View of the bus and police vehicles
at the scene a few minutes ago.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Portland Police say at about 4:00 pm today, a man riding a bike westbound on Burnside pedaled right into the back of a TriMet bus.

The incident was first reported to me by a reader who called and then later emailed after she came up on the scene right after it happened. Here's the reader's recap:

"I was going east on the bridge and the accident occurred going west at about 4PM. Fire truck was just pulling up when we passed (we'd been sitting in stopped traffic for several minutes) and a police car was flying down Burnside toward the accident. Ambulance had yet to arrive. The rider was in his 30s maybe (?), reddish hair, black bike shorts, bike shoes...didn't see a helmet but that doesn't mean there wasn't one. Bike had white grip tape, was black with white lettering on it, road bike. The frame was creased in the center and standing up against the bridge railing. The cyclist was laying in the center of the right lane (lane closest to bridge sidewalk). The bus was pulled all the way over about 10 feet further up and a tri-met vehicle had pulled up hastily behind the cyclist with the door open (like someone jumped out super fast). Someone in a lime green SUV had blocked the bridge from traffic. Eveyone (tri-met supervisor and random people) were standing over the cyclist and he was conscious from what I could tell but he was laying flat on his back and not moving. People looked really freaked out and the cyclist looked like he was in shock."

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TriMet announced today that construction of their Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project will mean traffic detours beginning this month.

Of particular interest is the closure of the SE Powell overcrossing and a detour near the south end of the Eastbank Esplanade.

Beginning June 15th and continuing for "about a year" TriMet will be working on the demolition of the SE Powell Blvd overpass. The overpass will be closed through the summer of 2013 while a new structure is built in its place.

Below are more details from TriMet about the work they're doing as well as detour maps for both areas: (more...)

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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