Portland City Council District 2 (N/NE) candidate Mariah Hudson joined me for a brief interview today. I was first introduced to Mariah through her role as chair of the PBOT Bureau & Budget Advisory Committee. When I heard she was running for council and was a daily rider who bikes with young kids, I knew I had to chat with her.
The interview above (and just posted to the BP YouTube channel, which you should subscribe to!) is part of a new series, “15 Minutes With” where I chat with interesting folks for 15 minutes (or so). Thanks for your patience while I dial things in and make this part of our regular offerings. I’ve got an exciting list of folks I want to talk to; but if you’ve got ideas or want to be interviewed yourself, please send me an email – maus.jonathan@gmail.com.
Now, back to Mariah…
In our interview she shares that she’s got two kids in Portland Public Schools (first and seventh grades) and is a daily bike commuter from the Alameda neighborhood to OHSU where she works in public health communications. Mariah is also on the PPS budget committee and has served as a leader of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods. Asked why she’s running for council, Mariah said, “To try and make a difference, to clean up the city, to help people with safety so that my kids and others will want to live here and can afford to live here in the future.”
Mariah rides a Rad Power Radwagon, longtail e-cargo bike and said, “It’s been a game changer, especially in terms of going into work.” Having the e-bike has made her 10-mile round trip commute often quicker than driving and she can show up to work without being sweaty.
Here are a few other exchanges from our conversation:
What are some things about PBOT’s budget you were surprised about or learned by being on the committee?
“Our group is a community advisory group for the budget, and it’s intended to provide accountability and really make sure that community priorities are reflected in those budgets. I think something that would surprise a lot of people is how much of the PBOT’s transportation budget is really not flexible, it’s committed to long-term projects — everything from the Sellwood Bridge to long-term road projects. There’s really only about 20% of the budget that’s flexible in any given year that can be assigned to things like safety or potholes or special projects or Sunday Parkways that’s not already committed.”
How should Portland balance the tension between solving transportation congestion problems through maintaining a lot of car traffic like we have now, or shifting that space and using it for mass transit and bike lanes?
“Well, you’re right, there is a tension and oftentimes that tension plays out in terms of ‘Do people really have the ability or not to shift modes easily?’ And when I say the ability, I mean the ability within our current system. Like, if it’s 20 minutes to take a bus downtown and it’s 10 minutes to drive. It might be more like an hour if you’re coming from certain parts of Portland. How feasible that is for you is something that we absolutely need to consider.”
Given you experience with schools, what’s your opinion about school pick-up and drop-off lines and do you think there’s something that a city council member could do about that issue?
“Well, my personal pick-up and drop-off line is very, very short because I can scoot on my bike or I can walk my kids. I’m also in the Alameda neighborhood, so I take the bike bus with my kids sometimes on Wednesdays. And I will say I think that’s a great direction that our city can expand in terms of getting kids to school and really thinking about those safe routes to school. And there’s safety in numbers. We’re also training kids for the future, showing them it’s possible, showing them it’s fine to ride in the rain.
I don’t know what the answer is at the [school entrance] for cars, but you know, for people who are a little farther out, giving them that taste of what it could be like to ride or to walk is a great place to start.”
Listen to the full interview above, and come to Bike Happy Hour next week (Weds, 2/7) to meet Mariah in person. Learn more about her at MariahForPortland.com.
The recent weather and this shot from the Rose Ride on June 16th, 2023 has me pining for spring! (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Happy weekend everyone! Remember, I always appreciate an email or other message about the event you’re hosting or ride you’re leading. I try to track everything, but I sometimes miss stuff.
Also, Sunday is fareless transit citywide thanks to TriMet and their efforts to honor Rosa Parks, a Black woman who changed the course of history when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated city bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955.
Have fun planning your weekend!
Friday, February 2nd
WeBike Winter Light Fest Ride – 6:00 pm at Lloyd Center (NE) Enjoy a fun route on opening night of the PDX Winter Light Fest. This ride is “for anyone who does not benefit from cis male privilege.” More info here.
Saturday, February 3rd
Caddyshack Ride – 12:00 noon on I-205 Path (NE) It’s the 14th annual Bill Murray tribute ride that rolls through a selection of public golf courses. First 20 riders get a commemorative spoke card. Led by Maria “Bicycle Kitty” Schur! More info here.
Ride to Illuminated Bike Ride – 5:45 pm at Beaverton Transit Center (Westside) Join friends from the westside for a group ride to the Light Fest ride. More info here.
In the Dirt Film Screening – 7:00 pm at Clinton St Theater (SE) This is it folks! Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to see a cool new documentary about how members of the Navajo Nation are building community around biking on their land. Stars of the film will be on-hand for questions. More info here.
Illuminated Bike Ride – 7:30 pm at Rose Equipment Annex Parking Lot (SE) The official group ride to kick off the 2024 Portland Winter Light Festival. Led by NakedHeartsPDX, expect a family-friendly vibe, good music and good times. More info here.
Sunday, February 4th
Palm Tree Ride – 10:00 am at Bipartisan Cafe (SE) Shawn from Urban Adventure League will take you on a journey of tropical delights as he informs you about interesting palms that live in our city. More info here.
Belmont Goats Ride – 10:00 am at Parkrose/Sumner Transit Center (NE) Portland Bicycling Club is leading this intermediate-paced ride (13-15 mph) that will be about 25 miles long. Expect a bakery stop! More info here.
Transit Equity Day – 12:00 pm at The Street Trust Hub (Lloyd Center NE) It’s free fare day in honor of Rosa Parks and what better way to celebrate than by learning how to put your bike on a TriMet bus and get all your burning multimodal questions answered by experts while you indulge in transit-friendly swag with other train and bus lovers? More info here.
— Don’t see an event? Please tell us about what’s going on in your neighborhood by filling out our contact form, or just email me at maus.jonathan@gmail.com if it’s easier.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation has released fresh renderings of the future 82nd Avenue that they plan to break ground on this summer. With a total of $185 million in funding spread across several concurrent projects, PBOT says they’ve reached a major milestone on the biggest piece of the puzzle: the $55 million 82nd Avenue Critical Fixes: Major Maintenance project that will bring changes to a 2.5-mile stretch of the road in southeast and northeast Portland.
