Would be a shame to lose this. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
This weekend is the annual closure of the roads in River View Cemetery. While the bicycling and driving public is usually allowed to use the paved thoroughfares between the Sellwood Bridge and the Collins View neighborhood, Memorial Day weekend is a time when mourners need extra space and quiet.
As we respect the closure this year, it’s a good time to reflect on what access to the cemetery means, because we should never take it for granted.
River View is a private nonprofit managed by an executive director who answers to a board of trustees. They don’t have to allow bicycle riders on their property; but for decades now they’ve gifted us access. And it’s a good thing they do, because the roads provide a vital link in the bicycle network. There is no other viable route for bicycle riders between Sellwood and SW Terwilliger Blvd. SW Boones Ferry Road (to the north) is a fast and busy arterial with zero shoulder space, and the River View Natural Area (to the south) offers only steep, dirt trails which are (unfortunately!) closed to cycling.
River View Cemetery (circled in yellow) showing in Google Maps with “Biking” layer turned on.
I’ve covered safety concerns from cemetery leaders since as far back as 2006. Even after threats to restrict bike access in 2009, 2012, and 2017; I’ve been impressed by their patience and dedication to maintain access. Last fall, the executive director and members of the River View Board of Trustees reached out to me again; but something was different this time: They didn’t share a specific concern, they talked about a growing unease with the burden of full legal liability if and when a bad crash or collision was to happen on their grounds.
River View also reached out to Lewis & Clark College, whose campus practically borders the cemetery and whose faculty and staff rely on the safe route to work. Lois Leveen is one of them. She’s also the university’s director of public relations and has met with cemetery leaders over the past few months.
“Recently, River View Cemetery has begun to curtail access through their property, in part due to concerns about liability,” Leveen testified at a recent Portland City Council meeting this week when a Vision Zero resolution was being heard. “These changes have already had a chilling impact on bicycle commuters.” “It’s disturbing to consider how many more deaths and serious injuries might have occurred during the first ten years of Portland’s commitment to Vision Zero, if this route were not available,” Leveen added.
Leveen and the cemetery are now spreading the message that it’s time for the City of Portland to step up and share load when it comes to legal responsibility for the roads. “The City of Portland needs to recognize that a private entity should not be expected to continue to carry the full responsibility of providing safe bicycling and walking routes to the public,” she said in her testimony.
The idea is for Lewis & Clark, the Portland Bureau of Transportation, and River View Cemetery to work more closely on a short-term approach that changes the legal framework of public access (such as an official public easement), while the City commits to finding a permanent solution. At the very least, this issue needs to be on the local political radar.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
River View Cemetery is in Council District 4, could it be a candidate for one of the “alternative pathways” Councilor Olivia Clark envisioned being built with funds from the new Sidewalk Improvement and Paving Program (SIPP)? Or perhaps Portland Parks and Metro can collaborate on a paved bicycle path through River View Natural Area? It might also be worth exploring a protected bike path on the SW Boones Ferry corridor.
Whatever the ultimate solutions are, the City of Portland can no longer afford to sit back and rely on this generous gift from a private entity. If we lose access to River View and there’s no viable alternative, it would be a massive setback for our transportation system and would impact thousands of lives.
So while cemetery visitors mourn lost loved ones this weekend, the City of Portland and bicycle riders should take time to reflect on what would be lost without access to the cemetery.
With just five weeks remaining in the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers have yet to unveil the details of a transportation funding package.
This delay was brought into even sharper focus when the two co-chairs of the committee the bill is being crafted in released a memo Thursday with an update on their progress. Among the list of items leaders of the Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment (TRIP) updated their colleagues on was a major new policy: The bill will include a new spin on “cap and trade” that would dedicate emission credits to highway projects.
Yes, you read that right. A legislature with a Democrat super-majority (albeit very slim) is crafting a transportation bill that could include a major new source of revenue that expands driving capacity.
The move is likely part of TRIP Committee co-chairs Senator Chris Gorsek and Representative Susan McLain’s (both Democrats) attempt to appease Republicans (and perhaps even some Democrats who love freeway megaprojects) whose votes they want to help pass the bill.
Environmental and transportation advocates immediately pounced on the move.
“It’s like Christmas in May for polluters,” said Lindsey Scholten, executive director of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, in a statement published by Move Oregon Forward. “Unfortunately, Democrats in charge are clearly letting Republicans take them for a ride and offering polluters their wish list at the expense of Oregonians.”
The Gorsek and McLain would replace Oregon’s current Climate Protection Program with a “market-based emissions reduction program” and link it to other West Coast markets. In their memo yesterday, the lawmakers made it clear that credits generated from gas and diesel emissions would be dedicated to the state highway fund for “core operations and major projects.” While no numbers were shared, the memo also said “a portion of remaining credits” would be dedicated to a list of other things like: wildfire prevention efforts, local nonprofits working on climate impact programs — and if there’s anything left over — pedestrian safety, transit, and rail projects.
