Vandals hit at least 11 Biketown stations, over 200 bikes – UPDATED
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on April 4th, 2017 at 1:28 pm
Biketown station at SE 14th and Stark is one of 12 that have been hit.
(Photo: Kiran Limaye)
(*See update below: PBOT says over 200 bikes have been hit. That’s 20 percent of the total system.)
Vandals have hit several Biketown bike share stations in the past week.
So far we’ve heard of 12 locations where vandals have damaged bikes and rendered them useless. The City of Portland is aware of some of the damage and has crews responding to fix the bikes and return the stations into operational status.
At least two of the incidents appear to be the work of the same suspect: A flyer has been posted on the stations that says the damage was inflicted by Rose City Saboteurs.
“This Biketown is now closed,” reads the sign. “Our city is not a corporate amusement park.”
Here are the station locations where readers have reported vandalism so far:
NE 24th and Glisan
SE Water and Taylor
N Interstate and Willamette
N Williams and Fremont (New Seasons)
33rd and Belmont
14th and Stark
12th and Division
30th and Division
36th and Hawthorne
SE 12th and Gideon (on Orane Line MAX)
SE Pine and 28th
Couch and 28th
Advertisement
“All Portlanders should be saddened and outraged by this senseless act of vandalism.”
— Dan Saltzman, City of Portland Commissioner
The damage includes slashed tires, spray paint on the LED displays, cut spokes, and sliced seats.
This isn’t the first time Biketown stations have been vandalized. It has been an intermittent problem since the system was launched last summer.
We’ll update this story with a comment from Biketown operator Motivate Inc. as soon as we hear back.
Below are images of damage to 15 bikes at the SE Water and Taylor station:
UPDATE, 3:01 pm: PBOT has released a statement asking for help to find the perpetrator. Their full statement is below:
News Release: PBOT, Police seek public’s help to find perpetrators of BIKETOWN vandalism
(3 p.m., April 4, 2017) The Portland Bureau of Transportation seeks the public’s help to find the people responsible for vandalism to the City’s BIKETOWN bike share system.
This morning, users of the public bike sharing system found that more than 200 bicycles had been vandalized, with tires and seats slashed, and spokes cut. Graffiti obscured control screens on the bikes, as well as informational panels at stations and also screens of electronic kiosks used to check out bikes.“All Portlanders should be saddened and outraged by this senseless act of vandalism,” said City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who oversees PBOT. “The Transportation Bureau created BIKETOWN, with bikes owned by the public, to make bicycling easier and more convenient for everyone. Unfortunately, because of this criminal act, dozens or perhaps hundreds of Portlanders were not able to ride a bike this morning.”
“Vandalizing a BIKETOWN bike is just as offensive as vandalizing a public bus or any other public property,” said Leah Treat, director of PBOT. “We will work with police and pursue all legal remedies to bring the perpetrators of this act to justice.”Motivate, the City contractor that operates the BIKETOWN system, was cleaning up graffiti and repairing damaged bicycles within minutes of the first reports of the vandalism this morning.
BIKETOWN is key to Portland’s effort to expand bicycling, fight climate change and create 20-minute neighborhoods called for in the city’s long range plans. Since launching July 19, 2016, BIKETOWN has grown to 2,745 annual members and has been enjoyed by 45,542 people, who have taken 189,320 trips totaling 375,121 miles. People can sign-up for BIKETOWN membership via the BIKETOWN app or by visiting BIKETOWNPDX.com.Anyone who sees someone in the act of vandalism or other crime in progress should call 9-1-1 immediately.
Anyone with information about the vandalism to BIKETOWN facilities should contact Officer David Sanders, of the Portland Police Bureau, at david.sanders@portlandoregon.gov.
Biketown has also emailed an alert to all members, encouraging them to report any information about “this un-civic act.”
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
BikePortland is supported by the community (that means you!). Please become a subscriber or make a donation today.
All the stations should have security camera’s. For those of us who are paying for this service this is no different than if someone slashed our personal bike tires. Unfortunately the PPB probably views this as a petty crime, but it should not be treated as such. It should be right on par with doing serious damage to a trimet bus or a max train.
RecommendedGood luck finding them with covered heads and faces. I’m sure the cameras would also face their anti-corporate wrath, leading to even more money wasted. Lame.
RecommendedIn Britain about 20-30 years ago police and transit agencies put up security cameras everywhere, but especially at bus and train stations to deter crime. However, they failed to fund watchers of those same cameras. Pretty soon vandals, thugs, and rapists would only do their crimes where there were security cameras, knowing (usually rightly) that the cameras were either duds or not being monitored.
Given that this is Portland, can we assume “no one saw nothing” and the cameras were also not operating?
RecommendedDoes any of this make sense?
RecommendedIt’s strange…the ‘action’, that is. Is this out of the blue, or what? I mean, by way of rumors, the grapevine, etc, has there been much, if any at all, animosity being expressed about Portland’s bike share being underwritten in large part by a big corporate entity like Nike? Nothing apparent that led up to this, like graffiti on walls, etc.
When I first glanced at this story headline, I thought the culprits were just some screwups that didn’t realize spring break was over. Then to click of the story, and see the biketown kiosk with the wheatpasted poster, with a group announcing its name. That was a surprise. Like something posers would do, essentially criminal minded people, rather than people truly dedicated to anarchist values in the true sense of the word.
Whether people like bike share or not…whether they like corporations or not, or Nike in particular…this is a bad thing to have happened to the people’s bikeshare. Portland getting bike share, was a long process, in which there was plenty of opportunity for the public to opt to entirely fund this program. Instead of destroying bikes, the people that did this, could have given some thought to how they could contribute to the creation of a form of public transportation consistent with their own ideas. Something like the philosophy that inspired Food Not Bombs.
What’s done is done. With no one really owning up to the deed in name and face, it’s difficult though, not to anticipate the likelihood of more of this kind of action by whoever did this. The poster is just the culprits publicly boasting without holding themselves accountable. That being the case, though this was a brazen act, it was, as someone else commenting elsewhere in this discussion said: cowardly.
RecommendedThe project has always been controversial, hence the delays for years. Any part of town that doesn’t have bike share, and 85% of Portland doesn’t, many living there see the program as an elitist rich white tourist project, a huge waste of $6 million in various government funds and maintenance that could have been better spent on other needed bike projects. Basically you have roughly 550,000 suspects. Good luck finding your culprits.
RecommendedI don’t live in the service area, YET, but I am paying my monthly fee in hopes that the service will come to me. This action doesn’t cost NIKE a dime but it does reduce the chances that funding will be available to expand the system closer to my house. Caning is too good for these folks IMHO. This action only hurts people who want to use bikeshare, and maybe Motivate the operator, but if anything it is a positive for Nike who has gotten a bunch of extra advertising out of all the stories about the vandalism.
RecommendedAll of which is especially ironic since the system has only cost $2 million in public funds and directly serves a lot more of the city than the $250 million streetcar system, or the 2-3 blocks of paved roadway somewhere that we could build with $2 million.
I get the Nike critique, but nobody does this to bus shelters.
Recommended“… Any part of town that doesn’t have bike share, and 85% of Portland doesn’t, many living there see the program as an elitist rich white tourist project, a huge waste of $6 million in various government funds and maintenance that could have been better spent on other needed bike projects. …” hampsten
I guess I see the elitist angle on bike share. Is the 6 million/gov funds/and maintenance, in addition to the 10 mil than nike kicked down? I’ve forgotten the figures. From the time the idea for bike share for Portland was first raised, I had plenty of questions about whether it would able to provide a functional travel service worth the investment. I don’t particularly like that the bikes and stands add to the clutter on the sidewalks…but cities including Portland, do have big challenges meeting everyone’s travel needs.
Over time, reading more about bike share, and following some of the discussion surrounding it, and seeing a small bit of bike share working around the Nike campus, I came to feel that the system is worth giving it a try to see if it can help meet people’s travel needs…especially with the sweet deal the city landed in having nike underwrite a big chunk of initial expense.
Public bike share is not easy to do. In past, people in Portland have tried to put lower overhead, non-corporate supported systems in place…and every time, failed miserably. There’s plenty of aspects of corporate action and influence on U.S, society to find fault with, without attacking public bike share that has successfully managed to benefit from positive support of a major, world renowned, extremely popular corporate sponsor like Nike. In this incident, the sentiment expressed against nike may be valid, but using public bike share sponsored by nike, in such an extensive way as this action was carried out, affecting so many bikes and stations, doesn’t to me seem at all a reasonable or justifiable means of expressing concern about corporations, or this one corporation in particular.
RecommendedMichael, are you joking? I see busted and graffiti-ed bus shelters all the time. Also seems to be in the outer areas of the city.
Recommended@Wsbob No city funds were spent on BIKEtown. The city did obtain a grant which along with sponsorship and user funds has paid for the system. The only direct contribution to the system by the city is giving up the space for the racks. So the city has leveraged a small amount of rack space into 185000 transit trips in under 9 months during which we saw the worst winter weather in recent memory. That is what I call a great deal.