We last checked on this project in March 2023. On Wednesday, PBOT released updated plans that bring the project up to a 60% design completion level.
In a statement yesterday, PBOT said this project will bring, “transformative maintenance upgrades” to two separate sections of 82nd Ave: from NE Fremont to Schuyler, and SE Mill to Foster. The city plans to completely rebuild and repave some sections of the roadway from the ground up and build new or updated traffic signals and safer crossings at 10 intersections (more crossings and signals are planned as part of a separate project). This project also includes new center medians, 250 new street trees (up from 138 back in March), and repair or construction of 15,000 linear feet of sidewalk.
Two of the crossings — at SE Lafayette and Raymond — will look like this. Note the red stamped bricks and setback of trees at intersections to allow emergency vehicle access.
Trees are a key part of this project, and the city will go to great lengths to make sure they are large and healthy. Unlike the small concrete wells trees are typically confined to, PBOT will fully excavate the medians down to the soil and the entire median island surface will be landscaped with ground covers and shrubs. These plantings could make the street safer, will create a more “main street” atmosphere, and help cool the area during heat waves. New streetscape renderings released by PBOT show large trees on both the sidewalks and in medians. Where there are no plantings, PBOT will use a red stamped brick material on the medians.
While most of the budget for this project will go toward new pavement and concrete work, bicycle users and walkers will specifically benefit from changes like new leading pedestrian intervals (where walkers get a head-start before right-turning drivers) at some signals, new bicycle-only signals, as well as painted bike boxes and improved signal detection where neighborhood greenways cross 82nd.
While PBOT does not show any bike or bus-only lanes on these latest renderings — changes of that nature will be considered in separate projects. This project is about helping people cross 82nd and taking initial “critical fixes” to redesign the street in a way that tames car drivers.
Intersection details.
The need to balance safety and reduce stubbornly high traffic fatality numbers, while still allowing drivers robust access to destinations along the corridor, is a key dynamic facing PBOT and City Hall in this project. They are very well aware of business owners along the street who worry that medians and other “access management” measures will make it too hard for car drivers to turn into their businesses.
Hoping to avoid a repeat of publicity and political problems that plagued their SE Division project (and in addition to standard community outreach to inform their design process), PBOT staff did extensive canvassing of business and/or property owners in the project area. They went door-to-door to 218 businesses and met one-on-one with 50 business and/or property owners.
In a public engagement summary posted on the project website, PBOT reports dueling feedback: “Many people have been personally impacted by the current unsafe conditions, through witnessing a crash, personally or knowing someone who has been involved in a crash, and/or experiencing a close call,” reads one excerpt. But they also heard, “Businesses said getting customers to the businesses is most important.”
Zachary Lauritzen, executive director of the nonprofit Oregon Walks, called the latest PBOT plans, “good first steps to transitioning 82nd Avenue away from a high speed highway to a place where everyone can move around safely and comfortably.”
PBOT is accepting comments on these plans through March 31st and plans to finalize the designs shortly thereafter. You can find details on in-person meetings and other neighborhood presentation dates on the official project website. PBOT hopes to have construction approved by City Council in early summer and build the project before the end of 2026. This “lightning fast” timeline is due to funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) which must be spent by the end of 2026.
The corner of SE Ellis and 48th where Melissa Kostelecky saw an elementary student on a bike get hit by the driver of that grey Subaru Monday afternoon. The child rolled out of the curb cut right behind that maroon SUV that is parked too close to the corner. (Photo: Melissa Kostelecky)
“Just saw a kid get hit by a car right across from Woodstock Elementary,” read a message from Portlander Melissa Kostelecky posted to a local advocacy forum on Monday. “This is exactly why we need to get on the city to enforce daylighting.”
Daylighting, or what the City of Portland refers to as “vision clearance at intersections” is a way to improve visibility by prohibiting on-street auto parking all the way up to the curb. It’s a well-known concept to local road safety advocates and one that should be well-known to local elected officials and policymakers.
Over the years we’ve seen lots of attention on the issue in the form of advocacy campaigns, promises from leaders, even a lawsuit from a bereaved family of a man killed as a result of poor intersection visibility. Despite all that, Portland has still not made enough progress on ridding corners of the scourge of parked cars.
Kostelecky was shaken-up after watching that crash on Monday. Luckily the child on the bike and the driver were going slowly and the driver was able to react before serious damage could be done. Kostelecky has since filed a report with police and with PBOT’s 823-SAFE system just to make sure it’s accounted for.
Kokopeli’s brilliant testimony at council this morning.
Another local advocate, Peter Kokopeli, used his three-minute testimony in front of Portland City Council this morning (watch it here) to raise awareness of daylighting. “This kind of situation is not safe for drivers or for anybody else,” Kokopeli said as he held up a printed sheet of paper showing a car parked over the corner on SE Belmont and 68th. He urged Mayor Ted Wheeler, PBOT Commissioner Mingus Mapps, and other council members to direct more funding to daylight intersections on all school routes, neighborhood greenways, bus routes, and all streets where pedestrians are prioritized. “They cost only $800 per intersection. It’s a really good deal,” he said.
“It’s truly one of the rare low-hanging fruits in the transportation space and I hope that we can work together to make this more widespread practice.”
– Mingus Mapps, PBOT Commissioner
Wheeler beamed at Kokopeli and he and Mapps said they appreciated his presentation. While they talked about funding, no promises were made. “It’s relatively cheap fix and it would be great to make progress in this area,” Mapps said. Then he added, “It’s truly one of the rare low-hanging fruits in the transportation space and I hope that we can work together to make this more widespread practice.”
If it’s “low-hanging fruit” and relatively cheap to implement, it’s surprising PBOT hasn’t done more of it. And of course, even if they took the step of painting curbs or adding “No Parking” signage — given the extreme entitlement of many Portland drivers who feel they can park wherever and however they want — it would only be effective if it were implemented with robust and impenetrable infrastructure and/or strong enforcement.
Speaking of enforcement, there’s already a state law (ORS 811.550) that prohibits cars from parking within 20-feet of a corner (with some exceptions), but it is rarely enforced.
