✅ Baguette. ✅ Sandals. ✅ Guns out. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Welcome to the weekend! Here’s our weekly selection of rides and events worth your time.
This week’s guide is sponsored by Ride the Dirt Wave – Klootchy Creek June 3-4. This new event will introduce you to amazing mountain bike trails relatively close to Portland in the Coast Range. One day for fun riding and one day for racing. Perfect for families too!
🚨 NOTICE:River View Cemetery is closed from 8:00 today (Friday) through dusk on Monday for their annual Memorial Day observance. Please obey this request and do not ride in the cemetery during these times. In case you didn’t already know, the amazing route through River View is private and they let us ride through out of the kindness of their hearts. Please show some respect back and obey this closure. Thanks in advance.
Saturday, May 27th
PSU Farmers Market Ride – 10:00 am Clinton/41st, 10:10 Clinton/26th, 10:30 am East end Tilikum Bridge (SE) Join a friendly group of folks and get some shopping done at a local outdoor market downtown. Simple, social, fun. More info here.
Bikeworks by P:ear As-Is Sale – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Bikeworks (14127 SE Stark St) It’s a first-ever for Bikeworks as they look to clear out some stock. Get great prices on full and partially-built bikes and check out this cool shop while you’re at it. More info here.
Ride Westside 217 Crossing Ride – 11:00 am at Beaverton Farmers Market (West Side) Join a wonderful group of humans to explore Beaverton and learn how to best criss-cross Highway 217. 12-mile ride ends at a really good food cart pod. More info here.
Destroy Bikes – Retrogression Grand Re-Opening Ride – 5:30 pm at Mt. Tabor Community Garden (SE) Fixed gear and singlespeed lovers will unite (but all are welcome!) to support their favorite local bike shop’s new location. Expect solid shwag and shenanigans. More info here.
Retrogression Grand Re-Opening Party – 7:00 pm at Retrogression (1530 SE 7th) Help warm this shop’s new space. Bike shops are the backbone of our community and they need our support to stay strong! More info here.
Sunday, May 28th
STP Training Ride with PBC – 7:30 am in Hillsboro (West Side) Ready to go big this year at STP? You’ll need some training miles. This ride will be led by an experienced rider and will traverse 125 miles down to Dallas and back. More info here.
BikeLoud West Monthly Ride – 2:30 pm at Fields Park (NW) Get to know bike routes in northwest while meeting other advocates and volunteers who make BikeLoud tick. More info here.
Riding on the Peninsula Crossing Trail, July 2021. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
The bad news is that a one-mile stretch of the Peninsula Crossing Trail will be closed for the next three weeks.
The good news is that when it reopens the once popular cycling path will look much better than it has in recent years.
The PCT (no relation to the famous hiking trail of course) is a cherished part of the 40-Mile Loop network of bike routes. It provides an important, north-south, carfree connection to many neighborhoods, parks, and businesses. But over the past several years, conditions have deteriorated to the point where many people avoid the path altogether. Like many of Portland’s off-street paths, the City has taken a hands-off approach to encampments and the considerable amount of trash, illegal driving, and other behaviors that often come along with them. Some people who live in tents adjacent to the path make some riders feel uncomfortable.
Last August we shared how the problem of people driving cars on and around these paths had gotten so bad that Portland Parks & Recreation had to install large iron gates to keep cars out.
(Map: Portland Parks)
The upcoming closure of the trail between N Princeton (the Willamette Blvd entrance) and Columbia Blvd (where it connects via a sidewalk to the Columbia Slough Path) is necessary so that workers can get ready for the opening a new Safe Rest Village. According to OPB, the new temporary housing includes 60 sleeping pods and a community gathering area.
As public attention turns to the village, Parks wants to clean up the path and the area around it. They plan to install new fencing along the trail, remove invasive blackberry bushes, and prune and mow vegetation near the trail. They will also complete “minor surface repairs and cleaning” of the trail surface along with installing new trail signage and “cleaning up trails features.” Since there are still people living along the trail who won’t be living in the new village, the City and other service providers will remove their tents and campsites and force them out of the area.
40-Mile Loop Land Trust Board Member Scott Mizee is thrilled at the news. “I’m so excited that the trail is finally going to be cleaned up and ready to welcome back the broader Portland community to this very important section of the North Portland Greenway and the 40 Mile Loop!”
