This just in from BikePortland correspondent Carl Larson:
Portland Police Bureau motorcycle officers are currently conducting an enforcement sting on NE Broadway Blvd. as it approaches the east side of the Broadway bridge.
If you’re headed that way, consider this a friendly reminder to be on your best behavior.
If you were stopped and/or ticketed, please [...]

I just received the bicycle citation numbers from the Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division (the Traffic Division writes 80% of all tickets in the Portland metro area). I took the numbers and made a few charts.

Some things to consider when looking at these numbers:

The number of moving motor vehicle citations do not include photo [...]

[The crux of the problem.]

The current Oregon statutes governing the operation of a motor vehicle in a bike lane are confusing and unclear. The Portland Police Bureau found this out the hard way and they want to find a solution and have the laws fixed for good at the upcoming legislative session in Salem.

Lieutenant [...]

My Perceptions of enforcement post last week spurred some interesting discussion. Curious about how the perception of my readers differed from the reality of statistics, I asked for people to guess how many tickets were written to bicyclists last month.
Of the 74 comments the average guess was around 60.
As promised, here are the official [...]

The issue of enforcement against bicycles is contributing to an increasingly acrimonious relationship between the Police Bureau and some members of the bike community.
In addition to the well-publicized and unresolved fixed-gear bicycle issue, allegations of selective enforcement are still being made, especially by downtown messengers who feel they’re being unfairly targeted for both fixed-gears and [...]

[It was great while it lasted.]

The law requires that all cyclists have a front light and a rear reflector. A little over one year ago, the Traffic Division of the Portland Police Bureau began giving out free lights to bicyclists who were stopped for violating this law.
The program was spearheaded by then Commander Bill [...]

[City of Portland's Chief of Bicycles, Roger Geller]

One of the more interesting and dramatic cases in yesterday’s “Bike Day at Court” was the case involving Jeff Smith.
Smith is a PDOT employee who, ironically, has worked in the city’s bike program for many years.
Smith was issued a citation for failure to use a bike [...]

The following notes on yesterday’s court proceedings are from local transportation activist and regular Shift volunteer, Carl Larson (photo).

“These trials really drove the larger point of all of this home to me. These officers hide behind the shield of “safety,” but in many cases, their real goal is to protect the interests of motor [...]

From the Oregonian News Blog:
Milwaukie police are searching for a vehicle that hit a bicyclist about 7:40 p.m. Tuesday on Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard just north of River Road (Google map) and kept going. The 18-year-old male bicyclist from Oregon City suffered minor injuries.

The suspect vehicle was described as a 1996 to 1999 dark green Suzuki [...]

[Mark Ginsberg inhis other suit.]

Mark Ginsberg is a Portland-based lawyer who specializes in bicycle-related cases. He’s also the guy who represented messenger Ayla Holland in the infamous fixed gear brake trial.
Since that case, the Portland Police have continued to scrutinize bicyclists. They’re citing not only brakeless fixed-gear bicycle riders without handbrakes, but several [...]

[Officer Brett Barnum taking the oath at the Ayla Holland trial.]

Officer Brett Barnum of the Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division has been at the center of the fixed gear enforcement issue. He was the officer who convinced a traffic court judge to uphold his citation of Ayla Holland back on July 28th (the case [...]

[Traffic Division officer Ron Hoesly]

Last week I joined Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division officer Ron Hoesly for a ride-along.
Why go on a ride-along?
First and foremost is my ongoing desire to build good, working relationships with the cops (especially the Traffic Division). Whether you like them or not, I think our experience as [...]

[Update: The Police Bureau has just debuted their new web page for bike safety and theft info.]

[Recovery number 15!]

This week has been good and bad for bike theft.
First the bad news. In the last 7 days there have been 39 new stolen bike listings (I haven’t published them all yet).
That’s a [...]

Several cyclists out on the streets in the last few days have relayed their concerns to me about what they perceive as increased police enforcement of fixed-gear riders.
Given the recent court decision and heightened awareness of this issue, I asked Traffic Division Lieutenant Mark Kruger for an official stance on how the Portland [...]

I have had several phone calls and emails about the enforcement mission being carried out by the Portland Police Bureau on the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge this morning.
I have heard reports of up four cyclists being pulled over at one time.
This was a planned enforcement mission and I remember an email [...]

