2023 Archives

What makes Better Naito so great?

Last week, People for Bikes, the largest and most influential bicycle advocacy organization in America, named Naito Parkway as one of the best new bike lanes in the country. I don’t usually pay attention to “best of” lists, but something about that recognition felt different. And it felt like something that deserved more attention than a quick churn of the news cycle.

The protected bike lanes on Naito Parkway — which opened in May 2022 and are known affectionately as “Better Naito” — aren’t just among the best bike lanes in the city from an engineering perspective, they also represent the best of Portland more broadly in ways that transcend a typical infrastructure project.

In the past week or so I’ve been wondering: What makes Better Naito so great?

From an engineering perspective

To refresh, Better Naito is a two-way protected bikeway on the east side of Naito Parkway, a major street that runs along Portland’s waterfront. The project replaced a stressful and dangerous, 1990s paint-only bike lane.

Protection: I know some folks wanted even more width for the bikeway, but it’s relatively wide and offers a solid sense of protection from car and truck users. The width of the biking space is 14-feet curb-to-curb (at minimum, some sections are wider), and when combined with the concrete curb and other traffic separators, it feels plenty wide and comfortable for most riders. On the flipside, drivers have much less room to operate, and their behavior reflects that. In my experience, drivers have slowed way down and are pretty chill as they navigate next to the bikeway. The design is also strong enough to communicate to drivers that they aren’t allowed in the space.

Length, location and connections: At about 1.2 miles long, the bikeway runs from just south of the Steel Bridge to SW Lincoln. This length means it connects to many other bikeways. Better Naito makes it easy to hop onto SW Oak, NW Couch, the Hawthorne Bridge, or the cool little shortcut to SW Main we highlighted yesterday. The value of Better Naito also goes up because of where it is. Portland’s first real separated bikeway was built on NE Cully Blvd in 2011. It’s nice, but it was put there because of bureaucratic serendipity (PBOT did a full road rebuild and had a clean slate to work with) and not because there was a lot of cycling demand or other bike network connections in the area. Like too much of PBOT’s best work, it was an inaccessible oasis. Naito on the other hand is in a well-connected, high-demand, and high-profile location on one of Portland’s marquee streets (recall that the Portland Business Alliance opposed the project).

Signals: An unsung hero of Better Naito (and many other bikeways citywide) are smart, bike-friendly signals installed by PBOT. The signals are programmed to detect the presence of bicycle riders and they show a level of respect and seriousness that takes the Naito bike lanes from good to great.

For walkers too: Better Naito also came with a new, 8-foot sidewalk to give walkers a space of their own. There are also several signalized crossings with large median refuge islands where walkers can safely wait to cross.

Strong support from former PBOT Commissioner Steve Novick was crucial.

From a cultural perspective

The origin story of Better Naito matters almost as much as its ultimate success.

In the words of Timur Ender, a former PBOT staffer and volunteer activist with Better Block PDX who helped bring it to life, “Better Naito is a success story on a number of fronts: it’s a success story of accessible government, tactical urbanism as a way of urban planning, partnerships, data, and imagination.” In a BikePortland comment Ender shared after the ribbon was cut last spring, he shared that the idea for Better Naito wasn’t even on PBOT’s radar until 2015. That’s when the festival season on Waterfront Park began and we helped document the urgent need for more space for walkers and bikers during these events. PBOT responded with a creative permit to handle the event loading zone that led to a de facto, 24-hour lane open only for loading, walking, and biking during the two-week Rose Festival.

PBOT’s partnership with festival organizers and nonprofit tactical urbanism group Better Block PDX led to the most ambitious and consequential transportation pilot project the city has ever seen. “This was very much a leap of faith and there were a number of things we didn’t know until we did it,” is how Ender described the early days of the project. “Better Naito was also a success in bridging the connection between grassroots tactical urbanism and the halls of power in city government.”

In the end, the magic sauce of dedicated activists and city staffers willing to compromise and work together, led to something very special: A $15,000 pilot project done with traffic cones and plywood that led to over $15 million in infrastructure and several awards for the people for the people who made it happen.

But don’t take my word for it! Here’s what a few Portlanders think about it…

Andy Kutansky, a transportation engineer who works and rides in Portland:

“As a bike rider it is satisfying to see a super low-stress, two-way bike facility come to life. We don’t always say it explicitly, but what makes these facilities great is the ability to interact with our community; we can take both lanes and ride three abreast or interact with the riders going the opposite direction. I love how all the green paint on the cover image makes the facility really stand out, and its clear even from several hundred feet up that separated, all ages and abilities facilities are what the people want, and are here to stay.

From an engineering perspective I’d like to shine a light on the impact these types of projects can have for the price. This project, designed and constructed for under $4 million, can be a blueprint for thousands of other communities who want to reallocate public space for all users. All it takes is a little determination.”

Chris Thomas:

The lack of cross traffic makes it a much more enjoyable ride. No threat of a car running a stop sign/light and cutting you off.

Brendan Tschuy:

Better Naito gives a chance to relax and unwind on rides to work every morning. Few places in Portland provide that.

First Look: New bikeway between SW Naito Parkway and Main

The new bikeway as seen from SW 1st and Main. That’s Waterfront Park in the background. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The quality of Portland’s central city bike network just got a lot better thanks to a new connection between SW Naito Parkway and SW Main.

