2024 Archives

‘Policymakers’ gather in Beaverton for first ride in five years (Video)

Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty addresses crowd in front of Beaverton City Hall Friday morning. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

When you think of our region’s trails, paths, and bikeways, you might envision that as a network. But what’s even more important than the bike network is the networking it takes to build it. I’m talking about good, old-fashioned relationships — the ones forged by real-life conversations between like-minded professionals.

At the Policymakers Ride on Friday, those conversations took center stage. Also known as the Voyage of the Visionaries, this invite-only gathering began in 2005 with a ride from the Eastbank Esplanade to Champoeg State Park to draw attention to what would become Oregon’s first-ever State Scenic Bikeway. The rides were held each year in a variety of locations until 2019 when they became victim to the pandemic.

With a nudge from the ride’s creator Jonathan Nicholas (the former Oregonian columnist who helped start Cycle Oregon), the event has been reborn thanks to expert wrangling and organizing by Steph Noll, leader of the Oregon Trails Coalition. Noll and her partners from Metro and other transportation agencies and organizations around the region, opted to begin this year’s ride in Beaverton — right in front of City Hall within steps of TriMet’s light rail line.

“I want to welcome you to the coolest city, the raddest city on the west wide,” boasted Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty to a crowd of about 80 participants from behind wraparound sunglasses on a perfectly sunny morning. “I’ve done policymaker bike rides twice in Portland, and I said, ‘Why don’t you come to the west side?’ And some of the organizers told me, ‘Why? There’s nowhere to ride a bike on the west side.’ And so here we are. Thanks for taking the challenge.”

Going waaaay out of our way to cross SW Farmington Rd on the Westside Trail.

Beaty was just one of the elected officials who turned out. She was joined by Metro President Lynn Peterson, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (she didn’t ride), a staffer from U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley’s office, and Beaverton City Councilor Kevin Teater. Also among the crowd was Portland City Council Candidate Steph Routh and the leaders of nonprofits like Oregon Walks, Verde, BikeLoud PDX, Bike Summer, and many other transportation-related organizations from around the region.

I caught up with Jonathan Nicholas on the ride and asked him what it felt like to be here, 19 years after the first Policymakers Ride. “It feels great to get everyone back out together,” he said. “You know, we spend so much time in our offices, planning things and talking about things and looking at PowerPoint presentations… it’s so much better to just actually get out here with your peers and other folks you’ve heard about, but have never even met and you get on a bike and you actually ride through the infrastructure that we’re all so committed to building.”

The route (above, and here on Ride With GPS) was a mix of chaotic stroads, suburban neighborhood backroads, and carfree paths. We pedaled by Nike World Headquarters up to Highway 26 at Bethany Blvd, and then back south on the Waterhouse Trail to cross Tualatin-Valley Highway and SW Farmington Road. Tualatin Hills Parks & Recreation District (THPRD) and its staff and off-street paths figured prominently all day.

Organizer Noll said the route was a “study of contrasts” between scary suburban streets and lovely trails and cycle tracks. The goal of the day, she added, was to, “Have community leaders and advocates all ride together and have the same experience of both experiencing inspiring infrastructure and experiencing the difficult gaps — and hopefully building that culture of collaboration for how we can can move forward to build the communities that people deserve.”

After a short address from Congresswoman Bonamici, we rolled out from central Beaverton. The route took us west on SW Jenkins where we hugged a buffered bike lane on a busy road until we picked up the Westside Trail (which felt more like a glorified sidewalk) at SW 158th. According to THPRD Planner Gery Keck, once completed, the Westside Trail will be 25 miles long and connect King City to Portland. Of the 10 miles in THPRD, eight are already built.

The trail soon gave way to an unexpected, tree-lined path inside the Howard M. Terpenning Recreation Complex, where we stopped for a short break.

We then hopped onto the Waterhouse Trail, another jewel in the THPRD crown. It’s a 10-mile paved path that stretches from Tualatin Hills Nature Park (near SW Jenkins Rd), north across Highway 26 to PCC Rock Creek. But there’s one huge gap, and in a parking lot in an industrial park just off the trail about a block from Highway 26 at Bethany Blvd, we heard a presentation about that gap from BikePortland contributor and independent advocate Tina Ricks. (You’ll recall two years ago, I met Tina at this same location and did a video about it.) Ricks shared every maddening detail of the dangerous gap — from the confusing, overlapping jurisdictions; to the terrible behavior of many drivers and the very car-centric road designs.

Up next was a brief chat from a THPRD planner about the exciting Westside Trail Bridge project that will build a crossing of Highway 26 just a bit east of Bethany Blvd. That’s a “fantastic plan,” Ricks shared during her presentation. “But it is realistically at least five to ten years in the future*. This crossing on Bethany is the best bike crossing we have, for now, but it needs some help.”

[*THPRD says construction of the $28-35 million bridge could be finished by 2030 if funding is acquired soon.]

After her talk, Ricks led a large group of riders on foot (because it was deemed too dangerous to bike!) to see the gap first-hand. As we negotiated through windshields with drivers in a slip lane and felt the roar of the freeway, I think Ricks’ message or urgency finally sunk in.

As the sun gained strength we made our way back to our bikes and saddled up with a rumor of fruity Mexican popsicles at our next stop floating around. We had a three mile ride on the Waterhouse and Westside trails to the Tualatin Hills Nature Center in front of us.

This section of the Waterhouse Trail (between NW Bethany Ct and Jenkins) is quiet and carfree, but the quality of ride isn’t exactly what the region is striving for. The street crossings are disrespectful of bicycle travelers and there are steep, sharp corners to navigate. According to THPRD Nature & Trails Manager Bruce Barbarasch, (who I finally met on this ride after seeing his name pop up many times over the years) that’s because it was built by different developers.

