January 2009 Archives

Adams’ first 100 days as Mayor: Here’s what’s in store (updated)

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

He’ll need to be Super-Sam
to get all this stuff done.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Mayor Sam Adams has released his list of goals for his first 100 days in office.

From the section on transportation, here are some things that pertain to bicycling:

Develop a four-year strategic vision for Portland’s transportation investments and infrastructure
1. Appoint a Transportation Cabinet
2. Initiate development of a strategic transportation investment plan as a component of the Portland Plan
3. Advocate for federal stimulus package
4. Conduct a snow and ice storm readiness assessment for the city and region; develop a plan of action for future efforts and investment
5. Provide leadership and support to secure passage of a transportation funding package at the State Legislature

[Publisher’s note: This is the first product review by new contributor Ellee Thalheimer. Learn more about Ellee here.]

The women at Inverness, California based My Alibi cycling apparel are dedicated to ‘making sure you feel beautiful on your bike.’ After spending some time in their “Bloomers” cycling shorts, I’d have to say they’re achieving that goal.

Their bloomers are, in a word, sexy. These sleek, boy-cut chamois shorts (available in chocolate brown and pink) cup buns firmly but sensually like a 1940’s style-swim suit. They are meant to go under a skirt or any non-cycling clothing a woman may wish to wear while navigating on two wheels.

Here’s an interesting lawsuit filed by a Southeast Portland man. It was featured in a roundup of lawsuits published in The Oregonian yesterday:

A man bicycling through Southeast Portland is suing a pair of homeowners after he allegedly crashed into a mound of dirt placed on the side of the street.

Jeremy Hooten was pedaling along 21st Avenue near Division Street at 2 a.m. when he hit the pile, causing him to fly over his handlebars and slam into the street, according to his suit.

Read more

An interview with Portland racing veteran Tina Brubaker

Contributor
Jessica Roberts
(Photo © J. Maus)

This article was written by contributing writer Jessica Roberts. Jessica is a bicycle planning professional with Alta Planning+Design and she previously shared her thoughts on the notorious Broadway/Williams intersection. Below, she strikes a completely different tone with the first in a series of interviews where she’ll sit down and chat with a broad cross-section of Portland bike scene veterans.

“Over the few blocks that I rode, I saw it used in a number of ways, including actual cycling.”

While I was in New York City for a few hours on Wednesday on my way from New Haven to Baltimore, I took the Brompton for a rainy ride down the new 9th Avenue cycletrack. The cycletrack, common in Copenhagen and Amsterdam but still relatively rare in the US, is a bike lane that is physically separated from motor vehicle traffic.

Portland is building a cycle track in the Northeast Cully neighborhood, and new mayor Sam Adams has pledged to build a higher-profile one in his first 100 days in office.

StreetFilms captured some New Yorkers’ first reactions to this cycletrack, the city’s first.

Since then, New Yorkers have incorporated the cycletrack into their daily life. Over the few blocks that I rode, I saw it used in a number of ways, including actual cycling. Below are some photos and more of my thoughts:

Whitney Avenue, shown here at
New Haven’s northern border, is ready
for a Complete Streets makeover
(Photos by Elly Blue)

New Haven, Connecticut, which has never been known for progressive transportation initiatives, is now home to a Complete Streets law — one of only a handful in the country, and one of the most comprehensive.

When I arrived at a Yale University office last week to meet with their Transportation Options team (more on that soon), I learned that the program’s assistant director, Erin Sturgis-Pascale, also serves on New Haven’s Board of Alders (their city council).

This October, Sturgis-Pascale and another board member introduced and passed a Complete Streets bill, making New Haven one of the few communities in the country to have such a law. For this accomplishment, she has been called “the preeminent “livable streets” elected official in Connecticut.”

Elly Blue is headed to
Los Angeles in March.

Elly Blue, BikePortland’s nomadic managing editor who’s currently on an East Coast Tour, just sent word that she’ll be a presenting speaker at the upcoming Los Angeles Bike Summit.