The “cap and pave” program is likely the work of Senator Bruce Starr, who’s one of just a few Republicans working with Democrats to craft the package. Starr is a dedicated advocate for car users and has spent years in the legislature pushing for higher speed limits and more freeway spending. In 2008 Starr opposed a $30 million investment in bike and pedestrian facilities as part of a $1.2 billion expansion of I-5, saying he’d rather spend the money on, “a new interchange in Washington County that allows me to move people safely.”
Democrats released their framework for the $1.9 billion Transportation Reinvestment Package (TRIP) back in April. That framework includes a host of fee and tax increases that would help the Oregon Department of Transportation shore up its budget, pay for freeway megaprojects with massive cost overruns, and invest a relatively paltry sum in programs that fund bicycling, walking, and transit needs statewide.
Advocacy groups are pushing the Democrats to balance the package with much higher investments in transit, rail and projects that improve road safety.
While House and Senate leaders work behind closed doors and have floated a major new policy initiative just weeks prior to the end of the session, their memo promises an actual bill will be “forthcoming,” and that, “A fully transparent and public process will help evaluate and refine the proposals.”
In the meantime, I’ll continue to refresh the House Bill 2025 page on the Oregon Legislative Information System website.
In Council Chambers Wednesday. (Photo: City of Portland)
A sharp exchange about transit, a councilor’s rideshare regret, and a substantial bump for Vision Zero and the transportation budget were among the notable moments from a marathon, 12-hour Portland City Council meeting Wednesday.
The 12 councilors were tasked with approval of an $8.5 billion budget. Using Mayor Keith Wilson’s proposal as a starting point, councilors filed over 120 amendments prior to the meeting. Only about 30 amendments were discussed and/or voted on (I haven’t seen the final list), and there’s more budget action to come on June 11th; but Wednesday’s meeting gave transportation reformers plenty to sink their teeth into.
While a successful bid from Councilor Angelita Morillo to swap $2 million in proposed Portland Police Bureau funding for parks maintenance grabbed most of the headlines, council also passed an increase to rideshare (also called transportation network company, or TNC) user fees that will have a substantial impact to the Portland Bureau of Transportation budget. And Councilor Jamie Dunphy helped Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane make good on her promise to boost spending on the Vision Zero program.
Let’s start with the new rideshare fee.
Zimmerman campaigning at Bike Happy Hour in July 2024. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
People currently pay a 65 cents per ride fee to use a rideshare company like Uber or Lyft in Portland. Eyeing those 8 million annual rides, Mayor Wilson proposed doubling that fee to $1.30, a move that would raise $5.1 million in additional revenue for PBOT. Councilor Steve Novick (with councilors Morillo, Green and Dunphy as sponsors) put forward a motion to raise the fee to $2.00 per ride for an estimated total of $5 million in additional transportation revenue.
Novick said the change was necessary because, “We know the transportation bureau is starved for money…and I think we should use every dollar we can to address our failing streets.” Then Novick shared regret over his role in allowing rideshare companies to operate in Portland at all — when he cast one of the deciding votes during his former council tenure 10 years ago. “I actually now believe that that was a mistake,” Novick shared. “At the time, some environmentalists thought that [Uber and Lyft] would reduce the use of cars… Instead, it just resulted in more cars in the streets and more carbon emissions. And I think as long as they’re out there, then we should use it to raise money for transportation.”
The most vocal opponent of the increased fee was Councilor Eric Zimmerman. He said he’s uncomfortable passing on the higher costs per ride to end-users. Then Zimmerman tried to make the case that Portland needs to maintain cheap access too Uber and Lyft because the state of TriMet is so bad it’s not an option for many people. He said he’s heard of Portland State University students who unenrolled for classes because they planned to take transit to class, only to become uncomfortable due to safety concerns while riding it:
“A number of students were taking Uber and Lyft in, and they didn’t prefer it, but because of the situation on TriMet — which is, as some people in this dais have said, our largest homeless shelter — where dangerous behavior happens every single day, where TriMet has had to hire over 200 safety specialists in order to make the trains and the busses barely palatable… I don’t want to raise taxes on individual Portlanders, particularly when the other alternatives are pretty crappy right now.”
“I don’t know why it’s always the men that are, like, six-feet tall, they’re terrified of being on the bus. It’s really not a big deal.”
Those remarks sparked an immediate response by Councilor Angelita Morillo:
“As the only person here who’s dependent on transit — because I don’t have a car, I don’t have a license, and my mom only knew how to drive a motorcycle, so we never learned how to drive — I don’t know why it’s always the men that are, like, six-feet tall, they’re terrified of being on the bus. It’s really not a big deal. I ride the bus all the time. I’m five-foot-two and 130 pounds, so I think we will all survive it. People love the bus. I see people fall in love on the bus, and the reality is that we need this funding for our budget.”
When it came time to vote, the fee increase passed 8-4, with councilors Olivia Clark, Dan Ryan, and Loretta Smith joining Zimmerman in opposition.
