2020 Archives

Portland’s 10-cent gas tax up for re-election in May: Here are the projects it would fund

Screen Shot 2020-01-29 at 9.34.05 AM — Detail of PBOT’s Fixing Our Streets 2020-2024 project map. (Full map below)

After riding 10 miles on my stock seat it was like bad teen sex. I had to walk around doing the cowboy-waddle.

I got my bike in February 2016; it was a 2015 close-out. I had no idea what I was buying. It was deeply discounted, in my size, and I wanted something modern and light weight.

A friend, Em, also got a road bike at the same time, and we both starting chatting about it. Em, whose kids have all grown, was investing way more time into her rides, and was swapping out gear and putting on miles. I commented one day that after riding 10 miles on my stock seat it was like bad teen sex. I had to walk around doing the cowboy-waddle. Em said she had done this thing where you can check out seats, like at a library, and see which ones you like. Em ended up choosing a $300 seat she was so excited about.

That was a bit above my tax bracket. Instead, I went to the sporting big box store and got some gel-seat-cover-thing. It’s like someone took gummy worms, smooshed them together, and covered them with leftover 70s velour. After a couple years, it started to look like the seats of my Zipcar, so I took it off. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but I really just couldn’t look at it anymore.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title

JavaScript Engineer

Company / Organization

Ride Report

Job Description

About Ride Report
Based in Portland, Ride Report is a small software company **accelerating the transition to a sustainable and efficient transportation system.
Ride Report began in 2015 with a simple set of tools that help cities use data to make planning decisions that are faster, smarter, and more responsive to road user’s lived experiences. More recently, cities have used Ride Report to help manage the explosion in new transportation, particularly electric micromobility fleets, through compliance, monitoring, and data aggregation.

Learn more about our mission and values in our open source handbook (https://www.notion.so/ride/Ride-Report-Employee-Handbook-07f5888e232d49daacca58d599cd09f9). If it sounds like the right fit, we’d love to hear from you!

About the role
In the role of JavaScript Engineer, you will be building software that enables a deliberate transition to a sustainable transportation system. Our systems collect realtime transportation data and transform it into information that public agencies and private companies can act on immediately. Your primary focus will be on our frontend system which lets our users view a realtime map of currently deployed vehicles and explore historical data with tables and charts among other things. We have lots of new features planned and you will be responsible for working with design, product, and other engineers to build them out! In this role you will also mentor junior engineers and help provide direction as our frontend grows.

On our frontend, we use ReactJS with TypeScript. On the backend, we use Python with Django as our web layer.

This is a position based in Portland, Oregon. Relocation assistance will be offered to non-local candidates.

**Within one month, you will:**
– Learn about Ride Report’s mission
– Participate in our Engineering Buddy system and complete starter tickets to get acquainted with our codebase and our development practices

**Within 3 months, you will:**
– Consistently apply our development practices throughout your work.
– Engage in our product and engineering development process and successfully ship code.
– Engage in your first on-call rotation and be able to diagnose and resolve production issues. Currently our on-call duty only occurs during normal business hour though that is subject to change.

**Within 6 months, you will:**
– Contribute significantly to the launch of a major feature, working cross-functionally with key stakeholders such as product and design to keep them abreast of progress.
– Be the domain expert in many parts of our system and be comfortable navigating our stack.

Helpful Skills and Experience
Must haves:
– At least 2 years of experience developing and shipping frontend code running in the browser
– Understands version control and transparent, positive code review practices and their utility in building great software
– Ability to work collaborative and communicate clearly
– Appreciates testing and pragmatism around creating reliable software
– Values teaching others

Nice to have/Excited to learn about:
– Deep knowledge of ReactJS
– Typescript
– Interest in backend code, such as updating our API layer and GraphQL schema

**Compensation & Benefits**
– Base salary for the JavaScript Engineer role at Ride Report depends on experience. Ride Report provides the same base salary for every employee in this role and offer $120,000 for a level 2 engineer and $145,000 for a level 3 engineer. Learn [why we don’t negotiate our salaries](https://www.notion.so/ride/Benefits-cd11b837fcab415bbf26dd5391e309ee#95e377b19c88495fa38cf45f185eca03).
– Generous equity incentives. We also offer new candidates the option to trade some salary for additional equity.
– Unlimited [vacation](https://www.notion.so/ride/Time-Off-28adc58c03084154ab132b0c1cd3fe30#5a1cfd858d2d4adfaa861b369f94fe39) and [sick leave](https://www.notion.so/ride/Time-Off-28adc58c03084154ab132b0c1cd3fe30#09b8cc16ffaa4ae18452acbce8609bde)
– Competitive health insurance plans via Regence (Blue Cross Blue Shield)
– Vision and dental plans for self and dependent care (Employee-funded)
– Flexible Spending Accounts for both health care and dependent care (Employee-funded)
– A 401k program that matches 50% of employee contributions up to the 10% of their salary
– Yearly professional development stipend
– [An electric micromobility vehicle stipend](Vision and dental plans)
– Unlimited snacks (HQ)
– Quarterly off-sites (HQ)

If you’re not sure if this is the right fit for you, but you’re interested, please apply! We’re particularly interested in creating a diverse team with a broad set of skills and viewpoints. We carefully consider every applicant that takes the time to apply, and are interested in building relationships with people who might be the right fit for our team at some point in the future.

