Two different City of Portland employee bike buses converged at Peace Park on their way to work on May 1st. (Photo: City of Portland)
When it comes to local bike trends, one of the things I’m looking forward to is how the bike bus phenomenon plays out in the coming months and years. Will these mass group rides to schools eventually fizzle out like “bike trains” of yesteryear did? Or will they continue to swell and become as ubiquitous as yellow school buses? And beyond bike buses themselves, will they have an impact on bicycling and safe streets advocacy more broadly?
As Portland’s bike buses evolve, we are beginning to get answers to questions like these.
When the Abernethy Elementary School bike bus went daily, organizers told me it had an immediate impact on how the community perceived the event. It was suddenly more accessible, more reliable, and inspired more engagement. Then on May 22nd, Portland Bureau of Transportation Director Millicent Williams and City Traffic Engineer Wendy Cawley joined them, a move that represents further evolution.
Left: Still from @coachbalto TikTok video. Right: Abernethy Bike bus photo posted to social media with additions by BikePortland.
And turns out it wasn’t Director Williams’ first time on a bike bus. In a video posted by Alameda Elementary School bike bus leader Sam Balto to social media today, Williams said the bike bus, “Shows me what we need to do at the transportation bureau to make sure that every community that wants to do this, has the ability to do this safely and comfortably.”
And now the City of Portland’s transportation bureau wants to adopt the bike bus playbook for getting employees to work. The Portland Bureau of Transportation tried its first ever employee bike bus on May 1st (the first day of Bike Month) and it went so well, they plan to make it a regular thing.
According to PBOT Communications Director Hannah Schafer, the idea of an employee bike bus came from internal staff who felt it would be a fun way to build camaraderie during Bike Month. “They were inspired by all the amazing bike buses we’ve seen in Portland schools and wanted to try our own version,” Schafer shared with BikePortland last week.
Here’s how they did it…
Internal PBOT communications about May 1 ride details.
Staff from PBOT’s communications and social media teams used internal newsletters and other channels to gauge interest. Staff were given a form that asked the general area they commute from and whether or not they’d be interested in being ride leaders. 45 employees responded to that initial survey — plenty to signal the initiative was worth pursuing.
Organizers then cross-referenced locations of employees who wanted to lead rides to come up with possible meeting spots and routes to the Portland Building on SW 4th and Madison. “The ride leaders were essential,” Schafer said. “They helped refine routes and made sure there would be a person waiting to greet riders and show them the way.”
Once the meeting places and routes were set, the event details were shared through the Bureau of Human Resources in a citywide newsletter sent to all 7,500 city employees.
On event day, staff met at six different locations and hopped onto unique routes that all led to Salmon Springs in Waterfront Park where they gathered for a group photo before rolling up SW Main to the Portland Building’s robust bike parking area. But before locking up for the day, Schafer made sure one element of the event was in place: free coffee and treats!
“Every bike bus had adventures to share,” Schafer recalled about the event. “The SE Belmont bike bus coincided with the Abernethy School bike bus, resulting in an epic, joyful moment at Ladds Circle that staff couldn’t stop talking about. The NE Woodlawn bike bus got cheers and waves from PBOT colleagues working on an ADA curb ramp along their route. The Woodlawn and University Park groups came together at Peace Park just before crossing the Steel Bridge and stopped for an impromptu group photo.”
Schafer also said that, during the ride some staff got to know more about colleagues and/or meet other city employees for the first time.
Over 40 city employees participated and Schafer said it was such a success they are now planning monthly bike buses through September. They will start a bit earlier (to make sure everyone gets to those early meetings on time!) and add more start locations to meet demand.
Schafer thinks PBOT’s approach could be a great model for other workplaces. “We can’t wait to see how our bike buses grow,” Schafer said.
The bike bus might end up being the most effective advocate for cycling in Portland. It’s one thing for city engineers and planners to hear from Portlanders at meetings, or experience streets on a site visit or while biking to work alone. But riding in a group can encourage a much deeper appreciation for the myriad social, mental, and physical benefits of cycling that transcend engineering calculations. This experience with human infrastructure could end up leading to more of the concrete kind.
And I’ll be damned if “mh” isn’t saying the same thing as Cortright did! (Only “mh’s” commented is shorter, sweeter, and simpler.)
Basically, “mh” wants to be charged “for the wear we actually put on the roads” (sort of like ODOT already does for large freight trucks). But, as Cortright concludes, ODOT isn’t counting costs, (“the wear” to the roads). No, it’s accounting for its expenditures — how ODOT allocates its money. And ODOT’s expenditure choices reflect the department’s bias toward freeway building rather than maintenance.
