September 2009 Archives

Bike nirvana in N/NE Portland? A look Metro’s choices for stimulus grant program

A $38 million project focused on
N/NE Portland could bring a cycle
track to N. Williams.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Metro has selected four active transportation projects to include in a grant application for possible funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s $1.5 billion Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program.

The four projects, with an estimated total cost of $97 million, where whittled down from 27 that Metro received during a recent call for projects that went out to jurisdictions, agencies, and non-profit groups throughout the Portland region.

As we reported back in July, Metro decided to submit only non-motorized projects in their TIGER grant application and they wanted projects from each of three categories: “urban”, “suburban”, and “urban to nature”.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

We need more like him.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Yesterday the Safe Routes to School National Partnership launched their “Dear Congress: Why Safe Routes to School is Important” campaign. The intention of this grassroots lobbying effort is to send a clear message to members of Congress that their constituents care deeply about getting more kids to walk and bike to school.

The National Partnership hopes to generate thousands of letters by September 24th that they will then bundle up and share with members of the House and Senate.

In a statement announcing the new campaign, Partnership staffers acknowledged that the timing of a new federal transportation bill is uncertain, but added that, “It is absolutely the time to make sure that we have all the ammunition necessary to continue the fight to strengthen and expand the federal Safe Routes to School program in the next bill… we can do this through your stories.”

Mike Luther and his grandson, Lucas.
(Photo: Family of Mike Luther)

The family of Mike Luther — the man who was seriously injured while riding his bicycle near NE 122nd and Glisan one week ago — has released a statement on the eve of a grand jury hearing in the case.

According to his family, Luther, who turns 53 today, is still hospitalized and his prognosis is “unclear”. Not much is known about the details of what happened that night. What has been reported thus far is that the man who drove his car into Luther, Wayne Conrad Thompson, backed into him at a high rate of speed. Thompson was detained and charged with first-degree assault.

In their statement, Luther’s family shares that he was an advocate for biking and public transportation and that a donation fund has been set up to help pay for his medical bills.

Here is the statement (emphasis BikePortland):

Brand: Alpha Mercury
Color:black/gold
Photo: <a target=_new href=”“>
Stolen in Portland, OR 92nd and Webster
Stolen:2009-09-2
Stolen From: 92nd and Webster. Near Sandy Blvd.
Owner: Morgan Jacobson
OwnerEmail: ponyboy.jacobson@gmail.com
Reward: $200
Description: fixed gear.
black alpha mercury frame. the top tube has a designed bend in it. originally gold and painted black. the gold shows through the chipping.
handle bars are straight and really short. has a front brake only.
wheels have gold rims. velocity aerohead front wheel. velocity deep-v back wheel.
gold campi cranks.
silver foot cages.
there is a skull sticker on the front of the bike, a “continuum cycles” sticker on the down tube and a red, gray and white spoke card in the back wheel.
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

An in-depth look at the Going St. bike boulevard project

PBOT’s Greg Raisman shared a preview of Going
plans at our recent Get Together.
(Photos © J. Maus)

In case you haven’t heard, the City of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation is smack dab in the middle of a major campaign to create 15 miles of new bike boulevards in Portland.

We’ve covered the projects and the process behind them in recent months (ever since Mayor Adams made the “15 Miles” part of this 100 Day Action Plan), but we’ve yet to delve into detail on them one-by-one.

With that in mind, we had PBOT traffic safety specialist Greg Raisman by our office this morning to share the latest on what they’ve got in store for the Going Street project. Raisman — along PBOT Traffic Safety Program Manager Mark Lear, City Traffic Engineer Rob Burchfield, and others — is a key member of the City’s bike boulevard team.

Police say this is similar to the suspect’s vehicle.

The Portland Police Bureau just released a statement and photo they hope will help them find the suspect in a fatal hit-and-run case that happened on NE 122nd Avenue last week.

On Thursday, August 27th at 2:15am, 52-year old James Wagner was struck and killed by someone driving what investigators believe to be a four-door Toyota Corolla similar to the one in the photo above. The police also say that the vehicle would have glass broken out of the headlight on the passenger side.

[*We had the dates of the New Seasons/BTA Benefit BBQ wrong. It’s Sat-Sun (not Sun-Mon.) Sorry for any confusion.]

Here are some of the events going on during the long weekend. Feel free to let us know about more of what’s going on in the comments.