We believe the best teams are diverse and inclusive. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. We welcome applications from women, people of color, and other groups that are underrepresented in tech and transportation.

How to Apply

https://jobs.lever.co/ridereport

Top Winter Tune-Ups for Portland Bike Commuters

This post was submitted by evo Portland, a BikePortland business subscriber.

Screen Shot 2020-01-27 at 3.39.51 PM — (Photo: evo Portland)

For the dedicated rider, bike commuting is a year-round affair. Sure, there are plenty of fair-weather commuters who hang up their bikes as soon as it starts to rain, but for those really committed to riding their bikes to work, there is no offseason. Instead, Portland’s winter bike commuters must re-asses and prepare for less clement weather. It’s a good idea to get your bike tunes done each spring and fall anyway, whether or not you’re a commuter, the change of seasons offers the perfect reminder to go over your bike and make sure it’s still running smoothly.

Road bike tuning every fall might seem unnecessary, after all, the bike is running fine, why pay to mess with it? But with most things, and especially with bikes, an ounce of prevention saves a pound of repair. The wet winter season puts different demands on your bike, and it’s worth having a good Portland bike repair shop go over it and make sure it’s ready for the change of seasons.

Job Title

Bike Hub Mechanic

Company / Organization

Portland State University

Job Description

Portland State University is hiring a Bike Hub Mechanic to facilitate operations for the service department at the PSU Bike Hub. This position assists with training and supervision of approximately 10-15 student staff, particularly in regard to mechanical skill and instruction. Teaching and assisting with classes and repair instruction is conducted in a group setting.

The Bike Hub mechanic also performs pay-for-service repairs on bicycles, and assists with ordering and processing receipt of equipment and repair supplies needed to operate the service department. This position serves as a backup for all student positions associated with sales/cashiering and mechanical instruction for Bike Hub members. They assume responsibility for service, sales and exceptional customer relations.

The preferred candidate for this position will streamline and innovate the service department work flow while maintaining a high level of customer service.

Schedule is generally Monday-Friday during normal business hours, however, it may vary to accommodate events and programs in the evenings and weekends.

The starting hourly salary rate for this position will be between $15.49 and $17.53 (plus a recruitment and retention bonus equivalent to 10% of base salary). The starting salary may be negotiable above this range, however it will be dependent upon the knowledge, experience, skills and abilities of the chosen candidate, the budget of the hiring department, and approval from HR.

PSU’s excellent benefits package includes 95% premium paid healthcare; a generous retirement and vacation package; and reduced tuition rates for employee, spouse or dependent at any of the Oregon Public Universities. Please visit the total compensation calculator website to see the added value of PSU’s employee benefits at: https://www.pdx.edu/hr/psu-total-compensation-calculator
Portland State University (PSU) is Oregon’s most affordable public research university, located in the heart of one of America’s most dynamic cities. Our mission to “let knowledge serve the city” reflects our dedication to turning ideas into action — in Portland and around the world. The city is our campus, giving students unmatched access to career connections, a vibrant cultural scene and hands-on learning experiences with hundreds of community partners.

More than 27,000 students from all backgrounds bring diverse perspectives to our classrooms and campus life, from the tree-lined Park Blocks to the bustling Urban Plaza and state-of-the-art science labs. We are proud of our world-class faculty, groundbreaking research and international reputation for excellence in sustainability, community engagement and innovation.

At Transportation and Parking Services, our goal is to provide transportation options and associated services to students, faculty, staff, and guests of the university. We emphasize service and assistance while maintaining safe, convenient and sustainable commute options for the PSU community. For more information, click here to visit the department’s website.

How to Apply

Please submit your application on PSU's careers page at the following website address: https://jobs.hrc.pdx.edu/postings/32049

Contact Angie Telford, Administrative and Engagement Coordinator, at atelford@pdx.edu for questions.

Governor Brown asked about I-5 Rose Quarter project at City Club event

Governor Kate Brown spent about an hour with members of the City Club of Portland today. At the event, a preview of the 2020 legislative session, Brown fielded two questions about the controversial I-5 Rose Quarter project.

As we reported Thursday, the Oregon Department of Transportation and their bosses at the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) are facing an intense barrage of questions and concerns from elected officials and community groups over their plans to expand I-5 between I-84 and I-405.

eugene-sloane-400x605 — Eugene Sloane.
(Photo via Tom Howe)

[Tom Howe is a BikePortland supporter and local ride leader. He’s previously written about using BikePortland as a research tool, his solar eclipse ride, and Virginia’s Creeper Trail.]

As a driver passed a bicycle commuter a passenger shouted out the car’s window, “Get a car, sonny!” That’s not something you’re likely to hear in Portland nowadays, but this was Detroit, the year was 1964, and the cyclist was 48-year-old Eugene Sloane on his daily 12-mile ride from the suburbs to his job as editor of the publication Air Engineering in downtown Detroit.

A few years later Sloane became a best-selling author with The Complete Book of Bicycling a book published at the beginning of the 1970s 10-speed bike boom that drove the movement to even greater heights. It has now been 50 years since the publication of Sloane’s book, and for a year back in 1970 it was the only new bike book on the market.