Man nets big haul of nails and screws on a walk across the St. Johns Bridge

Part of the haul. See more below.
(Photo: Imgur via Reddit)

A reader shared a Reddit post with us that underscores the poor conditions bicycle riders face on the St. Johns Bridge.

From leaves in fall and gravel in winter, to nails and illegally parked cars and delivery trucks — it sometimes feels like we face a constant barrage of hazards while biking around Portland.

That being said, it’s nice to know people care enough to take matters into their own hands and clean things up.

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This Redditor bought a magnet, walked the length of the St. Johns Bridge and says he picked up about 100-200 nails, screws and other objects. Just imagine how many flat tires he prevented!

We are grateful for his service. It reminds me of Portland’s bike lane trash hauler Danny Dunn and Bill Stites’ pedal-powered bike lane sweeper we profiled back in November.

Read more about this civic hero over on the Reddit thread, where many people have thanked him for preventing flat tires.

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

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Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, contact me via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a paying subscriber.

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Johnny Bye Carter
Johnny Bye Carter
5 years ago

“See something? Do Something!” -K’Tesh

Topher McGarry
Topher McGarry
5 years ago

My tires and morale are greatly appreciative of your efforts. Thank you! Topher.

Alan Love
Alan Love
5 years ago

Superheroes don’t always wear capes; sometimes they carry magnets. But we can all be heroes in our own small way. Come late spring, I bring a folding handsaw and clean up overgrown branches along SW Multnomah. See a big fallen branch blocking the bike lane? Don’t just ride around it. Pull over and move it. Construction ahead and there’s a big sign a mile before the worksite blocking the bike lane? Move it over to the right side of the sidewalk so it doesn’t block bike or foot traffic, creating an additional hazard that doesn’t need to be there but is still just as visible (that one is a big peeve of mine). We can do little things to help each other out.

catherine feta-cheese
catherine feta-cheese
5 years ago

Nice citizen initiative.
And rather an evocative headline, in the “eats shoots & leaves” mode.

Lester Burnham
Lester Burnham
5 years ago

Well done. Thank you!

Tom
Tom
5 years ago

Does PBOT use a magnetic sweeper attachment on their street sweepers, or the protected bike lane sweeper?
Something like this …
https://youtu.be/Tnqt-zJZQAE

Adam
Adam
5 years ago

That was a nice thing to do. Wonder if it would be practical to attach a magnetic bar to the bottom of my trailer and collect nails while running errands.

pdx2wheeler
pdx2wheeler
5 years ago

Thanks to all who help pitch in along their way to make Portland a more safe place for everyone. Pay it forward people!

Anne
Anne
5 years ago

Any ideas or objections to a bike rider carrying clippers and chopping down errant tree/bush branches that hang over bike lanes? I would probably throw the cut branches on the planting strip.

KristenT
KristenT
5 years ago
Reply to  Anne

K’tesh (Jim) did this all the time when he live stateside. He carried clippers, pruners, etc and cleared bike lanes and sidewalks. I think he hauled away the debris for proper disposal later, but I am guessing your solution works just as well.

mark smith
mark smith
5 years ago

If only the state owned a device that swept streets…..