One way to compel the City of Portland to take daylighting more seriously is to sue them, and that’s what local lawyer Scott Kocher is doing on behalf of the family of Elijah Coe, a man who was hit and killed by a driver while riding his motorcycle on E Burnside in 2019. In that case, a driver attempted to make a left turn onto Burnside (from SE 17th) and collided with Coe. “Mr. Coe’s death in the resulting collision, could have been prevented if the City complied with the law,” reads a statement from the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Attorneys for PBOT have leaned very heavily on discretionary immunity (a legal concept backed up by state law that says cities are immune from liability, even if they made decisions that led to less safe infrastructure) to argue they should not be liable for crashes that result from a lack of visibility at intersections.
On the ground, PBOT is slowly working to daylight thousands of intersections citywide that need it. After former PBOT Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty dedicated $200,000 toward the effort in 2021, PBOT says they completed 350 daylighting treatments on high crash streets. But current city guidelines only call carfree corners if a street is repaved or if it’s part of a large capital project — a policy that leads to far fewer installations than Kokopeli asked for at council this morning. The only way to get more of them done is to request specific locations one-at-a-time.
Meanwhile, Portland parents like Kostelecky and advocates like Kokopeli will have to hope drivers learn about the issue and simply stop parking so close to corners. But for some drivers, even awareness of the law doesn’t stop the dangerous behavior.
Kostelecky told BikePortland she’s discussed the issue near the school with leaders of the nearby neighborhood association. They’ve told her that many parents intentionally ignore the daylighting law and tell her things like, “I’m just trying to get my kid to school.”
With attitudes like that from some drivers, no amount of paint or “pretty please” will work.
Kocher says his lawsuit is pending a decision from the Oregon Court of Appeals and he expects a decision within the next year.
Council candidate Sarah Silkie hears an answer to her question from BHH regular Melissa Kostelecky. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
If you missed Bike Happy Hour last week, you missed hearing from three more Portland City Council candidates. That brings the count of candidates we’ve heard from this election cycle up to 11.
Last Wednesday candidates Deian Salazar (D1-E), Jesse Cornett (D3-SE) and Sarah Silkie (D4-W) hopped on the mic. We got to know a little about each of them and heard what makes them tick.
At just 23 years old, I was really impressed with Salazar. In true Bike Happy Hour form, he made an effort to meet every single person in the room. His remarks focused on how he wants to get homeless Portlanders into job training programs to, “get the skill sets and they need in order to stay out of poverty, and to have a decent living wage.” Asked how he moves around the East Portland district, Salazar replied, “I’m not rich enough to be able to afford a car. So I often walk and take the bus. I’ve been considering getting back into cycling… what I really want to do is build a lot of new bike infrastructure, because I think we should not be requiring cars for everyone to be able to move around the city.”
Lisa holding court at her favorite table.The candidates: (L to R) Jesse Cornett, Deian Salazar, Sarah Silkie.Cornett and the crowd.Salazar speaks.BikeLoud’s Joe Perez took advantage of open mic.Aaron, Curt, and Deian got to know each other.BHH regulars (L to R) Lisa, Melissa, Carolyn, and Eva caught up at last week’s gathering. Fred made me an origami bug made from an official PBOT bike map. Swoon!Aaron, Mark, Nando, Joe, Caleb, Carey and Nick — the hearty outdoor crew!Shawne’s always amazing bike signage.Aaron, Shawne, and Eva.The food is really good!Just a few of the characters and scenes from BHH #43.
Cornett described himself as being an advocate for the vast majority of his career. He shared tales of shadowing U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and said the “proudest moment” of his work so far was being a legislative lobbyist for an effort that resulted in 55,000 Oregon migrant farm workers getting health care coverage. Cornett is currently the policy advocate for Oregon Recovers, a nonprofit that advocates and provides services for people suffering from addiction. When it comes to transportation habits, Cornett has a bike but rides it infrequently and mostly gets around by car or his own two feet.
Silkie is an engineer who “protects our drinking water” in her job at the Portland Water Bureau. She grew up in Portland and is a newcomer to politics. “If you had told me five years ago that I would be running for city council getting involved in politics, I would have laughed in your face. But times have changed. I have changed.” She said she used to ride bikes a lot, but injuries have forced her off the saddle. Her husband is a daily e-bike rider. Asked why she decided to run, Silkie said, “We’re at a crossroads. The last five years have felt like something out of a science fiction movie… I’m going to be 50 next year and I should really think about how I can make a difference in the world.”
My favorite part of the night was when Silkie asked the crowd for feedback on bike lane design: Do folks like parking-protected lanes or more traditional, door-zone lanes next to drivers? She heard a bunch of great insights and different opinions from a wide range of bicycle riders — from a mom who rides with kids, from an older former racer. (And in a good sign of what type of person Silkie is, she emailed after happy hour to get a copy of the audio recording I made of the answers.)
It was such a cool moment because my first interaction with Silkie was an email where she asked me that same question and I replied: Why don’t you come to Bike Happy Hour and ask the community yourself?
Come out and meet Roo tonight!
That’s just one of the many reason we do happy hour! It’s a place to educate yourself and learn from other folks in the community, and for the community to educate guests what it’s like to ride bikes in this city. Sharing perspectives is a powerful thing. The more different ones we hear — especially face-to-face — the more empathetic and understanding we become.
At tonight’s event (BHH #43) there will certainly be more interesting perspectives to hear from. I don’t expect any candidates, but you never know who will show up. I’ve got several folks on deck who could be there at any time, including Congressional candidate and current State Rep Maxine Dexter and Council D4 candidate Bob Weinstein.
Our special guest tonight will be Roo Albisurez, the founder of Warpaint, community manager for NW Trail Alliance, and an advocate who has built a platform for Black, indigenous and people of color who love the outdoors.
Next week (BHH #44, 2/7) I’ve got a commitment from D2 (N/NE) candidate Mariah Hudson. And it will also be Legal Night, so get your questions ready for special guest and local lawyer Chris Thomas from the venerable firm Thomas, Coon, Newton & Frost.
See you tonight. Same time (3:00-6:00 pm), same place (Ankeny Tap, 2724 SE Ankeny).
— This is a guest article written by Andrew Lindstrom, who writes about infrastructure, transportation and urban spaces on his City Hikes blog.
