[*Updated 3:17pm]

Bob Verrinder remains in serious condition.(Photo courtesy of Bob’s friends)

On Thursday, October 18, Bob Verrinder was seriously injured when he and a motor vehicle collided on NE Marine Drive.
Unfortunately, because a separate tragic event occurred the following Monday, I have been unable to follow-up on this story.
First, I want to share an […]

Education about bicycle laws is a major factor in keeping our roads safe for everyone. Increasing awareness and understanding of these laws is just as important as any bike safety infrastructure or policy changes.
That’s why some cyclists are concerned that a quote attributed to a Portland Police Bureau employee and published by the Oregonian […]

A large crowd in City Hall.Slideshow below(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

Just four days after the second fatal bicycle crash in as many weeks, City Commissioner Sam Adams called together an “emergency meeting” to discuss the issues and brainstorm solutions to improve bike safety in our city. Following the meeting was a press conference that […]

One of the major questions the community is grappling with after the deaths of both Tracey Sparling and Brett Jarolimek is; why were the truck drivers not given a citation for failure to yield to a bicycle in a bike lane?
The law (ORS 811.050) seems clear:
“A person commits the offense of failure of a motor […]

With all the discussion going on about how to make bike travel safer on crowded downtown streets, I thought we should take a closer look at some of the options on the table.
The first one has to do with signage and how legislation, enforcement, and engineering deal with non-motorized vehicle travel lanes (previously known as […]

(Photo: Jonathan Maus)

The Portland Police Bureau has named Vince Jarmer as the new Commander of the Traffic Division. The change became effective as of August 9th.
Jarmer was formerly the Lieutenant of the Traffic Division (under former Commander Bill Sinnott) and was most recently Captain of the Personnel Division.
Jarmer takes over the commander position from […]

Still from video.(Watch via YouTube below)

While doing research for a story, I noticed something interesting on the home page of the San Francisco Bike Coalition the other day.
They’ve partnered with the SF Police Department to create a new training video (YouTube embed below).
Fully scripted and acted out by real people (not actors, so […]

(File photo)

In a meeting room nine floors above Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland, bike lawyer Mark Ginsberg hosted a mini-summit Thursday between representatives of Zoobomb and the Traffic Division of the Portland Police Bureau.

In attendance from Zoobomb were Dave Terry, Corey Sevigny, and Leah Bendlin. From the PPB were Commander Mark Kruger and […]

After the meeting. L to R: Lawyer Mark Ginsberg, Traffic Division Sgt. Mike Fort, Commander Mark Kruger, and Zoobombers Dave Terry, Leah Bendlin, and Corey Sevigny.(File photo)

I’m in a meeting downtown right now where a positive discussion is taking place between three Zoobombers and two members of the Portland Police Bureau.
Bike lawyer Mark Ginsberg […]

On SE Caruthers.(File photo)

An article in the Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC) today reports that the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) will seek $300,000 in grant funds to continue their enhanced enforcement activities at the MLK Viaduct construction site.
The work zone (near OMSI, east of the Esplanade) has been the source of headaches for many cyclists […]

This morning I asked Traffic Division Commander Mark Kruger if he had any information he could share about the police presence at the Midnight Mystery Ride (MMR) and the Zoobomb ride over the weekend.
Here are his thoughts on the MMR:

“Friday night NE Precinct officers requested our assistance when a group of bicyclists was reported blocking […]

Bus mall construction.(File photo)

The Traffic Division of the Portland Police Bureau are warning of increased presence in the downtown bus mall construction zones.
Commander Mark Kruger says he was contacted by a PDOT engineer in charge of the project who said they’ve seen,
“numerous examples of bicyclists disobeying road closure signs and riding through areas where heavy […]

Cyclist gather before a Midnight Mystery Ride.(File photo)

The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) were busy this weekend issuing citations to cyclists at two Portland biking traditions: the monthly Midnight Mystery Ride and the weekly Zoobomb.
Both rides have grown in popularity over the years and riders reported mass ticketing at both events. The coordinated — and […]

Over the weekend, the discussion over enforcement against bicycles in North Plains continued both in the comments of my post from Friday and on the OBRA email list.
Among the reactions was a comment by North Plains Police Chief Scott Whitehead. Whitehead wrote in to clarify his position on the situation:
“It seems that several people […]

The fatal crash that took the life of Timothy O’Donnell seems to have resulted in two different responses by law enforcement personnel. The Washington County Sheriff’s office shows a willingness to work with the community for tougher laws against motorists, while the North Plains Police opt for increased enforcement directed at bicyclists.
A story in […]

Looking north on SE 4th Ave.(File photo)

Back in February, I shared the word from the Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division that the OMSI construction area would be an “enhanced enforcement zone” (see map below).
Now, given the amount of emails and phone calls I’ve received in recent days, it seems like they’ve significantly ratcheted up their […]

File photo

As I reported yesterday, the fixed-gear brake bill is moving along nicely in Salem. What I didn’t mention was that an amendment has been added to the bill that will allow police bicycles to be equipped with a siren.
Here’s the deal. Existing Oregon statute (ORS 815.280(b)) states that,
“A person shall not […]