2014 Archives

Economist Joe Cortright launches ‘virtual think tank’

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Joe Cortright, a Portland-based economist who specializes in making the case for urban innovation and active transportation and was a powerful critic of the failed Columbia River Crossing project, has launched City Observatory, a “virtual think tank” that will be “devoted to data-driven analysis of cities and the policies that shape them.”

Topics on the site will be arranged in a system of “cards,” copying a successful feature of popular news site Vox.com.

The goal of this new venture will be to spark conversations about what policies and practices will create great cities. Cortright received funding for the project from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The new green-striped bike lane in front of the new bike box at 52nd and Division creates a more visible crossing.
(Photos: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

After more than a year of delay and months of construction, the 50s Bikeway is looking great, and two of the most important components are in place: comfortable crossings and traffic semi-diverters at two major streets. On Tuesday, I swung past to get some photos.

via reader email and Reddit:

Now you have one less excuse to not explore Oregon’s excellent unpaved roads.

RideOregonRide.com, the awesome resource developed by Oregon’s tourism commission Travel Oregon, now includes a handful of the best gravel rides our state has to offer.

(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

Has one of Portland’s first and most beloved bikeways drowned in car traffic over the last six months?

The data isn’t there yet to say for sure. But Brian Davis, a transportation analyst for Lancaster Engineering and a regular user of Clinton Street on his bike, has written a short, moving essay on Portland Transport about his changing experiences riding on the street. (Emphases mine.)

Just a few years ago, the thought of going two whole months without setting tire upon Clinton Street would have been unfathomable to me. One of the best things about my job is that I get to travel throughout the city to look at roads and intersections, and Clinton has long been my superhighway to all points southeast. If you got there early enough, you could often go from Seven Corners all the way to Southeast 26th without seeing a single car. On my many ambles through the corridor I discovered the best cup of coffee in Southeast, the best corn muffins in the city, and the best hot buttered rum anywhere. I realize now that I developed something of a sentimental attachment to the street while riding eastbound all those mornings, mesmerized by constant stream of people cycling past me on their way downtown. Those sign-toppers really meant something back then.

SE 17th is getting a makeover between Sellwood and Milwaukie.

A new, $3.4 million path and street design update will vastly improve the bicycling connection between Portland and Milwaukie and the City of Milwaukie wants your feedback on its preliminary design.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Sorry, this job has been filled. Browse more great jobs here.

Job Title
Part-time Accounting Assistant

Company/Organization
Castelli

Job Description
Accounting Department is looking for part-time assistance with a state sales tax related project.

Ideal candidate will have the following qualifications:
*Excel experience
*Adobe Acrobat experience a plus
*Strong attention to detail
*Highly organized

10-16 week project working 20-30 hours a week
Compensation: $10 hour

How to Apply
Please submit resume and cover letter to accounting@castelli-us.com

Commissioners Fish and Fritz warm to income tax to pay for streets

council work session novick fritz hales fish

Portland’s city council speaks with staff Monday about the “Our Streets PDX” proposal.
(Photo: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

Can Portland’s proposed transportation income tax count to three?

In the political tea leaves of Portland’s five-member city council, three is the magic number. And the tenor of Monday’s hearing on the city’s proposed tax suggested that consensus is building. But the vote seems likely to hinge on who would pay how much.

As Jonathan reported earlier this afternoon, the city has just released its most thoroughly vetted list yet of which streets would see improvements from a proposed income tax for streets.

How solid is this list? Well, this is the first time the city has ever put it on a map.

PBOT staffer Mark Lear updated advisory
committee members on the Our Street
funding effort.
(Photo J. Maus/BikePortland)

This morning in a conference room in the Portland Building, Bureau of Transportation staff laid out how they intend to spend $173.8 million in new revenue they hope to collect from residents and businesses in the first six years of the “Our Streets” funding plan.

While 42% of all the new revenue go toward paving (about $75 million), bike-specific investments are also on the list. A new carfree bridge over I-405 at NW Flanders Street and a protected bike lane on NE Broadway from 24th to the Broadway Bridge make up a list of about $7 million in projects that would dramatically improve biking conditions.

PBOT called this meeting to share an update on the funding plan to their various advisory committees. Among the 12 people in attendance at the meeting, six were city staff and the others were representatives from the City’s freight, bicycle, and pedestrian advisory committees. Members of the City’s Transportation Needs Funding Advisory Committee and Business Workgroup — both put together specifically to address the Our Streets plan — were also at the meeting.

Now that’s taking the lane.
(Photo: Let’s Bike It!)

[This week’s Monday Roundup is sponsored by North St. Bags, celebrating their 5th year of making great bags in Portland.]

Here are the great bike links that caught our eyes this week:

Road space demo: Latvian bike commuters came up with an evocative (though probably wobbly) way to show how much space bikes save on the road.

“The Wash Cyclist”: A Philadelphia startup is preparing a national rollout of a cargo-trike laundry delivery service.

(Data: Portland Bureau of Transportation. Chart: BikePortland.)

A new city study shows the big payoff the city has quietly seen from a few uses of one of the least-understood tricks in traffic engineering: the 4-3 road diet.

Economist Joe Cortright launches ‘virtual think tank’

First Look: 50s Bikeway adds diverters, crossings at Burnside and Division

Bike Theft Chronicles: ‘Scumbag’ stealing lights in broad daylight

Travel Oregon adds gravel routes to bicycling portal website

In ‘Requiem for a greenway,’ Clinton Street user renews call for diverters

New path will link Sellwood to Milwaukie on SE 17th

Job: Part-time Accounting Assistant – Castelli – FILLED

Commissioners Fish and Fritz warm to income tax to pay for streets

New maps show which streets would be improved by proposed income tax

Here’s what PBOT wants to do with $173.8 million in new transportation revenue

The Monday Roundup: A clever road-space demo, Seattle gets bike share and more

For less than $500,000, 3 Portland road diets are preventing 37 crashes every year

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