TriMet has a problem, but it’s not the one you’re thinking of. Safety and rider comfort is still a big deal, and they are certainly struggling on that front – but I want to focus on a more pressing issue, the nuts and bolts of schedules and service changes. This all began with a supposed upgrade of part of the #17 to Frequent Service (“every 15 minutes or less most of the day, every day”) which resulted in no additional buses being run. It bugged me then, and it bugs me now so let’s take a look at the history, mystery, and wonder of the scheduled service on the 17-Holgate/Broadway.
To begin, we should understand what the service was back in the ancient days of 2021. The simplest way to do this is looking at the schedule, so let’s take a peek.
2021 Schedule for the #17, headed north
2024 Schedule for the #17, headed north
The first thing to note here is the total number of buses running on a given weekday – 61, with 58 making the entire trip. Second, if we look at the typical frequency during the day we see buses every 20 minutes during the afternoon, every 10 to 12 minutes during the morning peak, and every 12 to 15 minutes during the evening peak. Night service is every 30 minutes, with the final trip passing through downtown at about 12:20.
The focus on the morning peak over the evening peak is directional, since the south leg on Holgate (heading into downtown in the morning) tends to be busier than the north leg on Broadway (heading out of downtown in the evening). The “rush hour to downtown” focus is also a clear legacy of pre-Covid ridership, something TriMet has been earnest to rethink in their current batch of service changes.
Now let’s take a look at the current service pattern – remember, this is after a supposed “upgrade” to Frequent Service.
So we can see here that there are 60 total buses – one fewer than in 2021 – with just 36 making the entire trip. So how can we consider this to be “Frequent Service”? Well for starters, this is only getting that designation on the southerly leg on Holgate, so let’s focus there for now. The typical non-rush frequency during the day is up to every 15 minutes, while both the morning and evening peaks are down to the same 15 minute service. Evening service is still every 30 minutes, with the last bus going through downtown at 12:20, though it is slightly worse than before with 4 rather than 5 buses leaving downtown after 9:30 PM.
Typical headway between 4 and 5 PM, 2021 (left) and 2024 (right). Darker colors indicate longer headways
Evidently, I find the new schedule to hardly be an upgrade from the old one. It’s a net reduction in overall service, frequencies in the morning and evening rushes are worse, and the night service is slightly worse. This is not just an issue with the #17, basically all the TriMet bus routes have seen service cuts since 2020, usually just to the point of having service technically qualify as “Frequent Service”, though usually just on weekdays. Remember, the designation does in fact say “every day”!
Typical headway between 12 and 1 PM, 2021 (left) and 2024 (right). Darker colors indicate longer headways
While we’ve focused on weekdays here, I have to give some limited credit for improved Saturday service. Going from 33 buses a day in 2021 to 60 today is great, but current service levels arguably fall short of the Frequent Service designation – with 15 minute headways spanning roughly 9 AM to 5:30 PM. I don’t feel comfortable calling that “most of the day”, even if it is an improvement from prior service levels.
What’s Next?
That’s enough background on the #17, let’s get to the real piece of interest. We are in the middle of a series of planned service changes, and the #17 is a big part of the current batch. The allegedly most controversial is the removal of the service through northeast on 24th/27th (a legacy of the Broadway Line streetcar) but before we talk about that I want to highlight a much more pressing issue: Union Station, the Broadway Bridge, and Lower Albina.
Proposed changes in N/NE Portland. A difficult map to parse.
With so many routes on this image – showing both before and after – you could be forgiven for barely noticing the #17 moving away from the Broadway Bridge. There are a whole host of ramifications for this, with the removal of service from Union Station being near the top of the list. As it stands now, just two buses (the #17 and FX2) directly serve the station, along with the MAX Green and Orange/Yellow lines. The #9 could serve the station, as it overlays in the parking lot nearby, but instead you’ll have to walk to Davis. This is a point I have repeatedly brought up to TriMet (every time I have to make that walk), but they have assured me it’s impossible for a bus to manage the complicated maneuvering required to drive around the block.
Like come on, it’s not that far. Also, they could just put the stop such that you could pull directly out into it from the lot!
Sorry, this is evidently a sore spot for me. The point is, Union Station is poorly served by TriMet, especially for buses. All Steel Bridge-bound buses present the same issue that the #9 does – a walk to Everett to either get to or leave the station, more than a quarter mile away from the station.
This stop is also is a high ridership stop for the #17, despite getting less than 40 buses a day on a given weekday. At 1.5 riders per bus, it ranks in the top 10% of bus stops in the system, and it also provides access to a litany of social services directly adjacent to Union Station. It’s the only transit route that connects the station directly to NE Portland. All of these are reasons to leave service to the station, and I can’t stress enough how frustrating it is to be a train aficionado and having to beg my public transit agency to serve the train station.
But it’s more than just Union Station that will be affected by removing the #17 from the Broadway Bridge, there are key areas of inner north and northeast Portland that are losing a significant amount of service.
Before we go further, it’s worth expanding on the relationship between ridership and service though. As this chart illustrates, there is a weakly positive relationship between more service and total ridership, with our slope indicating that we would expect another 1.5 riders to board for every extra trip we add after about the 40th trip of the day. This is a very simplistic model, and while an R^2 of 0.43 suggests just a weak correlation, I still think it’s a useful heuristic.
Now let’s get a handle on those areas near the Broadway Bridge and beyond, and what the ridership is in terms of riders boarding per bus on a typical weekday. For places where service is changing, it’s hard to gauge exactly how much service will be lost before schedules are released, but I’d like to give a brief overview of each segment affected. Keep in mind TriMet’s stated justification for moving service to 33rd is low ridership on 24th/27th, and that they have no stated justification for moving service away from the Broadway Bridge.
The first area of focus is the Broadway Bridge area, up to the intersection with the #8 on NE 15th. The light pink line shown (the #77) is being upgraded to Frequent Service and routed north to take over the stops lost by the #17 reroute, but will still cut out a transfer to the #4 at the corners of Broadway, Williams, Vancouver, and Weider (where the red and green lines meet).
