2008 Archives

Hit-and-run driver posts bail, released from custody

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Jeremy Jordan. Out on bail.
(Photo: Mult. Co. Sheriff’s Office)

Jeremy Jordan, the driver in a hit-and-run on May 10 in Northeast Portland has posted bail (10% of the $307,500 total bail amount) and has been released from custody.

Jordan attempted to steal beer from a Safeway store after being refused service. When he drove out of the parking lot — at a “high rate of speed” according to investigators — he collided with Eric Davidson, who was riding his bike down NE Fremont Street.

The collision left Davidson with serious injuries and he is still in the hospital. According to a blog by Davidson’s wife devoted to his recovery effort, he just underwent four hours of back surgery yesterday.

Gateway Green Vision Plan
Download it (3MB, PDF)

Gateway Green is an ambitious project to reclaim 35 acres of unused land at the intersections of I-84 and I-205 in East Portland.

Last week I shared a preview of the project after I had a sneak peek at the Vision Plan — a 27-page document that lays out the design, funding, and other aspects of the project.

A key component of the project is to incorporate bicycle trails both for recreational (mostly unpaved) and transportation-oriented uses (it would be a pass-through for commuters connecting to I-205 path and future Sullivan’s Gulch Trail).

Now the Vision Plan is available online.

Once you download it, turn to page 11. In the chapter on “Design”, the first heading under “The Plan” is “Bicycling”. What follows are paragraphs on “Bicycle Commuting”;

Gov. Kulongoski at Pioneer
Courthouse Square in April.
(Photo © J. Maus)

He walked to work on Earth Day, and now Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski says he’ll ride his bike to the office on Monday.

The ride is part of a larger “commuter challenge” effort proclaimed by Kulongoski today to encourage the 8,500 state employees to leave their cars at home and trying biking, walking, or the bus instead.

Kulongoski told me during a conversation at the Earth Day rally back in April that he used to ride his bike into work “all the time” when he lived in the inner northeast Portland neighborhood of Laurelhurst.

The Mt. Hood Cycling Classic
in downtown Portland.
(Photos © J. Maus)

A study released yesterday by two Georgia colleges found that the Tour de Georgia — a week-long professional road race that wrapped up in April — contributed $38 million to that state’s economy. That news comes on the heels of an announcement to expand the recently concluded Mt. Hood Cycling Classic into a statewide event.

Could we be seeing a Tour of Oregon in 2009? Absolutely. That’s if Mt. Hood Cycling Classic (MHCC) spokesman Tre Hendricks has anything to do with it.

With it’s exciting opening stages, the MHCC brought big-time bike racing to downtown Portland for the first time ever and the City of Portland not only put out the welcome mat, they invested $30,000 to help make it happen.

Riding naked — what’s not to love?
(Photos © J. Maus)

Last year, around 800 Portlanders mounted up for the annual World Naked Bike Ride.

That number tied with London for the largest crowd in the world, and this year, organizers expect the crowd to swell to 1200-1500 people.

If you’ve never done the ride, you should really consider it. This year will be my fourth time and it’s always an absolutely unforgettable experience. There’s just something about being naked on a bike, whizzing through the heart of downtown Portland — while crowds of club-goers spill onto the streets to give you high-fives and incredulous looks — that defies description.

The friendly and fun Breakfast on the Bridge crew on the Esplanade this morning.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The animated and always
inspiring John Pucher.
(Photo: Still from video)

Remember John Pucher? He’s the Rutgers University scholar who shared his thoughts back in November about how to make cycling “irresistible”.

Now, the bubbly, bike-loving academic who signs his emails as “Carfree John” and who was dubbed “The Bicycle Scholar” by Momentum Magazine, is at it again.

He recently gave a presentation at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver (watch it below) that lays out an inspiring road map to increasing bike mode share in cities.

If you’re looking for a new job opportunity and you love bikes, look no further. This week, we’ve had some amazing jobs come up on the BikePortland Job Listings. Want to work at a bike shop? Want to manage programs at one of the country’s most respected non-profits? Want to manage bicycle recreation for the entire state of Oregon!?

If so, check out the links below for more information (and don’t forget to tell them BikePortland sent you). Good luck!:

Store Management (Performance Bicycle)
Program Director (Community Cycling Center)
Bicycle Mechanic (Waterfront Bicycle)
Bicycle Recreation Coordinator (Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept.)

Jeremy Towsey-French dropped by BikePortland.org headquarters today to introduce me to the Yuba Mundo.

The Mundo (it means “world” in Spanish) is a cargo bike dreamed up by an ex-employee of Xtracycle and Jeremy is the Portland distributor. He’s set up a website at StumptownMundo.com and he tells me he’s got the only Mundos in the country right now.

Denied.
Download letter (945k, PDF)

A request by a coalition of 13 advocacy groups that sought an extension to the comment period on the Draft Environment Impact Statement of the Columbia River Crossing project has been denied.

In a letter (download PDF here) from the U.S. Department of Transportation, to Tom Buechele of the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Group (he represented the 13 member coalition), representatives of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) wrote:

Michael Khadabux and his new bike.
(Photo courtesy Michael Khadabux)

May 23rd was a bad day for Portlanders who buy a lot of gas, but for Michael Khadabux, it was he’ll always remember with a smile.

That’s because he was the lucky winner in a contest to guess which day gas would hit $4.00 a gallon at a Shell station across from River City Bicycles on SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Khadabux’s petrol prognostication skills earned him a brand new Specialized Globe city bike. He told me today that he plans to use it “for short trips to the store or library etc. I’ve got a pretty long commute [Clackamas to Lloyd Center] so I’ll do that on my faster road bike.”

As reported yesterday, TriMet is working to improve the bike hooks on their MAX trains. However, if you’re like many people who take a bike onboard (especially during peak hours), the bigger problem is that there are just aren’t enough hooks available.

If you’re waiting for more bike capacity or more hooks, don’t hold your breath — all signs point to no increased bike capacity on MAX in the foreseeable future.

TriMet recently bought new MAX trains and the design offers more seats (eight more per train), more rider capacity (space for 36 more passengers) but has the same number of bike hooks (eight) as existing trains (a “train” is two joined MAX vehicles). Below is a rendering of the new trains (which are slated to arrive this fall):

Hit-and-run driver posts bail, released from custody

Follow-up: Gateway Green Vision Plan now online

Governor Kulongoski will bike to work on Monday

A grand ‘Tour of Oregon’ is closer than you think

Portlanders prep for record-breaking naked ride

Breakfast on the Bridges caps big bike month

John Pucher shows us how to make “Cycling for Everyone”

Jobs of the Week

The ‘Mundo’ makes its Portland debut

CRC Update: US DOT denies comment period extension request

$4 gas nets a new bike for one Portland commuter

TriMet grapples with bike capacity issues

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