Order yours today! Operators are standing by at (503) 823-SAFE (7233)

Remember PDOT’s new “I brake for people” pedestrian safety campaign I posted about a few weeks ago?
Now you too can be the proud owner of the cool bumper sticker shown above.
Here’s how:
Contact the Traffic Safety and Neighborhood Livability Hot Line at (503) 823-7233 or safe@pdxtrans.org [...]

Approximate crash location. Click for Google Map.

KATU has the story of a collision last Friday in Hillsboro that resulted in the death of 47 year-old Hillsboro resident Kerry Alfred Teufel.
Here’s what they reported:
“According to Hillsboro police, Teufel was riding east in the traffic lanes on Southwest Oak Street near Southwest 17th Avenue [...]

Noticed this story on KGW yesterday:
“A Portland cyclist launched to the asphalt will get a $100,000 settlement check from the City of Portland.
The city forgot to change a sewer grate when it created a bike lane in Southwest Portland.
Essentially, it accidentally set a trap and cyclist Gary Dunkley fell right into it.”

The story [...]

(Note: The Oregonian has changed the page headline to “Bikes and cars”)

Over the weekend, the Oregonian posted an expanded, multimedia look at the topic of bike safety in Portland.
The page (which is unfortunately titled “Bike versus car” after some back and forth emails with their online editor Mark Friesen, the Oregonian has changed the headline [...]

[This article has been written by BikePortland.org columnist Elly Blue]

Columnist Elly Blue says more education is needed.(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

Responses to the tragic deaths of cyclists this year have been by and large constructive. A law aimed at protecting vulnerable roadway users was passed and, more recently, thanks to the leadership of Commissioner Adams, a [...]

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 [...]

CITY OF PORTLAND OFFICE OF TRANSPORTATION
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
October 26, 2007 [...]

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 [...]

Adams at a recent Transportation Town Hall meeting.(Photo © Jonathan Maus)

With so many ideas and emotions about bikes, bike safety and sharing the road swirling around our city this week, I thought I’d share a conversation I had with City Commissioner and mayoral hopeful Sam Adams.
I sat down with him in his City Hall office [...]

As detailed yesterday by the Oregonian (and later discussed on this site), the driver of the AGG Enterprises garbage truck that killed Brett Jarolimek last week had a slew of speeding infractions on his record.
Now, I’ve learned that speeding was the least of his problems.
According to my research and to sources who have requested to [...]

[*Updated: 8:45pm]

(Photo © Jonathan Maus)

City Commissioner of Transportation Sam Adams is convening an “emergency meeting” to discuss what the city can do to prevent bicycle fatalities in light of, “a recent string of tragedies”.
An email invitation sent from his office says,
“The conversation will focus on potential policy measures that could be instituted both in [...]

A scene from last year’s bike light parade.(Photo © Jonathan Maus)

The Portland Office of Transportation is organizing a bike light parade to increase awareness of the importance of being visible while riding at night. The parade officially kicks off the second year of the their “See & Be Seen” campaign.
The See & Be Seen [...]

New campaign hopes to improve crossing safety.(File photo © Jonathan Maus)

Next Monday, the Oregon Department of Transportation and the City of Portland Office of Transportation, with help from TriMet, are set to launch a media campaign to improve pedestrian safety.
The campaign — which has an emphasis on 82nd Ave — is called “I Brake for [...]

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 [...]

From a press release issued by the City of Portland, Office of Transportation:

NEW RED LIGHT CAMERA AT SW 4TH & JEFFERSON CAPTURES 226 RED LIGHT VIOLATIONS ON FIRST DAY OF OPERATION
(PORTLAND, OR) - Beginning Monday, October 15, at 12:01 a.m., motorists who run a red light on SW 4th at Jefferson will receive a $245 [...]

[Post updated: 9/27, 11:42am]

E. Burnside and 97th: The tracks where Sharon fell.Photo: Jim O’Horo

At a meeting last week of the Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee (PBAC), TriMet Communications Manager Josh Collins shared details of TriMet’s plans to review 32 locations where bike paths and bike lanes cross MAX tracks.
The review makes good on a promise made [...]

Cyclists now have more room to pass on the approach to the Hawthorne Bridge due to a newly installed ten-foot wide bike lane (faded stripe is the old lane).(Photo: Jonathan Maus)

The new double-wide bike lane on SE Madison St (just west of the MLK Blvd) was finally completed yesterday.

