2022 Archives

Taking stock of BikePortland

BikePortland Crew clockwise from the top: My cat Tito, Co-owner Mike Perham, Reporter Taylor Griggs, me, Family Biking Columnist Shannon Johnson, Asst Editor Lisa Caballero.

In this last week of 2022, I’m taking time to reflect and figure out where things stand with BikePortland (and to finally clear my inbox, so if you get a months-old message from me, that’s why). I’ll start with reflections and an update on the business, and then share a more newsy, year-in-review-type post separately.

Here goes…

It’s hard for me to comprehend that we are about to embark on our 18th year in business. I was 30 years old when I started doing this work and now I’m close to 50. My oldest daughter was just two when BikePortland launched, and now she’s in her second year of college! I think about these timeframes a lot. They fill me with ambivalence and a sense of urgency.

Like every year, 2022 was a roller coaster as we pedaled the ups-and-downs that come with running a local news business that’s closely hitched to the community it covers. Taylor Griggs, Lisa Caballero, and I learned invaluable lessons about how best to host a productive daily conversation among friends and strangers in an ideologically divided community while covering sensitive topics. It takes a tremendous amount of care to balance our roles as objective reporters, community moderators, passionate activists, and personal acquaintances/friends to many of the sources we regularly call on — and that work seems to get more fraught with each passing year.

Personally, I feel like I’ve slowed down in some areas, and sped up in others. After a chronic knee issue flared up just over two years ago, I’ve all but abandoned the extremely time-consuming riding and racing habit I had for many years. That tectonic lifestyle shift gave me more time to focus on other things (it’s freeing to not care about being in top shape and riding every day). And while I don’t cover the community with the same amount of energy I had in our first decade, I bring a different type of energy to the job these days. When it comes to creating stories and content, I feel like I’m using a scalpel now, instead of a machete — if that makes any sense. My bullshit filter is finely honed and my hunches and nose for news have more years of experience behind them. While that gives me confidence, my challenge is to stay creative, keep a fresh perspective, and stay connected to our evolving and always-younger community so BikePortland can produce information people want and need.

While I like to say, “We focus on what’s vital, not viral,” we also can’t be boring or no one will pay attention.

Speaking of paying attention, BikePortland is as strong as ever reach and impact-wise. We had roughly 1.7 million visitors to our site in the past year and we reached an estimated 14.4 million on social media. We currently have around 60,000 followers across five social media platforms including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Not bad for a little “bike blog” (laughing emoji).

Here’s how our production ended up (keep in mind I’m a firm believer in quality over quantity — especially when it comes to content):

937 Front Page posts
30,500 site comments (estimated, doesn’t include social media comments)
15 podcast episodes
83 social media videos
47 YouTube videos

I’m still in the process of testing out different platforms and types of content and I suspect that will continue into the coming year. While I believe we must meet people where they are, we have a limited capacity to create content that meets my expectations, so we might pull back from some platforms and invest more in others. (I’m also increasingly wary of supporting platforms run by governments or people who don’t share basic democratic values.)

And as our recent server attack illustrated, we are still working to update our backend code and processes to handle this beastly site. WordPress-powered sites are known to be hogs on server resources, and one with 26,000 posts and 520,000 comments even more so. In 2023 you’ll see more big changes to our home page design, but the changes you won’t see (like database and server upgrades) will likely make the largest impact to your reading.

All this is to say that 2023 will be the most important year in BikePortland’s history. We will need to adapt and change more than ever before in order to meet our revenue and creative goals. It won’t be easy and we will need your financial support to do it. But it will be so worth it! With your help, we’ve created something very special: Our very own bike-centric news source that often gets the same respect as other, larger and less niche-oriented, local news outlets.

BikePortland is of, by, and for the community. It’s “citizen journalism” in its purest form. We are accountable only to you, we are here to amplify your voices, and you are the ones who can decide what our future holds.

Thanks to every one of our 417 paid subscribers, our dedicated advertisers, and generous financial supporters for another year. We can’t wait to get started on the next one.

How cycling changed my life in 2022

Taking photos at this year’s Pedalpalooza kickoff ride.

Like many others, I enjoy using the arbitrary date of January 1 as an excuse to look at what I’ve done and set some new goals. But I find that reading other people’s year-in-reviews can be a little like hearing them talk about their lengthy dreams. Still, when I look back at what’s changed in my life since last January, I can recognize how much I’ve grown as a result of biking.