If you’ve been paying attention, you know that the Portland Bureau of Transportation has recently improved bikeways on NW Naito Parkway (aka “Better Naito”) and on SW Main. “Improved” is a vast understatement when it comes to Naito Parkway, since the 1.5-mile protected bike lane is one of the best in the entire city (and a national nonprofit just named it one of the best in the country). And SW Main, the street that the westbound Hawthorne Bridge bike path dumps you onto, was recently upgraded with a bus/bike only lane, plenty of safe space around the Elk Fountain, and other bike-oriented improvements between SW 1st and Broadway.

The problem was these bikeways was that they didn’t connect to each other. If you were on Naito and wanted to head west into downtown via SW Main, there was no direct way to do it. Until now!

I’m happy to report that Multnomah County has just built an excellent connection between Naito and Main that now gives us a relatively safe bikeway all the way from the river to the north Park Blocks.

Looking east toward Naito from the new bike lane.

The new bikeway is about 250-feet long and it runs alongside a parking lot adjacent to the west side of the Hawthorne Bridge. Prior to this project there was only a brick sidewalk between Naito and Main in this location. It’s an informal cut-through that you might have used before — but it required you to ride through a parking lot or on a sidewalk. Now there’s a bright green bike path installed on the northern portion of the parking lot (love the fact that we took car space to make this!). There’s physical separation from parked cars with a iron fence and there’s a concrete curb that separates it from the sidewalk.

Access to the new bike path from Naito is easy. If you’re on the “Better Naito” bikeway, you can make a two-stage turn at a crosswalk between Salmon and the Hawthorne Bridge. Currently there’s a pedestrian “beg button” to activate the signal and it’s not a super quick change, so I have a hunch PBOT still plans to install a more sensitive signal that will recognize bike riders. PBOT has added “cross bike” striping to the existing crosswalk that helps direct riders onto the new bike path. It’s a smooth transition up to the path and it delivers you very nicely to the intersection of SW Main and 1st. If you are using the southbound bike lane on Naito, you can just pop right onto the new path. (I have a hunch this direct connection might inspire more people to use the old, door-zone bike lane instead of Better Naito if they plan to head into downtown.)

Thankfully we don’t have to worry about right-hooks at the SW 1st intersection because it’s one-way southbound. Speaking of one-ways, this new path is designed to only serve westbound bike traffic because SW Main is also one-way westbound. That being said, because it’s so nice and wide (I estimate at least 10-feet or so), we should expect oncoming traffic hear from people walking and rolling eastbound.

I also noticed that every time I used the signal at Naito to cross into the new bike lane I got a green signal at 1st and Main. Not sure if that’s by design (hi Peter!) or just luck, but I liked it a lot.

I’m very excited about this because when it comes to building a quality bike network, a small piece that connects larger pieces has exponential value. When you add this connection to the protected bike lanes on Naito Parkway, the recent bike upgrades on SW Main, and the new protected lane on SW Broadway, you have something very special. It’s these type of connections that can help Portland go from good-to-great in bicycling terms. (Check the pics above where you can see from Waterfront Park to Broadway in one frame.)

Kudos to Multnomah county for making this happen. If you’ve ridden it yet, let us know what you think.

CORRECTION, 11:43 am: This story initially stated that the project was done by PBOT. That was incorrect. It was a Multnomah County project. Sorry for any confusion.

Portland wins $20 million USDOT grant for 122nd Avenue project

(Photo of 122nd Ave: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland / Graphic: City of Portland)

Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) staffers are waking up to excellent news this morning as the Biden Administration has awarded them a $20 million grant. The award was one of two U.S Department of Transportation awards announced today that could lead to safer streets and a transformation of 122nd Avenue. Metro was also awarded a planning grant that will fund their ongoing work to achieve “vision zero” with a focus on pedestrian safety in underserved communities.

The awards are part of the USDOT’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which is part of their National Roadway Safety Strategy we praised when it came out in January 2022. Today’s awards amount to an $800 million investment in 510 projects nationwide that seek to reverse the rise in traffic deaths and injuries. The grant awards were split into 473 “action plan” grants and 37 “implementation” grants.

Our regional planning authority, Metro, has won $2.4 million for a project titled, Getting to Vision Zero 2035 – Advancing Equity Outcomes and Pedestrian Safety in the Greater Portland Metropolitan Region. We are working to get the application to learn more details about what Metro will do with the funds; but we already know that planners at the agency have worked for years to analyze and understand why people are killed in traffic crashes at higher rates depending on who they are and where they live. Metro has become a national leader in understanding how equity is related to safety outcomes and in 2018 they included a Transportation Equity Analysis in their Regional Transportation Plan (see map below).

Plans for the funding include: add street lighting where gaps currently exist; install four miles of protected bike lanes; update traffic signals with a focus on bicycle users and walkers; alter the cross-section to reduce the amount of driving lanes; build new crossings; add 11 raised medians; plant street trees; build curb extensions for bus islands; buy speed reader boards with automated enforcement; and build a new roundabout

With their grant award, PBOT will receive a massive boost for their 122nd Avenue Plan. We took a closer look at PBOT’s efforts to re-imagine this notoriously unsafe arterial back in September 2021. They’ll be able to hit the ground running with these new funds because they’ve already completed a major planning and public outreach effort. The project will help them install safer street designs on a 5.5 mile stretch of 122nd Ave between SE Foster and NE Sandy. PBOT will add this $20 million to their war chest for 122nd. In March 2022 they received $4.5 million from Metro to install crosswalks, curb ramps, and better lighting on a northern portion of the street.

