Month: May 2013

Light Blue Schwinn Broadway

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Brand: Schwinn
Model: Broadway
Color:Light Blue
Size:L
Photo: http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11472593/schwinn-schwinn-broadway-mens-hybrid-bike-blue-reviews/reviews.htm
Stolen in Portland Oregon, OR
Stolen:2013-05-01
Stolen From: SE 89th and Division.
Neighborhood: SE 89th and Division.
Owner: Sam Speer
OwnerEmail: sam.s.speer( atsign )gmail.com
Reward: $100.00
Description: Light blue Schwinn Broadway with black bike planet fenders, black rack with black tire rubber cords on it. Also had a black bell front light as well as a bike planet rear light.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 13-152661
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

Guest Article: Urban mountain biking in Portland – What it could be

Typical “flow” singletrack on the Beginner Trail in
Lebanon Hills.
(Photo used with permission of
Dakota County Parks, Minnesota)

This article is written by Joshua Rebannack. Joshua contacted me after he read our recent coverage of mountain biking in Forest Park. As a way of helping Portland see a different vision for urban, off-road bicycling access, Joshua wanted to share how the issue has evolved in riding areas around Minneapolis, Minnesota. — Jonathan
—

My name is Joshua Rebennack. I’m a “Dirt Boss” at the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trails and a member of the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew. I am writing this guest article in response to some of the controversy surrounding the possible inclusion of mountain biking at Forest Park.

Below I’ll discuss an example trail in an urban setting, Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan, Minnesota, and the lessons the citizens of Portland can learn from it.

While it might seem an odd choice comparing a West Coast location with Midwest, there are more similarities than one might think. Both Portland and Twin Cities (including Eagan) are at similar latitudes. While Portland prides itself on its rainfall, actually, the Twin Cities receives somewhat similar amounts of precipitation, though far more of it in snow. They both have similar political climates. And both are biking hot- spots.

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Black/orange Electra Verse 24 2013

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 2013
Brand: Electra
Model: Verse 24
Color:Black/orange
Serial:ELT1E48213
Stolen in Portland, OR 97202
Stolen:2013-04-29
Stolen From: Stolen from driveway
Neighborhood: Westmoreland
Owner: Catherine Alexander
OwnerEmail: divatcat@comcast.net
Reward: yes
Description: Black and orange color, distinctive curved Electra frame
Police record with: Portland
Police reference#: 13-152629
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

PSU now among top four most bike-friendly universities in America

Montgomery St Bike Garage at PSU

PSU’s Ian Stude inside a bike parking garage
that serves the campus.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Portland State University is in some very elite company atop the national Bike Friendly University rankings announced last month by the League of American Bicyclists. PSU has improved from their “silver” award in 2011 and is now one of only three schools in the “gold” category (Stanford is the only university to have received Platinum.)

Cycling at PSU has skyrocketed in recent years and the university has responded with bike-friendly policies, programs, and infrastructure. As of 2012, a survey (taken by 960 employees and 1,109 students) showed that 12% of the of the entire campus population arrived by bicycle. In 2005, just 6% of students rode bikes to campus. While bike use has gone up, the amount of people who drive alone to campus (23%) has dropped by half.

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PBOT hires former Oregonian reporter, BTA board member for media relations

Dylan Rivera

The Portland Bureau of Transportation has taken steps to fill a big hole in their communications department. As I shared last week, PBOT’s sole media relations staffers — Dan Anderson and Cheryl Kuck — both decided to move on. Today PBOT confirmed that they’ve hired Dylan Rivera and Diane Dulken as interim media relations staffers to fill those vacant positions.

Rivera is a former transportation reporter for The Oregonian who was laid off back in 2010. He covered many transportation issues including the Columbia River Crossing (he did great work exposing important details about that project), Sunday Parkways, parking policy, and so on. In July 2010 he was hired by Metro and became their senior public affairs specialist (as well as writing for their Metro News department). He left his Metro position at the end of last year to become the communications director for the Oregon House Democrats.

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A chat with ‘Portland to Portland’ ride leader Peter Murray

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Portland to Portland riders on eve of ride-23

London architect Peter Murray, photographed
at Rapha headquarters in northwest Portland.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

What bike lessons can London learn from American cities? Last Friday I caught up with London architect and leader of the Portland to Portland ride Peter Murray on the eve of his 4,000 mile cross-country bike journey to find out.

If you’ve forgotten (I wrote about them a few weeks ago), Portland to Portland is a 16 person team of architects and designers from London who are riding from Portland, Oregon to Portland Place in London to research and document bicycling practices, projects and culture in the U.S. While in Portland for a few days last week, they ironed out last minute details and logistics and soaked up our cycling scene (along with some wonderfully sunny weather). I caught up with Murray for a chat at Rapha headquarters in northwest Portland (Rapha is one of their sponsors). Murray, 69, is a bit of a legend in London architectural journalism and urban planning circles. He’s an accomplished author, chair of New London Architecture, and a close adviser to Mayor Boris Johnson. Murray’s specialty — and his passion — is how bicycling and walking can improve public space.

When it comes to urban cycling policy, we usually turn to planners and engineers. Why is a group of architects so interested in bicycling?

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Oregon moves up to third in new Bike-Friendly State rankings

Oregon Bicycle Summit

Bike rack in Sisters, Oregon.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The League of American Bicyclists released their annual Bicycle Friendly States rankings today. Oregon came in third place, which is up from fifth place in 2012 and represents a significant improvement over our eighth place ranking in 2011. The top state in the 2013 rankings is our northern neighbor Washington (they were also #1 last year), Colorado came in second, and Minnesota and Delaware rounded out the top five.

The rankings, which first came out in 2008, are determined primarily through a questionnaire sent to each state’s bicycle coordinator (in Oregon that title belongs to Sheila Lyons at the Oregon Department of Transportation). Answers from the questionnaire are then fact-checked by League staff in collaboration with leaders from bike advocacy groups. The League scored each state on how well they performed in five categories: legislation and enforcement; programs and policies; infrastructure; education and encouragement; and evaluation and planning. Among those five categories, Oregon fared poorly in the “infrastructure and funding” category, earning just 20-40% of the total possible points.

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Latest Headlines

Police to PBOT: Remove traffic diverters in the name of public safety

Recap and Photo Gallery: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly ride

What are your three big wishes for Portland’s transportation system?

Transportation Commission says state can move forward with I-5 Rose Quarter project

From the Archives

What five people say about living outside along the Springwater path