But let’s get back to short and sweet. Here’s what “mh” wrote:
(Weight x miles) for every vehicle. For passenger vehicles, weight is the manufacturer’s stated weight, for the first registration you pay based on the average number of miles the average vehicle is driven, on registration renewal you reconcile and the vehicle owner either pays more or is reimbursed. I guarantee I’d be reimbursed. I’ve been proposing this for years, and have yet to see anyone think it’s a good idea.
My little Honda Fit is charged a penalty for being a small, light car. The fact that it is driven very little is ignored – they just assume I owe more because they assume I drive it the 10k or whatever the average miles per year is. We don’t. Let us pay for the wear we actually put on the roads.
I’d happily pay (weight x miles) for my bike commutes if they provide me some way to track my miles, [and] if all the oversized SUVs also pay (weight x miles) for their roadway damage. That would make me a much more serene commuter.
Thank you for the clarity, “mh.” You can read “mh’s” comment in the context of the two other brave souls who wrote in.
Welcome to the week. I hope you’ve taken a few minutes to soak up my video and photos from the Bike Summer Kickoff Ride on Saturday. It was an incredible display of cycling spirit and an atmospheric river of bike joy. This will be a big week with lots of great rides, a warm sun, big Bike Happy Hour Wednesday, and the Oregon Active Transportation Summit kicking off.
Let’s start things off with a recap of the best items our community came across in the past seven days…
Protesting the right-of-way: As we enter what could be a big summer of protests, it’s time to brush up on the ethics and laws that govern our rights to assemble on public roads. (Streetsblog USA)
A cautionary tale: As Oregon embarks on a debate about transportation funding, California shows us that even in 2024 it’s possible for leaders to prioritize freeway expansions over bicycling and walking projects. (LA Times)
**This week’s Roundup is sponsored by Ride the Dirt Wave, a mountain biking event on the Oregon Coast that happens monthly and starts on June 8-9th at the Klootchy Creek Trails in Cannon Beach.**
What the hell(cat): This dude up in Seattle thinks his big Instagram following gives him a right to race his souped-up Dodge “Hellcat” around city streets at night. Hopefully the car is booted along with his rights to drive it before he kills someone. (NY Times)
Bike-on-bike collision: A popular carfree path in Washington was the site of a scary bike-on-bike collision that sent a woman to the hospital with head injuries. It’s interesting to see how local media handles crashes when no car user is involved. (King 5)
No men: If you’ve ever wondered why some folks love to host rides where men are not allowed, this cyclist offers a good explanation of why she prefers all-women rides. (Cycling Weekly)
Ride to remember: Long bike tours are such great ways to raise awareness about historical events because they give participants endless hours to ponder what they are pedaling for. This ride to remember the forced removal of Cherokee tribe members from their land is a good example. (Cherokee Phoenix)
E-assist upgrade: This attachment known as the Clip has been banging around for a while now and it seems pretty nifty. It turns almost any bike into an e-bike. But it’s the aesthetics that I just cannot get used to. (Ars Technica)
A tired take: The idea that New York’s ubiquitous e-bike delivery riders have made the city a “nightmare” is entirely missing the point. Yes they are an issue to deal with, but a major reason they are so problematic is because they operate mostly on crowded scraps of space left over from all the damn drivers. I bet that when congestion pricing hits and NYC reduces the number of drivers in the city, this issue will magically balance itself out. (NY Times)
Tariffs and you: The expiration of a tariff exemption will add an additional 25% onto the cost of many e-bikes produced with Chinese parts, adding even more urgency for states to subsidize costs to promote purchases. (Global Cycling News)
Thousands took to the streets on bikes for the annual Bike Summer Kickoff Ride from the North Park Blocks to Laurelhurst Park. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
2024 Bike Summer season kicked off in fine fashion today. At one point at the start of the ride I stood near the western entrance to the Broadway Bridge at the corner of NW Lovejoy and Broadway. I looked down the ramp toward Burnside and all I could see were people on bicycles across the entire width of the street as far as my eyes could see (photo above). One corker I talked to said they stood and watched the pedaling mass roll by for 35 minutes he was probably near the middle of the pack!
As I biked from my house near Peninsula Park to the meet-up spot at the North Park Blocks it felt like the opening to the classic film, The Warriors, when all the gangs from New York posse-up and descend on the city for a big rumble. The city’s bike lanes were like tributaries to a mighty river of bikes. The Kickoff Ride has always been a true gathering of the tribes, and as Portland’s bike scene has broadened and diversified over the years, the gathering has grown along with it.
Bike Summer (formerly known as Pedalpalooza) is a three-month festival of pedaling and free fun unlike anything in the world. It began in 2002 as a traveling festival with a few dozen rides. The next year, locals did it again and it’s happened every year since, becoming one of Portland’s most important cultural institutions.
