Month: September 2013

WashCo Watch: Key vacancies at transportation posts

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

[Note from the publisher: We have some great sources in Washington County that frequently send us interesting bits of information. Most of the tips don’t end up developing into Front Page stories, but I figured they deserved to be shared somewhere. So I’m going to start putting them here under the “WashCo Watch” banner and see how it goes. — Jonathan]

There are some potentially very useful vacancies opening up and county staff will be recruiting for them soon. Below are a summary of them from page 15 of the County Board of Commissioners agenda for October 1st (download PDF here).

  • Northwest Area Commission on Transportation (NW ACT) – 2 term expirations
  • Planning Commission – 3 vacancies (2 terms expiring 01/31/14; 1 current vacancy)
  • Public Safety Coordinating Council – 2 vacancies (2 terms expiring 01/01/14)
  • Rural Roads Operations and Maintenance Advisory Committee (RROMAC) – 5 vacancies (5 terms expiring 12/01/13)
  • Urban Road Maintenance District Advisory Committee (URMAC) – 4 vacancies (3 terms expiring 12/31/13; 1 current vacancy)
    See pg. 19-20 for the full descriptions.

Getting people on these is key to a more walkable/bikable Washington County. The Public Safety thing is a bit out there, but might help preventing cops from letting drivers off easy when they kill and injure people due to “sun glare”, etc. All the other committees have a major impact on policy or funding of transportation projects.

Village Bicycle Project needs volunteers in Portland this Thursday

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Passing along a call for volunteers from a reader:

The Village Bicycle Project has been given more than 100 bikes by the Portland Police Department. On Thursday the 26th we will process and load, before continuing to Seattle. Help is desperately needed to remove pedals, turn bars and load the van. Some bikes may be unsuitable for shipping and we’ll want to take some parts from them. Any help you and your friends can provide will be most appreciated. The address is 2619 NW Industrial St, #B4, about 2 miles from downtown. We start at 5 PM, continue till dark, and start again in the morning if necessary. RSVP to Dave at 509-330-2681 to let me know if you can make it. Please pass this on to all your friends!

‘Trailfest’ success (recap and photos)

Our friends at Northwest Trail Alliance reported a big success at their recent Trailfest event. NWTA’s Kelsey Cardwell sent along the following highlights and photos…

  • Despite the forecast for a downpour, 18 riders showed up for our Forest Park poker ride on Friday night and we were rewarded with clear skies! We handed out prizes donated by Cyclepath and Nike to the best hands.
  • Kids and adults hopped on the pump track Saturday morning. Commissioner Amanda Fritz joined us as well. She wasn’t keen to jump on a bike, but she loved seeing how much fun it was for the kids (and their parents). She mentioned that she would like to see more opportunities in East Portland for kids to get outside and stay active.

    • Read more

The good, the bad, and the ugly on the Oregon Coast Bike Route

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Yaquina Bay Bridge and bike route sign

Sunrise in Newport.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Last week I joined about 50 other folks for a ride down the Oregon Coast Bike Route. In six days of pedaling, we covered about 370 miles — most of it along the shoulder of Highway 101. This route isn’t just one of the premier cycle touring routes in the world, it’s also an official Scenic Byway (as designated by the U.S. Department of Transportation), a key commercial corridor that fuels Oregon’s timber industry, and an artery for the many cities and towns it passes through.

During my ride I tried to pay special attention to how these widely different uses of the road are balanced both by the users themselves and by the agency in charge of Highway 101, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).

Read more

PSU transpo research center nabs $2.8 million federal grant

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

This just in…

PSU awarded $2.83 million as U.S. DOT center for livable communities

(Portland, Ore.) Sep. 25, 2013 — Portland State University’s transportation research and education center has earned a $2.83 million federal grant to expand the National Institute for Transportation and Communities, or NITC, a program of OTREC at Portland State. The grant marks the center’s designation as the U.S. Department of Transportation’s national university transportation center for livable communities.

The grant enables the NITC program to include a new partner, the University of South Florida. With leadership and administration from Portland State, the NITC program also taps the research capacity of the University of Oregon, the Oregon Institute of Technology and the University of Utah.

OTREC at Portland State was one of 142 applicants to the federal University Transportation Centers program for 35 grants. Up to five national centers were to be designated, one for each of the Department of Transportation’s strategic goals: livable communities, safety, state of good repair, economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability.

Read more

Local industry news roundup: King, Zen, Rapha, Dalton, Murphy and Kinn

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Greg Hudson is featured in a promo shot for
Chris King’s new wheelset offerings.