In addition to everything I’ve learned from talking to people for BikePortland stories, I learned a lot from my personal experiences going carfree and using a bike as my primary mode of transportation. I’d stopped using my car regularly months before, but at the beginning of last year I finally decided to ditch the vehicle that was gathering dust (and taking up on-street parking space). After I sold it, I was forced to bike if I had somewhere to go, even if I didn’t really feel like doing it.

I ended up riding around 2,500 miles this year (I know that will be a paltry number to many BikePortland readers, but it’s far more than I’ve ever done before!). The effect all this biking had on my mental health and my quality of life in general can’t be overstated.

At the Alice Awards with PBOT Director Chris Warner and new friends Jenna Phillips and Nic Cota.

If I may get personal for a minute: I’ve dealt with anxiety and depression for my whole life, and until this year, I hadn’t really figured out a healthy outlet for dealing with it. I’ve been especially prone to bouts of climate despair over the last several years — feelings that are difficult to treat, because in many ways, they’re a completely reasonable response to the madness happening around us. But it wasn’t reasonable for me to lie awake all night feeling sick with sadness that paralyzed me from being able to participate in climate action or meet people who were doing all they could to make a difference.

I’ve dealt with anxiety and depression for my whole life, and until this year, I hadn’t really figured out a healthy outlet for dealing with it.

Every time I drove my car, I couldn’t shake the cognitive dissonance. I understand that individual actions are not enough on their own, but for me, I immediately felt a new sense of purpose once I started living more in line with my ideals. And all the endorphins I got from biking didn’t hurt, either.

Going on a bike ride will not solve all of the world’s problems, but I’ve found that it’s a pretty fail proof and sustainable way for me to feel better. I’ve found a wonderful sense of kinship within Portland’s bike community, and am always motivated by my love for this city that I’ve gotten to know so well by bike.

I especially cherish the memories of Pedalpalooza this summer: I think my heart grew about 10 sizes every time I heard someone say “thank you, corker!” It was wonderful to see so many people out on the streets having a great time and looking out for each other, and I eagerly anticipate the next Bike Summer.

It’s hard to recognize growth while it’s actively happening, but looking at myself from this vantage point, I can see how I’ve evolved since last year. At the end of 2021, I was neurotic and unsure and hadn’t figured out a way to deal with it. In no way am I fully “cured” now, but I feel like I have control over my life in a way I didn’t before. Some of this can simply be attributed to getting older, but I’d like to give a good deal of credit to my bicycle.

As I look forward to 2023, I’m not going to set a resolution to bike any specific number of miles or exercise for a certain amount of time every day. I don’t want to set a competition with myself — I just want to do as much as I can to keep embracing what’s so beautiful about Portland and all the benefits biking can provide for people and communities at large. I’m beginning 2023 with a big adventure to Europe that I hope will set the stage for an exciting year with even more growth.

Happy New Year everyone, thanks for reading my work and for all your support this year. I look forward to continuing in 2023!

Job: Andando En Bicicletas Y Caminando (ABC) Coordinator – Community Cycling Center

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title

Andando En Biciletas Y Caminando (ABC) Coordinator

Company / Organization

Community Cycling Center

Job Description

ABOUT ANDANDO EN BICICLETAS Y CAMINANDO
Andando en Bicicletas Y Caminando (ABC) is a Spanish speaking active transportation advocacy group in the Cully neighborhood. The group has closely collaborated with community partners such as Hacienda, Verde, and Living Cully in their past work. Most members of the group have participated in Lideres Verdes, a year-long leadership development program facilitated by Verde. ABC members practice and further develop leadership skills through planning and implementation of community projects, events, and advocacy.

ABC is primarily made up of Latiné parents living in the Cully neighborhood of Portland. The group advocates for improved bike storage in the neighborhood, safe routes to their neighborhood schools and affordable access to bicycles and bicycle repair. ABC members receive a monthly stipend for their participation. Cultural humility and understanding of how current political events affect the wellbeing of historically underserved communities in Portland and the Latiné community in particular are essential traits to this position. The Community Cycling Center has supported ABC since 2012, facilitating the empowerment of these impactful community leaders.