The stops on the #17 get about one bus rider boarding per bus, and are adjacent to a low income housing project (Madrona Studios). It’s also worth pointing out that the forthcoming Albina Vision One project at Flint/Hancock is also currently best served by the #17 and that the #17 is the only bus that serves Lower Albina directly (the 4/44 skirt around the I-5 edge).
Albina Vision concept by Henberry Eddy Architects
Let’s take a deeper look into Lower Albina, arguably the neighborhood in the city that has born the most damage from the freeway and urban renewal areas. This excellent piece from City Observatory tells the story better than I can, but given that the Portland Housing Bureau has invested $16 million into the first project by Albina Vision Trust, and transit access is high on the list of positives in the area the choice to move the #17 needs to face extreme scrutiny.
If the future vision of Lower Albina as rendered by Henberry Eddy Architects is to be achieved, surely we ought to be running buses over the Broadway Bridge.
Albina One, the first project in the Vision consists of 94 units, 100% of which are affordable (62 at 60% area median income, 32 at 30%). Marked as a house at N Flint near Hancock, it’s currently less than a quarter mile from the nearest stop on the #17 on Broadway/Weidler (route in blue, stops in orange).
If this change goes through, it will be just over half a mile from the nearest bus serving East Broadway and SE at the Rose Quarter Transit Center (marked in red). Not an unfathomably long walk, but certainly worse than the existing service. Cutting transit service to a landmark affordable housing project needs to have a lot more justification than the nothing that TriMet has provided on this front.
And before we leave the area, let’s look at the busiest stop on Lower Broadway – NE Broadway/Weidler and 12th. Located near the not-dead-yet Lloyd Center mall and at a major grocery store (Safeway), the Weidler stop ranks in the top 3% of busiest bus stops with 10 or more buses per day in terms of riders per bus (at 2.66, it’s 158/5360).
Currently, it gets 76 buses a day on a typical weekday on the #17 and #77. It’s unlikely that Frequent Service on the #77 would see that many buses, and the loss of the #17 will make some trips much less convenient to this area – particularly from downtown. Before Covid service cuts, this stop pair saw about 110 buses/day at each stop.
Further down Broadway, we arrive at 24th and 33rd. Currently, 33rd is served by the “crosstown” #70, which does not go downtown and offers reasonably frequent N/S options in inner east Portland on 11th and 12th (even if the span of service is bad). The on 33rd here see significantly more ridership, likely due to the presence of Grant High School.
But given the different utility that the #17 and #70 serve (downtown vs. crosstown), there are other confounding factors as to why 33rd gets more ridership than 24th.
Further north, near Killingsworth we see a more balanced ridership split between 27th and 33rd. Near 33rd and Killingsworth, there is a strong neighborhood commercial center with a grocery store, pharmacy, and a transfer to the #72 – TriMet’s busiest route.
The transfer to the #72 on Alberta/27th gets relatively less ridership, though at about one rider boarding per bus, that still puts it in the top 17% of stops on the bus network.
So is 33rd or 24th/27th busier? In absolute terms, it’s 33rd. More buses means more ridership after all. But in terms of riders per bus, it’s not exactly conclusive. 33rd gets more riders per bus at the high and medium range, but 24th/27th gets more at the low end. I don’t think a ridership distribution like this merits being called “low ridership”.
If NE 24th/27th are considered to be low enough ridership to justify a cut, there are thirty-five bus routes with fewer median riders boarding per stop. The astute of you may notice that the #70 is one of those buses! Some of these routes have been on the chopping block for years, but others are generally considered to be routes worth increasing service on.
The 35 in particular stands out to me. Highlighted in yellow, it serves Lake Oswego, Oregon City, and North Portland and a cut to a core route like this would generally be unthinkable. It isn’t the biggest ridership draw, and it doesn’t serve parts of the region generally thought of as equity focuses.
But still, it was singled out as a potential for an upgrade to Frequent Service in the original Forward Together service plan. I think that’s great, more buses are always welcome, but it also serves as a reminder to the political nature of service changes.
Upgrading a lower ridership line that serves rich suburban parts of the region to ameliorate concerns relating to tolling I-205 while cutting service to wealthy parts of inner Portland is just serving suburban interests at the expense of urban ones. While I (theoretically) understand that TriMet serves both urban and suburban Portland, public transit is more fiscally and socially sustainable in dense urban environments.
I want to be clear that I’m not against this upgrade to the #35. I’ve ridden the bus before and waiting for 20 minutes at the Lake O transit center was not fun. But given the current austerity as well as TriMet’s equity goals, the changes really stand out as strange.
This is a Service Cut
Inner NE Portland is facing a service cut, and the entire construction of the new bus network isn’t great. Lower Broadway will likely go from 75+ buses on a weekday, roughly evenly split between downtown and NW services to likely less than 70 buses per weekday, all NW bound. Not to mention that section of lower Broadway got 110 buses a day in 2021 – that’s a total cut of 36%. Multnomah and 33rd will have worse mid-day service, with TriMet only committing to 15 minute service in peak hours on the new #17, which is probably only going to be slightly more frequent in terms of overall service than service existing on the #70. 24th/27th is losing service altogether, and we are looking at having just one bus serve the most important intercity rail station in the state.
Despite this, there is little evidence on the proposal that the net result of this is less service with fewer travel options. It reads as minor changes, or little tweaks to service – in reality, it’s probably close to a 20% cut in service hours to inner NE – and that’s on top of cuts that have already happened like the earlier changes to the #17.
Reading the TriMet code, I feel that the descriptions of these changes are close to running up against the requirement for describing the changes. I’m not trying to be hyperbolic, but it’s alarming that service is being cut substantially – especially from lower Broadway – and the only text mentioning a change of service is how the #77 will “move to NE MLK/Grand to serve more of the Broadway-Weidler corridor”. I don’t doubt that TriMet’s notice has met their own rules and regulations, but I question if they are meeting the spirit.
Although I will point out that the cut to NE 24th/27th, and the move to the Steel Bridge constitutes 32% of the route-miles on the #17, and TriMet is required to provide a hearing when there is a change that constitutes 25% or more of the route-miles of a given transit route. Clearly, this public engagement process is the manner in which they are doing this but is a header describing “Route Changes”, with text about discontinued service on a web forum enough? Surely the TriMet legal team thinks so, and I’m not trying to make the case that they are outside the legal expectation. Rather, I think they are outside the public expectation – especially considering that former bus route changes specifically listed service cuts (you can view these at your leisure, archived here ).
