2014 Archives

Five Walktober ambles worth checking out

In the 2012 Situationist Walk, attendees concocted
bizarre rules to govern their own behavior as they
strolled through Southeast Portland.
(Photo: Oregon Walks)

Portland’s annual three-week festival of fun on foot, inspired by PedalPalooza, has its first big burst of action this Saturday.

Walktober is run by advocacy group Oregon Walks. Like PedalPalooza, anyone can create an event online; the most interesting will survive.

With lots of good contenders for people interested in exploring, learning more about the city or just sampling many kinds of beer without worrying about the bike home, we thought we’d pull a few highlights from this month’s calendar of walking events.

The new design on East Burnside requires westbound cars to enter the new turn lane while passing westbound bikes.
(Photos: J.Maus/BikePortland)

Saying that any removal of on-street parking during a redesign of East Burnside Street would have required more time and money than the city could afford, the Portland Bureau of Transportation is boosting on-street parking instead.

The East Burnside Transportation Safety Project between 14th and 32nd Avenues, part of the city’s high-crash corridor program, has converted one westbound lane west of 32nd into a center turn lane and converted the rush-hour-only lanes east of 32nd into permanent parking lanes.

For people who ride bicycles west on Burnside, one result is that space that often functioned as a de-facto bike lane — the curbside auto lane — has been eliminated.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Amsterdammers are made, not born.
(Photo in Amsterdam by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Part of our series, America’s Next Bicycle Capital, where we share community voices about the future of biking in Portland. This week’s guest writer is A.J. Zelada, who chaired the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee from 2011 to 2013.

The lifeboat rule needs to be invoked: parents and children first.

I returned from the Netherlands a few weeks ago and I was struck, of course, by how different it was. I admit, I am not so sure it is reproducible here as much as I’ve hawked it in the past. My partner and I bicycled from Bruges, Belgium to Amsterdam up the North Sea coast line but catching Ghent, Delft, Leiden and many other towns along the incredible segregated bike lanes that simply connect everything. [Publisher’s note: Follow Jerry’s adventures here.]

What struck me was that Americans have a missing childhood developmental stage of being an infant, a toddler, and a child on a bike before they get on a bike independently. And even though little Americans are propped up in a baby trailer or behind the rider’s seat, they still miss what parents in Belgium and the Netherlands teach their kids.

Platinum celebration at City Hall-61.jpg

New Chief of Police Larry O’Dea outside City Hall in 2008. He’s standing with former Bicycle Liaison Officer Robert Pickett.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Portland Police Chief Mike Reese announced his retirement today, and when the new chief steps in to replace him in January, his name might sound familiar to some BikePortland readers.

Larry O’Dea, a former captain of the bureau’s Traffic Division, is the new Chief of Police.

In our latest episode, we talk about biking’s role in bridging the urban/rural divide.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Can cycling really make a difference to help close the yawning gap that exists between Oregon’s cities and its small, rural towns?

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

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.

[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:

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.

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.
###

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.

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…

Five Walktober ambles worth checking out

E Burnside project adds auto parking, leaves out bike lanes

Portland needs to invoke the lifeboat rule

Why Portland’s new Chief of Police is good news for bicycling

BikePortland Podcast: Pedaling the urban/rural divide with Cycle Oregon

Job: Mechanic – Bike Gallery (Downtown)

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

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

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

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

Comment of the Week: How to fight bike theft

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

Latest Headlines

‘Better Sheridan’ project brings safer street to South Waterfront

Your guide to finding the ‘Wildwood’ crows by bike

My journey to that ‘Hard Rock glow’

Off-Road Cycling Master Plan: A decade later, what has changed?

From the Archives

The 10 busiest bicycling spots in Portland