(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Our roads are so full of dangerous and irresponsible vehicle operators that finding them is usually as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.

Case in point: In response to a spate of collisions caused by reckless and illegal driving, the Portland Police Bureau decided to conduct a traffic safety mission on Friday night. For two hours between 7:00 and 9:00 pm they patrolled the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Grand Avenue couplet between the Ross Island Bridge and Broadway.

In those two hours they wrote 31 traffic citations and 34 warnings. They also arrested two people — one for driving under the influence and another person for outstanding warrants.

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The intersection of Division at SE 124th near where Damon Burton was killed.

A man was arrested yesterday morning for recklessly driving his car into a person who was trying to cross the street in southeast Portland.

40-year-old Clifford Eugene Perry Jr. faces charges of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII) and Reckless Driving. Perry will be arraigned in Multnomah County Court today.

On Sunday evening Perry was driving westbound on Division near 124th (map) “at a high rate of speed” (according to Portland Police investigators) prior to coming into contact with 61-year-old Damon Patrick Burton. Perry, who the police suspect was drunk, then continued driving on Division until crashing into a gas station at 122nd. Burton lived in the neighborhood and was trying to cross Division from south to north prior to being hit.

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This week’s Monday Roundup is sponsored by Hassalo on Eighth, now leasing in the Lloyd District.

Hope you enjoyed the holiday weekend. Now it’s time to put your thinking caps back on. Here are the stories that caught our eyes this past week:

New twist on bike share: Two business partners have launched a novel new bike promotion scheme in London: Riders can get a free ‘Buzzbike’ only if they agree to ride to work at least 12 days per month and park the bike in a public place.

Rolling coal goes primetime: Regular BP readers know all about the “rolling coal” menace; now people all over the world are just finding out about it thanks to a front page story in the NY Times.

Road rage across the pond: A road rage video posted online by British journalist Jeremy Vine has the UK talking. Guardian reporter Peter Walker explains why it’s not a surprise to everyday riders.

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Welcome to the weekly video roundup! I’m getting this out before I leave for a big bike adventure this weekend. The above video is 45 minutes on this year’s RAAM, which includes Juliana Buhring, the hero of Inspired To Ride (which is about the “self-supported RAAM” though not affiliated with RAAM). Such an amazing ultraendurance race; I love the humanity that comes from showing the riders.

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Yes. It is time for ‘cross. And David Douglas Park is a great place to kick off the season.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

It’s Labor Day weekend so you know what that means (besides celebrating the labor movement): extra time for bike adventuring!

While we be rolling into the Willamette Valley with friends to pick up some beer-making ingredients for Base Camp Brewing on the third annual Fresh Hop Century, we also want to highlight two big events on our calendar for this Saturday: the 24 Hour Velo Vulture Alley Cat and the first race in the Gran Prix Brad Ross cyclocross series.

These events will get your heart pumping whether you prefer to pedal through the urban jungle or the cyclocross battlefield.

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Oregon Walks Executive Director Noel Mickelberry pushed back tears as she said the recent spate of deaths and injuries have been “debilitating” for her organization.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

No matter what Portland does to address the fatalities and injuries on our roads, in the end safety comes down to one major factor: personal behavior. That was the predominant opinion of the speakers at a rally “To end unsafe streets” held in downtown Portland this morning.

The event was organized by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (soon to be called the Street Trust). That organization’s Executive Director Rob Sadowsky reminded the few dozen people and handful of media crews that showed up that Portland has had 30 road deaths so far this year. An “enormous amount,” he said.

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Assistant Chief Chris Uehara was one of several officers who attended the annual bike safety fiesta.
(Photos: Portland Police Bureau)

The power of bicycles to bring people together and break down barriers is truly awe-inspiring. We’ve seen this take many forms over the years and now we can add a recent event hosted by the Portland Police Bureau to the list.

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The Street Trust (formerly the Bicycle Transportation Alliance) has made a public statement about the death of young Fallon Smart and the serious collision yesterday that left 15-year-old Bradley Fortner with a brain injury.

“We need action now,” says Street Trust Executive Director Rob Sadowsky. “I am deeply saddened each time I hear about another road death. It is all of our responsibility to drive, bike, and walk as if it is our own child, grandchild, or grandparent who will be crossing the road at the next intersection. Simply put, we must slow down and we must be vigilant.”

The statement comes with an announcement of a rally that will be held tomorrow (Thursday, September 1st) at the north end of the North Park Blocks. The rally is being coordinated with — and will include representatives from — Oregon Walks, Oregon and SW Washington Families for Safe Streets, the Portland Bureau of Transportation, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

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This stuff is coming folks. PBOT included this sketch in a presentation to city council today.

Today at Portland city council our transportation bureau took another step forward in a project that will finally build separated bikeways and other street upgrades in the central city.

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From BlackWilliamsProject.com.

North Williams Avenue, Portland’s busiest biking street that’s full of new shops and housing, was once the heart of our city’s black community.

But due to the negative impacts of systemic racism, city policies that hurt people of color, and recent demographic shifts, Williams has changed dramatically. Some of that original culture still thrives, but it’s a shadow of its former self.

Now a public art project wants to help Portlanders remember what was lost and celebrate what exists today.

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Safetywhirl is one of 11 characters created by ODOT to encourage road safety.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has a response to the uptick of fatal and serious injury crashes on their roads: a new safety campaign that piggy-backs on the popularity of the Pokémon Go game and is timed to coincide with back-to-school season.

It’s called Safétymon Go and it comes with the tagline: “Safety is nothing to poké fun at!”

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Screengrab of article in Portland Monthly.