As the first major ride of Bike Summer on the first day of the festival, there’s always a great sense of optimism and energy at Kickoff. This year’s ride started at the North Park Blocks, where riders were treated to a pre-ride party that included a drag show, great food, a DJ, and a live music send-off from Portland Samba. The route went across the Broadway Bridge, up NE Weidler, and then through Lloyd District to southeast via the Blumenauer Bridge and ended up at Laurelhurst Park.
Below are some of my favorite photos. I got some fun video clips and I can’t wait to share them. Stay tuned for that.
Hope you had a great ride.
Headed up SE Belmont en route to Laurelhurst Park.
If you’re lucky maybe they’ll let you take a “research” ride on the Oregon Coast Bike Route. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Would you like to, “develop and implement statewide policy and program activities to support Oregon’s efforts to improve conditions for people walking, rolling and biking”? Or perhaps you are, “passionate about expanding access for walking, rolling and biking and excited to develop your leadership and project management skills.” If your interest is piqued, and you’ve got experience in the transportation planning world, you should consider apply for a job as the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program manager.
ODOT released the job listing Thursday and they’re willing to pay between $6,400 and $10,000 a month for the right person. I’ve known the lasttwo people to hold this job and they were amazing folks who did important work. Everything from being ODOT’s in-house expert for all things bike/ped and being the staff liaison at the all-important Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, to helping cities and organizations navigate the byzantine web of state-run grant programs and tracking how bike facilities are built (or not!) throughout the state. This person can be a key link inside the system to help our state DOT be as friendly as possible to everyone who rides.
This is a very interesting time to take on this job. Next year the legislature will pass a new transportation bill that could entail major shifts in what gets funded and how revenue is raised. The steady march of climate change and growing political inertia for transit and everything that’s not single-occupancy vehicles should give this program a higher profile in years to come. Adding to the import of this job is a new State of Oregon audit released last month that found ODOT, “faces multiple barriers in its efforts to provide bicycle and pedestrian facilities across the state system.” The audit found gaps in how ODOT funds and prioritizes bike/ped projects, sloppy data and inventory analysis, and poor accounting related to the Oregon Bike Bill.
Thanks to those audit findings, whoever gets this job won’t have to lobby internally to get those things on the radar of higher-ups. Then again, maybe it means whoever gets this job will be on the hook to fix all the findings. OK, I’ve said enough.
Here’s a bit more about the position:
Manage and coordinate pedestrian and biking policy issues statewide.
Identify investment needs, coordinate agency funding distributions and legislative requests.
Recommend policy strategies, options and legislative positions to senior managers.
Participate in multidisciplinary teams to communicate agency policy and implementation strategies.
Represent the agency and communicate policy direction at manager meetings, occasionally before elected officials and other interested parties.
Assess federal and state policy changes for implications to the agency.
Bring forward advocacy, concerns and perspectives from external partners for consideration.
Staff the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (OBPAC), coordinate support for recommendations, develop agendas, assist in developing the annual work program update and track progress.
Report on the progress of key performance measures, update and implement the 5 year Oregon bicycle and pedestrian work plan and coordinate contractor support for policy implementation efforts.
Develop and deliver training, lead monthly coordination meetings for agency staff that support active transportation initiatives and organize regular workshops.
Develop and implement plans to communicate and engage internal and external partners, identify project risks and design strategies to manage and mitigate risks.
Coordinate and oversee the update and distribution of program materials.
Hybrid work options available – minimum in office once a month for meetings and trainings. Occasional over night travel.
The position closes June 17th. See the full description here.
Over the past 4 years BikeLoud has grown by over 400%. We are looking for Portlanders to help us continue to grow our membership and connect our communities to advocate for better bicycling policies and infrastructure.
BikeLoud is excited to start our Bike Ambassador program with four geographic positions. These roles will last from June, July, and August with the potential to continue. Each of the four local election districts will have an Ambassador role assigned to it. These Ambassadors will help organize BikeLoud summer social events and promote BikeLoud around their community.
Each Ambassador will have the choice to use a Tern Quick Haul from the BikeLoud fleet for personal and advocacy use and have access to bike advocacy supplies as well as a $100/monthly stipend.
Each Bike Ambassador will organize a monthly social event and engage with their district to improve bicycling. We will work with ambassadors to empower them to use Portland’s PDX reporter and our bike lane sweeper.
Qualifications:
-Experienced bicyclist, with good knowledge of traffic laws and excellent safety skills.
-Ability to work in diverse communities.
-Social and dependable.
-Ability to learn and use Slack for communication.
-Must be able to represent BikeLoud PDX with appropriate judgment when interacting with others both inside and outside BikeLoud PDX.
-Positions report to the BikeLoud Board
How to Apply
Please send a 2-6 paragraph cover letter on why you would be a good fit to be an ambassador to bikeloudpdx@gmail.com
Looking south from SW Salmon at loading platforms in front of the Heathman Hotel and Arlene Schnitzer Concern Hall. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland – See full gallery below.)
