January 2009 Archives

Police Bureau spokesman Schmautz retires

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

This morning, Portland Police Bureau Public Information Officer Brian Schmautz officially announced his retirement. Schmautz has been at the center of some issues between how the Police Bureau has handled several bike-related incidents.

I’ll have more thoughts on this on the front page soon, but in the meantime, here’s the announcement he sent to regional media outlets:

“Morning everybody, last Wednesday I notified the Police Bureau that I would be retiring on January 30th. We are posting my job today and Chief Sizer is beginning the process of selecting my replacement. I believe Chief Sizer hopes to select the person and have them in the office during the week of January 19th, so we can begin the transition.

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Bikey band will headline live KBOO Bike Show party

The monthly KBOO Bike Show will ring in the New Year in style on Wednesday. Show founder/co-host, and veteran Portland bike scenester Ayleen Crotty has announced that their January 7th show will be a live, on-air party that will feature up-and-coming local band, Blind Pilot.

Here’s the word from Crotty as posted on her ORBike.com blog:

“Cyclists are invited to the station to share their wishes for a bikey new year, and reflections on the amazing year that we just had.”

The cover

This morning I received an advanced copy of a long-awaited new book by Jeff Mapes; Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities.

Mapes is the senior political reporter for The Oregonian (he also writes a politics blog) and, while I’ve known about this project for a long time, he’s kept the details secret. I’m excited to dive into this book and see what he’s come up with.

For the past few years, I’ve watched Mapes tote around his notebook interviewing folks in the local and national bike scene. But this book goes far beyond Portland’s borders. Mapes’ book shares the impact of bike culture and activism in places like New York City, Davis, Chicago, and others. He also has a chapter titled, “Learning from Amsterdam”, based on his findings from a trip he took to that bike mecca back in 2005.

PBOT traffic safety expert
Greg Raisman.
(Photos © J. Maus)

In 2008, there were no fatal bike crashes in the City of Portland. After a tumultuous 2007, when we had six fatal bike crashes (two of them very high-profile), this was welcome news by many in the community.

To gain more perspective on this statistic, I asked Greg Raisman, the chief traffic safety guru in the City of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) a few questions. Raisman thinks that it’s not just people on bikes that are safer, but that as bike traffic grows, all road users have a lower risk of being involved in a fatal crash.

Here’s the Q & A we did via email:

“Whether you drive a hybrid or an SUV, your car is a cash-guzzler. Families trying to save real money should consider going without.”

It may be a true sign of change when the Wall Street Journal suggests that giving up your car could be good for your personal finances and the economy as a whole.

In his December 22 column, A real auto bailout: Escape your car, WSJ staff columnist Brett Arends wrote:

Last week, the auto industry finally got its bailout.

But is it time for Americans to rescue their own finances from their cars?

…Forget lattes and store-brand cereal. If you really want to see where your money is going, take a closer look at your car. Foreign or domestic, it doesn’t matter. It’s a cash guzzler, and it is probably costing you more than anything else except your home.

Happy new year, everyone!

– There has been a lot of editorial page pontification in the last week about what our cities’ transportation policies should be in 2009. Here are a handful:

The Hartford Courant, which I’ve been reading, wants better public transportation and restoration of historic train stations.

A province in Rwanda has banned bicycle use; Maryland police are surveilling a bicycle group

The Toronto Star calls for a transformation of the city with more carfree streets and better walkability.

The Jakarta Post (which doesn’t have permanent links to their stories) says “Let’s be friendlier in 2009!” and asks for more carfree spaces and safer streets.

The view from my old bus stop on Whitney Ave hasn’t changed much in 20 years.
The white band on the center pole marks the stop, in lieu of a sign.
(Photos by Elly Blue)

After a warm, dry week, New Year’s Eve brought us another big snowstorm here in Hamden, Connecticut (my hometown, just north of New Haven). At around noon it was snowing hard, the wind was blowing, visibility was low, and the streets were covered with increasingly packed and rutted snow. I decided to take the bus downtown.

First we had an insane snow and ice storm and now I hear that the Portland region is being pelted with record rain.

A few hours ago, reader John P. sent me this photo of the Springwater Corridor
Trail (at mile marker 10.5) along with this comment:

“The cool thing about riding it right now… there’s so much oil and crap floating on the water you don’t have to worry about oiling your chain later.”

The Community Task Force for the Sellwood Bridge project is set to meet on Monday (1/5) and the agenda will include a discussion and “possible recommendation” of a locally preferred alternative.

Here’s more from a press release sent out today by Multnomah County (they own and manage the bridge):

The task force will also hear presentations on public comments received about the project’s draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), results of a public survey about the preferred alternative, and a report on possible hybrids that combine elements of alternatives that were studied in the draft EIS. Five build alternatives and one no build option were analyzed in the draft EIS. The build alternatives include three bridge replacements and two rehabilitations of the existing bridge…

This month the task force will recommend its preferred alternative to the project’s Policy Advisory Group, comprised of elected and appointed officials. If the task force cannot reach consensus on a recommendation on Monday, a second meeting will be held January 19. On February 6 the Policy Advisory Group will consider the task force recommendation before making its own recommendation. The preferred alternative recommended by the Policy Group must be adopted by Multnomah County, the City of Portland and Metro before the Federal Highway Administration can issue a final approval.

The task force meeting is open to the public and will include time for public comment.

The Community Task Force for the Sellwood Bridge Project will meet on Monday, January 5 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm at OMSI, 1945 SE Water Avenue.

KBOO Bike Show On-Air Party

Rolling into the Devil’s Gear in New Haven

[BikePortland.org’s Managing Editor Elly Blue is currently on an East Coast Tour. This is the latest dispatch from her trip.]

The Devil’s Gear is a focal point
for New Haven biking.
(Photos by Elly Blue)

When I lived in New Haven a decade ago there wasn’t much of a bike scene. People biked, as did I — but I never had the sense of being part of a movement, or a community, or that bicycling was anything more than a fun but somewhat embattled way to get to work.

That’s all changed now.

Police Bureau spokesman Schmautz retires

Bikey band will headline live KBOO Bike Show party

First look at “Pedaling Revolution”, a new book by Oregonian reporter

Zero bike fatalities in 2008: A Q & A with Greg Raisman

Wall Street Journal suggests going carfree to save money

The Monday Roundup

Waiting for CT Transit in the snow

Weekend Open Thread: Rain in the New Year

Sellwood Bridge task force set to choose preferred alternative

KBOO Bike Show On-Air Party

Rolling into the Devil’s Gear in New Haven

Latest Headlines

Weekend Event Guide: Gold sprints, Springwater cleanup, and more

Guest opinion: ‘Bikeable Portland’ plan will get more people riding

PBOT says they’ve finally made progress on Vision Zero

Building tenants cry foul at planned bike lanes that would replace car parking

From the Archives

With six kids and no car, this mom does it all by bike