🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏

Comment of the Week: The five-ingredient recipe for a great bike city

Mia Birk at Powell's Books-3

Birk at Powell’s Books in 2011.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

If anyone in the country knows what it takes for a city to improve its bike transportation, it’s a woman whose entire business depends on cities doing so: Mia Birk.

Birk, the former Portland bicycle coordinator and senior local principal of Alta Planning + Design, was indirectly quoted in a comment this week from BikePortland reader Matt, who said he’d heard Birk’s theory about this in a conversation once.

Matt seems to have remembered it. It’s a memorably simple formula.

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Job: Transportation Outreach Ambassador – Cherriots Rideshare

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Job Title
Transportation Outreach Ambassador

Company/Organization
Cherriots Rideshare

Your Email Address (for listing confirmation) * ion@pacwestcom.com

Job Description
Basic Details
• Start Date: May 26, 2015
• End Date: October 2015
• Stipend: $873.60 – $1,008.00/month DOE
• Hours: approximately 16 – 20 hours per week

Purpose and General Description:

Cherriots Rideshare (a program of Salem-Keizer Transit) in partnership with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), is launching a campaign called Drive Less Save More: Connecting Salem to help residents in the Northeast Neighbors (NEN) and Grant neighborhoods walk, bike, take transit, and share rides more often. Promoting these transportation options fosters community connectivity, promotes an active lifestyle, helps people save money and access the services and destinations. Cherriots Rideshare is selecting an intern(s) or temporary staff to serve as Outreach Ambassador(s) to conduct outreach and administrative tasks for the program. The successful candidate will invite Grant and NEN residents to participate in the program, respond to questions about transportation options to, from, and within the neighborhoods, assemble and deliver information packet orders by bicycle, and identify opportunities for outreach and partnership.

The Outreach Ambassador(s) will have these duties:

• Engage local stakeholders and work with partners to promote the program
• Support/implement the communications plan, including web and social media posting
• Assemble packets of transportation materials, including organizing and assembling orders, data entry, updating order database, and other administrative tasks
• Deliver packets to households by bike and transit (transit pass and bike will be provided if needed)
• Appear at existing festivals, fairs, and other public events to promote and explain the program, invite residents to participate, answer questions about transportation options, take photographs, and distribute transportation materials (such as maps and brochures)
• Discuss, promote, and answer questions about bicycling, walking, transit, ridesharing, and carsharing
• Assist and/or staff events, classes, and presentations in formal and informal settings; bicycling, walking, or taking transit to, from, and at events is encouraged
• Represent Cherriots Rideshare, ODOT, and the program in a positive, responsible, and professional way
• Write and submit brief summary reports pertaining to outreach events and efforts
Reporting Relationships and Work Environment
The Outreach Ambassador will:
• Work 16 – 20 hours per week from late-may to early October, with potential for additional hours on an as needed basis.
• Work with the Cherriots Rideshare staff, and a variety of consultants involved in the project at outreach events.
• Report to Cherriots Rideshare Program Manager.
• Work indoors and outdoors (in any weather) on any day of the week, with some evening and weekend hours.
• Work approximately 60% on office tasks and 40% on outreach tasks.
• While on duty, wear a program uniform (polo or t-shirt) provided by the program.
• Wear a bicycling helmet when bicycling to and from events and while delivering packets.
Essential Qualifications
Candidates must possess the following qualifications:
• Comfortable speaking with the public
• Can communicate effectively with all types of people
• Able to lift up to 35 pounds, and able to work outdoors all day and in any weather
• Proficient with Microsoft Office applications and basic data entry and email
• Work well in an unstructured and informal environment, with limited supervision
• Work well in a team, and foster team spirit
• Good at problem solving, thinking creatively, and self-motivation
• Enthusiasm about transportation options and helping members of the public
• Prompt, punctual, and reliable
• Proficient in riding a bicycle

Candidates with the following qualifications are preferred:
• Familiarity with the city of Salem, Grant and NEN in particular, and its layout
• Spanish language fluent or proficient
• Experience working with the public
• Familiarity with, and personal experience using, transportation options in Salem, including walking, bicycling, transit, and/or sharing rides

How to Apply
Submit via email, fax or mail by 5/8 at 5p.m., candidates should send a cover letter explaining why they consider themselves suited for the job and résumé of qualifications and relevant experience. No calls, please.

Provide to:
Roxanne Rolls
Cherriots Rideshare
555 Court Street. NE, Ste. 5230, Salem, OR 97301
Roxanne.rolls@cherriots.org
Fax: 503-566-3933

The Bike Concierge finds niche by making bike adventures easy

conciergelead

Fat biking in Post Canyon? The Bike Concierge has you covered.
(Photos courtesy Jennifer Sotolongo_)

— This article was written by Jennifer Sotolongo, a tourism development specialist for Clackamas County who’s about to embark on a bike trip around the world with her husband Dave and dog named Sora. Follow them at @longhaultrekker.

When Thom Batty resumed his regular life after riding the Tour Divide in 2013, he realized that he no longer wanted to spend his days behind a desk. He wanted to get people on bikes.