“It’s kind of fun, it’s kind of funky,” Barbarasch said. “In the long-term we’d love to get it to meet trail standards so it’s accessible to the whole community… If we built that today, we would have made really gentle back and forth turns to get over or through some of those humps.”

In addition to getting existing trails up to standards, a big issue on the west side is how to balance recreation, transportation, and natural area conservation. THPRD Board Director Felicita Monteblanco welcomed us to the Tualatin Hills Nature Park, a 220-acre preserve of wetlands, forest and streams teaming with newts and birds and all manner of habitats. With bikes parked near a lush meadow of reeds, Monteblanco urged riders to keep in mind, “How goals of connectivity can combine both wildlife and human uses of these places.”

Then it was time for popsicles — a perfect treat to spur low-stress conversations. I roamed around and watched people from all walks of this planning, political and advocacy ecosystem interact productively with each other.

After we had our fill of frozen fruit, we continued south on the Westside Trail where we experienced two of the worst elements of west side cycling: crossing major roads.

I could tell ride leaders were nervous about getting this large group across Tualatin-Valley Highway, one of the deadliest roads in Oregon with a disturbing history of crashes. They stopped for a safety talk beforehand and had monitors in hi-viz vests in the crosswalk as they waved platoons of people across each green signal cycle. All this as drivers roared by like we had no business even being there. Oh the indignity!

The next crossing to make my blood boil was SW Farmington a few tenths of a mile south of TV Hwy. The Westside Trail is gated off at Farmington and you’re forced to cross at a signal at SW 160th, which is about 300 feet to the west. In total, trail users have to go about 800 feet out of direction just to cross this road.

I hope all the policymakers and bigwigs on this trip remember locations like these when it comes time to talk about priorities and project funding.

Safely across those roads, we wove through neighborhoods back to Beaverton for a stop in front of the library. That was the end of the journey for me and a lot of other folks, who opted to roll over to a food cart pod and call it a day.

Event Emcee and Metro Accessibility Planner Will Cortez.

Before we went separate ways Metro Accessibility Advocate and ride emcee Will Cortez (who’s also one of the founders of BikePOC PNW) gave us one last bit of inspiration. Cortez likened the ride to foraging for mushrooms with friends. “You go out in a group, pick them, and come back together to make food with them,” he shared as we stood under shade of the impressive sycamore tree in front of the library. “So what will you do after you leave this space today? What will you do with what you foraged today?”

Hopefully, all this networking by bike will soon lead to a stronger network for bikes.

The Street Trust maintains Rubio endorsement after citation revelations

“After careful consideration, we believe that no other candidate in the race is as poised as Rubio to advance the The Street Trust Action Fund’s mission.”
— The Street Trust Action Fund

Leaders of The Street Trust Action Fund say they are “disappointed” and “dismayed” in City Commissioner Carmen Rubio, but they will not rescind their endorsement of her for Portland mayor. The organization says Rubio has made several policy promises in order to keep the endorsement.

“While this incident is disappointing,” reads the statement from The Street Trust Action Fund shared on Instagram Monday night. “We believe that Carmen Rubio remains the best candidate to deliver on the transportation safety issues that matter most to our community. We continue to support her candidacy because we know that her leadership will make Portland’s streets safer for everyone.”

The Street Trust Action Fund is the political (501c4) arm of The Street Trust, a nonprofit that advocates for transportation and road safety issues. Rubio announced the endorsement just days before a story in The Oregonian reported that the vehicle registered to her name had amassed 150 tickets since 2006 and that her license had been suspended six times for failing to pay fines and/or not showing up to a court date.

Here’s the statement from TST Action Fund:

The Street Trust Action Fund is disappointed by the news of Carmen Rubio’s traffic infractions, and we are equally dismayed by her failure to disclose this issue to us during the endorsement process. This behavior falls short of the safety, transparency, and accountability we expect from leaders we endorse. However, after careful consideration, we believe that no other candidate in the race is as poised as Rubio to advance the The Street Trust Action Fund’s mission or the urgent transportation safety reforms Portland needs.

While we do not in any way excuse Rubio’s behavior and we unequivocally condemn her repeated infractions, we believe that her life experiences can teach her directly (albeit the hard way) the urgent need for reform and significant investment to ensure safe, equitable, mobility for our most vulnerable system users, and how we can adopt a more equitable approach to transportation justice.

Moving forward, Carmen Rubio has committed to creating safer streets for all Portlanders and has made it clear to us that she understands that Portland’s traffic fatality crisis requires bold, immediate action. In response to this incident, she has committed to leading by example, not only by improving her personal behavior but through concrete policy measures.

To maintain The Street Trust Action Fund’s endorsement, Carmen Rubio has pledged that she will:

Prioritize full funding for street safety and active transportation through her role as mayor;

Engage directly and in an ongoing basis with vulnerable street users and victims of traffic violence to better understand their experiences and system needs;

Implement critical safety initiatives within the first 100 days of her administration including daylighting intersections (as promised by previous administrations), fully fund the Bicycle Plan for scheduled completion by 2030, and reducing speeds to 20 MPH 24/7/365 around schools and parks.

A closer look at Rubio’s record (view it below) shows that since being hired to work in Portland City Hall as a staffer for a former mayor and city commissioner in 2006, she has racked up 150 citations. Of those, 116 appear to have been issued because Rubio (or someone driving her car) parked too long in a spot and didn’t pay the required fee. 20 of the citations are related to overdue registration tags, five are for “failure to obey a traffic control device” and just one was for speeding. Since becoming a city commissioner in 2021, Rubio has been ticketed four times: one for parking in a “No Parking Anytime” zone, two for outdated registration tags, and one — on July 18th of this year — for parking in a loading zone.