With the rideshare fee increase in the bank, Councilor Jamie Dunphy put his amendment on the table that would use that new revenue to fully fund recent cuts to PBOT’s Vision Zero work. The past two city budgets have axed contributions from the city’s Recreational Cannabis Tax Fund to PBOT to the tune of $677,664 ($400,000 last year and $277,664 this year). The bulk of that money was used to fund Vision Zero-related projects and programs. Dunphy proposed an amendment to use a portion of the new rideshare fee revenue to restore those cuts.
Speaking in favor of the move, Councilor Koyama Lane said, “We need to show Portlanders that we’re serious about this. These are our streets. We have a responsibility to make them safe for everyone. We need to make Vision Zero whole.”
Because Dunphy’s amendment initially sought to decrease General Fund dollars going into PBOT (knowing that new rideshare fees would be available instead), some councilors expressed concern that only Vision Zero would be funded, while “livability” needs like dismantling derelict RVs and other programs wouldn’t get as much funding. So Dunphy split out that part of the amendment and it will be discussed it at their June 11th meeting.
The amendment ultimately passed 8-4, with councilors Ryan, Novick, Zimmerman, and Smith all voting “no”.
Another notable amendment, Councilor Loretta Smith’s attempt at a bond issuance and financing plan for the Sidewalk Improvement and Paving Program (SIPP), failed by a vote of 4-8. Surprisingly, a chief architect of the program, Councilor Mitch Green, voted against it. He said he felt the plan was “premature” and wants to wait for more financial analysis around the cost of the debt.
Council didn’t discuss any of the Mayors proposed parking fee increases.
From here, councilors can still make tweaks to amendments and there will be another bite at the budget apple on June 11th — one week before it must be adopted on June 18th.
A scene from the 2010 ‘Dead Freeways Ride.’ (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
The weather should warm up a bit just in time for the weekend, and it looks like we’ll have lots of sun on Saturday. I hope you’re able to get out on your bike. Check out my list of this weekend’s best rides below…
Saturday, May 24th
La Doyenne – 9:00 am at 9898 SE Knapp St (SE) If you missed the hill-climbing fest of De Ronde, consider its southeast Portland cousin, the “La Doyenne,” organized by the same folks. This is an unsanctioned group ride that will test your climbing ability and your sanity. More info here.
Sorella Forte Cycling Club Group Ride – 9:00 am at River City Bicycles Parking Lot (SE) Join this great group of women, trans, and non-binary cyclists who share a passion for riding their bikes. Expect a 30-mile or so route with a relatively fast pace of 14-19 mph. More info here.
New Trails Day at Rocky Point – 9:00 am at Rocky Point Trails (Scappoose) Join advocates with NW Trail Alliance to celebrate new trails at this great riding area. Novice and advanced groups. Event ends with tailgate party. More info here.
PSU Farmers Market Ride – 10:00 am along Clinton Greenway (SE) Go buy food on your bike and connect with a wonderful community of folks. What could be better than enjoying our beautiful city at a local, outdoor market on a Saturday?! More info here.
Saturdays in May Downtown Edition – 10:00 am at Japanese American Historical Plaza (NW) Get plugged into bike activism with folks from BikeLoud PDX who will lead this ride while sharing insights on different types of bike facilities and what it takes to make our city a better place to ride. Route ends at the Return of the Dragon street festival in Old Town. More info here.
Tina Turner Memorial Ride – 7:30 pm at Colonel Summers Park (SE) Come out and pedal and dance to the tunes of legendary singer Tina Turner, who died three years ago. Ride celebrates the life and music of this iconic, inspiring woman. More info here.
Sunday, May 25th
Portland Freeway History Ride – 1:00 pm at Salmon Street Springs (SW) Portland’s central city has a fascinating freeway history, and this ride will allow you to lean into your archaeological activism to reveal the story of the paved monstrosities that dominate our city today and the ones that were never built and/or removed. 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.
Professional Bicycle Mechanic:
A career mechanic who loves to work on all types of bicycles.
Excellent pay, starting at $25-$35 per hour DOE
Full Time position with 2 weeks paid vacation
About You: 2 years full-time experience (not necessarily all paid, examples: you have volunteered at a non-profit bike shop, or you have been a home mechanic). You know how to build wheels, but if not, then we will teach you. You know a lot about bikes but still enjoy learning something new every day. You are not a know it all and are not afraid to say, “I don’t know, let me find out.” Must not be afraid to look it up or read the instructions! You must be familiar with the parts of a bike (or at least know where to look for info). You must be comfortable wrenching on department store bikes or Campagnolo dream machines as well as everything in between. You must work well with people and not mind if the customer watches you work. You are not introverted. We have an open-air shop and the customers can watch (from 6 feet away). You must be extremely organized, efficient and clean. Must be friendly and a good listener. Must be open to our way of bike repair, but we recognize there are often many ways to the same result.