Loading platforms have come a long way since 2020. Back then, when the Portland Bureau of Transportation saw them as a way for bus operators to service customers away from the curb, while still allowing bicycle traffic to roll by, the agency said, “Over the next several years, this tool will be implemented in a variety of contexts and locations throughout the city.”
Four years later and PBOT has not only kept their word, they’ve significantly improved the design and implementation. The three newest loading platforms installed on Southwest Broadway are a big upgrade. I still want to see how they do under high volume situations, but after spending some time with them a few days ago, my first impressions are very positive.
Spurred by concerns of bad interactions between guests and bicycle riders, hotel managers and valet staff worked with PBOT to come up with a solution that would work for everyone (for more on how these relate to the Broadway Bike Lane Scandal, read this story). With parking-protected bike lanes, it was too easy for folks outside busy areas like hotel loading zones to park illegally against the curb. And without adequate signage or design cues; hotel staff, guests, and bike riders didn’t always navigate the right-of-way with each others’ safety and convenience in mind.
Enter these new platforms:
Benson (SW Oak)
Heathman/Schnitz (SW Salmon/Main)
Hotel Vance (SW Columbia)
They are fully hardscaped with permanent concrete ramps and curbs, the bike lane is painted solid green, there’s minimal use of plastic posts, and there’s a grooved, yellow divider between the bike lane and sidewalk. There’s also ample length (about 2-3 car parking spots) for gentle slopes up and down and signage that communicates expected behaviors for all users.
There are three new platforms on Broadway: in front of the Benson at SW Oak, the Heathman at SW Salmon, and Hotel Vance at SW Columbia. (These are in addition to existing platforms at NW Couch and SW Main.) PBOT says they cost about $90,000 a piece.
They all worked well for me. The one at the Benson has a bit of a rough entry angle, but other than that it was smooth sailing. And because there are now two of these upgraded platforms on the block between Salmon and Main — in front of the Heathman and the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall — it’s almost like we have an above-grade, separated cycle-track for that entire block.
In addition to practical benefits, I believe these platforms have intrinsic value and are the type of thing that can create a positive feedback loop for bicycling and bike facilities more broadly. It goes something like this: When we build high quality bike facilities, it leads to better behaviors by users and more respect for the people using them, which in turn leads to political inertia to build more high quality infrastructure, and the cycle continues.
Then of course I visited on a slow day downtown, so maybe my bubble will burst on a busy day when the bike lane and hotels are more crowded. We’ll see. For now, I’ve got a very good feeling about these and hope they’re an example of the type of quality we’ll see on the nearby SW 4th Avenue project PBOT is working on.
Sign in the lobby of ODOT headquarters in Salem. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
This time next year the Oregon Legislature will be in the final stages of crafting a new transportation funding bill that will include billions for infrastructure statewide and new programs that will change how we move around — and very likely how we pay for the privilege of doing so. The ability for advocates to influence what this package includes begins Tuesday, June 4th on a community college campus in north Portland.
All eyes are on Tuesday’s meeting because it’s the first stop on a statewide tour for members of the Joint Committee on Transportation whose members will decide on the contents of the package. This is where narratives that influence the final bill will first be heard. Activists plan a rally outside the meeting, while lawmakers, local leaders, transportation advocates, and insiders will come together to make their respective cases for what should be funded and why.
Expect to hear a lot of doom-and-gloom from ODOT officials amid a plea for new revenue, a call for all road users to pay their fair share, and an emphasis on funding freeway expansion megaprojects that are still unpaid for from the previous statewide bill passed in 2017.
How the money was spent last time around. How ODOT defines the “equity problem.” Potential new revenue sources.(Graphics: ODOT)
The day will begin at noon for a select group of lawmakers and leaders who will take a tour of transportation facilities in the Portland metro area hosted by the Oregon Department of Transportation. Afterward there’s a roundtable discussion planned with members of the Region 1 Area Commission on Transportation (local ODOT advisory group), leaders from the region, business representatives, and transportation experts. Both of those events are by invite-only.
The main public hearing begins at 5:00 pm with a review of transportation funding by ODOT staff, followed by about two hours for public comment.
Prior to the public hearing at 5:00, nonprofit Sunrise PDX will host a really outside the event. Beginning at 4:00 pm in front of the Moriarty Auditorium at Portland Community College Cascade Campus (700 N Killingsworth), Sunrise and their allies will be on the bullhorn, waving signs, and connecting with other activists. “We’re advocating for an Oregon where people can ride the bus, take the train, ride a bike, or walk where they need to go,” says a Sunrise description of the event.
