A local nonprofit has taken a key step forward in acquiring land along the east side of the Willamette River that would unlock a key section of the North Portland Greenway Trail.
Portland Botanical Gardens says they are close to a deal with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to purchase the McCormick & Baxter Superfund site, a 41-acre parcel that was heavily contaminated after decades of industrial use. A cleanup effort was completed in 2005, which opened the door for new uses of the land. Because it’s a Superfund site, Portland Botanical Gardens has to go through a federal process in order to complete the acquisition. That process can now begin since both parties have negotiated a draft Prospective Purchaser Agreement (PPA).
If all goes according to plan, Portland Botanical Garden says they’ll create a “botanical garden by the river.” Here’s more about what they’d like to do with the site:
“The nonprofit plans to develop research and education focused botanical gardens on a portion of the property, as well as a public greenspace along the waterfront that will include a new segment of the Willamette River Greenway trail, interpretive native plant gardens, open gathering space, and access to the river.”
(Graphic: BikePortland)
This news comes just a month after Metro revealed draft designs of future paths and a park at the Willamette Cove site, which is directly north of McCormick & Baxter. Both sites have stated an intention to complete sections of the long-awaited NP Greenway, a 10-mile path envisioned to continue the Eastbank Esplanade all the way to Kelley Point Park. The path would connect to an already-built section directly south of the McCormick & Baxter site that was completed by the University of Portland in 2024.
The DEQ has opened a 60-day formal comment period to solicit public feedback on the partnership with Portland Botanical Garden. Three virtual meetings will be held through January. You can find details on each of those meetings on the DEQ website. Once the comment period closes, the Portland Botanical Garden will have up to one year to seal the deal on the property and sign a formal purchase agreement. Their effort must meet specific fundraising, site design, and public outreach requirements in order for the deal to go through.
Riders at the Steel Bridge gate. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
According to multiple emails I’ve received in recent days, we’ve got another Steel Bridge bike path closure problem. This 113-year-old bridge has a history of problems that result in a gate swinging shut and closing access to the lower deck — a lower deck that just happens to be a vital link in our transportation system.
This morning, BikePortland reader Scott reported that the path had been closed since at least Saturday morning. And reader Alex wrote into say he couldn’t find any information about the closure. “No signs or warnings and the alternate route and the alternative over the top deck is not safe or fair to the pedestrians,” Alex added. And a reader named Brianna shared that the blinking warning lights on Naito did not indicate a gate closure, but she’s noticed it closed since Monday. Folks on Reddit are also wondering what’s going on.
I heard from someone named Jessica this morning that they found the gate closed on their way home from work at 11:00 pm last night, then tried the nearby Broadway Bridge, only to find it closed as well (due to a Multnomah County project).
I don’t have any new information to share (I’ll update this post when I hear back from PBOT), but I do know this path is notorious for closures due to technical difficulties.
Last summer the path was closed for over a week due to what PBOT said was a camera malfunction. Bridge operators use cameras to detect whether or not it’s safe to close the path for passing ships, and when the cameras are on the fritz, they keep the path closed by default for safety reasons. BikePortland reported on another prolonged closure due to the camera issue in 2013.
Of course there are other bridges folks can take across the Willamette as an alternate, but they’re not as convenient for many folks. There’s also the upper deck or the sidewalk adjacent to it. But both of those options come with pitfalls: the upper deck is a shared-lane environment that could be stressful for more riders and the sidewalk is very narrow and is often used by pedestrians.
For now, stay tuned for an update from PBOT and keep me posted about what you see out there.
UPDATE, 11:02 am: I just noticed that PBOT posted something on Facebook yesterday that it is indeed a “camera issue” that has caused the closure. They provided no date for re-opening.
(Background photo: Highway 43 where Rutilo Jorge was hit and killed on November 11th. Inset photo: A portrait of Jorge from a family friend.)
According to a family friend, 68-year-old Rutilo Jorge was a hard-working man who held down two jobs in order to send money home to his family in Mexico. He was in between shifts as a roofer and a gas station attendee when, around 5:30 pm on November 11th, he hopped on his bike to pedal southbound on Highway 43.
As he rode past a section of the high-speed highway with barely an inch of navigable shoulder, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office says he hit a rock and was then hit from behind by the driver of an SUV. Jorge died in the street that night. He left behind a wife and two daughters — one of whom is 20 years old and works at Clackamas Town Center.
