile phone to calculate the flattest bike route over Alameda Ridge – can't yet plug into the system. That's one of the many features that McHugh said will be introduced in the coming months, with new features every couple weeks.

The new trip planner won't immediately replace TriMet's familiar, proprietary version; TriMet expects to run them both in parallel for "three to six months," McHugh said.

In the meantime, McHugh's eager for input from early users. Have at it.

Portland Afoot's October issue visited Silicon Valley to reveal seven secrets about the future of carsharing. BikePortland readers can subscribe for $10 a year with discount code BIKEPORTLAND.

The Dekum Building on SW 3rd and Washington in downtown Portland was built in 1892. It's the oldest office building in the city and the former home of famed global ad agency Wieden + Kennedy. Now, building owner and manager Naito Properties hope it gains distinction as the largest public bike parking facility in Portland (and it just happens to be right across the street from the bank vault bike parking in the Spalding Building).

Verne Naito, who's managing the Dekum for his family's company, Naito Properties (the same family Naito Parkway is named after), says the owner of the building has set aside 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space that has already been permitted by the city for bicycle parking and is already built out to fit 300 bicycles.

The idea would be something similar to a Bikestation, which, despite toying with the idea for years, no one in Portland has been able to pull off.

Many of the building's current tenants get to work by bike and, since space for parking cars wasn't a consideration in 1892 ("Horses liked to be tied up outdoors," Naito says), most of them park in their offices. "It's causing minor damage as tires and pedals mar 110 year old marble and wood work," Naito, an avid architectural conservationist, wrote to us via email, "The damage is tragic, but avoidable."

The owner of the Dekum is on-board with the bike parking idea. The only thing missing is someone to operate it. "We're looking for someone who sees this as a great business opportunity and also someone who wants to encourage bicycle commuting," Naito says.

Photo of the Dekum's storefront.
(Photo: Dana Troy)

Naito touts the building's prime location just blocks from the Morrison bridgehead and close to Waterfront Park. He also says there are several other large office buildings nearby whose tenants would jump at the chance for a secure, indoor bike parking option. To find an operator of this business, Naito has been shopping around a want ad titled, Bicycle Parking Business Opportunity.

Naito has been working on this project for about two years. Since we first reported about his mysterious "Portland Bikestation" signs back in June 2009, Naito has been looking for the right operator and finalizing all the details.

"We'd like an operator with business experience, but more importantly for someone who has a vision for what bicycle commuting can do to energize the downtown office district."

Any takers? If interested, get in touch with Mr. Naito via email at verne[at]naitoproperties[dot]com.

City crews installing new bike racks near the
Saturday Market in Waterfront Park this morning.
(Photo: Jim "K'Tesh" Parsons)

We got in touch with Parks PIO Beth Sorensen to learn more. Sorensen says demand for bike parking outstripped supply at the location last year. The racks are used by customers of the popular Saturday Market that moved to this location last year.

"We knew we might need to add more when the Saturday Market first moved over to that area," Sorensen tells us, "but we wanted to wait a full season to confirm that. Bikes were being chained to trees and fences around the Market, so we doubled the number as they begin their 2011 season."

With the addition of seven additional bike racks on the Waterfront path, Sorensen says they've doubled bike parking in the area from seven to 14 racks — enough space for 28 bicycles.

Portland's bike parking offerings continue to improve in both quality and quantity. Recently I've noticed two developments in North Portland worth your attention: a new on-street bike corral on N. Williams Avenue and a nice covering of a corral on N. Mississippi.

This new on-street corral on Williams is located just south of N. Fargo out in front of Waypost Cafe, a community gathering spot that has been in need of more bike parking for a long time. (Just a block north of this corral is another one situated on a curb extension). This is the fifth on-street bike corral on Williams — more than any other street in Portland (I stand corrected. Alberta has seven!).

A bit north and west of the Williams bike parking are the newly covered bike racks in the Mississippi Marketplace food cart pod. Located outside the popular Prost pub at the corner of Mississippi and Skidmore, this bike parking corral has been given a very nice cover to keep you out of the elements as you lock up. And yes, just a few feet away is an on-street bike corral.

City of Portland bike parking program manager Sarah Figliozzi says Portland now has 64 on-street bike corrals that provide space for 1,140 bicycles in what was previously room for only 107 automobiles. There are few things that make bicycling more pleasant than having ample and high quality bike parking directly in front of cafes and businesses. PBOT is leading the charge on this front and with each new corral that goes up we get closer to being a city where the car/bike balance is a bit closer to where it should be.

Portland State University's location, facilities, and policies to promote options to driving alone are paying off. A survey released last week shows that three in four students and employees at the campus get there without a car. A press release about the survey issued by PSU proclaimed that, "Cars are alternative transportation for students and staff at PSU."

