May 2009 Archives

Advocates still very concerned about Kulongoski’s transportation bill

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

It’s the morning after for Governor Kulongoski’s big transportation bill and a coalition of concerned advocates are trying to rally opposition. Last Friday, a special joint committee polished off final amendments and sent House Bill 2001 to the House and Senate Floors for a vote that will likely happen this week.

After seeing those amendments, leaders from statewide advocacy groups including Environment Oregon, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, 1000 Friends of Oregon, the Oregon Environmental Council and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, re-stated their strong opposition to the bill.

The BTA has focused their lobbying efforts on a new Urban Trail Fund. They made some headway in making that fund perform better for bike projects, but that fight pales in importance to the broader implications of the bill.

The Urban Assault Ride, the self-described “biggest bike scavenger hunt series in the world” is coming to Portland for a second year, this Sunday, May 31. Teams of two will compete by racing around town, hitting checkpoints scattered across Portland, and completing various and sundry obstacle courses of ingenious design.

The goal of the ride is “to show folks how easy and fun it is to use a bike for transportation,” as well as serving as a benefit for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.

I’ll be covering the ride as a participant, and will be creating a photo essay of the fun.

The race is ridden on a self-determined route: as long as you hit all eight checkpoints, you can ride almost-anywhere you’d like. (Several, more hazardous streets are prohibited, including Sandy, MLK, Grand, Hwy 26, Burnside, Macadam, and Greeley; racers can cross them, if needed, and they can be ridden in sections with bike lanes.)

Five of the eight checkpoints have been announced: Laurelhurst Park, FatTire Farm, River City Bicycles, Sunnyside School Park, and Plan B Bar. The other three are “mystery checkpoints” that will be revealed only through riders’ wit and cunning.

Online registration is open until this Friday, May 29th, but the last chance to register is at Plan B (SE 8th & Main) from 11-2pm this Saturday, the 30th. The ride is supposed to be family friendly, and anyone ages 7 and up can participate. All participants *must* pick up their race packets at Plan B on Saturday, 11-2pm.

Registration, route and safety information can be found at the Urban Assault website, http://www.urbanassaultride.com/

The race starts at 9am on Sunday at Pioneer Square, and I’ll see all of you there! (I’ll be the one choking on the dust y’all leave behind…)

Local tailor makes custom clothes with bikes in mind

M-Horton’s Cycling Skirt is
designed with high, deep pockets,
rugged fabric, and biking and
gardening friendly length and flare.
(Photo: M-Horton.com)

Here in Portland, we’re used to our top-notch selection of local framebuilding talent, but how about some locally-made, custom clothes to wear on your locally-made, custom bike? And no, we’re not talking about tight hipster-jeans, or roadie lycra and spandex.

Enter Emily Horton, who is putting the finishing touches on the patterns and designs for her bike-specific, custom clothing. Horton is proprietor of M-Horton Clothing Designs, a one-woman custom-clothing and sewing house.

Horton says that when she got started commuting by bike at the age of 26, she immediately felt her wardrobe was lacking.

This drawing shows design of new buffered bike lanes. Notice how a lane of motor-vehicle traffic has been re-purposed and will now be used for bike traffic.

Intextication, carfree streets, LaHood strikes back, bike parking manners, bike-up apartments, funding woes and roads, reporting on crashes, and more.

News roundup, Memorial Day and state budget crisis dual edition.

– The big news in transportation this week was Obama’s announcement of stricter mileage and emissions standards for new cars.

– “A vibrant U.S. train industry would employ more people than car makers do now.”

– New York City has begun returning swathes of Broadway to the masses. Streetsblog has reported that the first phase of the pedestrianization of Broadway around Times Square has begun, and the streets are already full of life.

Legislator bike ride at the Oregon Bike Summit-1

The Capitol
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance‘s executive director and lobbyist Scott Bricker has helped lawmakers improve a new Urban Trail Fund that is part of the Governor’s transportation package.

House Bill 2001 is still being worked on down in Salem, and amendments published earlier this week were very bad news for bike funding. The BTA was very disappointed in how the bill was shaping up and they signed onto a letter (download PDF copy) with a host of environmental and land use advocacy groups outlining their concerns.

Bike-based business owners at a
meeting this morning.
(Photos © J. Maus)

There is some serious momentum afoot for Portland’s growing number of bike-based businesses to organize into some sort of alliance. Nowhere has that momentum been more apparent than at a meeting to discuss the idea held at the Portland Development Commission’s downtown offices this morning.