JOB SUMMARY
The ABC Coordinator acts as a liaison between group members, the Community Cycling Center and ABC partners. The Coordinator’s role is to facilitate conversations and help organize activities toward the goals ABC has set for the year. Engagement with ABC members is almost exclusively done in Spanish. We work with our partners to develop roles for each member that matches their skillset and development goals. We then collaboratively support members in reaching these goals and fulfilling their roles.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Please note that the percentage indicators below represent an estimate of how much time each week will be spent fulfilling these functions. In terms of importance, all areas are valued equally. A certain portion of the ABC coordinator’s hours may be spent supporting other projects in the CCC Programs
Department.

Facilitation and Planning (30%)
● Collaborate with ABC members to create an annual work plan centered on members’ self-identified goals. This plan involves working closely with our established Cully community-based partners (i.e. Verde/Living Cully and Hacienda).
● Facilitate meetings in Spanish with the full ABC group (currently 10 members), ABC partners, and guests once per month.
● Create and facilitate working groups for specific projects.
● Develop and write agendas in Spanish for monthly meetings.
● Provide occasional, informal English-Spanish translation. English-speaking only partners are expected to provide their own translation services as needed.
● Ensure that outside groups asking for ABC member input and/or support are providing value to the Cully community. Advocate for ABC members being financially compensated for their
contributions.

Organizing and communication (30%)
● Help the group identify priorities for their community.
● Collaborate with ABC and partners to design and schedule community campaigns, events, or activities that address identified priorities.
● Provide regular reminders and contact in Spanish via phone and text to members (email is generally not a good option for group members).

Trainings, Activities, Actions, and Events (20% or more) (Increases during high season; May-Sept)
● The ABC Coordinator will collaborate alongside ABC members on a variety of trainings, activities, and events throughout the year. Includes working occasional weekend and evening hours to accommodate ABC members’ schedules.
● Please refer to the ABC webpage on our site, https://communitycyclingcenter.org/community/partner-programs/ for some examples of the work ABC has done in the past.

Administration and other (20%)
*Training and ongoing technical support provided by Programs team leadership as needed.
● Coordinate and track monthly stipend deliveries to ABC members for their participation.
● Support grant reporting by sharing ABC stories and accomplishments.
● Assist program leadership staff in creating an annual budget for the program.
● Collaborate with development staff to pursue funding for the program.
● Provide opportunities and support for ABC members to participate in other Community Cycling Center programs and activities.
● Support other programs outside of ABC as necessary with an emphasis on community development and education.

QUALIFICATIONS & CHARACTERISTICS
Required
● Bilingual in Spanish/English
● Experience leading community organizing efforts with low-income communities of color; may include paid or volunteer work, and/or lived experience.
● Ability to energize ABC group members to make meaningful and lasting contributions to the group’s mission.
● Self-motivated, self-starter who can develop their own vision around how to best support the ABC group and their mission.
● Very strong organizational skills, with an attention to small details.
● Exceptional communications skills, including ability to write in Spanish and
English
● Ability to work both independently and with a team.
● A demonstrated commitment to equity and social justice.
● Ability to occasionally ride a bicycle up to 10 miles in a day, and the ability to lift up to 25 pounds (Reasonable accommodation will be made for staff with a disability).

Preferred
● Written and verbal translation skills (Spanish-English).
● Lived experience as an immigrant.
● Passion for cycling and other forms of active transportation.
● Familiarity with Mayan cultures.
● Driver’s license

How to Apply

Please submit a cover letter and resume by email with “ABC Coordinator Application” as the subject line to jobs@communitycyclingcenter.org. Applications may be submitted in Spanish or English. The position will be open to applicants through Monday, January 16th. We will begin selecting applicants for interviews that same week.

Weekend Event Guide: Three rides to ring in the New Year

Welcome to the weekend — and the end of 2022! If you want to celebrate and ring in 2023 with a bike ride, you have a few options to choose from. Here’s our guide to three New Year’s-themed rides:

Saturday, December 31st

The End is NYE (New Year’s Eve ride) – 8:00 pm at Irving Park

Spend the rest of the year doing your favorite thing (riding bikes) at the New Year’s Eve ride (21+)! According to the ride organizer, you’ll make so many new friends on the ride that “by the end of the night, you’ll feel like you’ve known them for years!” More info here.

Sunday, January 1st

President’s New Year Ride – 11 am at Stringfield Family Park (Milwaukie)
Start 2023 off with riding with the Portland Bicycling Club on a 29-mile New Year’s Day ride from Milwaukie into Portland and then to get coffee in Oregon City. More info here.