After a memorial service on Sunday, November 23rd, Jorge’s friends and family arranged for his remains to be transported home to Mexico on the day before Thanksgiving so he could be with his wife and other daughter who still live there.
Meanwhile, the dangerous conditions that led to Jorge’s death remain. And given the lack of alternate routes, riders continue to pedal past the same rocky, debris-filled, deadly shoulder.
Nine days after Jorge was hit, staffers from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) began a review of the crash as part of a relatively new program called the Vulnerable User Crash Response (VCR). Launched in Oregon in January 2024, the program is based on a law passed by the Biden Administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021.
According to the law, in states where vulnerable road users make up 15% or more of annual traffic fatalities, that state must spend at least 15% of their highway safety funds on projects that specifically address the safety of vulnerable users. Unfortunately, Oregon surpasses that threshold. According to ODOT data, non-drivers account for more than one out of every five deaths on state-owned roads. Using safety funds set-aside from the 2017 transportation package, the State of Oregon has funded ODOT’s VCR program to the tune of $10.6 million for the four years between 2024 – 2027.
Chart from ODOT Vulnerable User Crash Response Program Annual Report, April 2025.
ODOT says their VCR Team is made up of a, “statewide group of technical experts” who will review the crash and determine if any improvements to the roadway are possible. While the team will note the need for larger-scale and longer-term fixes, the VCR program specializes in smaller solutions. “These quick-fixes are small in scale but can be big in impact,” ODOT Region 1 Active Transportation Liaison Kerrie Franey wrote in an email forwarded to BikePortland. “Some examples include illumination, signing or striping, speed feedback signs, or an enhanced crossing.”
David House with ODOT public affairs, says the location where Jorge was hit and killed could qualify for a larger project that would improve safety for bicycle riders. In an email to BikePortland on November 20th, House wrote that ODOT’s Active Transportation Needs Inventory (ATNI) ranks this section of OR-43 (between the Sellwood Bridge and Lake Oswego) in the Top 10% for prioritization across the entire state. And according to ODOT’s Vulnerable Road User Assessment Score (accessible on ODOT’s TransGIS website), this spot on Highway 43 is ranked as “High Risk.”
That risk exists in large part because of the lack of safe shoulder space. When I asked House about sweeping the shoulder, he said ODOT gets to that section of Highway 43 every six to eight weeks and that his records show it was last swept on November 17th.
“When I asked about cleanup plans, the maintenance manager noted that this area does not have much shoulder, and the asphalt does not go all the way to the rock wall,” House shared in a subsequent email. That confirmed one of my concerns: The debris I stood in while making my video and that Jorge tried to avoid prior to being hit, is a natural feature that can’t be simply swept away.
It will take much more than traditional sweeping to improve safety on this shoulder. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
“I understand,” I replied to House. “But it begs the question: Since there’s not much of a shoulder, how are bicycle riders supposed to safely navigate this area? And would maintenance consider doing more aggressive sweeping to push back the rocks and sticks and dirt so at least there’s more room even if it’s unpaved? And longer term, would ODOT consider the idea of building a retaining wall and paving the shoulder to give users more shoulder space?”
“There isn’t much space for a shoulder in some sections of [Highway] 43,” House replied.
I’m not satisfied with that answer, but for now House and I agreed to let the VCR team complete their investigation before we discuss the issue any further. Earlier today House said he expects that work to take about 4-6 weeks, so I’ll touch base with him again in early January.
Another part of ODOT’s investigation is likely to include considerations of recommendations made in previous planning efforts that looked at building a bike lane on the highway or creating a parallel route. In 2010, Metro commissioned the Lake Oswego to Portland Trail plan. That plan examined the feasibility of a two-way bike lane on the east side of the highway that would be separated from traffic by a large, concrete barrier. I’ll take a closer look at that plan and share more about the history — and potential future — of this corridor in a separate post.
If you travel across the infamous railroad crossings in Southeast Portland where long delays are the norm, you’ve got to know about an app called TrainSnap. I heard about it recently and it works well.
You know the spot I’m talking about — where SE 11th and 12th cross four sets of rail tracks just south of Ladd’s Addition. The problem tracks are the two heavy freight rail lines that come out of nearby Brooklyn Yard. Because of outdated switching hardware, trains are known to sit and block busy cross-streets for up to an hour. The problem is so acute that the City of Portland applied for and received a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to study the problem.