Parks has sent out a detour map to help folks get around the closure. The route uses Princeton, Wall, Fessenden and Clarendon streets to connect between Willamette and Columbia by bike. Learn more on their website.
We’ll keep an eye out once the trail re-opens to see how it looks. Last time I rode it in summer of 2021, it was in very bad shape.
A settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit filed against the City of Portland over tents and other personal belongings that block sidewalks.
The suit was filed by Portland lawyer John DiLorenzo back in September on behalf of 10 plaintiffs who claimed their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act were being violated because they are “being deprived of city services” when homeless encampments block city sidewalks.
According to KGW, the parties agreed to avoid a trial and have worked out a settlement through a mediation process. As part of the agreement, the City would not have to admit that they violated any ADA laws.
Here’s what the settlement entails:
The city will prioritize removal of camps on sidewalks by making sure those camps account for at least 40% of overall removals each year for the next five years. The city will also commit to removing at least 500 campsites from sidewalks each year unless there are too few to hit that target, and devote a minimum of $8 million to removals for the 2023-24 fiscal year and $3 million per year for the following four years.
Other terms outlined in the settlement document:
The city will establish a 24-hour sidewalk camp reporting option through 311 and an online portal, with a streamlined process for people with mobility disabilities to request ADA accommodations.
The city will be required to send a staffer or contractor to assess a site within five business days of a report, and all report data must be consolidated in a single tracking database of reported sidewalk camps.
The city will not provide tents or tarps to homeless residents except under certain specific circumstances, effectively agreeing to continue a policy that Commissioner Rene Gonzalez put in place earlier this year.
The city will post “no camping” signs in areas where there have been at least three campsite removals and at least one ADA accommodation request in a given month.
The city will pay each plaintiff $5,000 in compensatory damages plus attorney fees, and will provide quarterly written reports on its compliance with the agreement.
This settlement will still need to be adopted by the Portland City Council and they are expected to vote on it at their 9:30 am meeting this Wednesday (5/31).
The timing of this agreement should sit very well with Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who’s made significant progress toward a camping ban and has recently allocated funding to speed up sweeps. Wheeler camping ordinance update will be at Council the same day as this settlement.
Tiana Tozer, the lead plaintiff on the lawsuit, told fellow plaintiffs and supporters in an email on Tuesday that the settlement is, “Not everything we wanted” and that “it won’t happen overnight, but we are confident that it will help people with disabilities get a faster response when sidewalks are blocked, and eventually deter camping on the sidewalks.” Tozer also said the settlement will need unanimous support from Portland City Council members to pass on its first reading next Wednesday.
“We need the settlement to be approved on May 31. If it gets a second hearing it will allow the opposition to mobilize and potentially delay the resolution,” she warned.
In July 2022, a Portland woman named Amy was riding on the path when her bike hit a tree root on the path and then slammed into a lamp post and crumpled. It happened just south of the Old Spaghetti Factory (and it wasn’t even the first time we’d flagged these bumps). Her bike was totaled, but when she sought compensation for what happened, she got doors slammed in her face. The City of Portland denied her claim, saying it was a private matter she should take up with the owner of the property. So Amy reached out to a representative of the firm that owns the parcel (Clarify Ventures). After an initial conversation that held promise of an amicable resolution, the company stopped communicating with her.
The bicycle was very special to Amy and it was completely destroyed. All she wanted was be compensated for the property damage since she had to pay about $950 out-of-pocket to get it repaired.
With nowhere to turn, Amy hired a lawyer in hopes of making progress on the case. And it worked! Not only has the section of pavement that was riddled with cracks and bumps been repaved in the past few months, but the company has paid Amy $950 she spent to have it repaired.
Chris Thomas, one of the lawyers who represented Amy, said the property owner decided to play ball only after they realized Amy had a lawyer. He cited an Oregon law (ORS 20.080) that says defendant who ignores a property damage claim that’s under $10,000 is liable for the amount of the claim, plus any attorney fees if they lose a lawsuit over the claim. “In this case, we sent a property damage demand for Amy’s cost of repairing her bike under ORS 20.080. The defendant’s insurer had the choice of paying Amy’s repair cost, or defending a case where, if they lost, they would be on the hook for both the bike repair costs and my attorney fees. They elected to settle the case,” Thomas shared with BikePortland.