New Year’s Day Ride and Cookie Swap – 12 – 2 pm at SE Park Ave MAX Station (SE)

It’s time for The Street Trust’s annual New Year’s Day ride. This time they’ll lead a ride to Milwaukie to check out some onew infrastructure. But wait, there’s more! It’s also a cookie exchange, so bring a tupperware full of yummies to share and trade. More info here.

See all upcoming events here. Promoting an event? Know about something we should boost? Please let us know and we’ll get it on the calendar.

2022: The Year in Pictures

As we look forward to a new year, let’s take a look at a few highlights from 2022…

Riders take advantage of new “Better Naito” bikeway on The Street Trust’s New Years Day Ride.

Community gathers to support man critically injured in north Portland hit-and-run

Part of the crowd at Up North Surf Club last night. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

One week ago the Up North Surf Club, a combination surf shop and pub on North Killingsworth Street in the Arbor Lodge neighborhood, was relatively quiet. It was their weekly movie night and a few regulars showed up to watch The Yin and Yang of Gerry Lopez, a film that chronicles the life of the surf legend. Among them were Mick Tarsel, Dwayne Sackey, and John Baker — three friends whose close relationship revolves around riding waves.

Earlier that night Mick half-jokingly told John he’d be happy to drive him home. “I said, ‘just put in my truck, it’s dark’,” Mick shared. John declined Mick’s offer not only because he loved riding his bike, but also because had just built up a brand new one. That night was the first time he’d ridden his new bike. And sadly, it might have been his last.

Kari Lyons (with mic) and John’s mom Jo Johnson (seated on the right).

Minutes after the friends said goodbye, John walked over to his bike parked at a rack on North Montana just outside the pub. As he rolled south across the street to the bike lane on Killingsworth to head toward his house near Northeast Alberta and 24th, someone driving a car very fast was headed eastbound. The driver slammed into John with so much force his body and parts of his bike flew high into the air. According to a witness, the driver pumped their brakes a block away and then sped off. The car has since been found abandoned in a nearby neighborhood and police are still looking for the driver.

John is still in the ICU. But his friends and family have swung into action. Nearly $24,000 has already been raised online and well over 100 people packed into Up North Surf Club last night to show their support. They wrote get-well cards and joined in a prize raffle that raised another $10,500.

The mood at the event was deceptively jovial — a layer of grief rested just under a blanket of cheerful optimism many hope will be enough to pull John through the hardest paddle of his life. When his close friend Kari Lyons thanked the crowd and reminded them it would require a “marathon” effort to support him and someday raise money for a wheelchair, one man in the crowd yelled, “A new wheelchair? You mean a new surfboard?!”

John’s adult daughter was there. So was his mom Jo Johnson who flew in from Nevada to be by his side at Legacy Emanuel Hospital. “Every day he makes little improvements,” she said during remarks in front of the large crowd following a moment of silence. “Thank you all so much for doing this. I had no idea what kind of family he had. He’d be so happy to see you all out here.”

Jo told me she was “devastated” after she was notified about what happened to her son. “I always thought if I got a call like that it would be about surfing,” she said, fighting back tears. But the event, she said, lifted her spirits. “I’ve never experienced anything like the love that came out of that benefit in my entire life. There was so much love, it buoyed us all up.”

“To the driver of the car that hit my son… You must be feeling just terrible now. This must be eating you up. Please do the right thing and go in to the Portland Police Bureau.”
– Jo Johnson, John Baker’s mom

Everyone I spoke to last night said John lived for surfing.

“He is one of the best surfers in Oregon. He can read the waves better than anyone,” Mick said. “Surfing is his life. The ocean, the connection to nature, the people. It wasn’t just a sport to him. And he’s known not just for his surfing, but for the type of person he is.”

Mick shared that John has just settled back into Portland this week, after moving from a home in the coastal town of Manzanita just a few miles south of his favorite surf break at Short Sands. “Being able to ride his bike was big reason he gave for wanting to move back to Portland,” he recalled.

Up North Surf Club owner Martin Schoeneborn described John as a passionate cyclist who rode his bike from Portland to Pacific City on the Oregon Coast many times. I spoke to Martin on the corner where John was hit. “So many drivers don’t stop for that crosswalk,” he said, pointing to the painted crosswalk on Montana. “After this, my wife won’t let me ride at night anymore.”