In an answer to a question about how she’d help Portland reach Vision Zero that was asked in a candidate questionnaire by BikeLoud PDX earlier this summer, Rubio was strong on traffic enforcement and personal responsibility. In order to reduce fatal collisions between drivers, walkers, and bicycle riders, Rubio said, “… there must be… responsibility by drivers.”

“To that end,” Rubio continued, “I would favor increasing camera enforcement along problem traffic corridors – and some patrolling to educate, but also to hold frequent speeding/reckless violators accountable.” Rubio stumped for stronger action from the District Attorney to prosecute drivers for serious crimes like vehicular homicide or assault. “I recognize the fear of prosecution can be a strong deterrent. These crimes are rarely prosecuted, giving the impression that reckless driving is a victimless crime,” she wrote.

Rubio is a leading candidate for mayor. One of her competitors in the race, fellow City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, also has a long record of driving-related infractions. Trucking company CEO and transportation advocate Keith Wilson, who rounds out the top three in current polls, has four (or five) tickets since 2004, all related to overdue parking meters.

If you’re curious what Rubio’s perspective is on all this: Stay tuned. I have an interview scheduled with her tomorrow (Wednesday).

UPDATE, 6:05 pm on 9/18: The Street Trust Executive Director Sarah Iannarone stopped by Bike Happy Hour and shared that, given news today that Rubio hit a parked car and walked away, the organization plans to rescind their endorsement. Expect an official statement Thursday morning.

Rubio-record Download

What I learned at a ranked-choice voting webinar

“You all have this!”

Those reassuring words came from Sean Dugar, a panelist at a recent League of Women Voters of Portland community education webinar titled, “Ranked-Choice Voting: Moving Portland Forward with Confidence.”

The League invited four national and local voting experts to share their experiences educating voters about ranked-choice voting (RCV). One of them was Kali Odell, an elections specialist with the Multnomah County Elections Division. I learned a lot from her about how Portland’s November election will unfold. For example, because we vote by mail, and because ballots postmarked as late as election day are accepted, it takes several days for all our ballots to arrive. How does that work with transferring votes and eliminating candidates? Isn’t there a chance that some candidates will be eliminated only to have a bundle of later votes boost their score? How can updated results be posted?

I learned from listening to Odell that the Elections Division will re-run the ranked-choice tabulation afresh, every day, on all ballots received to-date. In other words, they aren’t jiggering new arrivals into an old calculation, rather they recalculate from the start, and each day’s update reflects the rankings from the ballots on-hand.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. What I’m hoping to do by the end of this two-part post is to convince you that Dugar is right, Portland has got this.

Today’s post covers everything up to now — our large field of candidates, single vote transfer, why Portland is using multi-member districts, and the outreach blitz. Later in the week, my second post will get more technical — exhausted ballots, “last one standing” failsafes, and why you should “go for it” with the ranking.

Portland voters are a little skittish

In District 4, at least, I think when our candidate pool surged from a manageable 18, to an overwhelming 30 candidates, people started getting nervous.

And I’ve got to admit, as bullish as I’ve been about RCV, with 30 candidates even I started to imagine scenarios in which the count might get hung up and not return three winning candidates — particularly if voters became dazzled by the sheer number of people running, or if too many voters did not rank enough candidates to arrive at three winners.

So I set out this week to reassure myself and ended up with this post, a Voter Care Package which hopefully has something to reassure everyone.

Where are we: a recap

If you haven’t been paying close attention this past few years, here are two videos which will bring you up to speed about our new voting format in roughly 11 minutes. Even if you are already up-to-speed and know all about RCV in multi-member districts, watch them anyway, they are entertaining, funny and excellent.

The Oregonian explains single transferable vote using doughnuts. As my friend said to me, “I didn’t understand anything until watching this!” (4 minutes, 53 seconds to enlightenment.)

And if you are wondering why it is we need this newfangled system, (4 districts, 3 members each, council of 12; or 4-3-12) Mont Chris Hubbard tells you why in this classic video he made a couple of years ago (using M&Ms).

If you want to know more, maybe from an official source, check out the Multnomah County RCV website. They’ve got practice ballots and other materials. After all that, you will know more than you need to for voting.

But if the sweets are still leaving you hungry, and you are comfortable with statistics, lets go for the meat.

You prefer meat to sweets

The Mathematical Geometry and Gerrymandering Group (MGGG) of Tufts University is a nationally-acclaimed voting research group. They analyzed Portland demographics and modeled several voting and representation schemes to arrive at this 4-3-12 system, and concluded that this method has the best chance of offering the greatest number of Portlanders a voice. It was the MGGG work which informed the Charter Commission’s decision to use ranked-choice voting in multi-member districts (a form of proportional voting).

To better understand what this system means for Portlanders (without having to slog through all the statistics) turn to Kristin Eberhard, writing for The Sightline Institute: Want to Give Portlanders of Color a Voice on City Council? Districts Won’t Help.

Eberhard makes a point about minority representation that is lost on most people writing about our election:

The modeling was about people of color, but the results apply to Portlanders who are in the minority for any number of reasons: small business owners, people who are dependent on transit, those who get around by bike, youth, or parents of school-age children. Most groups don’t all live in just one part of the city, so districts might not help them have a voice, but proportional voting would.