With the big bicycle industry trade show (Interbike) just wrapping up, and with lots of local bike industry news piling up on my desk in the past few weeks, I figured it was time for another roundup…

Chris King Precision Components now offers complete wheelsets
Northwest Portland-based component manufacturer Chris King made a big announcement before Interbike: They now have a full-fledged wheel building program. The new line of wheels is built in-house and they offer models for road, cyclocross, and mountain bikes (ranging from $1,000 to $3,300 a set). They come with Chris King hubs (obviously) and are built up with an “intentionally selected” and “pedigreed list” of parts from respected industry brands. King’s wheel program is being overseen by Greg Hudson, formerly of Corsa Concepts. Get pricing info and learn more at ChrisKing.com.

Read more

Black/grey Giant Seek 2012

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 2012
Brand: Giant
Model: Seek
Color:Black/grey
Size:XL
Photo: http://imgur.com/8MHP66X
Stolen in Portland, OR 97210
Stolen:2013-09-20
Stolen From: Stolen out front of Bamboo Sushi on NW 23rd.
Neighborhood: Alphabet distric
Owner: Jaison LeRoy
OwnerEmail: Jaisonleroy(replace with at sign)gmail.com
Reward: Yes $100
Description: Nothing really stands out except for the disc brakes and mountain bike bars. Mostly all black with some light scratches on the front right fork. Had a cateye light zip tied to the handle bars and a child carriage carrier quick release on the rear hub.
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Bikes inspire re-birth of historic Portland business

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
The Beebe Company-10

Silas Beebe in his northwest Portland workshop.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Starting a new small business is always a bit stressful; but 40-year-old Silas Beebe has the added pressure of carrying on a family name that spans three centuries in Portland business circles. And he’s doing it with a line of bicycling accessories.

The Beebe Company first set up shop in Portland and Astoria in 1884 as a supplier to the shipping and fishing industries. Over the next 100 years, the family business evolved with the times. As the 20th century dawned, The Beebe Company became added hardware and boat-building to its operations in downtown Portland. From the 1950s to 1970s, the Beebe name adorned a marina on the west side of the Sellwood Bridge. In the 1980s, Robert Beebe — Silas’ grandfather — opened a shop downtown that sold and repaired knives, keys, locks, and so on. Silas worked in that shop as a kid; but after his grandpa retired in the 1990s, the family name went dormant.

Read more

Report: Traffic projections ‘invalidate the transportation rationale for the CRC’

traffic on i-5 -1

Tolls and traffic projections for the CRC project
raise new questions.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Economist Joe Cortright says new traffic projections from a previously undisclosed report reveals an inconvenient truth about the Columbia River Crossing project. The plan to toll the existing I-5 bridge span (starting in 2016) would lead to nearly 50,000 people per day opting to drive over the I-205 bridge instead. As a result, not only would I-205 (and its feeder routes I-84 and SR 14) become jammed during rush hour, but there would be a significant decrease in traffic on I-5 which raises new questions about the wisdom of spending $2.7 billion to significantly expand its capacity.

This analysis is detailed in a new, 12-page report by Cortright’s firm, Impresa Consulting Inc. (PDF). Cortright obtained the underlying data via a public records request from the CRC and the records come from a traffic modeling report performed by CRC contractors CDM Smith.

Here’s more from the summary of Impresa’s report:

Read more

The Monday Roundup: Toddler bike ban, tiny urban trucks & more

Kid on a bike-1

Trouble waiting to happen
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

We hope you had a great weekend. And now, to kick off another week of bike news and information, check out the best stories we came across last week…

Toddler bike ban: “A three-year-old girl has been banned from riding her Barbie bike in a quiet cul-de-sac by a Dagenham [England] housing association because of fears the tearaway toddler might damage residents’ cars.”

Freight reform: A European Union-funded project has some cool ideas for urban freight, including standardizing small, modular shipping containers.

Secure basket: The $195 Buca Boot will combine “the flexibility of a bike basket with the storage security of a car trunk.”

Read more

Black Trek 7.3FX 12/13

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 12/13
Brand: Trek
Model: 7.3FX
Color:Black
Serial: WTU184C1953D
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eyeofthedolphin/9887474735/
Stolen in Portland, OR 97232
Stolen:2013-09-23
Stolen From: Portland Convention Center, East Entrance Bike Parking.
Owner: John Ashcraft
OwnerEmail: bookwheel(at sign)gmail.com
Reward: $200
Description: Black Trek 7.3FX, it has a purpler rack, double kickstand, a green spoke light on the front wheel, a red spoke light on the back wheel, a bell, front and back bike lights, and a noseless bike saddle.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: T13009568
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Latest Headlines

Tonight’s bike touring slideshows feature Japan cherry blossoms, human powered vehicles, and more

Open houses on local transportation funding begin this week

A win for transit on 82nd, but concerns remain

Monday Roundup: E-bike for your feet, Olympics, Waymo watch, and more

From the Archives

With six kids and no car, this mom does it all by bike