[NOTE: For some reason, the comments on this post were not available when it was first published earlier today (9/30). I've re-published it and moved it up on the page to give folks another chance to comment. -- Editor]

One of two “bike trains” operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority.(Photo by captaindisko/Flickr)

Over the weekend, [...]

Old lane markings have been ground away and the new, bi-directional bike lane is being mapped out.(Photo © J. Maus)

The Rose Quarter Transit Center, long a thorn in the side of bike advocates who want more efficient north-south access, is slated for a host of bike access improvements.
Those improvements — which include bus line re-routes [...]

Wyatt Baldwin.(Photo © J. Maus)

Wyatt Baldwin, the web programmer who created the bicycle trip-planning tool byCycle.org, has been hired by Portland’s public transit operator TriMet.
The announcement was made by TriMet communications director Carolyn Young during a presentation at the recent Pro Walk/Pro Bike conference in Seattle.
Baldwin starts today and he told me last week that [...]

Watch TriMet TV episode below.(Photo © J. Maus)

The latest episode of TriMet TV is titled, Buses, Trains & Bikes: Sharing the Road.
The piece outlines many safe biking measures aimed at keeping bike riders safe while operating around buses and MAX trains.
Among all the expected messages the narrator shares (use signals, walk your bike on [...]

(Photo © J. Maus)

The TriMet bus operator who started a petition hoping to stop a plan to allow bike access through the Rose Quarter Transit Center has just left a comment here on BikePortland.org explaining his views.
Dan Christensen wrote that he loves to bike and that “one of the best times” of his life was [...]

BTA’s Michelle Poyourow.(Photo © J. Maus)

Michelle Poyourow of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) will issue a statement later today about a recent petition and document that has surfaced from a group of TriMet operators who oppose a plan to allow bike access through the Rose Quarter Transit Center (RQTC).
Poyourow is the BTA’s main liaison to [...]

“We have no political axe to grind and are not in opposition to bicycles in general. But we are in opposition to bicycles in the Rose Quarter Transit Center.”– from a letter and petition send to local media outlets from a group of TriMet bus and train operators

The Portland Mercury has shared an interesting [...]

A rider on the narrow Steel Bridge sidewalk (view is facing west on the north side of the bridge).(Photos © J. Maus)

TriMet recently completed a construction project on the Steel Bridge and the result is a narrower sidewalk on the north side.
The majority of people that ride bikes over the Steel Bridge use the shared, [...]

Click to enlarge

The following is an excerpt taken directly from TriMet’s website:
Tips for Bike Commuters During MAX Steel Bridge Service Interruption August 2-24
The Steel Bridge will be closed to cars, buses and MAX trains August 2-24, 2008, as crews connect existing tracks to the new MAX Green Line tracks on 5th and 6th avenues. Shuttle [...]

The new sign says, “Hang bike here. Allow cyclists access to hook.”(Photo: Bill Alsup)

In an effort to make their bike hooks more user-friendly, TriMet has added new signage on MAX trains reminding passengers that the hook area is for bikes (not for standing in).
TriMet planner and designated bike guy Colin Maher says the [...]

TriMet tested bike access options last month.(Photos © J. Maus)

The BTA reports that TriMet has officially decided to make bike access through the Rose Quarter a reality.
TriMet tested potential solutions for bike traffic through its busy Rose Quarter transit hub back in June. Now, according to the BTA’s Michelle Poyourow, TriMet will make [...]

“At rush hour, expecting to board a train with a bike is a less dependable option than locking a bike at both ends of the trip, bringing on a folding bike, or traveling at a different time.”–Colin Maher, TriMet

TriMet’s bike programs manager Colin Maher has taken the time to look into the incident that I [...]

[UPDATE: Please see this story (posted at 5:35pm) for TriMet's clarification of this incident.]

(Photo © J. Maus)

After over a year, and following clarifications from TriMet staff, their contracted security personnel are still allegedly telling some people that they cannot board a MAX train unless a hook is available.
Back in April of 2007, I shared reports [...]

Screenshot from TriMet’s new trip-planning map unveiled at the Carfree Conference yesterday. Check it out here.

During a presentation at the Towards Carfree Cities conference, TriMet unveiled a new, interactive trip-planning map.
A demonstration of the new map — available at maps.trimet.org — was given by Bibiana McHugh, TriMet’s IT Manager for GIS and Location Based [...]