The driver who failed to stop for John at that crosswalk has taken something profound away from our community. As his family struggles to adjust to a new reality, one of the pieces still missing is the person responsible for it.

John’s mom asked me to share a statement to them:

“To the driver of the car that hit my son, this is a personal note to you from his mom. You must be feeling just terrible now. This must be eating you up. Please do the right thing and go in to the Portland Police Bureau, or call them at 503-823-3333. Thank you.”

— John Baker GoFundMe page / Prayers for John Baker Facebook page

Oregon slashes Amtrak rates in bid to compete with freeway drivers

I’ve often thought of the Oregon Department of Transportation as our state’s de facto driving advocacy group. Given where the vast majority of their funding goes and their reluctance to do anything that reduces driving access, it’s a reasonable way to think about the agency.

So imagine my surprise when I saw an email from ODOT this morning where they went out of their way to promote taking the train over driving by slashing fares on the Amtrak Cascades line by as much as 30%. Starting next week you can buy a train ticket between Portland and Eugene (110 miles south) for just $17 — that’s cheaper than taking the bus! The new fares apply to all Oregon stops including Oregon City, Salem, and Albany.

In a statement about the news, ODOT Public Transportation Division Administrator Karyn Criswell said:

“We looked at the high cost of driving on I-5 in the Willamette Valley and realized we could offer something better. The rates are more affordable, the ride is extremely comfortable and it’s much more relaxing than fighting traffic.”

“It’s a great time to leave the car at home and travel stress-free!” the announcement reads.

The push for more Amtrak ridership comes after a summer where many Oregonians were impacted by very high gas prices and local policymakers are hearing about a renewed push for high speed rail.

While this price cut is sweet, it may not be enough of an incentive to ditch the car for folks concerned about travel times. The 110-mile trip takes about two hours by car, and the fastest train trips take about three hours – and that’s without any delays.

ODOT, who oversees the Cascades line and contracts Amtrak to run trains on it, is still trying to recover after two-plus years of reduced ridership due to the covid pandemic and other issues.

Amtrak Cascades ridership did a nose-dive in 2020 when the virus first took hold; but it has made a healthy rebound this year. Ridership for the third quarter of 2022 is only 11% below 2019 levels.

ODOT’s ‘Innovative Mobility’ program announces first 18 grants

The Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) spent a good deal of time last year mulling over where to put the money allocated our way from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and they received a lot of public input in the process. While members of the OTC ultimately decided to put a significant portion of the funds toward freeway projects — despite concerted efforts from transportation and climate activists — there was one last-minute addendum to their spending plan that intrigued active transportation advocates.

Enter the Innovative Mobility Program (IMP), which then-Commissioner Alando Simpson came up with as a way to balance out community concern about how much money the Oregon Department of Transportation sets aside for freeway expansions and car infrastructure projects. This program is designed to give micro-grants (up to $5,000) to organizations working on projects that aim to expand access to active transportation of all kinds. The parameters of the IMP are broad, giving funding opportunities to a diverse array of nonprofits that may not typically apply for transportation grants.

Applications for IMP funding opened in September, and ODOT just announced the first set of 18 organizations set to get a check in the mail. In total, these organizations will receive $87,000 from the transportation department. Eight of these grants are for projects in Multnomah County.

Local non-profits who will use IMP funds include the Community Cycling Center, which won $5,000 to put toward their annual Holiday Bike Drive; Blanchet House of Hospitality, which was given $3,000 for a recurring monthly bike repair clinic for unhoused people and people with low-incomes; music therapy non-profit Jazz Not War, which will use $5,000 for a program to provide subsidized public transit fare, bike helmets, bike locks and minor bike repairs and Sara Bellum’s Bakery and Workshop, which was allotted $5,000 for bike helmets and safety education for people with disabilities, low incomes and traumatic brain injuries.

The IMP will fund projects in other parts of the state, too. For example, in east Oregon’s Wallowa County, the local school district received $4,858 for bike locks and racks for students and the Wallowa Mountains Bike Club received $5,000 for bike helmets and bike refurbishing for children from low‐income and rural homes.

It’s evident from the project list that when groups think ‘innovative mobility,’ they think bikes. The majority of projects that received funding aim to increase access to bicycling in a variety of ways for a diverse set of people.

