CCC Executive Director Ruben Alvarado at Bike Happy Hour last night. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Ruben Alvarado didn’t want to be that guy.
But just two months into his tenure as executive director of the nonprofit Community Cycling Center, he was faced with an unenviable set of options: Raise $350,000 in less than four months to stave off a financial crisis, or be forced to close the beloved Portland institution that has provided bicycles and education programs to northeast Portland for over three decades.
Alvarado knew that if he showed up and the CCC closed down, he’d always be remembered as bad guy — regardless of the fact that the problems began before he arrived. But in a speech at Bike Happy Hour last night, Alvarado said a “really dark cloud” is now behind him and the organization.
“I’d like to raise my glass and make a toast to Portland… I’m here to announce that we have met our fundraising goal.”
The CCC has surpassed the final goal of the campaign they launched in September thanks to contributions from over 1,000 people. “Those people said, ‘the Community Cycling Center is worth it to us and we want this to be an institution that endures’.”
Beyond the organizational hustle required to pull off a campaign like this, the CCC also spent the last four months scouring their overhead to slim down and prove they were serious about changing their ways going forward. Alvarado said last night they have already slashed $500,000 in expenses from their books.
The next step is to, “Shore up and plan for the future,” Alvarado added.
In a statement on their website, the CCC says the recent influx of donations enables them to remain a reliable resource and continue to provide access to bicycling and its myriad benefits for thousands of clients each year.
For Alvarado, it’s a chance to move with confidence into a new era for the CCC. “I’m thankful for this community to just receive me with open arms and really feel the warmth from the Portland community,” he shared last night. “Thank you so much. And here’s another toast to you!”
The League of American Bicyclists says the state of Oregon is third best when it comes to bike friendliness. The national nonprofit based in Washington D.C. released its Bicycle Friendly State rankings today and Oregon nabbed the #3 spot behind Washington and Massachusetts. Washington moved up from its third place in 2022 back to the top spot it has held every since the rankings launched in 2008.
It was a very close battle for second place, with Oregon missing out on second place by only one point (image above).
Oregon’s third place marks the fourth time we’ve finished top three since then. Our lowest ranking ever was an embarrassing eighth place in 2011 and we the grabbed the second spot in 2022, which was the last time the rankings were released.
While these rankings should be taken with a grain of salt, it’s worth noting that unlike other clickbait rankings that pop up each year, the League is a legitimate source that puts significant rigor and research behind them. And this year the rankings take on an added layer of importance for Oregon because of the forthcoming conversation in Salem about what is expected to be a multi-billion transportation funding package.
The Street Trust, a Portland nonprofit recognized by the league as Oregon’s statewide bike advocacy group, said the slippage to third is a sign that “Oregon’s progress is at risk” and that a looming $1.75 billion budget shortfall “threatens bicycling and safety programs.” The Street Trust has called an online press conference for later this morning. “Oregon’s leadership in active transportation is at a crossroads,” a media advisory about the press conference reads. “The state’s drop in cycling rankings is due to a lack of investments in maintaining infrastructure and safety programs.”
The Street Trust is clearly using the release of this year’s ranking to frame a particular narrative ahead of the 2025 Oregon Legislative session where lawmakers will debate a massive transportation spending package. In her budget released last week, Governor Tina Kotek said the Oregon Department of Transportation needs to raise a minimum of $1.75 billion just to make ends meet. ODOT meanwhile has calculated their annual funding gap at $4 billion.
“Unfortunately, Oregon is number 3 because of an increase in bicyclist deaths. Oregon experienced one of the 10 largest increases in the rate of bicyclist deaths per bike commuter and in the last several years.”
– Ken McLeod
In their report card for Oregon, the League said the 2025 session, “Provides an opportunity to pass a once-in-a-decade transportation package focused.” The League also pointed out that Oregon’s statewide bicycle commute rate is the best in America at 1.4% (note this number is based on a U.S. Census survey and doesn’t reflect total ridership and is even less relevant with the massive shift to work-from-home).
When it comes to safety, the League’s analysis reveals that Oregon is the sixth safest for bike riders with 4.1 fatal collisions per 10,000 bike commuters. UPDATE: In the press conference this morning, League Policy Director Ken McLeod said “Unfortunately, Oregon is number 3 because of an increase in bicyclist deaths. Oregon experienced one of the 10 largest increases in the rate of bicyclist deaths per bike commuter and in the last several years.”