About our shop: Rat City Bikes is extremely professional, organized and clean shop. We have 3 fully equipped workbenches. We have nearly every tool currently available (and for the last 60-70 years!). If we do not have the tool, we will purchase it or manufacture it! We have a Southbend 9” Lathe. We use a sister fabrication shop for welding and machining beyond what can be done in the shop and work with several paint shops. We specialize in internally geared hubs. We service several per day. You will learn how to service them! We also work on many kids bikes. Our shop is LGBTQ-owned.
Apprentice Bicycle Mechanic
NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! Mechanical aptitude is a must.
Full Time. Year-Round. $18.50 per hour (Higher pay as skills increase.)*
You must be highly motivated, mechanically inclined and career minded.
Apprentice Bicycle Mechanic NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!
Here is your chance to learn from the best mechanics in the region! This is a career position for the right person and even has the possibility of shop ownership when the owner retires in 10-ish years.
You will learn every aspect of bicycle repair and how to build wheels. You must not have an elitist attitude about bicycles, meaning: if you only want to work on the expensive fancy bikes, look elsewhere. You must work well with people and not mind if the customer watches you work (you will understand this better when you see our shop in person). You need to be organized and clean. You are friendly and a good listener. Being out-going is a plus!
You WILL read a lot about bicycle mechanics! Hands on plus reading assignments are the best way to learn.
After your 2 year apprenticeship you will move to Journeyman status with a boost in pay. This is a career position and the candidate will be responsible for their own continuing education** and advancement. The main drive must come from your own desire to learn bike mechanics through study and reading. We have an extensive professional library at the shop for you to select books from. Testing, lots of reading, study and peer review will be included in your regimen. Goals will be set, and when met, higher pay will accompany your advancement. You have been Journeyman Mechanic for 5 years Master Mechanic status will be earned with another boost in pay! Experienced Professional Bicycle Mechanics earn $25 to $35 per hour or more! If you are just looking for a 9-5 job this probably isn’t for you.
Responsibilities will include but are not limited to: interacting with all types of people, general bike repair, housekeeping duties, opening and closing procedures. We expect all employees to be environmental stewards. You should ride your bike to work! You work at a bike shop after all! But you don’t have to, we just encourage it. That is what “should” means! People ask for advice on all sorts of bicycle topics at a bike shop. The best way to know is to ride!
Job requires standing for long periods of time and lifting bicycles. Rat City Bikes is a friendly, safe space for all people.
*First trial week will be at the minimum wage which is currently $15.75 Higher pay will accompany your skill progression. Mechanics that apply themselves can earn $35 per hour! This will be determined by quarterly pay & performance reviews. The faster you advance, the more you get paid!
Must be highly motivated, mechanically inclined and career minded. This will be determined in the first test week.
**You will attend (with pay, of course) periodic bicycle industry events, seminars and courses.
Other Benefits:
Factory training and continuing education
Online training while at work in the slow season (e.g. Shimano S-Tec)
Attend Trade Shows like CABDA
Wholesale prices on parts and accessories for you and gifts for your immediate family.
Shop pays for lunch on Fridays.
We pay real living wages that allow you to purchase your own insurance thru Obamacare.
Email cover letter and resume to aaron@rideyourbike.com
How to Apply
Email cover letter and resume to aaron@rideyourbike.com
Meeting of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee earlier this year.
After months of debates and deliberations, the time has come for our 12 city leaders to vote on a balanced budget. Today, using the Mayor’s proposed budget as a starting point, councilors will take a vote to approve the city budget.
What are the stakes for transportation-related funding? Before I get into the amendments being discussed at Council today, it’s worth knowing a few basics about the starting point:
As I reported earlier this month, the Mayor’s proposed budget helps the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) avoid the worst of the cuts and layoffs they had prepped for. He does this by raising fees on parking, rideshare app users, and leaf pickup fees. Mayor Wilson is also counting on $11 million from Salem when/if state lawmakers to pass a gas tax increase this session.
As we get ready for what is likely to be a 12 hour council meeting today, I thought I’d share a list of the transportation amendments below. I found about 15 amendments from 7 different councilors. Check them out below in alphabetical order (note that a “Budget Note” is more of a policy intention statement that doesn’t have a financial component):
Councilor Olivia Clark (D4)
Develop a “Community Partnership Framework”: Clark wants to invest $160,000 into the Public Works Service Area (one FTE) to create a new program that would empower citizen volunteers to take on programs and services. This could mean a group like SW Trails or Bike Loud PDX could take on a more substantial role in doing things like trail maintenance or bike lane sweeping. This could also become the program that, for instance, helps a group of bike bus leaders secure “Road Closed” signs to create a safer route to school.
