Welcome to the weekend. It’s going to be another chilly one — but what better way to warm up than by going on a holiday-themed bike ride? (Or checking out another one of this weekend’s events.)
And with that, here’s our hand-picked selection of the best rides and events coming your way.
Friday, December 16th
Rapha Portland Archive Sale – 2:00 to 7:00 pm at the Chris King Warehouse (NW) Grab deals on Rapha apparel and make a day out of it by hanging at the Chris King HQ cafe with a glass of 10 Barrel beer and a plate of munchies from Lardo. The sale will go through Sunday and open hours vary by day. More info here.
Bianca’s Christmas Party Dance Ride – 7:00 pm at Lloyd Center Parking Lot (NE 15th & Halsey) Grab your onesie or holiday apparel and get ready to have fun with a creative, fun-loving crew. Ride will merge with FNR (below) to see the lights at Peacock lane. More info here.
Friday Night Ride at Peacock Lane – 7:30 pm at Ladd Circle Park (SE) It’s time for Peacock Lane’s annual carfree night, where the historic street for holiday light viewing is closed off to cars — open to people who want to drink hot chocolate and cider and look at all the beautiful homes aglow with the holiday spirit. After a jaunt around the area, riders will head to a local tavern for some food and libations. More info here.
Saturday, December 17th
PDX Coffee Outside – 9:00 am at Colonel Summers Park (SE) Start Saturday off right with coffee and conversation with fellow bike lovers. The location changes weekly — this week, you’ll find the group at Colonel Summers park. More info here.
BikeLoud Holiday Lights Ride and Happy Hour – 4:30 pm at SE Main MAX stop (SE) BikeLoud’s last event of 2022 will be a holiday light and infrastructure extravaganza through east Portland’s most lit-up streets. Warm up after with pizza and drinks at Stark Street Pizza. More info here.
North Portland Christmas Lights Ride – 5:30 in North Portland Join members of the Portland Bicycling Club for a relaxed, 10-11 mile jaunt to see holiday lights. More info here.
Sunday, December 18th
Cycle Cats Forest Park Journey to St. John’s Bridge – 9:00 am at the Vera Katz Statue on the Eastbank Esplanade (SE) Join Cycle Cats PDX for a Sunday morning jaunt through Forest Park to St. John’s Bridge. This will be no drop ride, but it’s faster paced. The ride may stop at a food cart pod, but snacks are recommended. More info here.
Say Hi Sundays – 1:30 pm at Buckman Elementary School (SE) Say Hi Sundays is the newest Portland bike tradition for meeting new bike-minded people. This is a social pace ride under 10 miles. 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.
Trash bins blocking the new bike lane on Lombard after being hit by a driver. (Photo sent in by a reader)
In addition to leaves and cars and gravel and puddles and signs and construction equipment, another all too common object that blocks travel lanes used by bicycle riders are those big trash and recycling bins. Far too many people disrespect bike lanes and their lack of attention to this issue creates a significant safety hazard when road users are forced to steer around the bins and into other lanes. The issue has become more acute in recent years as the Portland Bureau of Transportation has created more curbside, parking-protected bike lanes.
The issue should be handled automatically by the city through a mix of marketing, education, design and enforcement. But until that happens, like many other street safety issues we face, the burden is on us to file a complaint with the city.
Last week we had a reader contact us about a repeat offender who was leaving several bins in the new bike lane on N Lombard each week. She lives in an apartment and noticed how workers from her property management company were to blame. When she brought the issue to their attention, they “repeatedly dismissed” her concerns. Then last weekend, the bins were struck by a car driver. Frustrated and worried, our reader decided to go a different route: She emailed the Oregon Department of Transportation (they manage this section of Lombard) and the Portland Bureau of Planning & Sustainability (who are in charge of the waste and recycling).
“I shudder to think what would have happened had a cyclist approached this sudden wall of cans in the rainy dark weather and darted into traffic to avoid them,” she wrote in an email copied to BikePortland.
One day later she got a reply from a BPS staffer. The staffer said they got in touch with someone at the property management firm and was told they would place the bins up on the sidewalk and out of the bike lane from now on. The BPS staffer also shared sage advice for how to report the issue so it gets handled correctly.
If you come across bins blocking the bikeway (especially repeat offenders), you can file a complaint with Bureau of Development Services by sending an email to codec@portlandoregon.gov or by calling 503-823-2633.
K. Obstructions to sidewalks, streets, and other rights of way. Keep the adjacent rights of way free of anything that obstructs or interferes with the normal flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, unless specifically authorized by permit or ordinance to do otherwise. This responsibility includes, but is not limited to, removal of earth, rock, and other debris, as well as projecting or overhanging bushes and limbs that may obstruct or render unsafe the passage of persons or vehicles.
It’s unfortunate bicycle riders are burdened with having to report these obstructions and I realize not everyone is willing to do it. But if this is your type of thing, at least now you know where to take your concerns. Hopefully they’ll get taken care of quickly.
City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said her next vehicle will be an e-trike. (Photos: City of Portland, Rad Power Bikes – Graphic: BikePortland)
“I think the charter change will be good for transportation in the long-term, because there’ll be one-stop shop for accountability.”
– Jo Ann Hardesty, city commissioner
As the elected official leading the Portland Bureau of Transportation for the last two years, Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty has spent time as City Council’s voice on all things transportation and infrastructure. But since she was ousted in November by incoming Council member Rene Gonzalez, Hardesty will soon be leaving her spot in city leadership and at PBOT.
