Year: 2017

The Monday Roundup: A note on MAX attacks, Seattle bike share, fast toddlers and more

This is not a normal week. I’m not sure when normal will ever return.

While we move on with covering bicycling and related news, my thoughts remain heavy with the many issues surrounding the hate-fueled attacks on innocent people that happened Friday on a light rail train in northeast Portland. I’m not sure what form the incident and its aftermath will take here on BikePortland, but it will have an impact — both on the stories we cover and how we cover them, as well as the content and tone of the daily discussions we have in the comments. On that note, please be extra mindful of other peoples’ feelings and perspectives as we all struggle to cope with the many layers of outrage and newly exposed (for some) reality of these stressful times.

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Job: Bike Tour Guide/ Rental Shop staff – Cycle Portland

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title *
Bike Tour Guide/ Rental Shop staff

Company/Organization *
Cycle Portland

Job Description *
We’re looking for individuals that love biking, exploring, and sharing our wonderful city with visitors from across the world. Cycle Portland is Portland’s oldest bike tour & rental company providing sightseeing tours, rentals, and repair at our full service shop in historic Old Town/China Town. Most tours last around 2-3 hours and the pace is about 10mph. Here you’ll flow between providing engaging and insightful tours and helping renters and locals with in shop bike services.

The Tour Guide/Shop Hand we’re looking for has:
Excellent public speaking skills with a genuine desire to work with the public and comfortability with large groups
Strong verbal and written communication abilities
A strong sense of craftsmanship
The itch to grow and learn about Portland, its past, present, and its future
A drive for a mix between fast paced summers, and mellow project oriented winters.
Eagerness to work with a bike shop values a fun, supportive, and inclusive work environment.

Requirements:
Candidate must be available to work at least 20 hours/wk starting.
Must be able to work weekends
Previous guide and shop experience is useful, but is not required.
Must be able to lift and maneuver heavy objects up to 55 pounds.

Compensation:
Position is part-time and seasonal with the potential of full time permanent work for qualified applicants. Pay starts at $12/hr with the potential to move up after a 30 day review.
Interested candidates should send an email to portlandbicycle@gmail.com with a paragraph or two stating your interest in this position, and why you would like to work with us.

How to Apply *
Interested candidates should send an email to portlandbicycle@gmail.com with a paragraph or two stating your interest in this position, and why you would like to work with us.

St. Johns Bridge

I dreamt the St Johns Bridge could look like this in a Vision Zero universe with no rider ever again having to pedal past a ghost bike …

Job: Mechanic/sales – Santiam Bicycle

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title *
Mechanic/sales

Company/Organization *
Santiam Bicycle

Job Description *
We are looking for a seasonal employee at our Tigard store with at least 1-2 years of bike shop experience, pay will vary based on experience.

Responsibilities will primarily include repairs and bike builds but will also include helping on the sales floor occasionally and helping with any other tasks that may need to be done.

We want someone who can work 3-5 days per weeks during peak months. Winter hours are not guaranteed but you will maintain employee discount status all year long.

If you have suspension and brake service experience that is a huge plus!

How to Apply *
Please send your resume to mitch@santiambicycle.com or drop it off in person at 9009 SW Hall Blvd Tigard, OR 97223.

What does the Portland Business Alliance really think about Better Naito?

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Make way for the job creators!
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

What does the Portland Business Alliance think about Better Naito; the city’s reconfiguration of Naito Parkway to include a two-way protected bike lane and sidewalk? It depends on who you ask. Or more precisely, it depends on which of their positions will face more public scrutiny.

The PBA, Portland’s most well-established business lobby group with over 1,800 member companies, has issued two official statements on Better Naito. One came in the form of an op-ed from PBA Board of Directors Chair Jim Mark published in the Portland Tribune on Tuesday; the other came from PBA President and CEO Sandra McDonough in the form of a letter dated May 9th and addressed to Portland Bureau of Transportation Commissioner Dan Saltzman. I obtained that letter (PDF) via a public records request along with 12 other emails sent to Saltzman’s office regarding Better Naito over the past month.