TrainSnap (available for iOS and Android) users a way to receive real-time alerts so you can reroute. The app is free and is easy to set up and use. You can even turn on notifications for the crossings you make most. The app will tell you if a specific crossing is open or blocked and how long it’s been closed.
And I hope the app developer doesn’t take this the wrong way, but I hope this app is useless in the near future! Hopes were high in 2023 when the City of Portland received the $500,000 FRA grant to study the problem and make recommendations. But here we are at the end of 2025 and it appears the grant is still not signed.
The last official news I heard about the grant was at the September 4th Portland Freight Advisory Committee meeting where the Portland Bureau of Transportation staffer in charge of the issue said they were still waiting to get the contract with FRA signed following a review from the city’s legal team. (A different PBOT staffer also said the city was in final stages of signing that as far back as February, so there’s clearly something amiss.)
Once the grant agreement is signed, PBOT will begin an 18-month planning effort. So it would likely be 2027 before we even have recommendations on how to tackle this problem — about a decade after the issue first made headlines. So for now, get the app!
Visit TrainSnap.us for more information and downloads.
Students in a bike bus in Northeast Portland. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Local nonprofits wanting to provide electric bikes to their communities won big in the latest round of Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) grants announced last week. A total of $64.4 million was awarded through the PCEF Community Grants program. Among the 60 grants, 12 of them totaling just over $8 million were in the Transportation Decarbonization category. Funds from five of the grants will be used to purchase e-bikes. A project to strengthen local bike buses won the other award.
Organizations who won bike-related grants include: Bike Bus PDX, The Street Trust, Community Cycling Center, Ethiopian and Eritrean Cultural and Resource Center, P:ear, and Oregon Health and Science University.
PCEF is powered by a 1% “clean energy surcharge” on the retail sales of large retailers in Portland. Businesses with $1 billion in national sales and $500,000 or more in local retail sales pay into the fund. It was passed by Portland voters in November 2018.
This is the fourth round of PCEF Community Grants, which are managed by the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS). On their website, BPS says, “The approved projects offer PCEF priority communities healthier homes, lower utility bills, job training and living-wage opportunities, better access to fresh food, and stronger community connections. The estimated lifetime reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for projects (not including regenerative agriculture) is estimated to be roughly 76,204 metric tons CO2e.”
Below is a list of grant winners with project summaries taken from the BPS report:
Community Cycling Center: Cycling Basics for Priority Populations Amount awarded: $459,826 – Length of grant: 3 years
This project seeks to support the empowerment of new cyclists from PCEF priority populations by leveraging strong community engagement skills to provide positive initial on-bike experiences that will inspire people to take the next step. The proposal strives to impact up to 1,424 participants, including 386 adults and 1,038 youth from PCEF priority populations. Key milestones include hiring two seasonal Bike Camp instructors, facilitating summer youth Bike Camps, Learn to Ride Clinics, group bike rides in partnership at no cost to participants, and distributing 120 bikes with accompanying accessories to Bike Camp participants. Major goals include getting new bicyclists on the streets while ensuring meaningful engagement for priority populations with little to no prior connection to cycling.
Ethiopian and Eritrean Cultural and Resource Center: Eco-Transport Access & Education Project Amount awarded: $658,145 – Length of grant: 4 years
This project aims to implement a green transportation access and education initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and advance environmental equity for PCEF priority populations by distributing 100 e-bikes, providing education on clean transportation for more than 200 residents, and more. Key milestones include distributing 100 electric bikes, providing bike safety and maintenance workshops, delivering education on green transportation in multiple languages, and promoting awareness of electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure. Major project goals include achieving an estimated $65,000 to $100,000 in total annual savings for the 100 e-bike users, lowering transportation-related emissions, and building long-term climate resilience through targeted community engagement.
P:ear: Empowering Sustainable Mobility: Expanding E-Bike Access and Infrastructure in East Portland Amount awarded: $1,837,403 – Length of grant: 5 years
The project aims to deliver a comprehensive, community-centered approach to transportation decarbonization, including a retrofit of the grantee’s shop for e-bike maintenance. Key milestones include acquiring specialized tools, hiring a dedicated mechanic, expanding the Pedal It Forward slidingscale repair program, deploying a fleet of e-bikes for hands-on education, purchasing an electric cargo van, providing mobile repair services in PCEF priority population neighborhoods, hosting 9 multilingual e-bike education courses, offering 4 bike camp and pop-up maintenance events, and holding 7 learn-toride and community bike rides. The major goals include reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, improving air quality, and expanding affordable, low-carbon mobility options for East Portland residents from priority populations by combining infrastructure upgrades, mobile maintenance, and robust community outreach.