Portland Monthly magazine has the story of a new riding club in Portland: Transgender Riders United.

Here their lede:

When Quinn Lindstrom moved to Portland six months ago, she quickly fell in love with cycling, and began to seek out a group that shared her passion. But although there are more than 10 bike clubs within the city and countless others around Oregon, Lindstrom, a transgender woman, struggled to find one that felt like a good fit. She eventually decided to start her own group, Transgender Riders United (TRU), where trans folk of all genders could cycle together without judgment.

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Image from notice of intent to sue filed by Northwest Environmental Defense Center.

“Rolling coal” is a vile act and one of the many deviant behaviors commonly displayed by people who operate motor vehicles.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, let us explain how it works.

Imagine you’re out enjoying a nice bike ride on a beautiful road. Then the driver of a large diesel truck comes up next to you and purposely slams on the gas pedal to emit a huge plume of toxic black exhaust right in your face.

We told you it was vile. But unfortunately it happens more than you might think.

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North Interstate before Russell.

This story is part of our Collision Chronicles, an ongoing series to shine a light on the constant stream of scary street interactions we hear about but that you won’t read about in the news.

This account was posted by the victim Jocelyn Gaudi to her Facebook page yesterday. Gaudi, a very experienced rider and well-known local advocate who sits on several city transportation advisory committees, has given us permission to publish it here.

This morning, I experienced the closest call I’ve ever had while riding in Portland. To say that it was a traumatic experience is to short sell the negative impact that it had and will continue to have on me.

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Yes, apparently you can.
(Photo: The Lumberyard)

Our friends at the Lumberyard Bike Park are doing great things and their indoor (and outdoor) riding facilities are getting better and better.

They just capped of a summer season that saw a record number of kids participate in their camps. Now they’re ramping up the fall after-school program schedule.

And while the business hums along, they still know how to have fun.

Case in point is the video they just released. They put a helmet-camera on one of their riders and had him check out a Biketown bike, ride it out to their location on SE 82nd Avenue and put it through the paces.

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Portland is reeling from a record pace of traffic fatalities and a string of three horrific collisions involving teenagers in the past three weeks. Many local activists are using the word “crisis” to describe the lack of safety and irresponsible vehicle use on our streets.

Portland is not alone.

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The intersection of Columbia and Midway. George Middle School is on the left in the background.

According to the Portland Police Bureau, the crash happened at around 7:45 am this morning at North Columbia Boulevard and Midway — right across the street from George Middle School. The Oregonian has confirmed that the boy is an incoming freshman at nearby Roosevelt High School and was headed to his first day of classes.

As you can see in the photos below, Columbia Blvd is a major industrial freight route with a wide, five-lane cross-section. And Midway is at an angled intersection. The street is so dangerous to cross and so close to a school that it has one of those walking bridges that goes up and over it (bridges that planners and engineers often see as symbolic of a failed street). The speed limit is 40 mph at this location. There’s a speed reader board a few tenths of a mile from the collision site which means that PBOT has been trying to slow speeds down in this area.

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If you ride/commute through Washington Park, you might have to change your route.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Get ready for yet another construction project that will impact biking routes.

Starting two weeks from now, on September 12th, the Portland Water Bureau will begin their Reservoir Improvements Project in Washington Park. The construction of a new 12.4 million gallon reservoir and other upgrades to two existing reservoirs will last for 12 to 18 months.

There will be significant impacts to nearby roads that will include complete closures — including bicycling traffic.

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The creatively painted Citybikes Annex on Ankeny and 7th is closing its doors.
(Photos: Citybikes)

In another sign of a changing Portland, Citybikes is closing the doors of its flagship sales location and consolidating its business.

The shop has been run as a worker-owned cooperative since 1990. It expanded from its original repair shop location on Southeast Ankeny near 20th to a second location, the 5,000 square-foot “Annex”, on the corner of SE Ankeny and 7th in 1995. Because of dwindling sales, the Annex will close for good by the end of this year.

“The main factor,” said Citybikes owner Ryan Smith in a phone interview last week, “Is that people who used to come here, don’t live in Portland anymore.” Smith is one of nine current owners of the shop and he expects that the total number of worker-owners will be reduced to just five once the transition is complete. Citybikes used to have as many as 25 owners in peak season.

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Get ready for some exciting racing.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

If you’re a fan of fixed-gear and track bikes, you’re going to love this news: Next weekend (September 9-11) the Bone Machine Criterium is coming to Portland.

Organizers have put together three days of track bike goodness that begins with an event at the Alpenrose Velodrome on Friday.

Ernesto Gonzalez is the man behind the crit. He says the race, which will take place on Sunday in Swan Island (and industrial zone in north Portland) is the first of its kind in Oregon. Riders must use track bikes with one gear only that is fixed — meaning there is no freewheel and the only way to stop is to push backwards on the cranks. Imagine a huge pack of racers riding inches away from each without any hand-brakes. Gonzalez says they’ll be flying through the course at about 30 miles per hour. There will be races for men and women and a cash purse of $2,000 (there is equal payout for men’s and women’s fields and women are especially encouraged to sign up!).

“I’m expecting a fair amount of people to come, race and have fun,” Gonzalez shared with us via email. “Many racers are flying from out of town.” Criterium racers from San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City, Washington D.C., and Mexico are expected to compete.

Prior to the main event on Sunday, there will be a track meet at Alpenrose Velodrome followed by a party at Velo Cult Bike Shop and Tavern. At the party there will be a goldsprints competition ($5 to enter, winner takes all) and the talented group of riders and filmmakers from San Francisco’s Mash SF group will share a free screening of their new film (trailer below)

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