Month: May 2015

New bill in Salem would create legislative Vision Zero task force

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
buczek walking

SW Barbur Boulevard, a state-run street.
(Photo: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

Under a bill due for its first reading in Salem this afternoon, the state of Oregon would create a new task force to “examine strategies to reduce and eliminate traffic crashes … by a specific target date.”

House Bill 2736 would be “kind of the first step in the conversation” about a statewide Vision Zero policy, Bicycle Transportation Alliance Director Rob Sadowsky said in an interview Wednesday.

In addition to the Oregon Department of Transportation, the task force will include representatives of the Oregon Health Authority and State Police.

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Portland’s first-ever 24-hour bike count shows bike traffic on Ankeny never stops

everybikecounts

The city’s hour-by-hour count sheet.
(Photo courtesy PBOT)

Portland: the city of bikeways that never sleep.

A 24-hour count of bike traffic at the corner of Southeast Ankeny and 28th Avenue observed 2,231 bike trips from noon on Thursday, May 14 to noon on Friday, May 15. In the busiest hour, 5 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, 325 bikes went past; in the least busy, 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Saturday, six bikes did.

“I think one of our event volunteers said it best,” Taylor Sutton, a city worker who helped organize the first 24-hour count, said in an email Tuesday. “There’s never not a bike on Ankeny.”

Portland’s 10 years of peak-hour bike count data at dozens of locations around the city would be the envy of almost any city in the world. But those counts neglect the many commuters who don’t work traditional office hours, not to mention many of the non-work trips that account for more than 80 percent of our transportation. Sutton said the 24-hour bike count was intended as a way to enrich the city’s understanding of other hours of the day.

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Job: Service Department Mechanic – Bike Friday

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title *
Service Department Mechanic

Company/Organization *
Bike Friday

Job Description *
Ever dream of having a job building something environmentally benign that at the end of the day you can feel good about? We are an ambitious group of people trying to do our part to make the world a better place to live. Green Gear Cycling (Bike Friday) is an internationally recognized manufacturer of high performance folding bicycles for traveling and utilitarian/commuting use. Most of our designs are the market segment benchmark product. We employ lean manufacturing techniques (Toyota Production System) to hand fabricate the bicycles here in Eugene, OR.

The qualities we want from you is the combination of positive can do attitude, strong people skills, drive to get the job done, and most importantly, personal responsibility. A strong mechanical aptitude is needed. Other personal qualities you will need are the flexibility to adapt to a changing environment, strong communication skills, and a healthy sense of humor. Prior bicycle shop (service mechanic) experience while not required, is generally needed.

While the position we are filling for is for a bicycle mechanic to work in our service department, the team member may be cross trained to work in the production line on occasion. This differentiates this position from a traditional bicycle shop service job as you get to participate in the fabrication of bicycles. The Bike Friday Service Department handles customer phone calls, walk-in assistance, warranty repairs and elective service for Bike Friday bicycles only. This position relies on team members who are seeking a challenging, dynamic opportunities.

Qualities/ Skills required:

-Superior mechanical aptitude
-Strong bicycle mechanical / repair skills
-Positive, optimistic attitude
-Strong communication skills
-Desire to be held personally accountable
-Ambition
-Exceptional problem solving skills, both in person as well as on the phone with customers

This position will be some flexible mixture of wrenching as well as working with customers via email and over the phone. We have a very close and supportive relationship with our customers whom seek support via email and the phone. This position would be a mixture of support and wrenching.

What we offer is a challenging environment with supportive co-workers who will be interested in your success. If the position becomes permanent, benefits include profit sharing, 401K , health insurance, dental, vision, covered bike parking, shower facilities, discount on bike parts, paid holidays, shop privileges and family friendly. And, you get to build yourself a personal bike on the company’s dime.

How to Apply *
go to https://www.bikefriday.com/userfiles/Bike_Friday_Employment_Application_fillable_2.0.pdf

to fill out an application and email it to

jobs@bikefriday.com

or mail to 3364 W.11th Ave Eugene, OR 97402

Our May podcast: How biking advocates are made

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2013 BTA Alice Awards-18

Gresham High School health teacher Kristen Warren
accepting an Alice B. Toeclips advocacy award in 2013.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

One of the five ingredients for building a great biking city is a steady flow of passionate and talented people motivated to shed sweat and tears to make their cities better.

But where do advocates come from?

That’s the question we explore in the latest episode of the BikePortland podcast, which is back after a several-month sabbatical (our volunteer producer, Lillian Karabaic, was busy riding bikes and catching trains in 10 countries, among other things). We’re joined by a native Portlander who thinks about this subject a lot: the cerebral, disarmingly humble executive director of the Community Cycling Center, Mychal Tetteh.

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With pilot project, City will turn Naito Parkway into public space for all

naito-lead

It’s coming!
(Graphic: Better Block PDX)

Starting this Friday morning, the non-profit Better Block PDX, the Bureau of Transportation and its commissioner-in-charge Steve Novick will embark on perhaps the boldest experiment we’ve seen in years: the creation of public space on Naito Parkway in what are currently standard travel lanes.

