Well known local rider, bike advocate,
and lawyer Mark Ginsberg collided
with a MAX train while crossing E. Burnside
in January 2011.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The intersection of E Burnside, 97th Ave, and the I-205 multi-use path seems to have a worse safety record than I first realized. It's more dangerous than I realized when I posted about Sharon Fekety's nasty tumble on the tracks back in 2007. It's also more dangerous than I realized when I posted about the spill Thomas Crosslin took Wednesday morning while biking to work.

I learned about both of those incidents (not to mention others shared in comments) before I knew that noted local lawyer (who specializes in bike law), accomplished bike racer, daily bike commuter, and long-time Portland citizen activist Mark Ginsberg was involved in a collision with a MAX train while bicycling through that same intersection in January 2011.

According to Ginsberg, he was riding the north on the I-205 path with a friend after a long ride. When the I-205 path gets to E. Burnside, it switches from the west side of the freeway to the east side. To make this switch, the route directs bike traffic onto the south sidewalk of the E. Burnside overpass to go east and then it takes an abrupt left turn to go north via the painted crosswalk on E. Burnside (see graphic below). This turn shifts a rider's eyes view from looking directly east to looking north and midway through the intersection is a set of MAX tracks. (more...)

Location where MAX tracks cross E Burnside.
Crosslin was traveling from the right
side of the image to the left.

This morning, the MAX tracks on East Burnside just east of I-205 (at SE 97th Ave) caused Portland resident Thomas Crosslin to crash his bike. Thomas crosses these tracks every day on his commute from East Portland to downtown and says he's an experienced rider. He shared a letter with me that he wrote to TriMet in hopes they might do something to fix what he sees as a serious safety issue.

I decided to share Thomas's letter to raise awareness of this crossing and to show that it's not just novice riders who have trouble navigating around streetcar and MAX tracks. It's also important to note that this specific set of tracks has been on our radar as a safety issue for over five years. (more...)

Time to get in front of
this TriMet mess.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

TriMet — and therefore transit as we know it in Portland — in trouble. The agency is under pressure to cut its budget, and so far, its seems to be leaning primarily toward service cutbacks and fare increases as the primary way to do it.

Less service and higher prices is the exact opposite direction our transit system should be headed. If that's the route TriMet takes, they will be helping start a negative spiral of lower ridership that could darken what was once Portland's very proud and bright transit legacy. Without good transit service, people who can't afford to own a car and folks who ride bicycles will have one less option for longer trips. It will make Portland a much tougher place to have a low-car existence. (more...)

(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

This morning, TriMet unveiled a proposal of service cuts and fare increases they plan to move forward with in order to make up for a $17 million budget shortfall. If you're a fan of transit, and of making our city one that is less reliant on private automobiles, this is not good news.
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TriMet initially intended these railings on the downtown transit mall for people to lean on while waiting for buses and MAX trains; but now they say bikes can use them too.

Yesterday morning I took the bus into work. When I got off at SW 6th and Stark I noticed two bikes parked on what look to be snazzy bike racks on the transit mall. (more...)

Still from TriMet video that shows
near-collision (upper left).
-Watch video below-

Last Friday night, a TriMet bus operator had to make an extremely abrupt stop in order to avoid hitting someone on a bike. According to eyewitness accounts, the bike rider did not stop at a stop sign.

TriMet just released footage from the on-board camera. Mary Fetsch with TriMet media relations says the footage shows, "how close the bike was to the front of the bus." (more...)

Last night a TriMet bus operator made an abrupt stop - causing some injuries to passengers - in order to avoid someone riding a bicycle in downtown Portland.

The man on the bike reportedly failed to stop at a stop sign.

I first heard about it on the Twitter feed of Joseph Rose, a reporter for The Oregonian. I'm following up with TriMet, but thought in the mean time I'd share a first-person account just sent in by a reader:

I was on a #9 bus last night at about 6:15pm. We were travelling north on SW Broadway. As we came to Everett street, a cyclist with no lights darted across the path of the bus, mortally close, causing the driver to bring the bus to an immediate halt. The cyclist did not stop.
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Maher at the opening of
a Bike & Ride facility in July 2010.
(Photo: Jim Parsons)

TriMet's Bicycle and Pedstrian Access planner Colin Maher has accepted a new position in Australia and plans to leave the agency at the end of this month.

Maher, a graduate of Portland State University's urban and regional planning program, came to TriMet as their bike programs intern back in 2007. He has since become their go-to guy for all things bike, handling everything from controversial policy questions to nuts and bolts planning. His new position will be as Senior Planning in the Office for Cycling and Walking at the South Australia Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure in Adelaide.

Yesterday I asked Colin to reflect on the the past four years and share some of his memories and other insights...
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Image from a TriMet presentation of
the idea back in February.

Remember TriMet's idea to turn the bikeway on their forthcoming Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge into a sonic piece of public art?

While TriMet says their public art advisory committee was "intrigued" by the concept, they weren't ready to pull the trigger due to its price tag of over $200,000.