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Industry Ticker: Yakima’s #sharethetrail campaign promotes stewardship

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Beaverton-based Yakima has just launched a big contest… And the prize really caught my eye. One lucky winner will get two tickets to Mountain Bike Oregon in Oakridge this summer. Check out the details in the press release below:

Yakima Announces #sharethetrail Campaign to Promote Outdoor Stewardship

– Winner of the online photo contest will receive a trip for two to Mountain Bike Oregon Summer 2015 and a Yakima rack system –

Beaverton, OR (April 22, 2015) – Yakima, together with its longtime partners Leave No Trace, International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) and Subaru, has launched #sharethetrail, an online photo contest. Aimed to promote outdoor stewardship, it will feature crowd-sourced images of people taking care of the trails they use and love.
The contest runs through May 15, and the winning submission – as chosen by Yakima and its partners – will receive a trip for two to Mountain Bike Oregon Summer 2015, plus a new Yakima rack system. To enter, people can simply tag their images with #sharethetrail or visit www.yakima.com/sharethetrail to upload a photo.

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City debates cutting park fees for small homes, hiking for big ones

N-NE-SE Portland Good-Bad-Ugly Houses 84

Backers say the proposal would encourage smaller, more densely built houses.
(Photo: Mark McClure)

For years, almost every new home built in Portland has paid thousands of dollars into a city fund that pays to buy and develop parkland. But so far, the size of the home hasn’t affected the size of the fee.

If it were built today, a 900-square-foot bungalow would pay the same $8,582 parks fee as a 3,100-square foot 4-bedroom.

But in a proposal that could shift the local economy toward building smaller homes — and potentially provide a boost for bike infrastructure funding — the Portland Parks Bureau is suggesting that its fees on new homes become proportional to the number of people who are likely to live in them, based on their square footage.

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Job: Mechanic/Sales – Universal Cycles – Filled

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

Job Title
Mechanic/Sales

Company/Organization
Universal Cycles

Job Description
Are you looking for a job with a great company? Then look no further as Universal Cycles is looking for a new employee to join our team. Our ideal candidate is one who does not mind wearing many different hats as they will be working in the repair shop, the retail floor and for good measure we may put you into the warehouse every now and then too. We are hoping to find a candidate that has a couple of years of bicycle repair work already under their belt, as we run at a fast pace and need somebody who can start off the first day running full gas. A basic knowledge of disc brakes, suspension and dropper posts would be nice, but is not something that you must have. Knowing how to build wheels is a must as we build up several sets per day. We are open seven days a week and this position would require working on weekends. We like a clean shop, so candidate shouldn’t mind cleaning restroom. We are a team here, managers clean too!

We have four shop cats, so the candidate should like cats.

-We offer high wages for qualified candidates.
-Medical after 90 days.
-Paid vacation is one week after a year, and 2 weeks after 3 years.
– 3 paid sick days.
-Paid closed days for our business are New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
– We are a locally owed business that takes pride in providing a great job for great employees!

How to Apply
Please apply in person and ask for Meiko, Brian, Brad, Mary, or Jason

County’s bridges may plan $33 million for biking and walking upgrades

Hawthorne Bridge bike counter hits 1 million-1

Crowding on the Hawthorne sidewalks is already a serious problem and is only likely to increase, advocates say.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

Correction appended.

Some or all of Multnomah County’s four busiest bridges across the Willamette River — the Broadway, Burnside, Morrison and Hawthorne — could see major biking and walking upgrades over the next fifteen years.

One possibility being discussed: physically separating bike and foot traffic on the Hawthorne Bridge by moving either biking or walking to one or two of the four auto-dominated lanes on the bridge deck.

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Kruger’s Kermesse race cancelled due to early berry picking season

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Bummer news… One of our great local races, Kruger’s Kermess, has been cancelled. It’s usually held in mid-May at Kruger’s Farm Market on Sauvie Island. Looks like the warm temps this year have bumped up berry picking season and the farm will be in full swing.

Check out the details from race organizer Kris Schamp of Portland Racing:

Last week, I received a heads-up by Don Kruger that berry picking season at Kruger’s Farm is expected to kick off super-early this year (due to the exceptional weather of the last months) and that for business, logistical and safety reasons they wont’ be able to host a bike race on the farm while they have a large number of customers (incl. families with kids) running around the field picking berries. I’ve been going back and forth with them for the last days to try to find a solution, but it doesn’t look like we can make it work. So, no Spring Kermesse this year 🙁

The summer edition of the Kruger’s Kermesse Farm Crit (on Sunday August 30) will take place as planned.

Did you hear? Oregon Governor Brown talks bikes in her first State of the State address

brown

Governor Brown is not afraid
to say the “b” word.

Given the sad state of cycling in our local politics, I was eager to hear if the issue was on the radar screen of Oregon’s new governor, Kate Brown.

Brown’s first State of the State address on April 17th was a great opportunity to plant a flag in the ground and let everyone know that when she thinks of transportation she can see beyond the status quo.

And guess what? I was not disappointed. Governor Brown mentioned bikes — not once but twice! It was just what I needed to allay my lingering disappointment from when Portland Mayor Charlie Hales — who was a Portland commissioner in bicycling’s heyday in the 1990s and rode into office in part for his progressive transportation bona fides — didn’t mention bikes at all in his State of the City address back in January.

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Job: Mechanic and Sales – Bike N’ Hike Beaverton

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Job Title
Mechanic and Sales

Company/Organization
Bike N’ Hike – Beaverton

Job Description
Beaverton Bike N Hike is currently hiring for positions in both sales and service. Bike mechanic applicants must have shop experience. Sales position applicants must have a positive attitude and a love for bicycles, no shop experience required.

How to Apply
Drop off a Resume at our Beaverton shop, located at 10120 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, Beaverton, OR 97005. Or email a Resume to beaverton@bikenhike.com