RecommendedYeah, I didn’t mean graffiti, I meant some sort of coordinated attack motivated by the presence of advertising.
RecommendedSo, Portland doesn’t benefit from rich white elitist tourists, and more people riding bikes? OK, send them all to my town, pretty please! I’ve got a business to run it makes gravy from tourists. Can’t get enough of those guys, actually.
RecommendedI wrote a reply to your question, thought I posted it. Cant remember for sure, maybe not, because I see no trace of it now. Looking over the range of comments here, I see no reason why what I wrote, would have been deleted. …maus, honestly, I don’t know if I posted the comment or not, but if you have an objection to something I wrote, all you need to do is attach a note and keep it in moderation. I’ll change it and possibly repost.
Other people commenting here, have mentioned anarchists possibly being the culprits. The poster, the artwork, is a handmade kind of thing not unfamiliar around Portland. What’s anarchism, really? Is it a philosophy that justifies destruction of the public’s property? Because public, is what Portland’s bike share, given the name BikeTown, in exchange for a major contribution in support of it…is.
Some people commenting here, have referred to anarchists that cover their faces, as cowards. But did anarchists commit this act? The poster says: ‘Rose City Saboteurs’ and ‘RCS’. Fancy name. I’d never heard of the name. New group maybe. I’ve heard of another group someone mentioned in a comment here: Rose City Antifa…but nobody’s coming straight out and accusing them of having done this to bike share. Both groups seem to like using Rose City as part of their names though.
In my earlier comment, I mentioned that it occurred to me the people that did this were posers. Meaning, not really anarchists in the true sense of the word…but people that may have sought to present themselves as anarchists…to make anarchists look bad.
What’s really bad, or seem so to me, is that if this is a real group that cares about working towards a better society, why haven’t they been trying to talk openly with the public? Before resorting to destructive acts like this one? Just come out and say what’s on your mind. It’s the civil thing to do, and we can do that in the U.S.
RecommendedI don’t understand what Rose City Antifa has to do with this. Rose City Rollers also likes using Rose City in their name. Perhaps they did this out of a sense of competition with other human-powered wheeled transportation? Or perhaps the Rose City Rowers harbors a grudge?
RecommendedSounds like the kind of urban ledgend that taxpayers come up with to shame the police force. I doubt crooks actually saught out to commit crimes near CCTV.
Recommendedhttps://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/166.116
“Interfering with public transportation” Class A misdemeanor.
https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/164.365
Recommended“Criminal mischief in the first degree” Class C felony. (see 1(a) damage over $1000 and 1(b) public transportation facility)
It will make for an interesting case if the DA successfully uses a transit code for this public private service. I know that planners are defining it as the next transit mode. (City commissioners may want to formally adopt it as such now vs later.)
RecommendedEverything is a crime, isn’t it.
RecommendedWasn’t there something in the federal Military Commissions Act, aka PATRIOT 2, that made messing with transportation a serious crime?
I’m sure they intended to mean cars, trucks, trains, planes and buses, but I don’t recall anything that excluded a bikeshare. Then again, I never read the thing (like the folks in Congress who passed it who also didn’t read it), but there were some news stories.
RecommendedBeing a politically motivated attack qualifies it as terrorism under national and international laws.
RecommendedDo the people who do that damage skip payment when using TriMet or C-Tran?
RecommendedYou can’t honestly be surprised that the radical left would stab you in the back like this, are you? BP might hit up the same political talking points as them, but you pretty clearly haven’t appeased them. Nor will you ever. So maybe just stick to bike news from now on?
RecommendedYour comment is too meta to be useful Chris.
RecommendedMy pleasure 🙂
RecommendedYeah, because there’s nothing political about cycling, just like there’s nothing political about healthcare.
RecommendedWho might gain from this? Is it the chop shop folks who see bike share as a threat to their industry? Underemployed bike shop mechanics who are seeing steadily declining wages caused by falling bike sales? Disenchanted bike shop owners who didn’t get the bike share service contract? Established hotel owners/managers and Portland taxi drivers who see a bike share/Uber taxi/Air BnB conspiracy? Lots of Red Herrings, as Lord Peter Wimsey would say.
RecommendedFollow the money all the way to the top:
Ted Wheeler
RecommendedOr the bottom: the Portland taxpayer.
RecommendedHi dwk,
You are now on automatic moderation due to your insensitive and mean comments. None of your comments will be published unless your tone changes. Thanks.
– Jonathan
RecommendedI don’t think actions like this are ‘right’ or ‘left’. The perps are ‘nihilists’, haters of their culture, the values and actions of the society that they live in. They are the same types of people who show up at City Council meetings and scream and rant at City officials, or vandalize totally innocent locally-owned businesses, under cover of political protest. They have no constructive place in our society. They need to be confronted at every turn; get in their faces. Arrest them; don’t write them tickets. Arrest them, charge and try them, and put them in jail. We, as a society, tip-toe around miscreants like this, and nothing changes. Well, actually, it gets worse.
RecommendedAre there a lot of Trump supporters on BP? Maybe you were looking for the o-live comment board?
RecommendedI was going to visit PDX next week and use Biketown to get around, but now I’ll just rent a car from General Motors and fill it up with Chevron gasoline and drive around all day raging against the machine. Love you Anarchists, but sometimes you can be so short-sighted.
RecommendedHi Walt, I’m guessing that was a good dab of sarcasm in that comment, but if you are visiting and don’t want to use Biketown, please consider using a local bike shop rental service prior to renting a car. You can find a comprehensive list here: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/71974 of of which the vast majority (if not all) have supported bikeshare and improving access to biking while knowing it would affect their business.
RecommendedThe cool thing about Biketown is you can do one way rentals and you don’t need to worry about security.
If people steal, vandalize, or strip your rental, you’re SOL. Also, pickup and dropoff aren’t as convenient.
RecommendedNo claims of perfection were made, merely that alternative options are available 🙂
RecommendedSometimes?
RecommendedPretty lame. Those last three stations in SE are the ones I use the most.
I hate the gambit of getting into prioritization by protesters, but going after a pretty selfless outlay of money (yeah, I get it there is marketing benefit from this quite visible bikes) that supports a new form of transit, not to mention one of the most affordable forms of transit, is kind of weak.
Hate the globalization of business? Right on. Sweatshops? Of course. Bikes that our city wouldn’t pay for themselves? Ehhhh.
Not to say I’m not at least a bit conflicted when I hop on Biketown, but I got over it pretty easily.
RecommendedI think this vandalism is petty, childish and unproductive. While I agree that I wish our city was not a corporate amusement park, sadly, that ship sailed a long time ago. If you don’t like it, time to hit the road…I’m looking into it myself. Do the people who committed the vandalism even remember a time when Portland wasn’t a corporate amusement park?
RecommendedSerious question, what does calling the city a corporate amusement park mean? I have no idea — and I consider myself to be a radical leftist. Biketown seems great, and while there’s always room for improvement, Portland is great as well. And amusement, well that’s the point of life as far as I can see.
RecommendedYeah, but apparently you gotta FIGHT THE POWER!
With anticipation, I await their next crushing blow — probably plugging up a toilet in a public restroom.
RecommendedIt means the same thing as calling Portland “Disneyfied” i.e. meaning nothing really in particular.
RecommendedIf you remember what Portland was like at any point before 2005 or so, you should know what it means to call it “Disneyfied” now. We used to have the coin-op Church of Elvis and Locals Only…now we have Fogo de Chao and $1m penthouse apartments in the Pearl.
RecommendedBut we have Voodoo donuts! They’re really cool, right? Right?
RecommendedLOL, I know the tourists think so, for some reason.
RecommendedYes, when they’re not choking you to death.
RecommendedThe tourists or the donuts?
RecommendedYes.
RecommendedRemember when there were no other alternatives than Voodoo? They were trendsetting and creative back then. Time has caught up with them and now they are simply an over-marketed novelty.
For people who have moved here in the last 5 years, they don’t know any better that things were different 15 years ago.
Recommended“But we have Voodoo donuts! They’re really cool, right? Right?” h kitty
Oddest thing to see out in Beaverton, is people looking kind of lost, occasionally walking around downtown beav town sq, with those big pink boxes held up against their chests, or raised above their heads. It’s just donuts, isn’t it? Are the fat and sugar snack that good and so rare in the beav, that people have to bring them all the way out from Portland?
Maybe voodoo should consider getting in on bike share sponsorship in exchange for even more brand visibility than its current high trend recognition already gives it…bright pink bike share bikes! …with the cute but a little scary top-hatted ghoul icon on them instead of a swoosh…people wouldn’t be able to resist riding those calorie burning bikes, anymore than they seem to be able to resist the temptation to indulge in the calorie bulking donuts. A win-win for bike share, the donut shop, for everyone.
Even if voodoo is a corporation, no way is it as big as nike. The trendy donut shop sponsoring bike share, isn’t going to turn Portland into a corporate amusement park, so instead of the donut ghoul bedecked bikes having them feel they faced an imminent threat from one, the saboteurs could instead, stand down, kick back, and just have a donut.