“Before Amy retained us, the defendant’s insurer denied her claim. This an example of how insurers can evaluate cases differently when there is the threat of litigation and/or attorney fees.”
Given that the company paid out Amy’s claim after the City of Portland denied it, and the fact that the property owners paved the path, Chris says the case also confirms that the property owners are responsible for maintaining this section of the path. That will be good to keep in mind if poor path conditions lead to any other crashes in the future.
CORRECTION, 5/27 at 4:30 pm: Amy was awarded $950 to get her bike repaired. The previous version of this article stated that she received $5,000 to have it replaced. I regret the error.
Board members walk out of their meeting amid shouting protestors. Full gallery below. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
TriMet’s seven-member, unelected board of directors voted to enact a 30-cent fare increase at their meeting in downtown Portland today by a vote of 6 to 1; but not before a raucous crowd of protestors led them to adjourn the meeting several times and they ultimately finished the meeting behind closed doors with several security guards standing outside.
The banging of protestors’ arms against the walls of the room could be heard clearly in the livestream. “Cowards! Face us! Cowards! Come out!” they shouted.
A wide range of people — from high school students to working moms and retirees — who oppose the fare hike, say it’s a short-sighted fix to a larger, systemic funding problem, and its impacts will be felt most by the people who can least afford it. The increase and the aggressive fight against it, is set against a backdrop of a climate crisis, flagging transit ridership, and skyrocketing food and housing costs. For their part, TriMet says the increase will help them keep pace with operating expenses that have risen by 4.2% per year for the past decade. Without higher fares and the estimated $4.9 million per year that would come with it, TriMet says service would only get worse.
The meeting was held at the University of Oregon campus in Old Town. It opened with public testimony — much of it opposed to the fare hike ordinance (number 374) that was on the agenda. The first person to testify was Oregon State Representative Khanh Pham. “Unfortunately, this fare increase appears to be a temporary budget bandaid that ultimately hides the larger systemic problems that TriMet must begin to tackle to be the transit agency of the 21st century that we need,” Pham said.
Pham and many others (including TriMet board members) acknowledge that farebox revenue isn’t an ideal way to fund a strong transit system and that a new approach is needed. The approach many people said they want is for TriMet’s board to be more bold and aggressive in their pursuit for other revenue so that fare-payers aren’t subject to so much of the budget burden.
“As a transit board,” Pham urged in testimony she gave from her office at the State Capitol in Salem, “You have the opportunity to set the tone for a more assertive approach… a more aggressive approach to… plan a generational investment in public transportation.”
Transit advocates with OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon told the board that a fare increase would worsen public health, fewer people on transit, more carbon emissions, traffic deaths and social isolation. Several people who testified pointed out that TriMet’s own analysis showed that the fare hike would have a disparate impact on lower-income people and that a majority of riders surveyed said it was a bad idea.
Mercedes Elizalde with Latino Network urged the board members to work harder to find funding from other sources. “TriMet has successfully avoided more financial burden on riders for more than a decade. This isn’t a problem to solve, this as a success story to live up to,” she said.
Meanwhile, across the street from the meeting in Waterfront Park, several dozen people assembled for a protest rally. The rally was organized by OPAL and their Bus Riders Unite campaign. The rally-goers strategized, put on “No Fare Increase” t-shirts, held up signs and made speeches. Retiree Amanda Briles told me she’s ridden TriMet since she was 15 years old.
“I really like TriMet and I really rely on it. And now that I have less income I’m really concerned about fares going up,” she said.
Climate activist Guy Berliner, who could be heard chanting “tax the rich” throughout the day, said he thinks the burden of this fare increase should fall on wealthier people. “I’m tired of watching the planet be incinerated and I see this as another step in the depraved, nonchalant, feckless attitudes of bureaucrats… looking for ways to patch their budget that will not offend the people who have the resources that they need to disgorge in order to make public services functional.”
Asked what he feels the next step should be if the fare hike passes, Berliner said, “I think we need about 1,000 people here instead of 40 people. We need many thousands of people to descend on them and scare the living crap out of them. That’s the answer. That’s the only way that changes ever come about.”