Hardesty was given the PBOT assignment in January 2021 after serving on Council for two years. So, after this time navigating the ins and outs of PBOT, what does Hardesty think about where Portland transportation is — and where it’s going? She gave us some insights at last night’s Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting, and even included a few hints about her future plans. (Former PBOT Commissioner Chloe Eudaly gave a similar address before she left Council in 2021.)
As will be no surprise to anyone who paid attention to City Council dynamics over the last two years, Hardesty isn’t entirely optimistic about placing the fate of her assignments in the hands of the current local elected officials. She said Mayor Ted Wheeler and the rest of council will spend time, money and energy on moving Portland’s homeless population into massive outdoor encampments, potentially ignoring other areas.
“PBOT will continue to do the great work they’re doing, and hopefully won’t be pulled away from that work to do things just for downtown special interests,” Hardesty said.
Hardesty (lower right) at the BAC Wednesday night.
Hardesty was an advocate for people in east Portland during her time as PBOT commissioner. Now that Council will lose its only member who lives east of 82nd Avenue, Hardesty is concerned city leadership will ignore everything outside of the central city.
“The way the council operates, no [commissioner] is supposed to represent an individual community. Their goals are supposed to be citywide,” she said. “But honestly, that just doesn’t happen unless they’re advocates or electeds who actually live outside of the downtown core and who care about other parts of the city.”
“I think the charter change will be good for transportation in the long-term, because there’ll be one-stop shop for accountability,” Hardesty said. “What I believe will happen is there will be more grassroots people who live in the community, and who will be bringing your voices to the City Council. So I think…we will actually end up in a better place to be able to have communities truly represented.”
Though Hardesty has earned praise from transportation advocates for her work creating carfree public spaces around the city and speaking up for east Portland, her relationship with activists hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. Bike advocates will recall her heated May 2021 meeting with the BAC when she revealed she didn’t know about Portland’s Bicycle Plan for 2030. To BAC members, this was indicative not only of a personal lack of familiarity of bike issues, but also demonstrated that PBOT was letting the once-glorified bike plan fall to the wayside. Hardesty reflected on this experience at the meeting last night.
“The first time I came and talked to [your committee], I didn’t know we had a 2030 bike plan. Who knew? Nobody told me as the transportation Commissioner,” she said. “I’m happy to say that I left that meeting and went and went online and found that 2030 Bike plan…are we making progress? The answer is yes. But as you know, covid really just sent everything into a tailspin.”
“I still have a lot of knife wounds in my back from the last campaign, so I’m not ready to commit to any public service at the moment.”
“I’m pretty sure what I do next will continue around transportation. Because I don’t want to leave the I-5 Bridge, Rose Quarter and 82nd Ave to newbies,” she said.
As far as whether or not she’ll run for a spot in our larger city government in 2024? That’s not yet clear.
“I still have a lot of knife wounds in my back from the last campaign, so I’m not ready to commit to any public service at the moment,” Hardesty said.
The other big piece of news in Hardesty’s future? Possibly inspired by Rad Power’s recent product announcement, she wants to get an electric tricycle. “Just so you know, I stopped driving in March of 2020,” she said. “[An electric trike] is my next vehicle.” (Hardesty said since she weighs just 100 pounds, standard e-bikes are too heavy for her to handle.)
It’s still unclear who will be the next commissioner to lead PBOT. (Some suspect it will be Mingus Mapps — Hardesty said Wheeler has plans to reveal this next week.) Whoever gets the assignment has a big job ahead of them. With massive maintenance and budget concerns, Portland’s transportation bureau is a giant ship to steer.
At the end of Hardesty’s talk, BAC members thanked her for her work as PBOT Commissioner. Some people asking her to join their subcommittees and other groups. She didn’t commit to anything yet, but said people will still be able to tune into City Council meetings to hear her thoughts.
“Just be assured, I’m not going anywhere. You may not know this, but I have been I’ve been testifying at city council for 25 years,” Hardesty said. So if [the mayor] thinks I’m not going to still yell at him, he’s in for a rude awakening.”
A 2017 paving project on SW Main was a precursor to what might become an influential new program at PBOT. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
“In the old days, paving projects were just paving projects and it was very hard to do any of these enhancements.”
– Zef Wagner, PBOT
A significant evolution in how the Portland Bureau of Transportation operates could have a major impact on bicycling.
At Tuesday night’s Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting, PBOT Planner Zef Wagner shared an early look at a fledgling new program within the agency that could dramatically boost the quality of our transportation network with bike lanes on major commercial streets and neighborhood collectors. They’re calling it the “paving leverage program” and it would institutionalize what has so far been an ad hoc approach by opportunistic, forward-thinking staff.
Some of the projects on PBOT’s radar are game-changers and could bring protected bike lanes to streets including: inner NE Broadway, NE Sandy Blvd, N Interstate, SE Milwaukie, and many others.
The idea is to work closely with PBOT’s Maintenance Operations (MO) division to do lane reconfigurations, striping changes, and street design updates as part of repaving projects. BikePortland readers are familiar with this concept because you’ve read about it happening several times in recent years on projects like SE Main, SE Hawthorne, and most recently (as in, yesterday) NE Killingsworth. In each of those examples, PBOT leveraged a planned paving project to take a broader look and consider whether bike lane (and related) updates could be added. When MO crews grind off the top layer of a street for a paving project, they have no obligation to replace it with the same lane striping as before.
It’s as simple as taking advantage of a clean slate to create a street that more closely aligns with PBOT’s goals and vision. Now PBOT wants to make that approach standard operating procedure.
Map shown by PBOT last night.
