September 2015 Archives

At rally, renters’ group calls for mandatory one-year notice of big rent hikes

Rent hikes threaten to prevent anyone but the rich from living in bikeable, walkable parts of Portland, tenants’ advocates warned.
(Photos: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

Surrounded by about 200 worried tenants, by a contingent of local media and by zero elected officials, Portland’s most prominent renters’ advocacy group declared a “renters’ state of emergency” Tuesday.

Saying that they’ve seen a wave of no-cause evictions and huge rent hikes throughout the city, the Community Alliance of Tenants called for two actions that its staff admitted might not be allowed under current law: a one-year citywide moratorium on no-cause evictions and a requirement that landlords give one year’s notice to tenants of any rent hike larger than 5 percent.

Brownlee Reservoir from Highway 71.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The theme of this year’s Cycle Oregon is “Hell on Wheels.” So, despite the major change in plans I shared last night, today we were given the option of biking into Hells Canyon. So you better believe we took it.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

The new bridge replaces a wooden one from approximately 1943.
(Photos: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

One of the big obstacles to biking in south-southeast Portland has once again been bridged.

Along with the opening this weekend of the new Orange MAX Line and the Tilikum Crossing, TriMet opened a new Lafayette Street pedestrian bridge across the Union Pacific Railroad tracks in the Brooklyn neighborhood.

Doug Klotz is a longtime Richmond Neighborhood
Association board member. He also co-founded
the advocacy group Oregon Walks.
(Photo: Oregon Walks)

One of Portland’s longest-serving neighborhood association board members survived a recall vote Monday night by the thinnest margin possible.

Doug Klotz, a member of the Richmond Neighborhood Association since “around 1993” and a longtime advocate for Portland to become more walkable, bikeable and transit-oriented, won the right to stay in office by a single ballot out of 252 cast.

The neighborhood association’s bylaws require a 2/3 majority to agree with the recall proposal. According to a count Monday night and a recount Tuesday by the Southeast Uplift neighborhood coalition, opponents of Klotz found 167 votes out of the 168 they would have needed.

As every bike-lover knows, it’s not really about the bike.

For Jason Washington and DeMarcus Preston, 40ish Portlanders and friends who were fed up with local shootings last summer, a bike ride seemed like a natural way to wipe aside a cycle of gang violence and bring the community together into “one gang” in the best sense of the word.

Rumors started swirling around camp by late afternoon.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

For the first time in Cycle Oregon history, the ride has been forced off its planned course. The reason for the change is the Dry Gulch fire which started Saturday near Richland, Oregon, a town close to Halfway, where Cycle Oregon was headed tomorrow.

Cycle Oregon is much more than just a bike ride; but sometimes when the road and the landscape all come together it feels like the ride is the only thing that matters.

When we woke up this morning for our 53 mile jaunt from Farewell Bend State Park to Cambridge, Idaho, the light was perfect. A friend here on the ride called it “Jesus light.” Clouds filled the sky as the sun tried to peak through them, sending rays of light over our heads. And we just so happened to be cycling through a gorgeous section of the Snake River canyon (on Porter Flats Road just west of Weiser, Idaho).

Images from a Timberline Mountain Bike Park
brochure. A lawsuit has stalled that
plan, but Mount Hood Meadows says
biking is on the upswing regardless.

Fun in the snow remains huge on Mount Hood. But there’s growing consensus that the mountain’s future is likely to be elsewhere.

With average snowpack levels ebbing and mountain biking booming in popularity, Mount Hood Meadows is reorganizing its team to emphasize this new market, among others.

The company recently dropped “ski resort” from its official logo. On Monday, it followed that up with an announcement of that three new company vice presidents have been tasked with focusing on new facilities, programs and staff for year-round — that is, non-snow — recreation.

The new message from the Surgeon General, in short.
(Image: Smart Growth America)

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

Safety labels: Smart Growth America offers our favorite riff on the U.S. Surgeon General’s “call to action” this week that Americans need to walk more.

Healthy risk: It’s dangerous for kids to never do anything dangerous, according to a new meta-analysis. “Risky outdoor play” gives people better health, creativity, social skills and resilience.

Mayor Hales shows off his new helmet Monday morning.
It’s patterned after the Portland flag.
(Photos: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

Two weeks after his first bike commute on the job, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales was back in the saddle this morning and ready for coffee with constituents at Ford Food & Drink at Southeast Division and 11th.

The inner-southeast hangout — which is in eyeshot of the new Tilikum Crossing, at once the newest asset to the city’s transport system and a $30 million factor in its transportation funding challenges — shares a building with Nutcase Helmets. The local company’s founder Michael Morrow was on hand to offer Hales a customized model from Nutcase’s new Portlander series.

The Italianate style Leo Adler House (now a museum) in Baker City.
Mr. Adler and his family lived here for 94 years.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

At rally, renters’ group calls for mandatory one-year notice of big rent hikes

To Hell and back: Cycle Oregon 2015 Day 3

First Look: Lafayette Street pedestrian bridge crosses inner SE railroad tracks

Richmond neighborhood association narrowly rejects recall of density advocate

Riding against violence: Two Portlanders’ story of using a bike ride to call for peace

Fire forces major re-route of Cycle Oregon

‘Jesus light’ and an old-time fiddler band: Cycle Oregon 2015 Day 2

Staff changes at Mount Hood Meadows highlight resort’s shift toward bike recreation

The Monday Roundup: Surgeon General’s warning, the healthiness of childhood risks & more

Mayor Hales pedals to work and makes a coffee-shop campaign stop

Faces and places on the road: Cycle Oregon 2015 Day One

Latest Headlines

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Weekend Event Guide: Ladds 500, ride for a judge, bicycle show, and more

Podcast: City Council District 3 Candidate Brandon Mullen

From the Archives

The 10 busiest bicycling spots in Portland