Berliner, Briles and the rest of the protestors then massed and timed a march across NW Naito Parkway to the meeting at the White Stag Building just as the fare hike ordinance was to be voted on. Almost as soon as the ordinance was introduced, protestors who filled the meeting room began shouting their disapproval. Minutes later, TriMet Board President Dr. Linda Simmons and her colleagues got up and walked out of the room. This was the first of several recesses taken because Simmons felt the yelling from attendees was not compatible with an open, public meeting.
A protestor shouts at TriMet Board Member Ozzie Gonzalez as he leaves the building.
Once back from recess, TriMet General Manager Sam Desue shared his remarks and the shouts from audience began again. Slowly at first, then they gathered frequency as a TriMet staffer made a presentation about why they felt the fare hike was justified. As the staffer went through her slides, protestors offered live fact-checks and opinions in strong disagreement. When it was finally time to hear how each board member would vote, they got through three sets of remarks before Simmons called another recess.
Board Member Kathy Wai (a community organizer who represents Clackamas County), was the only member to vote against the increase. “I think this is a premature vote that will dampen the future of collaboration — and I mean real and true transparency and collaboration between communities that are going to be the most affected,” she said.
Here are a few more snips from Wai’s remarks:
“I’m really, really concerned that this price increase is not going to do anything to address the stagnancy that we see in ridership… And I don’t think any of us are really realizing that public transit is a key problem-solver in the climate crisis that we’re currently facing… I feel like TriMet needs to be a major player in getting people out of their dang cars and onto our buses and our trains! I really feel very passionately that we need to be a bolder leader in addressing the climate crisis… There are a lot of issues I think in our current service and what we’re trying to deliver to the public, that I just feel like it’s not really meeting my expectations as a board member.
I don’t think that we need to do this right now. It’s not the right timing. And we need to really listen to the community, so I’m going to be voting with my heart and my conscience and I’m going to be a no.”
All of the other board members voted in favor of the fare hike.
Board Member Thomas Kim (Washington County) said he agreed with the testimony of Rep. Pham but that, “The current urgent financial reality is that until we can treat the funding issue, we need that band-aid… But I assure you that we will not be wearing the band aid forever.”
The boos and shouts from people in the audience picked up with each successive vote.
Board Vice President Lori Bauman (Southeast Portland) made her case by saying the new rate of $2.80 for a 1-day pass is equivalent to the 35-cent riders paid in 1969: “The ordinance simply keeps fares at the same level they were 50 years ago based on the purchasing power of the dollar.” That comment elicited so many shouts from the crowd that Board President Linda Simmons had to issue a warning.
“If you are disruptive or interfere with any of us talking,” Simmons said. “This meeting will be recessed and go virtual so that you won’t actually be present when the vote is taken.”
“So you don’t respect the people?!” someone shouted.
“You don’t respect our voice. We’re volunteers and we showed up, but we can’t do our job if you don’t let us speak,” Simmons countered, and then she got up and walked out with the rest of the board to a nearby room where the meeting continued online.
Protestors then marched down a hallway chanting, “Fare increases aren’t fair! Be fearless, go fareless!” and packed into a crowd right outside the closed-door room where board members holed up. Security guards stood in front of the door. After a few minutes a man walked out and tried to reason with the protestors, saying that they’d like to come back to the main meeting room to hold the vote, but only if protestors agreed to not “get too threatening” or push forward toward board members.
It quickly became clear that a truce could not be struck, so the board remained in the private room and beamed the meeting onto screens in the larger venue.
In the hallway, OPAL Executive Director Lee Helfend addressed the crowd:
“Did any of you vote for these board members?” they asked.
“No!” the crowded replied.
“Today we’re voting on a fare increase. Are any of you in support of a fare increase today?”
“No!”
“That is your vote. That is the vote that’s happening today!”
When it became clear the board would not return to the main meeting room, protestors walked to the front of the room and took the seats formerly occupied by the board. They held signs and there was an awkward tension as several TriMet staff and other members of the public who came to the meeting but were not part of the protest, were still in the audience.
A large group of protestors continued to chant and pound on the walls outside the private meeting room as the meeting continued on screens.