Add a budget note to improve SW Trails and address the Red Electric Trail: Clark wants to raise the profile of the 4T Trail (maintained by SW Trails, a nonprofit group) from the OHSU Waterfront campus to Pill Hill. This note directs the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to identify funding required to improve the trail and bring a report outlining their findings to the Transportation and Infrastructure (T & I) Committee by January 1, 2026. Clark also wants PBOT to bring a plan to design and complete a segment of the Red Electric Trail (from Terwilliger Blvd, through a newly acquired part of George Himes Park under Barbur Blvd, then north on low traffic streets to Gibbs St and across the Hooley Bridge, to arrive at the south waterfront) to the T & I Committee by the same date.
Councilor Mitch Green (D4)
Transfer Council Office Funds to FY 2025–26 for District 4 Pedestrian Safety Projects: Green wants $75,000 in one-time General Fund dollars to spend on “selected pedestrian safety projects” in his district.
Councilor Sameer Kanal (D2)
Increase the TNC fees from $2 per ride to $2.21 per ride and swap $1,620,000 in TNC Fees for PBOT General Fund: Kanal is one of several councilors eyeing an increase in fees for rideshare users as a way to backfill the PBOT budget. TNC ride fees are currently 0.65 cents and the Mayor’s proposed budget wants to double that to $1.30. Councilor Angelita Morillo has an amendment to increase that to $2.00 (see below). Kanal would use the additional $1.62 million raised from his increase to bolster PBOT’s General Transportation Revenue (a discretionary source of funding from state gas tax and other fees that is used for basic maintenance and operations).
Add a Budget Note to Study a Package Delivery Fee: Kanal wants the city’s Revenue Division and City Attorney to explore the feasibility of a new fee on last-mile deliveries to fund transportation. Kanal’s fee would exempt prepared food deliveries.
Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane (D3)
Amend the Budget to Restore Funding for Vision Zero: The Mayor’s budget proposed a $277,000 cut to Vision Zero (VZ) work. Koyama Lane’s amendment seeks to boost VZ spending by $500,000. To pay for that she recommends cutting other PBOT programs or using bureau contingency funds.
Amend the Budget to Support Vision Zero Programming: A separate Koyama Lane amendment seeks to move PBOT’s top Vision Zero staffer to the Deputy City Administrator of Public Works’ office. The move is intended to more fully integrate VZ across multiple bureaus and give the issue more power. This would also include an increase of $216,000 from the General Fund to the DCA Public Works office to kickstart VZ efforts.
Vision Zero budget notes: Lane wants to re-affirm VZ by requiring PBOT to more clearly identify funding needs, increase the frequency of reporting, update the VZ Action Plan, and make sure all VZ actions are rooted in PBOt’s Equity Matrix toolkit. A separate budget note calls on PBOT to create a funding and staffing plan to reconvene the VZ Task Force and report back to Council by September 1, 2025.
Councilor Angelita Morillo (D3)
Increase Transportation Network Company (TNC) Fees from the Mayor’s proposal of $1.30 to $2.00: Morillo’s proposal would raise an addition $5 million for PBOT beyond the Mayor’s proposal.
Amend the Budget to Support Critical Traffic Safety Measures in District 3: Morillo wants $800,000 in one-time funding reallocated from the Portland Police Bureau to PBOT in order to complete a safety project on Calle Cesar Chavez from SE Powell to SE Schiller. Morillo’s intention is to improve safety on the stretch of Cesar Chavez where Tuyet Nguyen was hit and killed while walking back in January and where Jeanie Diaz was killed in 2023.
Transfer New Police Funding to Support Traffic Safety Infrastructure: Morillo wants to use $2 million the Mayor had set-aside for the Police Bureau to support PBOT “traffic safety infrastructure.”
Amend the Budget to Transfer New Police Funding to Explore evidence-based, place-based environmental interventions that can be implemented to reduce crime and gun violence in high-risk or hotspot neighborhoods: Morillo is seeking $500,000 from the General Fund to support the Safe Blocks program. Her intention appears to be similar to how former City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty (Morillo’s former boss) used PBOT and Portland Parks interventions to decrease crime and gun violence in Mt. Scott Park in 2022.
Councilor Loretta Smith (D1)
Amend the Budget for Funding for the Sidewalk Improvement and Pavement Program (SIPP): Smith seeks to pass an ordinance that would allocate $200 million for the Sidewalk Improvement and Pavement Program (SIPP) passed earlier this month. The funding would be raised by selling $50 million worth of limited revenue bonds for the next four years. Smith wants the $8 million debt service on these bonds to be paid for by funds the Portland Housing Bureau pays to Multnomah County as part of Joint Office of Homeless Services.
Councilor Eric Zimmerman (D4)
Amend the Budget to Provide $50,000 of one-time General Fund to community trails group for signage repair, replacement, and updates in the SW and NW trail system: Zimmerman wants to help fund repairs and updates in the “SW and NW trail system.” I’m not yet clear on what specific trails he’s talking about, so we’ll have to wait and see how this one shakes out.
That’s it for amendments. Council will deliberate all of these today in what could be a meeting that runs close to midnight. If you want to follow along, check the meeting page with all the documents, and/or watch the livestream on YouTube. The Council will morph into the Budget Committee at 11:45 am.