44% of staff and faculty and 40% of students take some form of transit (bus, light rail, or streetcar) compared to 25% and 22% that drive alone. The survey also found that a full 12% of the entire campus population gets there by bicycle each day. (The survey was completed by 960 employees and 1,109 students. Survey respondents were asked to recall the transportation mode used to travel the greatest distance to PSU each day of the previous week.)

12% get there by bike.

When compared to previous surveys, the rate of bicycling is growing faster than any other mode — it's up from just 3% for students and 5% for employees in 2000. In that same time period, the amount of drive-alone trips (currently at about 23%) has dropped in half.

"When you look at these numbers," says Ian Stude, PSU’s transportation options manager, "it’s not alternative transportation for us anymore."

How does PSU do it?

During a recent tour of new bike facilities Stude showed off two new, fully-secured bike parking garages, a new "Bike Hub" bike shop, an enhanced bike lane on SW Broadway (a.k.a. cycle track), and other facilities that make bicycling comfortable and convenient on the downtown campus.

PSU spent $200,000 (along with a $50,000 grant from Metro) to convert an underutilized shed into the gleaming new Montgomery Street Bike Garage. The garage has secure, card-entry access, is monitored by video cameras, and fits 77 bikes. PSU has sold well over 100 cards at $5 month to use the facility...

City Traffic Engineer Rob Burchfield tries it out.

PSU's transportation options czar Ian Stude.

A few blocks to the east is the new Harrison Street Bike Garage. With $150,000 from TriMet (due to its proximity to the transit mall) PSU was able to build this new, fully-secured park-and-ride facility that has space for 86 bikes...

This garage was a partnership with TriMet, whose transit mall is just steps away.

Across from the Harrison Garage is the Bike Hub, the new home of the PSU Bike Co-op. This 2,000 square-foot shop sells a large selection of bike commuting essentials, has several stands for DIY bike repair, and also offers full-service bike repair. Stude tells us that in five years at their previous location they tallied 300 co-op members; but in the first year of opening the Bike Hub, they've now got about 1,500 members. "It's been a resounding success," he says.

The Bike Hub combines retail space...

with full service repair either DIY or by a pro.

In total, PSU has more than 2,000 bicycle parking spots (compared to 4,000 for cars). They've also applied for a League of American Bicyclist's Bike Friendly University designation and their application is currently under consideration.

Learn more about PSU's push to promote bicycling, and watch their new video, "Roads Rails Trails" at PDX.edu.

A Eugene resident has submitted a proposal to the City of Eugene to install on-street, residential bike parking corrals. On-street bike corrals are common in Portland, but we've yet to extend the idea into residential areas.

Noted bike advocate Paul Adkins and Chair of the local Neighborhood Council, is behind the proposal. According to the We Bike Eugene blog, Adkins feels like public parking shouldn't discriminate when it comes to vehicles. "There is no reason that streets should accommodate cars and not accommodate human powered vehicles." Here's more from We Bike Eugene:

"His proposal is to install and maintain the parking space for the public to use. Since the street sweepers won’t be able to sweep the area with the rack the proposal is for the resident in front of the corral (in this case, the Adkins family) to clean and maintain the area, including dealing with any vandalism. This is similar to the responsibilities of residents and sidewalks, where the sidewalk in front of a persons home."

Reached via email this morning, Adkins told us, "We share the road with cars, so we should be able to share the parking spots too."

It sounds like a common sense proposal and something that might also work in Portland. But we'd need a policy change before that could happen...

City of Portland encourages residents
to place bike parking in the planting
strip, not in the roadway.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Back in July of 2009, we reported about Portland's first residential bike parking shelter. The difference between that shelter is that it was placed up on the parking strip, not in the roadway. When asked about putting staple racks in the street, here's what PBOT said:

"According to [PBOT bike parking program manager Sarah] Figliozzi, it has to do with short vs. long-term parking, and how the staples would be used. Figliozzi says the bike corrals are for parking a bike for two hours or less and they're placed in areas with a high demand. In single-family residential areas, the demand is not concentrated at a particular location, and residents prefer to have bikes locked inside a garage or in their homes for security."

Furthermore, the City of Portland Parking Enforcement Division Manager Nolan Mackrill said bicycles are not allowed to be parked on the street. That space, he told us, is only for motorized and licensed vehicles. If someone wants to park their bike on the street here in Portland, they would need to reserve the space and go through the permit process.

Adkins is waiting on the City of Eugene for permission. In the meantime, he has already gone ahead and installed a demonstration of the project in front of his house (see photo above). We'll let you know how the City responds to his proposal.

If you're curious how our friends The Netherlands deal with residential bike parking, Portlander Greg Raisman says they use "bicycle drums."

BES has taken an on-street bike corral... (Photo © J. Maus)

And integrated it with a bioswale! (Photo: PBOT)

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) continues to lead the way when it comes to bike parking. From artistic collaborations, to "bike shelters" at schools, to the numerous on-street bike corrals that dot the city, there's always something new being cooked up.

Today, I've got two more bits of bike parking news to share: a brand new innovation and a new off-street bike corral I just noticed yesterday.