RecommendedPink bikes!!!
RecommendedNothing is immune to economics.
Recommended“She said, Na, na, na, na, na
RecommendedNow, now, now baby, don’t try
To figure this out
Or ask questions ’bout why
Forever’s a promise
No love can survive
And trust with hearts
Just don’t apply
She said,
‘Cause baby, things change”
“Must destroy bikes ‘cuz Big Bad Nike.”
RecommendedSadly, this pretty much sums it up. “And we will promote our own poorly-designed logo-ed brand through destruction of a great community transportation option.” Jerks.
RecommendedCorporate amusement parks always have the best rides.
RecommendedIf all the Anit-Fa fun we have been enduring the past 6 months is political free speech, then this is not vandalism. Rather, it is also political free speech. It should be reflected as such in the article.
RecommendedWhat is Anit-Fa fun?
Recommendeda reference to Rose City Antifa, a local activist group http://rosecityantifa.org
RecommendedThanks, hadn’t heard of them. Even tougher to figure it out when you have to do a word scramble.
RecommendedOh, those folks who think that http://www.citybikes.coop/ is a haven of racist anti-semites…similar illogic behind this vandalism.
RecommendedI don’t know about you, but I take allegations of anti-semitism VERY seriously.
RecommendedDid “outing” City Bikes help reduce anti-semitism or otherwise heal such harmful divisions?
To me it was more like calling “Wolf.”
RecommendedIf an organization had someone like that as a member, I for one, would like to know about it
RecommendedI’ll click you a Recommend for that, and if you’re not already, you’d be a good economist…the old “on the other hand” joke. 🙂
RecommendedExtremists are extremists, on the left and the right. Best when avoided.
Recommendedexactly. except the extremists always think everyone else is wrong.
RecommendedFascists pretending to be against Fascism. It’s either irony or stupidity. Maybe both.
RecommendedNo, this is not speech – speech is accomplished by speaking. Damaging others’ property is vandalism, by definition.
RecommendedPerformance art.
RecommendedDamned ADIDAS employees… (jk!).
RecommendedWas this done by the same terrorist group that dumped all those nails on the road?
RecommendedI’m guessing the nail dumpers probably had a general issue with cyclists, so probably not.
They weren’t very smart either. Apparently they weren’t aware that broken glass is easier to get in bulk for free, much more effective, and harder to remove. Still, that plan strikes me more intelligent than sabotaging bike share facilities.
Sheesh. The revolutionary types out here are as incompetent as they get.
RecommendedWas thinking the same thing. This could just be people against bike infrastructure in general and covering their tracks thusly.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Until you actually catch the perpetrators, who knows?
RecommendedThis is asinine and just a waste.
RecommendedI am as much against the banksters and corporate oligarchs as the next day but these jerks need to get a clue and some guts and do something productive in the fight against neoliberalism and the corporate destruction of the environment and the working class. Close the valves on an oil pipeline, lock yourself to the desk of Exxons CEO or join ElF ( they still around?) and trash some SUV’s. But don’t vanadalize one of the few sane alternatives to destroying the earth with pollution just because you don’t like the name on the bikes. Emma Goldman, Dave Foreman and Paul Watson would be ashamed of you.
RecommendedIt’s one of those things for radicals… they’d rather get in the face of people that might say they’re “as much against the banksters, etc.” and force them to make a choice, rather than attack people that aren’t “against the banksters” at all. Take out a Range Rover, well, its owner probably isn’t anti-corporate at all, and its owner is really just one person, a cog. Take out bike-share, it’
RecommendedOops, tab-spaced the post button…
… take out bikeshare, you’re putting it in the face of people more likely to have anti-corporate ideas that now have to make a choice. Plus it’s actually some corporation’s property.
Recommended(Of course, as we see, the tactic has failed, as self-righteous liberals are calling out radicals — for their violations of liberal ideals but by invoking radical ideals. The more self-aware among us might recognize and own that our values are liberal, not radical. There’s a CD on the shelf in my living room whose refrain goes, “Baby, I’m an anarchist, you’re a spineless liberal,” which is a fun sing-along, but it’s a song sung to people like me, not by us.)
RecommendedYa, but working with bureaucracy is boooooring. Why not vandalize for the adrenalin rush and say it’s for a cause? Gives a great excuse to break some shit.
RecommendedThere seems to be an ongoing competition over who can come up with the most childish, pathetic, and useless gesture to bring about social change.
I thought the folks who staged an armed takeover of a bird sanctuary in the middle of nowhere to trigger a revolt against the gubmint would never be topped. Boy, was I wrong about that.
RecommendedI don’t think this could possibly top the bird sanctuary. That was an amazing collision of high stakes posturing in a low stakes scenario. This is low stakes meets low stakes. Like you said earlier, can’t wait for the next toilet plugging.
Recommended“None of us is as stupid as all of us.”
RecommendedYou could add SE Pine / SE 28th and SE Couch / SE 28th racks to that list too.
RecommendedRather than dwell on my anger, I’d like to talk about how much I love Biketown. I have grumped about some details but I’ve always come back. Their bikes are better than my own, usually. I’ve incorporated them into how I get around. Biking without having to be responsible for a bike is pretty great. Plus there is something glorious about riding around on a loud, day-glo orange bike. Motorists give me way more space than they do on my main bike. It’s just fun.
RecommendedDitto!
RecommendedI think the Orange looks better than most blue citibikes.
RecommendedWay to stick it to the man! By the man, I mean my immigrant husband who doesn’t have a driver’s license (so can’t pop into car), doesn’t own a bike of his own, and so is dependent on BikeTown to get to school. Finally, some brave Portlanders are daring to stand up to folks like him.
RecommendedMost immigrants who live in Portland live well beyond the bike share service area, such as in East Portland, Cully, North Portland, etc. FYI, Immigrants driving without a license is so common that the Portland Police Bureau actually has a program to train such drivers – no ID is necessary.
RecommendedGreat, I’ll tell him he’s living in a part of town that’s not for immigrants and needs to buy a car.
RecommendedI know you are being cheeky, but the number of people who agree with what you said is truly scary.
RecommendedWe agree with Ovid’s response to you. Ovid told of their actual, personal situation, and you responded with the equivalent of “mansplaining” (immisplaing?) about “most immigrants.” Ovid’s sarcastic reply was poignant.
RecommendedI get that’s not what you mean David, just being a bit cheeky 😉
RecommendedGreat I am sure that severely damaging 10% of the system will free up funds to expand the service area…
Recommended“I’m not saying I condone it, but I understand” – Chris Rock
RecommendedI also understand that some people are immature dumbasses. I don’t condone it.
Recommendedi agree with kyle (for the very first time). 😉
RecommendedBecause you are more idealistic and Kyle is very pragmatic.
RecommendedThere is no reason an idea or approach cannot be simultaneously idealistic and pragmatic.
BTW, did you guys notice that this appeared in the Washington Post? Title is nicely descriptive… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/tripping/wp/2017/04/05/portland-bike-share-vandalized-motive-seems-particularly-idiotic
RecommendedUnderstand what, exactly? If you wanted to strike a blow against Nike, why not vandalize their store? Going after the bikes is just lame.
RecommendedBecause they are cowards and took the easiest way out.
RecommendedAnother complete a-hole….
RecommendedAdd 36th and Hawthorne to the list. Came in to work at Sunset Fried Chicken, and saw flat tires and a tube pulled out and cut in half.
RecommendedThe reason that services like this need corporate support is that the users are not willing to pay the full price for the service. The service has a very reasonable price but that is because Nike, the federal government through a grant, and Kaiser Permanente subsidize the service just like taxpayers subsidize roads, National Parks, and mass transit. Portland seems to have a high tolerance for anarchy and vandalism as evidenced by the many violent protests that people mistake for free speech. I wonder if our weak response to all the anarchy in the past has led to more of this type of activity.
RecommendedWow, some people are jerks.
Also re: anarchists who cover their faces: I don’t feel like you really stand by your “cause” if you aren’t willing to fully commit to it and show your face. Cowards.
RecommendedYou’ll notice that the *vast* majority of those who need to hide their faces are young males.
They’re even more pathetic than the “tough” guys who roll coal on cyclists in their lifted Cummins equipped Ram trucks.
RecommendedThey also tint their windows. Heavy sigh. Really getting tired of “just rolling” with all this acting out. And I do think this “action” was more about acting out than any cause. Any excuse to tear things up, make noise, thump that ape chest.
RecommendedOr a sensible way to carry out illegal activity and not get caught. There are times to show your face and times not to.
RecommendedWell, they do have a point. Why is bike share the only mode of public transport that is not allowed to use public funding and thus requires direct funding from private corporations in exchange for advertising space? Perhaps PBOT should reconsider their “no public funding for bike share” policy.
RecommendedWhat is that point? That they’re going to vandalize bike share because it doesn’t get a public subsidy? If it works without one, all the much better.