[...]

(Photos: Jonathan Maus)

Hoping to prevent a serious collision between their service trucks and bicyclists, the Portland Water Bureau is discussing ways to improve safety around their facility on N. Interstate Avenue.
Concerns about bike safety bubbled up seven months ago when a bicyclist riding south on N. Flint Ave. collided with a Water Bureau truck that [...]

Springwater Corridor Trail(Photo: Jonathan Maus)

KATU has the story of a man who was attacked on Wednesday night while riding on the Springwater Corridor Trail in Clackamas County.
“Dave Miller said the suspects (about 10 of them) stepped out of the darkness, robbing and punching him and even stomping on his face…they also stole his Specialized mountain [...]

Looking west at the intersection of SE Clinton and SE 11th. This is where (I think) Ben Ramsdell and Johnny Eschweiler exchanged words.(Photos by Jonathan Maus)

As a popular route for cyclists coming from the Clinton Street bikeway to the riverfront and downtown, the stretch of SE Clinton, just west of SE 11th is currently [...]

Karen Stiles is worried about efforts to limit bicycle useon the Willamette Greenway Trail.(File photo)

Business is good for Karen Stiles who owns Waterfront Bicycle Rentals on the RiverPlace Esplanade just south of the Hawthorne Bridge. Part of the reason is because the popular Willamette Greenway Trail is all that separates her storefront from the [...]

This photo shows major lane re-alignment at Williams and Fremont.(File photo)

The Portland Development Commission (PDC) and the Portland Department of Transportation (PDOT) are throwing a public party in north Portland tomorrow night to celebrate the completion of the first phase of their Vancouver-Williams Transportation Safety Project.
Completed in June, the first phase restriped ten new crosswalks [...]

The panel included Police, Parks and PDOT.(Photo: Police Bureau/SE Precinct)

On Wednesday nights the paved roads through Mt. Tabor Park in southeast Portland are closed to motor vehicle traffic and due to its urban location and natural beauty, it becomes flooded with many different types of users.
Dog walkers, skateboarders, and pedestrians all compete for [...]

With an extensive bus and bike network, light rail, streetcars and even an aerial tram, Portland is frequently lauded for its transportation system (there’s even been a movie made about it).
But conditions outside the central city and close-in neighborhoods are much different. Roads in outer southeast Portland — especially busy SE 82nd [...]

[Updated: 8:25pm]

Poll on PDOT website

I just got an email from someone who claims that PDOT is “investigating the possibility of lowering the speed limits of neighborhood streets.”
The message pointed me to the Safety page of the PDOT website where there is currently a “Pulse Poll” that asks, “What do you think the speed limit should [...]

The dreaded small pinky wave.From the RTA campaign

Via the BBC
The Australian Road and Transit Authority (RTA) has launched a new anti-speeding campaign targeted at young drivers.
The campaign is based on the slogan, “Speeding. No one thinks big of you.” According to the BBC,
“The series of TV ads shows women shaking their little [...]

[Updated 6/14/07, 7:51pm][Updated 6/15/07, 1:15pm]
A bill that seemed to come out of nowhere (I didn’t know about it until I read the Statesman Journal this morning) and that started out having nothing to do with bicycle safety, has passed the House, and is set to become Oregon’s first safe passing legislation that specifically protects bicyclists. [...]

The MLK Viaduct Project construction zone is proving to be quite a pain for some cyclists.

Looking west on SE Caruthers.(File photo)

Many people have been ticketed for stop sign violations since the Police Bureau announced that the entire area — which just so happens to be one of the busiest bike corridors in the city — [...]

Scott Bricker of the BTAdemonstrates the proposed pedestrian hand signal.File photo

A bill that would give pedestrians a way to signal their intentions to cross a street without having to step out into traffic is stalled in the House Judiciary Committee.
Senate Bill 573 (text) will likely not move out for a full House vote [...]

I realize we’re well into May, but I just heard about this. Check out the official proclamation:

TRANSPORTATION SAFETY AWARENESS MONTH PROCLAMATION
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
STATE OF OREGON

WHERAS:The Oregon Department of Transportation serves Oregon citizens and visitors through efforts aimed at minimizing the potential for loss of life, injury and property damage relating to [...]