Board Member Ozzie Gonzalez was last to speak and he denounced the protestors. Gonzalez also accused some of them of being paid antagonists. “I’m really disappointed that right now we’re confusing democracy by having paid advertising brought to the public forum,” Gonzalez said during his official remarks. “I think we’re tarnishing the premise of democracy. And I believe that anybody who’s a tax-exempt organization needs to be very careful when they’re leaning into tax policy in this way.”
Gonzalez also had choice words for Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who sent a letter to the TriMet Board early this week urging them to not raise fares as part of his push against a “collective tax burden” he says is causing people to flee Portland. “This Monday morning quarterbacking happening from our public agency partners isn’t helping either,” Gonzalez said. “I’m severely disappointed in how absent they are when it’s time to come up with solutions, and how it’s some sort of political protection to tell us what they think we should be doing.”
The final act of the protestors was to wait outside the closed meeting room door for each board member to leave. Escorted by security officers, the board members were hit with yells of “Coward!” and “Shame!” as they hastily made their way out of the building.
It was a wild meeting that reveals many political and policy fault lines that we will certainly hear more of in the coming months and years.
Also note that Youth, Honored Citizen and Adult monthly and annual passes will not be increased. The increase for all other fares will go into effect January 1st, 2024. Learn more about the fare increase and TriMet’s budget on their website.
Looking south on Naito with Steel Bridge on the left and NW Glisan/1st/Flanders on the right. Approximate location of the new crossing is marked in orange. (Note that the ramp from Naito on the right is no longer open.)
I have some really good news: the Portland Bureau of Transportation finally has a plan and funding to close one of the most nagging gaps in our bike network.
At the May 9th meeting of the Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC), one of the members asked a PBOT staffer if there was an update on the crossing of NW Naito Parkway at the Steel Bridge and NW Glisan. My ears perked up because PBOT has been actively working on a fix here since at least 2009. Much to my excitement the staffer replied, “Yes there is some goods on that one.” Turns out a project has been confirmed by all parties, funding has been secured, and construction is scheduled.
This is a huge deal! The bike path on the Steel Bridge that connects to the Espanade/Interstate Avenue and Waterfront Park is one of the most important bikeways in the city. And it has become even more important in recent years as PBOT has vastly improved the bikeway on NW Naito Parkway (the glaring bike lane gap near the Steel Bridge was finally closed in 2016). And in 2021, PBOT opened the Ned Flanders Crossing and has just recently put the finishing touches on the NW Flanders neighborhood greenway that connects to it.
Once this new crossing is built, we’ll have a quality bikeway from the Eastbank Esplanade to NW 23rd.
Northbound view.People trying to cross today. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)PBOT plan drawing.Plans overlayed with existing conditions.
The problem is there’s no way to connect the new bridge and greenway on Flanders directly to the Steel Bridge. The big sticking point with this project has always been its proximity to a heavy railroad crossing used by Union Pacific Railroad. Dealing with railroads is always cumbersome. It also meant that ODOT’s Rail Division had so sign off on any plans. And the Old Town Neighborhood Association was also in the mix because they’ve wanted a “quiet zone” at this crossing for years. The nearby railroad crossing meant that anything PBOT did with a new crossing had to pass muster with Union Pacific and ODOT and the project had to include upgrades to the tracks, signals, surrounding signage, and so on.
“In the last year-and-a-half, we’ve made more progress than the last 10 years.”
Well it appears that all the pieces have finally come together. “In the last year-and-a-half, we’ve made more progress than the last 10 years,” PBOT Project Manager Gabe Graff shared at the BAC meeting. Graff said Old Town neighborhood advocates deserve a lot of credit for lobbying state representatives and other decision makers and ultimately breaking the bureaucratic logjam. The final piece was funding and ODOT has stepped up with $2.4 million in the current Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
According to PBOT plan drawings shared with BikePortland (PDF), the new crossing will begin on the east side of Naito 10-20 yards north of where the current curb ramp from path to the bike lane is now. The 10-foot wide crossing will likely have green and white stripes (to help separate biker and walkers) and it will connect to NW 1st Avenue right near the corner it creates with NW Glisan. Other changes to the bike path near the crossing will be made to ensure safe sight lines.
Right now PBOT, ODOT and Union Pacific are ironing out an intergovernmental agreement (IGA). Construction on the new crossing is scheduled to begin in 2025.
