2013 Archives

Inspired by Copenhagen, League reveals more about ‘Diamond’ program

Marching orders from the League.

Portland is one of just three cities in the U.S. to have achieved a Platinum level designation for bike-friendliness from the League of American Bicyclists. Platinum used to be the highest level a city could earn; but now there’s Diamond and the League just announced details on what it will take to reach it.

Does Portland have a chance? Do we even care?

In the current issue of their American Bicyclist magazine, the League’s Bill Nesper writes that they worked with none other than Andreas Rohl, head of the bike program for the City of Copenhagen, to help design the Diamond program. (You might recall Rohl from his appearance at the 2009 National Bike Summit.) Like the Copenhagen Bicycle Account, Nesper says Diamond eligibility will be, “based on tangible metrics and citizen satisfaction.” He also unveiled “Five key performance areas of he Diamond assessment”:

» Percentage of trips to work and school by bike.
» Bicyclist safety.
» Public perception of safety.
» Public satisfaction.
» Quality of bicycling network, programs and policies

The League will award points based on those five areas on a 100-point scale:

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 2010
Brand: Kona
Model: Jake
Color:Blue/Grey
Size:60
Serial: F1007k0322
Stolen in Portland, OR 97227
Stolen:2013-04-18
Stolen From: Locked garage, bike rack was cut, and locked bike was removed.
Neighborhood: N. Mississippi, Tupelo Alley
Owner: James Cranston
OwnerEmail: jacrans( atsign )reed.edu
Reward: 100
Description: A clean, lightly used, Kona Jake. It is grey/blue, with black handle bars.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 1331118
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Paving project on NE 28th spurs talk of bikeway improvements

Riding on NE 28th: A lot of people do it,
but it could be a lot nicer.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

A City of Portland paving project (yes, they still do them) on NE 28th Avenue has spurred a discussion among local activists about how to improve bike access on a busy segment of the street.

The project will grind down the existing pavement and then repave the 0.2 mile stretch between Burnside and Glisan. This part of NE 28th features a common cross-section for Portland commercial districts: two narrow standard vehicle lanes and parking on both sides of the street. Because 28th makes a direct connection from southeast to northeast Portland and has a bike-friendly bridge over Interstate 84, it also happens to be a popular bike route. However, without any bike-specific infrastructure, riding on NE 28th can be stressful and it’s certainly not welcoming for novice riders.

Just one job posted to our Job Listings this past week. Learn more via the link below…

Mechanic/sales/service – Waterfront Bicycles

Year: 2012
Brand: KHS
Model: Urban Express
Color:black
Size:medium
Serial: U11001042
Stolen in Portland, OR 97205
Stolen:2013-04-16
Stolen From: 720 SW Washington St
Neighborhood: Downtown
Owner: Laura James
OwnerEmail: pcdrlaura(AT)yahoo.com
Description: Black frame, 21 speed, yellow plastic fenders and basic aluminum rack. Also had two red lights, one on front and one on back. (Note: this is a second posting to add new details)
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 13-30535
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Portland’s bike-friendly cemetery

Through this gate is a somber and spiritual place — that
also happens to be a very popular and important bike route.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

River View Cemetery, perched in lush green hills above the Willamette River just south of downtown Portland, is just like any other cemetery in America except for one major difference: it’s bike-friendly. Even though it’s owned and operated as a private business, River View’s board of directors and management have gone out of their way to accomodate people who ride through their 350 acre property on bicycles.

It’s been almost three years since River View installed bike-specific pavement markings and route signs through their property. I rode through the cemetery myself a few days ago and figured it was time to check in with David Noble, the executive director of the River View Cemetery Association.

Before sharing some thoughts from Noble, here are some photos of how the cemetery accommodates people riding bikes…

Year: 2005
Brand: Fuji
Model: Team le
Color:Black
Size:56cm
Stolen in Ptld, OR 97266
Stolen:2013-04-18
Stolen From: Eastport la fitness
Neighborhood: Lents
Owner: Thomas Iden
OwnerEmail: Tomiden( atsign )hotmail.com
Reward: 100$
Description: Excellent cond. fuji black embossed seat toe clips carbon front fork ultegra components rear detachable fender underseat pack black bar tape
Police record with: East precinct
Police reference#: 1330883
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Why use bikes for business? Two Portlanders share their stories

Two more bike-based businesses.

