February 2010 Archives

Bike advocates as neo-cons and other media highlights

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

“The bicycle soldiers of Portland are as giddy as a cabal of neo-cons plotting regime change in 2002, and with good reason. There is a good chance that this week the City Council will approve the 20-year bicycle master plan…”
— Letter to the Editor in The Oregonian

With just a few days before Portland City Council adopts the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030, it will be interesting to see how the local media tries to spin it.

Case in point: Respected columnist for The Oregonian, Anna Griffin, mentioned the plan in her column on Saturday. The piece took issue with Mayor Adams’ governing style and said he needs to “Toss Twitter and get back to the big picture for Portland” among other things. The Twitter bashing was strange enough, but here’s the paragraph that caught my eye (emphasis mine):

Gerik Kransky
(Photo: OLCV)

The Portland-based Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) has hired Gerik Kransky to be their new Advocacy Campaign Manager. Kransky, age 30, was previously outreach director for the non-profit land use group 1000 Friends of Oregon and has also worked with SOLV and the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club.

Back in October, Kransky was given a “Best Supporting Activist Award” by the Bus Project for his work with 1000 Friends. I asked him this morning how his previous experiences might serve him in the trenches of bike advocacy:

Cycle Oregon Day 5 - Glendale to Grants Pass-1

Cycle Oregon participants doing
their part for Oregon’s economy.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Portland and Oregon’s bike economy has gotten a lot of play in the media and in advocacy circles, but the size of our bike economy is peanuts compared to Wisconsin’s. According to a study released today by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, bike-related tourism and industry pumps $1.5 billion to that state’s economy each year.

“Recreational bicycling” had the largest impact, accounting for $924 million. Of that amount, the study says, $533 million is direct spending and $391 million is due to “indirect and induced effects, such as increased purchases of supplies and labor by restaurants and hotels serving cyclists.”

Year: 2003
Brand: Raleigh
Model: M-50
Color:Blk/gld
Size:Med 18″
Stolen in Portland, OR 97208
Stolen:2010-01-25
Stolen From: Gated condo parking garage at nw 9th and glisan.
Neighborhood: Pearl
Owner: John Lamb
OwnerEmail: jonaslamb@gmail.com
Reward: $50
Description: Well used but much loved mountain bike has a bike trailer coupler attached to the rear huband a decal from “two-wheel tango” bikeshop on the downtube. Has small led lights on seatpost and handlebars and a rear fender attached at seatpost also.
Police record with: 10-150266
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

BTA votes no on PBOT’s proposed budget

A freshly paved Naito Parkway
came with new bike lanes.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation submitted their proposed 2010-2011 budget to City Hall today and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance is not happy with it. Michelle Poyourow, advocacy director of the BTA and member of the PBOT Budget Advisory Committee, was the 13-member committee’s sole no vote on the budget proposal.

“Our interest is for the City to make strategic transportation investments, not the ones we’ve made in the past which have resulted in the current problems we have. We want strategic investments for the future we are aiming for… Where people can be active, and not use fossil fuels.”

Bikes and business in peaceful coexistence.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Today, the Bicycle Business League and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance delivered a letter to Portland Mayor Sam Adams in support of the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 signed by 127 local businesses.

The list includes many usual suspects (bike companies and bike teams), but also some major corporations such as wind power company Vestas, insurance company The Standard, Walsh Construction, Adidas, Tazo Tea, the law firm of Ater Wynne LLP, ad giant Wieden + Kennedy, and others (full list pasted below).

Year: 2009
Brand: Cannondale
Model: Rize 3
Color:Red
Serial:U043345
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2010-02-01
Stolen From: 706 SE MLK Jr Blvd
Neighborhood: SouthEast
Owner: Dani Dance
OwnerEmail: danid@rivercitybicycles.com
Description: The photo url is of the 2010 bike, basically the biggest difference is that the stolen bike is all red with white decals and gray decals. He also had an orange helmet, but may have ditched the helmet. The bike stands out with the lefty fork (lefty max w/pbr, 130mm) Other components are Fox float RP2 rear shock, DT Swiss XR430 Rims, SRAM GXP1 crank, SRAM X-9 rear derailleur, Avid Elixir Disc Brakes

Police record with: in process
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

First look: Milwaukie’s new bikeway signs

New on the streets of Milwaukie!
(Photo: Matt Menely)

The City of Milwaukie (which borders Portland to the southeast) has installed its first of 212 bikeway network signs. Milwaukie resident Matt Menely spotted the first one, which is located near SE 28th and Monroe.

The Bikeway Signage Plan project began with a series of public meetings in February 2009 and the signs are a part of Milwaukie’s Bike Plan which was adopted by City Council in December 2007.

The installation will be done in three phases and the first phase includes 48 signs. According to City of Milwaukie planner Brett Kelver, they have $10,000 allocated for the first 40 signs. The signs cost $250 (fabrication and installation) each and money for the project comes from a fund for biking and walking projects set aside with 1% of Milwaukie’s state gas tax revenues. The signs are similar in style to signs the City of Portland began installing back in late 2005.

What’s the purpose of the signs? Here is a list of benefits as laid out in the Milwaukie Bicycle Wayfinding Signage Plan (which was developed by Alta Planning):

Here’s the news that caught our eye this week:

– In last week’s round of federal investment in high speed rail corridors, the Pacific Northwest has been assigned nearly $600 million. Portland will use $8 million to fix Union Station’s leaky roof, and Washington State will use the rest for track installation and repair.

– Use of hand held cell phones while driving has been illegal in Oregon for a month. And has this made any difference in public safety? Unlikely, say the experts, since hands-free devices are just as dangerous.

– How does one humble citizen, or group, or organization get their voice heard at the state DOT? Here’s an excellent primer.

UPDATE, 2:30pm: Tom says he’s raised all the money he needs to replace everything! Thanks to everyone for helping him out!

Remember Tom Daly, the guy who offers bike-alongs to make sure you get the right used bike off Craigslist? He was all set to open his new shop, WTF Bikes (which stands for Well Tuned & Fast), this week, but unfortunately some nasty criminals decided to rob his shop in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Daly says he lost over $1,100 worth of tools and bikes (see full list below). Here’s how it went down:

“They came over the fence at the south side of my lot, through the neighbor’s yard… They then clipped the lock that holds my chain link gate shut, helped themselves, and left the way they came in… They must have waited for me to get set up, because I brought all that stuff over there yesterday morning.”

A year and a half ago, Portland residents Jed Lazar and Shauna Lambert launched SoupCycle to bring fresh soups, salads and breads to anyone with a soupscription. On Wednesday, they’ll make their 10,000th delivery.

This pedal-powered (and electric assist) soup delivery company has gone far beyond being just a novelty and has ridden Portland’s love for bikes, good food, and local businesses to truly commendable heights. Since they started up back in 2008, Lazar, Lambert, and their “Souper Hero” employees have ridden over 3,300 miles.

Bike advocates as neo-cons and other media highlights

Former environmental organizer is BTA’s new Advocacy Campaign Manager

In Wisconsin, bicycling contributes $1.5 billion to economy

Blk/gld Raleigh M-50 2003

BTA votes no on PBOT’s proposed budget

127 businesses sign letter in support of 2030 bike plan

Red Cannondale Rize 3 2009

First look: Milwaukie’s new bikeway signs

The Monday Roundup

Thieves hit WTF Bikes just days before opening – UPDATED

SoupCycle celebrates 10,000th delivery

Latest Headlines

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Our 20th Anniversary Party is this Wednesday

From the Archives

The 10 busiest bicycling spots in Portland