The idea was first floated over a month ago by Hannah Sandmeyer of Q19 Greening (a company we profiled back in January). Sandmeyer sent out an email to several bike-based businesses wanting to gauge interest in coming together for a meeting to talk about how to “support and collectively empower businesses that run on two wheels.”

Next Tuesday (5/26), at our monthly meeting, PUMP (Portland United Mountain Pedalers) is unveiling a new name and a new logo. This rebranding coincides with a major transformation the group is currently undergoing and it will mark the beginning of a new chapter in the history of mountain bike advocacy in Portland, NW Oregon and SW Washington.

Whether you are a current PUMP member or not, we like to invite you to our monthly meeting to join us in celebrating this major milestone in our 21 years of existence. With the new name, the new brand, and the reorganization of our group, we want to carry MTB advocacy in our region to the next level and open our doors to the numerous people in the Portland area who share the joy of riding bicycles on off-road trails and who support our efforts to preserve and increase the opportunities for off-road cycling in our region, regardless of what type of bikes you ride, what style of trails you prefer, or how often you hit the dirt. We want to create a true community of off-road cyclists where everyone feels welcome and where every type of contribution for the cause is appreciated!

Here are the details of next week’s event:

Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Time: 7:30pm – 9:00pm

Location:
Lucky Lab NW Beer Hall, 1945 NW Quimby, Portland, OR
(NOT the Lucky Lab on SE Hawthorne!)

Schedule:
6:30 – 7:30pm: social time (come early to chat over a bite and a beer).
7:30pm: presentation: “The Rebranding of PUMP – A New Chapter…” (followed by Q&A and member vote).
8:00pm: update on upcoming Mt St Helens Trail Work Party and other advocacy/event/ride announcements.
8:15pm – 9:00pm: social time.

We hope to see you there. Bring your friends!

Weekend Guide and Open Thread

It’s the long weekend, it’s going to be beautiful, and as always there is a lot going on in the wide world of bikes.

All weekend

Human Power Challenge
Join Oregon Human Powered Vehicles at PIR for a weekend-long series of drag races, time trials, and displays of skill, agility, and speed — all powered by people, though this year features the first race with an electric assist category. It’s free to come watch the spectacle.
Check out our photos from the 2006 races, and this year’s racing schedule .

Given the City’s budget woes and the fact that our Mayor is currently being investigated by the State Attorney General and has been embroiled with an unending stream of negative media attention, you’d think Portlanders would line up for a chance to find fault with him and his budget.

However, at last night’s community budget hearing, it was just the opposite.

Another reporter I chatted with likened it to a “love-in”. One person after another — representing interests ranging from the arts, homeless services, seniors and biking — expressed gratitude and offered their thanks to Adams and his Council colleagues (only Saltzman wasn’t present) for their work on the budget.

On May 26th, less than one week from today, Mayor Adams will have been in office for 100 business days. Shortly after taking office he released his “100 Day Action Plan” which contained a range of promised accomplishments from many different bureaus within the city.

Among the promises was an entire section devoted to bike-related projects and policies. It contained five separate promises and was labeled: “Enhance the safety and accessibility of bicycling for everyone.” He also promised a “world-class” bike facility on the new I-5 bridge (if and when it’s ever built).

Below, we take a closer look at each promise and whether or not Adams has made good.

For several months last summer and fall, throngs of visitors to the popular Last Thursday art walk on NE Alberta St were able to walk, bike, skate, roll wheelchairs, push strollers, or stop to browse and socialize in the street without interference or danger from passing cars.

A nearly carfree Last Thursday on Alberta-73.jpg

The street filled up quickly but still had plenty of room for nonmotorized passage in the first official carfree Last Thursday in July, 2008. (Photo © J. Maus)

Advocates still very concerned about Kulongoski’s transportation bill

The Urban Assault Ride rolls into town with bikes, beer, and fun

Local tailor makes custom clothes with bikes in mind

New “buffered bike lane” coming to SW Stark, Oak

The Monday Roundup

BTA makes headway in Salem on new “Urban Trail Fund”

Bike-based businesses come together, hope to organize

The Rebranding of PUMP … A New Chapter

Weekend Guide and Open Thread

All weekend

Lots of love for Mayor’s budget at community hearing

Has Mayor Adams fulfilled his bike promises?

Last Thursday set to go carfree for the season

Latest Headlines

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