Spending-wise, Oregon ranks a respectable 3rd out of 50 states with $8.56 per capita of federal funding spent on biking and walking.
Of the seven categories the League uses to score states, Oregon received 80% or more of total available points for all but two: safety and counting data (knowing how many people are riding statewide), where we netted just 63% and 66% of the total points available respectively.
Read the full report card, see all 50 state rankings, and learn more about the program at BikeLeague.org. And stay tuned for a recap of The Street Trust press conference happening later this morning.
82nd Avenue needs a lot of help in the sidewalk department. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
The Portland Bureau of Transportation is set to receive $20.6 million to build sidewalks in east and northeast Portland. And they’re also a partner with TriMet on a $55 million project award that will result in new sidewalks to connect to a forthcoming bus upgrade on 82nd Avenue. The funding is just the latest grant award PBOT has received from the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF), a tax on big corporations passed by voters in 2018.
The PCEF Committee recommended eight projects from the Collaboration for Climate Action program for funding at a meeting this morning. That program has over $150 million in available funding to be awarded over five years. In addition to the two transportation projects, the committee also recommended projects to replace City of Portland fleet vehicles with EVs, help more Portlanders install solar power, make schools more climate resilient, and more.
(Source: PBOT)
Among the eight projects are PBOT’s “Sidewalks to Schools” — a $60 million list of 19 sidewalk projects (above) that would help connect 17 public schools with better, safer infrastructure. The PCEF committee downscoped the project to $20.6 million, so the award will allow PBOT to build all nine of its Tier 1 projects. The projects — which include 90 new ADA ramps, street lighting and planting of 180 new street trees — are in Cully and the southern part of Council District 1.
PBOT Director Millicent Williams introduced a presentation on the project at a PCEF Committee meeting last night. PBOT Pedestrian Coordinator Gena Gastaldi was also there. She said the completion of the Tier 1 projects will impact 17,000 households. “These projects are all on PBOT Safe Routes to School primary investment routes and will provide critical connections on our pedestrian network near schools,” Gastaldi told the committee.
Gastaldi also touted how the grant funding will be an, “incredibly efficient use of PCEF funding.” That’s because PBOT won’t use it to pay for any city staff time and PBOT has either already completed and/or nearly completed all the required design, engineering, and neighborhood outreach. All that’s left to do is build them. And because these projects are so shovel-ready, Gastaldi said the three Cully projects will be built as early as summer of 2025.
In addition to $20.5 million awarded directly to PBOT, TriMet was awarded $55 million for their 82nd Avenue Transit Project (a separate but closely related effort to the Building a Better 82nd Avenue Plan that was adopted by Portland City Council last week). A portion of that will allow PBOT to build an additional 26 blocks of sidewalks on 82nd to ensure better access to the new bus rapid transit (BRT) line when it opens in 2029.
This continues a very successful effort by PBOT to earn PCEF grant awards. This latest announcement pushes their total to nearly $200 million.
PCEF was created to benefit the communities that are most impacted by climate change. It also has a stated goal to not just reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but to also help build stronger communities by partnering with nonprofit organizations and making strategic investments in workforce development.
For Oregon Walks Executive Director Zachary Lauritzen, news of this recent grant was another dream come true. His group recently won over $900,000 from PCEF to launch walking school buses.
At last night’s PCEF committee meeting, Lauritzen, who said he was “genuinely jumping for joy” upon hearing the news, offered gratitude and shared important context about why east Portland needs all the help it can get:
“East Portland used to be outside the city of Portland, and the design standards were different. They didn’t require sidewalks when development happened. When [east Portland] was annexed into the city [in 1981] there was no plan to finish those sidewalk networks. And so here we are, 40 years later, with thousands and thousands of kids who don’t have safe routes to school… It’s kind of a hopeless feeling, hearing again and again from families about their fear for the safety of their child to do the simple act of walking to school.”
It was Lauritzen and Oregon Walks’ volunteers who did the community organizing to identify and build support for these projects. Even so, Lauritzen gave high praise to PBOT for being such a willing partner. “I’m super excited that a big bureau like that could have their ears to the ground. That they could hear from us and say, ‘Yeah we’ll go for it’.”
Words and photos by first-time contributor Alison Grover, who’s been biking in Oregon since 2017.
