Month: May 2013

The Monday Roundup

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

“People who drive less than average tend to subsidize their neighbors who drive more than average.”
— Todd Litman, Victoria Transport Policy Institute

Welcome to Monday. We’ve got a lot of great stories to bring you this week. But before we do, below are a few of the noteworthy items and other fun stuff you might have missed last week…

— In this excerpt from a recent stand-up comedy routine, the great Louis CK nails the “different set of values” people exhibit when they are behind the wheel of an automobile (and they’re not pretty).

— An editorial from USA Today (of all places) shares a perspective on the debate over how to generate revenue for infrastructure. They say the VMT tax and other schemes are too complicated and, for now, “The simplest, fairest and least invasive way to respond to lower gas tax revenue is with higher gas taxes.”

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Yellow Trek 2008 4300 2000

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Year: 2000
Brand: Trek 2008
Model: 4300
Color:Yellow
Stolen in Portland, OR 97209
Stolen:2012-11-4
Stolen From: Bike storage room at The Wyatt, 1125 NW 12th Ave. The bike was locked with a cable lock which was cut.
Neighborhood: Pearl
Owner: Dave Riney
OwnerEmail: Noelmhamilton(replace with at sign)hotmail.com
Reward: $200
Description: Yellow trek 4300 mountain bike with a light on the front
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: T13004049
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

black Trek 7.4FX 2013

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Year: 2013
Brand: Trek
Model: 7.4FX
Color:black
Size:BLue
Serial: WTU268C7633G
Photo: http://i.imgur.com/s41fvhF.jpg
Stolen in Portland, OR 97213
Stolen:2013-05-10
Stolen From: 49th avenue, Multnomah & Euclid Heights Portland OR 97213
Neighborhood: Hollywood / Parkrose
Owner: Rex Vaccaro
OwnerEmail: rrrex( atsign )q.com
Reward: 150
Description: Black and bright blue, disc brakes, black rack at back with bag that slides on it, set up for headlight on handle bar and tail light under seat, 1 silver cup holder on cross bar
Police record with: Portland Police
Police reference#: 13-37905
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Black Trek Allant 2009

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Year: 2009
Brand: Trek
Model: Allant
Color:Black
Size:17″
Serial: WTU351C0813D
Stolen in Vancouver, WA 98660
Stolen:2013-05-5
Stolen From: Gated condo/apt. parking lot across from Esther Short Park.
Neighborhood: Downtown Vancouver
Owner: Mike Cannady
OwnerEmail: gailandmike34(replace with at sign)yahoo.com
Reward: yes
Description: Flat rack on rear fender. Bell, mirror, light base on handlebar.
Police record with: Vancouver PD
Police reference#: 13050772

Weekend Event Guide: Sandy Ridge, Cyclofemme, Sunday Parkways and more

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East Portland Sunday Parkways-27

This east Portland resident knows how to
roll in Sunday Parkways.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

We’ve got another weekend full of great bike events here in the Portland area. As you plan things out, peruse some of my selections below…

Saturday, May 11th

Sharrows to Sparrows Southeast – 9:00 am
This ride is all about accessing natural areas via Portland’s vaunted neighborhood greenway system. You’ll be led by the two people who made both of those things happen: Greg Raisman of PBOT and Mike Houck of the Urban Greenspaces Institute. The route will cover Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge (which Houck was the lead advocate for), Johnson Creek, and the Sellwood neighborhood. There will also be guest speakers. Bring binoculars! Meet at the Vera Katz Statue on the Eastbank Esplanade. (I did the North Portland version of this ride, see my photo gallery here.)
(More info)

National Train Day Bike Ride – 11:30 am
If you like trains, bikes, and Portland history, you’ll love this 15 mile ride. Join urban historian and seasoned bike ride leader Shawn Granton and Dan Haneckow of Cafe Unknown at Union Station in Portland and head north into Vancouver, with stops along the way.
(More info)

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The future of BikePortland

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This week’s Portland Business Journal.

I just want to clear up a few things about the future of BikePortland. Some of you have read in this week’s edition of the Portland Business Journal that I am at a “crossroads” with the site. A teaser article posted yesterday by PBJ Managing Editor Erik Siemers with the headline, Why BikePortland.org’s future is far from certain went as far as saying, “soon it could all come to an end.”