“In the old days, paving projects were just paving projects and it was very hard to do any of these enhancements,” Wagner said at the meeting last night. “But now we’re working much closer with our pavement crews and planning these things together. And they’re being they’ve been very gracious and sort of entertaining our wild ideas for street redesigns.” Wagner said in the past, MO would only release their street paving project list one year in advance, which didn’t give PBOT planners time to assess the feasibility of changes. Now, for the first time ever, the MO Division has released a five-year list of paving projects. “Now we can really plan ahead and take the time we need,” Wagner said.
On that note, Wagner asked BAC members at the meeting to share feedback on which specific projects PBOT should pursue (see the list below). Wagner highlighted several projects he feels are especially promising candidates for major bike lane upgrades (the projects could also come with non-bike stuff like transit upgrades, street trees, crossing enhancements, and so on).
As you look through the projects, keep in mind that PBOT approaches them with an understanding that the ultimate scope of the changes is limited by funding and staff capacity. “We need to work within the limits of the paving project and timeline… we’re not going to do a bunch of moving curbs, raised cycle tracks, you know all these kinds of like things that are larger capital projects,” Wagner cautioned. In his view, the idea is to claim the space for the bikeway now, and seek more funding to upgrade it in the future.
The projects below (listed by year of construction with graphics from PBOT’s presentation) are the ones Wagner said PBOT staff have already identified as “really good and clear opportunities”:
2023
The projects below are already design and planned. There’s no ability to influence them, so Wagner didn’t share any concept designs.
NE 33rd from NE Brazee to NE Liberty: This project will include an offset bike crossing at Mason and Skidmore and buffered bike lanes north of Holman! This is great news because NE 33rd is a key connection to the popular Marine Drive bike path and this short gap between Holman and Lombard was always the most sketchy part of the ride.
NW St Helens Rd from Lakeview to Yeon: PBOT plans to narrow existing general purpose lanes and add buffers to widen the bike lanes.
NE Alderwood Rd from 82nd to 105th: PBOT plans to narrow existing general purpose lanes and add buffers to widen the bike lanes.
SE Stark St from 86th to 117th and SE Washington St from 82nd to Stark: PBOT plans to add and improve bike lanes on both streets through Montavilla and Gateway
2024
The projects below are set for paving in 2024. Wagner said there’s still time to influence their design but we’ll have to move relatively fast in terms of design debates and public process.
NE Broadway from 11th to 24th Avenue
Two design options for NE Broadway (click to view)
This would be an amazing addition to the bike network, especially if we can get protected bike lanes all the way to existing ones on NE 7th and eventually tie it into the changes coming as part of the I-5 Rose Quarter. Wagner said there’s enough room to do a wider, parking-protected bike lane just by narrowing the existing general purpose lanes. “That would be the least impactful to the neighborhood and traffic,” he said. But keeping all three lanes for drivers would mean it stays unsafe. One option he shared would be to create a diagonal parking lane on the south side. “This would help mitigate the loss of a lot of parking on the north side… And so this might be an option that the business community could get behind even though it’s removing a travel lane… Diagonal parking can also have a traffic calming effect because you have to drive pretty carefully next to it.”
NE Weidler St: 15th to 20th
PBOT could narrow travel lanes to buffer and widen the existing bike lane. Adding physical protection like curbs or flex posts could happen, but more funding would be needed.
SE 52nd Ave: Flavel St to Duke St
There’s an opportunity at this location to remove parking on one side and widen existing bike lanes. One option would be to have the parking protected bike lane on one side and just a protected bike lane on the other side, which would require removing parking on one side of the street.
NE Halsey St: 119th Ave to 132nd Ave
PBOT has already recommended removing on-street parking and widening the existing bike lanes here in their East Portland Arterial Streets Strategy (EPASS) plan.
NE 122nd Ave: Glisan St to Broadway
Wagner said they recommended removing on-street parking in this section because it’s not well-used. That would give them space for wide buffered bike lanes, or something more protected if they could find additional funding.
2025
Projects slated for 2025 give PBOT even more time to do analysis and find funding to make sure the street is replaced with a much better design.
SE 11th Ave: Caruthers St to Mill St
Already called for in the Central City in Motion Plan, PBOT would repurpose an existing lane for a buffered bike lane. Design would feel similar to N Williams or N Vancouver (parking-protected bike lane not possible here due to emergency response needs).
NE Glisan St: 84th Ave to I-205
PBOT would repurpose existing lanes to create protected bike lanes from the 80s bikeway to the I-205 path and eventually existing bikeways on 102nd Ave.
N Interstate Ave: Killingsworth St to Dekum St
Wagner called this an opportunity to swap on-street parking in order to “fill a critical bikeway network gap.” Planning has already begun for this project through the North Portland in Motion Plan. Due to existing curb extensions, left-turn lanes, and MAX platforms, the bike lane would get squeezed at intersection. That’s just one reason this would be a tricky project. “It requires a lot of parking removal in an area that’s seeing a lot more housing growth and so we know that this one will get a lot of concerns from the surrounding community,” Wagner said.
N Portsmouth Ave: Lombard St to Willamette Blvd
PBOT would swap on-street parking on one side of the street for a parking protected bike lane, which would also create space for more median islands to make crossings safer.
N Willamette Blvd: Carey Blvd to Portsmouth Ave
PBOT sees this paving project as an opportunity to get a jump on the federally funded Willamette Active Transportation Corridor which is slated for 2026. The idea is to install buffered bike lanes one year early, in 2025, then come back and add the concrete separation with federal funding one year later.
