Bob Stacey at the Leftbank Building on March 18th, 2010. I interviewed him during his campaign for Metro President but never ran the story. I will always regret that! (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Bob Stacey died Thursday evening, September 8th. He was 72 years old.
Stacey was a former Metro Councilor who spent nearly 50 years fighting to preserve Oregon’s land use policies from the type of suburban sprawl that consumed most other regions in America.
Never one to seek the spotlight, Stacey worked the inside game as well as anyone. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t love showing up at events around town. In 2012 he came up to one of our Wonk Night events at our former office downtown. In 2016 he introduced former New York City DOT leader and current urbanism rockstar Janette Sadik-Khan when she visited Portland. “It’s not a secret we may have lost our edge. So we need to learn everything we can about our peers,” he told the crowd.
Beneath his affable demeanor, Stacey was a brilliant advocate who wasn’t afraid of a fight. He was one of the loudest voices against the Columbia River Crossing project (now called the I-5 Bridge Replacement Program). I happened to take video of his sharp critique of “the really big, fat bridge” at a 2013 event:
As I worked on a story back in February about the broken-down elevators on the railroad overcrossing that bore his name in southeast Portland, I was very surprised he wanted to talk with me about it. To Stacey, the story wasn’t just about elevators not working. “It speaks to the imbalance between the amount of resources that get scraped together to build new stuff without having a clear commitment to how we maintain it in the future,” he said. “And I think that falls heaviest on forms of transportation viewed as less important than cars.”
It spoke volumes to me that this person — who once fought the infamous Rajneeshee cult, was Portland’s planning director, had served stints as a chief of staff on Capitol Hill, and almost became Metro Council president — cared so much about what many people thought was a relatively inconsequential issue.
2019 Policymakers Ride.At Biketown launch, 2016.Pride Parade in 2011.
The video below is from the 2021 Alice Awards where The Street Trust Executive Director Sarah Iannarone spoke about his accomplishments and work:
I doubt these accolades meant as much to him as knowing that he helped inspire a generation to follow his lead and stand up for Oregon’s land use and transportation values.
SW Gibbs St is a steep hill. The red truck marks the site of a new 43-unit development under construction. (Photos: Lisa Caballero/BikePortland)
I already had the story written in my head. All I needed to do was make an early morning run over to OHSU for some more photos and I was good to go.
Another southwest development going in without a sidewalk—43 units this time! Area stakeholders not happy. I know this story like the back of my hand. And I have walked the road, SW Gibbs St, a million times, there was really no need for another visit.
But I sure am glad I went anyway. When I got there and was actually standing on Gibbs, the story I thought I was going to write melted away. In its place is a fuller tale about how the city’s largest employer, the surrounding neighborhood, and private developers have done their parts to make Portland a greener city. And how the city needs to keep up its end of the bargain.
Map of OHSU campus. The dashed lines are the access routes into area. The existing sidewalk on Gibbs stops at 11th St. (Source: 2018 OHSU Elevating People Plan)OHSU mode-share (Source: 2018 OHSU Elevating People Plan)
The university
My new story begins with the Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU). OHSU is Portland’s largest employer, and the premier hospital and biomedical research facility in the state. It’s also on a steep hill and very constrained for space. In the face of the university’s rapid growth in the early 2000s, the city began capping and regulating on-campus parking.
With parking limited, and rapid growth underway, OHSU and the adjacent Homestead neighborhood became a test case for the city’s growth, transportation and parking policies. The results look very good, although the ride has been bumpy.
Michael Harrison, the director of local government and neighborhood relations for OHSU, told me the university has only one parking spot for every three employees. And the resulting mode-share is enviable: 30% of OHSU employees use public transit to get to work, 17% bike, and 6% walk (these are pre-covid numbers).
Moreover, they are in the process of planning 500 locked and covered bike stalls on the Marquam Hill campus to comply with the city’s new bike parking regulations.
The neighborhood
The restricted parking puts pressure on the surrounding neighborhood. It is difficult to find street parking, and in the past some neighbors have rented parking spots on their properties to OHSU employees (the city has since curtailed that). Although OHSU is well-served by public transportation on the approach from the east, areas to the west are poorly served in terms of both public and active transportation.