When it comes down to it, I can’t in good faith support the decision as it stands now to end service on NE 24th/27th, and I can’t sit idly by and watch as Union Station bus service continues to be cut to oblivion. I understand that TriMet is on shaky ground with the public now, but I don’t feel that the current trends are doing much to improve their standing. Moving the #17 from the Broadway Bridge to the Steel Bridge is such a minor change, but it cuts service for Union Station, at least one affordable housing apartment complex, and threatens the future of useful transit in Lower Albina. That is a big deal, and it needs to be taken seriously.
Don’t Mourn, Organize
It’s late in the comment period, but there are still public meetings going on until this Thursday, February 1st and online comments are accepted through February 11th. Make your voice heard! If you find all of these changes to just one bus route to be dizzying, imagine the ramifications of the bus that may be changing in your neighborhood. TriMet does mostly good work, but they are not immune to poor decisions and it’s your job as a member of the public to understand exactly what they mean when they change schedules.
This entire post has been an exercise in falling down a rabbit hole, and I wouldn’t have even noticed the loss of service to Lower Albina if I hadn’t been concerned about the loss of service to Union Station. Small route changes can have big negative impacts, and your voice matters in preventing them. Leave a comment while there’s still a chance to, and show up in person to make your voice heard. I’ll be at 70 NW Couch St, Rooms 142/144 on February 1st between 12:00 and 2:00 pm. I hope to see you there.
Data, Code, and More
Python and R code to create data for maps, parse ridership information, and more is in this github repo
The location of a bicycle crash in 2019 that led to a lawsuit against ODOT. Note the patched pavement in the lower right (smoothed over in this Google Maps image).
I have long urged people to avoid the trap of bad-faith arguments about whether or not a particular bicycle ride is for recreation or transportation. The suggestion that some bicycle trips are less important because a person is recreating has always struck me as a sneaky, paternalistic attempt to marginalize cycling.
We often hear people point out that a bicyclist in spandex is less important than other road users because they’re just training or on a fun ride; but we never hear people frame car trips in the same way. People driving cars are always doing serious things, the thinking goes, and people on bikes are just out on a lark. It’s a distinction with a difference, because trips made for “recreation” will always have much less political power than those made for “transportation.” And in that context, once you cede this semantic ground, bad things are more likely to happen.
An example is a legal case that involves the State of Oregon and a man who crashed while biking on the Historic Columbia River Highway in 2019. This case was brought to my attention in October 2022 by a local attorney named Charley Gee. Gee had seen a story on BikePortland about Oregon’s Scenic Bikeways program and wanted to warn me that the Oregon Department of Transportation might use the status of certain bike routes as a way to shirk liability for maintaining safe roads.
Gee shared a lawsuit he filed against ODOT on behalf of a client (who asked to remain anonymous) who was riding on the Historic Columbia River Highway on April 24th, 2019. His client crashed while riding over a depression in the road that was left after repair work by an ODOT contractor. The crash happened about 200 feet west of the Stark Street Bridge (see photo above) and resulted in a fractured right femur (that required surgery), major bruising, and a torn rotator cuff. Gee sought $1.04 million for his client.
“ODOT failed to inspect the highway after it had been paved and striped, failed to repair the hole that [the bike rider] eventually struck — after earlier receiving notice that other cyclists had struck it and crashed — and failed to warn cyclists of the hole,” the plaintiff’s complaint read. According to Gee, the hold, “Constituted an unreasonably dangerous condition that could not be encountered with a reasonable degree of safety by cyclists.”
But lawyers for the State of Oregon denied all the claims and asked a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge to dismiss the case. Their argument was that the bike rider was engaged in a recreational bike ride and therefore the state should be immune from liability under Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 105.668, a.k.a. the “recreational immunity” law.
In documents filed with the court on January 19th, 2022, Senior Assistant Attorney General Todd Marshall argued that ODOT, “Is immune from Plaintiff’s claim by the doctrine of recreational immunity,” and that, “Plaintiff is not relieved from his obligation to exercise care in the use of the State’s land with regard to the bicycling activity being engaged in.”
In a court filing on February 11th, 2022, the State asked Gee’s client 18 questions. They used two of his answers to cement their immunity argument:
Plaintiff was engaged in recreational bicycle riding at the time of the accident. Admit
Plaintiff was engaged in a Portland Bicycle Club recreational bike ride event at the time of the accident. Admit
The State’s lawyers used these admissions against the rider. They wrote in the conclusion of their motion for dismissal, “the very section of the Historic Columbia River Highway where the injuries the subject of this litigation occurred, is considered one of the most popular cycling routes in the State of Oregon,” and since the rider crashed, “while engaged in a recreational bike riding event,” ODOT should be immune from liability.
Everyone reading this will likely agree that riding fast on a public road with two other people should not be considered a, “bike riding event,” even if the ride was organized by a bike club.
Gee and his legal team responded strongly to the State’s contentions. The defendant, they said,
“Makes no effort to apply the statute as it has been interpreted to the particular facts of this case, and completely ignores the irrational, unreasonable, and absurd implications of the legal conclusion that (presumably) ODOT wants this court to reach.
… merely because plaintiff was cycling recreationally—instead of, for example, commuting to work—and crashed on a state highway, the state argues that, as a categorical matter, it is entitled to recreational immunity, simply by virtue of the fact that it is state land.
ODOT is not entitled to the blanket immunity… recreational immunity does not attach to non-recreational property—such as a road or sidewalk—even though that property may be used for recreational purposes.”
The plaintiff’s lawyers leaned heavily on a 2016 case (Landis v. Limbaugh) for precedent. In that case, the Court found that a landowner (ODOT in this case) must “make a volitional decision” to designate land for recreational use by the public. And if a landowner doesn’t have authority to prohibit recreational use — like on a public highway — it lacks the authority to make that decision.
For their part, the State argued that immunity should apply if a landowner, “directly or indirectly permits recreational use of its land,” and that “permit” can involve “mere tolerance” of an activity, or even allowing it to happen.
Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Lavin, ruled against ODOT.