PBOT’s goal is to transform 122nd Ave from a high-speed, high-crash thoroughfare into a “civic corridor” that encourages more walking and biking and reduces dangerous driving behaviors. Specifically, PBOT plans to employ their “safe systems” approach (to clarify, “vision zero” is the goal, “safe systems” is how they plan to reach it) on 122nd. According to PBOT, 122nd Ave is in the top 5% of metro Portland’s most deadly and injurious streets. Plans for the funding include: add street lighting where gaps currently exist; install four miles of protected bike lanes; update traffic signals with a focus on bicycle users and walkers; alter the cross-section to reduce the amount of driving lanes; build new crossings; add 11 raised medians; plant street trees; build curb extensions for bus islands; buy speed reader boards with automated enforcement, and build a new roundabout (likely at SE Harold).

In a statement this morning, Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer said, “The people who travel on 122^nd Avenue every day to get to work, school, and home will benefit greatly from these improvements… It’s also a vote of confidence for community action and the importance of including community members in the decision-making process to meet their priorities.”

This is excellent news! Well done Metro and PBOT!

Stay tuned while I track down the specific grant applications so we can delve into more detail about what to expect in the coming months as these projects are deployed.

PBOT says state’s I-5 Rose Quarter project ‘is not there yet’

The City of Portland is not happy with the direction of the state’s I-5 Rose Quarter project. In a letter released today (PDF) from former Portland Bureau of Transportation Director Chris Warner, the agency laid out their official stance as part of the federally-required comment period for the project’s Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA) on the Hybrid 3 Concept.

In short, PBOT says the current proposal from the Oregon Department of Transportation — which would add lanes to the freeway between I-84 and the Fremont Bridge, cover a section of it at the Rose Quarter, and make substantial changes to the surface streets — needs a lot more work. It’s a stinging blow for the project because it echoes — and gives fresh validation — to many of the concerns outlines by activists for years now.

Here are some of the city’s concerns as outlined in the letter:

“… additional technical analysis on local street circulation impacts and possible need for modification.”

“revisions to the project are needed for alignment with city policy as it relates to prioritizing people walking, rolling, bicycling, and taking transit.”

“Lack of clarity in how commitments made as part of the Independent Highway Cover Assessment are provided for. Specifically, how the design will accommodate the community vision to develop a highway cover that can be catalytic in the restoration of high-quality land and provide opportunities for community wealth for generations to come.”

“The project must provide construction mitigations that ensure pedestrian and bicyclist safety…”

“Traffic analysis needs to be completed that reflects that the project area is designated as a Multimodal Mixed-Use Area…”

“… traffic design must consider the impact of pricing on I-5 and the potential for the planned Regional Mobility Pricing Program to change or lower vehicle travel demand in the area.”

“The project must develop traffic management that provides safe and efficient movement of freight and event district traffic management…”

Warner’s letter is informed by major concerns shared with him by PBOT’s modal advisory committees. As we reported early this month, the bicycle and pedestrian advisory committees both issued grave warnings about the project. The Pedestrian Advisory Committee urged PBOT to withdraw support of the Hybrid 3 concept entirely — only to have their position moderated by a PBOT project manager who felt the language was a bit too spicy.

Some of the strongest language in Warner’s letter had to do with how the proposed highway covers would impact future plans to restore a former Black neighborhood that construction of sports arenas, parking lots, and I-5 decimated decades ago. Warner said the current plan for the cover and surface streets, “Requires a fundamental shift in design approach from an auto-focused street network and circulation system to a pedestrian-oriented street scale that improves pedestrian safety and experience and supports place-making and wealth-creation outcomes.”

It’s important to note that the City of Portland isn’t just another voice around the table. They are the state’s main project partner and PBOT must give approval for the design before it gets built. Regardless of any legal requirement to support the project, it will be all but impossible for ODOT to fund this project if PBOT is not comfortable with the plans.

Throughout his letter, Warner made it clear that — far from walking away completely like Portland did under former Commissioner Chloe Eudaly — PBOT remains supportive of the project as long as ODOT is willing to work with them and show a willingness to change. Warner repeated “we must work together” several times in the letter: “We must work together to achieve the technical design refinements that are required for this project to succeed,” he wrote.

While this was sort of a mic drop for Warner, who has the luxury of firing this off in his last days at PBOT, he still might have a presence around this project in his new role with Governor Tina Kotek’s office where he will, “coordinate activities and oversee efforts to better align the Governor’s office management and oversight of agencies and the policies they manage.”

To help buoy their position, PBOT included 135 comments from 13 different staff members (PDF) outlining various questions and concerns. 44 of those comments were made by City Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller.

From here, the comments will be entered into the official record along with hundreds of comments from the general public and included in ODOT’s application to the Federal Highway Administration. The FHWA is expected to make a decision about the project’s environmental impacts early this year. ODOT will need a “finding of no significant impact” in order to move forward. If the FHWA finds there are significant impacts ODOT will have to mitigate them, which would further delay a project and could be seen as yet another setback.