This brings us to SW Gibbs St.
Pedestrians walk down Gibbs on the fog lines.Women step into street to avoid cars parked on the shoulder.
The only access to the university from neighborhoods west of campus is along SW Fairmount Blvd and down Marquam Hill Rd to Gibbs St. Most streets in southwest Portland don’t have sidewalks or bike lanes, this route is no exception. (Gibbs has a sidewalk from the OHSU campus to 11th Ave, the boundary of the white background on map above.) Nevertheless, people bike and walk to OHSU along this route. A walk down Marquam Hill Rd requires the pedestrian to zig-zag across the street three times in search of a walkable shoulder.
About a decade ago, I lost my footing on the edge of the asphalt on Marquam Hill Rd, turned an ankle and fell. The ankle was so swollen I couldn’t walk on it for a week. This is not a safe route. Not to mention that these are narrow roads with a decent amount of car traffic, traveling at about 30 mph.
The development
Right across the street from where I twisted my ankle, a new 43-unit apartment building is being built.
The site of the new development.
Neighborhood associations take a keen interest in development, partly because it is the main avenue to getting active transportation improvements in southwest Portland. The Homestead Neighborhood Association is unhappy because the Development Review department within the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is not allowing the private developer to put in a sidewalk on Gibbs. You read it right, “not allowing.” This is a headscratcher, because all the stakeholders want a sidewalk—the developer, the NA, even OHSU has worked for years with neighbors and the city to improve active transportation infrastructure in the area.
Speaking generally, “It is critical that our employees and students have safe ways to bike and walk to our campus,” OHSU’s Michael Harrison told BikePortland.
Homestead NA President Ed Fischer said, “All I can figure is that they have blinders on, they are not looking at this as a system.”
The developer explained in a public meeting that,
PBOT has pushed back on us providing a sidewalk along our frontage on SW Gibbs. However, we are proposing a wide shoulder to accommodate pedestrian travel on our property… A safe sidewalk along Gibbs will help not only existing neighbors, but our future tenants as well.
I visited the site yesterday morning and spoke with a Senior Superintendent at Edge Development, Patrick Beaston. He told me that the new development was “bike-friendly” and that the building will have 1.2 bike racks per person, charging stations and storage, including for e-bikes and tandems.
The shoulder will be five feet wide and bikeable, he explained, and the shoulder at their other development down the hill on Gibbs (at 12th Ave), would be seven feet wide.
The street becomes very narrow in front of the site. For cycling, a wide shoulder might be the best improvement to navigate this steep hill. Pedestrians would probably be better off with a curbed sidewalk. Neither group will be well-served if drivers use the shoulder to illegally park their cars, although a five foot shoulder might be narrow enough to discourage car parking.
The city
Development Review can point to lack of stormwater facilities as a reason for not requiring developers to build sidewalks, but in this case stormwater doesn’t seem to be the issue. Allowing or requiring cement sidewalks along the frontage of these two new developments would be a significant addition toward extending the existing Gibbs sidewalk to 11th through 14th Avenues.
I reached out to PBOT’s Interim Director of Communications, Hannah Schafer, for clarification about the sidewalk decision, she replied:
We required a 6-foot shoulder widening on SW Gibbs for the frontage of this development. Unfortunately, due to significant storm water, soil, and topographical challenges on the hill we couldn’t require a standard curb and sidewalk improvement. Shoulder widening is a common requirement for projects in Southwest Portland that have similar constraints.
This is an unsatisfying response given the area of a sidewalk would be tiny relative to the large footprint of the building, and stormwater runoff from the building will be “appropriately managed via collection and discharge to a combined sewer main in SW Gibbs,” according to city staff analysis presented to the Hearings Officer.
But there you have it, another neighborhood association-Development Review skirmish in southwest Portland. These will probably grow in intensity as the city implements congestion pricing and raises the price of downtown street parking without providing or requiring adequate alternatives to driving in this quadrant of the city.
East 122nd Ave, one of the most dangerous streets in Portland, could see an influx of federal funding. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), passed last year, has given Portland an opportunity to fund several key projects.
