May 2009 Archives

Fatal bike/car crash on NE Prescott at 57th

Looking east on Prescott. Green
paint in foreground marks where
bike came to rest.
(Photo: Elly Blue)

This evening around 5:30 pm, a 36-year old man on a bicycle was fatally wounded when he attempted to cross NE Prescott Street at NE 57th (view map below).

According to investigators, Sandy Bass Jr. was headed north on NE 57th on his way to pick up his son at Rigler Elementary School. He was struck by a white Subaru that was headed west on Prescott.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Performance will open at
SW 18th and Alder this weekend.
Google Street View)

Performance Bicycle, Inc., the nation’s largest chain of retail bike shops and a juggernaut in the industry with their online and catalog sales, will have a grand opening for their new downtown Portland store this weekend.

As we reported back in February, Performance will open their doors at 1736 SW Alder St. (just a few blocks from PGE Park).

The Sellwood Bridge affects the
bikeability of Milwaukie.
(Photo © J. Maus)

We’ll be bringing our next BikePortland Get Together event to Milwaukie, Oregon, our neighbor to the immediate south.

Anyone who lives, works, commutes, rides through, or otherwise spends time in Milwaukie (or its general vicinity) is invited to join us.

Milwaukie seems to be quietly experiencing a bicycling renaissance.

Back in 2007 the city held a series of Transportation System Plan meetings, out of which came a more coherent vision for biking in Milwaukie, as well as a bike map has been created and bike parking has been installed downtown. Another result was the grassroots formation of MilwaukieBIKES!, a group centered around an email listserv and billed as “a convenient communication hub for the bicycling community of Milwaukie, Oregon.”

Markings on the Hawthorne.
(Photos © J. Maus)

So far, in our coverage of the Hawthorne Bridge Crash, we’ve heard from an eyewitness and the two people who collided. We’ve also discussed both infrastructure and behavior-based solutions.

But one important party to this issue has been left out: pedestrians.

It’s hard to determine what exactly caused Erica Rothman’s harrowing crash, but it’s likely that the presence of people on foot played a role (Rothman had veered to the left to avoid them). On that note, I’d like to share an idea from Ron Richings. (Richings is the guy I mentioned in my editorial on Tuesday who put quite a bit of thought and advocacy work into this issue last summer.)

Riders on a multi-day trip
near Champoeg State Park.
(Photo: Matt Picio/CycleWild)

The State of Oregon’s “Scenic Bikeway” program has taken a nice step forward. This week, the State’s Bicycle Recreation Coordinator, Alexandra Phillips, unveiled a website that features detailed maps and route information on the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway.

The Willamette Valley route is the first officially recognized scenic bikeway in the state and it’s referred to as “a prototype” for others yet to come. The 127-mile route begins at Champoeg State Heritage Area just south of Wilsonville and ends at Armitage County Park just north of Eugene.

Download the study here.

Portland-based Upstream Public Health has just released an important new statewide study that draws a clear connection between transportation policy decisions and people’s health.

The study — Oregon’s first-ever statewide Health Impact Assessment (HIA) — was commissioned by Upstream and funded by the Northwest Health Foundation. Upstream collaborated with Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) and an advisory committee made up of a diverse range of experts from the planning, health, transportation engineering, and advocacy fields.

Reader Jimmy C. tells us that local custom frame builder Rob Tsunehiro of Tsunehiro Cycles has bikes on display at Legare’s (1532 SE Clinton St.). They’ll be there through the end of this month.

If the event flyer below is any indication, this is something worth taking a look at….

PBOT works on cycle track design, legal issues

City Traffic Engineer Rob Burchfield
presented the new cycle track to
the bike advisory committee
at City Hall last night.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Last month, when Mayor Adams and the Bureau of Transportation announced the new, cycle track pilot project on SW Broadway, many people in the community were excited. The removal of an entire lane of auto traffic on a marquee downtown street just to create more space for bike traffic was cause for celebration in bike circles.

However, it wasn’t all smiles in Bikeville and some people raised concerns about the new facility.

The concerns seemed to be primarily about how folks would negotiate a left turn out of the cycle track (bikes are separated from motor vehicle traffic by parked cars), and how the cycle track (a new facility type not specifically defined in Oregon statutes) would jibe with existing traffic laws that govern bikeways.

Today in City Council chambers, Commissioner Dan Saltzman proposed an amendment to the City of Portland’s proposed changes to the Private For Hire code. The amendment, which passed unanimously, will create an ad-hoc committee to address the issue of how the City regulates pedicabs.

Last month, we reported that one local pedicab business owner, Ryan Hashagen of Portland Cascadia Pedicabs, was very concerned that the new code would have a negative impact on his business.

The City issued a statement refuting Hashagen’s concerns, but that didn’t stop Hashagen from swinging into action. He organized fellow pedicab owners, he rounded up pedicab operators to testify at City Hall, he did the local media circuit, and he met with Commissioner Saltzman to present his concerns.

Now it seems like Hashagen’s work has paid off.

According to Hashagen, the new committee would include representatives from pedicab companies, pedicab operators, the BTA, PBOT, the Police Bureau and the Revenue Bureau. The committee will be tasked to meet and come back to Council within 60-90 days with revisions to the current Private For-Hire code, or Hashagen says, “Maybe even an entirely new set of codes specific to pedicabs.”

Reggie Dean’s bicycle career has taken him all over the country. Now, with the opening of Lucky 13 Bikes at 5020 SE Division, he hopes to finally settle down.

The 38-year old bike industry veteran has worked as a bike shop mechanic in the biking hot-spots of San Francisco and Asheville, North Carolina. Then he worked for Cane Creek Cycling Components where he helped develop their wheel-building program and was the team wrench for their professional women’s mountain bike team. From Cane Creek, Reggie moved to Mt. Kisco, New York, where he managed on of the “Top 100” bike shops in the country.

What: These events present a wonderful opportunity for you and your family to get out and be active right in your own neighborhood. You will be able to walk, bike run, roll, meet your neighbors, and enjoy entertainment in the parks and along the routes

When: June 21, 9am-4pm

Where: North Portland. Throughout Arbor Lodge, Peninsula and Kenton Parks, plus Willamette Bluff. No starting point.

More Info: http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=46103&

The Wild Side – Women On Bikes Ride

What: Discover the wilds of Cathedral Park, Smith and Bybee Lakes, and Columbia Slough. Helmets required, water suggested.
Distance: 12 miles Time: 2 hours

When: Thursday, June 4, 6:00pm

Where: Meeting Place – Columbia Park Cottage 4339 N Lombard.

Fatal bike/car crash on NE Prescott at 57th

Performance looks to make big splash with Portland opening this weekend

Join us south of the border for our next Get Together in Milwaukie

Could a new plan for pedestrians help Hawthorne Bridge congestion?

Oregon’s prototype “Scenic Bikeway” now has online home

New study: Less driving would make Oregon healthier

Tsunehiro bikes on display at SE Portand cafe

PBOT works on cycle track design, legal issues

Saltzman creates new pedicab committee to oversee policy changes

Industry vet sets roots, opens new bike shop in Southeast Portland

Sunday Parkways – North Portland

The Wild Side – Women On Bikes Ride

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From the Archives

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