So much potential here. This is NE Lombard looking westbound at the 33rd Ave bridge. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
If Portland ever wants to move the needle toward bicycle use, we must build more high-quality bikeways on major streets. There’s been one segment of one of these streets that I’ve had my eyes on for many years and I finally spent a bit of time taking a closer look.
I’m talking about Northeast Lombard east of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It’s a 62-foot (plus or minus) expanse of pavement at the very northern edge of Portland’s residential grid that separates thousands of homes from industrial jobs and natural areas along the Columbia River and slough. With its 45 mph speed limit (and a typical speed well over 50) and average daily traffic count of 29,000 cars — the section of Lombard between NE 11th and Cully Blvd/72nd Ave (and beyond) is a classic “stroad.” In many ways it looks and feels like a freeway, but with its cross traffic, driveways, bike lanes, and proximity to the neighborhood, it also functions like a street.
Despite all this space, the street currently has just very narrow (five feet or so), unpainted and unprotected bike lanes. The cross-section includes four general purpose lanes (two in each direction), bike lanes on both sides, and a lane used for parking cars on the south side. That’s about 52 feet for driving cars and just 10 feet for riding bikes — and most of the time that biking space is filled with gravel, partially blocked by parked cars and RVs, or littered with driving detritus.
The north side has zero homes, driveways, or cross-streets. Making this protected would be so easy.Eastbound at 33rd. Note all the extra space next to that car.Very rare sighting of a bicycle rider!Had to wait about 10 seconds to see a reading this high.RVs and other vehicles frequently edge out into the bike lane.
There’s no reason it has to be this way. We are just choosing to live with an outdated design that fails on almost every measure we say we care about: It’s a car sewer that’s unsafe for all users, it doesn’t have adequate biking or walking infrastructure, and there is no bus rapid transit or light rail. And it should be noted that there’s another stroad — NE Columbia Blvd — just a few hundred feet away. Drivers get redundancy, bike riders get scarcity. Is it any wonder more people don’t ride in this city?
Can you imagine an excellent bike lane on this street? You’d have a fast and direct connection between the Woodlawn and Cully neighborhoods. You could also connect to existing bike routes and bridges on NE 33rd and 42nd. Industrial workers at the Portland Airport and the hundreds of other business in the Columbia Corridor would have a more viable alternative to driving. Getting to Cully Park at 72nd would suddenly be feasible for many more people. It would help spur vibrancy at the new Las Adelitas residential development. If we were able to update the design all the way to 82nd, you could hop on an e-bike and go from north to east Portland in less than 15 minutes. It could be Portland’s first bike highway.
Heck, the north side of the street doesn’t even have any homes, cross-traffic or driveways! We could plop down a few hundred jersey barriers tomorrow and protect the bike lane!
Yes I realize there’s the neighborhood greenway on NE Holman and Simpson, but that’s not good enough. The Holman route gets broken up by Fernhill Park (at NE 37th) and you have to navigate your way to NE Simpson to stay on the greenway. It also has speed bumps and very poor pavement quality in many spots. The biggest reason I’m not a fan of Holman is because it’s hidden. As even the City of Portland’s own bicycle coordinator for the past 30 or so years has stated, these hidden bikeways are likely a major reason why more people are not riding bikes in Portland.
The simple fact is that we must make bikeways more visible if we want more people to pay attention to it. And there’s not better way to make biking visible than to put bike-specific infrastructure on streets where a lot of people drive.
And let’s not forget Martin Greenough. Martin was 38 years old, lived near Lombard and Cully Blvd and had just gotten a new job north of Columbia near MLK Jr. Blvd. He had only lived in Portland for two weeks and wanted to bike to work and realized Lombard was the quickest way to do it. He opened a city bike map and saw that Lombard had bike lanes, and he went for it. Then on the night of December 12th, he was riding on Lombard near 42nd and was struck by a drunk driver and killed. If we had physically separated bike lanes (instead of a gap like where he got killed!), Martin might still be alive today.
Relevant pages from PBOT Columbia Lombard Mobility Corridor Plan.