While this funding will be competitive – many other agencies across the country are lining up to fix their neglected infrastructure – the Portland Bureau of Transportation thinks we stand a chance to receive funding for several projects.
“We’ve had our sleeves rolled up for a while in Portland, and we’ve developed some really good projects that we think can move forward,” PBOT Analyst Mark Lear said at Wednesday’s Portland City Council meeting. “We think we’re in a strong position.”
On Wednesday, Portland City Council agreed to send off applications for up to $47 million in federal funding, distributed between the following projects:
‘Safe Systems on 122nd Avenue’ plan to address safety needs on east Portland’s 122nd Ave via the 122nd Avenue Plan. PBOT will ask for $20 million in federal Safe Streets for All funds with a $5 local match from Fixing Our Streets funds to make it safer to walk, bike and use transit on 122nd Ave via a variety of proposed projects.
Burgard Bridge Replacement – $16 million from the federal Railroad Crossing Elimination Program (RCEP) with a local match of $4 million to replace the Burgard Bridge in north Portland. According to PBOT, bridge is “a critical link in the transportation network in North Portland, particularly for heavy freight movement, and is in very poor condition and seismically vulnerable,” making it a high priority for funding.
Central Eastside Railroad Crossing Elimination Study – $1-1.5 million from the RCEP to “study in detail the persistent and growing issue of long freight train blockages of multiple at-grade railroad crossings in the Central Eastside and identify projects and strategies to address these issues.” The city will provide a $400k in-kind match from already-budgeted General Transportation Revenue in the planning division budget. (Check out our recent story on this issue.)
PBOT says that if these grants are awarded, the resourced projects wouldn’t change PBOTs current budget allocations.
In addition to these three Portland-initiated projects, City Council also officially gave their support to the Oregon Department of Transportation’s $100 million grant application to the federal Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program. This program provides $1 billion in funding over the next 5 years to mitigate some of the damage urban highways have caused to many places in America (as detailed visually in the NY Times this week).
This $100 million grant would give the state, city and its community partner, Albina Vision Trust (AVT), an initial investment to construct I-5 freeway caps over the new Rose Quarter expansion to “reconnect” the lower Albina neighborhood.
PBOT Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty demonstrated strong support for this project at Wednesday’s Council meeting, appearing relieved that the city, state and AVT could finally come to an agreement on the I-5 freeway expansion. (Those who are more wary of ODOT’s intentions with the freeway expansion, however, are unlikely to be satisfied by the agreement.)
“If you’d have told me a year or a year and a half ago that we would be here in partnership with ODOT, Albina Vision Trust and PBOT, I would have told you that you were out of your mind,” Hardesty said. “But the reality is that the Rose Quarter project is now in a place where we have the potential to get significant federal resources to help reimagine how we reconnect the community that was torn apart by previous freeway expansion projects.”
Albina Vision Trust members will return to Council before the October deadline for this grant and provide more information about their plan for this grant funding, as well as their plans to apply for a planning grant for what to do with the freeway caps once they’re constructed.
According to PBOT, these won’t be the only opportunities for the city to get federal funds through the IIJA over the next five years. We’ll keep you posted on how these projects move forward.
Burns in Mt. Tabor Park photographed by Leslie Carlson last week.
Late Thursday night, the Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association (MTNA) posted an urgent message on their Facebook page: “Urgent: Fire watch needed for Mt. Tabor Park,” it read.
The reason? According to witness reports and the MTNA, 33 fires have been set by arsonists in the past week or so. They say the burn areas are along Southeast Yamhill above 60th and on line SE Lincoln Street near the off-leash dog park.
Mt. Tabor is a beloved, 196-acre park with trails, viewpoints, and picnic areas nestled alongside an extinct volcano. It’s paved roads are a favorite route for cyclists and this past June the park played host to the 70th annual Mt. Tabor Circuit Race.
We first heard about the fires from southeast Portlander Leslie Carlson. She posted a burned patch of hillside in the park on Twitter last week and wrote, “I will be crushed if that park catches fire. It’s been my physical/mental refuge throughout the pandemic.”
