Portland's bikeway signage grant paid for signs like these too.(Photo: Adams Carroll/BikePortland)

As the former City of Portland Commissioner of Transportation and current Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) does not take criticism of bicycling lying down.
Blumenauer's office, working on facts provided by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, issued a response [...]

[Via KGW-TV]

Tom Coburn

Oklahoma's Republican Senator Tom Coburn has published a list of 100 federally funded projects that he deems, "the most wasteful government spending of 2010." On that list is a $900,000 stimulus grant recently received by the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation to pay for bikeway markings and signage.
Sen. Coburn seems to think [...]

They work for cars, but for bikes?(Photo © J. Maus)

The House Committee on Transportation has put forward a legislative concept (soon to become an official bill) that would direct the Oregon Department of Transportation to conduct a study on the feasibility of bicycling licensing.
The idea currently exists as Legislative Concept 1581 (LC 1581). According to [...]

Rep. Jules Bailey(Photo © J. Maus)

State Representative Jules Bailey (D-Portland) will support a bill in the 2011 legislative session that would amend the Oregon Constitution to make it easier to spend state revenue on transportation projects outside of the highway right-of-way. If the bill is passed by the legislature, it would be sent out to [...]

As we reported on Tuesday, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is using the upcoming legislative session as a rebuilding year. Coming off a rough session in 2009 and accepting the reality of Oregon's economic situation, instead of pushing for major new laws or funding bills, the BTA will focus on two minor tweaks to [...]

"We are coming out of a legislative session that really hurt us, so we need to rebuild our core support and rebuild our base in order to be able to pass something... particularly fighting the backlash and hatred that some folks feel about bicycles." — Rob Sadowsky, BTA Executive Director

With the 2011 Oregon legislative session [...]

Tom Hughes, president-elect of Metro.

You might have missed it on Friday afternoon, but the extremely close race for president of Metro has officially been won by Tom Hughes.
Hughes, a former mayor of Hillsboro, won a close contest (less than 1,000 votes in over 400,000 cast) over Bob Stacey, the former director of the land-use non-profit [...]

Governor-elect John Kitzhaber at his acceptance speech in the Pearl District this morning.(Photos © J. Maus)

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Where are we headed?(Photos © J. Maus)

Given what happened last night, things are likely to fundamentally change for how bicycle advocates nationwide frame their arguments from here on out. But just what exactly does this all mean for bicycling? I asked leaders from several major bike advocacy groups what they thought and I [...]

Rep. John Mica at a BikePAC fundraiser during the 2009 National Bike Summit.(Photo © J. Maus)

With Democrats no longer controlling the House, Representative John Mica (R-FL) will most likely replace Jim Oberstar as Chair of the all-important Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. But just who is John Mica? I look forward to reporting on [...]

Safe Routes National Partnership Director Deb Hubsmith and Jim Oberstar in happier times.(Photo © J. Maus)

Reacting to last night's election results, the following statement to supporters and letter to Jim Oberstar will be sent out shortly from the Safe Routes to School National Partnership...
November 3, 2010
Dear Safe Routes to School supporter,
As you have probably heard, [...]

Oberstar, seen here during a recent visit to Portland, helped craft and passthe nation's first Safe Routes to School legislation.(Photos © J. Maus)

A big surprise from last night's Democrat drubbing at the polls is that 35-year Congressman Jim Oberstar lost his race to Republican Chip Cravaack. Oberstar lost by just 4,000 votes out of [...]

Jim Oberstar (L) and Peter DeFazio,(shown here at Cycle Oregon 2007)would both lose key leadership positions if the Republicans take over the House.(Photos © J. Maus)

A big issue at stake with tonight's elections is how a Republican-controlled House of Representatives — a result many feel is foregone conclusion — would impact bicycling and active [...]

"... I would like to see, even if it's just a token registration fee, or some mechanism to go to the bicycle community, and say OK, you need to pay a share of the cost of providing those facilities — Tom Hughes, candidate for Metro President

BikePortland reader and citizen activist Spencer Boomhower just brought to [...]

Costume up, get on your bike, and get out the vote!(Photo © J. Maus)

Local non-profit The Bus Project is gearing up for the annual "Trick or Vote" event and this year they're putting the power of pedals to work for democracy.
The event is a get out the vote effort on the "one night when everyone [...]

"... we have the opportunity to take advantage of our momentum to grow our bicycle-related economy... I support taking a different approach to community development, making neighborhoods less dependent upon automobiles..." — John Kitzhaber, Democratic candidate for Oregon Governor

"In order to help educate members on transportation policy issues," the Bicycle Transportation Alliance has published responses [...]

Sorry for the late notice...
Former Oregon Governor and current candidate for the office John Kitzhaber will be in Portland tonight at what's being billed as a transportation-focused fundraiser. The event will be held at the World Trade Center in downtown Portland and hosts include architectural and transportation engineering firm David Evans and Associates, [...]

Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) speaks at a press conference near the Broadway Bridge yesterday. Standing behind him are fellow House Representatives Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader and David Wu.(Photos © J. Maus)

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Does Senator John McCain (R-AZ) hate bicycles? Or is he just using them to make a political statement? According to the League of American Bicyclists, the recently passed jobs bill included several things that could impact bicycling (including $2 billion in rescissions from state DOTs), including a reauthorization of the Federal Aviation program [...]

Dan Maes

The growing number of bike-sharing system consultants and vendors must be jumping for joy right now as comments by a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Colorado have thrust them into the national media spotlight.
In his campaign for governor of Colorado, Tea Party favorite Dan Maes has raised questions about Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's [...]