2026
NE Sandy Blvd: 14th to 27th
Two options for Sandy (click to view)
This would be huge! Wagner said it’s good this isn’t slated until 2026 because it would require a lot of planning and juggling of various needs given Sandy’s importance for so many people. He also said it’s an opportunity to extend this to the west to connect with the new bus/bike only lanes on NE 12th and Couch and then east to the 20s Bikeway. One option is to repurpose existing lanes and add parking-protected bike lanes in both directions. Or to remove one side of parking and add a center turn lane.
SW 2nd Ave: Columbia St to Alder St
This project would give PBOT the opportunity to extend the existing west side parking-protected bike lane south from Alder to Columbia.
SE Morrison St: Grand Ave to 13th Ave
Wagner is hopeful this project would give PBOT the chance to fulfill the recommendation from the Central City motion plan and further reduce driving space while making an even better bus and bike lane.
SE Milwaukie Ave: Bush St to Powell Blvd
This project gives PBOT a chance to make major changes to Milwaukie right through the heart of the Brooklyn neighborhood. To create bike lanes, the on-street parking would need to be removed in some sections. The cross-section varies widely on this stretch of Milwaukie so Wagner didn’t share any design concepts. He did say however, “I think this is such an important street to the Brooklyn neighborhood and I think there’s lots of different ideas people have about what they want that street to look and feel like. I think some people would really want curb extensions rather than bike lanes, for example. Or more trees, things like that. So it’s something that we’d have to have a lot of community conversations about but we have a lot of time for this one.”
Next Steps
From here, Wagner and his team will try to whittle down the paving project list and focus on the ones with the most potential. PBOT will also try to get a pot of set-aside funding through the Fixing Our Streets (gas tax) program to create the new Paving Leverage Program. This will allow staff to put together a multi-year schedule to plan and develop projects and create a work program going forward.
If you have feedback on these projects or questions for Wagner, he can be reached via email at zef.wagner@portlandoregon.gov
Go By Bike founder Kiel Johnson (left) takes a ride in the pedicab operated by Nic Lawton. Lawton waits by the afternoon pickup location.(Photos: Taylor Griggs/BikePortland)
“It’s a lot more agile than the gas-powered bus was.”
-Kiel Johnson, Go By Bike
The area surrounding the entrance to the Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) tram in Portland’s South Waterfront contains a wealth of transportation options unlike anywhere else in the city. Not only can you spot TriMet buses, streetcars and MAX light rail, but the area is also home to the continent’s largest bike valet, an aerial tram — and now, a free pedicab.
Yesterday afternoon I rode over to the Go By Bike headquarters where the pedicab is stationed to check out the scene.
“Free pedicab rides!” Nic Lawton, one of the pedicab operators, called out to anyone passing by. It was surprisingly hard to find takers. Perhaps OHSU’s medical staff and students didn’t feel whimsical enough to ride in a pedicab after a long day at the hospital. Or maybe they just don’t know it’s now an official, OHSU-endorsed part of the South Waterfront’s transportation system.
“I feel like I’m in that Portlandia sketch,” Lawton told me. (If you haven’t seen the Portlandia scene where Fred Armisen tries relentlessly to get people walking in downtown Portland to ride in his pedicab, you should to watch it.)
Taking a break under the Portland Aerial Tram.
“I think my favorite thing happened yesterday. I could hear two adults in the back just giggling.”
– Nic Lawton, pedicab operator
But Lawton remained optimistic and kept a smile on his face. After all, he is working as a pedicab operator for a living. Having just moved here from the Bay Area in August, he’s now essentially embodies the dream of getting paid to do something unique and quintessentially Portland.
“It’s a lot more agile than the gas-powered bus was, and we’re able to turn around a lot quicker,” Johnson told me while Lawton rolled us around in the pedicab. “Now that we have this new technology with electric bikes, it’s interesting to think about how we can integrate it into the existing transportation system. What kinds of innovations can we do? That’s been the whole point of Go By Bike.”
When I talked to OHSU’s transportation director Brett Dodson back in the spring, he said the pedicab will help further reduce the institution’s carbon footprint and encourage people to use alternative modes of transportation.
“Anything that will assist someone with not having to use a single occupancy vehicle to get to campus is good,” Dodson said.
Although OHSU personnel are still getting used to the pedicab, Lawton said those who have taken the opportunity to get carted in the pedicab have really enjoyed it.
“I think my favorite thing happened yesterday. I could hear two adults in the back just giggling,” he said. “One of them said, ‘sorry, I can’t stop giggling!’ I was like, ‘no, I love it.'”
While we waited for more clientele, I theorized with Lawton about a potential meet cute between two stressed out doctors who get on the pedicab together during a holiday rainstorm. Over the course of the ride, the doctors get to experience childlike joy again and subsequently fall in love. (What do you think, should I pitch it to the Hallmark channel?)
Even if nobody falls in love in the backseat of the pedicab, it’s still a very cool addition to Portland’s transportation network. This is also the first pedicab to operate in Portland for quite some time— perhaps it will mark a renaissance for the mode of transportation?
“The businessman takes the train, it saves time.” A poster on the wall of a cafe at the Gare de Lyon in Paris. (Photos: Lisa Caballero/BikePortlnd)
I’ve been in Paris for the past month. Add that to the three months I spent here a year ago, and it becomes the most time I’ve ever spent outside of the US.
I’ve continued to help Jonathan with BikePortland comment moderation, which works out well. With the nine-hour time difference, we can push your comments through twenty-four hours a day!
But being here, and doing that, puts me in a situation I’m not used to—reading about home from afar. There is nothing unusual about this, many people—immigrants, guest workers, refugees, students abroad, military personnel, Peace Corps volunteers—have this experience, but it’s new for me.