It’s a chilly December evening in the Buckman neighborhood of Portland. I’m sipping tea while scrolling on my phone. It’s warm and toasty in the comfort of my home, but outside, the sun has set and the wind is whipping. Then comes a familiar question. What should we do for dinner? And should we bike or drive there?
It’s so hard to motivate on these cold nights, but I remind myself: I love the freedom and social quality of biking. I love not having to search for (car) parking. I love reducing my carbon footprint. And knowing that my destination has a secure, accessible place to lock my bike seals the deal and gives me an added peace of mind. I am more eager to patronize businesses that go the extra mile to accommodate bikers. And many times, secure bike parking is the deciding factor between biking or driving.
With that in mind, let’s take a tour of my favorite bike parking in southeast Portland. This is not an exhaustive list. And it’s slightly Buckman-centric. But all of these places give me the sense of safety and security that I look for in quality bike parking.
One more thing before our tour starts…
Here are the important qualities I consider when choosing where to lock my bike: rain shelter, lighting, proximity to building entrances, rack spacing, rack quantity, and the style and heft of the rack itself. On top of those, I also value separation from vehicle traffic and proximity to people. I want bike racks to be separated from speeding cars so that I can finagle my U-lock and cables in peace. And I want my bike to be safely in view of window shoppers, outdoor dining folks, and shop employees, whose sole presence can deter theft. The more eyes on my bike, the better.
Great Separation from Drivers
When I’m locking up my bike, I’m always fumbling with my U-lock and cable and dropping my keys. It’s a scramble! I prefer to spend this chaotic time up on the sidewalk, as far away from speeding car traffic as possible. I like when bike parking is located on a quiet side street rather than directly on a main thoroughfare. Well-sited bike racks can increase cyclist perceptions of safety while decreasing stress.
HinterlandOma’s Hideaway
Bike corrals at Hinterland Food Carts (SE Sherman St & SE 50th Ave) and Oma’s Hideaway (SE Division St & SE 32nd Ave) are both integrated into the sidewalk. It feels safe to be elevated above street level.
The ZedBollywood Theater
The Zed Food Court (SE Reedway St. & SE 92nd Ave), which is next door to Zoiglhaus Brewing, has gone a step further than putting bike corrals on the sidewalk. Bike racks are placed within a pleasant outdoor dining zone, well away from street traffic. Similarly, the Bollywood Theater (SE Division St. & SE 30th Ave) provides an artistic metal bike rack onsite, inboard of the sidewalk, fully separated from the street.
CartopiaPCC Southeast
Although the bike racks at Cartopia Food Carts (SE Hawthorne Blvd. & SE 12th Ave) are old and bent, I appreciate that they are situated up on the sidewalk and protected from the busy intersection by a bollard-buffered bike lane at street level. I would feel even safer when locking my bike here if these racks were made of a thicker metal material. Portland Community College Southeast campus (SE Division St & SE 82nd Ave) has integrated a cluster of bike racks and even some bike lockers into the pedestrian-oriented center of campus. (More on those racks in this 2022 BikePortland post.)
Great Proximity to People
I prefer to park my bike in view of people. Whether they are people working in stores with a clear view through the window, people eating outdoors at a cafe, or passersby on the sidewalk, their attention can help deter bike theft from happening in the first place. Here, visibility functions as a front-end security measure, whereas a strong, secure bike rack and bike lock function as the last line of defense, preventing an attempted theft from being successful. Using a combination of both will ensure that your bike is as safe as possible while parked.
Bagdad TheaterPor Que NoTaqueria de los Punales
On-street bike corrals at the Bagdad Theater (SE Hawthorne Blvd. & SE 37th Ave), Por Que No? (SE Hawthorne Blvd. & SE 47th Ave), and Taqueria Los Punales (SE Belmont St. & SE 33rd Ave) offer bike parking in highly social locations; adjacent to a plethora of shops, restaurants, and grocery stores that generate pedestrian traffic and an outdoor dining population.
Market of ChoiceWhole FoodsRevolution Hall
Market of Choice (SE Belmont St. & SE 11th Ave) and Whole Foods (E Burnside St. & NE 28th Ave) have located their bike parking next to busy, social entrances. To improve these racks, quantity could be increased at both locations, and the Whole Foods racks should really be thinner in diameter to better accommodate a U-lock.