If ODOT staff and JCT members hear those cries from Sunrise, they’ll likely nod and feel good. That’s because, in their eyes, HB 2017 was a “green” bill due to its unprecedented (albeit tiny in comparison to road and maintenance expenditures) allotments for things like public transit and Safe Routes to School programs. And they consider the freeway expansion projects that gobbled up the lion’s share of funding in 2017 and continue to place ODOT in a precarious financial position to be projects that rank high on equity and bike/walk investment scores.
In a planning document circulated to JCT members, the Rose Quarter Improvement Project and the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project were both cited as examples of “equity-focused connections” and examples of how ODOT is “centering equity through infrastructure.”
In other words, don’t expect talk of re-allocating funding away from massive freeway projects. Instead, be prepared to hear how ODOT staff and some lawmakers justify continued investment in what they refer to as “unfinished business of HB 2017” — namely those I-5 expansion projects at the Rose Quarter and north into Vancouver, as well as I-205 near Oregon City.
Another thing we’re likely to hear are claims from ODOT staff and some JCT members that the current way we fund transportation in Oregon is unconstitutional and inequitable — but not in the way some of you might assume. There’s a growing narrative (based in part on legit statistics) inside ODOT that people who use heavier, less fuel-efficient vehicles pay too much for their use of the roads. You might recall my story on the 2023 Highway Cost Allocation Study where ODOT found that under the existing schedule of taxes and fee for drivers, lighter vehicles are projected to underpay their responsibility by 12.2% and heavy vehicle users over pay by 32.4% in the coming years. The study also found that people who drive vehicles that get less than 20 miles per gallon pay more than their fair share of user fees.
Oregon’s constitution requires that road users pay a fair share for roads. That has led lawmakers and ODOT staff down this path to create more taxes on people who use electric and fuel-efficient vehicles. The JCT planning document even went so far as mentioning e-bikes as one of the user classes that should be subject to more fees. After all, they created the $15 bicycle excise tax in 2017 and never received much pushback, so I won’t be surprised if they return to that same well this time around.
How ODOT and lawmakers decide to raise new revenue will be very interesting to watch. They won’t want to dampen adoption of EVs, hybrids or e-bikes, and a gas tax increase won’t be seen as very astute in the long-term. And since Governor Tina Kotek squashed tolling plans, the need for a new revenue stream that is politically viable, encourages the right type of behaviors, and raises a significant amount of money has never been greater.
Expect talk of a road usage charge (RUC) or VMT tax, taxes on electricity use, or a flat fee on EV (and e-bike?) purchases.
What you won’t hear is any accountability from lawmakers about how their past decisions to prioritize expensive freeway widening projects over everything else is a big reason why state transportation finances are in such dire straits. Hopefully the public testimony can give voice to that elephant in the room.
If you don’t make it to Tuesday’s meeting, there’s another chance to soak in these subjects at the Oregon Active Transportation Summit that kicks off Wednesday, June 5th. The welcome address of that event at 9:00 am includes a speech by Oregon Transportation Commissioner Alicia Chapman and its lunch plenary at 1:00 pm is titled, “The State of Transportation Funding in Oregon.”
The $52 million project will restore this old viaduct at Ruthton Point, sans the car access. (Photo: State of Oregon)
The Oregon Department of Transportation has inched closer to their dream of reconnecting the Historic Columbia River Highway between Troutdale and The Dalles. The “King of Roads” was dedicated in 1916 but fell into disrepair when I-84 was built. Already three decades into their effort, ODOT wants to re-open it as a 73-mile “world-class bicycle and pedestrian experience,” with a mix of carfree paths and low-volume shared roads.
Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jerff Merkley and Ron Wyden along with House Representative Earl Blumenauer, announced an $11 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration that will help pay for the final, 1.7-mile carfree segment of the epic project. The grant was awarded through the Biden Administration’s Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program.
Mitchell Point Tunnel construction is almost done.ODOT publication shows Ruthton Point section on the right.
Specifically, this funding will help ODOT complete a section of the project between Mitchell Point and Ruthton Trailhead in Hood River. Beginning just east of the newly restored Mitchell Point Tunnel segment that’s nearly complete and slated to open this summer, the Ruthton segment will cross under I-84 with a new tunnel next to the existing undercrossing on Mitchell Point Drive. After traveling east on the north side of I-84, the new path will connect to Hood River via Westcliff Drive, ending at Ruthton Trailhead with circular bus loop, a small parking area, restrooms and picnic benches. A highlight of this segment will be restoration of a historic viaduct at Ruthton Point that overlooks orchards and the Columbia River.
The total project cost is $52 million, so ODOT will still need to secure the remaining funds to stay on schedule for its completion in 2027.
