2010 Archives

13 years later, 50s bikeway project finally gets rolling

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

SE 52nd Avenue — soon to be bike boulevard-ized.
(Photo: PBOT)

This morning, Portland City Council formally accepted a $1.3 million grant for the 50s Bikeway, a project that was first identified as a priority in Portland’s 1996 Bike Master Plan. Today’s acceptance of the grant is a procedural formality (technically, it’s the signing of an Inter-Governmental Agreement between PBOT and the Oregon Department of Transportation), but it also allows PBOT to begin the final planning and outreach stages of the project.

Once complete, the 50s Bikeway will be a 6.7 mile mix of bike lanes (some exist already) and bike boulevard treatments (like medians and other traffic calming elements). The planned route begins in Northeast Portland at 57th and Thompson and goes south on 53rd Avenue to cross I-84. The route then jogs to 52nd and continues south to Woodstock Blvd.

Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Metro President David Bragdon have been joined by two leaders from Vancouver in their disdain for the current state of the Columbia River Crossing project.

Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt

Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart

(Photos © J. Maus)

Great poster!

At an event later this month, the slew of candidates looking to unseat City Commissioner Dan Saltzman (and maybe even Saltzman himself) will face off in a “meet the candidates” forum hosted by The Portland Mercury and The Bus Project.

“Candidate Olympiad” organizers have decided on three lines of questioning they’ll use to tease out which candidate deserves your vote (or signature, since the event will be held the night before candidates must turn in 1,000 signatures if they want public campaign financing). The topics are:

Michelle Obama could help bring
Safe Routes to Schools to the table.
(Photo: White House on Flickr)

America has a long legacy of First Ladies who have used their diplomatic profile to further specific causes, so I was very pleased to learn that Michelle Obama’s focus would be obesity.

Anyone who has spent time in the bike advocacy world knows that the obesity epidemic is often thrown around as a key reason why our country needs to put a higher priority on biking. So, is the First Lady’s focus on obesity and “healthy families” something to get excited about?

Year: 2007
Brand: Hufnagel
Color:yellow
Size:43cm
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeportland/1978564445/in/set-72157603102390034/
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2009-12-22
Stolen From: inside food fight grocery at SE stark and 12th ave. the store got broken into and it was taken.
Neighborhood: Buckman
Owner: Emiko Badillo
OwnerEmail: broken_hipster@hotmail.com
Description: the bike is built for wheels that are called 650c, and is a 43cm.
It had Miche brand cranks, hubs, and headset. Nitto stem and handle bars, american classic seatpost, EAI rims, and a WTB seat.
Police record with: Craig Gervais
Police reference#: 09-113276 and T10000168
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Horse to bike officer transfer would save PPB $585,000 per year

Bike Patrol in action
on SE Hawthorne.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) could save $585,000 per year if they were to make good on a proposal to dismantle their Mounted Patrol Unit and transfer four officers to downtown bike detail. The savings would come from reducing the number of employees from seven (currently on mounted patrol) to four (that would be put on bike detail).

Since our story on this last Wednesday, The Oregonian and KGW have picked up on the news.

Police Chief Rosie Sizer told KGW that replacing horses with bikes is “an effective strategy.” From KGW:

Not just for cars anymore.
(Photo: Elly Blue/BikePortland)

Back in August, local fast food chain Burgerville made headlines when they opened their drive-thrus to bicycle-riding customers at all 39 of their locations.

But, according to an interview with the company’s CEO Jeff Harvey published in The Oregonian last week, that’s just the start.

Year: 2002
Brand: Cannondale
Color:Dark Green
Stolen in Portland, OR 97201
Stolen:2009-04-18
Stolen From: KOIN Tower on the corner of 2nd Avenue and Clay.
Owner: Dave Demcak
OwnerEmail: davedemcak@hotmail.com
Description: A dark green Cannondale with proflex Vector fork, raise handle bars, black platform pedals, and hybrid tires.

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

In observance of our national holiday to commemorate the birth of Martin Luther King Jr., I thought I’d share a video clip (below) of the man in action (big tip o’ the hat to Matt Davis of the Portland Mercury).

I realize that the effort to make bicycles an accepted and respected form of transportation in America is a far cry from the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement — but there are parallels. Many of us who represent “the bike community” or “bicyclists” have been called upon to explain our tactics and ideas to people who don’t see the world in the same way.

Early last Friday morning, a man was kicked out of Waterfront Park for 30 days by a Portland Police officer because he was riding in the park at 4:30 am (the park is closed from midnight to 5 a.m.). The incident has sparked an interesting debate about how the Portland Parks Bureau deals with park facilities that have paths used as transportation corridors within their boundaries.

Unlike other popular multi-use paths that are inside Parks-managed properties (like the Eastbank Esplanade and the Springwater Corridor), the path that runs through Waterfront Park is not technically considered a transportation corridor. The official reason is because it was not funded with federal transportation dollars (the two examples above were funded through the FHWA’s Transportation Enhancement grant program).

Hope you are all having a happy day off (or day on). Here’s the news that caught our eye this week:

– A group of business leaders and investors (worth about $13 trillion) has thrown its weight into the climate change fight, urging world governments to act quickly.

– More cars—about four million—were scrapped than sold in the US in 2009

– New Seattle mayor Mike McGinn has been spotted riding his bike to press conferences — on topics unrelated to bikes.

– By the numbers, Vancouver, BC is squarely the greenest city in the Pacific Northwest. The second-greenest city? You might be surprised to find it isn’t Portland.

Brand: Specialized
Model: Allez
Color:white
Size:54
Photo: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2kxRm7nhyq8OJXojNGbWNQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCOqW0vWWpcKMVw&feat=directlink
Stolen in Portland, OR 97205
Stolen:2010-01-12
Stolen From: Vista Townhomes, 912 SW Vista Ave, NW 23rd and Burnside,
Neighborhood: Goose Hollow
Owner: Yassine Diboun
OwnerEmail: yassine.diboun@gmail.com
Description: I had some T2 aero bars on the bike. Shimano components and Look pedals.
Police record with: 10-004565
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

13 years later, 50s bikeway project finally gets rolling

Vancouver leaders join local chorus of CRC concerns

Bikes, CRC will be hot topics at candidate debate

Will Mrs. Obama’s obesity focus boost Safe Routes to School efforts?

yellow Hufnagel 2007

Horse to bike officer transfer would save PPB $585,000 per year

Burgerville CEO sees more bikes in their future

Dark Green Cannondale 2002

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

More on Waterfront Park biking issue

The Monday Roundup

white Specialized Allez

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