Revolution HallHolgate Library
Revolution Hall (SE Stark St. & SE 13th Ave) bike parking is fully in the pedestrian zone. Racks are surrounded by multiple clusters of outdoor tables and nearby dog park visitors, building tenants, roof deck visitors, and people queueing for concerts. To improve this facility, the quantity of racks could be increased. The recently completed Holgate Library (SE Holgate Blvd. & SE 79th Ave) has public bike racks at highly visible locations at the front and back main entrances. Large windows also allow people inside the building to see the bikes.
Covered
This final category of bike parking facilities exemplifies businesses that achieve both great separation from cars, great proximity to people, and they have a roof protecting bikes from the elements.Yes, a few of these are technically in Northeast, but they’re close enough to Southeast that they deserve to be included.
Portland Rock Gym (E Burnside St & NE 12th Ave)Benson Polytechnic High School (NE Irving St & NE 12th Ave)Alliance High School at Hayu Alqi Uyxat Building (NE Glisan St & NE 16th Ave)Kellogg Middle School – Main Entrance (SE Powell Blvd & SE 69th Ave)Kellogg Middle School – Main Entrance (SE Powell Blvd & SE 69th Ave)Kellogg Middle School – Main Entrance (SE Powell Blvd & SE 69th Ave)New Seasons Market – Seven Corners (SE Division St & SE 20th Ave)Kiln Coworking Space (SE Hawthorne Blvd & SE 12th Ave)Exterior of Multnomah County Library – Holgate – Staff Bike Enclosure (SE Holgate Blvd. & SE 79th Ave)Multnomah County Library – Holgate – Staff Bike Enclosure (SE Holgate Blvd. & SE 79th Ave)
Hope you enjoyed this tour of bike parking. Aren’t we lucky to live in a city where we have so much excellent bike parking?!
— Story and photos by first-time BikePortland contributor Alison Grover. Alison has a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture and has bike commuting in Oregon since 2017.
Screenshot of Cars Succ / Greenway.PDX instagram post.
People driving cars on the Springwater Corridor path has become something of a sensitive topic of late. With an increase in dangerous drivers on our streets, carfree places are more cherished than ever.
Last month a Portland bike rider came across someone parked smack-dab in the middle of the Springwater path between Oaks Amusement Park and the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge parking lot turnoff. It wasn’t a drunk driver and it wasn’t someone accessing their camping site.
The bike rider happened to be the man behind a popular Instagram account known as Cars Succ. Suffice it to say he wasn’t super happy to see the car on the path. He also had his video camera rolling to document his confrontation with the driver.
The owner of the Cars Succ account pulled over and asked the driver why he had parked on the path. The driver said he works with the nonprofit Mental Health & Addiction Association of Oregon and that he drove on the path in order to reach one of their clients. “We’re allowed to be out here as long as we have our hazards on,” the driver claimed in the video.
Mr. Cars Succ then expressed his concerns, suggested that the driver used a bike instead, and rode away.
I was curious about whether or not some nonprofits are allowed to drive and park on the Springwater path, so I reached out to Portland Parks & Recreation.
I heard back from Public Information Officer Mark Ross. Ross said, the mental health professional seen in the video was working under contract with the City of Portland’s Navigation and Outreach Teams. These teams are part of Portland’s efforts to help people who live in outdoor campsites throughout the city.
Ross said these crews sometimes need to reach people who live in areas far from trailheads and parking lots. “Some City staff and essential partners are allowed to drive on the path during emergency situations,” Ross told BikePortland. He added that PP&R has reached out to the specific nonprofit whose employee was on the path that day, “to ensure that safety is paramount in their protocols as they continue the valuable work to assist people living outdoors.”
PP&R says they will “iron out some nuances” in the policy and will do more collaboration with the nonprofit to make sure all path safety protocols are being followed.
As for the anonymous rider behind the Cars Succ account? He’s connected with a local bike advocacy group and told me today, “We’re trying to work on finding a solution that lets [that nonprofit] do their work activities on the path without a car.”
Speed camera on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in the Piedmont neighborhood. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Among the many issues we debate when it comes to road safety, there are a just a few that many sides agree on. One of them is the use of automated enforcement cameras to catch speeders and red light runners. These cameras are much more efficient and safer than police officers. They also work. At a press conference last week a Portland Bureau of Transportation spokesperson said, “We know in a matter of days and weeks, these cameras are able to drop the average speed — virtually eliminating excessive speeding.”
