🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏

Year: 2017

Here are the Oregon House bills we’re following this session (Part 2 of 2)

Legislator bike ride at the Oregon Bike Summit-1

(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

The 2017 Oregon Legislative Session is well underway and we’re following as many bills as humanly possible (in a one-person newsroom).

Out of the thousands of bills swirling around the halls and meeting rooms of the state capitol building in Salem, there are few of particular importance to transportation reform advocates. Last week we shared the Senate bills we’re following and below are the House bills we’ve got an eye on…

House Bill 2355

Summary: “Directs Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to develop method for recording data concerning officer-initiated pedestrian and traffic stops” (Official overview)

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Guest article: Why I perservere on the west side’s mean streets

Ride Along with Ali Reis-36

(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

[Note: This article is by BikePortland subscriber and Beaverton resident Naomi Fast. Naomi’s perspective is formed in part by the fact that she doesn’t own a car and she’s lived and worked in both Portland and Beaverton.]

In my first subscriber post, I wrote about Beaverton, where I moved in 2013 after a decade in Portland. It occurs to me a few people might wonder how I live without a car in the suburbs. Sometimes it’s not easy! But living without a car is not all that rare, and bike commuting infrastructure is becoming a more vocal priority as Washington County looks to the future.

But challenges in the here-and-now are plentiful, and sometimes I feel frustrated.

For example: Recently, I was riding in dangerous gravel in the SW Murray Blvd bike lane near the Nike Woods, and had to move into the main traffic lane at times to avoid skidding. At the red light, a woman holding her phone in one hand, deep in conversation, drove up on my left. I motioned her to roll down her window. I let her know I was needing to take the lane at times, so please keep an eye out for me! She said she’d drive more to her left to give me room, so that was nice.

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Steering committee members sought for Post Office redevelopment/Broadway Corridor project

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

With the city’s purchase of the US Post Office block (west end of Broadway Bridge), the potentials for better bikeway connections are obvious and vast. The Portland Development Commission is leading the redevelopment project and they need members for a steering committee. If you’re interested, check out the info below…

Dear Community Partner,

The Portland Development Commission (PDC) is seeking members for a Steering Committee to guide redevelopment of the Broadway Corridor.

Broadway Corridor Development Opportunity:

Redevelopment of the Broadway Corridor is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to add to Portland’s economy and vitality and to deliver community benefits. The Corridor includes the 14-acre United States Postal Service distribution facility which will relocate next year, Union Station, and several other publicly owned properties. PDC is pursuing planning and redevelopment of the Broadway Corridor with an intentional focus on ensuring all communities have an opportunity to engage in and benefit from its redevelopment. As such, PDC is seeking a diverse mix of community leaders to serve on the Steering Committee and represent a broad range of topic areas.

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The Monday Roundup: Lego hair helmet, riding against the wind, L.A.’s next ‘great street’, and more

This week’s Monday Roundup is sponsored by no one. Please contact our sales manager if you’d like to promote your organization or event in this space.

Welcome to Monday.

Here are the most noteworthy links and tidbits that came across our desks last week…

LA’s next “Great Street”: What was standing in the way of the City of Los Angeles’ exciting vision for updating Venice Blvd from car-centric thoroughfare to a modern, world-class street? It used to be owned by their state DOT. Now in City control, the project can begin. (Sound familiar?)

Thanks, Trump: The United States House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s new director of outreach and coalitions is the former director of federal relations for the American Petroleum Institute.

Now what? The numbers are in. And just as we suspected, road deaths have taken a striking spike in the U.S. Now the question is: What are we going to do about it?

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Job: Shipping Specialist – Velotech

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title *
Shipping Specialist

Company/Organization *
Velotech

Job Description *
Velotech, Inc. is looking for a detail oriented shipping specialist to join our fast paced and fast growing operation. This person will be expected to pick, pack, and ship customer orders and receive incoming shipments in a timely manner. Additionally
there will be many random tasks that will assist in warehouse operation.

* Must be able to lift 50lbs
* Must be comfortable with ladders
* Basic knowledge of cycling components preferred
* Enthusiasm for cycling
* Full-time
* Great benefits and vacation package

Velotech, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to sex, race, color, age, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship, pregnancy or veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.

How to Apply *
Please apply by clicking on link below:

https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/index.php?/job/apply&clientkey=4C6D7027145254251F7D24DAA9BDF3F7&job=4367&jpt=

Here are the Oregon Senate bills we’re following this session (Part 1 of 2)

Legislator bike ride at the Oregon Bike Summit-1

(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

The 2017 Oregon legislative session is well underway. Votes have already taken place and bills are moving up and dying off as I type this.

