Month: July 2015

The Monday Roundup: Fatbiking the coast, bike lane origins and more

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
fatbiking beach

The open road, obviously.
(Photo via Travel Oregon)

This week’s Monday Roundup is brought to you by the first annual Bike Peace Music Festival, a full weekend (July 17-18) of biking, food and live music in the Columbia River Gorge!

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

Fatbiking the coast: Oregon’s, that is. The Path Less Pedaled has seven tips for the trip.

Protected intersections: American bike plans of the early 1970s called for pseudo-Dutch treatments of bike lanes and intersections, but the Federal Highway Administration was persuaded (with no evidence) that Americans wouldn’t understand them.

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After 90 years, American cities are again redefining independence

Sunday Parkways: Just a slice of alternative history.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

Sometime in the 1920s, the American auto industry worked very hard and very consciously to achieve a great victory: they successfully associated their product with freedom.

A machine that had been developed to power farm implements and long-distance travel became a way for the wealthy, and gradually for the less wealthy, to zoom and roar right through the middle of cities.

As documented by history professor Peter Norton’s 2008 book Fighting Traffic (and many links over the years in BikePortland’s Monday Roundup), many Americans — maybe most of them — didn’t see this as a blow in favor of freedom; just the opposite. They saw it as a takeover of city streets. Even in a world where many more people died of disease and violence than they do today, the public was shocked by the notion that a person’s freedom to zoom down a street could be more important than a child’s freedom to play in it.

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With new authority, TriMet moves to clear unused bikes from its racks

bike rack

Should keep things a bit clearer.
(Photo: TriMet)

The Portland area’s public transit agency has given itself the power to seize and discard bicycles abandoned at its stations for more than a few days.

As part of a general code overhaul approved last February and effective Wednesday with the start of TriMet’s fiscal year, the TriMet board of directors approved a new code provision allowing for “a bicycle left on any property of the District Transit System for more than 72 hours may be impounded.”

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Weekend Event Guide: Freedom, fireworks, camping and more

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Fourth of July party-11

Go ahead, fly your flag!
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

This menu of delicious rides and events is brought to you by our friends at Hopworks Urban Brewery. Their support makes BikePortland possible.

With the heat we’ve been having it’s probably just as well that our calendar of rides isn’t nearly as full as it has been. And the weekend after Pedalpalooza always feels a bit quiet — as if the community takes a collective rest and needs time to recover after three weeks of riding and partying.

That being said, it’s still summer and there’s never a bad day for a ride (and don’t forget to check out our stay-cool tips when you head out).

One note of caution, if you plan to head out to the Gorge through Corbett via the Historic Highway on Saturday (the 4th), remember that the road is closed for a parade from 9:30 am to about noon.

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The ‘Bike Peace Music Festival’ is coming to Cascade Locks

peacefestlead

What could be better than a weekend “celebrating peace and good health” while riding bikes, camping, and listening to live music in a festival atmosphere in the Columbia River Gorge? And to top it all off, the organizers are encouraging everyone to get their by bike.

The first annual Bike Peace Music Festival is set for July 17th and 18th in Cascade Locks. 200 campsites have been reserved on Thunder Island exclusively for people who bike to the event with their own camping gear.

“This encourages festival attendees to abandon the car and ride to the festival,” says the event’s organizer Marcus Nobel, “Imagine that getting to the festival is part of the festival.”

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Democrats in state Senate join Republicans to kill neighborhood income diversity bill

se division pedicab

Though the bill would have affected only condos and other owner-occupied homes, some rallied around it as a seemingly achievable way to preserve income diversity in bike-friendly areas like Southeast Division Street.
(Photo: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

A bill that would have let Oregon cities require some condominiums in some new housing projects to be sold for below-market prices reportedly died in the state Senate on Wednesday.

One leading advocate for inclusionary zoning, as such policies are known, said late Wednesday that Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) and Senate Majority Leader Diane Rosenbaum (D-Southeast Portland) had “opted against a final caucus on the bill, claiming that the votes aren’t there.”

“We believe otherwise,” added the advocate, Jonathan Ostar of Portland-based OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, in an email to supporters of House Bill 2564. “It’s beyond frustrating that the caucus won’t get to discuss this last amendment.”

The bill’s backers include the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Upstream Public Health and other groups looking for ways to keep Portland’s decade-long housing shortage from making it impossible for most people to afford homes in Portland’s bikeable, walkable neighborhoods.

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Major regional timber company now requires permit on popular logging roads

wyerhauerssign

New sign spotted near
Green Mountain in Vernonia area.
(Photo by Tyler Robertson/Two Wheel Travel)

I have some bad news, some good news, and some very good news.

First, the bad news…

As of today (July 1st), timber company Weyerhaeuser Columbia Timberlands has started a new program that requires all users of their tree farms and other land in Columbia and Washington counties to have an official permit. This new “recreational access program” is something Weyerhauser has done on their land in other parts of the United States but it’s a first here in our region. The company owns about 126,000 acres in dozens of parcels between Portland, Longview and the Oregon Coast.

As you can from the lead photo, new signs have already been posted.

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Volunteer: Valet bike parking – Portland Craft Beer Festival

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title *
Valet bike parking 7/3-5

Company/Organization *
Portland Craft Beer Festival

Job Description *
Volunteer to valet park bikes at the Portland Craft Beer Festival and get entrance, tshirt, 10 drink tickets and a mug for free.

There are shifts available Friday 7/3, Saturday 7/4 and Sunday 7/5.

Go to http://vols.pt/XrusTA and use Volunteer Spot to sign up for a 3.5 hour shift.

How to Apply *
Go to Volunteer Spot at http://vols.pt/XrusTA

and sign up for a time slot.

Show up 10 minutes before your shift at the Portland Craft Beer Festival at Fields Neighborhood Park, 1099 NW Overton St.

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From the Archives

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