PBOT is looking into a new cycle
track on N. Williams as part of $7
million in bike projects next year.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation is fleshing out a list of bicycle projects worth an estimated $7 million they hope to roll out between July 2010 and June 2011 (FY 2011). That amount -- a mix of local and federal sources -- is a substantial increase compared to previous years.

The list (download PDF here) includes $2.5 million in revenue from state and local sources and $4.57 million from federal sources. PBOT's Mark Lear had a draft of the list at the City's Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting last week and he's sent us an updated version.
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Riders take a trails survey on the Hawthorne Bridge just before rush hour.
(Photo © Elly Blue)

It's bike counting season again, and for the second year in a row there are two concurrent counts going on in Portland. (more...)

An example of a curb extension
with a bioswale (at SE Clay and 11th)
(Photo © J. Maus)

The city plans to turn SE Division Street into a "green main street" between SE 6th and SE 39th.

Division Streetscape and Reconstruction project manager Elizabeth Mahon presented draft intersection redesign plans to the city's Bicycle Advisory Committee last night, requesting feedback.

The project will give SE Division a green makeover, largely focused on capturing stormwater runoff in new curb extension bioswales. Project staff are currently looking at installing these and making on-street parking for cars and bicycles permanent along much of the corridor. (more...)

The new bike lane up the hill on Mississippi was installed this morning. (Photo courtesy of PBOT)

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PBOT's initial drawing for proposed cycletrack on SW Broadway.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Mayor Sam Adams' office has just announced that the new cycletrack on SW Broadway will open this Monday, August 31st, in a 2:00pm ceremony on the Portland State University campus. (more...)

Bike advocates huddled with the
BTA's Scott Bricker before testifying
at the 2007 hearing.
(Photo © J. Maus)

With the prospects of bike funding looking grim Salem, the residents of Portland have a chance to set a different tone.

Tonight (5/21) in Southeast Portland the Mayor and City Commissioners will listen to testimony about the Mayor's proposed budget prior to their vote to adopt it on May 27th.

At stake for people who care about bikes as transportation is $4.7 million dollars in funding for bike projects and programs. Here is a list of bike-related line items in the budget. (more...)

City Traffic Engineer Rob Burchfield
presented the new cycle track to
the bike advisory committee
at City Hall last night.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Last month, when Mayor Adams and the Bureau of Transportation announced the new, cycle track pilot project on SW Broadway, many people in the community were excited. The removal of an entire lane of auto traffic on a marquee downtown street just to create more space for bike traffic was cause for celebration in bike circles.

However, it wasn't all smiles in Bikeville and some people raised concerns about the new facility.

The concerns seemed to be primarily about how folks would negotiate a left turn out of the cycle track (bikes are separated from motor vehicle traffic by parked cars), and how the cycle track (a new facility type not specifically defined in Oregon statutes) would jibe with existing traffic laws that govern bikeways. (more...)

The City of Portland is looking to follow up the smashing success of their 2008 Sunday Parkways event -- but they're still about $27,000 short.

Looking to bridge that funding gap, the Transportation Options division (within the Bureau of Transportation) sent out an email last week asking for individuals to help them reach their $200,000 budget goal. (more...)

More fun with the city's Bicycle Master Plan.

As part of our ongoing look at the City of Portland's Bicycle Master Plan update process, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of the new bicycle infrastructure ideas being considered for use in Portland.

The City has published a draft of their "Suggested/recommended Bikeway Facility Types". Many of them won't be news to most of you -- stuff like bike boulevards, sharrows, and bike lanes are old hat. But what's neat about the Bike Master Plan Update project is that it's an opportunity to get some new types of facilities into the city's toolbox. (more...)

Cross section of new cycle track coming to North Park Blocks.
(Graphic: NeighborhoodNotes.com)

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In a statement just published on his website, Mayor Sam Adams has responded to concerns from Portlanders about the Bureau of Transportation's requested budget for 2009-2010. As we've reported, PBOT's budget puts a high priority on arterial paving and is slim on bike project funding. It also includes a budget revision that would scale back funding at the Transportation Options division and the Safe Routes to Schools program would take 40% hit.

Adams has just posted a statement about this on his website. Here's the full text: (more...)