Riders test a new bike lane configuration through the Rose Quarter Transit Center.(Photos © J. Maus)

This morning I stopped by TriMet’s test of new bike access options through the Rose Quarter Transit Center this morning.
When I rolled up I was greeted by City of Portland bike coordinator Roger Geller and TriMet’s manager of capital projects [...]

(Photo © J. Maus)

TriMet has just released the results of their Bikes on MAX survey that they launched in August of last year.
In the Executive Summary of the survey, TriMet points to the trends of growth in both MAX and bike ridership in Portland. They say those trends have, “resulted in an increasing number [...]

Sign at entrance to Rose Quarter Transit Center.(Photo © J. Maus)

The Rose Quarter Transit Center has long been a barrier to bikes. But now TriMet, the City of Portland and the BTA are teaming up to test new options intended to “find a safe and reliable” way for bikes to get through the transit [...]

Bikes and people squeezeonto a MAX train.(Photos © J. Maus)

As reported yesterday, TriMet is working to improve the bike hooks on their MAX trains. However, if you’re like many people who take a bike onboard (especially during peak hours), the bigger problem is that there are just aren’t enough hooks available.
If you’re waiting for [...]

Rubber coated MAX bike hook.(Photo: Tomas Quinones)

TriMet has confirmed that they are testing a rubber coating on the bike hooks in some their MAX light rail trains.
According to bike programs intern Colin Maher, they have been testing the rubber coating on five trains for the past two months. “We’re testing the durability [...]

Check out this posting to the Rants and Raves section of Craigslist (pasted below). It’s from a concerned person who was driving a car behind a bike and a bus and witnessed the bus almost run over someone on a bike while the two traveled on Interstate Avenue:
Were you in the Trimet vs Cyclist [...]

TriMet GM Fred Hansenis working with the BTAon bus/bike safety.(Photos © J. Maus)

In the wake of the tragic death of 15 year-old Austin Miller, who was killed when he and a TriMet bus collided in Beaverton earlier this month, TriMet has issued a press release (full text below) that outlines immediate, near-term, and long-term actions [...]

Current TriMet buses can hold two bikes.(Photo © Jonathan Maus)

Looking for ways to add capacity for riders that like to bus and bike, TriMet officials say they’re currently testing racks that would hold three bikes (current racks have room for two bikes).
However, according to TriMet stategic planner Eric Hesse, initial testing has given them reason [...]

[Updated 10/8, 2:13pm]
[Updated 10/9, 9:18am]

(File photo © Jonathan Maus)

Somehow, a cyclist survived a run-in with a MAX train on N. Interstate Avenue today.
Here’s the Oregonian’s report:
“A bicyclist who was hit by a MAX train and ended up lying flat underneath it seems to have gotten away with non-life-threatening injuries, rescuers said.
A southbound MAX [...]

[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 [...]

I hope Colin has more luck with his new job than he did with these barricades at a Cross Crusade event last year.(Photo: Jonathan Maus)

TriMet is in the process of taking a long, hard look at how bikes mix with their transit services. They’ve recently launched a major survey effort and they’re feeling the [...]

There has been some confusion about whether or not passengers on TriMet MAX trains are required to move for bicycles in the designated bike hook area.
Now, in a comment exchange from a post back in April TriMet has clarified that passengers are not required to move in order to make room for bicycles.
Here’s [...]

(Photo: Jonathan Maus)

As promised last week, TriMet has just released the online version of their Bikes on MAX survey.
They say it’s, “the most comprehensive study of bikes on light rail transit conducted to date in the U.S.”
This survey is not to be confused with the version they’ve been passing out to cyclists aboard trains [...]

In light of the attention being given to the TriMet Bikes on MAX survey, I want to encourage everyone to not distribute and complete copies of the on-board survey.
I linked to a PDF of it yesterday solely to present the information, not to encourage folks to print it out and send it in.
An [...]

[Post updated at 11:33am]
There is mounting evidence that TriMet is considering a shift in their bike policy that may include a rush-hour prohibition of bikes on trains and an increased emphasis on bike parking at stations to encourage cyclists to park-and-ride.
Currently, bicycles are allowed on MAX trains during all hours with some restrictions. For [...]

Bikes don’t always mix well on crowded trains.(File photo)

A large increase in the amount of bicycles being taken on MAX trains has been a simmering problem for TriMet since the beginning of spring. That increase, combined with confusion over their policies has led to a situation in dire need of attention.
I heard from one [...]