August 2009 Archives

City lays out priority project list for new bike funding

Riders on Williams could get a
wider bike lane with new
city funding.
(Photo © J. Maus)

City planners are working to determine which projects should be funded with the new, $500,000 “Affordable Transporation Fund” included in Mayor Adam’s budget. The money — which is to be dedicated specifically to bikeway network improvements — became available on July 1st. A draft list of high-priority projects was shared at last night’s City of Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting.

City bike coordinator Roger Geller shared that some of this year’s $500,000 is already spoken for. Half of the money will pay for the upcoming cycle track on SW Broadway (will be completed by end of this month), buffered bike lanes on Stark and Oak and the 15 miles of bike boulevards PBOT is working on.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Over the next few weeks we’ll be bringing you bits and pieces of Portland’s forthcoming Bicycle Master Plan for 2030. The plan is being updated for the first time since 1995 and it will contain many important bicycle policy guidelines (and more) that will eventually be folded into Portland’s Transportation System Plan.

The plan is slated for public comment very soon and it will likely be in front of City Council toward the end of October. I’ve been reading through an internal rough draft and thought I’d share a bit of it with you.

Part One of the plan lays out PBOT’s vision of “A World-Class Bicycling City”. In addition to making the case for why the city should invest in bicycling, it explains the process of updating the plan, describes the latest thinking on “the nature of bicycling” and it explains PBOT’s “framework for bicycling policy”.

Parks advocate and Gateway Green
project backer Linda Robinson
outside City Council
Chambers this morning.
(Photos © J. Maus)

The Gateway Green project has taken a major step forward.

Friends of Gateway Green — the non-profit group working to convert an ODOT-owned, 35-acre parcel between I-205 and I-84 into a bicycle recreation area — has announced that Governor Kulongoski has selected the project to be part of the Oregon Solutions program.

Oregon Solutions is a process that grew out of Oregon’s Sustainability Act of 2001. Projects under this umbrella are seen as having a high priority for the state and they are selected because they have a strong sustainability component and bring together a wide range of community stakeholders. Oregon Solutions helps the Gateway Green project in many important ways — from bringing its staff resources (to help find funding, etc…) to being a heavyweight facilitator to help navigate the extremely complicated route from vacant land to public recreation mecca.

Velodrome backer Steve Brown and Jay Isaac with the Trail Blazers see potential for a velodrome at this location.
–Google Map here–

Still from Performance.
(Watch it below)

Local road racers Robin Moore and Jake Salcone have put together a hilarious music video called Performance that skewers the fashion and behavior of roadies and fixed gear riders.

The video is set in Portland and the song contains some stinging lines about fashion-conscious fixed gear riders by a roadie rapper named MC SpandX.

“An anodized chain, cards in your spokes… how can you ride, your pants are a joke?” goes one of the lines.

This is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time. While it’s harsh on fixed gear riders, the MC SpandX is so over the top about himself he actually ends up making just as much fun of himself.

Watch MC SpandX lay it down rap-style against the fixie set…

Year: 2009
Brand: Scott
Model: Sub 30 Classic
Color:Brown/White
Size:Large
Serial: GH891151 11080576
Stolen in Portland, OR
Stolen:2009-08-11
Stolen From: Downtown bike rake late Monday Night
Neighborhood: Downtown Portland
Owner: Arthur Moore
OwnerEmail: artiemo@gmail.com
Description: Lights front and back
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 09071371
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Brown Scott Sub 30 Classic 2009

Year: 2009
Brand: Scott
Model: Sub 30 Classic
Color:Brown
Size:Satin
Serial: 780-970-0037
Stolen in Portland, OR
Stolen:2009-08-11
Stolen From: Downtown bike rack during the late night or early morning
Neighborhood: Downtown
Owner: Arthur Moore
OwnerEmail: artiemo@gmail.com
Description: brown, stock with front light and back light
Police record with: waiting for call back
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

ODOT will delve deeper for Oregon City bridge closure access solution

Oregon City Mayor Alice Norris (left) and
Clackamas County Chair Lynn Peterson learn
about the bridge from an
ODOT engineer.
(Photos: ODOT)

Last Friday, the Oregon Department of Transportation hosted a tour of the Oregon City/West Linn Arch Bridge. The bridge is slated for a major, two-year renovation project and ODOT is faced with having to figure out how to maintain non-motorized access across the river during the closure.

So far, ODOT has not figured out a solution and they are acutely aware that bike advocates, elected officials and other community members want to make sure that adequate, non-motorized access options will be provided for.

Since it doesn’t look like the Obama Administration is coming out with a Clunkers for Bikes option to their Cash for Clunkers program any time soon, a local Portland bike shop owner has taken it upon himself to introduce his own version.

Joe Doebele, owner of Joe Bike, will take $50-$100 off the purchase of a new bike when customers bring in a repairable clunker. Joe says his mechanics get last word on whether or not the bike is “repairable”. If it is, he will issue the rebate and then donate the old bike to a local non-profit (like the Community Cycling Center, Bike Farm, etc…).

The promotion will run through the end of August. Learn more at Joe-Bike.com.

Want to win a custom bike? At Tour de Fat, all it takes is a car and a commitment

The Tour de Fat is making its annual stop in Portland on Saturday. In addition to good beer, live entertainment, a rollicking downtown bike parade, and other surprises, the show will feature what has become a highlight of the event in recent years — the car-for-bike swap.

Since it was founded in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1991, New Belgium Brewing’s Tour de Fat has been based around the idea of spreading the good word about cycling (the company gives all proceeds to bike-related non-profits). This year the traveling circus of bike fun will hit 11 cities. At each stop, one lucky applicant is selected to get a custom city bike made by Black Sheep Bikes. The only condition is that they must give up their car keys and commit to going carfree for an entire year.

“The road to Portland’s future will include many, many bicycles. They will help Portland build a stronger economy. They will help Portland become a healthier place to live, work, and play. Bicycles will make the roads safer and give more Portlanders the freedom of personal mobility. They will do all this and cost the people of Portland less than the cost of one latte apiece each month.”
— From draft of Part One of the City of Portland’s Bicycle Master Plan for 2030

It’s been two and-a-half years since we first reported about the City of Portland’s efforts to update their existing Bicycle Master Plan. Since then, the effort has had many ups and downs, but now the new master plan is in the home stretch.

Tomorrow, the bike master plan is set for a briefing in front of the Portland Planning Commission and it will get a full hearing on August 25th.

City lays out priority project list for new bike funding

Bicycle Master Plan Part One: The Vision

With Governor’s hand, Gateway Green project gets major boost

New site in Rose Quarter seen as possible velodrome location

‘Performance’ rap music video pokes fun at roadies, fixed gear riders

Brown/White Scott Sub 30 Classic 2009

Brown Scott Sub 30 Classic 2009

ODOT will delve deeper for Oregon City bridge closure access solution

Local bike shop runs Cash for Clunkers sales promo

Want to win a custom bike? At Tour de Fat, all it takes is a car and a commitment

Portland’s Bike Master Plan update readies for the spotlight

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