But Gee, the bike rider’s lawyer, said the judge’s decision was based on a technicality because the State didn’t provide enough evidence in their motion to dismiss the case that the highway was held open specifically for recreational use.
Another lawyer I talked to for this story said, “ODOT lost the motion on a separate procedural issue. The court did not rule on the merits of this argument; but they clearly thought the argument was worth making.”
Gee said this is a serious issue that bicycling advocates should watch closely. He said since discretionary immunity (where a DOT can be liable if they were aware of a safety issue, but failed to address it) arguments are losing in court more often, they are “casting around for a new approach” with these recreational immunity arguments. He added that designating certain roads as “scenic bikeways” will only bolster the State’s contention that users are recreating and the immunity argument will be even stronger.
It’s brutal out there. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
The gravel put out by PBOT to help cars and trucks get around for a few days during the storm, has created a massive and dangerous mess citywide: Bike lanes and road shoulders are a mess and millions of tiny little pebbles are creating slip hazards for bike tires. As we work to convince everyday folks to give biking a try, these conditions work against our transportation goals by telling Portlanders, “We don’t care about people who use bike lanes.”
Tired of waiting for the city to do its job and concerned about the safety of cyclists, this is the year Portlanders are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to getting the gravel out of bike lanes. Thanks to an innovative product and can-do attitudes, local bike advocates are leading the charge.
Since we shared in August that nonprofit advocacy group BikeLoud PDX would partner with California-based Bike Lane Sweeper creator Pierre Lermant, the two have become close collaborators. BikeLoud’s “sweeper” Slack channel has 44 members and it’s active with feedback and knowledge-sharing that appears to be pushing the product forward.
(Photo of Nic Cota by Jenna Phillips)It works! (As evidenced by the bag full of gravel.)Strip of smoothness. (Photo: Joe Perez)(Photo: Nic Cota)
Lermant and his design and engineering partner Cedric Eveleigh have moved onto Version 2.0 and are currently designing V3. In late September, Lermant and BikeLoud Vice-chair Kiel Johnson met with PBOT Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller to discuss ways the city could help. They agreed to do run a trial where volunteers leave bags full of gravel along streets, then city trucks come through and pick them up.
Even with new commitments by PBOT to get it cleaned up within a month, Portland’s impressive corps of citizen volunteers has directed their energy to making it happen even faster. After the big ice storm earlier this month, the BikeLoud Slack channel picked up steam and volunteers say the sweeper works great.
Photos shared by users of the sweeper attest to the rave reviews — often showing a lane full of gravel become perfectly smooth in the wake of the sweeper’s spinning brushes. Overlook neighborhood resident Nic Cota shared in a BikePortland comment today that he got a chance to use the sweeper on Sunday. “I got about 5 cargo bikes full of gravel on the small, but critical bike lanes on Killingsworth between Interstate and Michigan yesterday. Easily 1,000 lbs of gravel all said and done. Its amazing how much was in the bike lanes alone!” Cota wrote.
One of the limiting factors is the sheer weight of the gravel and need to off-load it as pick-up happens. That has led to ideas for new versions that sweep gravel to the side, for pickup later by larger vehicles. It’s exciting to see this product working as intended, while its creators collaborate with local advocates to make improvements.
What seemed like a novel little idea when I first reported on it two years ago, now appears to be a legitimate product that could spur a revolution in bike lane maintenance.
There’s a spreadsheet where volunteers can sign up for sweeper shifts. If you’d like to learn more or get involved, check out BikeLoud’s website for links to join them on Slack.
Holes in the pavement where a Road Closed sign once stood. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Vandals have destroyed a neighborhood traffic safety project in Rose City Park. Apparently angry about a plan to limit driving access to one direction on NE 72nd Drive through Rose City Golf Course, someone sawed off two metal poles that held up a large “Road Closed” sign and discarded them a few yards away near the trunk of a redwood tree.
Based on what I saw from a visit to the park this morning, it’s clear someone used a high-powered saw to cut the poles and bolts. They were also in a hurry because I found bolts and washers hastily strewn about the area.
According to posts on Nextdoor and photographs sent to BikePortland, the suspects took multiple trips to the intersection to complete their job. They also sawed off bolts that held up a “Left Turn Only” sign and a sign that was posted nearby that reads, “72nd Drive Closed at Tillamook, Use 82nd.” The signs were thrown down a ravine and discovered yesterday.
Looking north at the new sidewalk from NE Tillamook.A family bikes southbound on NE 72nd through the park.The sawed-off edge of the pipe.The sawed-off edge of the pipe.Signs discarded a few yards from the intersection.Sawed-off bolt.Looking north on 72nd Drive. The lane closure signage was just beyond the marked crosswalk.Signage being kept at the Rose City Park maintenance shop.Where the sidewalk meets the road. That grey car is the traffic PBOT tried to prevent with the closure.
BikePortland has asked the Portland Bureau of Transportation for comment, but has yet to hear back. Someone who posted on Nextdoor shared an email from a PBOT staffer who confirmed the vandalism on January 23rd. “We are aware of the issue and are looking into mitigation options,” the staffer wrote.
This is just the latest twist in a project that has been hobbled by irate neighbors who worry about changes to their driving routes and missteps by PBOT.
This installation was part of the 70s Neighborhood Greenway project which aims to create a safe street for walking and bicycling from SE Flavel to NE Sacramento. PBOT’s plan through the park is to prohibit driving northbound in order to create a “shared car-free path” (according to PBOT planning documents). But some neighbors don’t like the idea because they feel it’s not needed (the road is already safe, they say), only helps a small number of people, and that drivers will suffer too much inconvenience. As PBOT tried to finalize plans back in September, some neighbors tried to sabotage the city’s traffic counting equipment in hopes of shutting down the project.
What we expected.What we got. (Photo: Mielle Blomberg)
12 days after BikePortland reported on that scheme, PBOT Director Millicent Williams relented and announced — after the city had already notified residents the project would move forward — that it would be paused. “We are currently on hold to do that work… After hearing concerns from the neighboring community,” PBOT communicated to residents. Two days later, Director Williams — facing intense criticism over her handling of the SW Broadway bike lane scandal — announced the project would be un-paused.