Specifically, reading about US transportation issues on BikePortland while in a country which has already, for years, taken bold steps toward safer streets and reduced car use is, well, disorienting.
TGV with text promoting reduced carbon emissions.
For example, I’ve taken France’s high speed train, the TGV, twice in the past few weeks. Sandwiched between those two trips was the BikePortland post about the proposed ultra high speed Cascadia line.
The post garnered 69 comments, and it feels like I pushed most of them through. What knowledgeable discussions and debate! BikePortland has a lot of readers who are in the biz, and others who are just plain well-informed.
One comment stuck with me because I knew it was incorrect but didn’t have the facts at hand. The commenter was questioning the carbon savings of high speed rail and challenging the assertion that the train could be an alternative to driving or flying.
Back to France. Within the week, the missing carbon facts rolled by me on the side of the TGV I had just exited. The green text in the photo above says, “Thank you for choosing us, together we emit less carbon: 50 times less than a car, 80 times less than a plane.”
But there’s more. Earlier this month, the European Commission decided in favor of France’s initial steps to curtail domestic air flights to cities which have rapid train service. That’s right, France wants people out of planes and into the train—and the EU has backed them up. The immediate effect of this new ruling will be small, only a few cities qualify for the new regulation, but it is significant in that it gives the green light to this type of regulation in countries throughout Europe, and the conditions can be broadened in the future.
Can you imagine something like that happening in the US?
So I savor my TGV journeys and push your comments through, and I write this without spit or bile. Mostly what I feel is compassion. We’ve got a lot of change coming our way.
Now that the City of Portland has more authority to set its own speed limits, I was curious how it will play out inside the transportation bureau. So I fired off a few questions to Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) Public Information Officer Dylan Rivera.
While I waited to hear back, I noticed that the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) added a trove of information about the new process to their website about how city transportation staff must go about taking advantage of this new authority.
If you’re wonky enough to care about this type of stuff and/or an advocate who wants to better understand the new playbook when it comes to lowering speeds (which in my opinion is an important step regardless of enforcement), I think you’ll appreciate this Q & A.
BikePortland: Has PBOT prepared for this change? If so, how?
Dylan Rivera, PBOT. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePorltand)
Dylan Rivera, PBOT: PBOT was engaged in developing ODOT’s rule for implementing this state law, which we had advocated for in the legislature.
PBOT has played a leading role advocating for local authority to set speed limits on Portland streets for more than five years. Following passage of House Bill 2682 in 2017, which allowed for 20 mph residential speed limits in Portland, in 2018, the City of Portland began advocating in the legislature for local speed setting authority. It wasn’t until 2021 when local delegation finally passed as part of the omnibus transportation bill. In a separate process that ODOT initiated in 2018, PBOT participated in a speed zone roundtable to update the state’s speed setting rules. Speed setting previously was tied to 85th percentile travel speeds during free flow conditions. The updated rules, within cities, consider land use context, street classification and 50th percentile speeds.
ODOT recently published an application form on their website for local speed setting control. PBOT is currently working on our application, which includes submitting a quality control plan. Our application must demonstrate that our staff are qualified, they’ve taken ODOT training and we have the capabilities to follow the required procedures.
What type of staffing changes or internal systems will be created to deal with this need for engineering studies that must now be done at PBOT instead of ODOT?
We’re trying to determine how much work this will entail for our planning and engineering staff. Currently, ODOT makes the decision about speed limit changes that require engineering studies. Sometimes, PBOT can propose a new speed limit and conduct its own study that justifies that request, which is followed by a decision by ODOT. Other times, PBOT can propose a new speed limit and ODOT performs the study, as well as making the decision. The ODOT studies were contingent on ODOT’s staff availability, so could take a year or more to complete.
Under the new system, PBOT could make the decision about the speed limit change on city streets on its own, following state law. This new approach still requires a speed study, but all of them could be conducted by PBOT.
It’s important to remember that the current process applies to any speed limit requests on city streets until PBOT is approved for the new authority. We are not sure how long that process will take.
Will new speed limit requests be taken from anyone outside PBOT?
Requests for speed limit changes can be made to 311 or 823-SAFE and will be evaluated by our staff. This is the longstanding customer intake process we have had. The difference with the new authority is that after PBOT considers the request, we will be able to make the speed limit change as long as we are acting within state law. We also have some PBOT guidance that helps us interpret the law.
The new authority does not apply to state highways in the city limits, such as SE Powell Blvd or Interstate 5.
Any general comment you’d like to make about why this is important and how PBOT will use this new law to make Portland roads safer?
PBOT has long advocated for smarter criteria for setting speed limits. We believe that nationwide and in Oregon, traffic engineers have too often set the speed limit to accommodate the 85th percentile of free-flow traffic, rather than to support multimodal travel in urban environments. The existing criteria for setting speed limits accounts for the changes we have advocated for, including consideration of land use context.
The new authority gives us more control over the timing of speed limit changes, which will help us be more nimble. For example — if we have a project that adds a bunch of new crosswalks, we can more easily combine that project with an adjustment to the speed limit that supports safe use of those new crosswalks. One good example is on NE 47th Avenue north of Columbia Blvd in the Cully neighborhood, funding from a Local Improvement District allowed us to rebuild and redesign the street, building sidewalks and multi-use paths on a street that previously had nothing but ditches by the side of the road. We submitted a request on May 16 for a change from 40 to 30 mph to support this LID project that wrapped up construction a while ago. The street remains 40 mph while this request is being processed. In the future, we’d be more likely to adjust the speed limit closer to when we wrapped up construction on the project.