While I think writer Maureen McGrain and the PBJ did a great job with the piece (which came out this morning), I want to assure you that I’m not walking away anytime soon. In any small business, especially for an independent blog publisher like myself, the future is always a bit uncertain. And, as some of you already know, I am indeed a bit battle-weary after an eight-year tour-of-duty as a one-man media operation.

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Sharrows, sparrows and a roadway revolution

DSC_6059

St. Johns resident Walker Leiser (and his daughter) have
seen their neighborhood transform in part because
of the tree-lined, traffic-calmed street that runs through it.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

What the Bureau of Transportation has done in the past few years to develop a low-stress residential street network has revolutionized Portland neighborhoods. The changes aren’t always noticed, but their impact is beginning to emerge. For relative pennies, PBOT has created a (mostly) connected, family-friendly network of streets that are comfortable to bike on and easy to navigate. It’s still not perfect (never will be), but the maturity of this network is worth noticing. And at the ‘Sharrows to Sparrows’ ride held on April 27th, it was hard to miss.

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Olive green Windsor Ladies 3 speed 2011

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Year: 2011
Brand: Windsor
Model: Ladies 3 speed
Color:Olive green
Size:Ladies medium
Stolen in Portland, OR 97211
Stolen:2013-05-01
Stolen From: Back yard ne buffalo st, piedmont neighborhood , NE
Neighborhood: Piedmont
Owner: Kathie Hadd
OwnerEmail: Scoutfinn@comcast.net
Description: Stolen some time this spring .had a brown wicker basket on it. Brown leather seat and handlebar grips. European style cruiser
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Portland’s tree and bike connection goes national

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Sharrows to Sparrows ride

New street tree on N Central Ave neighborhood greenway.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

For years now, local transportation agencies have embraced trees as a key component in street and path design. In Portland, there has also been a strong connection between people who ride bikes and those who care about street trees. Now a national non-profit, the Alliance for Community Trees (based in Maryland) is hosting a webinar about how tree advocates all over the country can make the bike-tree connection.

In the Portland region, trees have been part of the transportation conversation for years. The Oregon Department of Transportation has planted hundreds of trees as part of an effort to create an urban “forest” along the I-205 bike path. In 2008, Portland City Council adopted the “Grey to Green” initiative which set us on the path to planting 83,000 trees in the city — 50,000 of them in the public right of way. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has made new street trees a big component of their neighborhood greenways program — offering free trees to residents along the low-stress, family-friendly bike routes.

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white Orbea Onix 2010

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Year: 2010
Brand: Orbea
Model: Onix
Color:white
Size:54cm
Serial:08E0G0437
Stolen in Portland, OR 97202
Stolen:2013-05-09
Stolen From: Bike was locked outside of Eliot tower condo’s, directly in front of lobby at 1221 sw 10th ave. Directly west of the Portland art museum.
Neighborhood: downtown
Owner: Ian McNairy
OwnerEmail: ian.mcnairy@gmail.com
Reward: yes
Description: 2010 Orbea Onix tdf, color white and grey with black handlebars, shimano ultregra components, mavic ksyerium wheels, shimano clipless pedals.
Police record with: Portland
Police reference#: T13004002
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Black Kestrel 500EMS 2002

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 2002
Brand: Kestrel
Model: 500EMS
Color:Black
Size:52cm
Serial: 40382
Photo: http://i.imgur.com/zv9YgFy.jpg
Stolen in Gresham, OR
Stolen:2013-05-7
Stolen From: My bike was stolen out of my car when it was parked in the Mt Hood Community College parking lot.
Neighborhood: Mt Hood Community Collage Campus in Gresham
Owner: Naomi Bensel
OwnerEmail: nbensel(at sign)gmail.com
Description: The frame is black and has the a very distinctive shape. (see the picture) I had changed the seat since the photo was taken. I don’t remember the brand but it is wider and pretty squishy. It has a water bottle holder and no fenders. I will give a finacial reward for the bike if it is returned.
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

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From the Archives

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