Month: February 2014

Orange/Black Specialized RHAICOMPES (?) 2000

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 2000
Brand: Specialized
Model: RHAICOMPES (?)
Color:Orange/Black
Size:19
Serial: MOAI11966
Photo: http://www.pedalroom.com/p/specialized-rockhopper-92-yelloworange-10594_1.jpg
Stolen in SE Portland, OR 972022317
Stolen:2014-02-5
Stolen From: 3814 SE 16th Avenue – Townhouse in the storage which is across from the SE School Brooklyn park nearby the Winterhaven K-8 school…
Neighborhood: SE Brooklyn Neighorhood
Owner: Steven Brown
OwnerEmail: sbrown(replace with at sign)my.adler.edu
Reward: Contact me about this… Thank you
Description: Please note that a photo of a bike is similar to my orange and black bike. Bike has a black rack with a light on the bar. It has a lock attached on bike it is a yellow and black “U” shape. A mobile black air pump attached on bike frame and there is a tire replacement kit attached under the seat. It is a specialized mountain bike…
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 14-10705
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

City planning commission seeks young member for two-year term

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

The City of Portland is looking for a person under age 25 to be a voting member of its prestigious Planning and Sustainability Commission.

Here’s an email from city staffer Susan Anderson:

The City of Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission (PSC) currently has a vacancy, and we are looking to fill it with a younger member of the community. While PSC terms are usually four years, this youth position (18-25 year old applicants) is designated as a 2-year term, but will have all the same responsibilities and opportunities as other PSC members.

Applications, as for all City commissions, will go through the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. Applications will be reviewed by BPS and Mayor’s office staff. A final selection and appointment will be made by the Mayor.

You can read more about the appointment process in this PDF circulated by the city.

Only 32 bikes crossed the Hawthorne Bridge Sunday, counter says

The Hawthorne Bridge bike counter on
Friday, in a lull between the storms.
(Photo by Roger Geller.)

Mother Nature finally found a way to keep Portlanders off their bikes on Sunday: a foot of fresh snow followed by a dangerous ice storm.

The Hawthorne Bridge bike counter (which was donated by Cycle Oregon) detected only 32 pairs of wheels crossing in both directions during the entire day. It’s by far the lowest total recorded since the counter was installed in August 2012.

On Friday, the counter picked up 308 bikers, the second-lowest weekday traffic to date after Christmas Day, 2013. On Thursday, when the storm hit midday, 1,773 people made it across the bridge westbound.

Read more

Sellwood Bridge will close to all traffic February 15-20

Big detour in store for a 5-day closure of the Sellwood Bridge. See full announcement from Multnomah County below:

Traffic changes for Sellwood Bridge closure February 15 – 20

Traffic changes are in store for Sellwood Bridge users when the bridge is closed for construction February 15 – 20. The bridge is scheduled to close at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday and reopen by 5 a.m. on Thursday. The closure will allow a contractor to install steel soldier piles across traffic lanes at the west end of the bridge. The piles will support the walls of a new two-level interchange where the bridge connects with Highway 43. The closure is scheduled over a holiday weekend to minimize the number of commute days that the bridge is closed.

Highway 43 will remain open to two-way traffic at all times while the bridge is closed. Turn lanes from Highway 43 to the bridge will be closed and used by construction vehicles only.

The bridge will be closed to motor vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians. Here are tips for bridge users:

Motor Vehicles: The posted westbound detour routes during the closure are:
Northbound: Hwy. 99E to Ross Island Bridge to Hwy. 43
Southbound: Hwy. 99E to Interstate 205 (Abernethy Bridge) to Hwy. 43

Eastbound routes are the reverse.

Congestion is expected on the north detour route during weekday commute hours, especially Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday is a public holiday. Travelers should plan their alternate route in advance and expect longer trips during the closure, especially on peak commute days.

Bicyclists and Pedestrians: Bicyclists and pedestrians may prefer the Hawthorne Bridge for the northern detour. The Hawthorne Bridge can be accessed from the Sellwood neighborhood by the Springwater Trail. The westside trail between the bridge and the Macadam Bay driveway to the north will be closed, due to heavy construction in the area. Westbound bicyclists and pedestrians can choose from several routes, including:
– Taylors Ferry Road to Lakeview Drive to Corbett Avenue to Custer Street
– Taylors Ferry Road to north River View Cemetery entrance to Palatine Hill Road (cemetery road closed from dusk to dawn)
– Caution should be used on this section of Taylors Ferry Road, which is busy and steep. The Lakeview Drive route includes roads with low traffic volumes.

Multnomah County is the lead agency for the Sellwood Bridge project. The new bridge is scheduled to open in the early fall of 2015 and the entire project will be completed in 2016. For more project information, visit www.sellwoodbridge.org.