It’s hard to read PBOT’s letter and square how FHWA could make a “finding of no significant impact.” Stay tuned.

Riding the bicibús on the streets of Barcelona

A scene from this morning’s Bicibús Eixample. (Photos: Taylor Griggs/BikePortland)

I’ve loved seeing Portland’s Alameda Bike Bus, organized by Alameda Elementary School physical education teacher (and now global phenomenon) Sam Balto, grow over the last nine months. When I first talked to Balto about the bike bus back in April, I thought the idea sounded fun but had no idea what it would become.

Since then, I’ve watched Balto’s bike bus become a sensation and have joined in on the fun myself on several occasions. This morning, after I accompanied a bicibús in Barcelona, I discovered the joys of the bike bus aren’t limited to northeast Portland.

Bicibús means bike bus in Catalan, the language primarily spoken in Spain’s Catalonia region, where Barcelona is located. Catalonia is a bicibús hub, with kids from cities big and small throughout the region able to ride to school in the morning with their friends. Bicibús Eixample, the group I accompanied this morning, rides in Barcelona’s city center from the Sant Antoni market to two elementary schools about a mile away. The rides happen every single day, though every morning isn’t a jam-packed parade — there were about 20 kids on the Tuesday morning ride today. (I heard Fridays are the most popular days.)

But the relatively small group brought an outsized amount of energy to Barcelona’s streets. Kids and parents rang their bells and we rode along to upbeat Spanish music. I especially loved seeing how the power of the bike bus gave kids confidence and maturity beyond their years. This is something Balto has said about the Alameda Bike Bus, and is evidently a shared product of bike buses all over the world.

One big difference that I noticed between the Bicibús Eixample and the Alameda Bike Bus is the neighborhood reception. In Portland, people will stand outside their houses to watch the bike bus go by in the morning, clapping and cheering them on. (I think your house would get TP-d and egged if you ever said something negative about the bike bus kids.) Here, I heard one onlooker call out words of support, but also saw at least one man give the group a disapproving look — probably because they were playing music in the morning.

I think this is because the bicibús takes place in a very busy part of the city unlike the residential, family-dominated Alameda neighborhood. The setting of Barcelona’s bike bus turns every morning into a protest, even though it’s just about kids getting to school. The parents and organizers know this, and they say they’ve had to take a political approach to getting their kids to school safely.

After the bike ride this morning, I chatted with two parents and organizers, Mireia Boix and Genís Domínguez. Boix and her child ride in the bike bus every day, while Domínguez usually only goes with his kids once a week (on other days, they walk to school). Both have been petitioning the city government for better bike infrastructure and to help other schools form bike buses. They are also both in communication with other global bike advocates, including Balto and Hood River’s Megan Ramey, about how to keep this movement going worldwide.

Boix and Domínguez see bike infrastructure improvements happening in their city (I was quite impressed by some of what I saw), but they share the grievances many Portland advocates have.

“It’s slowly changing, but the problem we have here is there are too many cars,” Domínguez said.

“[The bike infrastructure] is not consistent,” Boix said. She said some streets have facilities that are safe for kids to use, but adjacent streets are a different story. There’s no coherent network that would be comfortable for vulnerable road users to bike on. “Yes, an adult can use it fine. But if it doesn’t make sense [from street to street], it’s like, ‘what am I supposed to do now?'”

Boix and Domínguez said their philosophy for the bicibús is partly based off of Critical Mass — the huge protest bike rides that took off in San Francisco in the 1990s. Like Critical Mass riders, the kids and adults in Bicibús Eixample take over the car lanes with their bikes (instead of using bike lanes) as a way to protest car dominance in the city.

By calling it a protest, organizers were also able to get a police escort to come every morning and make sure people in the bicibús are safe from busy Barcelona car traffic.

“The changes we need are infrastructure changes,” Boix said. “Even if you don’t want to be political, you have to be.”

ODOT report says state should make e-bikes easier to purchase

It’s been just over two years since we sounded the alarm that a major effort at the Oregon Department of Transportation to better understand the state’s electrification needs was missing a key ingredient: bicycles. Despite skyrocketing sales growth and vast potential to serve the mobility needs of many Oregonians, ODOT’s Transportation Electrification Infrastructure Needs Analysis (TEINA) initiative barely considered e-bikes at all. It gave just passing reference to them as “micromobility” devices and perpetuated the false idea that only cars and trucks can be EVs.

With the release today of the Electric Micromobility in Oregon (EMO) report, ODOT has taken a big step to remedy that oversight. BikePortland was given an early look at the report and we were able to ask one of its authors a few questions about it.

The report comes out of ODOT’s Climate Office. It was co-created for ODOT by Kittelson & Associates and the nonproft electric vehicle group, Forth. John MacArthur, a noted e-bike expert from Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) was also on the team that produced the report.

In addition to being the first and most supportive document on e-bikes ever produced by ODOT, the 40-page EMO report gives bike advocates and policymakers a lot to chew on. It considers the use of e-bikes and scooters both by individuals and as part of shared rental programs like Biketown. The report should also put wind in the sail of House Bill 2571, the e-bike rebate bill currently being considered by the Oregon Legislature (the bill’s first public hearing was recently postponed in part to give lawmakers and supporters time to digest this report.)

