The Beaverton Police Department’s Public Information Officer Sgt. Paul Wandell says a statement about bike safety printed in a city newsletter has been “blown out of proportion.”

The advice — that bicyclists should, “walk your bike across busy intersections and streets” — was printed as a bike safety tip and it has touched a nerve among many Beaverton residents after a story on BikePortland brought it to their attention.

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Devoted bike advocate and transportation
guru Chris Smith will take part in
a City Club debate tomorrow.
(Photo © J. Maus)

You’ve got some important choices to make in this election, so why not wait a few days before making up your mind?

Tomorrow is the big City Club debate featuring the six candidates vying for City Commissioner Seat #1 (that’s the race with Fritz, Smith, Bissonnette, Branam, Fahey, and Lewis — all solid candidates), and I’ve got thoughts and notes I’d like to share about them as well.

Also, in a few minutes I’m sitting down with mayoral hopeful Sho Dozono. I’ll ask him to share his thoughts on how he’ll work to make Portland equal to Amsterdam — a claim he made in a televised debate last month.

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As many of you who already know, all sorts of interesting things can be seen while riding around a city.

I’ve been trying to snap photos of random sights on the bikeways around Portland more often. Here are three things that caught my eye in the past few days…

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Cover of the newsletter.

“Public Safety” is the theme of a special edition of the City of Beaverton’s Your City newsletter (Beaverton is about 7 miles southwest of Portland).

When BikePortland reader Alan Bennett read through it he was shocked to see that under the heading of, Riding Safe: Bicycle Tips, it was recommended that when biking, you should, “Stop at all intersections and be sure to walk your bike across busy intersections and streets.”

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Commissioner Adams during an
interview in October 2007.
(Photo © J. Maus)

In a letter sent out this morning to subscribers of his email newsletter, City Commissioner Sam Adams summed up PDOT’s budget woes and made some final statements on the defunct Sauvie Island Bridge re-use plan (I think the statement will also be published as an Op-Ed in the Oregonian but haven’t confirmed that yet).

In the letter, Adams writes that the combination of high fuel prices, the increasing cost of materials and declining Gas Tax revenue (because Oregonians are driving less) has created a “massive new transportation challenge facing our City.”

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Not surprisingly, Commissioners Adams’ opponent in the race for mayor, Sho Dozono, has issued a statement in response to Adams’ decision to pull the plug on the plan to re-use the Sauvie Island Bridge span as a bike/ped bridge in Northwest Portland.

Here’s the statement (emphasis mine):

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Green thermoplastic material has just been re-applied (it used to be blue) on this bike lane at SE 7th just before Morrison.
(Photos © J. Maus)

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I’ve got a thing for Hungary. My wife Juli was born there and we’ve visited her family several times (they live in Budapest). The old-world romanticism, the food, the history — I just love being there.

I also like catchy, bike-related PSAs that use creative hooks to get the message across. I’ve highlighted several in the past months — one from London that brings a bike lane symbol to life, the uber-popular Awareness Test video, and even an effort from the Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT).

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An Obama spoke card in Portland,
via Los Angeles and New Orleans.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Local news outlets are reporting that Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, is headed to Portland.

No specific details about his visit have been announced but he’s expected to be in Portland later this week.

Sen. Obama delivered a rousing speech to a packed Memorial Coliseum during his last visit to Portland back in March.

Obama is expected to do very well in Oregon — and especially Portland since he’s the only candidate so far who has mentioned bicycles in an official policy statement (a fact that was first uncovered right here in Portland).

Which brings me to the spoke cards…

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Adams addressed the media
in his office this morning.
(Photos © J. Maus)

In a cramped meeting room in his office a few minutes ago, Commissioner Adams explained how rising gas prices have impacted PDOT’s transportation budget and that the Sauvie Island Bridge span reuse project is the first casualty.

Standing next to PDOT Director Sue Keil, Adams said rising fuel prices have given PDOT a “double hit” and that the situation has forced them to “rethink how we spend our money.”

As expected, Adams also addressed his decision to halt plans to install the Sauvie Island Bridge span in Northwest Portland. He expressed some of the same sentiments he shared with me last night.

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City of Portland Commissioner Sam Adams will announce tomorrow (5/7) that he will pull the plug on a plan to re-use the Sauvie Island Bridge span as a bicycle and pedestrian crossing over I-405 in Northwest Portland.

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PSU’s new President Wim Wiewel.
(Photo: PSU)

Portland State University’s new President Wim Wiewel (pronounced “vim veeval”) should fit right in at the downtown campus.

Wiewel professed his love of bikes in recent stories published by the Oregonian and the Associated Press.

The Oregonian reported that Wiewel is from Amsterdam and that,

“he says Portland feels like home. He loves to ride bicycles, drink microbrewery beer and is used to daily forecasts of 55 degrees and rainy.”

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Reader David Seifert sent in this photo.

Ballots are out and some Portlanders are already casting their votes in a landmark election that will remake Portland City Hall.

I’ve been lacking a bit in political coverage but I hope to rectify that in the next few days (hold on to those ballots!).

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This bike/ped activated signal at E Burnside and
41st was funded by an ODOT grant.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Oregon Department of Transportation has announced that they are now accepting applications for their Pedestrian and Bicycle Program grant program. Projects from all over Oregon are eligible to compete for $5 million.

Since 1986, the program has awarded millions of dollars to hundreds of bike and ped projects throughout the state. The program is administered by the Oregon Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee, who will make decisions on which projects to fund in October 2008. Grant applications are due by July 25.

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A card for Jessica was passed
around at the recent Filmed
by Bike event.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Friends of Jessica Osborne — who was struck by a car on Rosa Parks Way in North Portland and left for dead on April 3 — have planned a benefit show to raise money for her medical bills.

The collision left Osborne in the hospital with three cracked vertebrae, collapsed lungs, scrapes and bruses, and a ruptured spleen (that was later removed). The injuries will keep her out of work for eight weeks and the hospital bill is close to $100,000.

Friends have lined up bands (Stag Bitten, Play/Start, Star Kaleider, and others) and a prize raffle to help raise money.

Benefit for Jessica Osborne
May, 15
Liberty Hall (311 N. Ivy)
Cost : $5

A newly painted green
bike lane on SE 7th Ave.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Think Out Loud radio show will discuss different ideas about the design of bike lanes, bike-related laws, and how best to share the road.

The producers of the show were spurred on in part by a recent article in Adventure Cyclist magazine that blamed the design of Portland’s bike lanes in two fatal crashes last fall (they planned the show before that article was published).

According to a promo blurb on their website, the show seeks to answer the question,

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The eye of the tiger.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Hoping to give kids the same thrill that mom and dad get out of bike racing, organizers of the Tuesday night racing series at Portland International Raceway will hold the first “Kids Rule” race tomorrow night.

Local racer Neil Green said his six year-old son didn’t want to play baseball or soccer, so he figured — why not introduce him to bike racing? “The kids are already at the track watching mom or dad so they might as well get some experience.”

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