Charter Commission members and advocates who care about better representation on city council—whether for Portlanders of color, or for any other class of under-represented Portlanders—would do well to look to multi-winner races and proportional voting, not single-winner districts.

OK, I get it, but what about everybody else?

Advertisement for Ranked Choice Voting education which appeared on BikePortland.

Starting now, we are about to be on the receiving end of the biggest outreach blitz we have ever experienced, and that’s saying something in Portland. Voter education is considered part of the RCV implementation process. As I write, in fact, I just received the September newsletter from the City of Portland Transition Team, full of news and seven upcoming events.

And have you noticed the RCV ads that are appearing on BikePortland? Yep, they’re coming for you on your favorite news site (maybe this post even has one). Grace Ramsey, of Democracy Rising, told the LWV audience that,

We want to make sure everyone is coming along, and knows what is going to happen on their ballot. The goal that we have collectively is [that] as few people as possible are surprised on election day to see that ranked choice ballot.

She talked about media, radio, door-knocking, and said they are thinking creatively about “how we can reach people where they are.”

Conclusion

That’s enough for now. You should now know how to fill out your ballot, why we are using proportional RCV, and some of the statistics supporting Portland’s choice of this system. Later this week I’ll do a Part II to this post where I get more technical.

Comment of the Week: Real talk about building bikeways in east Portland

Last Friday’s post about District 1 candidate Terrence Hayes’s ‘War on Cars’ campaign email racked up many good comments.

A lot of them fell into my “do you want this home-run over center or right field?” category. The post was an easy pitch for readers who can make a case for cycling, and those comments were rewarded with lots of thumb-ups and COTW nominations. A couple of them were quite insightful (and popular, like this one from “dw”).

The one I decided to choose this week, however, surprised and provoked me.

Readers might remember Rob Galanakis from a BP post and video earlier this year about a road-rage incident which happened as he was leading a bike-bus of school children. So Rob is an experienced cyclist who walks the talk.

His comment this week about “war on cars” broaches a few thorny issues: the incompleteness of PBOT’s bike network; the fact that most of the city’s high crash intersections and roads are in a part of town that often rejects attempts to calm driving; how much say should neighborhoods have over city-initiated roadway projects.

Here’s Rob:

I somewhat agree with him. PBOT will refuse to install bike lanes, school streets, or modal filters/diverters in areas of SE that have a massive latent demand for biking (and many advocates). The size of, say, the Abernethy Bike Bus is a good example of what the minimum bike mode share would be when it’s safe. Instead, PBOT is spending tons of time and energy adding bike infrastructure in communities that don’t want it, with no plans to complete a network that would make it viable. The Outer Division change is a good example – good bike infrastructure that connects to an unusable bike gutter west of 82nd.

PBOT’s message cannot be “wait 30 years for us to complete a bike network that makes biking viable.” It’s ineffective and unjust. And counterproductive as it directly produces and feeds into (somewhat true!) narratives like this.

That said, he’s wrong about certain things like road capacity, which induce demand and only make traffic worse. And the cost of the actual car infrastructure that he says is needed to support drivers in East Portland, is impossible for East Portland to afford without massive, unsustainable subsidy from the rest of the city: the bike lanes aren’t making any of these big road projects expensive, it’s because the extensive surface damage, and complex crossings needed to support pedestrians across a river of high-speed cars.

Thank you Rob. You can read Rob’s comment, and some powerful home-runs, under the o riginal post.

Monday Roundup: Lael’s big ride, car brained, grandmas and more

Hello everyone. Happy Monday.

Here are the most notable news items our community came across in the past seven days…

Grandmas who ride: A group of Canadian women called “Victoria Grandmothers for Africa” completed a 280 kilometer bike ride to raise money for kids who’ve been orphaned by HIV/Aids. (Saanich News)

She did it! American endurance cyclist Lael Wilcox completed an around-the-world bicycle ride in record time (108 days with a daily average mileage of 174 miles) and set the cycling world abuzz with her inspiring attitude. (Cycling News)

New rules proposed for big vehicles: Safety advocates are very pleased that the federal government is poised to make a big upgrade to its vehicle safety regulations with the expressed intent to improve safety of people outside them. (NPR)

How to not stop speeding: An effort to require carmakers to install audio warnings when people drive over the speed limit seems destined for the dustbin because government regulators are worried about whether drivers will like it or not. (Washington Post)

We are infected too: Surprise, surprise! Motonormativity, aka “being car-brained” is a very prevalent condition here in the United States and it’s a major barrier to making progress for non-drivers. (Streetsblog USA)

Cars are the problem: “One of the few predictions that I feel very confident in is that, a century or so down the road, people will look at modern car-centric America with the same disgust that we feel when we hear about old timey cities without modern sewage systems.” (How Things Work)

Marginal gains in the sack: The latest front in pro cycling’s pursuit of speed centers around not moving at all. Here’s what the pros are doing to get a solid night of sleep. (Velo)

Parking restrictions: The University of Portland has tightened their parking permit system amid a reduction in car spaces as they try to meet city transportation goals. (UP Beacon)

Thanks to everyone who sent in links this week. The Monday Roundup is a community effort, so please feel free to send us any great stories you come across.

District 1 candidate Terrence Hayes addresses Portland’s ‘war on cars’ in campaign email

The candidate says the city is making it too hard to drive in east Portland. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

In an email to supporters Thursday afternoon, District 1 City Council candidate Terrence Hayes addresses what he calls “Portland’s war on cars.” The email then plays into the narrative that bicycling is a privileged pursuit for the upper-class while driving is working class.

It’s a classic attempt to create a false “us versus them” dichotomy and it’s very clear who Hayes aligns with.

