May 2010 Archives

South Waterfront is Portland’s newest TMA

bike parking near Aerial Tram - South Waterfront-2

Streetcar and bike parking in South Waterfront.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Last week, Metro Council approved funding for the South Waterfront Transportation Management Association (TMA). The new TMA will be funded to the tune of $300,000 (half from Metro, other half matched by neighborhood businesses and residents of the area) over three years and is set to begin work on July 1st. Other supporters of the new TMA are developers, the City of Portland, the Portland Development Commission, and Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU).

TMAs are non-profit, public/private partnerships funded through the federal government’s CMAQ (Congestion Management/Air Quality) grant program and administered through Metro’s Regional Travel Options program. The idea behind them is to increase awareness and promote the use of biking, walking, ridesharing, and taking transit. Or put more simply, discourage single-occupancy vehicle use.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 1996
Brand: Cannondale
Model: Specialized frame w/dropdown crossbar
Color:Purple
Stolen in Portland, OR 97227
Stolen:2010-05-27
Stolen From: Was stolen from 20th & Glisan (NW), Couch Park, MLC School bike rack.

See the bike in this MLC Bike Bus Video (http://vimeo.com/3137918)
Neighborhood: NW
Owner: Gabrielle Cooper
OwnerEmail: rosestonelit@yahoo.com
Description: The bike is smaller framed. Belongs to my 8th grade daughter. 2 purple and black square paniers on rear rack. 2 steel strapped on halogen front lights. Helmet in bags is purple and black w/visor.
Police record with: Portland Police
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

How about a nice game of ‘Bike Assassin’?

Watch out. This could be
your assassin.
(Photo © J. Maus)

On June 1st, a new game is set to hit Portland’s streets. It’s called ‘Bike Assassin‘ and despite its sort of scary name, it sounds like a lot of fun.

The game is being organized by a guy calling himself “The Big Cheese”. According to Mr. Cheese, each registered player (it’s $5 to join in) gets a profile on another player and you have to find them and “kill” them with a squirt gun. When they “die” they hand over the profile of who they were supposed to kill. “You kill that person next. Last one standing wins.”

Williams is getting repaved. Any opportunity
to repaint with a wider bikeway?
(Photo © J. Maus)

In May 2006, a quick-thinking Bureau of Transportation employee, Jeff Smith, got a phone call from a maintenance crew leader who was about to re-stripe the southern end of N. Vancouver Avenue. The street had been repaved and the crew was about to lay down the same lane striping it had before — two vehicle lanes, two parking lanes, and no bike lane.

Smith saw an opportunity to reconfigure the roadway and install a crucial “missing link” in the bikeway. He acted fast, gaining approval form the city traffic engineer and a few hours later the road was re-striped with a nice, wide bike lane.

Shift puts the fun in bike fun.
(Photos © J. Maus)

I’m really looking forward to our Get Together tonight. We’ll be at Plan B (1305 SE 8th) from 5:30 to about 8:00 (in the back patio if the weather stays dry) talking about Shift and getting the lowdown on Pedalpalooza 2010 (which starts June 10th!).

Shift is the Portland bike non-profit you rarely see in the headlines, but you’ve almost certainly heard of their work. They’re the minds and muscle behind things like the aforementioned Pedalpalooza (a 17-day celebration of bikes unlike anything in the world), our legendary Naked Bike Ride, Bike Moves, Breakfast on the Bridges, and much more.

Year: 1995
Brand: Schwinn
Model: road
Color:dark purple
Size:60cm
Photo: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SbXhGl3yFHFMpAadk1272Q?feat=directlink
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2010-05-23
Stolen From: House porch @ SE 37th & SE Mill (near Hawthorne)
Neighborhood: Hawthorne
Owner: Jesiah Martin
OwnerEmail: jesiah@gmail.com
Reward: cash value of bike
Description: 18ish spd, all Shimano components, white bar tape, no fenders, single red triangle rear light, black seat. All emblems and stickers removed / home painted / well used. Also stolen was the light purple cable lock with symbols instead of numbers. Pic is recent, if small.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 10-152219
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Blue and Silver Trek Kids Mountain Bike

Brand: Trek
Model: Kids Mountain Bike
Color:Blue and Silver
Size:24″ ?
Stolen in Portland, OR 97212
Stolen:2010-05-24
Stolen From: NE Thompson St, near Williams
Neighborhood: Elliot
Owner: Rachel Valdes
OwnerEmail: valdesrachel@hotmail.com
Description: blue and silver kids trek, 21 speed, one of the shifters gets stuck, there was a bike gallery sticker on it and another bike shop sticker(can’t remember what)
Police record with: Portland PD
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

Springwater repaving begins: Detour maps and closure details

View details on closures below.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Springwater Trail Repaving Project has begun and so have the closures we warned you about back in March. Since our last update, Portland Parks has released updated detour and closure information (which I’ve posted below).