The report still categorizes bicycle EVs as “micromobility” alongside electric scooters, segways, and other devices. This is unfortunate because no one outside wonky bubbles knows what “micromobility” is, which makes it easy for policymakers to forget about and marginalize. (I prefer to not use that term because I want people to think of bicycles when they think of EVs (since bicycles are technically electric vehicles as per Oregon law), so I’m going to start using “micro-vehicles” and see how that fits. The report also gives a nod to electric freight delivery trikes, which are hardly “micro”. ) With this small framing quibble aside, the reports findings should help further ensconce electric bicycles into Oregon’s transportation policy framework.

In addition to giving elected officials, advocates, and policymakers an excellent overview of the e-bike market and its exciting potential, the report offers a solid list of recommendations and “actionable strategies” that will be necessary to reach it. Just as important as the solutions it outlines is how the report clearly lays out the challenges that face more widespread adoption.

In a finding that will surprise no one who’s been around the bike advocacy space for more than a week or so, the report states that, “By far the largest barrier to e-micromobility is the lack of safe and connected infrastructure.” This is a problem advocates have raised a flag about for many years in calling for wider and more protected lanes for e-bike and scooter use. The report calls out this lack of safe space specifically in a section titled, “Right-of-Way Allocation”:

The Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Design Guide and ODOT’s Highway Design Manual specify that bike lanes and multiuse paths must be at least 4 feet and 10 feet wide, respectively. Neither document mentions e-micromobility devices (Oregon Department of Transportation, 2011) (Oregon Department of Transportation , 2023). Because they are often wider than standard bicycles, e-cargo bikes have trouble operating within these standards. In areas with limited space, the wider footprints and faster speeds associated with some e-micromobility devices can also cause safety and operational conflicts with other modes. Since e-cargo bikes can be as wide as 4 feet, Oregon’s minimum width standards for bike lanes and multiuse paths may not allow for safe passing opportunities.

According to the report, lack of space on the road is just one infrastructure problem we need to fix. The others are a lack of secure parking, a lack of integration with public transit (for shared systems), and the lack of charging. This last point is something we’ve harped on for years (only to have many folks tell us it’s not an issue because e-bikers can just charge at home), so it’s nice to see this issue spelled out in the report. “Not everyone can easily charge their device at home,” it reads. “People who make longer trips or use their e-bikes more frequently may also need access to public charging.”

Other major challenges listed in the report include: high purchase costs for micro-vehicles; the need for data from bike and scooter share providers; making sure access to them reaches underserved communities; a confusing regulatory environment; a lack of awareness of micro-vehicles in general, and a lack of funding to operate shared bike and scooter systems (especially for smaller cities)

Beyond the call for more road space for micro-vehicles, the other two major policy recommendations that caught our eyes were strong support for e-bike purchase incentives and a call for Oregon to establish “zero-emission delivery zones” to reduce congestion and emissions.

Jillian DiMedio is a senior transportation electrification analyst at ODOT’s Climate Office and was one of the report’s chief authors. Check out our Q & A with her below:

Why did ODOT commission this report?

In 2021, ODOT published its Transportation Electrification Infrastructure Needs Analysis (TEINA), which identified Oregon’s electric vehicle charging needs over the next 15 years as the state works to meet the zero emission vehicle goals outlined in Senate Bill 1044. While this study included electric micromobility as one of its nine transportation use cases, it became clear early on that this rapidly growing sector has its own unique benefits and barriers that needed to be more closely researched and understood by ODOT. This sentiment was echoed by the micromobility stakeholders that participated in TEINA listening sessions in the Spring of 2020.

In short, ODOT wanted to better understand a rapidly growing sector which will play an important and growing role in serving communities’ transportation needs and in reducing GHG emissions from transportation. The study sought to answer questions about the industry – its history and impact in Oregon, the benefits of and barriers to adoption and best practices and strategies for encouraging widespread use.

Where will this report live, administratively-speaking?

This study is not an official planning document but rather a research paper conducted to enhance understanding of a rapidly growing industry. ODOT’s Climate Office and Public Transportation Division, both of which work on micromobility, are developing an approach to implement the relevant recommendations in the study.

I do also want to note that ODOT just recently hired a new staff member in the Public Transportation Division (PTD) – a Micromobility and First/Last Mile Program Coordinator – that will be dedicated to promoting micromobility in Oregon. This person will develop and implement at statewide strategy for first/last mile connections with a focus on micromobility options, and will certainly be referring to the report’s findings and recommendations as part of this effort. She will also support ODOT’s existing Transportation Options program and the new Innovative Mobility Program, as well as PTD’s broader efforts to build an integrated, statewide public and active transportation network.

What was your goal with this report?

ODOT is committed to reducing emissions from the transportation sector. This means electrifying cars, trucks and buses and using cleaner fuels, and it means reducing the miles driven in Oregon by supporting transportation choices such as transit, biking and walking. The emergence of electric micromobility devices presents a unique opportunity to advance these efforts, as these devices are appealing to a broad range of users and have diverse applications. ODOT recognizes that the increased use of electric micromobility devices like e-bikes and e-scooters is an important tool in the toolkit for reducing the climate impacts of transportation.