Keep in mind, today’s vote is to approve the budget. The final budget will be officially adopted on June 18th. Between now and then, they can make only relatively minor adjustments.
I’ll have the budget meeting playing at Bike Happy Hour tonight, so come by Rainbow Road from 3:00 to 6:00 pm if you want to talk about it. If you have any questions about the budget, just ask and I’ll be happy to share what I know (or find out if I don’t). And stay tuned on Thursday for a recap of any transportation-related fireworks.
Faster buses are coming to 82nd Ave, but will it be “some” or “more”? (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Remember back in April when I shared a TriMet survey about transit on 82nd Avenue? The agency has revealed results of that survey, and if you love bus priority lanes, you’re going to want to keep reading…
The specific issue TriMet was curious about had to do with business access to transit — or “BAT” — lanes. TriMet’s survey queried public opinion on three project options: to have some BAT lanes, which would be three miles of transit priority lanes between Clackamas Town Center and NE Killingsworth; more BAT lanes, essentially a continues bus-priority lane the entire seven-mile length of the project; or to widen three intersections to make room for more transit lanes while not reducing lane capacity for car users (LOL).
It’s worth noting that the “some BAT lanes” option would be the cheapest of the three with an estimated price tag of $8.4 million (out of a total project cost estimate of $351 million). Doing BAT lanes the full length of the project would cost twice that amount, and the cost to widen three intersections would be four times that amount.
(Source: TriMet)
After tallying 1,414 surveys responses, despite its extra cost, the “more BAT lanes” option came out on top. 70% of respondents said more BAT lanes would be worth it, compared to 58% who said the same of some BAT lanes. On the flip side, only 21% of respondents wanted TriMet to invest in intersection widening. The results were first shared at a meeting of TriMet’s Community Advisory Committee last week.
Looking closer at the results, even survey takers who identified as drivers want more transit-priority lanes. 67% of drivers chose more BAT lanes — and even a majority (54%) of folks who own and/or manage a business on 82nd Avenue said more transit lanes should be the priority. Overall, this was a clear illustration that many Portlanders want better transit, even if it reduces driving capacity, increases traffic diversion onto other streets nearby, and costs more.
Oregon Walks Executive Director and 82nd Avenue Community Advisory Committee member Zachary Lauritzen is a major proponent of building transit lanes the entire length of the project. “If we can put full transit lanes all up and down 82nd Avenue,” he shared as part of his testimony to the Portland City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Monday. “It slows down vehicles. It enhances people on the bus. It makes the pedestrian and cycling experience better. This is a concrete example where you all need to give political cover to our PBOT leadership and say, ‘We’re going to do this because we care about this. We’re prioritizing this.'”
TriMet hasn’t made a decision about the final design and project scope yet. Like many major infrastructure projects, the Trump Administration has cast a cloud of uncertainty by threatening to suspend funds for anything that’s not a freeway megaproject. Of the project’s current $351 million cost, about $200 million is assumed to come from federal sources.
Yesterday I shared a (hastily written!) recap and video of the big celebration of cycling and Vision Zero at Portland City Hall. But what happened afterward at a meeting of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee was just as important. Advocates lined up and delivered one piece of powerful testimony after another — all as high-profile leaders of the transportation bureau and Public Works Service Area looked on.
I rewatched all the testimony and have pulled out just some of the highlights into the short video above. It features mic-drop worthy remarks from: bicycle advocate extraordinaire Joseph Perez, David Binnig with BikeLoud PDX, Abernethy Elementary School Bike Bus leader Lauren McCune, and Oregon Walks Executive Director Zachary Lauritzen.
Watch their remarks in the video above and read the text below:
Joseph Perez:
Portland City Council has not invested in safer roads, so PBOT has installed signs. I think signs and paint are like thoughts and prayers.
Previous mayor and council required PBOT to cut its budget. Is it any wonder Vision Zero appears to be stalled? It seems antithetical to a Vision Zero commitment if this city council were to tolerate or perpetuate any cuts to PBOT.
David Binnig
A lot of us have served on work groups and task forces and advisory committees — and then seen those recommendations not followed or not funded.
Lauren McCune
We always point to a lack of funding, but no amount of money is sufficient. Our car-centric transportation system has an insatiable demand for more more pavement, more speed, more fuel, more money, more lives.
When our Abernethy bike bus launched in 2022 it had a couple dozen riders. Fast forward to May of 2024 and we had hundreds. There is an incredible latent demand for bike riding, yet the consistent and widespread demand for better bike and transit infrastructure is deprioritized.
Our Vision Zero commitment must be paired with a commitment to reduce vehicle miles traveled. If not, we have to ride faster just to stand still.
So we ask that Portland’s renewed commitment to Vision Zero renews our vision to build a city where driving reflects its true cost to society, so our residents instead walk, bike, roll and take transit. We can’t do this with the status quo, and we can’t do this without each other. We’re ready to ride together.