NW Couch Street in downtown Portland. March 16th, 2021. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
When Biketown for All launched in 2016, it was hailed as a way to bring the benefits of bike share to Portlanders who otherwise couldn’t afford it. Now the City of Portland says the program that offered free membership and free rides to qualifying participants, has become a victim of its own success.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation announced today they’re making changes to “ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the program.” The City says they will change enrollment eligibility immediately and launch a new pricing structure on June 11th. Biketown is operated by Lyft and sponsored by Nike.
Currently Biketown for All offers participants a free monthly membership and unlimited 60 minute (or less) rides. The new system will give people a ride credit of $10 per month. PBOT spokesperson Dylan Rivera told BikePortland that, “The ride credit is enough to cover the average Biketown for All rider’s use, given the ridership patterns we’ve seen over the years.” Rivera added that if users park at a Biketown station or anywhere in area east of 72nd [the Super Hub Zone] they would avoid fees and might never pay anything.
Starting June 11th, rides will be 5 cents per minute after the credit is used up.
Eligibility criteria will change, effectively immediately. PBOT says in order to focus on Portlanders with the lowest incomes, they will no longer offer Biketown for All to all college student aid recipients. Only Pell Grant recipients will be eligible. And being a member of the TriMet Honored Citizen program isn’t enough to qualify, you must also receive TriMet’s low-income and/or unemployment assistance.
These changes don’t impact current Biketown for All members but will go into effect once their membership renews.
Under the new rules, PBOT estimates that the average Biketown for All user would pay $5.40 a year in out of station parking convenience fees, based on the average for Biketown for All riders.
One BikePortland reader shared with that us that this news is a “Huge kick in the teeth” because Biketown for All has been a “lifesaving addition” to their transit regimen. “Losing that basically unlimited access is going to make life a lot harder for a lot of folks, especially in a town that refuses to provide 24 hour bus service,” the program participant said.
In a press release today that buried the news below-the-fold, PBOT said the changes are needed because of exponential growth in the program. According to PBOT there were 169 Biketown for All members in 2020 and today there are 4,270. In 2023, Biketown for All riders took 376,000 trips (up 82% from 2022), a number that represents 59% of all Biketown trips taken that year.
These changes come about one year after PBOT raised rental prices to cope with costs of maintaining their all-electric fleet of 2,000 bikes.
Sun, fun, it’s all happening! (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Who’s ready for the weekend? Well sorry there’s still one more day. But seriously, Saturday is the Big Day when the 2024 Bike Summer will launch with the annual Kickoff Ride. If you’re on iOS, I highly recommend grabbing the Bike Fun App to plan your rides for the next three months. Here on the Weekend Guide, I’ll share the classics and a few rides that look interesting of the full Bike Summer calendar. And of course there is always stuff happening that’s not a part of Bike Summer.
So here is our guide to the best rides this weekend…
But first, a big “Thank you!” to this week’s Event Guide sponsor, the Gorge Ride on June 15th. This ride is such a gem and I can’t recommend it enough. Organized by nice folks with your experience and the health of the Gorge at heart. Learn more and register here.
Friday, May 31st
Anatomy of a Soundsystem – 5:00 pm at Woodstock Park (SE) If you’re like me, you are fascinated by mobile sound systems. The way some folks are able to mount speakers and thump tunes while they ride is so impressive. Well, my guy Andrew has the wildest set-up in Portland and he’s ready to share all his tips and tricks with you! More info here.
Saturday, June 1st
Sunrise Coffee – 5:15 am at Mt. Tabor Park (SE) Get a jump on Bike Summer by joining the “coffee outside” fans for this early morning peak at the rising sun from Portland’s fave volcano. More info here.
Breakfast on the Bluffs – 9:00 am at Skidmore Bluffs (N) If sunrise is too early, roll over the bluffs to get your community coffee and treats. Bring something to share — whether that’s breakfast treats or your Bike Summer ride flyers. And Grilled By Bike will be at the same location, so expect a big party! More info here.
Terri Sue Webb Naked Ride – 11:00 am at Coe Circle (SE) 9th annual ride will keep the legacy of body freedom activist Terri Sue Webb alive and nude. Get some practice in for the World Naked Bike Ride. More info here.
Bike Summer Kickoff Ride – 3:00 to 5:00 pm at North Park Blocks (NW) Come early to enjoy a DJ, dancing, merch booths, and more! There will be cool people to meet and all types of fun unexpected surprises. And at 5:00, we ride! More info here.
Bad Bitches Bike / Cowboy Carter Ride – 8:00 pm at Laurelhurst Park (SE) This look like the after-party to the Kickoff Ride, with time in between to put on your red carpet finest and toast the start of Bike Summer in high fashion, or just high fun, or both. More info here.
Sunday, June 2nd
Cycle Cats Vancouver Loop – 10:00 am at Vera Katz Esplanade (SE) Ride with a great group of folks on a moderately paced ride (but no-drop!) up to Vancouver and back. Perfect chance to learn the route if you’ve never done it. More info here.