With this in mind, the goal of the study was to do a deep dive into the electric micromobility industry – industry trends, the market potential, best practices from around the world in promoting adoption – so that we and other decision makers in Oregon could make educated decisions about how to design policy and programs to support continued rapid adoption.

What do you feel is the number one thing ODOT should prioritize from the report’s recommendations to encourage e-bike and scooter use?

What is clear from the study conclusions is that successfully promoting electric micromobility in Oregon will require a collaborative approach across many jurisdictions and stakeholders. There is a lot ODOT can do to facilitate the growth of this industry alongside our partners. As highlighted in the study, safe and connected infrastructure is a key factor in promoting and supporting the adoption of e-micromobility. ODOT will continue to prioritize the expansion of supportive infrastructure, as demonstrated by ODOT’s growing investments in programs like Great Streets, Safe Routes to School and the Innovative Mobility Program.

The study also highlights the need for a supportive ecosystem, which includes secure parking facilities, public charging, the availability of adaptive devices and equity-centered programs and policies. ODOT can serve as a convener for this supportive ecosystem. And we know that outreach and education are essential to shift the perception of e-bikes from one where they are used primarily as recreational devices to one where they are considered viable modes of transportation, for all sorts of activities. Lending libraries and shared micromobility programs can help shift the perception and ODOT will continue to promote these as well.

You can learn more by reading the full report or check out the executive summary if you are pressed for time.

Enjoy the Winter Light Festival by bike with these handy maps

Many of you have already figured out that the cure for the winter blues is getting out on your bike and riding in a group. It’s been wonderful to see so many groups hosting rides still happening each week through the cold, dark and wet winter.

But if the existing rides on the calendar aren’t enough to motivate you, then perhaps the annual Portland Winter Light Festival is. Affectionately abbreviated as PDXWLF, this free event is put on by the Willamette Light Brigade, a nonprofit arts organization that uses art and technology to bring people together. Last year, an estimated 189,000 people took part in the nine-day festival.

What is it? Imagine dozens of installations citywide full of imaginative light-based artwork that pops up (often unexpectedly) in all sorts of places — from public parks to storefronts and even backyards. There are interactive sculptures, live performances, projections onto buildings, and more. Think of it like Pedalpalooza, but instead of creative bike rides there are creative light displays.

Another way this reminds me of Pedalpalooza is that organizers encourage folks to ride to the exhibits. In fact, our friend (and BikePortland contributor) Tom Howe has worked with PDXWLF to create five bike routes specifically for the festival. Tom’s routes are on the event website and available for anyone to follow. You can print them out, import them into your GPS unit, view them on your phone, or whatever. Check them out below and set aside some time to get out there and see these by bike.

(Click on the “i” for information about each installation.)

PDXWLF kicks off February 3rd with an event at Pioneer Courthouse Square and goes through February 11th. If you want to welcome this event with a bang, consider rolling up to the PopCartPDX gathering on Friday the 3rd for some tunes and other fun stuff. See the official website for more details.

Comment of the Week: Tolling, trust, and ODOT

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.

Comments came roaring back this week with strong reader discussion threads on our posts about spicy exchanges at the legislature and a new initiative on engagement from the City of Portland. We fielded several “comment of the week” nominations, and have chosen a winner…

The ODOT freeway tolling issue is complicated, but a commenter named Adam, in a colorful extended metaphor which emphasized the trust issue, compared ODOT to “used car salesmen” and made the point that tolling—how the money is used and how it is implemented—is essentially a political question. He called on lawmakers to put forth a vision.

Here’s what Adam wrote:

No one trusts ODOT because its leaders and spokespeople speak and behave like used car salesmen. They’re hacks who use obvious cloak and dagger tricks to placate and obfuscate and muddle and tire out their “customers,” until they buy the lemon as is, with that TruCoat included.

ODOT is supposed to be managed and staffed by professional civil servants who do the bidding of elected officials, like Governor Kotek, and the Legislative Assembly. These officials need to be telling ODOT what the vision for tolling is and crafting laws based on that vision. If that vision is that tolling can only be used to fund new freeways and the maintenance of existing freeways, so be it, if the voters don’t mind. But treating ODOT like it’s some thinktank of innovative transportation policies and multi-modal solutions is foolhardy. ODOT builds roads for cars and trucks. That’s it. They’re not really qualified to do anything else. They can’t even manage a highway construction budget consistently well.

Asking this ODOT to get back to you with reliable data and analysis of anything other than how many lanes they think the ideal freeway ought to have, is like asking Jerry Lundegaard to speak with his manager about removing that TruCoat charge from the price of the car.

Lawmakers need to develop their tolling vision and strategy on their own and hope ODOT can follow their directions whenever the time comes to implement the tolling plan.

Thank you Adam! You can find Adam’s comment and lively discussion under the original post.

Monday Roundup: Good car tech, free bikes, e-car reality check, and more

Welcome to the week. Hope you are staying warm out there!