RecommendedTo understand that point, you have to appreciate the perspective behind it — a difficult task for people who are not dоuсhebags. Basically, the idea is you improve things by wrecking them. For example:
1) Destroy library materials and public computers to increase information accessibility for underserved people
2) Poison trees and plant life in the parks to make them more accessible to all
3) Vandalize clinics providing services to poor people to improve their health care
4) Sabotage MAX rails to increase efficiency
5) Spread broken glass and motor oil in bike lanes on curves and hills to improve bike infrastructure
It’s important that the “leaders” for these activities be white males who are so insecure they can’t even show their face in public, let alone have people know who they are or how to join in their glorious cause.
RecommendedThat has to be the most asinine point I’ve ever heard.
I can just see the campaign now: “Let’s provide lots of public money to float this service that can’t seem to stay running!”
If programs, facilities, or whatever repeatedly encounter troubles, you shut them down.
RecommendedYou mean like roads, all forms of mass transit, the electrical and water conveyance systems, space exploration and education? You do realize not everything is a for profit business?
RecommendedWhat’s your point?
Are you suggesting that trashing bikes has a chance of doing anything other than holding the service back?
RecommendedSurely you must be referring to highways, not bike share. When do you think the government will shut that failed program down?
RecommendedBased on apparent demand, highways are one of the government’s most popular projects.
RecommendedAnd the deadliest.
RecommendedHighways also come in handy for bringing food and goods that are literally required for survival.
Some people here are even more reality challenged than I feared. Thank god they don’t drive. I’d rather bike with rednecks in lifted rigs any day.
RecommendedOne wonders how humanity survived for thousands of years before highways existed. Must have been rough.
RecommendedYou mean in pre-Roman times?
RecommendedIt was very rough, and a lot of people died much younger. Few of today’s urbanites would be able to handle it.
RecommendedBut at least the streets were safe, right?
RecommendedThey did have highways thousands of years ago. They just didn’t have cars.
People didn’t face threats from cars on those roads, but it would be a mistake to think of them as safe as bandits, wild animals, and outright dangerous conditions claimed many lives. Plus, you could still get run over by carriages.
Even within our own state (and ignoring the transport challenges of the people who lived here first), the odds of surviving a trip across the country are much better now than when people heavily relied on the Oregon Trail.
I’m surprised Adam would cite any of these roads with approval as none of them had separated cycling infrastructure.
RecommendedBut it is true that the Oregon Trail had a dedicated BRT lane.
RecommendedYes it was rough, considering the until the recent era, average lifespan was less than 40 years.
RecommendedThere’s this thing called cultural and technological advancement.
RecommendedAverage lifespan has far more to do with infant mortality than the dangerousness of living in scary pre industrial times. And yeah, you get the rednecks you deserve.
RecommendedAt first I wondered why they didn’t bother to cripple the bus and MAX lines which are slathered in far more advertising than Biketown, but then I realized no one would notice.
RecommendedThe anarchists don’t need to do anything to Trimet or the MAX lines. Their GM is doing a pretty good job of doing that, along with the highway contractor’s on the board.
RecommendedComments like that will teach me to not drink while reading the comments here. Now I have to clean off my screen and hope my keyboard survived the storm.
I should probably be crying over the state of our public transit systems, but laughing feels so much better. Thanks for the belly laugh.
RecommendedSo weird. Like you are driving by a trashed bikeshare and nodding silently to yourself. “Well played, sir. Well played.”
RecommendedNo, they don’t have a point. And bikeshare did use public funding to get it started.
RecommendedPortland Bike Share was funded in large part with a $2 million federal grant. It also uses PBOT staff, which last I heard were paid through public funding. I’d love to know where this myth came from.
RecommendedThe city has refused to spend any money for bike share operations. Imagine if TriMet refused to provide funding to run buses. Somehow PBOT is more than happy to find the money for Streetcar operations, though. Why is the line drawn at bicycles? Is it because public bicycles are still seen as toys and tourist traps, and not as a legitimate mode of public transport?
I find it absurd and troubling that we are increasingly relying on for-profit corporations to fund public services. Especially considering our current administration is hell-bent on scrapping our entire country for parts and handing it over to the capitalistic sharks.
RecommendedAbsurd? Is it absurd that your internet is provided by a private company? That your electricity is? That your trash service is?
Portland uses many different models to provide essential services. Why is that absurd?
RecommendedYes.
RecommendedWhy?
RecommendedOne only has to look at how much control over our society massive corporations like Comcast have, and how much they lobby (read: bribe) the government to get what they want, to find the absurdity.
RecommendedThankfully Comcast does not (yet) control bike share. But it’s only a matter of time…
RecommendedApparently, the preferred group to hand control of policy to is a tiny group of adolescents who can’t even show their faces.
As much as I hate Comcast (I don’t have any of their services and will never do business with them again for a variety of reasons), they still produce something of value — unlike the аss clowns who wrecked all the bikes.
RecommendedI can’t imagine what happens if he discovers that almost the entire food supply is privately produced for profit.
Maybe his buddies will try to improve the situation by destroying an organic farm…
RecommendedThe profit based system in food production is why millions of your fellow citizens are starving while restaurants and grocery stores throw food away every day. You openly scoff at people here but you should really do some reading.
RecommendedAfter you pretty much approved of the vandalism, I thought you might just go away for awhile….
RecommendedI never said I approved of it.
RecommendedYes you did.
RecommendedYou stated that they had a point in causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to our bike system because of you know, “the man” I guess.
You are a cartoon….
Hey, it’s fun to put words in people’s mouths. Good thing I like cartoons. 😉
Recommended“Well, they do have a point.”
Recommendedumm.
I guess you are a liar or delusional also..
He likes to stir the pot here, then walk away. And unfortunately it seems to be condoned. Reminds me of an activist who used to post here….
Recommended… and yet apparently, according to the story above, PBOT is sending staff to fix, repair if you will, the stations, while the police are investigating, both agencies of which are paid through tax dollars. I’d say the city is spending quite a lot to maintain the system.
RecommendedFunny you should mention police, since they are the single largest consumer of the general fund and always are asking for more money, even though crime is down. Perhaps PBOT could actually dedicate city funding to Biketown — and not rely on corporate funds — if the city would direct funds from the PPB.
RecommendedYeah, they should ask for less money since they have so little to do these days now that some crime stats are on the decline.
RecommendedCompared to cities I have lived in the midwest, I barely notice a police presence at all in this city. Here, for example, people have no fear of hauling ass down Burnside. I can’t even remember the last time I saw a motorist pulled over in town.
” I can’t even remember the last time I saw a motorist pulled over in town.”
Are you serious? I see it all the time. There are also many inconsiderate cyclists downtown as well and I have never seen a cyclist get a ticket, ever. I think riding bicycles and public transportation is infinitely better than everyone driving their cars, but the holier than thou and dishonest approach is also annoying.
RecommendedWhat exactly is the problem that we need public funds to solve?
Recommendedthe article says no such thing. PBOT is obviously concerned about the damage to the BIKEtown transit system but the article is clear that Motivate the contractor who manages the system is the one fixing the damage not PBOT:
“Motivate, the City contractor that operates the BIKETOWN system, was cleaning up graffiti and repairing damaged bicycles within minutes of the first reports of the vandalism this morning.”
I also don’t think anyone thinks that the Portland Police should stop responding to car theft because it is a subsidy to drivers, when people commit crimes costing the city thousands of dollars the police should respond.
Recommended“Well, they do have a point.”
You have jumped the shark before, but defending a-holes really does it…..
Recommendedand you get 3 likes.
RecommendedGoodbye biketown….
I’m surprised he didn’t remind us that both Amsterdam and Copenhagen put us to shame with their 45% bike share vandalism rate.
RecommendedHe has no clue. Just a bumpersticker.
RecommendedAfter that little post, he should just go away….
He has seen much of western Europe 🙂
RecommendedAdam H.
Recommended12 now.
feel a lot better…
And this… unfortunately… is why we can’t have nice things in the world anymore…
RecommendedAnarchists have way too much spare time on their hands.
RecommendedSuch a pathetic and senseless act of revolt. BIKETOWN is a steal for 4 lattes per month. These revolutionary wannabees need to spend a month in a third world country to see how good they have it.
RecommendedSince bike theft (lights, seats, bells, et al) are so rampant in our fair city, I’ve become a a full time Biketown commuter and weekend tripper. 10 trips during a week for commute plus evening and weekend trips. At long last I can enjoy a movie without thinking of my bike being stolen, no longer must I smell the stinky dumpster as I wait for the service elevator at my building. Nice work Jerks, you’ve saved us all from sharing. Your mothers must be so proud. Now on to the business of getting rid of all this ‘please & thank you’ nonsense. It’s really creating a lot of hot air at all the Portland daycares.
Recommendedvery good point. I actually stopped for a long time because my bike was stolen.
RecommendedAssholes. It’s not a “corporate amusement” for me. It’s how I get to work.
