Month: October 2014

Job: Mechanic – Bike Gallery (Downtown)

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title
Mechanic

Company/Organization
Bike Gallery – Downtown

Job Description
The Bike Gallery is looking for a full time mechanic at our downtown store.

Responsibilities:

* Be able to diagnose and service a wide range of performance complaints for a wide range of equipment types
* Be able to diagnose and service a wide range of noise complaints for a wide range of equipment types
* Be able to complete a bicycle assembly for any product carried, to the established quality standard, and within the established time parameters for the product in question
* Be able to identify and perform all aspects of replacement part installation to the established time and quality standards
* Be able to deliver established service packages (tune-ups, overhauls, etc.) to the established time and quality standards
* Be able to recognize and respond to changes in the work priorities of the service department as indicated by volume or other circumstances
* Test ride all completed service work to verify performance
* Be able to recognize and respond to opportunities to build customer loyalty through the delivery of prompt, accurate service
* Be prepared to demonstrate the value of the service menu pricing and as well as all work performed
* Stay current with equipment manufacturer specifications and product developments that affect service procedures or compatibility issues
* Greeting customers who are picking up or dropping off bikes for service
* Provide estimates for service and repairs based upon customer interaction and an evaluation of the bike in question
* Write service tickets that are clear and legible
* Provide customers with an estimated time for completion of the work; remind customers of our service hours and that they will be called when the work is done
* Investigate and capitalize on opportunities to sell customers upgrades in repair or replacement parts
* Investigate and capitalize on opportunities to sell customers replacement rubber
* Be able to answer customer questions about accessory compatibility and installation with confidence
* Initiate contact with customers when service work is completed

How to Apply
Send Resume and Cover to:

BGResumes@bikegallery.com

Rave reviews roll in for temporary ‘Better Block’ on 3rd Ave

3rd Avenue Better Block PDX

The temporary plaza in front of Ankeny Alley and Voodoo Doughnut was bustling with commerce and enjoyment for most of the weekend.
(Photos: Greg Raisman unless noted)

This weekend in downtown Portland’s slightly seedy north side, a citizen group temporarily converted two lanes of auto parking, a big expanse of empty pavement and two traditional travel lanes into a huge new pedestrian plaza, rows of street seats and ping-pong tables and a protected bike lane.

And it was, more or less, a huge hit.

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Bike Theft Chronicles: “I can only conclude it’s all stolen”

[Note: In case you missed the announcement, we are now posting reader emails, comments, and other communiques we come across regarding bike theft. We are hearing so much about this crisis, we can’t follow-up with a story on everything, so we figure the next best thing is just to try and highlight as many of these as we can. Keep in mind, these posts have not been vetted or verified by BikePortland, we are simply re-posting and will include a link to the original source when possible. – Jonathan]

From C T on 10/6/14:

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The Monday Roundup: Essential rain gear, Madrid’s downtown car ban and more

cool-bike-gadgets-hand-rain-covers-680x346

“Gloves are no longer needed when you use
these handlebar sleeves.”
(Photo: Bike Cap)

Here are the bike-related links from around the world that caught our eyes this week:

Rain gear: Your bike definitely needs handlebar sleeves and a built-in umbrella.

Car-lite downtown: Madrid is completely banning cars from its 1.36-square-mile downtown (about the size of Portland’s) unless they have a reserved space in one of 13 official parking lots.

After theft: “To the prepared thief, every bike rack is a buffet,” writes Seattle Met in a great look at what happens to your bike after it’s stolen.

Read more

PBOT: N Williams restriping will begin tomorrow (10/4)

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Looks like PBOT will finally begin the lane restriping on N Williams Ave. Check out the news advisory they just sent out below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPDATE + TRAFFIC ADVISORY
North Williams left lane closure begins on Monday, October 6

(October 3, 2014) – The contractor for this project will prepare to restripe the left lane of N Williams on Saturday, October 4 and begin to close the left lane for restriping on Monday, October 6. By Thursday, the entire left lane from NE Broadway to Killingsworth Street will close for restriping.

Travelers should expect delays. Motorists are advised to use alternate routes, such as NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Bicyclists may continue to use the right bicycle lane on N Williams Avenue this week or may use NE Rodney Street as an alternate route. Construction hours will be 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day but the lane closure will be in effect around the clock.