Recently I’ve learned about two more Portland businesses that have made bicycles an integral part of their business. Crank Roasting is a new coffee company and Co-Creative Pruning has been in business since 2010. I asked the owners of both businesses to share more about what they do and why they’ve decided to use bicycles.

Cory Love, owner of Crank Roasting:

“I have been involved in coffee roasting over the last 15 years. My love of riding and racing bikes goes back to my childhood – racing BMX through the late 70’s and 80’s and then in my mid 20’s I got into road cycling and racing. As my family and business became busier in my 30’s, I was finding it harder to ride consistently. I started dreaming about a way to be able to have bicycling be integral to my business.”

Year: 2011
Brand: redline
Model: conquest sport
Color:olive green
Size:48cm
Serial: isbs11d11422
Photo: http://i.imgur.com/D61OMxo.jpg
Stolen in Vancouver, WA 98664
Stolen:2013-04-18
Stolen From: it was hanging on a hook in a ceiling beam on my back patio, locked with a thick chain and master lock
Neighborhood: Ogden
Owner: cesar fernandez
OwnerEmail: cesarcolyn(replace with at sign)gmail.com
Reward: yes
Description: 700×23 serfas seca survival tires, blackstar top tube pad, campagnolo steel toe clips, black planetbike back rack, brown leather bar tape, kryptonite “PDX” green lock attached to rack
Police record with: vancouver PD
Police reference#: T13000841
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Job: Mechanic/sales/service – Waterfront Bicycles

Job Title
Mechanic/sales/service

Company/Organization
Waterfront Bicycles

Job Description
This is a seasonal position working in a fun customer service centered shop. We have the largest fleet of rental bikes in the city and enjoy a brisk summer of tourist with lots of energy for exploring Oregon by bike. We also sell retail bicycles and gear.
This position requires the ability to service rental bikes and equipment so we ask applicants have shop experience and/or completion of mechanic school.
Excellent customer service experience is needed for sales and rentals. Knowledge of how to get around Portland by bike is required to rent and explain destinations. extended knowledge of Oregon by bike is a plus.
This is a Part-time seasonal position.

How to Apply
Please email cover letter with resume for consideration to karen@waterfrontbikes.com

Finally! A crosswalk and median installed at E Burnside and 16th

Crews at work this morning.
(Photo: Chris Sanderson)

At long last the City of Portland is making the crossing of E Burnside at 16th safer for everyone.

This intersection — which is just three blocks north of Buckman Elementary School — has been known as a safety hazard for many years. Back in December of 2007, I attended a rally at this intersection organized by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) to show PBOT that young children and their families put themselves at risk whenever they attempt to cross it. Also in 2007, the Portland Police Bureau (in partnership with PBOT) did a crosswalk enforcement action at this location. In just an hour-and-a-half, they wrote 35 citations for Failure to Stop for a Pedestrian.

Back then, we heard promises that funding had been secured. Then we heard funded had been delayed. Basically, it was the same old story we hear about many places around town in need of small — yet urgently necessary — safety fixes.

Tara Goddard, a PhD candidate in Urban Studies at Portland State University (PSU), is devoting her thesis to a subject that gets a lot of traction in the media but so far has received scant attention in academia: road rage between people who drive and people who bike.

According to Goddard, her research will focus on the “interactions between drivers and bicyclists,” an aspect of “transportation psychology” research that is largely untapped (most major studies have focused on driver-to-driver rage). Goddard plans to delve into the mechanisms and predictors of driver-rider road rage. “For example, as drivers, we experience (and sometimes perpetrate) law-bending/breaking all the time,” she shared via email. “It is socially acceptable, in many ways. But any scofflaw behavior on the part of a bicyclist suddenly condemns the entire bicycling world.”

Why does that happen? Goddard has a few hunches:

Inspired by Copenhagen, League reveals more about ‘Diamond’ program

Blue/Grey Kona Jake 2010

Paving project on NE 28th spurs talk of bikeway improvements

Job of the Week

black KHS Urban Express 2012

Portland’s bike-friendly cemetery

Black Fuji Team le 2005

Why use bikes for business? Two Portlanders share their stories

olive green redline conquest sport 2011

Job: Mechanic/sales/service – Waterfront Bicycles

Finally! A crosswalk and median installed at E Burnside and 16th

PSU researcher delving into “multimodal road rage”

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