RecommendedWhat’s their alternative payment plan for the City’s bikeshare program? They seem to think PBOT is swimming in a giant room full of surplus public money like Scrooge McDuck.
The anarchists should be caught and sentenced to attend every meeting of the Portland Budget Advisory Committee for the next 4 years.
RecommendedI attended those meetings as punishment for 6 years (2009-2015) – it made me who I am today, fat, ugly, unemployed, budget-literate and a professional troublemaker. They then forcibly deported me to Greensboro North Carolina. Woe is me!
Recommendedas someone with political affinity for anarcho-syndicalism i strongly object to your ignorant statement. your political bigotry is no different from the political hate spewed by some alt-right trump supporters.
PS: the O that surround the anarchist A stands for *order”. yes…many card-carrying anarchists believe in *order* and political *organization*.
RecommendedThere’s a subtle but delicious irony in the Rose City Saboteurs objecting to the Nike logo by posting their own.
RecommendedWhile contributing nothing and functioning as parasites.
Seems fitting given the current administration.
RecommendedWheeler/Fritz/Eudaly?
RecommendedNot reality deprived enough — I was thinking Trump.
RecommendedNo irony. Just proof that all they wanted was attention for their childish egos,nothing else, with this stupid vandalism.
Recommendedthe delicious irony is that the rose city saboteurs likely drove/rode vehicles with corporate logos.
my corporate logo: ok
your corporate logo: bad
PS: my position on corporations (a profit-oriented organization that is granted extensive legal and financial protections) has been consistent since i was 7: they cause far more harm, than good.
RecommendedSeems like that if the Police, have any stills from a security camera at one of the vandalized sites during the act, they could make them public and post them in places like Bike Portland so the interested public could help identify the perps.
RecommendedI wonder if any of the cameras were actually working?
RecommendedGood choice on the name, though, because vandalizing sh*t in French is so much classier.
RecommendedIf the bike share was labelled a transportation asset, vandalizing them could fall under a terrorism classification. Far deeper than a petty crime.
RecommendedI have not seen or heard of anything quite this disturbing. I hope they find them and put them in jail. For a long time. Of course every so often I do see someone riding a Citibike a L-O-N-G ways from a docking station or early on there were a few people who stole them and rode them around – one I have a photo of painted to completely black!! LOL! Not gonna get caught?
RecommendedLemme guess – the “Rose City Saboteurs” moved here in 2007, so they’re old school or something. Boring anarchists are boring. There’s not a whiff of creativity in this act.
RecommendedI think they aspire to be like the People’s Front of Judea — a few nobodies intent on smashing the social order with a tiny group that no one knows about and can’t even join
RecommendedThe People’s Front of Judea?!?! Bloody Splitters!!! They’re aspiring to be more like the Judean People’s Front. Now pass the ocelot spleens.
RecommendedMaybe they could form something like the Judean People’s Front. Yes, and have a crack suicide squad do their thing in front of the Portland Building – that’ll show ’em.
RecommendedLet me guess, these idiots moved to “their city” from either California, Texas, or the mid-west within the past 5 years.
RecommendedTo the folks that did this, please consider that Nike employs thousands of Oregonians. Most of us know someone who works there. Heck, one of your neighbors may have even advocated to bring BikeTown to Portland, worked on the implementation, or is currently dealing with the aftermath of this vandalism. This action brings nothing positive. It only harms our neighbors and gives the far right (and even moderates in this case) more ammunition for their anti-left rhetoric.
RecommendedNike sponsored the initial launch of the system, claiming branding rights. Motivate operates the system, recruiting its team through local organizations like Oregon Tradeswomen, A Social Ignition, MercyCorps Northwest, and SE Works. PBOT owns the assets. Nike does not make revenue off of the system.
RecommendedTo that point–this vandalism isn’t a stab at NIKE or the man. It’s literally preventing Portlanders from getting to school, to doctor’s appointments, to work, and it’s a chunk out of the operating budget that might be better allocated for training opportunities for hourly staff.
RecommendedThese are “protesters” not criminals. That’s what everyone tells me when they’re smashing windows downtown, or blocking buses, or intimidating people trying to enter public buildings.
Think about it next time you’re virtue signaling your support for a bunch of cowards.
RecommendedIf I’m willing to concede they have a point, then why not only paint over the advertisements? What does disabling the bikes/stations have to do with their anti-corporate message? If Biketown users today arrived to find de-Nike’d bikes they could still use, perhaps someone might sympathize with the actual message. Idiots.
RecommendedGary, good thought – reminds me of the unknown culture jammers that, circa early 90’s, labeled over the Front Ave. (now Naito Pkwy.) street signs with “Malcolm X Blvd” stickers in the middle of the night. Very well executed. Yes, vandalism, but laser- focused, and in the context of the raging debate at the time over renaming Union Ave. (now MLK Jr. Blvd.) , truly inspired, beautiful and memorable.
Recommended🙂
RecommendedI thought there already was a street named after Malcolm X in Portland–SW 10th Ave.
RecommendedProtesters have been an institution in Portland for longer than I can remember. George Herbert Walker Bush called Portland little Lebanon (from when that mideast country was a center of protest). They are punks who wreck stuff in their slumming white boy way of “keeping it real”.
Recommendedand this is why we can’t have nice things!!!!!! also, if this is some kind of anti gentrification tactic, too late dumba$$. please go back to berkely or whatever goof factory you came from.
RecommendedI took a closer look at that RCS logo – a crossed adjustable wrench and a pipe bomb‽ So, they’re threatening carnage as well as property damage. I hope a jury gets to see the evidence.
RecommendedBut they’ll fix it with their adjustable wrench, which, we all know, is the best of all tools!
RecommendedAnd make things safe with their safety flare.
RecommendedI’m wondering who the Rose City Saboteurs are, and why they chose this moment to trash these Biketown stations in an attempt to shut the service down. And why are they considered evidence that Portland has become a “corporate amusement park”? I’m gonna guess that it’s directed at Nike, not the city. Be glad you’re not trying to commute thru NYC today. The newest derailment at Penn Station, the second in two weeks, has put 9 of 21 tracks out of service indefinitely, scambling schedules for subway, LIRR, Amtrak, and NJ Transit and creating chaos – and probably much longer commutes – for thousands across three states and turning East Coast Amtrak service into an unholy mess.
RecommendedI know this has nothing to do with Portland, but how disruptive is it? Will it affect my train this evening from Raleigh to Greensboro, which originates from NYC?
RecommendedNow living in a metro area that’s home to 16+ Fortune 500 companies, where there’s a ton of corporate money sloshing around funding all sorts of projects and charities, I find it hilarious that someone would think of corporate-money-scarce Portland — where the bikeshare system was delayed forever because they couldn’t find a sponsor — as a “corporate amusement park”. You have got to be kidding me.
RecommendedI can see all the corporations in PDX trembling at this news and readying their exit as soon as possible. You certainly showed them you mighty, mighty wiser than thou folk. Thank you!!! Now, check all the labels on each and every article of clothing you own, and each and every item you own, and if you see a corporate logo…, well, then you’re a hypocrite. Oops.
RecommendedI wonder if any of these ninnies are associated with Rose City Antifa http://rosecityantifa.bigcartel.com/
Supposedly an anti fascist organization. Curiously, they run a store where they sell fairly pricey logo gear. Couldn’t help but notice that “their” scarves and t-shirts were so graphically similar to Timber Army and Red Stripe merchandise that I wouldn’t be notice the difference from a distance.
Recommendedyou wonder based on what exactly?
RecommendedThe poster looks commercially printed. I wonder if they can pull records from surrounding print companies.
RecommendedLooks more like it was printed on a laser printer with a tabloid (11×17) tray. Not hard to come by at all in private circles. Either printed at work, at a FedEx Office, or quite possibly from home.
RecommendedIf they used a color laser printer, there’s a pretty good chance that it printed with nearly-imperceptible tracking dots encoding the serial number.
RecommendedCrazy. It sounds tin-foil hat, but it’s a real thing. I suppose the Secret Service pushed for this to track counterfeiters (ironic since most laser printers and scanners are programmed to recognize money and not print or scan it properly).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_steganography
Recommended“Pull records from surrounding print companies”
RecommendedLOL
On what planet?
I’m reasonably sure the vandals came from Earth, so I’d start there.
RecommendedI figured from the start, give Biketown a year and it will be closed for this very reason.
RecommendedI really wish people would protest in smarter ways.
RecommendedWe’re still conflating criminal behavior with protests?
RecommendedI wonder if the Portland police are taking a look at Instagram to see who is celebrating this vandalism on photos tagged with #rosecitysaboteurs. These people are proud of what they did. They’ll have a hard time keeping quiet about it.
RecommendedThese guys really are dumb.
I only saw a few photos posted with only a handful of comments. However, the “likes” for each provides a convenient list of idiоts — in many cases, it’s easy enough to figure out real identities even when they’re hiding behind pseudonyms using other bits of info on the internet and following relationships.
Doing this manually would be painstaking, but a mediocre programmer and data wonk could develop tools that compile data to identify people to focus on. The data analysis requires a bit more sophistication than the programming, but all this stuff is easily within the range of a competent professional.