The Street Trust: Ride 2 Own Ebikes for East Portland Disadvantaged Youth Amount awarded: $253,743 – Length of grant: 1 year
The project seeks to expand the grantee’s Ride2Own e-bike ownership program to provide 25 youth from the Parkrose community, ages 14 and up, with free Class 1 e-bikes, safety gear, and training. The project also proposes a collaboration with Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center, which will collect data on greenhouse gas reductions, mode shifts, and economic benefits for youth who might otherwise become auto-dependent adults. Key milestones include providing participants with training on bike handling, safety, and maintenance; offering opportunities to take part in community rides and peer-to-peer engagement; delivering 25 youth free e-bikes along with safety gear, maintenance, and education to support independent, low-carbon mobility. The major goals include building transportation confidence, reducing car dependency, and improving access to school, work, and community for youth from PCEF priority populations.
Bike Bus PDX: Expanding and Evaluating Bike Buses Amount awarded: $895,000 – Length of grant: 5 years
The project aims to support bike bus programs at several schools, engaging nearly thousands of students. As part of the proposed project, Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center (PSU TREC) will conduct assessments to measure the impact of bike buses on transportation habits and carry out a longitudinal study following first graders to track their travel behavior beyond elementary school. Key milestones include developing a ‘Bike Bus Toolkit’ to help establish new bike buses, hosting bike fairs to distribute hundreds of bikes, promoting the benefits of bike buses and active transportation, and hiring “Bike Bus Cluster Coordinators” and “Bike Bus Champions” to support education, outreach, and promotion efforts. The major goal of the project is to replace more than half a million miles in car trips to school.
Oregon Health and Science University: E-bike Loaner Program Expansion Amount awarded: $662,563 – Length of grant: 5 years
This project aims to expand OHSU’s e-bike loaner program to encourage more employees to commute by bike rather than by car, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving personal and community health. The program will add 50 new e-bikes to the fleet, hire a part-time coordinator, and enhance outreach and education to increase participation across diverse employee groups. Key milestones include purchasing and outfitting new e-bikes, scheduling educational workshops in partnership with local bike organizations, and launching participant recruitment and data tracking to assess program outcomes. The project will also refine auditing tools to measure participation among PCEF priority populations and document environmental impact. Major goals include promoting long-term behavior change, improving access to sustainable transportation, and supporting a healthier, more accessible campus community.
In a statement from BPS, PCEF Program Manager Sam Baraso said, “Together, these community-led projects demonstrate the power of collective action to advance the City’s climate goals while creating lasting benefits for Portland’s communities.”
Flyers posted outside the home of Grey Wolfe. (Courtesy Lois Leveen)
The Portland Police Bureau has released more information about the fatal crash that happened over the holiday. They say a person was driving a compact car southbound on Southeast Cesar E Chavez Boulevard prior to striking the woman who was walking. As I reported the day before Thanksgiving, the woman was hit and killed somewhere near the intersection of of Cesar Chavez and SE Harrison.
We now know the victim was 87-year-old Grey Wolfe, a revered Portlander who was known by many in our community as a mental health counselor. On her business website, Wolfe said she spent the last 25 years of her life in that practice. Before that she was a school teacher in Baltimore and she was also a restauranteur who co-owned, cooked, and baked at two Portland restaurants — Genoa and Bread and Ink. She also raised three children.
One of her children posted about the tragedy on Bluesky on Friday. “My one-and-only mother was hit & killed by a car on Wednesday,” someone with the username “Ursula” shared. “I am all the adjectives you can imagine: shattered, devastated, bereft. And no hour has passed in the last 48 where I have not felt unbelievably lucky, overwhelmed with gratitude for all the time I got to be her daughter.”
Below is an excerpt from Wolfe’s obituary:
Grey Wolfe died in the early hours of the morning on November 26, 2025. She was returning home from her daily walk to Mt. Tabor in southeast Portland, Oregon, when she was hit by a car. She was 87 years old.
For the last four decades, Grey was a therapist, working with individuals and couples. Grey’s practice was at the center of her life. To her, the meaning of life was meaningful relationships – with her family, friends, and clients.