We do not expect a single, large-scale change as we accomplished with our change of residential speed limits from 25 to 20 mph in 2019. This could help us adjust speed limits on streets in a timely way, as we complete new street redesigns, evaluate street eligibility using the new criteria, respond to requests from the public, and as staff identify opportunities for speed limit reductions throughout the city.
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Our vision is for riders everywhere to reach for our service and be out the door a few minutes later on a great ride they couldn’t have anticipated. When our users have a few minutes to kill, they will open up our site or app to see what rides people are up to and contribute a nugget of their local knowledge. And we will continue to be the undisputed platform leader for bike events, clubs, and tours.
POSITION
Join our current Product Designer in owning the end-to-end user journey and all aspects of UI/UX design execution — from research and ideation, to prototyping, user testing, and final production — and additionally measures design improvements against the company’s strategic goals to ensure that we are meeting the ever-changing needs of our users.
User Experience
– Own end-to-end user journey and all aspects of UI/UX design execution from research and ideation, to prototyping, user testing, and final production
– Get to know and understand our customers as much as possible, analyzing their feedback and behavior to validate design and product decisions
– Encourage empathy with diverse perspectives to inspire how we build products
Product Design
– Design experiences that address business, brand, and user requirements across all platforms: iOS, Android, Web
– Explore, refine, and iterate on design solutions through wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity visual design
– Present product ideas to relevant team members and participate in the design critique process to receive and provide constructive feedback on design work
– Collaborate with engineers to refine design specifications and see designs through implementation and shipping
Product Strategy
– Work cross-functionally with product management, engineering, support, marketing, and other stakeholders to define product strategy and to produce refined product experiences that our customers love
– Effectively communicate conceptual ideas, design thinking, and the specifics of a user-centered design process
– Measure ongoing improvements against short and long-term strategic goals
– Work closely with product managers and engineers to ship product improvements and all-new features, evaluate their effectiveness, and plan follow up initiatives
– Collaborate with marketing on go-to-market strategy and produce design assets and deliverables as needed
– Stay up to date on current industry trends and market conditions
ABOUT US
The Company
Ride with GPS is on a mission to create great cycling experiences and help people go on better rides, more often.
Our website is used to plan bike routes and events, manage bike clubs, analyze ride data, and publish great rides. Our companion app is a bike computer, route navigator, and ride recorder. Within the cycling world, we serve weekend riders, clubs, event organizers, tour operators, and racers. We are committed to not running any ads on the site or in the app, and are able to maintain a singular focus on serving cyclists.
Our business is bootstrapped, profitable, and growing.
The Team
We are cyclists. We are explorers. We are artists. We are writers. We are parents. We are friends. We are a group of people with diverse interests who lead healthy, balanced lives and are all very passionate about what we do. By joining Ride with GPS, you will become a part of a team that helps millions of people have a great time on their bikes.
BENEFITS
We offer a competitive salary as well as health, dental and vision insurance, and a 401k with a 10% match. We strongly believe in testing our own software, and as a result are more than happy to help defray some of the costs of cycling, including offering a one-time new bicycle stipend as well as an annual bike supply budget.
Ride with GPS is working remotely and offers a generous stipend for setting up a home office. We have an office in Portland, OR that staff is welcome to use as desired.
How to Apply
Email careers@ridewithgps.com with your resume, your portfolio, and a cover letter that includes an overview of any work relevant to the position. If you have a personal connection to bikes, we’d love to hear about this as well. We’ll respond in a timely manner and move things forward for promising candidates.
Ride with GPS is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming workplace for all members of our staff. We believe having a diverse team makes our product and our company better, and we are working to ensure our reality reflects those ideals. We invite applicants of any race, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical ability or limitation, religion, or background to apply and look forward to hearing from you.
Now we know why PBOT is so bullish on these treatments, and where they are likely to show up next.
First, let’s back up: Advisory bike lanes (or advisory shoulders, which is what PBOT calls them on streets without sidewalks) are a type of road striping where drivers in both directions have just one center lane to negotiate and PBOT creates a light version of bike lanes on each side. Instead of the solid white line to separate the bike lane, they are striped with broken, hashed lanes. When two drivers come at each other and there is no bike rider present, they can legally drive into the bike lane to pass. When a bike rider is present, the normal rules of a bike lane apply, and the drivers must wait, slow down, and figure out how to pass once it’s safe. You can see how they work in the video below…
PBOT loves this design for many reasons. First and foremost they are a cheap (and relatively non-controversial) way to improve access for bike riders and walkers onto narrow streets where adding dedicated space for them would require less space for car users. Advisory bike lanes require no one user to give up too much in terms of access (two-way car traffic can remain and parking is often be maintained) and at the same time they have significant safety outcomes.
From PBOT’s perspective, advisory bike lanes tick all the boxes and could be a quick and cheap way to build out their bike network as they ramp up to have 25% of all trips made by bike by 2030. So why are we hearing so much about them right now? After all, they were passed as a recommended treatment in the 2009 Bicycle Plan, but PBOT had only tried them in one location in the last 12 years prior to 2022.
The main reason PBOT had been tentative to install them is because they aren’t allowed by the Federal Highway Administration (there were only 30 advisory bike lane installations in the entire country up until 2019). In order to promote consistency nationwide, everything city traffic engineers do on their streets must follow strict rules laid out in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). a federal standards guide. If a city does something outside of the MUTCD, they run the risk of legal liability in the event of a crash and no engineers want to go up against the FHWA. Thankfully, the FHWA offers a way for more progressive cities like Portland to do new things. It’s called a “request to experiment” and it’s exactly what it sounds like. A city can ask the FHWA for permission to try something new, even if it’s not yet adopted into the official MUTCD guidebook.