Hayes is running to represent east Portland. On his campaign website Hayes says he was born into poverty and was formerly incarcerated for attempted murder. He’s one of the top contenders in his race and currently has the fourth most approved matching donations out of all the candidates. Hayes has been endorsed by City Commissioners Rene Gonzalez, Mingus Mapps, and Dan Ryan, as well as the Portland Police Association, and District Attorney-Elect Nathan Vasquez.

Here’s more from Hayes’ email:

Terrence Hayes. (Photo: Terrence Hayes For District 1)

“We all know that Portland is a big bike-riding city, and that’s really great, but we have to recognize that the majority of East Portlanders have to drive a lot more than the rest of the city [emphasis his]. It seems like no one told City Hall, and they make it as difficult as possible for those of us trying to get around and live our daily lives. The roads are a mess, and the traffic often makes us late for our jobs…and East Portland doesn’t usually have the luxury of working from home.

Our highways have the same problem; they simply haven’t kept up with the increase in population, while the activists constantly push back on any efforts to make it easier to get around. They don’t see their own privilege [emphasis his], a privilege that negatively impacts the working class.

Can we talk about Division Street and the awful divider in the middle of the road? It seems like it was purposely put there to tick off drivers, and it’s hurting businesses that didn’t want these changes…”

Hayes goes on to say he’s not “going to war with” bike culture, but that, “District 1 is pragmatic and blue collar. “We’re not software engineers working from our home office,” Hayes continues. “We’re doing the hard work that the upper middle class in the city pays others to do.”

Hayes also says he thinks we should keep the bike infrastructure we already have “clean and clear from camps, trash and overgrown vegetation” on the I-205 and Springwater paths.

When it comes to neighborhood greenways, Hayes appears to be a big fan. He says he and his supporters whant them to “remain safe as the city converts houses to multi-family and bring even more vehicle traffic into our neighborhoods.”

Then Hayes writes, with an underline for emphasis: “We just want to be able to get around safely, efficiently, and with less hassle.”

I know a lot of folks who agree with that.

Good news: County will reconsider connection to Esplanade from new Burnside Bridge

Burnside Bridge design approved yesterday.

There was an important nugget of good news buried in Thursday’s excitement around a major milestone for the Burnside Bridge project: a bicycling and walking connection to the Eastbank Esplanade has been resurrected thanks to tenacious advocates and agency staff willing to listen.

Last month we reported that Multnomah County and City of Portland officials decided against making a direct connection from the new, $900 million bridge, to the Esplanade. The Esplanade is a crucial part of our bike network and is currently only accessible from the Burnside Bridge via steep flights of stairs. After studying the idea and hearing pleas from river and cycling advocates that an elevator and/or stairs weren’t acceptable options due to ADA and other accessibility concerns, county and city leaders said a ramp would be too complicated and expensive.

But for some reason in the past two weeks, that position has changed.

“The connection is alive!” read the excited text to BikePortland from Human Access Project Ringleader Willie Levenson from yesterday’s Multnomah County Board of Commissioners meeting where the vote to adopt a bridge design was finalized.

“It is incomprehensible that Multnomah County may choose to build a bridge that costs an extra $45 million [the cost of the ultimately approved design] while also claiming they do not have adequate resources for important multimodal connections.”
– text from letter signed by leaders of City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee

At the outset of the discussion about the design, County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson shared the good news, “I want to be clear that today’s vote will not preclude a connection [to the Esplanade], and city and county staff have begun a process to re-examine this issue, to work towards a resolution, and that will be a focus in the coming months.”

It’s unclear what exactly moved the needle on this issue. But it’s likely that testimony and advocacy from Levenson, Portland cycling advocate Joseph Perez of Bike Loud PDX, and several others, played a role. Major credit is also due to members of the City of Portland’s Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC), who finalized a letter on Tuesday that was sent to city council members, city administrators, and Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) Director Adena Long. The letter, signed by newly elected committee Chair Jim Middaugh and Vice-Chair Perez made it clear the BAC would not support the Burnside Bridge project unless a ramp connection to the Esplanade was still on the table.

Willie Levenson from Human Access Project testifying at the County meeting Thursday.

The letter reminded city officials that a ramp and, “easily accessible connections to the pedestrian and bicycle network at each end of the bridge” were part of their original conditions of approval in 2021 and that, “investing in longstanding landmark infrastructure that fails to connect to our premier inner east car-free connector is unacceptable.”

“It is incomprehensible that Multnomah County may choose to build a bridge that costs an extra $45 million [the cost of the ultimately approved “inverted Y” option] while also claiming they do not have adequate resources for important multimodal connections,” reads the letter.

In a comment to BikePortland after yesterday’s meeting, Levenson said Perez, the BAC and staff at PP&R were key to keeping the ramp connection alive. “It’s nice to know city leadership at PP&R does care about the work of the dedicated volunteers of the BAC. Big props to PPR and Multnomah County for… leveraging this investment to get as much incremental benefit as we can get as a city.”

According to comments from Multnomah County Transportation Director Jon Henrichsen at the board meeting yesterday, a workgroup to explore Esplanade connections that includes Portland Bureau of Transportation, PP&R, and County staff has already been formed and they had their first meeting earlier this week.

Now advocates’ attention will shift to the outcome of these meetings and two other vital questions surrounding this project: How long will the Esplanade path be closed during construction of the new bridge and what will the detour route be?

Stay tuned for answers and opportunities to weigh in.

Correction, 4:15 pm: This story originally said Multnomah County officials made the decision to advance the bridge without a ramp connection to the Esplanade. That was wrong. The decision was made by Multnomah County and City of Portland. I regret the error.