Since our major foe in the war on traffic deaths is kinetic energy, when people slow down we save lives. It’s that simple. But while these cameras do the job, they take valuable time away from other police work. With an estimated 100,000 citations a year via the 40 or so cameras PBOT expects to have in operation by 2025 (based on average citations per camera listed in a PBOT report to the legislature in 2022), that’s a lot of desk time for police officers.
When I asked Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division Sergeant Ty Engstrom at a press conference last week about adding even more cameras, the first thing that popped into his head was this administrative overhead. “That’s a lot of personnel it’s going to take because you have to review all those and you have to approve them, and so that’s that’s a daunting task.”
As per Oregon law, every citation issued by a camera (or a mobile radar van) must be reviewed by a “duly authorized traffic enforcement agent” — which since 2016 has always meant a police officer. This includes not just review of the citation itself, but details relating to the ensuing Multnomah County court case triggered by each one of them.
But that era is coming to an end. By next year, the Portland Bureau of Transportation hopes to bring some of that citation processing in-house.
Thanks to a push from PBOT and other safety advocates, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 4105 in 2022. That bill allows Portland to use non-police staff to process and review camera citations. So why is Sgt. Engstrom still hung up on the “daunting” amount of officer time it takes? Because even though the bill has been on the books for nearly two years, PBOT isn’t quite ready to take over processing responsibility from PPB.
After last week’s press conference I reached out to PBOT Communications Director Hannah Schafer to ask about the status of implementing the new authority given to them in HB 4105. “PBOT is currently developing the program that will result in PBOT staff reviewing and issuing citations for moving violations from the automated enforcement cameras,” Schafer said.
Once the PBOT agents are on board, the plan is to divide responsibilities on reviewing the cases and citations. PBOT has three types of automated enforcement: “dual enforcement intersection cameras” that capture speed and traffic signal compliance, cameras mounted inside mobile speed vans, and fixed speed cameras along high crash corridors. Schafer said PPB will continue to handle the first two and PBOT will take over responsibility for fixed speed cameras.
With 32 of these cameras currently up and running and more to come in the months and years ahead, it will be imperative to create an efficient processing workflow. And with PBOT taking on some of these duties, it will reduce workload on PPB officers and free them up to handle things like crash investigations and other more serious crimes.
It’s unclear how the shift in personnel from PPB to PBOT might impact the total camera program revenue. For the two years of 2021 and 2022, PBOT reported revenue of $1.37 million (about 70% of which goes to state of Oregon and the remainder pays for operation of the program with any leftover funds going to safety projects). In those two years PBOT spent about $173,000 on PPB staff expenses. With double the amount of cameras on the street in 2025, program revenue should rise commensurately.
Schafer at PBOT says they plan to begin hiring the new enforcement agents early next year and the program should be operational by the end of 2025, “if not sooner”.
— Learn more about PBOT’s automated enforcement camera program and see a list of current locations on their website.
Come join our team in Hood River! We are looking for full-time and part-time Service Techs to start 2/1 or sooner (open to a later start date for the right person). Experience with e-bike is a bonus but not a must. Our shop is fun, welcoming and unpretentious. We don’t care what bikes customers ride, just that they ride! Work 4 days a week on the off-season, PTO, health insurance and retirement benefits. Email us now to chat! amy@oregon-ebikes.com, jodie@oregon-ebikes.com
How to Apply
Email us now to chat! amy@oregon-ebikes.com, jodie@oregon-ebikes.com
Stephens Middle School students (in Salem) rolled on their first-ever bike bus back in May. (Photo: Oregon Department of Transportation)
Oregon has become a national leader walking and biking to school. Our state had the highest rate of school participation out of 48 states in America who participated in International Walk and Roll to School Day on October 7th.
The news comes from from the Oregon Department of Transportation and is based on numbers from the National Center for Safe Routes to School. That organization crunched data from the 2024 event and found that 210 schools registered for the event out of a total of 921 K-8 public schools. That percentage was higher than California, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Massachusetts.
“The enthusiasm for Walk & Roll to School Day across Oregon reflects our shared dedication to building safer, more connected communities,” ODOT Safe Routes to School Program Manager Heidi Manlove said in a statement. The participation number is almost back to what it was prior to the Covid pandemic. In 2020, just 61 schools participated. But in 2019 the number was 263 schools.