I assume such tools exists and if any LEO are reading this and you *don’t* have this, you should build it.
RecommendedThose tools certainly do exist, and I am sure more than a few LEOs have them. Nonetheless, as helpful as they’d be in a situation like this, the potential for abuse is very high. I would want a warrant required before this sort of analysis could be conducted, though if things really get out of hand, that requirement won’t provide much protection.
RecommendedHeh, heh — I think we may have a couple numbskulls in our midst — big surprise there.
I commented on one of the photos celebrating the vandalism, the owner of the photo replied that he simply took a picture, but the account was suddenly deleted in the last hour.
No one except a tiny percentage of bike dоrks even know, let alone care, about something that appears to have been intended as some major action. And it had practically no impact beyond collateral damage. What a sorry bunch.
RecommendedHad anyone connected this to the post on the Bike Loud Facebook page from Apr 1? Not that I think “Mona” was responsible, but the timing was interesting.
Group Member Tim Davis wrote on 1 Apr 2017: :
“Hi everyone! I had an interesting conversation this afternoon with an artist named Mona. She has lived in Portland for over 30 years, and she desperately wants the “old Portland” back (sounds familiar, eh?). One of the first things she said really shocked me, and that’s why I’m sharing it here. She said this (with some possible paraphrasing, but it was basically this):
‘I wish someone would vandalize those stupid orange bikes. Only tourists use them, and they’re ruining my once-peaceful runs in Waterfront Park, and all these newcomers are driving up the cost of everything in Portland.'”
Mr. Davis then wrote of trying to engage Mona on the issue.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/293708270840115/permalink/633151420229130/
I don’t think there is a direct connection, just that this particular sentiment seems to be bubbling up from multiple vectors.
RecommendedI’m happy that people like that are getting priced out of the city. Unfortunately, some genuinely nice, hard working people are also getting priced out.
RecommendedI would guess something more like this http://blackrosefed.org/category/portland/
Recommendedyou would guess? why would you guess?
Recommended“and all these newcomers”
This is exactly the sort of fear-mongering that got Trump elected. When are we going to realize that our fellow humans are not our enemies, but that they are in fact fellow humans? It’s so easy to get caught up in vitriol and hate in the days of anonymous information, where faces disappear from messages. If instead we would actually take the time to listen to people and consider their concerns and feelings, if we take the time to realize that their lived experiences are as real for them as ours is for ourselves, then just maybe we can open a real dialogue to find compromises and solutions that actually work.
It’s time to stop blaming and shaming and to start being responsible. War-like attitudes can come from any point along the political spectrum; ending them and the destruction they bring means being mindful of our own attitudes and to stop spreading hate instead of love. It begins with YOU.
Recommendedless cars more bikes downtown pls.
RecommendedI hope those selfish malcontents feel good about themselves. They sure as shit don’t represent me.
If they had the courage of their convictions, they wouldn’t hide under the cover of darkness.
RecommendedYes, I am serious. I cannot recall the last time I personally saw someone being pulled over in Portland.
RecommendedI lived in Seattle through the 80’s, before it was “spoiled.” Damn; that was heaven! I lived Portland in the early 90’s before it was “spoiled.” Heaven! Those of you who want to duplicate that kind of experience better move your asses to Cleveland (about 6 months left) or Pittsburgh (maybe a year and a half?) Then, I dunno… parts of Detroit? Madison?
Anyway, when you get there, please don’t f@cK up whatever public bike share system that happens to spring up regardless of how they are sponsored or branded. I’m pretty sure bike share is not the enemy we need to rally against. :/
RecommendedAnd I left SF and came to Portland 25 years ago because it was too expensive. I didn’t think it was my divine right to live there, so I found a city where I could do work I wanted to do and that I could afford.
RecommendedAmen.
RecommendedNike is a for profit company with annual revenue of $33 billion. That is about what the ENTIRE STATE of Oregon spends running things.
Nike made the cold, calculated, decision that sponsoring bikeshare Portland was a net-win for the company’s bottom line. This is NOT altruism. This is just corporate branding masquerading as public service.
The City of Portland are sell-outs for letting Nike brand this system while they did nothing more than throw a few mil for the privilege for hundreds of permanent hi-vis mini billboards in Portland’s trendiest neighborhoods. Not to mention the bikes themselves which are rolling ads for Nike and it’s beneficence.
Sickening.
Meanwhile whole populations of people are being priced out of LIVING in the city by precisely the same forces which consume or aspire to consume all matter of althetilesuire apparel and cutesy Portland BS, which unfortunately have come to include bikes. Corporate relocates from the bay area (“it’s so cheap here!”).
So yeah, I can –KINDA– see why some folks might be a little annoyed at the whole arrangement.
I am a huge bike booster, but there must be limits and there are other ways of making sure bike use spreads.
RecommendedNike’s bikeshare sponsorship is not the reason you can’t afford your rent.
RecommendedWe’re becoming part of a single west coast housing market. Prices will rise.
RecommendedIt is precisely this sort of curt retort which has people pissed off enough to elect a savage like Trump. Dismiss at your own peril.
RecommendedFrom what I understand it’s recent innovation in the field of stylish yet wicking and breathable casual clothing which is to blame for rising rents. That and probably a tv show.
RecommendedI thought it was an increase in the use of orange. That shit is like catnip to millennials.
RecommendedAh, orange. This one’s tricky, and I’m glad you brought it up. Some people will tell you that all orange is bad while others will tell you that all orange is good. There are even those who say that actually all good things are bad and all bad things are good. As with most things I believe the truth is more subtle and is found closer to the middle: all things that were orange before I moved here are good while all things that became orange after I moved here are bad.
RecommendedI hate orange… it’s the new black.
RecommendedI like orange – it has a good vibe, especially that bright obnoxious shade associated with traffic cones and hunting. For my clothing, my bike, me…
Recommended… but seriously, you are right, I left Portland for North Carolina not because I was unemployed and unemployable, or because my rent in East Portland doubled in 3 years, but because of Orange and all its ramifications.
RecommendedI never said nike was solely responsible. Nor is that the point. The point is that Nike has become emblematic of the changing Portland and that is not positive in most people’e eyes.
RecommendedNike is a native Oregonian company that was born before before I was, and I’m 50 years old. Nike has had a prominent presence in the Portland area long before most of the “Portlanders” who read this blog, including its author. They’ve been a for-profit multinational firm for a long, long time. Portland has changed around Nike, not the other way around.
Recommended^ THIS
RecommendedI’m not really a super big fan of ads either, they are obnoxious, but, well, seems a bit nuts to want to destroy things because there’s ads involved. You know, I see ads right here on this website (and it seems you still like the site well enough to be a supporter)…
RecommendedSeems to me buses, trolleys, and MAX all have ads — and these are done much more prominently than BIKETOWN.
Privately owned cars rarely do. Sounds like the way of the future 🙂
RecommendedSo an alernative with no bike share is preferable to you?
RecommendedWho said it was an either-or proposition? If Nike had been properly assessed and paid taxes all these years, we would have a heck of a lot more to show than a bikeshare system. Just imagine what we might have done.
RecommendedNike is not a permanent sponsor. Their 10 million dollar sponsorship has a fixed term of 5 years. At that point Nike will have to contribute more funds to maintain their sponsorship or hopefully someone else will step up if they don’t.
RecommendedI’d call Nike’s sponsorship a win/win regardless of their motivation.
RecommendedDo you try to operate at a profit?
Recommended[quote]”The City of Portland are sell-outs for letting Nike brand this system while they did nothing more than throw a few mil for the privilege”[/quote]
i assume that you are even more upset about the many millions in corp kickbacks trimet receives for the far, far more obtrusive ads on its vehicles, in its vehicles, and on/around its street facilities.
and don’t get me started about corporate logos on bikes, in general…
RecommendedIncluding custom builds. Every component typically has branding as large as the shape allows.
Curiously, branding on a typical private automobile is way less obtrusive. Dаng…
Recommendedintrusive…
RecommendedThe travesty is not that Nike paid to sponsor this (and gain branding rights) but that the city refused to put in but a pittance to get this running. Point your disgust at the city (and council members like Saltzman), not Nike (regardless of their motivation).
RecommendedAgreed.
Last I heard, bicycle oriented businesses also do what they do for money. Wouldn’t want to discourage them.
Biketown raises awareness of cycling and makes bikes more available to more people. Seems like a good thing. Trashing bikes doesn’t just hurt Biketown — the idea of cycling to get around gets undermined.
Recommended“The travesty is not that Nike paid to sponsor this (and gain branding rights) but that the city refused to put in but a pittance to get this running. …” lascurettes
What about the city’s residents? They’re the bosses…city hall staff are the elected and appointed public employees. Were council members and the mayor, overwhelmed with calls, letters, emails and lapel grabbing on the street, asking the city to please dig into the local taxpayer part of city budget, or add a tax, to get bike share up and running, and keep it maintained?
