2015 Archives

A preview ride on TriMet’s new Orange Line

TriMet GM Neil McFarlane and Washington
Secretary of Transportation Lynn
Peterson.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

TriMet’s new Orange Line (a.k.a. the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project) doesn’t officially open until September 12th, but the agency has been busy for weeks now offering preview rides for various organizations and interested parties.

Speaking of parties, last night I attended an event hosted by the Portland chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar (a group that promotes professional advancement for women in the transportation industry). We met in the lobby of CH2M Hill, the massive consulting and engineering firm conveniently located just steps from the MAX line on Southwest Lincoln and 4th Avenue.

I snacked on light appetizers and chatted with a few folks before TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane grabbed the crowd’s attention and shared a few words. He mostly thanked a bunch of people (many of whom were in the room) who helped deliver the $1.5 billion project. He also touted a long list of stats that spoke to the project’s economic impact. “This project happened just when Oregon needed it most,” McFarlane said, “We created 14,000 jobs at a time when the state was economically depressed.”

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Sorry, this job has been filled. Browse more great jobs here.

Job Title *
Shipper

Company/Organization *
Chris King Precision Components

Job Description *
Chris King Precision Components™, manufacturer of bicycle components, is seeking qualified applicants for a Shipping position. The Shipper is responsible for accurately identify and ship our componentry to customers located in the United States and abroad.

Responsiblities:
• Verify and keep records on outgoing shipments and prepares items for shipment.
• Read and interpret packing list and related documentation to determine method of shipment, utilizing knowledge of shipping procedures, routes and rates for both domestic and international destinations.
• Insert items into containers, using spacers, filler and protective padding.
• Place identifying information and shipping instructions onto containers.
• Post weights and shipping charges and affixes postage.
• Examine outgoing shipments to ensure shipments meet specifications.
• Know and adhere to company’s quality standards.
• Maintain inventory of shipping materials and supplies.
• Keep accurate accounting of inventory.

Requirements
• Two years of domestic and international shipping experience using USPS, UPS and FedEx
• Basic computer skills
• Ability to lift up to 50lbs and stand for long hours
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, accuracy, experience working independently and staying on-task

The successful applicant will be team oriented, eager to learn, enthusiastic and a have a strong commitment to community, the environment and excellence in general.

How to Apply *
Please submit letter of interest and resume by e-mail to jobs@chrisking.com (No Attachments Accepted.) A drug free environment and equal opportunity employer. Visit our website at www.chrisking.com.

Job: Bike shop mechanic / customer service – North Portland Bike Works

Job Title *
Bike shop mechanic / customer service

Company/Organization *
North Portland Bike Works

Job Description *
We need another body in the shop!

North Portland Bike Works is in need of some shop help.

We want someone who is a good mechanic and a good person. Customer service and being warm and inviting are priorities for our shop.

Shop experience necessary. Preferably 2 years, however if you have a good grasp of bikey things and are fantastic with people, please feel free to drop by a resume.

Customer service needs:
– Ability to help a wide variety of customers in a friendly and accessible manner
– Able to explain mechanical issues in an easy to understand way
– Size and fit customers on new bikes for sale

Mechanical needs:
– Assess and estimate repairs
– Perform repairs in a timely fashion
– New bike builds
– We are a very basic commuter shop, no suspension or hydraulic service and not much in the way of high end bits

Traits we appreciate:
– Good communication
– Easy to engage with
– Flexible
– On time/punctual
– Ability to ask questions or for help if needed

The position will be three or four days a week, 27-36 hours. Weekend hours will be necessary. Pay rate depends on experience.

Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

North Portland Bike Works is a non-profit community bike shop with a small, committed staff. Please look at our painfully outdated website www.northportlandbikeworks.org to get more info on us. We are a very friendly and motivated shop with a goal of helping anyone regardless of their knowledge or experience.

How to Apply *
Feel free to drop off your resume during shop hours. Mon-Sat 11-6 and Sunday 12-4. 3978 N Mississippi Ave Portland OR 97227 (SE corner of Mississippi and Shaver)
Thanks!

Please note: ‘Paving’ projects can also be ‘safety’ projects that improve bicycling

The line isn’t as clear as you think.
(PBOT graphic)

We have tendency in Portland to think of transportation investment as a zero-sum game. Our local leaders and media like to split people up into nice, little, convenient groups so they can create narratives and a dichotomy that grabs attention.

One way that tendency often manifests itself is with the “paving/maintenance versus safety” debate. During the push for the Our Streets funding measure, the Portland Bureau of Transportation used percentages and pie charts to split these two priorities into categories. With such clear lines in the sand it’s no wonder that the community (and the media) latch on and start shouting about which one deserves more (I admit it, I’ve been guilty of doing this myself in the past).

It doesn’t have to be this way. The truth is, paving/maintenance projects can also be safety projects that improve bicycling and walking. And guess what? PBOT gets it.