Top mayoral candidates make their case at Metro Chamber debate

“We can’t accept more failures from the same city politicians that got us into this mess.”
– Keith Wilson

Three top contenders for the position of Portland Mayor took part in a debate this morning at the downtown Hilton. Corporate CEO Keith Wilson and city commissioners Rene Gonzalez and Carmen Rubio spent an hour sharing why they’re the right person to lead our city. The event was sponsored by the Portland Metro Chamber (formerly Portland Business Alliance) and moderated by Ken Boddie from KOIN News.

In addition to assessing how each candidate presented themselves and their ideas to this room of business insiders, I learned how each of them wants to position themselves as the contest enters its crucial final months. Their individual styles revealed notable contrasts: Gonzalez the fighter and confident front-runner; Wilson the calm and collected technocrat outsider; and Rubio the proven policymaker and coalition-builder.

I was there to gain a deeper understanding of the the race. I also hoped there’d be some discussion of transportation policy or road safety issues (in a recent survey, 89% of Portlanders said transportation is the most important service the city provides). But there was none. And unfortunately it wasn’t really a “debate” because the candidates were not given the chance to respond to each other. Boddie would ask a question and each candidate would give their two-minute response.

And no, Boddie didn’t ask anything about the reporting this week on Rubio and Gonzalez’s shocking history of traffic violations and other motor vehicle infractions. The questions he did ask were predictable: How would you lower the tax burden? What’s your plan to create more housing? Do we need more police? How would you revitalize downtown? And so on.

One thing to keep in mind as you consider mayoral candidates is that regardless of what you think about the position’s diluted power in the new form of government, who we elect will be consequential: This first mayor in the new system will set the mold. (“They will be creating the blueprint for subsequent mayors,” is how Rubio put it at the event.)

“As mayor, in my first 100 days, I’ll commit to taking more action to combat the epidemic of traffic fatalities, because we’re not talking enough about that.”
– Carmen Rubio

Wilson thinks he’s the best person to do that. And he’s latched onto an anti-incumbent narrative. “We can’t accept more failures from the same city politicians that got us into this mess,” he said in his opening statement. And while Gonzalez and Rubio touted their roles influencing policy as commissioners, Wilson feels like his leadership of a large company gives him an advantage: “I’m the candidate who has the executive experience that the new mayor’s role will require,” he said in his opening statement.

The other candidate with private sector experience is Gonzalez, who looked and sounded very comfortable on stage. He was definitely having the most fun (the last two words of his opening statement were, “Giddy up!”). Gonzalez wants people to think of him as the one candidate who will have an, “unwavering commitment to safety and livability.” On several occasions Gonzalez portrayed himself as the “standard bearer for safety” and someone who took difficult positions (like ending the free distribution of tents and tarps to homeless people, which he said led to “a horrible cycle of enablement”) despite vociferous pushback from some quarters.

“That took leadership, that took backbone, that took standing up to the loud voices that have so disrupted our community,” Gonzalez said. “Sometimes people are going to disagree. Sometimes they’re going to set your family member’s car on fire because they don’t agree with your position,” he said during his closing statement. “And you power through.”

In response to a question about policing levels, Gonzalez said, “I took down the face of the defund the police movement [a reference to former Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty] in the last election. That was important in sending a message to our police officers that we’re going to stand with you.”

“Sometimes they’re going to set your family member’s car on fire because they don’t agree with your position. And you power through.”
– Rene Gonzalez

Unlike Gonzalez and Wilson, Rubio read almost all her responses from a script (even though candidates weren’t given answers ahead of time, the questions were so obvious it would have been easy to prep one-pagers for each topic). But what she lacked in oratory power, she made up for with direct digs at Gonzalez and a confident recounting of her productive record on Portland City Council.

“I’m the only candidate standing on the stage that has actually delivered your priorities with results… ask yourself: who of us up here has actually gotten things done for you?” Rubio said in her opening statement, trying to overcome the narrative that she’s not a business-friendly candidate. Asked for her signature accomplishment, Rubio pointed to her leadership on permit reform, where she, “Fought the entrenched culture and took on my colleagues — including Commissioner Mapps and Commissioner Gonzalez — and I was very tenacious and I got it done.”

Rubio repeatedly claimed that Gonzalez has been a “divisive” leader and that she is the better choice because her ability to build coalitions — even with people she disagrees with. “We need leaders with the temperament to work together, to sit at the table and get things done. There’s no more time for finger pointing or pontificating,” she said.

And while Gonzalez gave Rubio credit for passing various policies, he would add a “but” and say he feels council didn’t go far enough. “At a time of the complete collapse of private capital for housing in the City of Portland,” Gonzalez said, “we opted for incrementalism.”

At one point Rubio called him out on this: “Commissioner Gonzalez will say this [housing production policy] did not go far enough — but the truth is that he didn’t engage or contribute to this work when he had the chance, yet still voted for it.”

“We need more than just complaints and criticisms,” she continued, clearly referring to Gonzalez. “We need leaders who will act.”

On that note, Gonzalez said he wants to speed housing production by “peeling back the last 10-15 years of regulatory requirements on developers.” He floated an idea to credit developers for infrastructure investments, so they aren’t hit with a “double whammy” of paying for things like new sidewalks and system development charges (SDCs).

When the question turned to how candidates would reduce unsheltered homelessness, Wilson could talk up the nonprofit he founded (Shelter Portland) which works on that exact issue. “I have a facility I opened 20 weeks ago on 82nd Avenue. I’m connecting people with services that were previously unsheltered only a few weeks ago,” he shared.