‘Sneckdown’ at Broadway and Burnside reveals potential public plaza

Stormy roads 2-10-14-17

There is a lot of unused roadway space on SW Broadway between Burnside and Pine. Why not make it an official public plaza?
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

When snow falls on city streets it eventually melts and goes away thanks in large part due to the self-plowing effect of motor vehicle tires. But where cars and trucks don’t go, the snow remains as visual proof of unused roadway space.

Read more

New apartments may slow rise of central-city rents in 2014, expert says

we'll have a barrel of fun...

A Portland construction site in April 2013.
(Photo by sciencesque.)

People’s seemingly boundless hunger to live in Portland, especially its bike-friendly eastside grid, will keep the apartment construction market booming in 2014, a local real estate expert says.

real estate beat logo

But that’ll keep rents from rising quite as fast as they have been, he predicted.

“It looks like 2014 will again be all apartments, all the time,” Greg Frick of HFO Investment Real Estate said in a talk at the Multnomah Athletic Club, echoing his firm’s motto.

The surge of new units entering the market, he added, will probably drive up vacancy rates slightly and slow the rise of rents. Market-rate rents will probably grow a bit more slowly than the 6.6 percent hike the area saw in 2013, which was the third-highest rent increase in the country.

Read more

Stormy street conditions report for Monday, February 10th

Stormy roads 2-10-14-5

Slush. Yay!
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

As we enter the fifth day of a major storm here in Portland, the snow that has accumulated since last week is now beginning to melt. Over the weekend, temperatures stayed below freezing and the metro area was covered in a layer of ice. Those conditions presented a set of challenges on their own. Now, with temps climbing just a bit above freezing, the Great Thaw has begun in earnest.

I rode from north Portland to downtown this morning and here’s what I experienced…

Residential streets remain a big challenge to ride on. It’s easier with larger, aggressively treaded tires; but for the most part a lot of snow and ice still remains. PBOT does not plow residential streets, and they don’t get much auto traffic, so they will be the last ones to be clear of snow and become easier to ride. Neighborhood collector streets, like N Ainsworth shown below, are a bit better as long as you take the lane and ride in the wheel rut created by auto traffic.

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The Monday Roundup: Does marijuana make streets safer? & more

Amsterdam June 1-98

Yet another lesson from Amsterdam?
(Photo by J.Maus/BikePortland)

Today’s Monday Roundup is sponsored by Portland real estate broker Leigh Perretta. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, Leigh wants to show prospective home buyers a “love nest” in Linnton between the St. Johns bridge and Sauvie Island with river and mountain views that’s “just minutes from the City’s best cycling.” Contact Leigh via email for a private showing.

And now, here are the bike links from around the world that caught our eyes this week:

How to cut traffic deaths: Legalize weed — or so claims a study last year from the University of Chicago, which considers evidence that people replace drinking with smoking.

Natural traffic calming: Today seems like the day to spot and share local sneckdowns, those icy promontories that show where cars don’t need to be able to go.

Read more

700c Breezer Downtown EX 2013

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 2013
Brand: Breezer
Model: Downtown EX
Color:700c
Size:Sage
Serial: SICBI12R00610
Photo: http://clevercycles.com/2013-breezer-downtown-ex
Stolen in Beaverton, OR 97005
Stolen:2014-02-8
Stolen From: 4200 SW 107th Ave Apt 102. Canyon Park Apartments.
Neighborhood: Beaverton – Canyon and Hwy 217
Owner: Roxanne Nichols
OwnerEmail: newdragon113(A T)gmail.com
Description: Matching sage fenders, rear rack. Red spray painted stencils on frame
Police record with: Beaverton PD
Police reference#: 14-502049
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Riding the icestorm in Portland: A few tips

My snow bike

My chosen tool for bike fun today.

With the City of Portland and other agencies telling everyone to stay indoors due to the sheet of ice that has blanketed our town, I couldn’t wait to leave the house this morning and see if I could still ride a bike.

So, I went out to my shed, pulled down my mountain bike and headed out. Turns out it’s not as bad as I expected. That being said, if you do plan to play around the neighborhood on your bike today, here are a few tips to consider.

  • The bike I’m using is a 29-inch mountain bike with 2.2-inch knobby tires. Either a similar mountain bike or a fat bike is highly recommended.
  • Lower your tire pressure to get more traction. Less air means more of the rubber and knobs on your tires will come in contact with the ground. More contact the better.

    • Read more

Snowstorm updates and open thread

Phillip Ross knows how to take
advantage of a snow day.
(Photo courtesy Phillip Ross)

Snow! It’s everywhere and it keeps coming down! I know many folks in other parts of the country more accustomed to snow are laughing at us; but here in Portland the amount of accumulation we’re seeing is pretty rare. It’s stayed cold and dry enough for several days that the entire city is covered in several inches.

To us, this is sort of a big deal.

Parks and streets have been transformed into winter wonderland scenes and with the weekend upon us, and many events cancelled (including The Worst Day of the Year Ride, see below), people are getting as much snow-play in as they can. And for many of you, that means biking. Very fun biking.

Read more

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From the Archives

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