Zachary Lauritzen:
This resolution won’t change anything. It’ll be actions that change something.
We built a transportation system that is intentionally made so vehicles can go far and fast, and so now we’re asking for the hard work of saying we’re going to change that, and that starts today.
There was a proposed budget to reduce Vision Zero by $277,000 and if we’re serious about this, we don’t cut Vision Zero. We just don’t.
We know why this is happening. We know the interventions that are needed. You have a staff at Pbot, the Vision Zero team that have a well of knowledge. They need the money and they need the political cover to do it.
These actions will make some people mad. Slowing down vehicles will make some people mad. Enforcement will make some people mad. But you’ve got to do it.
And so today is the beginning of a journey. And I hope you have the political courage to pass this, and then be ambassadors to your colleagues and really invest and make a change. This was the hand you were dealt. The question is, how do you play that hand?
Red star marks the spot where a rider slipped on these yellow bumps. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
(Photo: Shane Dixon Kavanaugh)
A Portlander suffered a nasty fall on Monday while biking westbound on the Hawthorne Bridge. Shane Dixon Kavanaugh (yes, that Shane Dixon Kavanaugh) took a trip to the emergency room after his front tire slipped on on a piece of yellow tactile warning bumps and he was flung face first into the guardrail. Thankfully he’ll make a full recovery; but he’s sustained a welt on his head, a black eye, scrapes and bruises on his leg, and his brand new Cannondale was badly damaged.
After learning about Kavanaugh’s crash, I talked to him about how and where it happened and I feel it’s worth sharing this incident more broadly to raise awareness of this to help prevent anyone else from suffering the same fate.
Kavanaugh, a veteran bike commuter, said he was in the bike lane and riding down hill, about 300 feet west of where the bikeway splits and riders can choose to go down to Waterfront Park/Naito Parkway, or continue into downtown to SW 1st/Main. Just before he came to the intersection with SW 1st and navigated a slight bend, his wheel veered onto the yellow strips and down he went. The ground was slightly damp due to recent rain.
At the split. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)Kavanaugh’s front wheel. (Photo: Shane Dixon Kavanaugh)
Multnomah County made several significant design changes to the bikeway at this section of the Hawthorne Bridge viaduct late last year. As I reported at the time, the County raised the bike lane to be at equal level with the sidewalk. To more clearly delineate space used by walkers and bikers, they made the bikeway green and added a wide strip of plastic, tactile warning bumps between the sidewalk and bike lane. In my coverage (both on BikePortland and in an Instagram video), I mentioned the potential for slipping, but didn’t share an outright warning. There was a bit of chatter about this in the comment section, with someone asking out loud: “I wonder how long until someone on a bike slips on the linear tactile?”
The county has used these same yellow warning strips on other parts of the bridge and viaduct, but other sections are either on uphills and/or straight and flat, which might make folks less likely slip on them. Perhaps there could be a yellow caution sign near the split similar to bike-specific warnings near streetcar tracks. Or maybe these type of plastic bumps pose unnecessary risks to bike users on downhills?
The yellow bumps are typically used as aids for people with vision or other disabilities. But in this case, they are being used to separate path users.
Keep all this in mind as you ride on this section of the Hawthorne. And if you’ve experience a fall or bobble here, or know of anyone who has, please let us know so we can get a better sense for how big of an issue this might be.
(Check out the video above for the most important clips from the speeches and one-on-one chats with: Mayor Keith Wilson, city councilors Tiffany Koyama Lane, Olivia Clark, and Loretta Smith, and local bike bus leader Lauren McCune.)
It was a big morning at City Hall for transportation reformers as elected officials and advocates came together in the City Hall atrium to renew Portland’s dedication to being a city where folks on foot and on bikes can not just exist on our streets safely, but feel and spread joy while doing it.
Bike bus advocates waltzed in accompanied by a loud boombox, there were pothole donuts, city staff dressed up in uniforms including a traffic cone, people were making buttons and there were more high-fives than handshakes — it was a vibe I haven’t felt inside City Hall for at least a decade.
It was a three-fer: Bike bus advocates showed up (with a booming loudspeaker) to kick off Bike Bus Week, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson made an official proclamation that this is the start of Bike and Walk to School and Work Week, and City Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane formally proposed her Vision Zero resolution at a City Council meeting that directly followed the morning festivities. The mood was jovial and optimistic. That might be because cycling and bike bus advocates just tend to have that kind of energy, but it also might reflect that the political stakes were not that high. That’s because Koyama Lane’s resolution merely states intentions and forms a task force — it includes no dedicated funding or strong policies that might move the needle on getting more people to walk and bike.
When I put in the form of a question to Councilor and Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair Olivia Clark, she said, “I think you need to watch what happens [at city council] on Wednesday.” Clark said that’s when budget amendments will be discussed. “So just hold on to your bike helmet,” Clark added, which I took as a pretty big clue that there will be funding for Vision Zero up for discussion eventually.
