You raised your voices. Oregon Governor Kate Brown heard them. And she has changed her mind.
The Governor just announced she will not go through with her threatened veto of over $2 million in funding for the SW Capitol Highway project. The project will build a crucial biking and walking connection between Multnomah Village and Taylors Ferry Road that the neighborhood has worked for since 1991.
Here’s the official word via a letter from the Governor’s office (full PDF of the letter here):
Oregon Representative Jeff Reardon says he is pulling down the “Look First, Walk Second” traffic safety campaign he commissioned and launched last week.
➤ Stats from an email we sent to BikePortland supporters (paid subscribers and donors) show that over 60 people have clicked over to Governor Brown’s feedback page so far. That’s in addition to many people who’ve told us — via Facebook, Twitter, and on the BP blog — that they took action and made their voice heard. Thank you for all your support!
We’re just one week out from the total solar eclipse and many people are freaking out about potential traffic jams. If you believe the Oregon Department of Transportation and local newscasts, roads will be clogged from Portland to Ashland for days.
What if instead of carmageddon, the eclipse spurred the largest mass bike ride Oregon has ever seen?
After all, this is Oregon! We love bikes and the outdoors and we’re not afraid of a little adventure. What if thousands of people scrapped their awkward and inefficient automobiles and rode their bikes into the path of totality? Imagine bicycle riders streaming happily by on highway shoulders as people sit idling in bumper-to-bumper traffic. (It’s not hard that to imagine since the same phenomenon plays out twice a day during Portland rush-hours.)
A new website created by a Portland man aims to make biking to the eclipse more doable for more people. “Don’t become traffic. Join the movement” reads the top of BiketotheEclipse.com.
City of Portland Commissioner Dan Saltzman says despite investing $12,000 in the creation a traffic safety public service ad campaign, he has advised city staff to not use the video or link to the accompanying website.
These signs have been plastered up and down Lincoln-Harrison in advance of tonight’s meeting. (Photo: Amy Wren)
The Portland Bureau of Transportation wants fewer people driving on the Southeast Lincoln-Harrison neighborhood greenway.
The Lincoln-Harrison greenway is a major east-west bikeway between Mt. Tabor and inner southeast. The problem is that it’s also a popular route to drive cars on. A 2015 traffic analysis by PBOT showed it was one of the worst-performing greenways in the system in terms of auto volume, with traffic well above national standards. PBOT aims for greenways to have only 1,000 average daily cars per day; but portions of Lincoln between 30th and 50th have 2,500 to over 3,500 cars per day.
Oregon State Police are looking into a fatal collision last night in downtown Oakridge (east of Eugene) that involved a man riding a bicycle and a man driving a car. The bicycle rider has died. Statement from OSP below:
(Photo: OSP)
OSP INVESTIGATING FATAL CRASH INVOLVING VEHICLE VERSUS BICYCLIST – LANE COUNTY (PHOTO)
News Release from Oregon State Police
Posted on FlashAlert: August 14th, 2017 10:30 AM
Downloadable file: Photo
Oregon State Police (OSP) Troopers and emergency personnel responded to the report of a passenger car versus bicycle collision on State Route 58, at milepost 34 in Oakridge.
On August 13, 2017, at about 9:38 p.m., a black 1984 Pontiac Fiero, operated by Stephen Bradley HERRICK, age 57, of Westfir, was traveling eastbound on State Route 58 at milepost 34, when a male bicyclist crossed the roadway in a southbound direction and in the path of the Fiero. The bicyclist sustained major injuries and was transported to River Bend Hospital by Oakridge Fire and EMS. He was pronounced deceased shortly after arrival.
One of the eastbound lanes of the highway was blocked for approximately four hours while the on-scene investigation was being conducted.
Preliminary information indicates that the bicyclist was not wearing a helmet and the bicycle did not have any lighting.
Efforts are still ongoing to notify next of kin of the deceased. The Oregon State Police is the lead investigating agency and is being assisted by Oakridge Fire and EMS, Oakridge Police Department and the Oregon Department of Transportation. This in an ongoing investigation and more information will be released when it becomes available.
This week’s Monday Roundup is brought to you by Chrome Industries, who recently moved their headquarters to Portland and they’ll celebrate by having a Warehouse Sale with deep discounts on last season/sample bags, apparel and footwear. Sales runs 8/18 – 8/20 at old Shleifer builder at 224 SE 2nd Ave.
Welcome to Monday. Before we start another big week, let’s not forget the most interesting stories from the past seven days…
Driving privilege and racism in America: Transportation reformers and racial justice advocates see disturbing parallels between our overly permissive car culture and the accused murderer who intentionally drove his car into a crowd of people protesting against a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville over the weekend.
ODOT is running a survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/transportationfunding where they ask, “As ODOT begins work on developing the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program for 2021-2024, we would like your opinion on how transportation funds should be spent.” Options include maintaining existing roads, expanding roads, protecting habitat, public transportation, adding sidewalks and bike lanes, and more. Go tell them what you think.
There’s a new way to roll between Better Naito and the Steel Bridge. (Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)
Slowly but surely, the Portland Bureau of Transportation is claiming Naito Parkway as a major bike corridor — and improving access between Waterfront Park and downtown in the process.
First they took Better Naito under their wing, and now they’ve flipped the switch on new bike-only signals that create a lower-stress connection between NW Davis and the Steel Bridge. The $166,000 project was funded by the Fix Our Streets program.
There are no winners here Rep. Reardon. This is not a game.
A video released Tuesday by Oregon House Representative Jeff Reardon portrayed someone in a Chevy Camaro running over an innocent person using a marked crosswalk. Prior to the graphic impact, the Camaro driver recklessly burns rubber from his tires (a violation of Oregon law), stares down his victim, clenches the wheel tighter, and proceeds to run through a red light. If this scenario happened in real life, there’s a good chance the driver would serve time in prison.
The “Look First. Walk Second” public service ad campaign is irresponsible, insensitive, and dangerous. It flies in the face of current traffic safety advocacy best practices and runs counter to the principles of Vision Zero. For an elected leader who says he cares about improving road safety, Reardon’s continued support of this campaign and his unwillingness to acknowledge very serious concerns raised by the public are shocking and outrageous.
Pressure is building on Oregon Governor Brown to reverse her threat to veto a long-awaited infrastructure project in southwest Portland. In the past two days readers of BikePortland have helped spur dozens of phone calls and emails to her office. Our community’s voices are helping buoy efforts by legislators who are urging the Governor to reconsider.
