The City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) is in the midst of a green street project on NE 122nd that will close the bike lanes between Fremont and Shaver until November. When the project was first announced (on August 22nd), here’s how BES explained its impact on traffic:
Green street construction will close bicycle lanes and sidewalks on NE 122nd Avenue between NE Fremont and NE Shaver… Construction will not affect vehicle traffic.
Kirk Paulsen wants to “get you psyched to ride your bike.” That’s the rallying cry of his new business, Pedal Portland. If you have a bike gathering dust in the garage and want to use it for more than just Sunday Parkways and Bridge Pedal, you can hire Paulsen to show you the ropes.
Paulsen’s idea is to offer personal, one-on-one consultations designed to take the guess-work out of riding bikes. Whether you have a bike and just aren’t confident to start riding it around town yet, or if you are completely new to riding, Paulsen wants to help.
Several noteworthy bits of active transportation news from Washington County have come across my desk lately. The Board of Commissioners passed an important funding ordinance last night, an effort to improve the crossing of the Fanno Creek Trail at Hall Blvd is underway, and the small town of North Plains has unveiled plans for several paved biking and walking paths.
Learn more in the brief recaps below.
Year: 1995
Brand: KONA
Model: Muni Mula
Color:GOLD
Size:17-18"
Stolen in Portland, OR 97206
Stolen:2007-09-07
Stolen From: Safeway, 10th & Jefferson. Stolen in 1995
Neighborhood: Downtown Portland
Owner: Gold Kona
OwnerEmail: urbansmoke@hotmail.com
Reward: Yes
Description: gold kona,hardtail
Police record with: No
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike
Year: 1985
Brand: Shwinn
Model: Varsity
Color:Brown/Tan
Size:45cm
Photo: http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/284055_1690455760622_1814605726_1138266_917220_n.jpg
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2011-09-6
Stolen From: Stolen from the corner of SE 14 and Yamhill, in front of my apartment building.
Neighborhood: Buckman
Owner: Brianne Burgess
OwnerEmail: honeyydo@yahoo.com
Description: This bike is a very small 1980s-ish Shwinn that was, at one point, a glossy blue, but I have since painted over it in tan and brown. The paint is from a spray can and should chip off easily to reveal the original blue color. The handlebars are drop bars with tan cork tape, and there are two new black brake levers on them. It has been converted into a freewheel single speed, and the back wheel is a new 24cm wheel with a new Continental tire.
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike
In my continuing effort to bring more attention to the issue of how streetcar tracks impact bicycling conditions, a reader passed along an interesting tidbit.
Turns out that the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is also concerned about the issue. The potential of a new streetcar line from Porltand to Lake Oswego on State Highway 43 has spurred ODOT to look into new research to determine how the presence of the tracks might impact vehicle users.
ODOT’s risk management department has requested a green light to go ahead with a research project titled, “Coefficient of Friction of Rubber Tires on Streetcar Tracks under Dry and Wet Conditions.” In the research problem statement (PDF here), ODOT lays out their concerns:
Year: 2011
Brand: Trek
Model: 7.2
Color:Dark purple
Size:Lady’s
Serial:WTU047C1501F
Stolen in Portland, OR 97219
Stolen:2011-09-06
Stolen From: OHSU South Waterfront campus, east bike stands
Neighborhood: South Waterfront
Owner: Robin Hertert
OwnerEmail: rhertert@gmail.com
Description: Headlight, cable bike lock
Police record with: OHSU Police
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike
Gordon Patterson Memorial Bike Ride (Vancouver, WA)
Sept 17th at 9:00 am
7-11 AM Breakfast at Burgerville: Fourth Plain and Ft. Vancouver Way (Fundraiser for scholarship fund)
9 AM Bike Ride Meet at Hudson’s Bay HS (1601 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver, WA 98667): Choice of 4 mile or 10 mile ride. Helmets required
Suggested donation: $5 per person, $15 per family. (Proceeds go to the Gordon Patterson Memorial Scholarship Fund)
11:00 AM Groundbreaking for Memorial Garden, Hudson’s Bay Courtyard
Noon Lunch at Benny’s Pizza Cafe, 4219 NE St. Johns Road
More info: Carrie Patterson gpatter (at) juno (dot) com
When Portland last hosted a bike share demonstration, the concept was still just a twinkle in PBOT’s eye. But now with a green light to accept $2 million in federal seed funding, a similar demonstration held today in downtown Portland put the idea in a much different light.
Now, instead of wondering if bike-sharing will come to Portland, it’s a matter of getting it right when it gets here.
A bike valet service at the foot of the Portland Aerial Tram has proved so popular that Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) has extended the service until the end of September.
OHSU began offering the service on July 11th while SW Sam Jackson Park Road — one of only two, two-lane roads to OHSU’s Marquam Hill campus (which also happens to be the City’s largest employer) — underwent a repair project. The bike valet was one of several measures undertaken to encourage OHSU staff, patient, and visitors to get up the hill in something other than an automobile.
Year: 2006
Brand: Adam’s
Model: folder one
Color:black
Size:med
Serial:0610036125 bc-06
Stolen in Portland, OR 97211
Stolen:2011-08-28
Stolen From: Sunday Parkways, SE Taylor and SE 20th ave, at Col Summers Park in Portland Oregon
Owner: Evan Ross
OwnerEmail: portlandbicycle@gmail.com
Reward: bike tour of your choice
Description: med size black adams tral-a-bike, third wheel attachment for kids. yellow stickers, quick release saddle and folding section in middle. complete with saeatpost coupler and cotter pin hitch.
Police record with: on line
Police reference#: 11-154864
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike