6/20: Hello readers and friends. I am having my second (of two) total knee replacement surgeries today so I'll be out of commission for a bit while I recover. Please be patient while I get back to full health. I hope to be back to posting as soon as I can. I look forward to getting back out there. 🙏. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor
We’re seeking a Lead Worker for our Kerr Bikes rental store. Kerr Bikes provides the public with seasonal bike rental services. The Lead Worker may supervise other Kerr Bikes employees, volunteers and participants in services we provide, and will perform maintenance on bicycles as needed.
Albertina Kerr strengthens Oregon families and communities by helping children and adults with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges – empowering them to live richer lives.
All Kerr employees are required to be fully vaccinated or meet the requirements for a medical or religious exception prior to beginning work.
Responsibilities:
– Provide seasonal bicycle rentals of Kerr Bikes
– Supervise other hourly employees, volunteers and/or participants in services we provide as needed.
– Responsible for the store in absence of manager(s)
– Manage cash handling of bike rentals
– Prepare the daily register reports, make bank deposits, hold store keys, open and close store, etc.
– Provide excellent customer service while representing Albertina Kerr and Kerr Bikes.
Qualifications:
– At least 18 years of age.
– Supervisory experience is preferred.
– Retail cash handling experience is strongly preferred.
– Excellent customer service skills.
– Ability to work well with little supervision.
– Ability to lift 60 pounds, continuously squatting, bending and twisting.
– Mechanical aptitude and knowledge of maintenance of bicycles.
A criminal background check and ability to meet agency driving requirements are required.
Central City Multimodal Mixed-use Area boundary. (Source: City of Portland)
This seems to imply that City would be unable to provide ‘safer and greater’ conditions for bicycling without this project. This is untrue.
– Roger Geller, PBOT
The list of people who have criticized the Oregon Department of Transportation’s latest design proposal for their I-5 Rose Quarter project includes some obvious names (like anti-highway advocacy group No More Freeways PDX) and some more unexpected ones (like the entire Trail Blazers organization). Members of the Portland bicycle and pedestrian advisory committees have also spoken out against the design, which they think will create worse conditions for people biking and walking in and around the Rose Quarter.
It’s one thing for activists and other stakeholders to make strong public statements against a megaproject. It’s another thing entirely when concerns come from another government agency — especially one that’s an official project partner.
Last week we shared what former PBOT Director Chris Warner had to say about the project as part of his official comments on ODOT’s supplemental environmental analysis (SEA, a document required by the federal government as part of the NEPA process). Warner’s statements were backed up by 135 comments from 13 different city staff members, 44 of which came from longtime PBOT Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller.
We highly recommend taking a closer look at all the comments (one PBOT engineer calls the new southbound ramp a potential “fatal flaw” and the word “misleading” is used three times) — but for now I want to focus on Geller’s and on one thread in particular.
Geller’s comments reveal an interesting (and growing?) tension between ODOT and PBOT about something called the Central City Multimodal Mixed Use Area (MMA). If you came to our Wonk Night event on this project in 2021, you might recall hearing about this. It’s a little-known and relatively technical, yet highly important piece of this project’s puzzle.
(Source: State of Oregon Land Conservation and Development Department)
An MMA is land use designation cities can receive from the State of Oregon Land Conservation and Development Department (this PDF has a good summary of how it works). Typically, when a city wants to develop urban land with more buildings, housing, and destinations, they are required by Oregon Administrative Rule (Chapter 660, Division 12: Transportation Planning) to expand the road infrastructure to accommodate more driving. This rule (known as the Transportation Planning Rule, or TPR) exists to prevent congestion and perpetuate convenient auto access.
Think of it like this: The rule does to roads what minimum parking mandates do to parking lots.
The only way around the rule is if you receive a MMA designation.
PBOT has been operating under the assumption that they have a MMA for the area impacted by the I-5 Rose Quarter project since ODOT officially agreed to it in 2016. The Central City MMA (including the Lloyd and Lower Albina areas) was then adopted as part of Portland’s Central City 2035 plan in 2018 and was then into the city’s Transportation System Plan in 2020 (PDF).
Here’s where ODOT comes in: There’s a stipulation in the state’s land use planning rule that when a MMA is near a freeway interchange, ODOT approval is needed. There’s been an understanding from the get-go that PBOT and ODOT would work together on this. A cynic could argue that there’s a quid pro quo going on here: PBOT supports the project, ODOT signs off on the MMA designation.
We’ve already covered how PBOT is walking on egg shells around this project. Geller’s comments on the SEA reveal that the latest — and perhaps most substantive — disagreement has to do with the MMA.
In SEA section 3.8.2.1, ODOT states:
the No‐Build Alternative would have an adverse effect on the City of Portland’s long‐term vision for land development
To which Geller replies:
This is presumably based on not achieving the realization of the Central City Multimodal Mixed Use Area (MMA) and the subsequent need to apply long‐established TPR [Transportation Planning Rule] requirements for automobile congestion. However it’s not clear that ODOT’s written concurrence is required for an MMA designation that is more than one‐quarter mile of any interchange ramp… many of the development goals in the Lloyd District could still be implemented so long as they were more than five blocks away from the interchange ramps.
Even developments within a short distance of freeway interchanges may be allowed depending on the outcomes of a congestion analysis. Only in the scenario in which new structures generate significant levels of congestion would they have a potentially negative outcome on the freeways. Congestion pricing and equitable transportation pricing in general have elsewhere proven effective tools to minimize automobile transportation and congestion. Under such a scenario increased development — even within one‐quarter mile of freeway interchanges — would not necessarily have a negative effect on the freeways and could be allowed.
Geller is referring to a part of the MMA where ODOT agreed to only consider development impacts if they caused drivers to back up onto ramps, causing potential safety issues for freeway users.
The 2016 agreement between ODOT and PBOT (which has been adopted into Portland’s TSP) states:
For freeways, [MMA traffic impacts] will be measured by whether traffic on off-ramps backs up onto the deceleration portion of the ramp, or onto a freeway mainline. Traffic impacts on freeway on-ramps and off-ramps where there are no identified safety concerns need not be addressed as part of plan amendments.
ODOT’s interpretation of the MMA in the SEA also elicits comments from PBOT Traffic Design Manager Jamie Jeffrey. In her comments, Jeffrey is concerned that ODOT doesn’t mention the MMA when the topic of ramps comes up:
Statements that interchange intersections would need to meet ODOT mobility standards would not be consistent with the adopted MMA.
In a different comment, Geller pushes back on another threat from ODOT.
In the SEA, ODOT states:
The No-Build Alternative [not building the project] would have two major consequences for future land development… First, the City would be unable to implement the goal of supporting high-density, mixed-use development with safer and greater pedestrian and bicycle connectivity through implementation of policies specific to the Rose Quarter [a reference to the MMA]… Second, ODOT would require the City to apply ODOT vehicle traffic mobility (congestion) standards… These changes would likely have the effect of limiting allowed development…
But Geller is not having it. In his official comment, Geller replies,
This seems to imply that City would be unable to provide ‘safer and greater’ conditions for bicycling without this project. This is untrue.
These disagreements about the MMA will be very interesting to watch from here on out. If the two agencies can’t come to an agreement, there is a 10-step process that includes detailed traffic modeling with the ultimate decision going to the land use board or the legislature for a final decision. That type of analysis could cause even more delays and would only further illustrate how controversial and unwelcome this project is — all of which will make it even harder for ODOT to win the political funding and political support they so badly need.
And since PBOT is an official I-5 Rose Quarter project partner and these comments are part of the federal NEPA process, ODOT must reply to each of them in writing. Stay tuned. And you might want to grab some popcorn.
Ruandy “Roo” Albisurez Age 44 1st Generation Guatemalan-American Raised in Inglewood, CA USAF Veteran Father of two sons
One of the fun parts of my job is to keep track of who’s-who and who’s doing what in our community. In that past year or so I started coming across a guy named Roo. My curiosity piqued when I heard he was helping out with trail maintenance out at Gateway Green Bike Park and when I learned he was working on a digital magazine about the outdoors.
Turns out Roo’s full name is Ruandy Albisurez. I made a note to connect with him; but it wasn’t until I opened up the BikePortland Shed (our backyard headquarters I’m trying to make into a community clubhouse of sorts), that we were able to meet face-to-face.
Below is a Q & A we did over email (since our time in the Shed was just an informal chat):
Roo and his two sons.
What has your relationship with cycling been like throughout your life?
I’ve been riding bikes since I was young. Like so many people who grew up in L.A., I had a black BMX bike purchased from the local Inglewood indoor swap meet. I used my bike to ride on my street with the other kids. As I got older I rode bikes on and off but nothing too serious. In my mid 20’s I purchased a Trek 820 and outfitted it with commuter tires for riding to work. I was a few weeks into my commuting journey when my old Air Force friend Eddie was over at my house visiting. He saw the bike on my back porch and asked when I got into mountain biking. I said I didn’t know that there were any trails around but I had just been commuting. Eddie asked if I had the knobby tires that came with the bike originally. I said yes and he said I’m taking you mountain biking this weekend. After that first ride I was hooked. I have since owned a bunch of bikes. Mostly mountain bikes, but I’ve also had a couple of dirt jumpers, a couple of commuters and at one time I even owned a couple of road bikes.
My relationship with cycling is very deep and personal. As soon as I fell in love with mountain biking both of my boys did as well. My youngest has been putting tires to dirt since the age of 5 and my oldest from the age of 10. I’ve spent the last 20 years as a single parent and about 12 of those have been spent having a blast with my two boys in the woods all around the country. From southern California to Whistler B.C. to Atlanta, GA. We’ve ridden and the boys have raced all over the country. Mountain biking will hopefully always be a large part of my life. I am now a grandpa and my 2-year-old granddaughter has two bikes and one push-bike in her stable so far. Hopefully this summer we can get her riding down hills on her balance bike, but for the time being she loves riding on her seat on the bike with her dad.
Tell us about Warpaint:
Warpaint is (for the time being) a digital magazine that highlights Black, Indigenous and People Of Color that are athletes in outdoor sports as well as community organizers that are doing their part to introduce BIPOC people to outdoor sports. I encourage people in their bios to share positive and negative experiences they have experienced by stepping into the outdoors. I don’t think that everyone fully understands how daunting that can be at times for people of color. There is a long history of negativity when we’ve stepped into outdoor spaces. Warpaint exists to help point that out and help bring awareness to it by not hiding it.
We will be fundraising to get a first print issue of the Warpaint magazine done and printed by some time this summer. We are really excited to get that going and have a printed issue with great images and story’s of BIPOC athletes and their journey into the world of outdoor sports. Personally I cannot wait to get a print issue out. We hope to be able to make it like a coffee book that people can purchase and have in their homes.
An event at Gateway Green
Roo putting in the sweat equity at a trail maintenance event.
And you organize community events too right?
Yes. Warpaint is also an all-BIPOC media company and a Community Organization. On the community side of things we have been doing a ton of work. Group rides, get togethers, skills clinics, maintenance clinics and trail work party’s have all been parts of what we have been doing with the community. We had a couple of small fundraisers last year and have a few pretty big ones that we will be launching this year as well. Those along with more skills clinics and community events can be expected this year. A few big announcements to come!
I really enjoy helping get people onto bikes. That is a large part of why I put on beginner clinics through Warpaint and NW Trail Alliance, and is a huge part of the group rides I organize as well that are open to all skill levels. I never want anyone to feel left out and it just feels great to see people falling in love with this in the same way that I did.
There’s an interesting dichotomy in many conversations around transportation safety. Should the push for safer roads focus of driver behaviors or the design of our roads?
Obviously, the answer is a combination of both, but what should the balance be?
Government agencies and transportation departments are the ones who usually push the idea that the terrible safety outcomes we have are the fault of how people drive — not the streets they drive on. And who can blame DOTs for pushing the individual responsibility narrative? After all, streets are their work product: they could face legal liability if they’re found to be inherently unsafe and public ridicule of they’re poorly designed.
We hear from many advocates that the infrastructure itself is to blame. Transportation nonprofit groups in the U.S. have long made things like bike lanes the focus of their campaigns and have promised us that better infrastructure will lead to safer behaviors, less deaths, and so on.
This “systems versus people” debate is one of the things I explored with Dr. Tara Goddard in the latest episode of our podcast. Dr. Goddard has a doctorate in urban planning from Portland State University and is currently an assistant professor in the School of Urban Planning at Texas A & M University. One of the focus areas of her research is car culture and how implicit bias impacts the way people drive.
Some highlights of this episode include:
How to improve the police-to-media information pipeline.
Dr. Goddard’s interesting research
Her idea to copy the “safe sex” approach to fighting AIDs to driving
Whether it’s smart to use the phrase “traffic violence”
What is the right balance in the “systems vs people” debate
You can find the episode on every major podcast platform. Thanks for listening!
Members of Local 483 in front of Albina Maintenance Yard Thursday morning. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
City of Portland transportation, parks, and environmental services workers from Laborers’ Local 483 went back to work last night after a three-day strike that began last week. Staff from the City of Portland and Laborers’ 483 were in negotiations all day Saturday, finally reaching a tentative agreement on a new contract at 1:00 am on Sunday morning. This puts an end to 10 months of negotiations between the union and the city.
The main issue for union members was that the City of Portland wasn’t paying them enough and was being stingy with cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) that didn’t rise to employee needs in a time of historic inflation. Local 483 members didn’t believe the city’s claims that they didn’t have the money to meet union demands. During the bargaining process, BikePortland talked to union Field Representative and Organizer James O’Laughlen, who said the city claiming poverty was only going to make things more expensive down the line. He described the situation as a “loop of crisis” that was hurting city infrastructure.
In the end, the city came up from an initial offer of a 1% annual raise to a 3% annual raise (the union asked for 3.5%).
As we explored with maintenance staffers at the picket line last week, a prolonged strike would’ve had major infrastructure impacts, and Portlanders who rely on biking and active transportation to get around would be some of the first to feel those street-level effects. Luckily, they reached an agreement after only a few days.
“We look forward to reuniting with our colleagues and celebrating the ability to continue serving this community, together,” a joint statement from the City of Portland and Portland City Laborers Local 483 reads.
This was the City of Portland’s first strike in 20 years. Even though it only lasted three days, its impacts may be more long-lasting.
“During the coming days, city bureaus affected by the strike will be catching up from a backlog of work that was put on hold to prioritize essential services. They will also focus on building community among employees who remained at work and those returning from the strike,” a Sunday press release from the City of Portland states.
The new contract will be in place until 2026, and includes retroactive across-the-board wage increases and annual COLAs. The contract will still need to be approved by Local 483 and City Council votes before it can be finalized. You can read full details of the tentative agreement at the Laborers’ Local 483 website.
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.
Maybe it was because the sun was out for a few hours, but we sure got a lot of nice comments on Friday about how wonderful bike riding is. I don’t think it works the other way around though. Selecting an upbeat comment ain’t gonna make the sun shine.
The BikePortland comment section can sometimes be an intimidating place. A lot of knowledgeable people comment, and some of them have sharp elbows. But you don’t need to be an expert to write a comment which will resonate with others.
This comment by Blumdrew stood out for its expression of joy. I can’t promise the sun, but perhaps these cheerful words will brighten your day:
Something I think we underrate in all of this is the role of culture and socializing. The reason I love biking is in no small part the social aspect of it. Riding with a friend, or having little interactions with pedestrians or other cyclists – it makes a commute properly enjoyable instead of a slog. This is something Portland has a history of doing well, and I think still does pretty well (despite the talks of a bike doomsday).
I’m from Madison, WI a great bike city on it’s own merits which honestly has better infrastructure in general than Portland. It helps that the city is smaller, but there are a handful of incredibly useful off-street paths which actually take you to most of the places you want to go. They are safe and convenient, and often the fastest way to get around the city (especially during rush hour).
But I’d still rate Portland as a better place to be a cyclist. I see lots of people out riding, and there are lots of high profile cycling events. People care about cycling a lot here, I mean I spend at least 25% of my workday perusing the comments section (which… I guess isn’t really a big bragging point but whatever). And I think it’s worth remembering that it’s not all about paths, pavement, and infrastructure. It’s about enjoying your time in the world, and riding a bike to get around makes my life a lot better!
Thank you for reminding us about what is important, Blumdrew! You can find Blumdrew’s comment and what many other commenters had to say about Taylor’s European tour, under the original post.
Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers have come across in the past seven days…
Micro-EVs FTW: When it comes to making big gains on urban transportation emission goals, there’s a consensus forming that it will only happen in cities that make major moves to promote the use of micro-EVs like bicycles and scooters, combined with low-emissions zones and serious transit service upgrades. (GreenBiz)
National context: The $20+ million awarded in our region from the USDOT last week is part of a larger strategy that Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg calls a “preventable crisis.” (Fast Company)
Danger data: Along with those awards announced last week, the USDOT shared a data dashboard with interactive maps of the country so anyone can drill into their city to learn about traffic crash and fatality data. (USDOT)
How kids think matters: If federal regulators truly want to make the use of cars as safe as possible, they should learn more about the psychology of kids and how they make traffic decisions. (Streetsblog USA)
Get police out of traffic enforcement: “New research shows how such low-level interactions with the police can undercut our democracy by reducing the number of people who participate in elections.” (Bolts Mag)
Peak car culture: At a fast food place in North Carolina the drive-thru line was so long it obstructed traffic and blocked sidewalks, so city officials helped the restaurant build a new location with an improved, drive-thru only design. It’s induced demand for chicken sandwiches. (Yahoo News)
E-bike battery rebate: There are two e-bike rebate bills being debated by the D.C. city council, one of which would give low-income folks up to $2,000 back on their e-bike purchase. It also offers rebates on locks, replacement batteries, and service. (DCist)
He’s a bike rider: Mike Norris, newly hired coach of the Portland Thorns, loves to ride his road bike and is looking to explore more of the city on two wheels. (Timbers.com)
Beyond parking garages: “Parking garages are monuments to outdated beliefs about what makes cities thrive.” Thought this was a good story to highlight since Oregon has recently enacted several major parking reforms. (The Conversation)
Just a quick post to share a new episode of our podcast. It’s a quick explainer of the City of Portland worker strike that began yesterday. I include audio from interviews with folks on the picket line and share more about what PBOT says we can expect in terms of impacts to the streets.
This is a new style of episode for us. At just 17 minutes, it’s much shorter than our long interviews and it’s a quick turnaround that has more of a newsy feel than previous episodes. It’s something I want to do more in the future. I still plan to do interviews (have new ones coming soon with researcher Dr. Tara Goddard and former Transit Center Executive Director (and former Metro President) David Bragdon.
Have a listen above or wherever you get your pods and let me know what you think of this format. Thanks!
I arrived back in Portland late Wednesday night and am trying to acclimate myself back to the city and figure out how to sum up the European trip I was on for the last month. I don’t think I’ll be able to put a neat little bow on it: my thoughts and feelings about everything I learned will come in waves as I get back to my real life. I’m sure I’ll reference my experience quite a bit in the next few months when the Portland Bureau of Transportation drops a new project plan or while waiting an inordinate amount of time for a TriMet bus to show up. (“They would never put up with this in Paris!”)
For now, though, I’ll do my best to draw some initial conclusions so I can pull myself out of Europe mode and get back to what’s happening on Portland’s streets. First, let’s get down to brass tacks about the bike infrastructure.
The quality of bike facilities varied widely between the cities I visited — I learned that the hard way when I took a Dutch/Danish approach to the more rough-and-tumble Parisian bike lanes — but I think there were lessons to be learned everywhere. Below are some that come to mind.
Grade separation is highly underrated
Some examples of grade-separated bike lanes in Copenhagen. (Photos: Taylor Griggs/BikePortland)
Even though I think I’m overall preferential to the vibes in Amsterdam compared to Copenhagen (or maybe Scandinavia in January is just too dark for me), there were some things about Copenhagen’s cycling infrastructure I thought were really ahead of the curve and made it feel just that much safer to bike in. This is mostly credited to the bike lanes that are on almost every street in the city, which are separated from car traffic not only with wide strips of curb and often a car parking lane, but also with elevation — a tactic I think is underutilized in Portland.
When a bike lane is separated from car traffic by a few inches of height, it adds just that extra bit of security for someone biking, especially if they’re traveling near high-volume and fast car traffic. It’s possible that safety is as much perceived as it is real, but feeling safe matters a lot for improving bike mode share and should not be overlooked. Copenhagen’s grade-separated bike lanes are also a few inches lower than the sidewalks, providing a distinction that helps combat conflict between people walking and biking.
I would like to see PBOT consider grade separation for new bike lane projects, which I think would really increase the appeal of plans like the newly-announced bikeway on NE Skidmore. The problem is that implementing this now would result in our bike network being more disjointed than it currently is, but that’s a trade-off I’d be willing to contend with.
Little things can go a long way
Caught these cyclists in Copenhagen using the footrests.
I understand the problems PBOT deals with when trying to improve our city’s bike infrastructure, and am willing to give them grace on many things: they’re up against a lot that’s out of their control. But there are some things the city could do right now to making biking better. And honestly, there’s no excuse for why we don’t have some of these.
One key example? Take the bike footrests or cycle rails I saw in Copenhagen. They give cyclists something to lean against while waiting at a red light. Copenhagenize.com‘s Mikael Colville-Andersen describes these as “a tiny detail. No bells and whistles, just a simple idea to make a tiny fraction of the day a little bit easier for a small percentage of the cycling citizens of the city. Which is precisely why it’s brilliant.”
Installing these rails at intersections with high bike traffic in Portland — like North Broadway and Williams, or Southeast Hawthorne and 11th, for instance — would not be difficult or expensive, and they would be much-appreciated. This is the kind of thing that would really take Portland up a notch as a world-class bike city.
Bike parking is a world of its own
The beautiful three-story bike parking garage in Utrecht.
I have to be honest: I’m not sure that I really “get” the art of bike parking. It feels like an ecosystem that I haven’t quite been able to break into yet, and it’s also not something I’m typically that concerned about — but that might be because there are a lot of people on the case already so I don’t have to think about it.
Well, to those people I say thank you, because the bike parking iceberg goes deep, and providing nice bike parking facilities is a lot of work. I was struck by the enormity of the three-story bike parking garage in Utrecht, Holland — the biggest in the world — which offers 12,656 parking spaces and has digital signs alerting visitors how many spots are left. This is fantastic to me because it signals just how important biking is to the city’s residents and planners: the facility is right underneath the central train station and is much easier to access than car parking, indicating how Utrecht prioritizes transportation modes.
I stood on the top floor of the parking garage for a long time, watching people bike in and out in constant rotation, my mouth agape at the beauty of it all. After that, I started to notice bike parking a lot more, and I’m sure I’m going to maintain this energy going forward when I can’t find a spot outside Safeway even when there are dozens and dozens of empty car parking spaces. Thank you to the bike parking wonks, your work is highly appreciated and I will no longer take it for granted!
Maintenance absolutely must be prioritized
Butter-smooth bike tracks in Copenhagen versus Paris’ less-than-ideal conditions.
I know, I know, we nevertalk about it here on BikePortland, but PBOT has a maintenance issue. And considering maintenance staff are currently on strike and the bureau has a Sisyphean budget problem, it doesn’t seem like the issue is going to improve anytime soon. But it really, really needs to.
I was pretty relaxed about slipping and wiping out on black ice in Portland a couple months ago, but as I nurse my finger (which I seriously injured after I lost control on a big bike lane bump) back to health, I won’t be as calm about this going forward. What happened to me in Paris was a prime example of what happens when a city doesn’t pay close enough attention to the literal and proverbial cracks in the pavement, and it could’ve been a lot worse. Portland’s bike lanes have these same hazards and more. This needs to be a top priority.
Bike share systems are complicated
Utrecht’s gorgeous bike share inventory — for residents only!
Portland’s Biketown gets its fair share of heat from advocates, particularly for a lacking inventory that forces people to walk long distances out of the way to rent a functioning bike. But as I attempted to rent bikes across Europe, I’m not sure I can say I came across a system that jumped out to me as a model we should emulate.
Many cities I visited have municipal bike share systems for city residents which seem to function very well. But these require jumping through some hoops and are inaccessible to people visiting. When I just wanted to rent a bike for a short trip, I used services like Bolt and Lime, which are expensive and sometimes just as inconvenient as getting a Biketown during peak hours.
Biketown could be better. But this is a hard business to get right, especially in the U.S., where we are culturally unaccustomed to doing a lot of public resource sharing generally. And as far as other U.S. cities go, New York’s electric Citibikes are ridiculously expensive — and apparently very difficult to rent, as I was unable to find a working e-bike when I was there a month ago. I think this industry is going to evolve quite a bit in upcoming years, and I really hope Portland can be on the front lines of that movement, because a great bike share system is so important.
(Try your best to) stay away from mythologizing
My sister Kylie biking in Brussels.
A major lesson I learned during my trip is that uncritically worshiping European infrastructure is ultimately unhelpful to improving the facilities we have at home. Though I know I have sung the praises of some of what I saw, I tried to do it in a way that wasn’t too reverent — and it can be a hard line to walk. No city is perfect, but some have systems that are evidently working much better to produce good results. We can get there too.
When I was biking around Brussels with my sister Kylie, she said she felt safer biking in Portland. (She lived here over the summer and was subject to my biking influence.) This really surprised me at first because I am often critical of Portland’s biking facilities. But once I lowered my Europe-colored glasses, I was able to see flaws in these European cities, and I saw where Kylie was coming from.
I love Portland, and I love biking here. We have a lot of good things; but we need to be better. I think we need to be able to take inspiration from great things happening around the world without venerating these places to a ridiculous degree. Put another way, we might make faster progress here if we don’t get so distracted with what they have over there.
PBOT workers on strike outside Maintenance Operations headquarters in North Kerby Avenue. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
“We’re digging in this time, it’s time for a change.”
– PBOT street maintenance crew member
Listen to interviews with PBOT workers standing on the picket line today.
The mood was upbeat on the picket line outside the Portland Bureau of Transportation Maintenance Operation headquarters on North Kerby today. The honks and waves of support from passersby and warm smiles from workers as they nibbled on free food and refueled power generators was in stark contrast to the frosty negotiations that led to this strike.
After nearly a year of back-and-forth with city managers, just over 600 workers represented by Laborers Local 483 made good on threats we first reported about in September and began their strike at 12:01 am this morning. The Oregonian reports it’s the first municipal strike in 20 years.
The workers from the city bureaus of environmental services, parks and recreation, and transportation are holding out over a contract dispute. According to NW Labor Press, the City of Portland’s latest offer — a 6% wage increase retroactive to July 2022, and another 6% wage increase in July 2023, along with cost-of-living adjustments — wasn’t enough. Local 483 wants more. PBOT workers I spoke with on the picket line today say they want to make enough to live in Portland and receive paychecks on par with other PBOT workers.
“Pay us enough to afford to live in this expensive city, so we can take care of our families,” read one workers sign. “Teddy and Tara, you should be ashamed to represent the workers,” read another one that referenced Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Interim PBOT Director Tara Wasiak (a former director of PBOT Maintenance Operations, interestingly enough.)