To recap, this project is funded by a $1.8 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, a.k.a. the stimulus bill). The money will pay for repaving eight miles of trail and it’s set for completion by the end of August.

The trail will be closed in four separate sections and the Parks Department has been kind enough to color code them for us. Detour details and scheduled closures are listed below…

Stephen Gomez, Vice-Chair of the BTA board,
is managing the elections process.
(Photo: Adams Carroll)

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is currently accepting applications to be evaluated for election to their Board of Directors. These elections are important because the board has significant sway and oversight into the policies and direction of the organization. We have gotten emails and phone calls from people in the community who wanted to know more about the election process, so I asked Board Vice Chair Stephen Gomez to explain how it works.

These fence posts riled tempers. Now
the project is delayed until neighbors
know more.
(Photo: Jim Parsons/BikePortland)

When fence posts went up where the Fanno Creek Trail crosses SW Hall Boulevard (map) over the weekend, trail users were outraged.

Beaverton Bicycle Advisory Committee member Barbara Chapnick fired off an email to several fellow advocates and city planners that read, “This is absolutely terrible! Horrible, abominable! What can we do about this?”

Year: 2009
Brand: Kona
Model: Dew Plus
Color:60cm
Size:black
Serial: i110803454
Stolen in Portland, OR 97209
Stolen:2010-05-26
Stolen From: NW Hoyt and 17th; Alphabet District
Neighborhood: Alphabet District, NW Portland
Owner: Mary Ann Pastene
OwnerEmail: mpastene@comcast.net
Description: Kickstand, lights
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: T10003152
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Job: Part-time IT Assistant (Alta Planning + Design) – FILLED

Job Title
Part-time IT Assistant

Company/Organization
Alta Planning + Design

This position has been filled.

Job Description
Alta Planning and Design is a 65-person consulting firm with a mission to provide green infrastructure and program solutions that help people have active daily lives. We specialize in bicycle, pedestrian, trail, park, and greenway planning, design, and implementation, in addition to outreach and education programs. We are a growing company with projects at the local, national, and international level. For more information, see our website www.altaplanning.com.

Alta Planning and Design’s Portland office is seeking:

Part-time IT Assistant: The IT assistant will work on a wide range of day to day tasks. The ideal candidate will have experience in end user technical support and website content management. This is not just a “help desk” position, the person filling this role will be involved with projects and interacting with professional staff on a daily basis. A professional appearance, great customer service skills, and a positive attitude are a must.

Required Skills:
• Expert knowledge and troubleshooting ability of Windows XP and Vista
• Knowledge of HTML, CSS and basic web formatting
• Ability to troubleshoot issues with a variety of peripherals including printers, copiers, digital cameras, projectors, etc. If it’s broken you CAN fix it.
• Must be detail oriented and have an ability to clearly convey instructions to non-technical staff both in person and over the phone

Preferred Skills:
• Experience with Google Apps
• PHP, Javascript, MySQL or other SQL, Pivot Tables, Google API’s
• Basic knowledge of Active Directory
• Basic knowledge of Switches and Routers

Required Experience:
• At least one year experience in end-user support

Compensation $12-$14/hr. This position is part time (20 hours/week). Alta offers excellent benefits, flexible work schedules, and a fun, collaborative work environment with an extremely dedicated and skilled group of planners and designers in our Portland office.

How to Apply
Please send your cover letter, resume, and 3 references to resumes+IT@altaplanning(dot)com. This position is open until filled. No calls please. Applications can also be mailed to:

Alta Planning & Design
Attn: Human Resources
711 SE Grand Ave.
Portland, OR 97214

South Waterfront is Portland’s newest TMA

Purple Cannondale Specialized frame w/dropdown crossbar 1996

How about a nice game of ‘Bike Assassin’?

Williams Ave getting repaved: Can we get a wider bike lane?

Tonight: Get Together with Shift and Pedalpalooza

dark purple Schwinn road 1995

Blue and Silver Trek Kids Mountain Bike

Springwater repaving begins: Detour maps and closure details

BTA seeks new board members

Communication breakdown: The story behind the Fanno Creek fence

60cm Kona Dew Plus 2009

Job: Part-time IT Assistant (Alta Planning + Design) – FILLED

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