When the project was finally installed earlier this month, I was shocked at how bad it looked. A standard “Road Closed” sign drilled into the pavement with orange traffic cones surrounding it. Given the anemic and unserious design, I wasn’t surprised to hear that many drivers disobeyed the new rules. “I was walking there today and 10 cars deliberately drove around the signage and cones to illegally drive north on this restricted road,” someone posted on Nextdoor on Friday. “Someone is going to get hit…”
Sometime between Thursday and today, all the signs were removed. As of today, there’s no infrastructure to prevent people from driving northbound on the street.
One person on Nextdoor has repeatedly supported peoples’ opposition to this project — even in the face of illegal vandalism. “It’s no wonder people get frustrated at PBOT,” one person wrote. “I’m not excusing vandalism, but when you shove things down peoples’ throats that they don’t want… something is bound to give sooner or later.”
Back in November, PBOT completed a sidewalk project to connect to the new carfree path. There’s currently a nice new sidewalk between Tillamook and where the road is supposed to be closed. A sharrow marking in the southbound lane also points bike riders left (eastbound) across the intersection, to connect to the new sidewalk. Unfortunately that arrow assumed the closure of the northbound lane would be in place — so now it directs bike traffic into oncoming car traffic.
Taming auto traffic in the park and creating a safer space for walking and biking is part of a larger plan that includes not just this PBOT project. In June, Metro announced a $2 million project grant (from their parks and nature bond measure) to Portland Parks & Recreation to improve existing off-road trails in and around the golf course. “The project will provide low-income communities and others near the golf course a place to walk, jog and connect with nature within a short walking distance from home,” reads Metro’s website. And according to the Portland Parks website, the project will come with new crossings of 72nd Dr .
Whoever destroyed this infrastructure has cost taxpayers more money, has increased safety risks on a major bike route, and is making a mockery of Portland city government. If you have any tips about this case, please get in touch.
UPDATE, 4:15 pm: PBOT Communications Director Hannah Schafer tells BikePortland they are aware of the problem and are “discussing a variety of solutions.” She also said the traffic-cone-and-and-sign treatment that was here before someone ripped it out isn’t the final treatment. Stay tuned.
UPDATE 1/30 at 2:20 pm: A BikePortland reader shared the photo below with us via email, along with a message: “I took this photo on 72nd back on November 7th. Chatted briefly with the two PBOT guys who were cleaning it up. They were actually pretty light hearted about it, but admitted they knew there were some locals who were (obviously) upset with the plans.”
Jonathan’s post last week about the DA in Polk County reversing his decision and deciding to pursue criminal charges against the driver who struck and killed Adam Joy was bittersweet. On the one hand, it looked like BikePortland’s coverage might have had some influence on the decision. That’s to be noted, and several commenters did.
On the other hand, nothing is bringing back Adam Joy, so any sense of accomplishment is tempered by that tragedy. That’s a hard note to hit, but one commenter found appropriate and moving words to mark the turn of events.
This situation is a prime example of effective, appropriate advocacy. A journalist, attorney and Adam’s family didn’t give up or give in to their grief. Sadly, this confluence of individuals speaking out is not present in many situations. It is difficult for everyone involved, but not giving in is the core to a moral, just society.
Many years ago, I was a friend of Adam’s father, Fred. No father could be more proud of his kids. Ironically, and perhaps appropriately, Fred would have taken a stand and do what he could to bring out the truth as he understood it. Fred was not loud but he was outspoken and it would appear Adam remained true to that legacy.
Hopefully this charge will lead to a just outcome. Nothing can be done to reverse this tragedy, but hopefully Adam’s children will not be left with the understanding that there’s nothing to be done, to just accept their fate.
Perhaps Weeks will not be held to account; the evidence may not reach the “beyond a reasonable doubt” threshold for the jury. However, based on the public record, it would appear Mr. Weeks’ actions in this situation are getting the scrutiny they deserve. Sometimes trials shine a bright light on facts that would otherwise be ignored or overlooked. May justice prevail.
Thank you Cooper for writing that thoughtful comment. I also want to thank BikePortland readers and commenters. Jonathan does some fine reporting, but the train of informed comments that follows his posts lends weight to his words, so that they are harder to ignore. Thank you for paying attention.
Here are the most notable stories our community came across in the past seven days…
Carbon admissions: Never one to shy away from controversy, Eben “Bike Snob” Weiss says that only pro racers fully benefit from carbon fiber bikes and regular folks like you and I should never buy them. (Outside)
Thank you, San Francisco: In a bid to reduce traffic deaths, a California state senator has introduced a bill that would require speed governors in new cars that prevent the vehicle from going more than 10 miles over the speed limit. (SF Standard)
Red over green: Austin is copying Dutch cities by using red-tinted asphalt to designate bikeways, a choice it says lasts much longer than the green thermoplastic paint used by most American cities (including Portland). (Fast Company)
Driving is a privilege: A concerned mother worries that her soon-to-be 15-year-old isn’t ready to drive and — lo and behold — a mainstream outlet affirms her choice and recommends not getting that permit just yet. (Slate)
Quitting cars is cool: Excellent overview of the rationale, implementation, and political ramifications of bold moves by cities to reduce car use. The takeaway: Just do it! (BBC)
Protective paint: The latest edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) helps bolster the case for painting intersections as an avenue toward safety and Portland gets a shout-out in this op-ed from Janette Sadik-Khan as an early adopter of the practice. (Washington Post)
Prescription for “super drivers”: In companion opinions, noted troops in the War on Cars, Kea Wilson and Charles Komanoff, offer different ways to respond to a report that found just one-tenth of American drivers consume more than a third of U.S. gasoline. Wilson says we should target EV subsidies only to these drivers and Komanoff argues that higher gas taxes are the way to go. (Streetsblog USA)
Deadly by design: A new study analyzed 3,375 crashes from a federal database and found clear evidence that people who driver cars with tall hoods are more likely to kill pedestrians. (Ars Technica)
In related news: New research from the UK finds that the average width of new cars now exceeds the minimum width of on-street car parking spaces — effectively reducing space on the road for other users. (GCN)
City liable for bump: The City of San Francisco will pay a whopping $9 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed a bump on a bike-friendly street caused a bike rider to crash and suffer serious injuries. (SF Standard)