“I ride up there a lot of mornings so I was able to see the burns increase over a few days,” Carlson shared with me this morning. “It was alarming because it is so dry. I’m not a forester, but it looks to me like the whole park could go up if the fire got big enough.”
On Tabor, the MTNA isn’t waiting for help. They’re organizing volunteer fire patrols to report any suspicious activity and try to thwart new fires. According to their Facebook post, people who live next to the park have been walking all night with shovels to bury fires and have already reported several of them to 911. “The fire watch needs to be a community wide effort, given the burden. And this weekend winds will be higher than they have been so there is a real risk fires (if started) will spread quickly,” the message reads.
There’s an emergency neighborhood meeting tonight (Friday, September 9th) at 6:00 pm. A Parks rep and the city’s lead fire investigator are slated to attend. You can pre-register for the meeting via Zoom here.
If you spot a fire of any size while out biking, please report it to 911. And think good thoughts for our beloved parks!
These are paid listings. And they work! If you’d like to post a job on the Portland region’s most popular bike and transportation news platform, you can purchase a listing online for just $75. Learn more at our Job Listings page.
Volunteers at Bike Farm Wednesday night. (Photos: Taylor Griggs/BikePortland)
The volunteer-run bike repair education space has cut hours in a bid to survive.
“I’ve only been here one time before, but I’m already in love with it.”
– Julian Day-Cooney
Even if you ride your bike everyday, you might be intimidated by the technical world of bike repair. I feel comfortable biking just about anywhere in the city, but I’ll be honest: until very recently, I barely knew how to reattach my chain if it came loose. While I don’t think it’s necessary to be an expert mechanic in order to have a good time riding your bike, it’s helpful to know how to make basic repairs.
If this sounds appealing to you, look no further than northeast Portland’s Bike Farm (1810 NE 1st Ave): a volunteer-run organization that provides people with the tools and assistance they need to repair their own bikes. The Bike Farm’s goal is to make it easier for people to be self-sufficient, confident riders by giving them a safe, inclusive space to learn about bikes.
People who support the Bike Farm say they’d like it to be available as a resource all the time. But due to a lack of volunteer support, they’ve recently had to pare down their hours and cut the weekend shift – and they’re asking for your support to help change that.
Julian Day-CooneyDavid S.
“The fact that the the Bike Farm exists is a continuous miracle,” David S., who has been volunteering with the organization for years, told me when I swung by their building yesterday. “We want to demystify and democratize bike repair to make it the most affordable transportation mode.”
The Bike Farm offers time on their repair stands for $5 an hour. Or you can pay a flat fee of $20 a month, $60 a year, or $200 for a lifetime membership and have unlimited use of the shop during their open hours, which includes all their tools and volunteers at-the-ready to answer any questions you might have. The volunteers won’t fix your bike for you – the point is to get you acquainted with bike repair.
In addition to the technical help and tools, the Bike Farm is also a great place to meet like-minded people who can help get you accustomed to biking in Portland. Julian Day-Cooney is relatively new to the city, having moved here during the height of the pandemic. He’s only been to the Bike Farm a couple times, but he said he has felt really welcomed by the volunteers, and they’ve made him want to become even more involved in the world of Portland biking.
“I’ve only been here one time before, but I’m already in love with it,” Day-Cooney told me.
So check out Bike Farm! And volunteer!
If you want to do it but are wary of your mechanical skills, don’t fear. David said he didn’t know anything about fixing bikes when he first volunteered. But with time and assistance, he now feels confident helping people who come in to utilize their services as well as fixing his own bike.
“It’s empowering to be able to do your own work on your bike. I like to share that empowerment with other people,” he said. “You don’t know if it’s for you or not until you try it.”
Bike Farm is currently open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5:30-8:30 pm, and you can stop into the shop during those hours to volunteer and learn more. Every fourth Thursday they host a volunteer orientation, and this month (September 22nd), Armando Luna (@dudeluna) will lead a group ride over to the orientation to get more people involved. You can also get in contact via email at bikefarm@bikefarm.org or follow them on IG via @bikefarmpdx
You don’t have to be a kid to fall in love with Leif Erikson Drive in Forest Park. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Who’s ready for the weekend? Here’s our hand-picked selection of the best rides and events in the coming few days (including a special event on Monday!).