Belmont Goats Ride – 10:00 am at Parkrose/Sumner Transit Center (NE) Join an experienced ride leader from Portland Bicycling Club on a 25-mile route at 13-15 mph that will include a bakery stop on the Columbia River and goat petting! More info here.
Slut Pedal – 2:00 pm at Irving Park (NE) “Ride”This ride is centered around BIPOC and Queer S*x Worker, but ALL local dancers, S*x Workers, performers, sluts, and whores are welcome for this fun, community oriented ride and party event.” More info here.
— Did I miss your event? Please let me know by filling out our contact form, or just email me at maus.jonathan@gmail.com.
Howell at a protest organized by OPAL Bus Riders Unite in 2010. (Photo: Michael Andersen)
Jim Howell embodied the visionary courage, tireless idealism, and civic activism that helped put Portland on the map as one of America’s most hopeful cities in the 20th century. He died Sunday, May 26th at the age of 90.
In September 1969, Howell and two friends founded an ad hoc group called Riverfront for People. Howell was an architect at the time and nurtured a side interest in civic organizing. As his firm worked with the City of Portland and the Model Cities program to help design Portland parks (including Woodlawn Park and the picnic shelter at Mt. Tabor Park that was unfortunately destroyed by a tree back in January), his interest in transportation planning — and specifically transit — grew. Just five years after he watched the I-5 freeway obliterate access to the east side of the Willamette River, and with the federally-funded freeway industrial complex hell-bent become an all-powerful influence on Portland’s urban form, a report by City Club of Portland caught Howell’s attention.
The 1969 report warned that if the downtown waterfront gives into an, “overemphasis on economy of traffic movement and disregard of other values, it will be little used and will contribute nothing to the central city’s vitality.”
The west side’s waterfront was already besmirched by Harbor Drive, a four-lane freeway completed in 1942. According to writer Tim DuRoche, When ODOT proposed widening it in 1968, Howell and his architect friend Bob Belcher read the City Club report and (at the prodding of Bob’s partner and civic activist Allison Belcher) decided to take its warnings to heart.
From The Oregonian, August 20, 1969. Courtesy Allison and Bob Belcher via Metroscape.
On August 19th, 1969 Howell and the Belchers organized a protest picnic on a grassy median adjacent to Harbor Drive’s freeway lanes. Around 400 people (including 150 children) showed up.
Historians recognize that protest as a seminal moment in Portland’s proud history of transportation reform activism. Ultimately, Harbor Drive was removed, and the successful picnic gave Portlanders their first taste of how civic power could be harnessed to alter the politics of transportation plans. And it sparked Howell’s lifelong passion for activism.
It’s quirk of history that Howell’s formative, freeway-fighting picnic happened in 1969 — because that’s the same year Senate Bill 10 (precursor to Oregon’s landmark SB 100) enshrined land-use planning requirements into state law, the Mt. Hood Freeway was approved, and the transit agency TriMet was created.
Doug Allen came to Portland in 1968 to attend Reed College. Hoping to land a writing gig and take up the transportation beat at upstart newspaper Willamette Week, Allen walked into the office of the paper’s founder Ron Buel (who’d go on to work with Allen and Howell as a major player in transportation activism) and asked for an assignment. “He said, go talk to this Jim Howell guy, he’s an architect promoting a grid system for busses.” Allen recalled in an interview with BikePortland.
“So I went up to his office and Jim showed me all the maps he’d made showing how the system ought to work.”
At a transportation policy debate with former Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder at PSU in 2012.Talking to Michael Andersen at a BikePortland Wonk Night in southeast in 2016.(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Allen (now Vice President of Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates) and Howell became fast friends and fellow rabble-rousers. In 1975 they formed “Citizens for Better Transit” with another activist, Ray Polani. One year later the trio served together on the Banfield Citizens Advisory Committee, which looked at alternative ways to spend funds set aside for the Mount Hood Freeway. Howell also helped organize Sensible Transportation Options for People (STOP) a group that helped kill the Mt. Hood Freeway project — another huge milestone in Howell’s early activism.
With defeats of Harbor Drive and the Mt. Hood Freeway, and political leadership that favored land use and air quality considerations ahead of freeway megaprojects and auto driving throughput, Howell and his cohort had the wind at their backs. And instead of fighting against something, they wanted to fight for something. That’s when Howell’s attention turned to designing a more effective transit system.
“At some point, around 1977 or so, we had this discussion and said, ‘We’re not accomplishing all that much from the outside, we really need to get on the inside,'” Allen shared. “So Jim applied for a job at TriMet and was hired as a planner.”