The idea, which was presented to the City of Portland's Bicycle Advisory Committee back in February, was to add grooves in the pavement that, when rolled over with bicycle tires, would create a tune. While the "budget reality" wasn't music to their ears, the committee also cited "unresolved technical issues and potential safety risks" as factors in their decision.

Read a letter sent this morning to the BAC from TriMet Public Art Manager Mary Priester below: (more...)

Screen grab of the current beta version.

On Friday, October 14th you can get a sneak peek at TriMet's Portland Regional Trip Planner, which they bill as the "first open-source, multi-modal trip planner produced by a U.S. transit agency."

Over three years in the making, TriMet's new tool will function similarly to how you get trip directions on Google Maps; but unlike Google Maps, TriMet's trip planner will let you plan trips that combine transit, walking and biking into a single itinerary. Making it even more attractive is the fact that it uses all open source technology through a partnership with OpenPlans. (more...)

TriMet GM Neil McFarlane knows
that better biking and walking
access to transit will result
in more trips.
(Photo © J. Maus)

TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane knows how important it is to get the right language into Transportation System Plans (TSPs) — the documents that dictate many of the transportation policies and investments in cities and counties throughout our region.

Back in June, McFarlane sent out a letter urging cities, counties, and other jurisdictions to beef up support for bicycling and walking projects at the outset of their TSP updates.

I got a copy of the letter and have pasted the key paragraph below (emphasis mine):

"TriMet wants to support your goals by providing quality transit service that boosts mobility, improves access to jobs, fights congestion, and enhances the sustainability of our region. But as you may know, many areas still lack the basic sidewalk infrastructure to allow and encourage access to our service. As a regional partner, your work on safety issues, traffic operations that affect transit, and pedestrian and bicycle projects are fundamental to our ability to serve the mobility needs of local areas and of the region. We provide the service, but you control much of what makes transit successful. Safe and walkable streets are fundamental to good transit, because every transit rider is a pedestrian first and last."

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Inside the Beaverton Transit Center Bike & Ride. Officially opened today, it's the largest such facility in TriMet's system.
(Photos © J. Maus)

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(Photo © J. Maus)

TriMet has just announced that they'll discontinue the audible warning system they've been testing in an effort to improve safety of people biking and walking near buses.

In a statement, TriMet said they stopped the test, "because the announcement didn't activate at the appropriate time—either too soon or too late in the turn—but did activate at other times, such as when the bus was making a lane change."
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(Photo © J. Maus)

On Saturday, a two-year old child was separated from her father at a MAX station because the father was trying to load a bike trailer onto the train.

Here's more from The Oregonian:

"Transit agency officials said Kevin James, 39, loaded the girl and his bicycle onto the northbound train at the Albina/Mississippi Yellow Line station about 3:45 p.m. Saturday. He then stepped off the train and to retrieve a bike trailer, TriMet said."

(more...)

This guest post is by Michael Andersen of Portland Afoot, a "10-minute newsmagazine" and wiki about low-car life in Portland.

How much do various types of transportation projects cost taxpayers? Here's an imperfect, but startling, hint:

From 1995 to 2010, our state and federal government spent $5,538 per new bike or foot commuter in the Portland metro area; $18,072 per new auto commuter; and $84,790 per new transit commuter. (more...)

This guest post is by Michael Andersen of Portland Afoot, a "10-minute newsmagazine" and wiki about low-car life in Portland.

A big strategy shift was in the air at this year's Oregon Active Transportation Summit, the two-day conference and lobbying blitz that was, until 2011, known as the Oregon Bike Summit. Woven through the lectures and panels was a new bit of gospel: That bike and transit advocates need to work together. That they'll get more done if they team up.

The umbrella they should share, believers say: "active transportation." "Active transportation" includes riding the MAX? You'd better believe it, said BTA Executive Director Rob Sadowsky.
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The old sign only mentioned bikes... (Photo © J. Maus)

Now it adds strollers and luggage. (Photo: Mitch L.)

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Rendering of Bike & Ride facility coming to Beaverton Transit Center this summer (by Alta Planning and Design).

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PBOT Traffic Safety Manager Mark
Lear is a member of new TriMet
safety committee.
(Photos © J. Maus)

TriMet announced the formation of their Safety Education Advisory Committee last night. The committee is part of a renewed effort to improve safety following a high profile, double fatal crash last April.

Earlier this month, TriMet began testing an audible turn warning system in their buses. The agency also announced yesterday that they've hired a executive-level safety manager. (more...)

External speakers will warn people
that bus is turning.
(Photo © J. Maus)

TriMet has begun testing an audible warning system that will notify people when a bus is turning. Here's how TriMet explains it in a statement released last night:

"Ten buses have been equipped with the external audible warning system. When the operator turns the steering wheel to enter a turn, an external announcement is triggered, announcing “Pedestrians, bus is turning.” The announcement will be made in both English and Spanish."

(more...)