This question gave Gonzalez and Rubio yet another opportunity to define their differences.

“What my colleagues up here are unwilling to talk about is the importance of enforcement,” Gonzalez said. “We have to set expectations for our sidewalks and parks and enforce it. That sidewalk is for children to walk to school, for your parents to be able to walk to the grocery store, for all of us to enjoy. It is not for someone to sleep and use hard drugs, and we have to be unrelenting in cleaning up our sidewalks in right of ways. There is no path out of the unsheltered problem without enforcement.”

Rubio spoke directly to Gonzalez in her response, saying she agrees on the need for safe and clean streets but that, “Some of my colleagues want Portlanders to believe we have to choose between, I think you called it, ‘enablement’, and compassionate solutions — and I think that’s a false choice.” Rubio said her work to change city code to build shelters and housing more quickly could be scaled-up if she’s elected mayor.

When Boddie asked how the candidates would help downtown’s economic recovery, I hoped to hear something on the role of streets and/or public spaces. Nope. Their answers focused on giving more tax breaks to business owners, more policing of spaces to “restore livability”, and boosting the arts.

Asked if they’d support increasing the number of Portland Police Bureau officers, all three said “yes” — although Wilson qualified his answer by saying he’d focus on making existing officers more efficient by not having to arrest unhoused people so often. Gonzalez said not only would he like to see the PPB’s ranks swell to 1,200 officers (up from a current total of 908), he wants to bring back neighborhood watch programs. He called shutting down programs like that one of the “many stupid decisions made in the City of Portland for idealogical reasons.”

After Rubio said she’d support “right sizing” the PPB, she went a bit off-topic (was she trying to clean up this week’s bad PR?) and made the strongest (and really only) statement about transportation policy in the entire event:

“As mayor, in my first 100 days, I’ll commit to taking more action to combat the epidemic of traffic fatalities, because we’re not talking enough about that, and investing in safe streets. Because we should all have safe, clean streets for everyone.”

This is where I wish Boddie or another candidate could have responded. If Rubio cares so much about traffic safety, would she also commit to operating her car legally and taking responsibility for her actions while behind the wheel? That would have been an interesting exchange.

The only other comment about transportation came from Wilson. He shared a story about how, as CEO of Titan Freight, he had to make a big decision about a new safe driving program. When word came down to his drivers that they’d have to install data monitors to track speed and other safety metrics, 50 of them said they’d quit.

“I said, OK, we have the potential of losing 50 drivers or saving one life,” Wilson shared in one of his strongest moments of the event. “If our core value is truly safety, we have to lose the 50 drivers. So we implemented the system and not a single driver left.”

Wilson said that decision shows he leads with core values intact.

In his closing statement, Gonzalez also said he’ll lead with his values front-and-center. “When you elected me two years ago, I didn’t exactly hide who I was,” Gonzalez said. “I didn’t pretend I was something that I’m not. I was focused on families, on businesses, on a healthy, safe, beautiful city. It can be that again… We have to reposition our city, but we don’t deviate from those core values to drive our city forward.”

Rubio’s final words of the event focused on how she’d have the “guts to make tough choices.” “We don’t have to forget who we are in order to change things… We don’t need flashy, we don’t need any more drama or division. We just need accountable and competent leaders.”

And Wilson said if his competitors could do the job, they should have more to show for it by now. “Let’s face it, my opponents had years to build a coalition and deliver results, and haven’t… They’ve wasted hundreds of millions of dollars. As a result, we’ve lost families, jobs, small businesses, and worst of all, lives.”

“If you like the way the city’s being run, then I’m not your guy,” Wilson continued. “But if you want real change, then I ask for you to vote for me… The Portland Renaissance we all want is within our reach. Together, we will repair, restore and revitalize the city that we love.”

Watch the full debate via KOIN’s YouTube channel here.

Weekend Event Guide: Ride for Sukho, Larch smash, Corn Cross and more

Bike Summer might be over but the rides keep on coming.

**Sponsored by River City E-Bikes**

Below are my picks for the best things to do by bike this weekend.

Friday, September 13th

El Grito Ride – 6:30 pm at Salmon Street Springs (SW)
Join the Cycle Homies for a fun ride with fellow vaqueros that will feature food from Taco Gang and a DJ-powered after party. More info here.

Saturday, September 14th

Ride for Sukho – 8:00 am at Legacy Coffee (Gresham)
Friends of Sukho Viboolsittiseri will honor his life with a group bike ride that will roll by the place he was seriously injured in a collision in May 2023. Sukho had planned to do this ride himself in order to, “reclaim the space and himself,” says friend Ryan Francesconi. More info here.

Ride the Rim – 8:00 am to 4:00 pm at Crater Lake National Park
Your last chance this year to ride the epic rim road around Crater Lake without being bothered by drivers and their cars. More info here.

Good Dirt – 9:00 am at Rocky Point Trails (Scappoose)
Join River City Bicycles and friends for this off-road group ride at the always-evolving and relatively nearby Rocky Point trail system. More info here.

Bike Town Hall – 12:30 pm at The Yard Food Carts (SE)
Join Oregon Senator Michael Dembrow (SD 23), and House Reps Khanh Pham (HD 46) and Thuy Tran (HD 45) on their annual Bike Town Hall. See BikePortland’s recap of last year’s event for a taste of what to expect. More info here.

Sunday, September 15th

Corn Cross – All Day at Liepold Farms (Boring)
Race bikes through a corn maze in bucolic Boring while you huff and puff over various obstacles while being heckled by the fans. What else are Sundays for? More info here.