Lest you think I’m some radical for this idea, consider that the Portland Bureau of Transportation has already put some serious thought into it. Their Columbia Lombard Mobility Corridor Plan that was passed in 2021 had some specific ideas for how to improve this stretch of Lombard (see pages from the plan above). On this segment they recommended we, “add separation to existing bike lanes to increase separation between bicyclists and fast-moving traffic.” The plan also called for closing a ramp at NE 32nd and reconfiguring the dangerous intersections at 33rd and 42nd. While PBOT’s plan was disappointingly timid (they were too afraid to suggest anything that might decrease car capacity) at least they recommended removing the parking lane to make room for wider bike lanes and a future sidewalk and/or raised bike lane. In one of their recommended options that keeps the parking lane, they were suggested removal of one driving lane westbound to make more cycling space.
So we’ve got the space, the rationale, and the plan. Now let’s find some political will and make something happen. There’s so much we should do on this stretch of Lombard! What we shouldn’t do is settle for what we have.
Now the same union that organized a four-day work stoppage is on the offensive once again. Laborers Local 483 (an affiliate of Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA)), says Wheeler’s move to reduce already-planned and budgeted for fee increases from the bureau of transportation, water and environmental services “threaten to layoff dozens of union-represented workers.”
“The services that Portlanders rely on, whether they’re long-overdue road improvements, capital projects, or wastewater treatment services – the quality of those services rely on our members,” said Laborers’ Local 483 Field Representative James O’Laughlen in a statement released Monday. “Earlier this year, our union went on strike for important economic recognition of our members’ service throughout COVID. Many of our members have still not received full payment for those negotiated improvements. Now, before the full benefits of what these members won are even realized, the Mayor’s rushed action to reduce rates threatens to lay off those very workers.”
During a Portland City Council work session May 12th bureau directors said one reason the increases were so vital was that they would help pay for recently agreed-to collective bargaining agreements with Local 483. “It doesn’t uphold the City’s end of our negotiated agreements,” said Local 483’s Business Manager Ryan Sotomayor. “Our bargained victory and its long-delayed implementation by the City impacts the integrity of hundreds of working families, whose economic victories undeniably set a precedent for all other workers in our city.”
Local 483 is fighting Wheeler’s move by calling it a “penny-wise pound-foolish misstep” and “political theater”. So far 672 people have participated in the campaign by sending an email to City Council members. They also plan to testify at the City Council meeting Wednesday.
Here’s a snip from their campaign website:
Together, we say NO.
NO to the penny-wise and pound-foolish missteps of Mayor Wheeler.
NO to political theater.
NO to short-sighted band aids on issues that the Mayor has long ignored until his re-election came into focus.
NO to rate reductions that do nothing for working Portlanders and those on fixed incomes – only businesses.
NO to reductions that will cost Portland residents more in the long-term.
NO to continued disrespect of Portland City Laborers
NO COSTLY RATE REDUCTIONS – NO LAYOFFS – NO DISRESPECT
City Council voted 4-1 in favor of Wheeler’s $7.1 billion budget last week, with Commissioner Mingus Mapps — whose portfolio includes all three bureaus with frozen fee increases — the sole no vote. Now the City Budget Office will amend the budget with the changes passed on Wednesday and there will be a final budget adoption hearing at Council June 14th.
I’m not sure what it is exactly about all my bike-related t-shirts, but I often just can’t bear to throw them away. Some were gifted to me by a person I respect. Some are from an event that I have fond memories of (and that I think will live on only if the shirt does). And others are just cool and inspirational. T-shirts can be more than just fabric and fashion. They’re cultural currency often shared and sold as a gesture of support and solidarity. They are subtle (or not) flags we fly to identify ourselves and attract similarly bike-minded future friends.
So let’s share our shirts! At this week’s Bike Happy Hour (tomorrow, Wednesday May 24th from 3-6 pm at Gorges Beer Co on SE Ankeny at 27th) I encourage everyone to wear their favorite bike tee and be ready to share why you like it, where it came from, and so on. If you have extras and want to swap, trade or give away to folks in need, bring those too!
If you are new to biking and want a bit of cultural camouflage, you can even show up without a bike shirt and we’ll get you sorted out.
So far I’ve got commitments from two local businesses — Biketown and Cyclepath Bike Shop — who plan to bring new shirts from their stockpiles to give away for free to Bike Happy Hourers. (If you are from a local bike company or organization and have shirts to share, bring them on by!)
So dig deep into your closet and let’s see what you’ve got. I can’t wait to see you and your shirt tomorrow!