(Please note: We tend to list meet-up times, not ride start times.)
Friday, September 9th
Cyclocross Playground – 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Rose City Park (NE) A beginner-friendly ‘cross clinic led by the wonderful Mielle Blomberg. Come for the skills and learning, stay for the cold drinks and chance to win free entry at an upcoming race. More info here.
El Grito Ride – 6:30 pm at Salmon Street Springs (SW) Everyone is welcome at this ride to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month and uplift and support our local Hispanic and BIPOC friends and neighbors. More info here.
Yohhei Sato Legacy Ride – 7:00 pm at Creston Park (SE) A memorial celebration gathering and ride for Yohhei to “Keep party going.” More info here.
Saturday, September 10th
Bike Town Hall – 9:00 am at McDaniel H.S. (NE) Join Oregon state legislators at this annual event to network, talk policy, ask questions and enjoy a bike ride together. More info here.
Sunday, September 11th
Kenton Garage Sale Ride – 8:30 am at Posies Bakery (N) There’s no better way to explore all the fun sales than by bike. Meet other riders and compare your finds! More info here.
Leif Erikson Gravel Ride – 9:30 am at Chapman Elementary School (NW) Join two experienced ride leaders from the Portland Bicycling Club and get to know the ins-and-outs of a fun Forest Park loop. More info here.
Cherry Bomb Zoobomb – 6:00 pm at the Pyle (SW) Help Zoobomb celebrate 20 years (!) with this newbie-oriented bomb. Meet at the Pyle (SW 13th & Burnside), have MAX fare, and be ready to ride downhill! More info here.
Monday, September 12th
LaFART – 7:45 pm at Ladd Circle Park This looks like it will be very interesting and fun. Don’t ask me any other details, because I don’t really understand what will happen. It’s organized by Eric Ivy though, so you know it’ll be neato! More info here.
The BAC will consider three letters. The first two are being requested by PBOT staff. The third is being generated internally by the committee:
Burgard Bridge Replacement Grant. Support requested for a federal grant to pay for full reconstruction of the Burgard Bridge near Terminal Rd in North Portland. This Bridge includes the two-way Lombard-Burgard protected bikeway.
Central Eastside Railroad Crossing Elimination Study. This is for a planning grant to study all the at-grade rail crossing in the Central Eastside that are frequently blocked by trains.
Consideration of a letter regarding violent behavior at the East Portland Sunday Parkways event.
World Bicycle Day (6:45-7:05)
Leszek Sibilski will present his project of getting cities to name a street or an infrastructure after World Bicycle Day. Sibilski succeeded in getting the United Nations General Assembly to declare June 3rd as World Bicycle Day, and also to recognize the importance of cycling as part of a general transportation network. The intent is to raise awareness of cycling’s benefits to individuals and society and translate that into increased funding.
Modal Committee Evaluation (7:05-7:30)
Francesca Jones will report to the committee the findings from discussions with past and current members and PBOT staff and share a draft problem statement and objectives for feedback.
Maintenance and Strategy Subcommittee Report (7:30-7:45)
Joseph Perez will provide a report on the first meeting of the BAC Maintenance and Strategy Subcommittee.
Next month’s meeting / future agenda items (7:45-7:55)
ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
We love Portland and bikes. So, we put our two loves together over 25 years ago, creating a nonprofit organization on a mission to broaden access to bicycling and its benefits.
Our vision is to help build a vibrant community where people of all backgrounds use bicycles to stay healthy and connected. We believe that all Portlanders—regardless of income or background—should have the opportunity to experience the joy, freedom and health benefits of bicycling. This is the motivation behind everything we do.
In addition to delivering dynamic programs that benefit underserved communities, we operate a full-service bike shop in NE Portland that is staffed by highly experienced staff from diverse cycling backgrounds. Our programs and shop services combined help riders build their skills and confidence; empower young people to ride to school and adults to ride to work; offer educational opportunities for teens to earn school credit; and support everyone in riding for health and recreation. We also collaborate with numerous community partners to generate pathways to employment and engagement within the growing bicycle movement by training new educators, leaders, advocates, and mechanics.