In order to make the funds more accessible, the application process is ongoing until the funding runs out — and ODOT has $20 million dedicated to this program over the next two years — so interested applicants still have time to get their ideas in. Other components of the IMP, like large grants and contracts are expected to open in 2023. Check out the list of projects funded so far, and find out more about the IMP at the program’s website.

John Baker clings to life as friends gather for fundraiser tonight

Left photo: Family of John Baker. Right photos of N Killingsworth St: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Nearly one week after being hit by a speeding driver while bicycling on North Killingsworth Street, John Baker’s family and friends still don’t know what his future will hold. While many of us bask in a glow of the holidays, all they can do is hold onto hope that he’ll pull through play a role in their lives again.

Baker was riding on Killingsworth and Montana late Tuesday night when someone driving a car at a very high speed slammed into him and then failed to stop and help. It all happened in an instant.

On a “Prayers for John Baker” Facebook page updated this morning, a family member wrote, “They are still weaning John off the sedation. He did try to breath over the respirator yesterday!!! That is huge! … So right now it’s just waiting for his body to heal enough for the next step.”

Video of the collision obtained from a nearby business (which I’ve chosen to not share) shows a blur of car headlights speed by and then a loud “bang.” The force of impact sends what looks like a bicycle headlight about 50-feet into the air. Baker’s body flew twice that far. According to a GoFundMe page set up by his sister, Baker is still in critical condition while doctors wait for his body to heal to the point where they can begin surgeries.

This tragedy a horrific reminder of the epidemic of dangerous driving behaviors on our streets and their real-life consequences in a year where we’ve had far too many of them.

Baker had a wide web of friends thanks to his carpentry business and a love of surfing. Tonight (Tuesday, 12/27) from 7:00 to 9:00 pm many of those friends will gather at Up North Surf Club (1229 N Killingsworth) to console each other, create get-well cards, and raise money to help his family paddle over a wave of medical costs and other expenses. You can learn more about tonight’s event via Facebook or on the Up North Surf Club Instagram post.

Monday Roundup: Japan’s example, cities for people, Black hair, and more

Use code bikeportland22 and
save 20% off at ShowersPass.com

Welcome to the week. Hope you have had a great holiday so far, and I know many of you are still on winter break. We are back at the office but will still be on a limited schedule now through the New Year.

The Roundup is made possible by Showers Pass, makers of quality waterproof rainwear and gear that’s proudly designed and tested right here in Portland. Use code “bikeportland22” and save 20% at ShowersPass.com.

Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers came across in the past seven days…

When helmet hair is no joke: The lack of helmets that fit the hair types of many Black riders is a persistent hurdle toward moving cycling culture beyond its white-centric status quo. (African American Intellectual History Society)

Compact city: Portland has “20-minute neighborhoods,” but the Japanese city of Toyama is one of several in that country being hailed as a global leader in an anti-sprawl, “dumpling and skewer” approach. (The Economist)

Prison labor: A central California prison inmate started a bike donation program and refurbished 200 bikes for kids in need while he was incarcerated. (California Dept. of Corrections)

E-bikes for cops: If the Portland Police Bureau wants to beef up its downtown bicycle unit’s capabilities, they’d be wise to consider these recommendations. (Bicycle Retailer)

Sleeping with the enemy: The cycling world’s largest magazine glowingly reviewed Ford’s, $99,000 electric F-150 pickup truck, saying it’s the “ultimate e-bike accessory.” (Bicycling)

How to revitalize downtown: Portland leaders should read every word of this article which perfectly sums up how we must shift our perspective for central city planning away from business interests and office workers, and toward what people actually want. (Slate)

Car replacement ally: Global bike brand Canyon sees the opportunity to convert car owners to an e-bike lifestyle and plans to add more utilitarian models to its line-up. (Financial Times)

Highway be-gone: The Massachusetts DOT plans to remove a waterfront highway in order to turn 17 acres of land into new housing with walkable neighborhoods. (Streetsblog Mass)

IBR boondoggle: The editorial board of a Seattle-based news publication warns that the Interstate Bridge Replacement project should be seriously right-sized lest it ends up becoming a “boondoggle.” (Seattle Times)

Video of the Week: An electric cargo bike with a snow-plow attachment in the front. Someone in Portland should do this. Heck, the City of Portland should do this! I’m sure someone could figure out a leaf and gravel-sweeper attachment. Right?

Thanks to everyone who shared links this week.

