Month: April 2008

Press Release: Bike to Work Celebration

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Below are the details on PDOT’s annual Bike to Work day celebration:

Bike to Work celebration on Wednesday, May 7

(PORTLAND, OR) – The City of Portland Office of Transportation – Transportation Options Division and the SmartTrips Downtown program – will host a Bike to Work celebration at Pioneer Courthouse Square on Wednesday, May 7, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. This special event at Pioneer Courthouse Square is in celebration of National Bike Month and Bike to Work Week. The intent of is to thank those already bicycling to downtown and to encourage those who are interested in bicycling to give it a try.

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Washington wins bike-sharing race; is Portland far behind?

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Washington DC has beat Portland in
becoming the first U.S. city with a
bike-sharing system. This photo shows a
construction site where one of the new
SmartBikeDC racks will be located.
(Photo: afagen on Flickr)

Now that Washington D.C. is getting national media attention for their “first of its kind in the U.S.” bike-sharing system, I figured an update on Portland’s bike-sharing plans was in order.

The City of Portland issued a Request for Proposals (No. 106720) back in October 2007 to “Deliver and Operate a Bicycle Fleet For Rent to the Public.”

The detailed, 28-page proposal says that the city “prefers” an initial fleet of 500 bicycles, requires the contractor to “provide use of a bicycle helmet” for riders less than 16 years old, discusses possible advertising options, and includes a list of preferred kiosk/parking locations.

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TriMet bus driver cleared of wrongdoing in fatal bike collision

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
bikes and buses

The Oregonian reported this morning that the driver of a TriMet bus that collided with 15 year-old Beaverton high school student Austin Miller back in February has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

According to the Oregonian, the Beaverton Police Department deemed the collision was “unavoidable”.

The crash happened on February 11th. Miller, an experienced rider who was coming home from school, was traveling south on the sidewalk adjacent to SW Murray Road. Miller and the bus collided as he re-entered the roadway and attempted to go west (right) onto SW Farmington. The bus was traveling west on SW Farmington and was pulling into a stop at the corner where the collision occurred.

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Weekend open thread: Share your bike fun

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Bike Back the Night-26.jpg

Looks like we’re going to (finally) have some nice weather this weekend…and there’s lots to do on a bike!

Here’s a rundown:
Saturday (4/26)

    -NE Portland Heritage Tree Bike Ride
    -Intermediate Level Road Ride
    -Bike Move
    -Carfree Canvass with Jim Middaugh
    -Bike With Branam
    -Team Rubicon Roll-out Party
    -MTB Movie Premiere at Bagdad Theater

Sunday (4/27)

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“Sauvie Island Bridge Relocation Project” launched at press conference

New logo unveiled today

Commissioner Sam Adams held a press conference today to officially launch Flanders Crossing: Sauvie Island Bridge Relocation Project.

The event was an attempt to clarify the proposal for the project that will be voted on by City Council next week, to outline why the the project is necessary, and to demonstrate that it has the support of neighborhood residents, business owners, bicycle advocates, and a majority of City Commissioners.

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Press Release: Mt. Hood Cycling Classic need volunteers

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

This just in from event organizers:


The 2008 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic Needs Volunteers and Hosts

The Mt. Hood Cycling Classic, a Gorge classic, is back again this year and kicks off in less that a month! This world class professional cycling race gears up Tuesday, May 13 and finishes on Sunday, May 18. Check out all the details on line at: www.mthoodcyclingclassic.com. The competition is now ranked at the top of the men¹s pro circuit and the Pro Women’s race, the top women’s race in the USA, will be a qualifier for the 2008 Summer Olympics. To make the race a success we need community support in the form of volunteers out on the race course and local families to host racers traveling from all over the world.

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Jobs of the Week

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Some amazing opportunities have been posted on the BikePortland Job Listings in the past week. Want to work as a coordinator for the One Million Bicycles movement? How about getting your foot in the door at Yakima or Chris King Components — two of the largest (and coolest) locally based bike companies?

Get more information on these jobs at the links below (and good luck if you apply!):

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Dozono on KGW: “Portland ought to be equal” to Amsterdam

“I’m a very pro-bicycle candidate.”
–Mayoral candidate Sho Dozono during a televised debate

Mayoral hopefuls Sam Adams and Sho Dozono debated on prime-time local network television on Monday. Part of the format included a series of questions that were submitted online by KGW viewers.

Dozono hasn’t said much about bikes during his campaign. The only time I’ve heard him mention bicycles (before this debate) was in his opposition to the Sauvie Island bridge re-use plan.

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Potter offers new argument against Sauvie Bridge re-use plan

Sauvie Span Rally-14.jpg

Looking across NW Flanders over
I-405 — not quite an intersection, yet.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Portland Mayor Tom Potter has issued a statement clarifying his opposition to the plan to re-use the Sauvie Island Bridge span as a human-powered vehicle crossing over I-405 in Northwest Portland.

Perhaps wanting to build some momentum for his position — which will make him the lone dissenter to the plan when it comes up to City Council next week — Potter renewed his previous arguments against the project, and he shared a new one.

Here’s the short statement posted to his website yesterday (emphasis mine):

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Latest Headlines

Local shop launches mutual aid program to help keep riders on the road

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Councilor Mitch Green is Portland’s socialist transportation champion

From the Archives

Opinion: If we’re serious about cycling, let’s get serious about cycling infrastructure