Friday, September 4th

4:00pm: Carfree Couve Ride
Celebrate Carfree Day in Vancouver, Washington. Meet at the southeast corner of Farragut Park, 7700 N Vancouver Ave, Portland. Ride to the Couve leaves at 5:00pm.

5:30pm: Bike to the Birds: Vaux’s Swift Picnic Ride
Bring a picnic blanket and meet at the west end of the Steel Bridge to ride to view the famous birds fly into the school chimney up in Northwest, with a stop on the way for groceries. Will reschedule for next Friday if it’s wet.

6:30pm: Vegan Dinner Ride
The second installment of VDBR is Friday, Sept. 4. Meet at 6:30 at Colonel Summers Park (at the corner of SE Yamhill and SE 20th) for a fun, social ride to a $5 vegan-friendly dinner spot in town, followed by another stop for drinks and dessert. All eating persuasions welcome.

“What could be more romantic than spending the evening under the lights at Alpenrose? How about spending the evening at Alpenrose riding through the mud with a few hundred other people?”

That’s the hook OBRA is using to get folks excited about their newly announced “Blind Date at the Dairy” cyclocross race series. The series will be held on four consecutive Wednesday nights beginning on September 23rd. The dates are: 9/23, 9/30, 10/7, 10/14.

There will be races for juniors and men and women in all three categories. Also on the schedule each night (starting earliest at 5:00, well before bedtime) will be “Kiddie cross” and “Toddler cross” for the little ones.

Last night Widmer Brothers Brewery held a celebration for their newly installed, on-street bike parking corral. A party for bike parking is one thing, but last night’s event was a bigger deal because Mayor Adams led a bike ride to it from City Hall and KATU-TV showed up to cover the whole thing on their evening newscast.

Adams broke a glass of champagne (or was it beer?) on one of the racks, there was mingling, and there was a party upstairs with a free bike raffle and other prizes (thanks to Cyclepath Bike Shop).

A tragic road rage story has been making international headlines. On Monday evening in Ontario, Canada, a bike messenger has died after a road rage altercation with a prominent political figure.

Witnesses describe seeing a black convertible going 90 kilometers an hour the wrong way down a street in an upscale Toronto shopping district with 33 year old Darcy Allan Shepard hanging off the driver’s side window as the driver steered the car repeatedly onto the sidewalk, driving as close as possible to signposts and light poles on the side of the road.

Year: 2008
Brand: Trek
Model: 2.5 WSD
Color:blue & whit
Photo: http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/226/bikedzv.jpg
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2009-09-3
Stolen From: 1309 SE 32nd Pl a home
Neighborhood: Hawthorne Blvd
Owner: Robles Maria
OwnerEmail: roblesm_01@yahoo.com
Reward: $200
Description: It’s a blue & white Trek bike with black stripes running down the forks, there were two water holders on it and a religious cloth wrapped around one. Please contact me at 775.830.1511
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

White/Red Cannondale CAAD 9 6 2007

Year: 2007
Brand: Cannondale
Model: CAAD 9 6
Color:White/Red
Size:54 cm
Photo: http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4315/caad9e.jpg
Stolen in Portland, OR 97232
Stolen:2009-08-30
Stolen From: In front of rontom’s, E burnside and 6th. Between 11pm-1am. Cable cut.
Neighborhood: E Burnside
Owner: Daniel Dietz
OwnerEmail: danielrdietz@gmail.com
Reward: substantial
Description: White and red cannondale frame, red handlebar, san marco seat, shimano wheels. White bottle holder. Sticker from Stanwood Velo Shop.
Police record with: 09078619
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Bike nirvana in N/NE Portland? A look Metro’s choices for stimulus grant program

Care about Safe Routes to School? Tell Congress about it

On eve of grand jury hearing, family of assault victim releases statement

black/gold Alpha Mercury

An in-depth look at the Going St. bike boulevard project

Police offer reward for help in last week’s fatal hit-and-run

Weekend Event Guide (Updated)

Friday, September 4th

OBRA announces new cyclocross series

Media, Mayor help Widmer celebrate new bike parking

Man on bike dies after road rage incident involving prominent politician in Ontario, Canada

blue & whit Trek 2.5 WSD 2008

White/Red Cannondale CAAD 9 6 2007

Latest Headlines

Local shop launches mutual aid program to help keep riders on the road

City will build new paved path into Kelley Point Park

Weekend Event Guide: Larch Mountain, BMX Day, and more

Councilor Mitch Green is Portland’s socialist transportation champion

From the Archives

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