Additional details about the North Williams Safety Project may be found in the news release below and at www.northwilliamssafety.org. . View the “A Safer Place for Everyone” banner campaign. View the “A Safer Place for Everyone” brochure.
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Comment of the Week: How to fight bike theft

A “Cash for Bicycles” offer posted at St. Francis Park in
SE Portland, modified to remove its number.
(Photo: Bryan Hance)

Bryan Hance might know more about bike theft than anybody in the country.

So it’s always a treat when the Portland resident and founder of StolenBicycleRegistry.com, now BikeIndex.org, drops some knowledge here. (Note: Hance is also creator of the Stolen Bike Listings tool we use here on BikePortland — which will be relaunched very very soon!)

Here’s what Hance had to say on our post about our new Bike Theft Chronicles feature. Hance is working on a similar problem to local startup Project 529 — make it free and easy for everyone to register their bikes before thefts and to track them after thefts — but he’s tackling it from an open-source angle.

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Industry Roundup: Ecospeed, Vanilla, Renovo, Circa, North St and some Zen

In the shop with North St. Bags-3

North St. Bags owner Curtis Williams hopes to take out a “community sourced to keep his expansion on track.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

I’ve been gathering news tidbits about local bike companies for several weeks now and since today is National Manufacturing Day, I decided it was time to put it all together into a roundup.

So get comfortable and read the latest news about Portland’s always-changing bike-related industry…

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First look: Better Block re-imagines 3rd Ave with protected bike lane, new crosswalk

Better Block demonstration project on 3rd Ave-8

There’s a new protected bike lane on 3rd Ave!
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Early this morning, Better Block PDX took the wraps off its largest project yet: They’ve transformed three blocks of 3rd Ave from Davis (in Old Town) to Ash (near Voodoo Doughnut) from a bloated, auto-centric thoroughfare into a a more humane street with a protected bike lane, on-street bike parking, a new crosswalk and ample plaza space for sitting and enjoying a doughnut or three.

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Five smart things our regional planning agency is doing to fight climate change

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

A parking lot in downtown Portland. Metro’s ‘Climate Smart’ plan
connects parking and climate policy.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

Because its role in shaping transportation happens mostly behind the scenes, it’s sometimes easy to think that Metro is dedicated entirely to the distribution of nostrums.

But the truth is that Metro, the only directly elected regional government in the country, is a major force behind Portland’s success as a city. In much of the United States, the metropolitan planning organization — Metro’s peer — is the belly of the beast. These are the bodies that generate the obviously ridiculous traffic projections that are used to justify freeway construction and spend their federal Clean Air Act allowances on new turn lanes that supposedly reduce congestion but actually accelerate sprawl.

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Blazers Bike Night updates: Signed helmet prize and Monday deadline

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
blazers- sticker

Cool reflective pinwheel logo
sticker made just for us!

If you haven’t grabbed your tickets for Blazers Bike Night on November 2nd yet, now is the time to do it.

If you buy tickets through our special link — using promo code “bike” — through this Monday (10/6) you’ll be guaranteed to sit in one of the Bike Night sections. That is, our friends at the Trail Blazers have set aside a few sections of seats so we can sit together; but only if you get tickets by Monday.

Since our first announcement last week, we’ve made a few updates and some clarifications about what to expect the night of the event.

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Governor appoints OBRA Director Kenji Sugahara to Tourism Commission

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
kenjilead

Sugahara spoke out during a community forum
on safety issues on Skyline Blvd in 2011.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has appointed Kenji Sugahara to a seat on the Oregon Tourism Commission. The nine-member commission, better known by its business name of Travel Oregon, manages the state’s $9.6 billion tourism industry.

Sugahara, 41, lives in West Salem and became the executive director of the 5,000 member Oregon Bicycle Racing Association in 2008. Sugahara is also a member of the Oregon Scenic Bikeway Committee and is a board member of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.

According to Travel Oregon CEO Todd Davidson, Sugahara was picked specifically because of his experience with cycling in Oregon (OBRA promotes and sanctions around 400 events annually in every corner of the state). “We are pleased to welcome Kenji to the Oregon Tourism Commission,” Davidson said in an official statement, “the Governor has selected someone who brings not only a cycling perspective to the commission, but experience with rural Oregon, international media and transportation issues.”

Travel Oregon takes cycling seriously in part because a recent study they commissioned showed bicycle-related travel accounts for $400 million in annual economic impacts to the state of Oregon.

Read more

Latest Headlines

Sunday Parkways returns to North Portland this summer

Advocates demand action from PBOT on concrete planter removals

Jobs of the Week: Community Cycling Center, eBike Store, Go By Bike

Kotek announces co-chairs and mission of new transportation workgroup

From the Archives

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