Now imagine if ODOT actually funded the Safe Routes to School program at the level it needs.
It’s clear that House Bill 2017 (the previous transportation spending package passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2017) has helped spark more school-based biking and walking programs statewide. That bill carved out $10 million per year starting in 2018 and $15 million per year starting in 2023 from the State Highway Fund for Safe Routes to School. The funds are distributed through a grant program that can be used to build infrastructure projects or for educational and encouragement programs.
While the amount was unprecedented and hailed by advocates at the time, it’s not nearly enough to keep up with demand. On August 21st, ODOT’s own Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee wrote a letter to Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) Chair Julie Brown and ODOT Director Kris Strickler. The purpose of the letter was to push back on ODOT’s low-ball estimate for what the program needs going forward as lawmakers look to pass a new funding bill in 2025.
In a document shared at an October 16th meeting of the Joint Committee on Transportation Public and Active Transit Workgroup, ODOT pegged the annual Safe Routes to School need at $50 million per year. That number was based on the average of all project requests in each grant solicitation cycle since the passage of HB 2017.
Slides shown to Joint Committee on Transportation from Metro (left) and ODOT (right).
But leaders of the ODOT Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee say that’s not enough. They say schools request five times the amount available every two-year cycle. In 2024 there were $138 million worth of grants requested for Oregon’s $30 million in available funds. “With this recent oversubscription, as well as the ongoing issue of cost increases for construction projects that we have had to mitigate for with our existing funds, we believe the investment in Safe Routes to School could benefit from up to $75 million per year over the next 30 years to effectively meet the needs of every school in the state.”
The fact that an ODOT committee is publicly asking for more money than ODOT themselves should raise eyebrows. It speaks to the frustration of having a very impactful and popular program that is starved for cash while ODOT continues to pour money into freeway expansion megaprojects statewide. At a meeting of the OTC last week, commissioners approved another $72 million for the $815 million (current estimate) I-205 Abernethy Bridge project — a project whose cost has risen 228% in recent years.
As insiders and lawmakers survey the political landscape ahead of the 2025 legislative session, the debates about program-level funding are likely to get heated. Governor Tina Kotek has outlined a budget that assumes the legislature will raise at least $1.75 billion to pay for transportation projects and programs like Safe Routes to School. But with ODOT saying they need twice that amount it’s unclear what they’ll sacrifice to get a bill passed.
Safe Routes to School is likely safe, but whether it gets the funding it truly deserves is anyone’s guess.
Welcome to the first Comment of the Week since former writer of this column, Lisa Caballero, bid us all adieu. And boy do I miss her help!
Y’all left 515 comments last week. While I do scan and/or read all of them prior to hitting “approve,” I’m not sure I can really digest entire threads and engage and interact with them to the extent they deserve. (Not sure if it’s clear to everyone reading this but BikePortland is essentially a one-person operation.) That being said, I will continue to try and I’m not ready to give up on COTW just yet.
Going forward, I’ll be even more reliant on your nominations. So pretty please, if you read a comment that you think is insightful, productive, smart, fresh, informative, provocative, etc., please reply with a comment that includes “comment of the week” or “COTW”. That way I can do a search for those terms on Monday morning and see all the best comments.
This week I’ve chosen a comment from qqq. It was in response to my opinion piece about one of the reasons the City of Portland is having a difficult time reducing traffic deaths. qqq was clearly annoyed at the police crash statement about a recent fatal collision on SE Division, where the Portland Police Bureau (once again) went out of their way to absolve the driver. Here’s the comment:
“… the next thing the police do regularly after saying the driver cooperated, etc. is say the pedestrian or cyclist victim was ‘wearing dark clothing’, ‘was not wearing hi-viz clothing’, ‘had no rear light’, ‘had no helmet’, etc. – all things that aren’t required by law, but that sound like they are because the police are pointing them out.
Yet I’ve never once seen a police statement saying that the driver’s vehicle lacked anything that wasn’t required: ‘The car lacked a backup camera, ABS brakes, traction control…’. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a report mentioning a legal problem with the car, other than no license plate: “’The car’s headlight was burned out, the tires were bald, the windshield was darkly tinted, the mirror was missing, the side window was obstructed…’).”