Recommended“…The City of Portland are sell-outs for letting Nike brand this system while they did nothing more than throw a few mil for the privilege for hundreds of permanent hi-vis mini billboards in Portland’s trendiest neighborhoods. …” kittens
What are your suggestions as an alternative source for providing operational and maintenance costs for Portland’s bike share, currently underwritten by one of the most well known around the world, and popular corporations for the products they design and produce…not to mention the many sports they actively support? Because if you or somebody you know, has a better idea for bike share that works as well or better than this one is doing, and is less irritating to people suffering from corporate and advertising over-exposure…the city might be interested.
Nike kicks down 10 mil, not just several, and for only 5 years, as bjorn reminds us, pending a performance revue at the end of the 5 years, I expect. The public wasn’t sure about bike share, and people don’t want a bigger city budget and more taxes…bike share got off to slow start as a result. The city next, actively went after other sources of support. Going by what I read in the news, there weren’t more than a few groups prepared to underwrite the costs of the experimental program (if it doesn’t perform, it may go by the wayside, like Seattle’s system has.). The city’s success in having Nike join in to support the city’s bike share, even with the corporate branding, moving billboards thing, seems to me like an excellent accomplishment.
There are corporations around the world, some of which do some really bad things. We can talk about all things that Nike has done, that aren’t so good, like the sweatshop controversy it go mired in…temporarily, if I recall correctly. Didn’t the company respond positively and try to correct that, giving the company’s contractors the word that they must pay employees a decent wage?
Incidentally, I happened to notice in tweet postings, mention that the Washington Post did a story on this incident. I enjoyed reading it, here’s a link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/tripping/wp/2017/04/05/portland-bike-share-vandalized-motive-seems-particularly-idiotic/?utm_term=.f635f8cf2e49
RecommendedWell, for starters, we could tax them and let a public, transparent apparatus comprised of elected representatives hired expressly for that purpose do what they are designed to do: reallocate the proceeds.
Allowing huge multi-nationals to pick and choose who and what they deem worthy of a few crumbs is an abomination of democracy and a usurpation of the public will.
Again, let me reiterate: Nike made a calculation that the cost was worth it. Not out of the goodness of their hearts but because it makes sense financially. Indeed as a publicly traded company, it is their sole purpose to make value for shareholders.
Now that they have ingratiated themselves to an entire population of Portland elites, how readily do you think these people will be clamoring for the state and county and city to start pursuing Nike for taxes they rightfully owe? Poor Nike, just cant afford to pay taxes but can shower wonderful gifts on the people of inner-Portland.
RecommendedSo, because the American corporate tax structure allows municipalities to negotiate breaks by threatening to relocate and take jobs with them (like Steve Jobs did with Cupertino to force them to allow his developers to build that monstrosity), you want to indict their sponsorship of a bike share program?
I know you don’t own any Apple products, because if you did, you’d be a hypocrite. Oh, and next time you want to find something on the Internet, don’t you dare use Google or Bing.
RecommendedThanks for thinking more about all of this.
“Well, for starters, we could tax them and let a public, transparent apparatus comprised of elected representatives hired expressly for that purpose do what they are designed to do: reallocate the proceeds. …” kittens
Already happening, I think. I don’t know the details really, but am fairly sure Portland owns bike share. There is a city board or some such thing, with members that decide together how to run they system and keep track of the budget. Nike may have a rep on that board, but I’m…99.7 percent sure (sorry, lines from that crazy show, ‘psych’, pop into my head from time to time.), Nike isn’t the sole…no joke intended…entity making the decisions.
Sorry about not digging up the specific details for you. I’m interested as I coincidentally come by them, but they’re not exactly urgent for me to know. The city contracts with bike share operator to provide the bikes and run some parts of the system.
geez…I hate to sound like I don’t appreciate and respect your point of view, because I do. I don’t particularly like the corporate concept in general, but it’s kind of a basic economic building block of modern civilization. 10 million bucks is not just a few crumbs…if it were…the public would have forked it up without hesitation. About the shoe company having the bottom line, profit, be a priority: of course Nike is looking at the profit angle. This is no big secret.
I’m not going to say that ‘everybody’ knows the profit rationale behind corporations and other businesses…even for example, small local businesses that monetarily or ‘in kind’ support things like fun runs, bike rides, or even weblogs like the one you’re reading…but I think many, many people know well enough how this works, and favor the method of support. What about McDonalds and the Ronald McDonald’s houses? We could compile a mind boggling list of corporations that give back. It’s all calculated by the bean counters for tax write-offs and whatnot, but I got to say, I think that’s better than nothing by a long shot. As long as those deals are gone into with eyes wide open, I think there’s a chance they can be ok.
Living in Beaverton, I remember the whoo-ha-ha over the city trying to get taxes out Nike. Who was the smarter of the two….the shoe company’s staff or Beaverton’s staff? Answer: the former. Beaverton would have liked the taxes, could have used them…but losing the company wouldn’t have been worth it. I can’t remember exactly what happened, but basically Beaverton officials goofed up, it wound up costing the city a bunch of money.
I’ve got plenty of misgivings about Nike, but as corporations go…I think we’re lucky to have this one out in Beaverton. Portland is lucky to have nike helping with bike share. I just hope the city’s anti-fascists, or saboteurs, will try and have a vocal dialogue with people of the city, before they decide busting up stuff is the course they must take to bring the change they feel is needed.
RecommendedWhat are the other ways and how are they better or even more possible for that matter?
RecommendedBiketown was thrust on my street with no neighborhood notice, and the orange bikes generally annoy me because of this. I’m still creeped out by how organized this vandalism was. A few bikes flipped upside down when the program started made me giggle a little. This sucks.
Recommended“vandalism” – ooookay. Sorry you have to share the public right of way with the public, but thems the breaks in a public area. Thus the word “public”.
RecommendedI too, was one of the many individuals disheartened at a nike swooped bicycle fleet entering into the city for some time having lived off and on in this city for the last 6 years.
I, too, felt it was a sign of gentrification, rising tides and making the city a place for those tourists who had fat wallets and were barely able to maneuver a bicycle.
However, I recently discovered a program partnership where Biketown has partnered with Community Cycling Center partnered with Biketown to offer the bikes to those who were disenfranchised and not well off. ( http://www.communitycyclingcenter.org/community/partner-programs/biketown-for-all/ )
Basically, the program allows individuals from several non-profit agencies (Central City Concern, StreetRoots) to use the bicycles for a $3 monthly fee.
Having become chronically homeless this program has empowered and enabled me to be able enjoy bicycle events that otherwise I would have had a hardship of being able to find a bicycle.
I use the bicycles extensively now thanks to this program and often find myself going for the white version so I am not giving off too much of a tourist vibe.
Do I still cringe at many of the aspects out of reach in this new landscape of Portland? Of course.
But, I am a lot less angry at Biketown because of the Biketown for All Program which has empowered me to be able to bike 5-8 miles daily.
They would do well to tell this other side of Portland’s story – those given strength based narratives from this bicycle distribution program.
I’d like to try the yellow bikes, give love to the ride and be free movement of old Portland – but they are mostly at the bottom of the Willamette.
So orange becomes the new yellow.
RecommendedThat is a freaking awesome story, and exactly what a public program should do. I hope the program continues to actually serve people without access to bikes.
When I look at Biketown, I typically just see ugly Nike branding in neighborhoods that everyone already owns bikes. My local shop that rented bikes to tourists is gone. The bikes match the demolition and lame cookie cutter condos filled with wealthy transplants. It feels like Portland sold out. Thanks for telling your story.
RecommendedI would rather rent from these guys that have a system and fixing process rather than rent from the small shops. I rented in Vancouver BC from a small shop and ended up carrying the bike miles because of issues with the bike. There is something to be said about having the city behind something like this.
Recommendedzed, that is a good story. A partnership by biketown and Community Cycling Center, benefiting low income or homeless people, is exactly the kind of thing I thought could happen, if someone proposed such an idea, which someone apparently did. Might any of Portlands’s anarchists, or anti-fascist people in town have proposed such and idea before this incident occurred.
…madeline…I’m sorry you feel bad about nike’s role in bike share, and how you feel the enhanced corporate visibility presence may be hastening a decline in long term quality values of neighborhoods. Believe me, out in my area, Beaverton, there’s lots development that to me, seems to be a genuine, maybe irrevocable loss of some of the best qualities of this area. Kind of have to take it in stride, and be glad to be able to pick something good out of all the bad.
So called ‘progress’, development and population increase, is like some relentless leviathan. Something has to be done to meet people’s travel needs, and opportunities to take advantage of help to that end, from the big corporation many people inevitably hate, can be good, as this partnership with between the city, the corporation, and the non-profit, as well as all the city’s residents, seems to be.
RecommendedI’ve wanted to vandalize those Nike Bikes so many times but its not worth the effort or potential legal strife. So thank you, Rose City Saboteurs for doing it for me. Fuck Nike.
RecommendedYeah, Nike should move from the (native) city it’s done so much for and take all its damned jobs with it.