Harvest Century – All Day at Clark Park (Mollala)
Explore classic rural Oregon 30 miles south of Portland with stunning views of Mt. Hood and choose your route for whatever mileage suits you. More info here.

Larch Mountain Fixie Smash – 7:00 am at Vera Katz Statue (SE)
Larch is the toughest climb in the region and these wonderful wahoos with very healthy knees (for now) want to ride up it on fixies. More info here.

Nakedhearts PDX Appreciation Ride – 4:00 pm at Laurelhurst Park (SE)
Fans and friends of Portland’s most prolific ride leader, Moorland Moss of Nakedhearts, will lead a ride to show their appreciation for his community-building prowess. More info here.

— Did I miss your event? Please let me know by filling out our contact form, or just email me at maus.jonathan@gmail.com.

Closer look at Depave’s Skate Park Plaza on SE 7th (video)

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As we’ve reported several times over the years, local nonprofit Depave is working on a big and exciting project on SE 7th Avenue between Stark and Sandy. They want to turn this vast expanse of pavement and lanes where people can drive, to a carfree oasis and “Green Plaza.” Their current activation is a skate park, and while it’s really awesome, BikePortland has heard quite a bit of grumbling from folks who think the bikeway through the skateboarding features could be much better.

Depave is aware of the issues and they’ve tweaked things a few times in response to feedback. Keep in mind this is a permitted plaza that will be in place through September 22nd.

I rolled over Sunday to take a closer look. Watch the video above (or view directly on Instagram) and check out some of the comments on our Instagram post to get a sense of how people feel about this project.

Scofflaw Commissioner Carmen Rubio endorsed by The Street Trust

On Tuesday, as I processed the jaw-dropping revelations about Portland City Commissioner and mayoral candidate Carmen Rubio’s numerous traffic violations and irresponsible motor vehicle use, another shocking item popped up on my timeline: A few days before The Oregonian story came out, Rubio was endorsed by The Street Trust.

Rubio shared the endorsement on Instagram over the weekend. In the caption Rubio wrote: “Through their dedication, we are making progress toward ending preventable deaths resulting from lax safety and inequality. With their support, I know that our city can lead the way on policy transformations and major investments to save lives… Together, we can end the public health emergency of traffic deaths and injuries.”

The endorsement was made by The Street Trust Action Fund a legally separate arm of the organization launched in 2018 that is allowed to lobby and endorse political candidates without the limitations of a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit.

“I closed the book on those times, but I haven’t forgotten the lessons I learned.”
– Carmen Rubio in a campaign email today

The timing of this endorsement by Portland’s most well-known active transportation advocacy group is notable because of the story published Monday that outlines Rubio’s driving history. According to The Oregonian, Rubio was written up for more than 150 parking and traffic violations over the past 20 years and didn’t pay them off for months and sometimes years. Rubio also had her license suspended on “at least six occasions” when she didn’t appear in court or provide payment.

In a statement to The Oregonian regarding the infractions, Rubio said, “I put my family financial and career obligations first… These are the experiences that have shaped who I am today and also make me a better leader because I have greater empathy for people who have gone through similar things.”

In an email to campaign supporters today, Rubio said said, “I want to apologize” and added, “I know that the best things to do when you make mistakes are to take responsibility, to clean up the mess and do better, and that’s what I’ve done when I paid my fines off many years ago*, I closed the book on those times, but I haven’t forgotten the lessons I learned.” (*The Oregonian reports that Rubio was cited for at least three violations since she took office as a city commissioner in 2021.)

Rubio will have another chance to explain her past at a live debate hosted by the Progreso Latino PAC. She’ll be on stage with fellow mayoral contenders Rene Gonzalez (who has serious traffic violation problems of his own) and Keith Wilson.

On Tuesday, LiUNA Local 737, a union that represents 3,000 Portland-area workers, withdrew their endorsement of Rubio, saying they were “shocked by the information” about the traffic violations.

BikePortland has reached out to The Street Trust Action Fund executive director for comment about their endorsement of Rubio but has not yet heard back.

On The TST Action Fund website, the organization shares the process they go through to choose candidates. BikePortland has also seen the questionnaire given to candidates. It’s all pretty standard fare about transportation policies and projects, except for the last question: “Is there anything we haven’t asked you that you believe we should know?”

CCC board member and manager will join us at Bike Happy Hour tonight

August 14th BHH scene. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

It should be a nice night on the Gorges Beer Co patio (SE Ankeny & 27th) and since I’ve missed five of the last six weeks on family trips I’m really excited to see everyone again.

Given the big news with the Community Cycling Center and their financial crisis, they’ve agreed to come out and answer questions and talk to us. The CCC’s programs director and a member of their Board of Directors will be on the patio and will speak a bit during open mic. They’ll also be available for questions.

There’s lots more to talk about. I’m still processing the Carmen Rubio news. And when I pass by Citybikes on the way to Bike Happy Hour it will be the last time I do so while it’s still open for business. What else is on your mind? Did you watch my latest video featuring folks who ride on the Springwater and Esplanade paths? How are you feeling about personal safety on the paths lately?

PBOT making the plaza even better! (Photo: Claire Vlach)

And who can fill me in on what I missed being gone the last two weeks? How was the MADE Bike Show? See anything cool?

One last thing: Come out and see PBOT’s new traffic barricades on the Rainbow Road!

I’ll show up at 3:00 and that’s a good time for one-on-one conversations. Remember that there will be free fries at 4:00 pm and the mic will be open at 5:00 to anyone who wants to speak. If you’re running for local office and want to share your stump speech, have at it! And my offer still stands to give a $5 donation to any candidate for local office who shows up.

See you in a few hours! It might rain, so pack a coat.