Month: September 2014

Comment of the Week: The missed opportunity of Tilikum Crossing

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Problems with the west-side landing of Tilikum Crossing.
(Image: Ted Buehler)

The new transit/bike/walk bridge opening across the Willamette next year has become one of Portland’s go-to examples of how we continue to do great things. And it’s certainly true that it’s a massive investment in active transportation.

But as reader Ted Buehler argued in a series of comments this week below our story about the apparent decline of biking among PSU students, Tilikum Crossing was so close to being so much better.

The Tilikum Bridge isn’t going to help all that much, because Tilikum to PSU will still be crap. Whereas MAX has a long flyover from the west end of the Tilikum Bridge to SW 4th and Lincoln.

If they had funded a mixed use path on the MAX bridge, you’d be able to go straight from OMSI to here: http://goo.gl/maps/LLiVp without playing fender tag with cars on surface streets.

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A ride downtown and biking’s social impact

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Delivery downtown

Hazel Gross and her company vehicle chatting with a customer on SW 2nd Ave.
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Yesterday I took a short ride downtown and it was the perfect illustration of something I’ve known for many years: cycling in a city where a (relatively) significant amount of people ride bikes can* be a very social form of transportation.

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For one weekend, Old Town will test a huge plaza, bike lanes and cafes along 3rd Avenue

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Dixie Tavern owner Dan Lenzen, right, with Boris Kaganovich of Better Block PDX.
(Photos: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

Frustrated by city officials’ estimates that it’d take several years to even consider a major redesign of 3rd Avenue through Old Town, a group of neighborhood businesses is teaming up with a team of livable streets advocates to create their own three-day demo of what a better street could look like — two weeks from today.

Inspired in part by the “pop-up” street projects that have helped reshape New York City in the last five years, organizers say Old Town’s three-block project will be one of the country’s largest such projects ever.

It’ll use wooden planters in the street to create more than a thousand square feet of new pedestrianized space between NW Davis an SW Ash, a protected bike lane, a series of new sidewalk cafes, a marked crosswalk and a huge new public plaza in front of Voodoo Doughnut adjoining Old Town’s thriving Ankeny Alley.

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Springwater path closures coming in October

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PGE Work will close the Springwater in Gresham in October. Check out the official details below:

Gresham was notified recently that PGE will be closing a portion of the Springwater Trail as they replace insulators on their transmission lines. The closures will take place October 6 through October 10 and will run from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. each day. I’m not sure if they will keep the trail portions closed after 3:30 or restage the closures daily.

The following is a list of the four trail segments to be closed, a map of each closure location and corresponding detour.
• SW Pleasant View Dr. to SW Towle
• SW Eastman Parkway to SW 7th St.
• SW 7th St. to SW Walters Dr.
• SW Walters Dr. to SE Park Dr.

James Chrisman – James.Chrisman@pgn.com, (503.736.5749) is the PGE contact for this project.

Job: Bike Tour Guide – Worldwide – Trek Travel

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Job Title
Bike Tour Guide – Worldwide

Company/Organization
Trek Travel

Job Description
Do you want to bike around the world while getting paid? GREAT! We can’t wait to hear from you!

TREK TRAVEL, the world’s leading cycling tour company is currently looking for individuals who are passionate about people, cycling and travel to lead unforgettable bicycle vacations for us this upcoming season in North America and Europe. Our main season runs from March through October. We are hiring individuals fully available during these months, especially interested in candidates with strong bike mechanic skills, and French, Italian and/or Spanish language skills. Completed applications are reviewed and processed in the order they are received.

How to Apply
If you are interested in finding out what it takes to be a Trek Travel Guide, please use the following link to read the full job description and apply online via Trek Travel’s website: http://www.trektravel.com/employment

Weekend Event Guide: Springwater, salmon, carfree Crater Lake, and more

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Mt Hood view on Springwater-2

Learn about the natural areas that border the Springwater Trail on Sunday’s Johnson Creek Days ride.
(Photo: J Maus/BikePortland)

Welcome to your menu of weekend rides and events, lovingly brought to you by our friends at Hopworks Urban Brewery.

Last night I rode through a patch of fallen leaves. And I’m sure you felt that wet stuff falling from the sky this morning… What’s going on? Yes, the season is changing; but your choices for having fun on bikes is as strong as ever.

From educational forays on our region’s best bicycle routes to a simple, yet powerful, way to entice you to try riding into work the first time, this weekend has a lot to offer.

Friday, September 19th

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Next door to Forest Park, North Tualatin Mtns hold opportunity for off-road bike access

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1,300 acres just north of Forest Park.

Just north of Forest Park in northwest Portland lies 1,300 undeveloped acres spread across four separate properties. The land, which was historically a logging area and can be currently accessed from either Skyline or McNamee roads, is owned by Metro and is known as the North Tualatin Mountains natural area.

Metro is embarking on a planning process to figure out what to do on the land and there’s a great opportunity to include bicycle access in the equation. Advocates have been fighting for years to improve bike access in Forest Park but have made frustratingly slow progress.

The Tualatin Mountains natural area offers a fresh start and a new political context since it’s under Metro jurisdiction and not managed by the City of Portland (the current Parks Commissioner, Amanda Fritz, has all but shelved the Forest Park debate calling for “a citywide Master Plan for cycling recreation… prior to embarking on individual projects.”).

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Oregon House candidate refers to bike lanes as “fringe things”

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Kathy Goss
(Photo: Kathy Goss for Oregon/Facebook)

Should the Oregon Department of Transportation stop paying its staff to work on bike lanes and trails in order to save money? That’s what Kathy Goss, a candidate running for a seat in the Oregon House of Representatives, thinks.

During a debate with her challenger Paul Evans (Democrat) last week, Goss, a Republican, expressed that idea during a discussion about how ODOT might trim its human resources budget. Her comments were reported by the Salem-based Statesman Journal. Here’s an excerpt from their article published September 5th:

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Census shows big leaps for biking in a few cities, but Portland inches backward

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Source: Census American Community Survey. Chart by BikePortland.

Is America’s latest bike boom coming to an end? Or is it just moving to different cities?

2013 Census estimates released Thursday show the big cities that led the bike spike of the 2000s — Minneapolis, Seattle, Denver and, most of all, Portland — all failing to make meaningful changes to their commuting patterns for three years or more.

Meanwhile, the same figures show a new set of cities rising fast — first among them Washington DC.

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Latest Headlines

Buoyed by public support, Olivia Clark moves forward with transportation funding proposal

Monday Roundup: Tyrannical bike laws, mechanic school, streetcar skepticism, and more

Transportation advocates say lawmakers ‘betrayed public trust’ with budget bill support

River City Bicycles owner survives heart attack while on bike ride

From the Archives

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