Slated for March 7th (right before the National Bike Summit), organizers hope the event will tap into the emerging growth and energy of the LA bike scene. Somehow, in the cradle of America’s car culture, a vibrant bike culture exists in LA (don’t take my word for it, LA’s bike scene hit the big time with this big feature spread in Los Angeles Magazine).

A sharrow in action on
NW 9th in Portland.
(Photos © J. Maus)

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation and TriMet are discussing the idea of installing shared lane markings (a.k.a. sharrows) on the entire length of the new downtown transit mall.

Sharrows are a type of pavement marking that are placed on streets with relatively heavy and/or high motor vehicle speeds, where there is not sufficient space to put a bike lane, and where bikes and cars share the same travel lane (for more on sharrows, see this fact sheet published by PBOT).

With hundreds of thousands of people expected to flock to the National Mall for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama later this month, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) wants to make it as easy as possible for people to get there by bike.

Yesterday, they officially announced that they’ll staff several free bike valet stations during the event.

Reached via email this morning, Gilliland said that bikes will still not be allowed in the hard security perimeter but, “everything will be fine outside of that.”

To further sweeten the deal, WABA — with sponsorship help from America Bikes and Dero Bike Racks — will give everyone who takes advantage of the bike valets a commemorative claim check and spoke card.

Last month we shared the news that the City of Gresham had decided to close the Springwater Corridor Trail at night. They said they were doing it “for everyone’s safety” and to bring the trail in line with their other park facilities.

Opposition to the idea came as soon as it was announced. The concern was raised because for thousands of bike commuters every day, the Springwater is much more than a park, it’s a key transportation corridor.

According to official counts of daily bike traffic on the trail by the City of Portland in 2007, an estimated 2,500 people on bikes use the trail each day (that’s based on a count done at the Oaks Bottom area during peak commuting hours and extrapolated over a 24-hour period. The same count found 1,800 daily riders pass by the trail at SE Spokane.).

“Our bicycle policy has now been updated to reflect that customers traveling with a folding bikes in a bag that fits within the standard checked bag weights and dimensions will not be charged the Bike fee and will be treated like any checked bag.”
— Morgan Johnston, manager of corporate communications for JetBlue

Yesterday we shared the story of Carl Larson, a BTA staffer who was irked when he was charged a $50 fee by JetBlue airlines simply because he had a foldable bike in a piece of luggage.

The story traveled around the web and was noticed yesterday evening by someone at JetBlue. Then, a few minutes ago I got a response via email from Morgan Johnston, JetBlue’s manager of corporate communications:

Hi Jonathan,

Thanks for helping to bring this to our attention. We pride ourselves on our customer service and when we’re faced with a situation where policy doesn’t make sense in practice, we’re always ready to correct or clarify. On reading your article, and Carl’s post on BTA4Bikes.org I reached out to our Airports team to address the policy which lacked the definition needed to accommodate situations ‘outside the norm’ such as customers traveling with folding bikes.

Read more

Reader photo of the week: Geese and a lake on Fanno Creek Trail

The winter weather here in Portland continues to be so crazy it’s almost laughable. That is, unless you’re a PBOT employee, or if you’ve had to contend with snow, ice, potholes, gravel, rain, wind, etc… on your daily commute.

On that note comes a great set of photos by BikePortland’s intrepid roving West Side correspondent Jim “K’Tesh” Parsons. Jim was riding to work as usual on the Fanno Creek Trail through Beaverton (just west of Portland) when he came upon this otherwise bucolic sight:

Adams’ first 100 days as Mayor: Here’s what’s in store (updated)

Product review: My Alibi ‘Bloomer’ shorts for women

Man sues for $575K after crashing on dirt pile

An interview with Portland racing veteran Tina Brubaker

On the street in NYC: Checking out the 9th Ave. cycletrack

Dispatch from New Haven: A look at new Complete Streets law

Spreading the (Bike)Portland vibe in Los Angeles

City discussing sharrows on new transit mall

Bikes are the hot ticket at Obama inauguration

FHWA says Springwater Trail closure decision must be reversed

JetBlue responds; folded bikes can now fly free

Reader photo of the week: Geese and a lake on Fanno Creek Trail

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From the Archives

What five people say about living outside along the Springwater path