PBOT Director Sue Keil at a
press conference in May 2008.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Back in January, just days before the Willamette Week broke news of Mayor Sam Adams' relationship with Beau Breedlove, the incoming Mayor unveiled an ambitious plan of projects he promised to complete in his first 100 days on the job.

Among those promises were several biggies for bikes; a "high profile" cycle track and 15 miles of bicycle boulevards to be "identified and implemented" in 2009 (there were other bike-related promises, but those were the big ones).
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(Photo still from
Streetfilms/Clarence Eckerson)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation for their work in encouraging seniors to adopt a healthy lifestyle. A key component of that effort is the PBOT's Senior Cyclist Program.

The Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging Achievement Award was given at the recent national Smart Growth Conference. According to a report on the EPA's website, Michelle Pirzadeh from the EPA said, "The City’s action merits national recognition because it improves the health and well-being of the community and its older citizens." (more...)

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation has announced that the upcoming public open houses for the Bicycle Master Plan Update project will be combined with open houses for the Portland Streetcar System Plan.

Ellen Vanderslice, Bike Master Plan Update project manager, says she believes this new scheme has several benefits. When I asked her why PBOT decided to combine these important events, she gave several reasons.

PBOT has been asked to shave millions of dollars from their budget and, according to Vanderslice, putting these two open houses together is an "opportunity to save the taxpayers money." It's also, she says, a result of, "a motivation for staff to look for efficiencies." (more...)

As these tracks show, many
people still rode during
December's snow.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Earlier this month, the Mayor's office released a storm response survey. The 15-question survey (it's still online) asked citizens about their travel behavior during the storm and asked them to rate the city's response.

Every mode (transit, motor vehicles, pedestrians) was considered -- except bikes.

In a city that prides itself on leading the nation in bike-friendliness and aspires to be a world-class bike city, it seemed strange that bikes didn't even warrant a mention. Sure, many people decided to leave their bikes at home instead of battling the slush, snow and ice; but many also found their bike to be a perfectly viable way to get around (especially with studded tires).

Thankfully, the Mayor's office has acknowledged the oversight and now the city's Bicycle Advisory Committee has drafted a bike-specific storm response survey. (more...)

Master plan update project manager
Ellen Vanderslice (committee co-chair
Mia Birk in background).
(Photos © J. Maus)

It's been nearly two years since the Bureau of Transportation kicked off an effort to update Portland's Bicycle Master Plan.

Since that time, the plan has gone through quite a few speed bumps. In April of 2007, just two weeks after the update effort started in earnest, former Mayor Tom Potter slashed its $100,000 of funding. Thankfully, Potter realized the error and restored the plan's funding a few weeks later, but that episode is just one of several things that has temporarily diverted attention from update process at one time or another. (more...)

The Options Division are
the ones who deliver the
SmartTrips packets to
your door by bike.
(Photos © J. Maus)

The Transportation Options Division inside the Bureau of Transportation is a key piece of Portland's success as a sustainable city. "Options" (as it's known around here) is the marketing arm of the city's transportation program and there the ones you see at street fairs and hundreds of events throughout the year. Their mission is to provide information, resources and tools to encourage Portlanders to, "make good choices about how to get around."

One of their primary responsibilities is to send out bike maps and other bike information whenever someone requests it. When I moved to Portland in 2005 (totally unaware of the institutional support for biking in this city) I surfed the City website and found the Options page. Wanting to know how to get around by bike, I filled out a request for some free bike maps (now they have this handy online form). (more...)

Parking on the left,
tricky tracks on the right.
(Photo © J. Maus)

This week, the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation decided to remove on-street parking on the new transit mall ahead of schedule due to safety concerns first brought to their attention by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) back in October. (more...)

Chris Smith, Streetcar

Jason Tell, ODOT

Scott Bricker, BTA

Rex Burkholder, Metro

Mark Ginsberg, Lawyer

Sue Keil, PBOT

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Some Portlanders continued to ride bikes
during the storm.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Mayor's office has launched a survey to help gather feedback about how they responded to the major storm we had at the end of 2008 (take it online here).

The survey is part of a "snow and ice readiness assessment" that the Mayor's office has undertaken. It's obvious the City (and TriMet) was caught off-guard with the storm. After acknowledging the "tireless work" of city employees and citizens, in the introduction to the survey, the Mayor's office says, "we would like to do better next time". (more...)