PBOT is no stranger to this process. It’s how they forged ahead as a North American pioneer on things like bike boxes, green bike lanes, red transit lanes, blue bike detector lights at signals, and so on.
And that’s exactly what they’ve done with advisory bike lanes. PBOT filed a request to experiment with the FHWA back in January and has received permission to install them on a trial basis citywide.
Reached for comment about the FHWA partnership today, PBOT Public Informations Officer Dylan Rivera said, “We’re constantly looking to make cycling safer and more comfortable for more Portlanders. So we are eager to try new techniques that we have seen in other cities in North America or Europe.”
The 10-page request (PDF) lays out PBOT’s case for the treatment:
“Advisory Bike Lanes and Shoulders are included as a facility type in [Portland’s citywide pedestrian plan and the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030] but have not yet been implemented due to outstanding questions about traffic control device guidelines, application criteria, and experimental status with FHWA…
… the city also has many neighborhoods with narrow streets, often lacking curbs and sidewalks or pedestrian facilities. Many of these substandard streets are characterized by narrow pavements and rights-of-way, steep or environmentally-sensitive sideslopes, and streetside constraints like buildings or retaining walls, and it is either infeasible or financially prohibitive to install sidewalks or conventional bikeways in the near future. Nevertheless, these streets serve as the access to homes, transit, and other destinations in these neighborhoods, and warrant solutions to provide safe access for people walking and bicycling.”
PBOT map showing where they will test advisory bike lanes and shoulders as part of FHWA experiment.
As part of this experiment, PBOT hopes to test five new locations:
NE San Rafael St. from 122nd to 148th
NE Sacramento St. from 132nd to 148th
SE Ellis St. from 84th to 92nd.
SW 40th Avenue, Wilbard to Huber
SW Talbot Road, Fairmount at Gaston to Fairmount (Fairmount is a loop)
Rivera says that while PBOT believes all of these locations are good candidates for advisory bike lanes, there will still be some engineering and public outreach to get into the nitty-gritty details before they install the new striping and include them in the test.
As per the terms of the partnership, PBOT will keep FHWA apprised of their progress and conduct detailed before/after analysis at each location. If all goes well, at the end of the three-year trial, PBOT will be able to install them without federal oversight and the treatment would be considered for official adoption into the MUTCD, which would open the floodgates for cities across America to implement them.
The data breaks down every U.S. census tract according to five categories: transportation, housing, food, goods and services. Although the latter three categories are important as well, the first two categories are the most crucial for city planners to look at, especially since they often make up the biggest contribution to a household’s carbon footprint.
Taking a big-picture view of the map, it’s immediately obvious that people living in cities have a much lower carbon footprint than people living in the suburbs or rural areas — largely because of housing and transportation.
The emissions breakdown for a census tract in the Alameda neighborhood.
As many proponents of dense housing developments will tell you, transportation and housing are inextricably linked. This is not only because denser cities typically have more options available for people to get around without cars, but also because smaller homes located in more populated areas require less energy for electricity and heating/cooling. The article states:
Households in denser neighborhoods close to city centers tend to be responsible for fewer planet-warming greenhouse gases, on average, than households in the rest of the country. Residents in these areas typically drive less because jobs and stores are nearby and they can more easily walk, bike or take public transit. And they’re more likely to live in smaller homes or apartments that require less energy to heat and cool.
When you zoom in on Portland on the map, you’ll see that many of our neighborhoods — especially in the central city — are comparatively pretty green, with emissions below the national average of about 40 tons of carbon dioxide per household. The lowest impact neighborhoods are in the transit and housing-dense west side (downtown), where the average household consumes less than half the national average.
Interestingly, in the parts of the city where emissions are higher, transportation and housing aren’t necessarily to blame. The neighborhoods colored deepest orange on the map include the wealthy east side areas of Irvington, Alameda and Laurelhurst, all of which are located near the city center and where residents have carfree transportation options to get around. In these neighborhoods, the main problem sources come from food, goods and services.
“Density isn’t the only thing that matters,” the article says. “Wealth does, too. Higher-income households generate more greenhouse gases, on average, because wealthy Americans tend to buy more stuff — appliances, cars, furnishings, electronic gadgets — and travel more by car and plane, all of which come with related emissions.”
Just because many Portland neighborhoods have lower average household emissions than other places in the country doesn’t mean we can’t continue to improve. The average carbon emissions per capita in most other countries around the world is much lower than what can be seen even in Portland’s greenest areas.
The NYT article makes it clear that this research isn’t meant to shame people for things out of their control. The article points out that it is “often easier and cheaper to find a home in a high-emissions community than a lower-emissions one.” Researchers want to use this data to encourage cities to make systemic changes that will reduce emissions on a large scale.
“Cities and local governments could use the data to identify the most effective ways to fight climate change — by, for example, encouraging developers to build more housing in neighborhoods where people don’t need cars to get around or helping households in suburbs more quickly adopt cleaner electric vehicles,” the article states. (Or perhaps expanding public transit options into under-serviced communities and improving bike infrastructure?)
This kind of data visualization really highlights how smart city planning is so important if we want to make progress to combat climate change. Take a few minutes to zoom around on the map and let us know what you think.
OTTO DesignWorks LLC, makers of the award-winning OTTOLOCK cinch lock, is seeking an independent sales representative to develop strategic accounts in the rapidly growing micromobility space. E-bikes and E-scooters need mobile security options and our all-new product line suite, including U-Locks and folding locks, address multiple outdoor use cases.
