February 2009 Archives

Weight-based traffic fine idea will have to wait

She would have gotten a lower
traffic fine had Bailey’s bill
moved forward.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Last week we reported on State Representative Jules Bailey‘s proposed bill to create a new vehicle weight class that would include bicycles and to base traffic fine amounts on the weight class of offenders’ vehicles.

If passed, the law would have meant a dramatic decrease in the amount of fines for most traffic violations by people on bicycles. However, it now looks like that bill is going to have to wait until another legislative session.

In an email to me earlier this week, Bailey wrote that the draft of the bill that came out of the Legislative Counsel (LC, where all bill proposal are written up and become real bills), “simply allowed juries to make judgments about lowering fines for bicycles. This is not at all what I intended. It [the bill he got back from LC] has nothing about vehicle weight.”

“My interest is not in studying this to death, it’s seeing what we can actually do…I am committed to finding ways to significantly expand our current inventory of singletrack trails.”
— Nick Fish, Portland City Commissioner

The idea of mountain bike access in Forest Park has been an issue for Portlanders for over two decades. Local advocacy group, the Portland United Mountain Pedalers (PUMP) was founded over twenty years ago specifically to counter threats of bikes being prohibited from the park altogether (currently, bikes are allowed on all fire access roads and a .3 mile stretch of singletrack).

In recent years, the idea of adding more singletrack trails — or allowing bikes to ride on the many miles of existing hiking trails — has languished due to a variety of factors (that’s a whole other story entirely).

But recently, momentum has picked up for a new approach to the conversation: The League of American Bicyclists chastised Portland’s lack of urban off-road riding opportunities; the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation responded to that by officially adding a chapter on mountain biking to the update of their Bicycle Master Plan, citizen activists have stepped up their efforts, and fresh faces in City Hall bring the potential of a new perspective.

[Editor’s note: This is our second column by Oregon bicycle historian Eric Lundgren. He last wrote about T. T. Geer, an Oregon Governor a century ago who was an early adopter of the bicycle for commuting and touring. This column is about the career of Bemer S. Pague, a weatherman, bicycle advocate, and lawyer from the same period — including a case he won against a cart driver who tried to use a cycle path.]

Bemer S. Pague

Writing about rain in the national imagery of the Pacific Northwest, historian Richard Maxwell Brown notes that during the late 1800s “the specter of incessant rainfall epitomized in Webfoot lore seriously handicapped efforts to attract settlers.”

In his “landmark” Biennial Reports of the Oregon Weather Bureau, Forecast Official Bemer S. Pague “provided exhaustive data on precipitation and temperature in minute detail [and] revealed that Portland’s rainfall was not at all excessive.”

According to Brown, Pague “played a pivotal role” in refuting the myth of Portland’s dismal raininess.

That’s not the only time Pague was pivotal. Bemer S. Pague was also a bicyclist.

Scenes like this might become
common in Waterfront Park
by this spring.
(Photo: Wheel Fun Rentals)

Back in August we reported that the former McCall’s restaurant site in Waterfront Park would become Portland’s first-ever, full-service bike commuter facility. The concept, proposed by Ken Nichols of Bike Republic, would have brought showers and lockers, a small retail bike shop, secure, long-term bike parking and a cafe to the site.

Unfortunately we were a bit premature on that story, and soon reported that the Parks Bureau cooled on Nichols’ idea and the whole thing fell through at the last minute.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Company description
BikePortland.org is a daily news source that covers the Portland bike scene. From street-level activism to the backrooms of City Hall — we cover the culture, personalities, businesses, breaking news, and important advocacy issues that define America’s most bike-friendly city.

Internship description
We’re looking for a news intern to work for BikePortland (Pedaltown Media, Inc). This is an on-site (in our SE Portland office) and in the field internship. This is more than just writing and getting news stories. You will be working with a growing media company, and will receive on the job training in researching, writing, editing, blogging, and more.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Researching, writing copy and designing multimedia tools for the site

Keeping up-to-date with current events/issues affecting transportation and bike-related stories in particular

Writing weekly news and feature stories to keep site fresh and relevant to our audience

Proofreading content for consistency, grammatical errors and typos

Thinking creatively about media production and the user experience on BikePortland

Here’s what we are looking for in an intern:

Student or recent graduate with journalism experience

A good writer with creativity and compassion (a good sense of humor doesn’t hurt either) Some writing for online or print or blogging experience is required (Knowledge of WordPress a plus)

Someone who is extremely responsible and enthusiastic

Experience with riding a bike for transportation and/or a love for riding!