Hillsdale abuzz with shoppers, despite outcry over bus lanes

Full parking lot of Hillsdale mall, looking east.

The prediction that the bus lanes will cause business closures “in a matter of months” apparently has not yet come to pass.

I just got back from Paris late Tuesday evening, and yesterday I headed over to the Hillsdale mall to restock our empty shelves with enough provisions to last a long, cold weekend.

Luckily I was able to find a parking spot, the place was hopping!

Readers might remember the petition campaign against the new Capitol Highway rose lanes launched by the Hillsdale Business and Professional Association, the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association and other civic groups. One of the concerns was that the new Bus and Turn (BAT) lane would hurt small businesses in the strip malls. (To be clear and fair, not all of the mall businesses participated in the petition campaign.)

The rose lanes went in last September and the petition’s prediction that the “negative impact” will cause business closures “in a matter of months” apparently has not yet come to pass.

Nevertheless, last month the Portland Tribune published a piece, Transit project hurting businesses, which amplified the complaints of a few owners.

Bus heading east in the newly installed rose lane on Capitol Highway in Southwest Portland.

Well, it’s been three months since the rose lanes went in, and the parking lot is full. That doesn’t mean that balance sheets are where an owner wants them to be, but it does mean that the rose lanes are not preventing customers from reaching the mall.

I’m a frequent customer of several mall businesses. I bank at OnPoint, I’m a regular at Gigi’s, I buy enough at Paloma’s that I get the handwritten thank you letter. I ship my packages at the UPS store, buy groceries at Basics, I own eight succulents from Gurton’s and I like to top off my shopping sprees with an ice cream cone at Dairy Hill. (I even bought one of their cute ice cream cone t-shirts for my niece.)

Hey big spender!

I drive to the mall from the west and my experience is that the BAT lanes make it less stressful to enter and exit the parking lot. Drivers seem to be respecting the new rose lane—it was empty yesterday except for cars making the turn into parking lots—and a line of cars in the leftmost lane was moving calmly. In other words, things seemed to me to be working as intended.

I wish everyone well, and I hope all those shoppers I saw yesterday spent a lot of money. And if you need a thoughtful, last minute gift, the succulents at Gurton’s Plant Shop might do the trick.

What’s your one big wish from Cycling Santa?

OK friends, we’re about to shut this thing down for a few days so we can connect with family and enjoy a break for the holiday. Taylor is back home in Denver (and getting ready to shove off to Europe for the month of January), and I’ve got family in town for Christmas and it’s my daughter’s 20th birthday on Friday. But before we go, I wanted to ask one question:

If you could put just one cycling-related thing on your wishlist this year, what would it be?

Don’t take the easy way out on this. I want you to think about it and share only one, very specific thing. The more realistic the wish is, the better. Like, wishing for a specific bike project is better than just saying, “I want Portland to have 30% bike mode share.”

And be honest! If your mind and heart goes toward something for yourself, like a new bike, then share that. It doesn’t have to be advocacy-related. And we’ll assume we all want more homes for the homeless and more food for the hungry, so if you don’t have to wish for those things even if they are first in your heart. On a similar note, please read all responses with an open and kind mind. This will be a judgment-free zone.

I’ll go first:

My wish from Cycling Santa would be 5,000 more bikes for our bike share fleet.

I think Biketown is the closest thing Portland has to a silver bullet when it comes to increasing bicycle mode share and hastening the cultural and political shifts necessary to move the needle on ridership after years of stagnation and declines. PBOT has done an admirable job managing the system with their partners from Lyft and Nike and it is very frustrating that we haven’t doubled-down on our investment to give Biketown what it needs most: more bikes. We continue to expand the service area and expand access to the system for low-income riders; but the overall number of bikes has only grown by 500 bikes (to 1,500 total) since it launched in 2016. That’s nowhere near enough bikes. If PBOT wants to beat back the haters and get more return on their admirable recent investments in infrastructure projects — especially in east Portland — they need to flood the streets with Biketown bikes.

So Cycling Santa, I’ve been a very good boy, stuff your sleigh with bike share bikes and spread the joy of riding to all!

What’s your wish?

Have a great holiday everyone. Please follow PBOT and other government alerts about the incoming storm and don’t use the roads unless you have to. Barring any major emergencies, we’ll see you back here on Monday the 26th.

Much love and cheer from the entire BikePortland crew!

For more ideas from readers check out the replies from our Twitter thread.