JOB SUMMARY
Reporting to the Associate Director, the Bike Shop Director will help create a welcoming, positive, and productive environment for employees and customers who enter the shop. Here at the Community Cycling Center, we welcome folks from all communities and look for others to be a part of that. The person we are looking for is enthusiastic, has a managerial background, knowledgeable about bicycles, and can work with folks from all walks of life. This person will collaborate with leadership and other departments to keep the Community Cycling Center moving forward. This position is responsible for making sure the shop runs smoothly, managing supervisors and shop staff. We want customer service to be a main priority. Tasks will include overseeing timesheets, quality standards for retail sales, repairs and bike productions, evaluation and development of mechanic and retail sales staff, repairs and production performance and preparing the yearly shop budget. To manage these resources, the Bike Shop Director will work closely with the organizational leadership team to ensure successful operations.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Management (55%)
• Hire, Train, supervise and evaluate employees
• Prepare employees work schedules
• Engage management team, in developing a budget, maintain direct and indirect expenses, track cost of goods sold, in-kind contributions, sales, and donations
• manage daily cash flow, point of sales system, and donations
• Motivate employees to reach sales goals and provide great customer service
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to product and program knowledge through strategies such as staff training, coaching, leading by example, and a participatory management style
• Work collaboratively with other organizational leads through proactive and transparent communication
• Be a visible and supportive presence in all areas of Bike Shop operations
• Respond to customer complaints
Operations (35%)
• Manage and assist with ordering, recording, and managing inventory
• Establish and manage strategic goals for the Bike Shop, including production, retail, service, inventory management, purchasing, product pricing, and recycling
• Understand and manage inventory levels within budget and with a focus on maintaining margins and reducing shrink
• Ensuring the shop is adequately stocked, clean, and visually appealing
• Manage and approve shop teams timesheets
• Work with Executive Director to support annual budget creation
• Maintain the bike shop and storage facilities to be a safe, compliant, and welcoming work environment
Education and Outreach (10%)
• Cultivate a culture of commitment to organizational values – Community, Diversity, Creativity, Accountability, and Sustainability
• Work with the development team to ensure the shop’s participation in fundraising activities
• Commitment to assist with training interns and volunteers when they work at the Bike Shop
• Support to the program department when working and having events at the Bike Shop
• Build and maintain relationships with the businesses and residents in the community surrounding the Bike Shop
GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS:
REQUIRED
• 4 years managerial experience
• Ability to strategize, implement, and clearly communicate a vision for the Community Cycling Center Bike Shop
• Significant professional retail experience (preferably Bike Shop experience) with a focus on customer satisfaction
• Demonstrated ability to create a culture that values and respects diversity, inclusion, and teamwork
• Strong managerial capabilities and demonstrated leadership skills
• An enthusiasm for Community Cycling Center’s programs and an understanding of mission-based, nonprofit work
• A commitment to sustainability – environmental, programmatic, and financial
• Basic knowledge of accounting skills
• Solid, confident decision maker
• Enthusiasm for working with the public
• Organized, analytical, high attention to detail
• Ability and willingness to work evenings and weekends.
PREFERRED
• Degree in Business Administration or related field or equivalent experience
• Cross-sector management experience in non-profit and social venture work environments.
• Fluency in one or more language(s) spoken in Portland’s marginalized communities, e.g. Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese or others.
• Lived and/or work experience in BIPOC or Immigrant communities is valued
• Proficient in Microsoft office suite, Adobe, Lightspeed, SharePoint and POS systems
START DATE: ASAP
REPORTS TO: Associate Director
STATUS: Full-time, Exempt
LOCATION: Portland OR
SALARY: $60,000
BENEFITS: Medical, Dental, Vision, and 401k
How to Apply
Please submit a cover letter and resume by email with “Bike Shop Director” as the subject line to jobs@communitycyclingcenter.org
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY CYCLING CENTER
We love Portland and bikes. So, we put our two loves together over 25 years ago, creating a nonprofit organization on a mission to broaden access to bicycling and its benefits. Our vision is to help build a vibrant community where people of all backgrounds use bicycles to stay healthy and connected. We believe that all Portlanders—regardless of income or background—should have the opportunity to experience the joy, freedom and health benefits of bicycling. This is the motivation behind everything we do.
