2015 Archives

The Monday Roundup: Chicago’s low-car suburb, London’s media and more

Evanston’s rail stations: not just for show.
(Photo: City of Evanston)

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

Low-car suburb: Evanston, Illinois, slashed its parking requirements, joined Chicago’s bike share system and has seen building near rail stations boom. Eighty percent of the university town’s households within half a mile of its rail stops own either one or zero cars.

Fatality coverage: London’s media went from covering 6 percent of local bike fatalities in 1992-1994 to 75 percent of them in 2010-2012. Scientists wonder if this may have distorted public perception of biking’s danger.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

PSU Professor Matthew Gebhardt will talk tonight at the RNA Land Use meeting about rising rents and housing prices, and what influences or causes these increases, whether it is regulations, or lending practices or other factors.

Meeting starts at 7 PM at Waverly Church, 3300 SE Woodward. Professor Gebhardt’s talk starts around 7:30 PM.

Comment of the Week: A better way from Clinton to Tilikum

Here’s another way to go.
(Map by Google)

Sometimes, you just have to stop reading the signs.

That’s the advice from BikePortland reader axoplasm, who responded to Tuesday’s post about the hassles of navigating to the east landing of Tilikum Crossing with a homemade route of his own that he said is “slightly longer” but “much faster, with simpler crossings and saner stoplights.”

It’s that spooky time of year again and that means many Portlanders will spend the weekend in Bend for the annual Cross Crusade craziness.
(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.

If you love costume rides, this is your weekend. With Halloween-themed rides galore, you should have no trouble finding a ride to let your freaky flag fly.

What are your plans for the weekend? Whatever they are we hope they include a bike (or maybe you need a bike break? That’s fine too).

Have a great weekend!

A quick, cheap crosswalk enhancement on 3rd Street in Austin, Tex.
(Photos: M.Andersen)

Austin, where I spent a few days this week, is not yet a great city to bike in. But some of the ideas it’s developed in its bid to become one are useful, and here’s one.

Looking for a new job or for a change of pace? We’ve got five great job opportunities for you to consider. Learn more about them via the links below…

Inside Sales Consultant – Bike Friday
Customer Service Manager – EVELO
Delivery Partner – GrubHub
Customer Service Rep – Yakima Products, Inc.
Inside Sales, Customer Service and Marketing – HGNR Inc.

Former BTA Advocacy Manager Michelle Poyourow and BTA
Deputy Director Steph Noll: undecided voters.
(Photos: J.Maus/BikePortland)

Last week, the spring 2016 race for Portland mayor looked like a hard-fought duel between two very similar people. On Monday, when Mayor Charlie Hales dropped out, it briefly raised the possibility of a coronation for the remaining major candidate, State Treasurer Ted Wheeler.

By Wednesday, it once again seemed clear that this will be a race. State House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, former Metro Councilor Robert Liberty and Portland Association of Teachers President Gwen Sullivan said they’re considering runs. Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury and Multnomah County Chief Operating Officer Marissa Madrigal have both been conspicuously silent so far.

Amid all this, we wondered what the city’s bike advocates have been thinking. So we asked a bunch of them.

Roger Averbeck snapped this photo after recognizing the bike as one stolen from Southwest Bicycle in Multnomah Village last week.
(Photo by Roger Averbeck)

Quick thinking by a southwest Portland resident has resulted in a local shop being able to recover two bikes that were stolen from them last week.

What’s wrong with this picture?
(Photo by Howrad on Twitter)

Is it the full moon? Or maybe Halloween? For some reason there have been three incidents in the past three days where someone drove their car into a place usually reserved for other types of vehicles.

Editor’s note: Welcome to the first of a new feature from BikePortland contributor Ted Timmons, a lover and observer of bike culture in Portland and around the world who’s volunteered to try out something new on the site. We’re featuring at least the first post here on the Front Page. Take it away, Ted.

I watch a lot of bicycle- and transit-related videos, so this is an experiment on sharing them with BikePortland. They will be at least tangentially bicycling-related, and should enthuse, entertain, educate, or enrage you.

Rosa Parks Way.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

Portland has a long way to go, but it’s one of the country’s best cities to bike in. Sad to say, it isn’t yet one of the country’s best cities to walk in.

So why do so many people, here and elsewhere, speak as if there’s an activity called “bikingandwalking” that can be encouraged all at once?

Some new research from a recent Portland State University engineering grad helps to disentangle the science of these two awesome activities.

Michelle Kunec-North at the Portland Bicycle
Advisory Committee meeting back in September.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Four months after it officially launched, Portland’s Off-road Cycling Master Plan is getting started in earnest. Yesterday the city released a more detailed project scope and opened the application period for the project’s advisory committee. Back on October 12th, the city chose a project consultant (Toole Design Group) that will be tasked with managing the public engagement and planning.

Michelle Kunec-North, the bureau of planning project manager overseeing the plan, spent all summer talking to interest groups and organizations. Her goal with that initial outreach was to better understand the lay-of-the-land, both figuratively and literally.

“Now the idea is to zoom out with a wide lens and set up a system plan for where these facilities might be, what they might look like and who they might serve,” Kunec-North told members of the Bureau of Transportation’s bicycle advisory committee back in September.

The Monday Roundup: Chicago’s low-car suburb, London’s media and more

Rising rents? Talk tonight at RNA meeeting

Comment of the Week: A better way from Clinton to Tilikum

Weekend Event Guide: Scary cyclocross, architecture, tricks and treats, and more

Postcard from Austin: curb extensions that don’t block bikes

Jobs of the Week: Bike Friday, GrubHub, EVELO, Yakima, HGNR

10 biking advocates on Portland’s fast-changing mayoral race

Quick thinking leads shop to two stolen bikes

People in Portland are driving cars where they don’t belong

Wednesday Video Roundup: Cyclocross, Chernobyl and more

Bike-friendliness and walk-friendliness are actually pretty different, study says

City issues updates on Portland Off-road Cycling Master Plan

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