This position is part-time, contract, and can transition to full-time with success and growth. This position will build the funnel and relationships for both OEM and aftermarket sales direct to strategic accounts. Coverage will be national, and start-up comes with an extensive list of leads. Compensation will be variable. Position will work with management on sales programs and product customization where necessary. Candidate values honesty, commitment, and collaboration.
Required Skills, Knowledge & Experience
• Strong and demonstrated sales deliverables and growth track-record.
• Know-how and understanding of cycling and/or security marketplace with relationships in emerging micromobility market a definite plus.
• Self-starting drive and willingness to “cold-call” prospects.
• Ability to understand and communicate technical details, e.g., specifications, differences, dims.
• Ability to network and build connections/relationships.
• Experience using/building a CRM methodology and communicating to internal stakeholders.
• Ability to effectively work in a small team on customer needs and programs.
• Understanding of pricing & terms programs and the ability to recommend winning structure for both company and customer.
• Strong written and oral communications skills. Able to communicate proficiently and concisely.
• Strong computer skills and experience with various systems (Google Docs, Microsoft Office).
• Strong attention to detail and concern for quality/accuracy.
• Adept at building relationships and trust with team members.
OTTOLOCK was founded in 2017 and based in Wilsonville, OR.
How to Apply
Send resume and information to jobs@ottodesignworks.com
On Monday afternoon, City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, announced that the Portland Bureau of Transportation would heed demands from Cully neighborhood and safe streets advocates and build more robust bike lanes on Northeast Killingsworth than were initially planned.
When PBOT first looked at the 0.7-mile segment of Killingsworth between 53rd and Cully Blvd (see map), they decided it needed repaving. The initial design called for replacing the existing lane configuration with what’s there now — door-zone bike lanes with an additional painted (unprotected) buffer between riders and other road users. But in February, neighborhood residents spurred to action by advocacy group Andando en Bicicletas y Caminando (ABC, translates to “riding bikes and walking”) with support from Community Cycling Center, told PBOT they wanted more. In a joint letter to Commissioner Hardesty and PBOT Director Chris Warner, they said, “We cannot accept buffered bike lanes.”
Buffered bike lanes are cheaper and easier for PBOT to implement and they don’t require one of the things the agency is often most reluctant to do: ask for a neighborhood’s support for a better bike lane that would reduce the amount of on-street car parking. PBOT was supportive of the advocates’ request from the get-go, but it took these groups speaking up to stop the bureaucratic inertia and create the potential for something better.
New design for Killingsworth will be similar to NE Glisan. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
This advocacy led to a pause in the project from PBOT so they could conduct a formal outreach process and vet a different design proposal — one that would separate the bike lane from other lanes via a lane of parked cars and a more robust buffer zone. Because this parking-protected bike lane proposal would be a more significant change to the street, and because it would require a 50% reduction in on-street car parking spaces in a part of the city with a higher than average amount of low-income residents and Spanish-speaking people, PBOT moved forward carefully.
To make sure their new proposal was supported by community that would be most impacted by it, PBOT sent over 4,000 postcards to mailboxes in the area, launched an online survey, and hired a contractor (Living Cully Coalition) to organize two neighborhood meetings to collect feedback.
Survey resultsThe proposalsChanges comingSource: PBOT (click to enlarge)
The response was resounding support for safer bicycling and the parking-protected lane. 75% of the 151 survey participants (63% of whom lived in the Cully neighborhood) felt the proposed design would meet project goals. A whopping 95% of respondents said the two most important priorities should be safer crossings and better bicycling facilities.
The result is a $4.1 million project that will bring significant changes to Killingsworth. In addition to the smoother pavement and parking-protected bike lanes between 53rd and Cully, PBOT says the project will include (descriptions from PBOT):
Pedestrian signal rebuild and median islands midblock between 54th and 55th avenues. This project element was changed in response to community feedback. The project team originally proposed to remove the aging signal and replacing it with median islands. The signal will be rebuilt and median islands will still be added.
Pedestrian crossing improvement with refuge islands and lighting enhancements at 64th Avenue. This project element was changed to serve the nearby manufactured home community and in response to a serious crash involving a pedestrian a few years ago.
Transit platform with bikes up and over behind the platform at the eastbound 64th Avenue TriMet bus stop. This project element was added in response to community concerns about parking loss. The transit platform will help retain some parking in an area with higher-density, low income housing. The platform will also allow the frequent Line 72 bus to stop in lane, reducing delay, and separates bikes and buses from each other, reducing conflicts.
“I am proud that we took a step back to deepen our outreach – part of which was to include more residents who don’t speak English as a first language,” said Commissioner Hardesty in a statement yesterday.
Community Cycling Center Programs Director William Francis shared thoughts about the project with us this morning. “ABC members are proud and pleased to see that their participation in feedback sessions and conversations with PBOT have resulted in real infrastructure changes that center the well-being and safety of both cyclists and pedestrians along Killingsworth St. It is critical to amplify the voices of community-based groups like ABC because they stand up for some of the most vulnerable and overlooked users within the transportation system, and without their presence the status quo faces little opposition.”
And Marlene Canche, a member of ABC said (in Spanish, translated by PBOT), “I think it is good that they are putting in more marked crosswalks on Killingsworth. It is also good to have more separation between vehicles and cyclists. I feel safer as a cyclist and a pedestrian with that separation. But I think a change in driver behavior is also necessary because in the end they have to respect the crosswalks in order to truly keep people safe in Cully.”
Construction is due to start and be completed in 2024.