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

E-bike safety: California coastal cities are struggling to find the balance between encouraging e-bike use and making sure they don’t lead to safety problems for users and people around them. (L.A. Times)

Shot…: It’s almost as if cars themselves are the problem, not what powers them. This new research should give local, state, and national leaders reason to make their EV policies and statements more inclusive of other (non-car) vehicles. (The Guardian)

…Chaser: The U.S. government has a golden opportunity to think beyond cars when it embarks on the EV era — and it’s clear the right thing to do is promote a wider mixture of vehicles because their current car-centric focus is “an environmental disaster.” (Curbed)

Trans athletes: A survey of existing studies found that trans women don’t have a biomedical advantage when competing against other women. (Cycling Weekly)

Free bikes: A bill in the Hawaii legislature would establish a bicycle grant program and give students a $2,000 subsidy to buy a new bike. (Cycling Industry News)

Good car tech: Turns out we have the technology to limit the speed of cars and an important pilot in New York City worked very well. We can’t wait for this to spread far and wide! (Smart Cities Drive)

Cycle-logy: It’s important to understand how bias and psychology work when it comes to why so many business owners oppose bike lanes. (Wired)

Legislative action: Lawmakers in Olympia and Salem hope this session results in more legal tools to improve road safety. (OPB)

Be careful what you wish for: Author Angie Schmitt wants transportation reformers to keep in mind who their low-car policy goals might leave behind. (Planetizen)

Thanks to everyone who shared links this week.

Carfree bridges, bike lanes, and public spaces in Bilbao

Someone riding one of Bilbao’s bike share bikes on a grade-separated “bizikletak” (cycle-track).
(Photos: Taylor Griggs/BikePortland)

— This post is part of BikePortland Staff Writer Taylor Griggs’ trip through Europe. See previous dispatches here.

Now that you have some background on Bilbao, Spain and its history of urban renewal via the Guggenheim Foundation, I want to share a bit more about this city. Like I said in the last story, Bilbao’s revitalization came with a hefty investment in public and active transportation and carfree public space across the city, which is evident to anyone walking around it today.

Here’s what I’ve stumbled upon in Bilbao so far.

The Zuziburi bridge, which opened in 1997.

Carfree bridges

The Zuziburi pedestrian bridge had its grand opening in Bilbao around the same time the Guggenheim Museum was completed, adding another architecturally distinctive element to the small city’s skyline. Like the museum, the bridge came with some controversy when it first opened. In this case, it was because it had a glass deck that caused people to slip and slide whenever it rained. But now it has a non-slip surface, making it much safer, if a bit less aesthetically appealing than its designer had in mind.

There’s also the wood-lined Pedro Arrupe Footbridge not far from the Zuziburi serving as another way for people walking and biking to get across the Nervión river to the other side of town.

Pedestrian traffic is hopping at school pick-up time.

Getting around

Bilbao is huge on walking — about 62% of all trips are made on foot. But there’s a growing population of cyclists here, too. The city has a bike share program, Bilbaobizi, but it’s only available to residents and getting access requires an in-person appointment. There’s also an impressive network of bike lanes, often grade-separated from car traffic and sometimes even accompanied by Dutch-style bicycle roundabouts at intersections.

The city’s public transit network includes buses, a metro system and trams — including an inclined tram for getting up the city’s mountainous areas. (Can you imagine an incline up Portland’s hilly westside?)

A very interesting net playground outside the Guggenheim.

Public play places (for all ages)

I pointed out my fondness for the carfree plazas, parks and playgrounds I saw in Amsterdam and Copenhagen, and the trend continues here in Bilbao. The importance of these public spaces is one of the key things I’ve learned on this trip. They’re so crucial to a city’s livability for residents and are tourist crowd-pleasers, too.

Overall, I have been very impressed by this city. Tomorrow I’m off to Barcelona, in part to ride with the bicíbus, and then I’ll be back in Portland next week! Thanks for following along, it’s been fun to be able to share this with you.

Oregon’s upgraded biker campsites will get you excited to ride

Covered areas with charging plugs, air pumps and lockable storage lockers are just some of the amenities at these sites. Pictured: Devils Lake State Park. More photos below. (Photos: Oregon Parks Forever)

“People tell us these are the best hiker/biker sites on the coast — much better than anything in Washington or California.”
– Seth Miller, Oregon Parks Forever

The State of Oregon’s efforts to make bicycle touring more comfortable continues to reach new heights.

We’ve been covering the bicycle tourism beat for a long time and one of the coolest initiatives Oregon Parks Forever (a nonprofit that raises money for state projects) has taken on over the past decade or so is a strategy to upgrade and expand hiker/biker campsites at popular parks. As bicycle camping has become more popular and has spread to a wider range of riders over the years, Oregon has upped its game to meet demand.

Not content to simply offer a special place to sleep for carfree campers, the bar has been raised to include covered shelters, USB charging ports (e-bike riders can charge batteries in bathrooms), fix-it stations, and even gear and food storage lockers. After a full day on the bike, having a bit of extra comfort — and the ability to get your body and your gear off the (sometimes wet) ground and onto a dry, covered spot, means everything.

We know of at least 10 of these upgraded sites statewide and there are a few dozen planned. In 2014 we reported that Oregon Parks wanted to build 19 of them along popular cycling routes across the state. In 2015 they made good on those plans and added major upgrades to hiker/biker sites at Milo McIver, Champoeg, and Bullards Beach state parks.