And as we learned in this specific case, the driver on SE Division was indeed in the wrong and was cited for careless driving.
qqq makes an excellent and accurate point. It adds fuel to my idea that PPB should adopt a crash statement template; sort of like a Mad Lib-style form where they just fill in key facts and don’t make any subjective statements whatsoever.
Thanks to Fred for the nomination. And thanks for all the great comments last week.
Here are the most notable stories and other items our community flagged from the past seven days.
This week’s sponsor is Vvolt Electric Mobility, a Portland-based company that is rethinking personal transportation.
Hit by a nice driver: A Portlander was hit by a driver while walking on NE Broadway and it turned into an interesting relationship that included free weed and a hug. ((In)Action Substack)
Disrupting driving: Turns out getting people to switch from driving to other modes is really hard because of how our brains are wired, but science has answers about what can help flip the switch. (Slate)
E-bike rebates: California is about to turn on their long-awaiting e-bike rebate program. The good news is folks can receive up to $2,000 to buy a bike. The bad news is there are only 1,500 vouchers to go around. (Electrek)
Federal immunity in Salem: A DEA agent actively working a case was given immunity by an Oregon judge for his role in killing a bicycle rider with his car. (The Oregonian)
How Philadelphia protects cyclists: Always interesting to see what other cities are doing to protect bicycle riders. Of particular note is a bill passed by Philly City Council that increases fines for drivers who park in bike lanes. (The Conversation)
Black cycling revolution: It took too long, but due to a critical mass of riding clubs and community organizers, there’s finally a foundation of cycling culture for Black people across the globe to identify with and plug into. (The Guardian)
Get on the “cycle train”: Love this forgotten history of an event organized by bike shops in the 1940s that carted cyclists from L.A. to San Diego on a train just so folks could enjoy a bike ride in a new city for the day. (Forgottenmadness_la on IG)
Unenforcement: A report found that police officers in New Jersey nearly stopped writing traffic tickets after leadership planned to scrutinize them for racial injustice. (NY Times)
Loser Lane: A brilliant activist created an arcade-style game to make a point about the terrible policies of Toronto’s Doug Ford. (Momentum)
Suburban splendor: There are systemic (and unsurprisingly very partisan) reasons why most Americans say they would prefer to live in sprawled-out suburbs rather than a walkable city. (The Washington Post)
Happy Friday everyone. It sure was nice to have Eva back in The Shed after a few week holiday hiatus. This episode was meaty! Here are a few of the things we talked about:
“How’d She Get There?” segment was Sellwood to Lake Oswego (including some very scary options).
Why Eva is creeped out by lobster-style bike gloves (something about the devil).
Michael Reiss and his amazing leaf sweeping work.
Why I think it’s time for PBOT to privatize bike lane maintenance
I went on a huge rant about all the Vision Zero drama going on with PBOT, the PPB, and so on.
The 82nd Ave Plan that was just adopted at City Council and why some transportation advocates don’t like it.
Why pitting bikes against transit (like PBOT is doing on 82nd) is a no good, very bad idea.
The new Bike Happy Hour location on N Williams Ave.
An all-electric bike shop in southeast Portland is calling it quits. Cynergy E-Bikes on Southeast Powell Blvd and SE 36th had been in business for 10 years changed ownership five years ago.
In an email to customers this week, owner Sami Khawaja said “We are throwing in the towel.” “We simply cannot compete with the internet and Amazon,” Khawaha added. “We have no choice but to move on. We wanted to personally thank you all your support and business over the years.”
This is the fourth bike shop to close its doors so far this year: Gladys Bikes closed in February, Citybikes stopped doing business in September, and Kenton Cycle Repair shut its doors in October.
Electric bike sales have boomed in Portland in recent years. We’ve seen shops increase their inventory of e-bikes, and in the case of River City Bicycles, they decided to dedicate an entire location to battery-powered wonders. This is the first all-electric shop I’m aware of that has stopped doing business.
Khawaja says while the retail shop will close, Cynergy will continue to service bikes of customers. “We will continue to service bikes at our current location until we find a business to sublease our space. At that point we will move to a new smaller and less expensive location.”
The shop is now having an “E-Commerce E-Screwed Cynergy E bikes” sale and everything is being discounted 20-50%. The sale includes e-bikes, helmets, apparel, locks, tires, and so on.