Workers attempt to free the bike from the MAX undercarriage as its rider is attended to on the sidewalk. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
A man was seriously injured in a collision with a MAX train on Friday. It happened around 2:00 pm at the intersection of North Interstate Avenue and N Willamette Boulevard.
When I rolled up on the scene, a man was being tended to by first responders on the sidewalk of N Interstate in front of Ivy School while several TriMet workers were trying to dislodge a bicycle from underneath the front of a northbound Yellow Line MAX train. The train was stopped several yards into the T-intersection with N Willamette, right before the southern crosswalk that leads to the Killingsworth MAX station.
The man was conscious but seemed dazed and he was holding his right sight arm and shoulder very gingerly. I could see many scrapes and abrasions on his right side.
I’ve since heard from two people who say they witnessed what happened.
(Graphic: BikePortland)
One person said the bike rider was in the northbound Interstate Ave left turn lane prior to the collision (this is a very common movement here because Willamette is a popular neighborhood greenway and many people access it by turning left off of Interstate). A southbound train was coming toward the northbound rider and when it went past him, the rider apparently began to turn. “He did not see the train coming the other way,” the witness said. “The train was hitting the horn and slowing down.” By the time the bike rider realized what was about to happen, he tried to stop but it was too late.
The other witness said he was walking his dog and heard the MAX come to a screeching halt. After seeing the aftermath, the dog walker approached the bicycle rider and “He told me he was hit from behind and didn’t know what really happened.” It’s unclear if the bike rider recalls being hit by a separate car driver from behind or if he was speaking about the MAX train hitting him. Given the fog of trauma around crashes like this, it’s hard to know exactly what happened.
What is clear is that the bicycle rider is very lucky he was not more seriously hurt! And thank goodness this is a slow-speed area for the MAX, given the urban context of this section of the line and that it was approaching a station.
Also a good reminder to take extra care when you are around double tracks. You have to clear both tracks in both directions before you are safe to cross.
There’s a bear out there. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Consider this a warning: A black bear is roaming around the northwest hills.
According to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, they’ve received at least three separate black bear sightings. A public notice released Friday listed NW 53rd, Leif Erikson Road, and Upper Saltzman/Fire Lane 5 as the places where the sightings were made.
“While bears in Forest Park are not unheard of, it is unique to have this many sightings over a short period of time,” said ODFW, who continues to track the case. Apparently the ecology of Forest Park is hospitable to black bears.
KGW reports that there are an estimated 25 to 30 thousand black bears across Oregon: “Officials with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said there have only been five reported black bear sightings in the city of Portland, Forest Park included, in the last three years. With four of those five this month.”
Portland Parks and Recreation is also posting this caution sign (above) online and at park entrances:
Who remembers in 2015 when someone’s okapi got loose and roamed through the park? I saw it chillin’ up on Leif, but I’ve yet to see the bear.
Stand your ground; don’t “play dead” with a black bear. Don’t run. Having your bike between you and the bear is still the best idea and can serve as a last line of defense. If the bear approaches, shout, make noise, stand tall, throw small rocks.
If you survive the encounter, please report your sighting to the ODFW Sauvie Island Office (503) 621-3488.
Welcome to the Comment of the Week, where we highlight good comments in order to inspire more of them. You can help us choose our next one by replying with “comment of the week” to any comment you think deserves recognition.Please note: These selections are not endorsements.
We moderate our comments here at BikePortland, but that does not mean they have to be anodyne. It’s fine to fight hard, and that’s what commenters “pierre delecto” and “Watts” do in this thread. They do it with flair, they are interesting to read, and they make good points. Most importantly, they don’t get insulting.
The exchange is a good example of how to disagree strongly, even colorfully, without sounding like a couple of kids fighting in the backseat.
Here’s Watts’s final salvo:
What decisions are you talking about? If you had any experience at all with NAs you’d know they have very little power. They can write letters. But then so can you. You can also join them and get a taste of real power.
The idea that NAs run some shadow government is the stuff of pure conspiracy theory.
Here’s why you don’t like NAs: they are a vehicle for regular people to engage with their community, people you would rather be excluded from the civic discourse because you are afraid they will not be your political allies. Attacking NAs is like restricting polling hours in places that tend to vote against your party. It is exclusionary politics.