RecommendedYeah, better trash the grocery stores too. Most food is distributed by a handful of conglomerates
RecommendedWhy?
How is that better than people in cars – and there are plenty – who resent what cyclists “are doing to our city” and want to mow us down, but restrain themselves because of the potential legal strife?
RecommendedSorry, my “why?” comment was directed towards Lil Frankie’s “I’ve wanted to vandalize those Nike Bikes so many times”
RecommendedNot really at all.
RecommendedIt IS ironic. I know there’s more going on than a logo war, but…one group doesn’t like seeing another’s logo on public property, even though the logo was put there legally, so they vandalize the public property and slap their own logo on it, forcing people who don’t like THEIR logo to look at it.
RecommendedI’ve ridden 330 miles on BikeTown since it was launched. I’d ridden bike share systems in Fort Collins, Boulder and Chattanooga. I couldn’t tell you who the sponsors were, only that they worked and worked well. BikeTown works better. Until this vandalism occurred I rarely thought about Nike especially since I really only shop thrift. But, now I’m thinking of heading to the mall to pick up a brand new pair of Jordans.
Recommendedone of the problems is that many in portland erroneously believe this program is owned by nike and do not understand that it is a *public* transit system.
RecommendedAnd no less “public” than TriMet, perhaps even more so. $3/month for many.
RecommendedGarish orange branding on streets with awesome vintage homes… it is a bit of a gut punch. Portland has a history of valuing art, in a quirky diy sort of way. SE was not nearly as wealthy until quite recently, when the developers opted to raze most of it to lure in out-of-state wealth, who wanted new and shiny.
The tourism will dissipate as new cities replace us on the “cool” list, but we will be stuck with the aftermath.
RecommendedThe “garish orange branding” is far more palatable than the latest hideous Everett Custom Home, a cheap and lazy ripoff of historic Portland architecture. And there are a whole lot more of those houses than there are bike share stations.
RecommendedIndeed! Those houses are pretty nasty.
Recommended“Garish orange branding on streets with awesome vintage homes… it is a bit of a gut punch.”
That’s a gut punch? Someone put something brightly colored on your precious street full of vintage homes? And took out a parking space or two in the process? Heavens!
RecommendedNot taking sides here, but what’s wrong with wanting your neighborhood to be attractive?
RecommendedAnd what, you think those awesome vintage homes are ugly? You’d prefer faceless boxes with big garages and double lots? Don’t let your hipster cynicism cloud your judgment. Garish orange is kind of sucky in a town full of 1910-1930s vintage homes.
RecommendedBelieve it or not, but liking or disliking orange, even in the matter of orange bikes in a neighborhood of vintage houses, is a personal preference. There isn’t a right or wrong opinion.
RecommendedUmmm…the thing that is destroying the look of our vintage neighborhoods are the soulless and hideous saltine boxes that developers are throwing up, after demolishing right-sizes vintage homes. A bike share station every 10 square blocks isn’t even on the same planet as hundreds of demolitions and subsequent hideous new buildings in our historic neighborhoods.
RecommendedThat one thing is uglier doesn’t mean a different item can’t be, in itself, ugly.
RecommendedI’d personally like to see every one of those bungalows torn down and replaced with affordable rental housing. IMO, the speculative activities of the bungalow class are ruining the “character” of my 80% renter neighborhood.
RecommendedMany of those bungalows (as well as other house shapes) are affordable rental housing.
RecommendedYeah…right…you too can rent this lovely bungalow for the *affordable* price of $3,700 per month.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent/Portland-OR-97214/house,mobile,townhouse_type/53952478_zpid/99128_rid/45.540112,-122.617164,45.489952,-122.672096_rect/13_zm/
A 20% luxury housing sales tax would cause that rent to plummet.
RecommendedThat ad shows a totally updated house with perfect interiors in a close-in, nice neighborhood, with a garage, and across the street from a school with a large lawn. It’s also still unrented and asking $1300/month over the zillow estimate, so there’s at least some chance it will rent for less. It’s 4 bedrooms and over 2,000 sf. Say it ultimately rents for $3,200/month. Divide by 4 roommates and that’s $800/month per person. And there are lots of old houses that would rent for less than that. So I don’t think it’s a great argument against bungalows/old houses not being a good source of affordable rentals.
RecommendedAnd yes, it looks lovely.
Recommendedlet’s magically reduce the rent (despite it being set by the carrying costs of the Jan 2017 leveraged loan) and then hedonically substitute a room for an apartment!
hey renting families, stop your whinging! if you just rent a room, chill with some roomies, and use shared facilities portland is still affordable!
RecommendedYour “let’s magically reduce the rent…” comment doesn’t make sense. The rent paid isn’t set by how much the owner wants, it’s set by what people will pay. Your example showed someone wanting far higher rent than the zillow number. I didn’t say they CAN’T get that, just that there’s some chance they won’t, so I think it was reasonable for me to base my example on them getting something slightly lower than the asking price, but still much higher than the zillow estimate.
Your “substitute a room for an apartment” comment doesn’t make sense either. A roommate typically gets their own bedroom, plus shared use of all the other rooms. Lots of people prefer that to living alone, and especially to living alone with a much smaller kitchen, living room, yard, etc.
And your “hey renting families, stop your whinging (sic)” comment is just gratuitous. Nobody’s saying everyone should be happy living with roommates. The reality remains that there are lots of older houses that cost far less to live in (by an individual person or family, or roommates) than your example.
RecommendedMost houses are not that expensive. The one that is slated for redevelopment near 11th & Harrison was renting rooms for under $500 as recently as last year. I hope that units in the new building will be equally affordable.
Recommended“A 20% luxury housing sales tax would cause that rent to plummet.”?
Or just make it 40% and it would plummet even more?
But I’m not sure why that tax would cause the rent to plummet, if you’re talking about a tax on home sales (which may be a wrong assumption on my part). There’s no sale involved. If there were a high home sales tax, it seems likely that owners who decided to move would turn their home into a rental instead of selling it. Or they’d just stay put.
Or if the idea is that the tax would go towards building more rental housing, then overall rents should drop. But then the question is, why should the financing of affordable housing be put on the backs of people who want to own their home?
Recommendedi guess i assumed that (1) a tax on an item would lower demand and (2) that the correlation between house prices (e.g. land) and rent was positive.
i guess i was wrong on both counts. eh?
https://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/2004/200450/200450pap.pdf
RecommendedYes, heavily taxing house sales would mean fewer people will be buying houses to live in themselves, or to rent to others. It also would mean fewer people are selling them, because it will become more financially attractive to stay in them themselves, or to convert them to rentals. It also would mean the people not buying them to live in will now become people looking for a rental to live in, if they still want to live here. It would also mean it could cost more to buy a house to tear down to build rental units.
I’m not saying you can’t be right that rental prices would plummet, I’m saying I just don’t see why they would, since it seems that some of the impacts of the tax would work against that.
And again, even if the tax worked to cause rents to plummet, it seems unfair to target one segment of people to pay such a high cost towards that end.
RecommendedWhat’s not attractive about orange?
RecommendedI kind of like it, but I was just taking issue with someone criticizing someone else for wanting their neighborhood to look nice. I think neighborhoods should look nice. They look nicer that way.
RecommendedThat makes sense. Orange of course big in the European city of Amsterdam, being the color of their soccer team and royal family.
RecommendedIt’s also the flavor of a very nasty color of soda.
RecommendedThat soda happens to be featured in the best movie intro ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoXiuZFMoco
RecommendedWhen proudly displaying a BikeTown sticker on my bikes I’ve been sure to cut off the Nike swoosh. Nobody has even mentioned Kaiser-Permanente. What sort of wrath might they face?
RecommendedThe Rose City Saboteurs are spray painting over their own phone’s screens where the Kaiser ads show up and cracking their own screens.
RecommendedI was more than a little surprised and a bit disgusted that the ride price for a Bike Town bike was EXACTLY the same as a PDX transit ride even with Nike support, city taxpayer support, is this considered the “charge the amount the market will bear” amount? For my money in a city that rains as much as PDX not to mention the other unsafe bike conditions like major potholes, etc. I think one would have to think twice about paying this amount for a one way ride. It kind of angered me that the city couldn’t have come up with a more affordable option perhaps more in the direction if not the amount of the famous “free white bike rides” of Amsterdam, Holland in the early 70’s there also sadly vandalism and theft ruined a good thing but it was an inexpensive good thing, and was more widely distributed around the city than only in the trendy inner city as in PDX.
RecommendedI like how the pricing structure is setup: it is designed to have visitors subsidize local riders. Single use rides are are more expensive, but if you have a membership it is $12/month. Both me and my husband use it twice a day for commuting, with some errands run on it and some weekend rides too. 40 commute rides/month + maybe 20 other rides means we are paying about 20 cents/ride. That’s extremely affordable. And is possible because visitors are paying $2.50/ride.
The $12/month is cheaper than bike maintenance for me and much cheaper than my $100/month Trimet pass.
Recommended