I’ve combed through hundreds of bills to find ones that matter to people who care about transportation safety and the culture of our streets. Since there are so many bills I want to bring to your attention, I’ve decided to do this in two parts. First I’ll share a list of the Senate bills I’m following. Then in a separate post, I’ll share the House bills.

Here we go…

Read more

Review: The Iota – a tiny bike tracker with huge potential

Size is just one reason this product has potential.
(Photos: Bryan Hance/The Bike Index)

BikePortland subscriber and resident bike theft expert Bryan Hance from The Bike Index checked out the Iota Tracker with an eye towards bike tracking, DIY hacking, and more.

We field a lot of questions about ‘bike trackers’ at the Bike Index – everybody wants a small, affordable GPS tracker for their bike. Sounds like a simple request; but many people are surprised to learn a product like this doesn’t exist yet.

There are a few basic reasons why trackers aren’t as great as you think:

Size/hideability — It is hard to disguise a tracker so thieves can’t instantly find it. And having something that uses several antennas (GPS and cellular) means they aren’t easily hidden – nor are they very small.

Reliance on cellular — Most trackers use the cellular network to report their location, which means most trackers are 50% cell phone parts – and means paying for cell data, supporting a SIM card, having a hefty battery, etc.

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ODOT wants your feedback on future regional transportation projects

Check out the projects coming down the pike and let ODOT know what you think about them. This is for their 2018-2021 “STIP” – Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.

ODOT press release below:

Now is your chance to provide feedback on Oregon’s transportation priorities! Tell us what’s important to you.

The Oregon Department of Transportation is requesting public comment on the draft 2018-2021 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, also known as STIP.

The draft outlines Oregon’s transportation priorities for 2018-2021. The STIP includes 146 projects in the Portland-metro area, which represent ODOT’s plan for design and construction with anticipated federal funds.

Learn more about the proposed transportation projects and provide your feedback online at www.odotR1stip.org.

You can also share your opinion in person on Wed., Feb. 22 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at ODOT Region 1 Headquarters, located at 123 NW Flanders in Portland, or Thurs., Feb. 23 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Multnomah County Library’s Gresham branch, located at 385 NW Miller Ave.

The current public comment period closes Feb. 28. However, comments can be submitted at any time online.

Thank you for taking the time to share what’s important to you in Oregon’s transportation future.

PBOT will use little-known “emergency” law to rein in speeding drivers

PBOT Vision Zero Task Force meeting-2.jpg

PBOT Director Leah Treat at a meeting of the Vision Zero Task Force in City Hall this morning.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

When a city says traffic safety is their top priority, it should be willing to do whatever it takes to make people drive more slowly.

In Portland that means taking a very close look at the Oregon Revised Statutes.

Portland Bureau of Transportation Director Leah Treat announced today that her bureau will seek permission to enact section nine of ORS 810.180 which gives the city the power to set an “emergency speed” without going through the often onerous process of asking for permission from the State of Oregon. (Note: Another section of this same law gives cities the power to reduce speeds on certain residential streets, thanks to a lobbying effort by PBOT in 2011.)

Treat said they’ve decided to take this very rare step in order to keep people safer on outer Southeast Division Street. Back in December two people were killed while trying to walk crossing Division Street in two separate crashes just hours apart. The tragedies sparked outrage from local residents, activists and even top PBOT staff. One day after the deaths, PBOT Active Transportation Group Manager Margi Bradway called neighborhood leaders to talk about the city’s response. Those conversations led to the passage of $300,000 in emergency funding to do outreach and education in adjacent neighborhoods (which are populated by many people of Chinese and other descents who don’t read or speak English).

To continue their focus on taming Division Street, Treat said PBOT will bring an ordinance to Portland City Council on March 2nd asking them to support the move. The existing state law gives PBOT the ability to make this move, but we’ve never heard of it actually being done.

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On live TV, reporter shovels gravel off St. Johns Bridge sidewalk – UPDATED

KATU reporter Reed Andrews shoveled gravel on sidewalk of St. Johns Bridge last night. (Watch video of the story below.)

With a shovel in his hand to drive the point home, Portland reporter Reed Andrews with KATU (our ABC affiliate) highlighted the problem of gravel in the bike lanes on their news broadcast last night.

Andrews focused his story on the layer of gravel on the St. Johns Bridge sidewalk we reported on Tuesday. He interviewed the owner of Block Bikes, a bike shop just steps away from the east end of the bridge who vouched for the problems it causes for his customers. The story also included an interview with a bicycle rider who said he often rides miles out of his way just to avoid riding the bridge sidewalk.

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