Map of the Broadway Corridor Plan focus area.
(Image: PDC)

By the end of this year Portland City Council will adopt a redevelopment plan that will have a huge impact on the central city — and it’s your job to make sure that plan includes a world-class vision for cycling.

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.

I’m happy to finally be able to report that the heat wave is over! This weekend we’re finally getting a reprieve from 90-degree temps and the riding weather should be perfect.

The ride calendar is pretty light this week, so that means you’ve just got to be creative and think of your own adventures.

Have fun out there!

Friday, July 10th

Still from video by T.Lavender/Vimeo

Question: What’s one way to know when people don’t feel safe riding bicycles? Answer: When a growing number of them feel like they need to ride with an on-board video camera.

Here in Portland (and nationwide), we’ve noticed a strong uptick in the amount of people who equip themselves with a camera every time they ride around the city. This trend is the result of three main things; the advent and availability of smaller, cheaper and higher-resolution cameras, the epidemic of distracted driving that has resulted in more dangerous and illegal driving behaviors; and a growing sense that the police can’t (or won’t) do their part to enforce the laws.

With video evidence, the thinking goes, if something does happen, at least someone will have a greater chance at justice in court.

Mike Lettunich of Twenty Four Seven.
(Image: City of Portland)

Here’s a business owner’s perspective that breathes some fresh air into the us-versus-them framing that can bog down so many discussions about bike infrastructure in Portland.

Yesterday we kicked off a three-part series about the past and future of the Lloyd District. The third post in the series, coming in several weeks, will focus on the many street changes the city is lining up over the next 10 years that could help the neighborhood finally reach its potential — first among them, probably, a new biking-walking bridge that’s been proposed across Interstate 84 at 7th, 8th or 9th avenues.

The Lloyd, waiting to be born. City of Portland Archives: A2012-005, April 24, 1964.

This is the first in a three-part series made possible by Hassalo on Eighth.

At first glance, the changes sweeping across the Lloyd District right now look like a story Portland has told at least twice before.

Developer makes big bet on underused land near downtown. Residential towers shoot up. Amenities multiply. Streetcar whistles through. Bikes roll in by the hundreds and eventually the thousands.

Detail of Funding Walking and Biking Improvements.
–PDF–

Finding money to pay for bike and walk-centric projects in Oregon is no easy task. The big pots of money are all but reserved for traditional highway projects like freeway widening and bridge repair (like the gas tax, for instance, which is constitutionally limited to such projects). What’s left is a myriad of smaller sources — some of them in separate pots and others so deeply rooted in policy language only experts know how to pry it out.

Now a new webpage (and PDF document) published by the Oregon Department of Transportation aims to demystify this process. Think of it as a treasure map that leads to more biking and walking projects.

Titled Funding Walking and Biking Improvements, this exhaustive new resource lists 38 different sources of cash to help make your active transportation project dreams come true.

Morning rush hour traffic in red; evening rush hour traffic in green.
(Data: PBOT. Image: BikePortland)

For more than a year, as advocates and activists have worked to build public support for traffic diverters on Southeast Clinton Street, a question has hovered: are car volumes really worse than they used to be?

This article was written by Reuben Deumling, a Portland resident, active participant in the local cargo biking scene, and frequent commenter who some of you may know as “9watts.” You might also recall the cool, DIY wooden child seat he shared with us back in 2010.

——

I often read here on BikePortland about $5,000 singlespeeds and $6,000 cargo bikes, and I think about a lifetime of used or discarded bikes I’ve fixed up and ridden or resold. I enjoy the lines of a Vanilla or Ahearne or Bullitt as much as the next person, but choosing to live lower on the pecuniary totem pole, that is just not my market.

I’d like to share what the economics of bicycling looks like from my perspective.

Part of the fun of not owning a car is that you avoid all the bills — gas, oil, insurance, parking, and repairs, (not to mention buying the car itself and eventually replacing it) — that come with it. For me, that statistic you read about that suggests the average car-owning household spends around $9,000 per year in car-related expenses, is inconceivable given how our household has chosen to spend money.

A preview ride on TriMet’s new Orange Line

Job: Shipper – Chris King Precision Components – FILLED

Job: Bike shop mechanic / customer service – North Portland Bike Works

Please note: ‘Paving’ projects can also be ‘safety’ projects that improve bicycling

Time to weigh in on PDC’s Broadway Corridor Plan

Weekend Event Guide: Track racing, mystery ride, and more

Friday, July 10th

Dangerous, high-speed pass on neighborhood street caught on camera

Business owner to City Council: Bicycling is ‘lifeblood’ of a city’s future

Portland’s next great bike neighborhood may be its most unexpected triumph yet

New ODOT resource demystifies funding for biking and walking projects

What’s happening on SE Clinton? New traffic data tells the story

Guest article: Biking on the cheap

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The 10 busiest bicycling spots in Portland