“We look forward to working with SK Northwest and the City as the development moves forward.”
— BTA’s metro-area advocate Emily Gardner
After a protracted legal battle that first came to light back in April of 2006, a Willamette riverfront property owner whose parcel lies in a key gap between two popular trails has relented and agreed to allow a trail to be built on their property.
The news comes from the BTA’s metro-area advocate Emily Gardner via the BTA Blog (emphasis mine):
Just two weeks after announcing an effort to establish a bicycle boulevard on NE Going Street, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance has scheduled a series of neighborhood meetings for the project.
If your neighborhood association is listed below, make sure to show up and learn more about this effort, ask questions, and get involved.
A story published today in the New York Times confirms previous speculation that America’s Highway Trust Fund is all but empty.
Here’s a snip from the NT Times story:
“Because the fund is draining away so fast, the Transportation Department will have to delay payments for the local projects, or reduce their amount, Ms. Peters said at a mid-day news conference.”
Last night, conference organizers put on a great party in the old South Lake Union Armory building.
The highlight of the night was the mini-bike racing. By mini-bikes, I don’t mean kids bikes like the Zoobombers ride, I mean tiny bikes with wheels the size of cookies.
Now that the whole country thinks Oregon isn’t in the top-three best states to bike in, you might assume the Beaver State delegation here at Pro Walk/Pro Bike would be sulking and demanding a recount.
Not exactly.
When the League of American Bicyclist’s executive director Andy Clarke announced the rankings at a party at the South Lake Union Armory last night, people almost immediately began embracing our new, out-of-medal-contention placing.
After the party, many of us from Oregon went on a spirited and star-lit ride around the city (via the Burke-Gilman Trail). I think the photo below will give you a good idea how we’re dealing with the No. 4 news:
Besides the 80 workshop sessions here at the Westin Hotel and the myriad “mobile workshops” (that take conference-goers around Seattle in search of sharrows, bike parking, and other things) there’s an ongoing display of information in the “Poster Sessions”.
Displayed in rows of tables and bulletin boards, the feeling is sort of like that junior high school science fair all over again; except in this case, the information is from the nation’s top professionals and experts in the fields of bicycle and pedestrian planning.
I took a walk through the Poster Sessions yesterday and here’s what I saw.
Oregon placed fourth in a new ranking of Bike Friendly States that was released tonight by the League of American Bicyclists.
Washington took top honors, followed by Wisconsin and then Arizona. At the bottom of the list were Alabama and Georgia, with West Virginia coming in last.
Yesterday, I sat down with the League’s executive director Andy Clarke and Bike Friendly State program manager Jeff Peel to learn more about the rankings.
During a morning poster session (where bike and ped professionals offer up their latest research in science-fair style) here at Pro Walk/Pro Bike, I ran into Ginny Sullivan, the new routes coordinator for the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA).
Sullivan stood in front of an attractively designed new poster for an exciting project, the establishment of the United States Bicycle Route System. Once completed, the system will be a complete network of officially recognized, interstate bike routes.
What: “Tabor to the River” Bike Ride
Location: Mt. Tabor down through SE Portland to the Willamette at Clay Street
Meet at: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, SE 55th Ave. and Belmont St.
Date: Saturday, September 6 – 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Description: The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services and the Portland Department of Transportation will lead a bike-based tour of some of Portland’s most sustainable approaches to stormwater management and bicycle transportation. Participants will convene at 55th & Belmont and bike west seeing rain gardens, bioswales and ecoroofs as well as bicycle boulevards and related art projects. Learn about how these will be put to use in the City’s new Tabor to the River: Brooklyn Creek Basin Program and new bicycle transportation programs to make our neighborhoods and watersheds healthier.
For more information about the ride, including a route map, visit the ride website.
“We couldn’t support the mental state required for a criminal prosecution.”
— Gresham DA Ben O’Glasser on his decision to not seek a Reckless Driving charge against Lance Waddy
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s office has elected not to proceed with a Reckless Driving charge against Lance Waddy, the man who let his car veer into Steven Volz while Volz rode his bicycle on SE Stark Street in Gresham.
The collision happened on July 31st on SE Stark Street (just outside Portland city limits). According to reports, Waddy grabbed something from the floor of his car prior to the impact, which threw Volz nearly 140 feet into the air.
Waddy was initially cited at the scene with a host of charges. The most serious of those charges was Reckless Driving, a Class A Misdemeanor crime (which can carry a maximum sentence of one year). (Waddy was cited and then released at the scene after his car was towed. For more information on that, see my follow-up story about enforcement policies).
A few days ago, I shared a story about the new “Share the Road” billboard campaign in Portland.
As I suspected in that story, the billboards are the work of the Portland-based office of Clear Channel Outdoor. The manager of that office is Brad Parsons. I spoke with Brad the other day to learn more about the origin and plans of Clear Channel’s Share the Road campaign.
Race Schedule (Sunday 9/7)
11:00am – Beginners, Juniors, Women B, Master Wmn (40 min)
11:45am – Kiddie Race (Beginner 2 min, Expert 5 min)
12:00pm – Men B, Men C (45 min)
1:00pm – Mstr Men B, Mstr Men C, Mstr Men 50+ (45 min)
2:00pm – Men A, Mstr Men A, Women A, Singlespeed (55 min)
***More info here***
Kermesse ~ 1. annual, local celebration, typical for the Low Lands and northern France, accompanied by feasting, dancing and sports of all kinds.
2. (a.k.a. kermiskoers) Belgian style summer bike race, staged during local kermesse festivities. Good times, on and off the course!
On Sundays August 24, September 7 and 14, Portland Racing brings you the Kruger’s Kermesse Farm Crit Series, a fun and novel bike race series held at Kruger’s Farm, located in the beautiful countryside of Sauvie Island (only 20′ from downtown Portland). This series will be the perfect segway into the upcoming cyclocross season and make for a great training opportunity for novice and seasoned cross racers alike. And a fun one to boot…