My recent story on a traffic court decision that upheld a ticket to a local messenger for not having a “separate braking device” on her fixed-gear bicycle has quickly spread around the web and seems to have struck a nerve in cyclists everywhere.
This morning the article was linked to from BoingBoing.net, one of the most [...]

[Zoobombers on Burnside.]

Highway 26 leading into downtown Portland is a traditional route sometimes used by Zoobombers. They call it “the Hellway” and it is simultaneously feared and revered by many.
While it’s usually legal to ride bikes on Highway 26, because of a sewer construction project, currently the Hellway route is off-limts. In early [...]

A recent bike theft recovery story spurred a debate about what to do if you see a stolen bike in your neighborhood or for sale online. In the story, someone approached a thief and paid them $150 for a bike they suspected was stolen. Some people were happy the owner got his bike [...]

Cyclist Mike Reuter was the first person to utilize a little-known legal procedure known as the Citizen Initiation of Violation Proceedings. This legal process allows crash victims to take the law into their own hands. It was first brought to light by Portland lawyer Ray Thomas and I posted about it back in [...]

[Officer Darke Hull.]

Officer Darke Hull of the Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division is one of six Portland officers to have been recently certified as a Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Investigation expert. The certification came after a rigourous, 5-day course offered by the Institute of Police Technology and Management (IPTM).
I met with Officer Hull to [...]

Last week, there was a lot of discussion about a stop sign enforcment mission by the Traffic Division of the Portland Police Bureau (PPB). In response to a citizen complaint, they sent several officers out to SE 23rd and Salmon Streets to nab law-breaking cyclists.
Until now, the one group we hadn’t heard [...]

Yesterday morning the Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division set up a sting at SE 23rd and Salmon streets. Several cyclists were given $242 dollar fines (the same amount for motor vehicles) for rolling through the four-way stop.
This enforcement “mission” was motivated by a phone call to 823-SAFE (the City’s traffic safety hotline) [...]

[Photo Kerrke Yu]

The calm and civility that has long been the hallmark of Portland’s Critical Mass ride was shattered last Friday. According to a report and photos on Indymedia there were several arrests that got out of hand.
As usual, there are several different accounts of what happened. One says the riders [...]

[Meet your new Sheriff (maybe).Click to enlarge]

Last week, the Willamette Week ran a photo of Multnomah County Sheriff write-in candidate Paul Van Orden holding a helmet. Since then, several people have emailed and called me saying this guy is the real deal and that I should interview him. I eventually heard from Paul [...]

[Captain Marty Rowley]

According to a statement on the Police Bureau website, Interim Police Chief Rosie Sizer has just named Central Precinct Captain Marty Rowley the new Commander of the Traffic Division. Rowley takes over for a retiring Bill Sinnott and the change is effective April 13.
The Commander of the Traffic Division is a very [...]

Six Portland Police officers from the Traffic Division recently underwent a comprehensive, 40-hour pedestrian and bicycle crash investigation course offered by the Institute of Police and Technology Management (IPTM) in Jacksonville Florida.
According to IPTM literature, the course addressed the special dynamics involved in pedestrian and bicycle traffic crashes. From reaction times to victim injury [...]

Right now the Chief of Police and Mayor Tom Potter are working to find a new Commander of the Traffic Division to replace the retiring Bill Sinnott. Bill was an ally to the bike community and we need to make sure his successor is just as open and willing to work with us. [...]

What the heck is going on? Seems like every time I log on there are more stolen bikes to publish. There are 107 listed so far and I’m averaging about one a day for the past 2 months…and that’s only what gets listed here! There are surely many other bikes stolen throughout [...]

[L to R: Sinnott, Jeff Bernards and Dat Nguyen]

After more than 25 years with the Portland Police Bureau, Traffic Division Commander Bill Sinnott will move on to a new career.
Sinnott was a tremendous ally of the bike community. He was open and sincere about working with us to find solutions and ease [...]

[*Update: Here's a link to the story and video from the KATU TV news coverage]
Just got back from this morning’s Traffic Enforcement Action that was held at the intersection of NE Knott and 7th. These actions are a joint effort between the City of Portland Office of Transportation and the Portland Police [...]