This strike comes at an already precarious time for PBOT: The agency’s director since 2019 recently left his post for a job with Governor Tina Kotek; they’re transitioning to a brand new commissioner-in-charge; and they’re facing scrutiny over an ever-rising toll of traffic fatalities despite a “vision zero” promise made years ago.
“[The Bureau of] Transportation is slowly going out of business.”
– Michael Jordan, City of Portland chief administrative officer
And then there’s the budget.
At a Portland City Council work session this week, the city’s Chief Administrative Officer Michael Jordan lead a conversation about asset management. The discussion was about all city bureaus, and PBOT’s infamous “maintenance backlog” and ongoing budget woes featured prominently. At one point in the session, rookie City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez asked Jordan to give him a quick rundown on how each bureau is currently handling their asset management and maintenance issues. “[The Bureau of] Transportation, to be honest,” Jordan said candidly, “is slowly going out of business.” “The gas tax is a dying revenue source and until the state moves to some kind of vehicle mile traveled (VMT) fee and or we do something much more dramatic locally, transportation is going to be very challenged.”
According to city budget documents, PBOT has cut 10.5% of their general transportation revenue budget and 43.5 full time employees. This year they’re being asked to make GTR reductions of an additional $6.3 million (or 4.3%) and another 15 FTE. If they don’t find new revenue sources, the cuts will have to continue at a similar rate next year.
There are budget realities, and then there are human realities. Below are snips from conversations I had withy workers on the picket line today (out of respect for their privacy amid employment negotiations, I didn’t ask anyone to share their name):
Member of a street maintenance crew that fixes potholes, paves streets, and lays down pavement:
BikePortland: Why are you out here?
“We haven’t had good raises in quite a while. And every time it comes up for bargaining, the city’s basically like, ‘We’ll catch you next time. Things are tough. Work with us, we’ll catch you next time.’ And then next time doesn’t seem to come. So we’re digging in this time, it’s time for a change.”
How long before bike riders might see an impact from the strike?
“I don’t think it will take too long. I mean, there’s a lot of work that gets done here behind the scenes, and people don’t notice the work getting done, but they’re going to notice when it doesn’t get done.”
What do you want to tell PBOT management?
“Keep up with inflation at least, instead we’re going backwards… There’s a lot of people here that work here that can’t even afford a house. And we’re forced to live with sky-high rent prices. A lot of the policies they’ve put in place raise the cost of living around here… and we’re just stuck with the results. And we’re kind of eating crow out here. You know, every time we go to the grocery store, every time we pay a rent check.”
What do you feel when you hear PBOT say their budget is in dire straits and they have no money?
“Every Monday another list of white collar jobs that are well over $100,000 come out, brand new positions with made up titles that you’ve never even heard of. And they have no problem coming up with jobs that pay $120,000 to $150,000 a year. But the people out here on the streets are actually doing the work that are fixing the signs that, fixing the roads, putting in sidewalks — they just want some money that keeps up with inflation, but the city acts like they’re broke. You know, it doesn’t seem like it. The city seems to always have plenty of money anytime they want to do a pet project, some kind of you know, goofy new idea or something. There’s always money for that. There’s always money for new trucks and new equipment, but yet to pay the workers out here that are actually doing the work a fair wage, all of a sudden now they’re broke. Doesn’t make sense. Doesn’t make sense at all.”
A worker on the night shift street cleaning crew:
How will this strike be felt by people who bike on Portland streets?
“On night shift tree cleaning, we clean a lot of the bike paths and whatnot. That’s part of our job. Basically, that would affect you guys directly. You’d notice an impact immediately Immediately. There’s broken bottles and glass every night downtown and whatnot. We spend a lot of time downtown. And every night it’s like we started all over again.”
How much confidence do you have in like the city’s plan to plug in replacements? Do you think that’s a feasible way to make the work continue during the strike?
“No I don’t. We deal with a lot of stuff. There’s a lot of safety issues and traffic issues involved. There’s a lot of experience that’s developed over the years to doing this job. We deal with homeless people, we deal with transients, we deal with garbage that’s thrown into the street — stuff like that. There’s a lot of people who don’t want to do that kind of work.”
PBOT can make a strong case that their budget is dismal and they don’t have the money to pay you what you want. How do you feel when you hear that?
“Well, in relation to my own salary, when I compare it to what they get in the offices and whatnot, you know, there’s no comparison at all. They always scream that we’re out of money when it’s time for new contracts and stuff like that. But yet in the office, they always manage to get theirs. I just like to see little fairness across the board.”
A heavy equipment operator:
What do you think, in relation to these salary negotiations, when you hear that PBOT’s budget is in serious decline?