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Job: Junior Buyer – Velotech Inc – FILLED

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Sorry, this job has been filled. Browse more great jobs here.Job Title *
Junior Buyer

Company/Organization *
Velotech, Inc

Job Description *
Junior Buyer
Function of Position:
Works under the supervision of a higher level buyer to manage lower tier categories. Includes maintaining optimum stock levels, increasing gross margin and inventory turn, and managing vendors. Emphasis is placed on communication with cross-functional teams to maximize customer service with the ability to effectively prioritize and multi-task with extreme attention to detail. It is expected that this role will groom the high performing employee into a Buyer position as business needs dictate.

Expected Job Duties:
• Manage inventory and stock levels and communicate status between vendor and Sr Buyer on a routine basis.
• Forecast and order replenishment and seasonal stock based on product history and vendor performance to maximize sales and minimize out of stocks
• Meet and maintain department KPI’s
• Shop and analyze the competition to understand trends, pricing opportunities, marketing concepts, and the customers’ perspective.
• Research and evaluate suppliers based on price, quality, selection, service, support, availability, reliability, production and distribution capabilities, and the supplier’s reputation and history.
• Study sales data and inventory levels of current stock to develop strategic purchasing plans
• Liason with Receiving, Accounting, Customer Service, and Marketing for assigned category products and issues.
• Manage New Product Set up across all categories with the assistance of the Purchasing Coordinator
• Assist department in other duties and special projects as needed.

EXPERIENCE:
Two+ years Purchasing, Procurement, Buying experience. Proficient in MS Word, Excel, and data entry. Proficiency in written and spoken English.

EDUCATION:
BA/BS degree preferred.

SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE:
• Strong knowledge of road and/or mountain bike products and lifestyle.
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to multi task with changing/conflicting priority levels
• Strong relationship building, communication (both verbal and written), and presentation skills.
• Desire to provide stellar customer service for both internal and external customers
• Ability to work with minimal supervision while remaining on task and hitting deadlines
• Work as a member of a cohesive team
• Strong time management and organizational skills
• Resourceful with the ability to problem-solve and present ideas and solutions
• Keen analytical and decision-making skills and the ability to accomplish objectives.
• Solid command of retail math, including understanding of calculations for OTB, forecasting, gross margin, inventory turn, and ROI.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to sex, race, color, age, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship, pregnancy or veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.

How to Apply *
Please send your cover letter and resume to jobs@velotech.com

Bike Theft Task Force, Project 529 team up on census effort with new app

censuslead

Love bikes? Hate theft? Seeking volunteers to build
a baseline of Portland bike parking(Graphic by J Allard)

J Allard is CEO and Founder of Project 529 and a Core Team member of the Portland Police Bureau Bike Theft Task Force.

I’ve learned a lot about bike theft after being victimized 3 years ago, and even more as we’ve developed and rolled out the 529 Garage. A common pattern as I speak to people is the desire for a silver bullet solution. Sorry fellow cyclists, there isn’t one.

Fact is, today’s bike thieves and fences are more organized, more dedicated and leveraging technology better than the communities they are attacking. To fight back, we’re going to have to step up our game, and I’m happy that here in Portland we’ve begun to with the formation of the Bike Theft Task Force.

One of my biggest learnings is how little data and research exists. I can’t think of any $400 million problem (annual, in the US alone) that has received as little focused attention as bike theft. Sure, there’s a couple of general reports, but no deep studies on the problem that can offer much insight to the problem as we search for answers.

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14 Clinton Street businesses celebrate bikeway birthday with discounts this week

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Neighborhood advocates have teamed up with local businesses to celebrate the huge role bikes play in Clinton Street’s commercial prosperity and the huge role small businesses play in making Clinton Street such a great destination.

The event happens as the City of Portland continues to express concern that businesses and residents would oppose adding one or more traffic diverters to Clinton Street to reduce cut-through car traffic and make the neighborhood greenway a bike route that people of all ages would feel comfortable using.

The organizations Safer Clinton and BikeLoudPDX have joined up to produce the event Bike to Shop Clinton, which kicked off yesterday and continues through Thursday night.

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The Monday Roundup: Testing the Idaho stop, the origin of helmets and more

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
salmon street stop sign

Look both ways.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

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

Idaho stop: Bicycle Quarterly’s Jan Heine created his own private code of conduct for the last six months: he treated red lights as stop signs and stop signs as yield signs while biking around Seattle. What he learned was pretty interesting.

Bike to Work Week: It makes biking feel like “paying your taxes or calling grandma on Mother’s Day,” writes Bike Snob Eben Weiss in Time.

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ODOT says $3 million project to raise overpass 18 inches has no budget to add a sidewalk

strawberry lane overpass

The overpass is being raised so that large-load trucks can drive under it rather than detouring onto Strawberry Lane.
(Images: Google Street View)

Despite receiving a dozen public requests to add sidewalks to an overpass it’s planning to raise by 18 inches, the Oregon Department of Transportation says there’s no room for them in the $3 million project.

Instead, ODOT will add a five-foot-wide striped walking and biking lane on the bridge’s eastbound side. The road-level lane will be marked with a pedestrian symbol.

The Strawberry Lane bridge south of Clackamas is the only crossing of Interstate 205 for one mile in each direction.

As reported Wednesday by the Clackamas Review, the purpose of the project is to raise the overpass enough to prevent most large-load trucks from having to detour onto Strawberry Lane in order to avoid the relatively low bridge.

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