In addition to delivering dynamic programs that benefit underserved communities, we operate a full-service bike shop in NE Portland that is staffed by highly experienced mechanics from diverse cycling backgrounds. Our programs and shop services combined help riders build their skills and confidence; empower young people to ride to school and adults to ride to work; offer educational opportunities for teens to earn school credit; and support everyone in riding for health and recreation. We also collaborate with numerous community partners to generate pathways to employment and engagement within the growing bicycle movement by training new educators, leaders, advocates and mechanics. Our goal is to help create a healthy, sustainable Portland for all community members.
The Community Cycling Center is an equal opportunity employer and strongly values diversity, equity and inclusion. Individuals with diverse backgrounds, abilities and experiences are encouraged to apply.
GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY
The Service Manager is responsible for the improvement and maintenance of the Community Cycling Center’s Service Department. Working collaboratively with the Shop Leadership Team, the Service Manager will cultivate the delivery of consistent quality in repair services for our customers. Experience in a high-volume shop environment, clear communication skills, proven effectiveness in training staff, and the ability to develop and adapt systems are crucial to the success of this position.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
MANAGEMENT OF SHOP OPERATIONS (70%)
• Lead by example, providing excellent customer service with the consistent delivery of quality estimates and repair services (24-32 hrs/wk)
• Provide training for new mechanics and ongoing development opportunities for experienced mechanics
• Continually develop and refine service writing methods that help reduce cost and confusion while providing consistently excellent service
• Work with difficult customer situations to ensure successful and timely resolution
• Oversee the delivery of warranty-related work
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS AND PROCESS EVALUATION (15%)
• Maintain and develop service standards, policies and procedures that balance a quality work environment with customer service demands
• Work with shop management team to evaluate opportunities, trends and feedback to maximize delivery on objectives
• Track and evaluate trends and collaborate with Shop Leadership Team to problem solve
• Conduct evaluation of labor menu and gather feedback from shop staff and customers to ensure quality and value of services provided
STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT (15%)
• Partner with Shop Leadership Team to hire, train, and evaluate staff
• Partner with Shop Leadership Team to develop and ensure adherence to policies and procedures governing shop practices
REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
• Managerial experience, including supervising, training, and supporting staff
• Minimum of 5 years of professional bike mechanic experience
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• Strong organizational skills including the ability to manage multiple assignments simultaneously
• Ability to meet project deadlines and account for detailed objectives
• Success creating inclusive work environments where people from diverse backgrounds feel safe
PREFERRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
• Two or more years working as a manager in bike shop
• Experience working in a used bike shop
• Fluency in spreadsheet software and comfort navigating inventory management systems
• Fluency in or familiarity with Spanish and/or American Sign Language
• Basic knowledge of Adobe software
REPORTS TO: General Manager
PAY: $22.50/hr
SCHEDULE: Permanent position, 40 hrs/wk, workdays may vary
BENEFITS: Health, dental, vision, life and more w/ approx. value of $4,800/yr; access to 401k; 18 days/yr PTO to start for FT, annual Used Parts Allowance, cost +10% on new parts
How to Apply
Send your resume, cover letter, and (3) references to jobs@CommunityCyclingCenter.org. No phone calls, please.
A PIR staffer said bike riders should have known to not ride that way. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Turns out that allowing people to drive across the Columbia Slough bike path is part of a traffic control plan endorsed by the City of Portland.
After I witnessed a dangerous scene unfold Sunday afternoon as drivers left the Indycar event at Portland International Raceway and rolled head-on into me and several other groups of bike riders, I reached out to Portland Parks & Recreation to find out why it happened.
Along the way I learned something new: This section of the path, where the Slough trail goes under North Denver Ave (Hwy 99W) has not been completely decommissioned as a road as I previously thought. As I said in our previous story, this used to be N Schmeer Road, but it was repurposed to a multi-use path by the Oregon Department of Transportation in 2014.