Mike Kyte, the TriMet manager who hired Howell, remembered him as a champion for a grid transit network structure for Portland’s bus system. “Though what emerged wasn’t totally what he proposed, his ideas certainly influenced us as we revamped the region’s bus routes.” Kyte also credited Howell (and influential former TriMet planner Tom Matoff) for creating TriMet’s successful timed transfer system that opened up transit for suburban riders in Washington County. It worked so well, Kyte recalled, that he used it to replan San Diego’s bus system years later.
Several people I heard from for this article noted that Howell’s urging for TriMet to not follow the typical hub-and-spoke system model — and instead create a grid network with transfers to allow multi-destinational trips — was some of his most important work.
Allen said Howell understood that, “You shouldn’t just feed everything to downtown,” and that TriMet should create a network that emulates what you can do with the highway system, “Where people can go anywhere they want and where you don’t have to live on a particular road to be able to go to some other place that’s on that same road.”
Noted transit consultant and author Jarrett Walker was an intern at TriMet when these ideas were first introduced and Allen says Walker, “Picked up the whole concept and really ran with it.”
One source who worked with Howell at TriMet remembered him as a, “Funny, upbeat, true original,” who was, “definitely under-appreciated” for his contributions to the transit agency.
Another admirable aspect of Howell’s approach was his willingness work with younger activists — whether that meant marching with them at a protest, talking to a young reporter, or showing up to one of our Wonk Nights.
One early morning in 2018 I cycled to a protest against the I-5 Rose Quarter project on the N Flint Avenue bridge and there was Howell and his friend Ron Buel passing around petitions. Howell also worked closely with nonprofit OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon and their Bus Riders Unite program. Former OPAL Executive Director Joseph Santos-Lyons recalled that Howell volunteered to help organize transit-dependent high school students. “Jim was one of the elders who thoughtfully and kindly shared his wisdom from a generation of advocacy and helped OPAL become a leading voice for transportation justice.”
Former BikePortland reporter Michael Andersen (now a senior researcher at Sightline) recalled seeing Howell at the first ever Bus Riders Unite protest against a TriMet fare hike proposal: “I think when you’re young, you tend to see age as a big dividing line in the political world. It’s just a little unusual to see an older person involved in efforts to change the way things are, unless they have some very personal stake in the matter. But there Jim was the first time I remember meeting him, a seventy-something wearing a green OPAL t-shirt tucked neatly into his pants, marching in a circle outside City Hall with folks who were mostly decades younger and several shades browner.”
Abby Griffith, a transit activist and community organizer with OPAL, told BikePortland Howell had not missed a monthly Bus Riders Unite (BRU) meeting since she joined the organization in October 2022. “My favorite memory of Jim is his advocacy for making the Hollywood Transit Center accessible to everyone,” Griffith shared. Howell was the BRU spokesperson for the Hollywood HUB Plan, which, in a 2023 letter to TriMet on BRU’s behalf he said, “Will seriously degrade the safety of transit riders transferring between MAX and buses as well the bus riders who will be in the new housing.” Then in typical Howell fashion, that statement was followed by a list of 10 bulleted items with specific requests for changes.
Portland Mercury Reporter Taylor Griggs first met Howell as a new writer for BikePortland without much experience on local transportation issues. “But even though I was young, inexperienced, and naive, Jim took me seriously and would call me from time to time with story ideas or things he wanted to talk about.”
Allen thinks the “craziest idea” Howell ever had was one he actually made a reality: a bus line between Portland and Tillamook on the Oregon Coast. “Jim came to me and said, ‘You know, we oughta’ run a bus line out there. We can use our principles and make it work’. Doesn’t that sound like a stupid thing to do?” Allen recalled. But eventually Howell convinced him.
Despite Greyhound and other operators losing money on the service and all but giving up on the route, Howell and Allen founded Citizens Better Transit Inc. (that name sound familiar?) and launched the “Beach Bus” in 1984. Allen said they added a second round trip and extended service up the coast to Seaside. “We basically doubled the amount of service Greyhound provided and we had four times the ridership they had,” Allen said. And six years later it was successful enough to sell back to Greyhound.
It didn’t matter if Howell was an agency staffer, an organizer, an agitator, or an entrepreneur — he was always a change-agent motivated by a passion for better transit and a better city. He used many of the same tools and strategies of other activists, but managed to combine them into an inside-outside approach that led to lasting changes that influence how we all move around and a legacy that will be studied by future generations.
Howell’s resume and longevity are a testament to his selfless, apolitical approach. He never sought personal credit and considered himself a technocrat. “He was ingenious and full of energy,” Allen recalled. “And he was active in these fights right up until the end.”
Thankfully Howell’s end isn’t the end of his ideas. The example set by Howell, and his willingness to share knowledge with younger generations, means his fight for a better city lives on in all of us.
