Day: January 30, 2017

City, advocates say ODOT’s plans for outer Powell buffered bike lanes are not enough

Help is coming to Powell east of 122nd, but will it be enough to attract a wider swath of bicycle riders?

18 months of debate about how to provide safe bike access on a 14-block stretch of Southeast Powell Boulevard is finally coming to an end. At least the Oregon Department of Transportation hopes it is.

Saying they are now months behind schedule, ODOT wants to move forward into the final design stage of a project that will rebuild Powell between SE 122nd and 136th. With $17 million from the State Legislature and another $3 million from Metro, the latest incarnation of ODOT’s Outer Powell Safety Project will add a host of updates to this state highway (U.S. Route 26), which has one of the worst crash records of any road in Oregon. This project will bring long-awaited changes and additions to signals, sidewalks, intersections, landscaping, crosswalks, and bike lanes.

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Route advisory: Esplanade detour recommended during Winter Light Festival (2/1 – 2/4)

Dear Portland Bike Community,

We wanted to give you a heads up about next week’s Portland Winter Light Festival (Wednesday-Saturday evenings, February 1-4th around OMSI and the Eastbank Esplanade). We expect that a lot of people will be on and around the esplanade for nighttime light art viewing and evening festival participation. This will cause more congestion than usual and therefore we suggest biking through Water Avenue for a faster commute. Otherwise, we suggest walking your bike through the festival area and enjoying the event — it’s 100% free to the public!

Wednesday, February 1st 6PM – 10PM
Thursday, February 2nd 6PM – 10PM
Friday, February 3rd 6PM – 11PM
Saturday, February 4th 6PM – 11PM

With love and respect,
The fellow riders (and organizers) of the Portland Winter Light Festival

Interstate Bridge 100th birthday essay contest wants to hear your “adventures”

Ride Along with Branden Shelby-10

Adventure time.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

To help mark the 100th birthday of the Interstate Bridge a group of organizations is hosting an essay contest.

When we saw the theme — “My Interstate Bridge Adventure” — we figured people who bike across the bridge might be inspired to enter. That’s because on a bike it feels like an adventure every time I cross the narrow path just feet from rumbling motorized traffic.

Unfortunately we just heard about this and deadline for entries is tomorrow night (1/31).

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I helped sweep bike lanes this weekend (and it felt great)

Volunteers sweeping a bike path on SE Division near 87th.
(Photos: Ted Timmons)
Earlier this week the PDX Transformation Twitter account put out a call for volunteers for a public service project

I inquired what was going on and found out the project was to do some winter gravel cleanup. I thought that sounded like fun!

Ultimately five of us showed up. PDX Transformation loaned some safety equipment, and we each brought brooms. We rode out to the raised bikeway at 85th and Division and went to work. The raised bikeway was a good choice, because I assume it’s one of the harder places for PBOT to run a sweeper, and it also doesn’t get any vehicle traffic to help push the debris away.

See more photos below the jump…

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Weekly Group Rides Starting from Bethany Village

Bethany Bike Repair is starting two weekly road rides from Bethany Village Centre.

The first ride will start tomorrow and every Sunday at 8:30am. This will be a 3 hour ride best suited for intermediate level cyclists. We will be riding all over the West side of Portland through the hills and country. We will pick roads where we can ride in a structured formation (pace lines) with varying pace levels.

The next ride will start this Tuesday and every Tuesday at noon. This fast-paced DROP RIDE is open to all levels & all teams. Test your strength and stamina against some of Portland’s top cyclists. The ride will last 90-120 minutes and will encompass a lot of area throughout the west side of Portland. We will meet under the clock in Bethany Village Centre between Bethany Bike Repair and Sherrie Weitzel Interiors. Be ready to get smoked!

For more info, check out www.bethanybikerepair.com/community

The Monday Roundup: Beast mode on a bike, transpo bill under Trump, no love for e-bikes, and more

This week’s Monday Roundup is brought to you by the Worst Day of the Year Ride, coming up February 12th!

Beast Mode on a bike: I’m not a fan of the NFL these days but I am a big fan of what Seahawks retired star running-back Marshawn Lynch did in Scotland on a bike last week.

Change or die: The neighborhood bike shop faces major threats from innovative options like mobile bike repair and e-commerce, so says the NY Times.

Phone blocker: A Dutch company has created a device that will block your cell signal while biking over 10 mph.

E-bikes lacking charge: Another sign that America’s bike culture needs a refresh is how we still haven’t embraced electric bikes. This LA Times article points to a lack of safe infrastructure and a macho cycling culture as just some of the reasons why.

NYC goes big for Vision Zero: Seems just a few weeks ago we shared a link about NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio not doing enough for Vision Zero. That was then, and now he’s announced an additional $400 million for the program — bringing the total funding up to $1.6 billion through 2021.

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Latest Headlines

Portland chapter of All Bodies on Bikes will foster body-positive cycling

Comment of the Week: The public health angle should matter more

Monday Roundup: Cars are the new cigarettes, two-chain bike, and more

How to stop a bike lane project mentioned on first day of new Portland city council

From the Archives

An epic, carfree, Portland to Seattle, multimodal adventure