Year: 2011

First trees, now ‘Love by Bike’ (just in time for Valentine’s Day)

Max Kirchoff of Love by Bike-1

Max Kirchoff and his delivery vehicle.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Over the past two holiday seasons, Portlander Max Kirchoff has established a successful business delivering trees by bike throughout the city. His Trees by Bike concept launched in 2009 and last year it grew by leaps and bounds.

Now Kirchoff is extending the idea to Valentine’s Day with a new project dubbed, “Love by Bike.” He’s teaming up with his partner Christina Collada to spread the spirit of love this month the same way they spread the spirit of yule in December.

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Oregon Museum of Science and Industry offers DIY bike trailer course

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Our friend Jessica Roberts tipped us off about a cool course being offered at the excellent Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)…

Build a Cargo Trailer in the OMSI Shop

Build a bicycle cargo trailer in the OMSI Shop using simple tools and reclaimed or inexpensive materials. The workshop spans three Saturday morning sessions and covers: shop safety, tool use, trailer design, construction methods, and fabrication. Each particpant (teams of two are allowed and encouraged) will finish the workshop with a working 200 lb. capacity trailer. All materials will be provided, including wheels and a trailer hitch to be mounted on the rear acle of a bicycle. Approximate trailer dimensions will be 16 inches wide by 5 feet long, utilizing two 16-inch wheels and wheel-well covers. Longer and wider trailers are possible and will be discussed during the trailer design session of the workshop. You are encouraged to bring your bicycle on fabrication day to ensure proper fit. Participants are required to attend the shop safety portion of the workshop and sign a liability waiver before any tool use or fabrication. Upon completion of the course, participants will have a function bicycle cargo trailer to share and the knowledge and skills to build more trailers at home with simple tools and inexpensive materials.

$90 per ticket. Ticket good for up to two individuals and includes all materials for one complete trailer. Participants must be at least 18 years old.

February 5, 12, and 19, 9 a.m. – noon (participants must attend all three sessions to complete project)

Build a Cargo Trailer is in the OMSI Shop located just North of main museum. Enter through the blue door on the south side of the building.

To reserve a space for Build a Cargo Trailer, buy tickets online or at the OMSI Ticket Desk.

This is fantastic. OMSI regularly features bike-centric displays and exhibits. In fact, their current “Design Lab” exhibit has a whole section that looks into how bike gears work. We’re lucky to have OMSI in Portland, especially with it being right on the Eastbank Esplanade bikeway!

Cars parking in bicycle travel lanes: What did we learn?

“Since July 1, 2010, our officers have issued 226 citations to motor vehicles parked illegally in bike lanes.”
— Cheryl Kuck, PBOT spokesperson

Last week I shared the problem of cars parking in vehicle lanes which are legally set aside for bicycles (a.k.a. bike lanes). That story generated a lot of helpful discussion. I’ve also gotten a response from the City of Portland about their towing and parking enforcement policies around this issue, so I felt a follow-up was in order.

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False alarm on Idaho stop law

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

This morning I posted a story stating that Senator Ginny Burdick was introducing a bill (SB 604) that would allow bicycle operators to roll through stop signs and flashing red lights – a.k.a. the Idaho stop law.

Now I have confirmed that Burdick never intended to push for the bill as it was introduced yesterday. It turns out that SB 604 in its current form is just a placeholder for another idea that Burdick’s office is working on. It’s not that uncommon for a legislator to copy/paste old bill language into a bill like this and then “gut and stuff” it later with different language through the amendment process.

Below is a statement I received a few minutes ago from Burdick’s office:

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Read PBOT testimony in favor of bicycle signal bill

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Broadway-Williams bike signal day 3-5

More bike signals ahead? Maybe.
(Photo © J. Maus)

As we reported yesterday, PBOT’s Signals and Street Lighting Division Manager, Peter Koonce, was in Salem yesterday to testify in support of a bill (SB 130) that would give official state backing to bicycle traffic signals. (ODOT is behind the bill, PBOT is supporting it.)

Below is the text of his testimony (emphasis mine)…

Chair Beyer and members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you this afternoon regarding Senate Bill 130. For the record, I am Peter Koonce, the Signal and Street Lighting Manager for the City of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation.

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Helmet cams for justice and for advocacy

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Still from helmet cam footage taken
in SW Portland by Seth Alford.

According to a BBC article published yesterday people wearing helmet cams while bicycling is becoming more common in the UK. For many, the article says, the helmet cams are a way to capture bad drivers in the act. As helmet cam quality goes up and cost comes down, I wonder if this is a trend we’ll start seeing in other places. I’ve come across a few helmet cam videos recently that point to the trend possibly taking hold here in Portland as well.

The BBC article features a guy whose helmet cam footage was used in court to win a case against another vehicle operator:

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BTA urges against state Flexible Funds for TriMet light rail project

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

“We strongly urge that the state look to other sources for funding this vital project.”
— BTA’s Rob Sadowsky in a letter to the Oregon Transportation Commission

Last week we shared the news that TriMet is making a major funding request for ODOT’s $21 million pot of Federal Flexible Funds. The request is for a 10 year commitment of about $2 million per year to help fund the final portion of their $1.49 billion Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Line (TriMet would then bond against the funds to raise a total of $15 million for the project).

Yesterday, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) sent a letter to the Gail Achterman, Chair of the Oregon Transportation Commission (the OTC is a Governor-appointed body that advises ODOT policy and makes the final decision about who gets this money). In their letter, the BTA wrote, “We strongly urge that the state look to other sources for funding this vital project.”

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Job: PHP Developer (Alta Bicycle Share)

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Job Title: PHP Developer
Company/Organization: Alta Bicycle Share
Job Description:
Are you an experienced PHP Web/Application developer with a well rounded technology background? Are you interested in having a hand in the entire IT infrastructure instead of only a specific area?

And just as important, are you interested in bikes and/or bicycle sharing?

Alta Bicycle Share, the global leader in bicycle share operations, is looking to add a PHP Web site/application developer and general IT support person to their staff. This person will work out of the Portland office but will support Bicycle Sharing systems in the US and globally.

This position will involve developing both internal and external web sites and applications as well as acting as a part of the IT team to support all the technology needs. Including being on site for the launches of new systems, supporting staff equipment and gaining expert level knowledge of the bicycle sharing system technology.

Requirements:
Bachelors in CS or related technical field and least 3 years experience developing PHP applications
Strong knowledge of SQL, database design, WordPress, CSS, virtual server hosting environments
Writes clean, commented code
Works well as part of a development team and as an individual
General Windows technical support skills
Knowledge of routers/firewalls/switches
Organized and calm under pressure
Project management skills (both in terms of development and non development projects)
Strong analytical skills

Pluses:
Knowledge of GIS software
Smartphone App Development
Knowledge of Google Apps
Cares about expanding bike sharing as a mode of transportation around the world

How to Apply:
If this position interests you please send a resume, cover letter and salary requirements to resumes+dev(at)altabicycleshare(dot)com. Resumes without a cover letter and salary requirement included will be ignored.

Idaho stop law introduced (again) in Oregon – UPDATED

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

UPDATE: We have learned from the BTA that the entire text of the bill is just a placeholder that Sen. Burdick plans to swap out for different language. According to the BTA, Burdick plans to address the issue of rolling through an intersection when the light does not have a bike sensor and/or fails to turn when a bicycle is present. We’ll share more as soon as possible and we regret the false alarm.

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From the Archives

Portland’s invisible machine: Behind the scenes at the World Naked Bike Ride