An ebullient Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
I also asked Councilor Koyama Lane to respond to folks who feel her resolution doesn’t go far enough. “I think those feelings are really understandable,” she said. “I think that skepticism makes sense, and we’re going to have to earn trust back.” But she didn’t stop there. Koyama Lane spoke with confidence that she and her team (working directly with advocacy groups and community leaders) are committed to “giving Vision Zero more visibility.” One concrete step she’s taking to achieve this is to put forward a budget amendment this week that will pull an existing Vision Zero program employee out of the Portland Bureau of Transportation and assign them to the Deputy City Administrator’s office.
Later in the council meeting, Koyama Lane said, “I’m ready to spend all my [political] capital on this.”
Koyama Lane has clearly been in contact with Portland’s amazing stable of road safety advocates, many of whom showed up to the event today.
Abernethy Bike Bus leader Lauren McCune.
Lauren McCune is a mom, the leader of the Abernethy Elementary School Bike Bus, and an organizer with Bike Bus PDX. In a moving speech, she talked about how the bike bus has a profound impact on kids and parents in her community. “Bike buses work for one reason,” McCune said. “Because people are awesome. When citizens have the tools and the environment to make better choices, we will make better choices; but our transportation system often pushes people to make choices that are actively harmful to our bodies, our communities, our kids and our planet.”
“If Portland is to walk the walk and once again, be the most livable and green city in the country, then all of us will be the ones leading the way. Now is the time to show up. Now is the time to ride together,” she continued.
After the rally and speeches in the atrium, Councilor Angelita Morillo also mentioned she plans to unveil Vision Zero-related amendments Wednesday. Morillo has three separate amendments that seek to reallocate additional police funding in the Mayor’s proposed budget to PBOT and target specific investments on Cesar E Chavez Blv that would total $800,000. “To me, traffic safety is public safety,” Morillo said, “and that when we talk about transforming our roads and our infrastructure in a way that keeps people safe as they are going about their community, that’s community safety too.”
That position might make for an interesting conversation with Mayor Wilson. In his remarks this morning, he reiterated strong support for biking and walking. Wilson said his administration is “absolutely focused” and that, “It is time for us to double down on making sure that every time you bike and walk to work we ensure that you get home every day to your family safe and well.”
Browse photos from the event below…
Bike Bus PDX brought a crowd and waltzed in with loud music.Stacey Triplett, AARP.High fives!L to R: DCA of Public Works Priya Dhanapal, Councilor Olivia Clark, Councilor Angelita Morillo, PBOT Director Millicent Williams.Councilor Loretta SmithOregon Walks Executive Director Zachary LauritzenPortland Mayor Keith Wilson
Here are the most notable stories that came across my desk in the past week…
Cycling that’s not boring: Promoters of ‘Formula Fixed’ — a new brand of bike racing with fixed gears, no brake levers, and courses in arenas similar to car racing — say their new creation will bring cycling to the mainstream sports world and spur a “cultural movement on wheels”. (Cycling News)
Vision Zero homework: Since it’s a big week for Vision Zero politically here in Portland, it’s a good time to revisit some of the policy and historical underpinnings of the concept. This is a solid overview from an unlikely source. (Asterisk Mag)
Cycleauto: A French company has created a modular cargo bike system that is more akin to pedal a pickup truck than a bicycle. (New Atlas)
Delay for cleaner trucks: The State of Oregon has decided to delay enforcement of a their Clean Truck Rule because of pressure from truck manufacturers. A lawmaker who owns a trucking company said the delay is “common sense.” (The Oregonian)
Toronto’s tricks: Ontario Premier Doug Ford has not let up on his efforts to remove bike lanes. Now the political debate is about forging some sort of compromise where bike lanes are removed on some major arterials, and added in other places. (The Star )🔒
Bikes and traffic: Major bikelash against bike lanes on a bridge in the Bay Area has included a high profile rally with a worker’s union that strongly opposes the bike lanes because they say they cause traffic backups. (San Francisco Chronicle) 🔒
What’s with the bus wraps?!: A transit advocacy group in Denver is trying to pass an ordinance that would ban agencies from covering their vehicles with advertisements, saying it blocks the view of passengers. (Greater Denver Transit)
Better than Amsterdam?: Paris continues its ascension as a top cycling city with a new report that says, based on several key metrics, that it’s a better city for cycling than Amsterdam. Damn! (The Guardian)
Speed enforcement: A new law passed in Washington will require drivers that have been found guilty for driving way too fast to install special devices in their cars that will limit their speed. (The Oregonian)
Washington wins on parking reform: Parking policy plays a major role in how we get around, and advocates say Washington has now passed some of the strongest rules to tame parking lots in the entire country. Here’s an excellent overview of how it happened. (Sightline)
Video of the Week: University of Washington students have created a handlebar-mounted sensor that logs close calls. (UW News)