Oregon Parks Forever (formerly Oregon State Parks Foundation), a nonprofit that raises money for state parks, has been instrumental in funding these hiker-biker pods. In 2020, they made a $39,875 donation (thanks to their members and grants from Juan Young Trust, REI, and Travel Oregon) to pay for installing new pods at three more locations — including Honeyman State Park just south of Florence on the Oregon Coast.

According to Oregon Parks Forever, the new pod at Honeyman includes a charging station, lockers, water filling station, repair station with an air pump, seating areas, and a new fire pit. Communal gathering spaces are also a big part of the design. This is the seventh hiker-biker pod they’ve funded on the Oregon Coast and it joins existing ones at Fort Stevens, Devil’s Lake, Cape Blanco, Harris Beach, Cape Lookout and Nehalem Bay. “Expanding services for recreational bicyclists from around the world will promote increased physical activity, decrease car traffic, and contribute to economic development by attracting more bicycle tourism,” reads a post on the Oregon Parks Forever website.

Oregon Parks Forever Executive Director told me yesterday that two more pods will be installed by this June at South Beach and Beverly Beach and their current plan includes nine pods, each costing about $16,000. “They’ve gotten tremendous feedback,” Miller said. “People tell us these are the best hiker/biker sites on the coast — much better than anything in Washington or California.”

These amenities can often make-or-break a bike trip. It feels great to know the State of Oregon cares about bicycle travelers. Thanks to everyone involved in building these. We can’t wait to see more them!

(Note: Remember that even when a State Parks campground is “full,” bike riders are still allowed to camp. And fees for these sites are only $5 to $6 per night. Miller also strongly recommends bringing a padlock to keep your stuff safe in the provided lockers. Learn more at this helpful page on Travel Oregon’s website.)

Oregon’s e-bike rebate bill set for first legislative hearing

UPDATE, 1/27 at 8:20 am: The e-bike rebate bill has been pulled from the agenda. Scroll to end of post for details.

A bill that could usher in an exciting new era for mobility statewide will receive its first public hearing in the Oregon Legislature next week. House Bill 2571 will be heard at the House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment on Monday at 3:00 pm.

As we first shared back in November, this is the bill that would give purchasers of electric bicycles an instant rebate of up to $1,200 for a standard model and $1,700 for a cargo bike. To pay for the rebate, the bill seeks $6 million out of the state’s general fund to be placed into a program administered by the Department of Environmental Quality. According to a forthcoming report about e-bikes from the Oregon Department of Transportation, 65 localities in the United States currently offer some form of rebate toward purchasing an e-bike (as of July 2022).

E-bike use and purchases have skyrocketed in Oregon in the past few years. Statewide sales numbers aren’t available, but data from cycling industry experts NPD Group show that e-bike sales more than quadrupled between 2019 and 2021. NPD Group analyst Dick Sorenson has been tracking e-bike sales for eight years and wrote in late 2021 that, “The growth of e-bikes should come as little surprise, as these bicycles address the needs of an aging U.S. population, provide easy access to a family-friendly outdoor activity, and address some of the need for commuting in denser population centers.”

Rep. Pham and her electric cargo bike. (Photo from a Pham fundraiser)

Oregon’s e-bike rebate bill is sponsored by House Reps Dacia Grayber and Mark Gamba. Neither of them are members of the House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee, but one of the bills co-sponsors, Rep. Khanh Pham is. As an e-cargo bike owner herself, she’ll be a strong voice of support for the bill.

Oregon bike shop owners are also going to line up behind this. One of them told us recently he expects his business to double overnight if this bill passes. Brook McKee at Pedego Electric Bikes on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, is also excited about how this bill will impact her business. “I think it would be very beneficial for us. We’re trying to give people a mode of transportation they need, without having to worry about buying a car,” she shared on the phone this morning. “And price is a big issue, especially for our younger customers.”

A typical e-bike at Pedego that would be a good car replacement will set you back around $2,500 to $3,500. That’s inexpensive compared to other shops around town who stock urban commuting and utility models that can easily set you back $5,000 to $6,000. The very popular Urban Arrow cargo bike with a large bin in the front (like in the photo above) costs $7,000 to $8,000 at Clever Cycles.

The State of Oregon already offers a wide variety of generous financial incentives and rebates for anyone who wants to buy an electric car. Given the vast potential of electric bikes, it’s both fair and sensible to extend that type of policy to other types of EVs. That forthcoming report on e-bike use that ODOT is set to release next month makes a strong recommendation that the time is right for Oregon to create an e-bike incentive program.

If you own a bike shop or are a potential beneficiary of an e-bike rebate, you can register to testify online or in-person for Monday’s meeting here. You can also click here to submit written testimony that will be uploaded to the committee website and be made available to committee members prior to the hearing.

UPDATE, 1/27 at 11:00 am: We have confirmed that HB 2571 has been pulled from the agenda. Sponsor Rep. Grayber said it was a welcome development because the postponement will give e-bike advocates a bit more time to prepare for the hearing. Part of the reason might also have to do with a forthcoming ODOT report about e-bike use that isn’t set to be released until February 1. That report will be very relevant for bill sponsors and advocates because it includes a recommendation for e-bike purchase incentives. A new committee hearing date for the bill has not yet been scheduled.