Metro’s Bike There map. PIR is in the upper left.
What I’ve since learned is that it is also an emergency access road maintained by Portland Fire & Rescue*. Parks spokesperson Mark Ross clarified that the path crosses over this emergency access road. And it was this road that PIR staff directed car traffic onto.
(Note: There is zero information available to the general public that this is anything other than a bike path. And on Metro’s Bike There map, this section of path is given the highest quality possible bikeway designation. See graphic at right.)
Ross said what happened Sunday was all according to plan. The race promoter had a permit and a traffic control plan approved by Oregon Department of Transportation (since they manage Denver Ave/Hwy 99). The permit covers several large events at PIR each year including a NASCAR event, the Oregon Trail Rally, large swap meets, and so on.
Ross also said the plan requires PIR and their flagging contractor (in this case D & H Flagging) to do things that clearly were not taking place on Sunday. Ross said, “Five signs were placed along the bike path and about 40 cones sectioning off lanes,” and “There were three flaggers at this section of roadway.”
I told Ross that the plan is nice, but it was not implemented properly. When I was there on Sunday, there was inadequate signage, a lack of cones to separate path users from drivers, and no flaggers present at all. He said he’d pass my concerns along.
I then got a call from PIR Manager Ron Huegli. He said using the path after large events is a necessity because there’s no way to get 5,000+ people out of the main entrance, “Without it being a problem on I-5.”
Huegli disagreed with my assertion that the traffic plan wasn’t carried out as thoroughly as it should have been. I told him there were no flaggers present; he said they must have been on a potty break. I told him the cones were placed in only one small section; he said bike riders should have known not to even ride on the underpass. I told him the signage was totally inadequate; he said my video (which he watched), “Didn’t get it fully shown the way it was” (meaning, my video was an inaccurate portrayal of actual conditions).
Huegli saw how things went Saturday night. I know what I saw on Sunday night.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I know that PIR is a cherished venue for local bike racing and other events and Huegli and his team are a great asset to cycling in Portland. In fact, it took him a while to call me back because he was helping organizers of Tuesday’s PDX Trophy Cup cyclocross race with their event. We are lucky to have such dedicated folks who work on this stuff.
But when it comes to executing this particular traffic control plan, they must do a better job next time. Bike paths are sacred. We cannot just put up a few orange signs, direct car traffic onto them and hope folks figure it out! Huegli said he’d take my concerns into consideration. For that I’m grateful.
If you ride here, please let us know how it goes at future events.
Looking south toward the Burnside Bridge. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Portland Parks & Recreation has closed one of the two sets of ramps on the Eastbank Esplanade until further notice.
People using the path today were given no prior warning before coming to chain-link fence and sign announcing the closure. A QR code on the sign links to a page on Parks’ website that says, “Due to a safety hazard, related to low water levels in the river, there is currently no northbound or southbound access along the Eastbank Esplanade (between the Steel Bridge and the Burnside Bridge). Please use an alternate route.”
This is the ramp just south of the Duckworth Dock. That dock is still open, you just have to access it from the south.
River level chart via National Weather Service.
According to the National Weather Service, the current stage of the river (measured at the nearby Morrison Bridge) as of 1:30 pm today (Wednesday) is 1.28 feet. The NWS defines “Low” stage as 1.0 feet. The previous three days of this week, the river had been even lower, reaching a stage near 0 feet just yesterday. That level was among the top 20 or so lowest ever recorded by the NWS.
The forecast (right) shows water levels will increase steadily over the next few days.
The ramps on the Esplanade between the Steel and Burnside float on the river, so Parks must monitor them to make sure the inclines and declines are within a safe range for all users.
Keep this closure in mind when you plan your route. The best detour is to either head over to the west side of the river via the Steel Bridge path or stay on the surface streets through the Central Eastside.
UPDATE, 3:53 pm: A reader says they were on their morning commute Tuesday morning when they saw police activity and a dead body at the end of the Duckworth Dock. By that afternoon the closure had gone up. We have not confirmed this with Parks yet.