Dedication to our mission, which is to publish content that informs and inspires bike lovers everywhere

We accept resumes year round. Interns should be available to work a minimum of 10 hours a week. Interns need to have their own laptop computer and cell phone. This is an unpaid internship.

How to apply
Please submit your cover letter, resume and two writing samples via email to jonathan@bikeportland.org

Q & A: David Rowe wants you to take the “Ride of Your Life”

The Ride of Your Life author David Rowe riding high above the Columbia River Gorge.

Hollie Teal, who organized
the rally that convinced Sam Adams
to stay on as Mayor, sat down with
him for a chat recently.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Without Hollie Teal, Sam Adams would no longer be Portland’s Mayor. At least, that’s what Adams told her during a lunch they recently had together.

Teal is the woman who organized the big rally in support of Sam Adams just as his chances at staying on the job looked grim (Adams was absent from City Hall and calls for his resignation were all over the media). Back in January, when the rally happened, I wondered if it signaled Adams’ political resurrection. Turns out, it did.

Teal — an everyday bike commuter who describes herself as a “cycling wonk” — served as catalyst for the rally and she also maintains the Sam is Still My Mayor blog. A few days ago, Adams called Teal to thank her for her support. Yesterday, the two met and Teal wrote about the meeting on her blog.

The PDC and the Parks Bureau are working with a group of citizens on a possible pump track at this location.

Back in January, just days before the Willamette Week broke news of Mayor Sam Adams’ relationship with Beau Breedlove, the incoming Mayor unveiled an ambitious plan of projects he promised to complete in his first 100 days on the job.

Among those promises were several biggies for bikes; a “high profile” cycle track and 15 miles of bicycle boulevards to be “identified and implemented” in 2009 (there were other bike-related promises, but those were the big ones).

“Bump” showing his skills.
(Photos by Elly Blue)
-Slideshows below-

Mini Bike Winter is Zoobomb’s answer to all of Portland’s summer bicycle fun — but less of it, and on small bikes.

The festivities go on for several days, and after missing the glorious Hamster Ball on Saturday night I determined to head out on Sunday to catch some of the action. I arrived at the Esplanade just in time to catch the Bicycle Belles, Seattle’s answer to our own Sprockettes. I took some photos:

“Failing to support the Mayor’s very affordable new bicycling initiatives when more revenue is on the table does not reflect this city’s transportation or liveability [sic] priorities.”
— Michelle Poyourow of the BTA in an action alert sent to members today

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) has issued an action alert to their 3,000 members in Portland and saying the are “very concerned” about the Bureau of Transportation’s requested budget for FY 2009-2010.

Earlier today, we reported that PBOT’s budget will cut Safe Routes to Schools by 40% this coming fiscal year (the BTA is a primary contractor on Safe Routes programs).

In the action alert, the BTA’s advocate and educator Michelle Poyourow outlines this and other concerns:

The 2009-10 budget:

Commits no revenue for building the Bike Boulevards called out in the Mayor’s 100 Day List (about $300,000).*

Reduces the size of the Safer Routes to Schools program by about 40% (about $200,000).

Fails to fund the demonstration cycletrack called out in the Mayor’s 100 Day List (about $100,000).

(*In a section titled, “Other Decision Packages” there is a line labeled, “Bike Boulevards ($516,000 add) develops bike boulevards city-wide.”)

Time for the Monday news roundup!

Critical Mass vindicated; freeway and budget sinkholes; carfree cities go mainstream; James Dean

– NY Times columnist David Brooks’ rant in favor of sprawling suburbs sparked a large number of interesting letters to the editor.

– Obama has named Adolfo Carrión Jr. to head the newly created White House Office of Urban Affairs. Carrión, an urban planner by training from the Bronx, has mixed reviews but may speak up for bicycling as well as transit and urban density.

Weight-based traffic fine idea will have to wait

Commissioner Fish warms to more singletrack in Forest Park

Bemer Pague; a defender of “cycle paths” over a century ago

Silver lining to Bike Republic snub; Bike rentals coming to Waterfront Park

Internship: BikePortland News Intern

Q & A: David Rowe wants you to take the “Ride of Your Life”

Bike lovers sit on both sides of Adams debate

PDC sheds more light on Burnside pump track

PBOT director weighs in on budget and Adams’ “100 Day” promises

Slideshows: Mini Bike Winter and the Bicycle Belles

BTA urges action; “Transportation budget ignores bikes”

The Monday Roundup

Latest Headlines

TriMet: Service cuts will start in November

Pause or proceed? Commission weighs future of I-5 Rose Quarter project

Housing construction fee waiver comes at a cost for transportation infrastructure

Kotek calls special session, pushes back layoffs (UPDATED)

From the Archives

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