As part of their ongoing collaboration with the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) to create stormwater retention-friendly street infrastructure, PBOT is currently building the city's first bioswale bike corral. See the plan rendering below:

When a reader tipped us off that the existing bike corral on NE Glisan at 28th had been removed for the installation of a bioswale, we asked PBOT's bike parking manager Sarah Figliozzi and she confirmed the news. According to Ivy Dunlap with BES, the main construction of the bioswale is complete and the bike racks are slated to go in soon.

More new bike parking on N. Williams!
(Photo © J. Maus)

PBOT has also finished up installation of an off-street bike corral in front of Pizza A Go Go at the corner of N. Williams and Cook. The new facility consists of four staple racks placed at an angle (which not only looks better, but also lessens the footprint of bikes on the sidewalk) and it is located on a newly constructed curb extension.

This bike parking corral further enshrines Williams as Portland's best bike street (in my opinion!). The street also has four on-street bike corrals and numerous other racks outside of businesses.

— For more bike parking coverage, check out our archives.

Remember the artistic bike corral project we highlighted back in November? The design raised a few eyebrows and many of you hoped for a chance to formally weigh in on the project. Well, here's your opportunity...

The City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) has announced an informational meeting on January 18th. At the meeting, you'll be able to learn more about the plans for a covered bike rack at the corner of Durham and Dekum Streets and about the green street elements the rack and the surrounding sidewalk will include. The artists who are designing the bike parking structure will be in attendance to hear your questions and feedback.

(Graphic: BES)

The project is a collaboration between BES, the Bureau of Transportation's bike parking team and the Regional Arts and Culture Council. The meeting (1/18) will start at 7:00 pm at the Classic Foods gallery space (817 NE Madrona Street). More information here.

"Three weeks ago we installed 4 more Bikelink lockers in our downtown area, bringing the total number of lockers to 9. This project was part of our Destination Downtown project, and was funded through a grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation. The BikeLink lockers are "on-demand" facilities that users can rent by the hour with an electronic key card. At this time we are charging 5 cents an hour for the lockers.

New locations:
SE corner of Columbia Street and W Evergreen Boulevard
NW corner of Main Street and W 11th Street
NE corner of Broadway Street and W 7th Street (1st locker before the C-TRAN lockers)
NE corner of Main Street and E 20th Street

Existing locations:
1300 Franklin Street on south side of Clark County Public Service Center - 4 lockers
NE corner of Columbia and 6th Street - 1 locker"

Vancouver was the first city in the Northwest to install on-demand, debit card access bike lockers. We covered the first installation (across from Esther Short Park) back in June 2006.

Our story last week about a new on-street bike corral coming to Dekum Street in the Woodlawn neighborhood sparked a lot of discussion. Many readers weighed in with negative opinions about the design (especially the car part) and wondered whether or not there would be more opportunity for public input. I followed up with folks behind the project and got some answers to your questions. I can also share a detailed artist's statement and updated project drawings.

The project is a collaboration between the artists (Buster Simpson and Peg Butler), the Bureau of Environmental Services (it will have an planted roof and other stormwater management aspects), and the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC).

Kristin Calhoun, Public Art Manager for RACC says the design (see more of it below) has been approved by the RACC Public Art Advisory Committee as a final design. However, Calhoun adds that, "the artists are willing to meet with the community to present the design and listen to feedback if members of the community desire it before the work goes into fabrication."

Before anyone decides to open this up to more public input, let's make sure opinions are based on the latest, most accurate information. Below are the current artist renderings of how the bike corral will turn out (NOTE: These are only conceptual drawings. Calhoun says they are not, "an exact rendering of how the final artwork will look, especially the car frame."):

The car seems to be the most controversial aspect of the project (judging from comments on our last story). Calhoun, the artists, and the BES representative wanted to make it clear that the "sculpture will be a gesture of a car relic, not an actual car."

Here's more in the words of the artists (from a statement dated November 2nd):

"... the sculptural portion of the project is titled, "Dekumstruction" and is a concept that invokes a vision of a future less dependent on the automobile and petroleum based economy. The sculpture functions both as provocateur and healer and approaches a potentially divisive issue with a sense of humor... The car has been lifted up, overhead, out of the space to allow room for bike parking. The concept suggests making way for modes of transportation that are more environmentally friendly and repurposes the carbon based car as an iconic relic....

The sculpture will be created from sliced and pieced together oil drums, portions of a car frame and living plants. The car frame literally becomes a framing device for ecological transportation and presents a barebones abstraction of the automobile. The canopy will be a living life raft carrying a remnant of a petroleum based economy. Oil barrels lose their power with the car sitting on top, "gone to seed." Vegetation will eventually grow up through the car to remediate its impact historically and visually."

You can download the entire arist's statement here (PDF).

Hopefully this gives you more clarity and background on this project. From RACC's perspective, the design is final, the project is funded, and they are moving forward toward completion this coming spring.