(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)
The BikePortland reporting team will be stationed in northwest Portland all next week (4/11 – 4/15).
Just like when we hunkered down in the southwest and eastern quadrants, Michael Andersen and I will focus a week’s worth of stories on northwest. The idea is for us to learn more about the people, infrastructure, and issues that define the neighborhoods of this historic, sophisticated and diverse part of our city. To do that we’ll embed ourselves in the establishments and on the streets in order to gain a deeper perspective that will inform not just next week’s stories but our reporting for months and years to come.
The northwest quadrant is made up of several distinct areas. There’s the northwest industrial area, the Northwest District, the Pearl District and Old Town/Chinatown. Yes, we realize this is a big assignment for just one week, but we like challenges.
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There are a lot of issues and stories we’d like to dig into. Here’s what we’ve got cooking so far (list subject to change on a whim for no apparent reason):
- Why one trendy street in northwest is the city’s top bike commute destination
- Will we ever get a new bridge over I-405 at Flanders?
- A profile of an interesting resident
- A Ride Along
- A look at who’s riding with a People on Bikes post
- A look at the future potential, existing barriers, and current politics of better bike access
- A look at what it’s like to bike — and why many people don’t — in the industrial area
- Why and how on-street auto parking dominates streets in the northwest district
- Why the heck are there no neighborhood greenways in this part of town?
- A look at current planning efforts and projects
We’ve already started putting feelers out to our northwest Portland sources. We hope to lean on their insights next week. Speaking of which, please share your story ideas and tips. If you live, work, or ride in the area and would like to submit a short essay on your experiences biking in northwest Portland we’d love to hear from you. You can send us a submission through our contact page.
But wait, there’s more! Friday we’ll host a Get Together where everyone can come and chat about northwest Portland and meet other BikePortland readers. Stay tuned for the location and details.
— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org
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