🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏
A year after activists pulled off an inspiring demonstration of what 3rd Avenue could look like, the Bureau of Transportation followed up with their permanent version.
The Oregon Department of Transportation has just released the Barbur Boulevard Safety Audit (PDF). The 115-page report takes an in-depth look at the safety issues of one the most deadly and dangerous urban highways in our region and it has been eagerly anticipated by advocates for months.
The audit came about after ODOT received significant pressure from the community (including a petition from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance) to do something about street’s dangerous bicycling conditions.
Here are the bike-related links from around the world that caught our eyes this week:
Sidewalk priority: A new rule in Seattle would make sidewalk removal during construction projects a last resort.
Guerrilla parking spaces: Police in Brooklyn painted parking space numbers right on top of a bike lane.
Streetcar track fatality: A man riding a bike on San Francisco’s Market Street was killed by a bus, apparently after catching a wheel in the track while biking in a streetcar lane and falling sideways.
With interest in earthquake preparedness at an all-time high, the timing could not have been better for the fourth annual Disaster Relief Trials. The event, which was based at University of Portland, aims to demonstrate that cargo bikes can be an effective way to administer aid and help rebuild our communities after a large quake or other natural disaster.
Leave No Trace ethics aren’t something we talk much about in the bike world. But we should.
As “gravel riding” and “bikepacking” skyrocket in popularity, everyone promoting it (I’m raising my hand) has a responsibility to make sure people who do it act with care and consideration for each other and the places they visit.
It was in that spirit that I joined Jocelyn Gaudi from the Komorebi Cycling Team, Gabe Tiller of Limberlost, and Donnie Kolb of Velo Dirt and OregonBikepacking.com last night at Mountain Shop. Our event came on the heels of two major bits of bad publicity last year: Donnie’s frustrated rant after people left trash and human waste along the Oregon Outback route and the story of that guy in Idaho who caused a wildfire after using flames to dispose of his soiled toilet paper.
Editor’s note: Welcome to the first of a new occasional Friday tradition: a BikePortlander Post of the week. BP Posts is our new section where subscribers can write and publish their own posts (that everyone can comment on). We’ll be highlighting these on the Front Page every once in a while in lieu of comments of the week.
via BikePortlander “Carsharing Dave”
I recently returned from a trip where I’d rented a car. As I passed thru PDX I asked myself: what would I tell someone from out of town who was driving in Portland to pay special attention to?
The list needs to be short enough that people can remember it.
The new lane will be a wide, buffered bicycle lane to increase comfort for all ages and abilities of bicycle riders, such as tourists and families.
— PBOT
The demonstration that inspired it happened one year ago, the compromise among stakeholders that confirmed it happened four months ago, and it was first promised to be on the ground one month ago.
Now, at long last, the Bureau of Transportation has made an official announcement that they plan to “reconfigure” 3rd Avenue this weekend.
As we reported back in August, the plan is to re-stripe nine blocks of 3rd from NW Glisan to SW Stark in order to make room for a bicycling-only lane. The new bike lane will be installed in place of the existing standard lane and it will be seven-feet wide with extra “buffered” space on boths sides.
***Please allow me to interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for a brief promotional announcement.***
BikePortland would not exist today without the support of dozens of businesses. Since the day we posted our very first ad back in 2006, we’ve worked with local, regional, and national businesses of all types. Their ad dollars have made the tens of thousands of free stories we’ve published and dozens of free events we’ve organized possible.
Now we have a new way to work with companies and organizations that everyone — businesses, the community, and BikePortland — will continue to benefit from.
Our BikePortlander Business program gives businesses valuable promotion while creating a new community resource and helping fund our work all at the same time.
— This article was written by reader Ed Rae, a folding bike evangelist and senior sales rep for Brompton.
The unfolding crisis of bike theft
As the diverse range of Portland cyclists hear of or sadly come to experience directly the trials of bike theft, it’s gratifying to see many suggestions and solutions being offered. What seems clear is there’s no universal solution (that is, unless human nature changes and nobility wins out).
It’s hard to say yet whether living in Velomor is leading people to bike more. But the people who’ve moved in certainly own a lot of bikes.
Bike parking for the 177-unit Lloyd District building that opened in July is already full and overflowing, and the apartment managers have set up two overflow racks in the still-vacant first-floor retail space that faces Holladay Street. Residents access the overflow racks by asking a concierge to let them in.
Velomor, the first of three buildings to open at Hassalo on Eighth, is currently about 80 percent occupied but almost entirely leased up for next month, a concierge said Thursday.
Job Title *
Inside Sales Consultant
Company/Organization *
Bike Friday / Green Gear Cycling
Job Description *
Bike Friday is the leading high-end custom folding and travel bike manufacturer celebrating 21 years of creating lifetime relationships with cyclists worldwide through direct and dealer sales. Our mission: To build a better tomorrow by offering individual solutions for transportation, personal oil independence and health. We are committed to be a Made in USA company.
Located in Eugene, we are a small family owned company looking for the right person to join our sales/consulting team.
Here is what our dream candidate for this position will be like:
1. Your first passion/ hobby is sales/consulting. You love to help people find what they want and need in a product you believe in by creating a relationship built on your knowledge, insight and honesty. You have proven trackable sales by telephone, email, and in person.
2. Your second hobby/passion is cycling. You have a variety of cycling experiences and understand the soulful, personal growth impact cycling can have on an individual, and the unique connection cyclists develop with their bicycles.
3. You understand the components on a bicycle, the differences,
and the benefits of each, and can help design groups that will deliver the ultimate performance for any cycling need.
4.You are a really nice person with a sense of humor, a service attitude, and work well in a team setting.
5. You are internally driven toward setting and accomplishing goals.
6. You are comfortable with a computer and database dealing with lots of detail information and keep good notes.
If this is you, send us your resume and include a cover letter explaining your attraction to the position and describing an example of your recent success in sales. This is a salary, bonus (commissions), and full benefits position.
Bike Friday profit sharing, 401K, health insurance with vision, vacation time, covered bike parking, shower facilities, discount on bike parts, paid holidays, shop privileges & family friendly. And, you get to build yourself a personal bike on the company’s dime. Bike Friday loves diversity & encourages all interested, qualifying parties to inquire.
This position is located in Eugene, Oregon.
How to Apply *
Please fill out our Bike Friday Job application found here https://www.bikefriday.com/about_us/job_application
Then Email, fax or mail it with your Resume and Cover Letter to:
Bike Friday
3364 W. 11th Ave.
Eugene, OR 97404
FAX (541)687-0403
Email: jobs@bikefriday.com