A meeting back in June helped highlight
safety concerns at the intersection.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

It looks likes years of citizen activism might finally bear fruit. Yesterday, Betsy Reese — the co-owner of the Paramount Apartments situated on the peninsula formed by the intersection of N. Broadway, Flint, and Wheeler streets near I-5 — announced that PBOT is set to host a special public meeting next week to come up with safety fixes for the notoriously dangerous location.

I first reported about serious safety concerns at this intersection back in December 2007, when the Portland Water Bureau (who has their headquarters just northwest of the location) decided to prohibit their employees from making the right turn from Broadway onto Wheeler. Water Bureau safety officials made the decision out of concerns about right-hooks following two fatal collisions just months prior.
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Everywhere you look, PBOT is making neighborhood
streets safer. In this photo, people use the new
crossing treatment at N. Concord and Rosa Parks.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

It's hard to overstate the importance of the Portland Bureau of Transportation's neighborhood greenway program. The combination of considerable expertise in, and dedication to, neighborhood traffic safety from veteran staffers and engineers, and the $1 million (or so) annual budget thanks to Mayor Sam Adams, has resulted in a burgeoning and connected network of neighborhood greenways (a.k.a. their previous name of bike boulevards) that just keep getting better and better.

As I ride around, I've noticed the progress in almost every quadrant of the city; from new crossing treatments in outer southeast to speed bumps right outside my front door in north Portland. According to PBOT, they've got nine projects that are either currently under construction or just recently completed.

Below are just a few signs of progress I've come across recently...
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PBOT Director Tom Miller at the Oregon
Active Transportation Summit in
April 2012.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The TucsonVelo.com bike blog is reporting that current Portland Bureau of Transportation Director Tom Miller applied for a job to lead the City of Tucson, Arizona's transportation department. According to publisher Michael McKisson, Miller beat out all the other candidates and was initially offered the position, but city officials rescinded the offer and have now selected another candidate.

Here's more from McKisson:

Tucson has a new transportation director, but only after rescinding an offer to Portland’s head of transportation... Michael Graham, the City of Tucson’s public information officer, confirmed yesterday that the position was originally offered on contingency to Portland’s transportation director Tom Miller. Graham said the city reevaluated the situation and determined that Cole would be a better fit for the position.

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Dan Bower, shown here in 2008,
is in charge of PBOT's new Active
Transportation Division.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

As of July 1st, the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has completed a major organizational shift. As I reported back in February, the bureau decided to dismantle their Transportation Options division and fold it into a new, all-inclusive Active Transportation Division (AT). Back then I reported the move was done as a consolidation to save about $350,000 annually; but at a presentation about the changes last month, we learned that there were other reasons behind the move — and that it might actually help bicycling in the long run.

Dan Bower, who will manage the new division, said that when PBOT was faced with $16 million in budget cuts, it, "Presented an opportunity to ask questions." Bower gave an overview of the answers to those questions to a packed crowd in City Hall as part of PBOT's monthly Bicycle Brown Bag lectures on June 26th. (more...)

One smart light.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

One unsung area where Portland is doing some very cool stuff for bicycling is with traffic signals and "ITS" — which stands for Intelligent Transportation Systems. The field of ITS encompasses all sorts of high-tech ways to make our streets smarter. From sensing vehicle patterns with RFID, to software that manages complex signal systems.

Around Portland, some of the most innovative examples of traffic engineering fall under this category. ITS is how PBOT managed to improve bike access on the NE 12th overcrossing without upsetting nearby freight-dependent businesses. It's also how they dealt with the notorious right hooks on Broadway at Williams (with bike-only signals). (more...)

With budget cuts to bike lane
cleaning, you might want to
carry a broom.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has unveiled a list of proposed cuts intended to slash their discretionary budget by $15-16 million. The unprecedented cuts — which amount to about 20% of $70 million in discretionary revenue — comes as PBOT grapples with how continue providing services while revenue sources have failed to keep pace with demands and commitments made in previous years are now coming due.
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PBOT Director Tom Miller says
"tough decisions" lie ahead
for his agency.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation has projected $16 million in cuts to balance their 2012-2013 fiscal year budget.

As we reported earlier this month, the cuts are necessary due to a variety of local, regional, and national issues and Portland Mayor Sam Adams is asking all bureaus to do their parts to weather the storm.

In a statement issued today, PBOT said they've gotten even lower than expected gas tax receipt projections from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). State gas tax revenues are PBOT's single largest source of funding and they've been dwindling as people decide to drive less and drive more fuel-efficient cars.
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Tom Miller is the new Director of the Bureau of Transportation.
(Photos © J. Maus)

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Traffic through the Rose Quarter.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation released results of their 2010 bike counts today (PDF here). The counts — taken at 153 locations throughout the city — show that bike use climbed in Portland this year after a small dip in 2009. According to the report, the number of bike trips taken in 2010 is up about 8 percent over 2009. Since PBOT began these annual counts in 2000, bicycling has tripled, growing by 190 percent. (more...)

The new bike-only signal at NE
Alameda and Sandy was
one of several highlights
of the ride.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Instead of their usual monthly meeting at City Hall, the City of Portland's Bicycle Advisory Committee took to the streets for their annual bike ride last night.

The idea of the ride was to share some of PBOT's recently completed and upcoming bikeway projects with committee members and other interested citizens and advocates. Notable faces on the ride included author and reporter for The Oregonian Jeff Mapes, Portland Police Officer (and BAC Vice-Chair) Robert Pickett, Mayor Adams' Chief of Staff Tom Miller (riding his daughter in a bakfiets). Also joining us were several of bike planning professionals from around the region and the state including the biking and walking program coordinator from the City of Wilsonville Jeff Owen and City of Eugene planner David Roth.

Below is a detail of the ride map followed by a few highlights. (more...)