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Killingsworth gets two-way protected bike lanes in Cully neighborhood

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An opportunistic move by the Portland Bureau of Transportation has given us a glimpse into the future of biking and walking in the Cully neighborhood.

PBOT recently took advantage of a repaving project on Northeast Killingsworth to build a new striping and crossing treatment that connects NE 55th and 54th Avenues. It’s all part of the $3.3 million “Connected Cully” project that PBOT won funding for via a State of Oregon grant (the 2015-2018 STIP to be exact). I took a closer look at it yesterday.

PBOT has built a two-way bike lane for one block that’s separated from motor vehicle traffic with rubber curbs and plastic wands. Mid-way between 55th and 54th a bicycle rider has the choice to either continue straight or use a crosswalk. The crosswalk has a standard zebra-striped walking area and an additional green cross-bike treatment on both sides (to handle two-way bike traffic). There’s also a new signal with an activation button at the mid-block crossing.

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As you can see in the images, this area gets a lot of walking traffic. I was only there for a few minutes and saw three separate families come by — each of whom had toddlers in tow and were pushing a stroller. And they all used the new bike lane because there are no sidewalks.

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Why here?

The only major destination adjacent to this new bikeway is Trinity Lutheran Christian School. Since that’s a private institution, the changes to Killingsworth wouldn’t have been done as part of the City’s Safe Routes to School program (which focuses on public schools). I asked PBOT Communications Director John Brady about it and he said the new striping and crossing treatment was built as part of a future neighborhood greenway that will run along 55th and 54th Avenues. When PBOT got wind of a paving project on Killingsworth, they re-striped for the future instead of putting things back like they were. Way to go PBOT!

The Connected Cully project includes lots of other changes intended to make it more pleasant to walk and bike in this area. The info below was taken from the PBOT project description included in the ODOT grant application:

What’s in store from the Connected Cully project.

This is just one of several safe streets and active transportation initiatives in the Cully area. As we reported in February, Cully won over $2 million in infrastructure investments that will include a new “biking and walking parkway” on NE 72nd Avenue between Lombard and Fremont.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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The Portland connection behind the limited edition ‘Sequoia Merz’ bike from Specialized

The Sequoia Merz from Specialized.
(Photo: River City Bicycles)

One of the most well-known bike brands in the world has just released a limited edition model (only 200 will be sold) that has a Portland framebuilder’s name on the downtube.

The new Sequoia adventure road bike from Specialized Bicycles has the name “Merz” emblazoned on the frame in honor of the work of Jim Merz. As you might recall in a story we shared of a bike tour Merz took in 1972, he was one of the first custom framebuilders to set up shop in Portland. After getting his start here in the early 1970s his work caught the attention of Mike Sinyard — the man who started Specialized. It was 1982 and Sinyard needed help building his “Stumpjumper” mountain bike frames which were taking the country by storm.

When “The Big S” wanted to bring back their Sequoia road bike to capitalize on today’s big adventure riding/gravel bike market, they contracted with Merz on the design. Below is an excerpt form an interview with Merz recently posted on the River City Bicycles website. In it, Merz explains how he first met Sinyard:

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New ‘Portland Bus’ group finds momentum in push for dedicated lanes

Kessler, shown here at Sunday Parkways over the weekend, said he was surprised how non-controversial the idea is.

More dedicated lanes for buses might be an idea whose time has come in Portland. At least that’s how it appears given the support that the Portland Bus Lane Project has received after it launched just two weeks ago.

The effort is being spearheaded by lawyer and activist Alan Kessler. Kessler turned his passion for more reliable and efficient public transit into an organized effort after a May 4th tweet of gridlock on the Hawthorne Bridge gained attention.

Since then, Kessler has built a website and social media presence, garnered headlines, built up an email list (he has about 140 people signed up already), and even tabled at the recent Sunday Parkways event.

“The vast majority of comments we received [at Sunday Parkways] were supportive,” he shared with us yesterday. “We heard over and over from folks how well bus priority works in other cities they’d lived in and visited.”

Much to Kessler’s surprise, he said many people who stopped by his booth had already heard about his efforts. One of those people was Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish. “We were excited when he pulled up and grabbed a card.”

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