“I’ll tell you what I read. The City of Portland just got $20 million for 122nd. And that means bike lanes, bump outs, islands. And when are they going to get all that done?”
I turned my mic off at the request of this last person and we had a nice conversation off the record. She wanted to ask me about why bike riders do certain things and I was happy to be the cyclist translator for her (a role I often fill in these situations). At the end of our conversation, she smiled and said, “I just hope they can come up with a reasonable and fair wage for us. We’re just out here waiting. Patiently. We got a barbecue going. We’re having fun out here!”
E-bike shopping would be a lot less scary when this bill passes. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Oregon’s electric bike rebate bill has been rescheduled for its first public hearing. House Bill 2571 was initially slated to be heard in the House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment this past Monday (1/30), but it was pulled off the agenda just before the meeting. It’s now set for a hearing on February 8th at 3:00 pm.
The bill is sponsored by House Representatives Dacia Grayber, Mark Gamba, and Khanh Pham. It would establish a cash rebate of between $1,200 and $1,400 at the point-of-sale for the purchase of a new e-bike from a qualifying dealer. Oregon already offers several generous purchase incentives for people who want to buy electric cars, so a similar program for bicycle EVs seems like a natural next step. The bill asks for $6 million from the state’s general fund to kickstart the program.
One of the reasons HB 2571 was pulled from the agenda last week was so lawmakers could have time to read and digest a landmark new report on electric bicycle, scooter and “e-micromobility” vehicles that was recently released by the Oregon Department of Transportation. That report, part of ODOT’s larger Transportation Electrification Infrastructure Needs Analysis, includes a recommendation for rebates and other incentives to encourage more Oregonians to buy e-bikes. The past week has also given lawmakers and other supporters of HB 2571 more time to burnish their arguments and organize testimony.
Next Wednesday’s hearing won’t come with a vote, but it will be the first time we get to hear how those arguments are shaping up, what lawmakers think about the idea, and if there are any voices of opposition that have come out of the woodwork. So far the Oregon Legislature website has three pieces of written testimony for the bill — all of which are in support.
Northeast Portland resident Paxton Rothwell says he recently had to sell his car because the payments made it unaffordable. “An e-bike would change my life,” states his testimony. “I would be able to comfortably take 95% of trips by bike. I would be able to… make a large grocery run, and reach further distances in the city if I had access to an e-bike. But I don’t. And the main reason I don’t is because I can’t afford the purchase. I support HB 2571 because it would give me and people like me the opportunity to afford this amazing transportation tool.”
Andrew Martin writes that, “Oregon currently has rebates for electric cars, and given that electric bicycles move us towards our goals much faster it makes sense to have similar rebates for electric bikes. This rebate will also support Oregon’s bicycle industry economically.”
And Mark Harris tells lawmakers that, “I am an avid bike rider in my 60’s and would jump at the chance to buy an electric bike to use on my commute. I feel I would use it instead of the times I have to drive my car.”
A grant award will help the City of Tigard take more steps toward its goal to be, “an equitable community that is walkable, healthy, and accessible for everyone.”
Tigard will receive a $105,800 grant from Portland General Electric’s Drive Change Fund to purchase e-bikes that will be used at two affordable housing facilities. The funds come from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and aim to boost transportation electrification. “Transportation electrification plays an essential role in accelerating the clean energy transition,” said PGE’s Elyssia Lawrence in a statement Tuesday.
The City of Tigard will use the money to fund their Power to the Pedal E-Bike Library pilot which they describe as, “a suburban e-bike borrowing program for residents at affordable apartment buildings.” “Locating e-bikes directly in neighborhoods introduces residents to this emerging technology and provides them with free trips for short-term use, eliminating the need for some automobile trips,” the city says. Its part of Tigard’s effort to increase transit and active transportation trips to 20% over the next 12 years. They intend to analyze the results of this pilot with an eye toward launching a larger, citywide system in the future.
E-bike lending libraries have taken off nationwide in the past few years. According to Bloomberg, they’re currently offered in several cities in Vermont; in Oakland, California; Buffalo, New York and several other places.
This is just the latest sign that the City of Tigard is serious about the potential of e-bikes. Last spring we noticed how they hosted a series of e-bike demo days. This also isn’t the first project funded by this DEQ and PGE collab. In 2021 we reported how the Drive Change fund awarded e-bike related grants to the Community Cycling Center, Biketown, and Portland State University.
It’s great to see Tigard moving forward with this pilot. As a recent ODOT report made very clear, the expense of e-bikes is one of the main barriers to access. Until rebates and other purchase incentives are widely available at either the local or state level, programs like this will be crucial in order to bridge the gap.