Grey’s previous careers included co-owning and cooking at Portland restaurants (the Genoa and Bread and Ink Café) and teaching middle and high school social studies in Baltimore.
In 2012 Grey lost her beloved partner, Howard Waskow. Grey’s family includes her children Ben, Morgan, Ursula, Dan, Saul, Ilan and their partners Tim, Joel, Lizzie, and Meg; and eight grandchildren, Will and his partner Kimmy, Milo, Blaire, Jack, Aaron, Emily, Maya, and Harper. Donations in Grey’s memory may be made to Northwest Abortion Access Fund https://nwaafund.org/donate.
Wolfe’s death should send a message to city leaders: it’s long overdue for traffic to be calmed on Calle Cesar Chavez. Portland has lost too many people because of its car-centric design and tragedies like this will continue until people are forced to drive more slowly.
The beginning of a new month is a good time to check the BikePortland Advocacy Calendar. Make sure to bookmark it and check back because I am always finding new events to list. If you forgot, I use this calendar for all the wonky government and advocacy meetings that you don’t see listed on the Shift Calendar (or anywhere else!).
Now let’s get you caught up on the most notable stories I came across in the past seven days. Thanks to everyone who suggested links this week.
Moral panic: About a dozen of you sent me this unfortunate article that fails to provide a clear distinction between illegal and dangerous e-motos and e-bikes while using a tragic crash to pull readers in. It’s just the latest article that carelessly blurs the line between e-motos and e-bikes and will likely result in bad laws and policies that hurt kids, scare parents, and tilt scales even further toward a car-based society. (NY Times Magazine 🔒)
E-bike/e-moto regulation: On a similar note to the item above, this piece offers a good summary of where e-bike and e-moto regulations are across the U.S. (Daily Kos)
More housing = better cycling: Turns out that ideas like inclusionary zoning actually work when they are funded like they should be. Portland’s program is finally bearing fruit after a boosted budget enticed developers to build bigger. (Sightline)
Concern trolling: Republicans in the U.S. Senate claim advanced safety features in cars should not be mandated and they cite affordability as the reason. Wonder if it has anything to do with the automobile lobby? (Wall St. Journal 🔒)
Group ride guide: Looking for comprehensive information about how to lead and participate in a quality group bike ride? Look no further that this Seattleite’s blog. (Jeremy Cole Blog)
Bike bus cover story: A local independent weekly takes a deep dive into the work of Sam “Coach” Balto and ponders the staying-power of the bike bus movement he helped spark. (Willamette Week)
How we ride: New research on bicycle trips goes beyond the work commute and takes into account how bicycle riders react to everyday journeys like running errands with multiple destinations. (Tech Xplore)
Bike for your brain: A study showed that, “even just 12 weeks of cycling can sharpen your brain, improve your focus, and enhance how well you manage distractions and control impulses.” (The Manual)
Keep riding: A wonderful opinion piece from an older woman who shares what it’s like when people assume she can’t do things (like ride with no hands) and why doing them makes her feel so good. (Boston Globe 🔒)
Keep riding, part two: As it gets colder here in Portland, remember that there’s no reason to stop riding just because it’s winter. This article from a place where snow is common offers good advice and inspiration. (Vermont Biz)
Portland Police say someone was hit by a car driver and killed while walking in the Richmond Neighborhood this morning.
According to the police statement, it happened around 5:30 am at the intersection of SE Cesar Chavez and SE Harrison. Here’s more from the statement: “When they arrived, they found a crash involving a vehicle and a pedestrian. Portland Fire & Rescue confirmed that the pedestrian died at the scene. The involved driver remained at the scene.”
SE Harrison is just one block north of a popular neighborhood greenway bike route on SE Lincoln. Calle Cesar Chavez is a high-volume arterial with a 30 mph speed limit, four general travel lanes and a notorious history of fatal crashes. Back in January, another car user hit and killed Tuyet Nguyen as she walked near Cesar Chavez and SE Cora — a location with a very similar profile as this morning’s fatal. One week after Nguyen’s death, a driver was given a citation for failing to stop for a pedestrian a mile north of SE Harrison near Laurelhurst Park. In 2023, a driver struck and killed Jeanie Diaz as she waited at a bus stop at Cesar Chavez and SE Belmont. And in 2021, Austin Boyd was killed by a driver as he walked near Chavez and SE Clinton.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation has said they are working on a project that would update Cesar Chavez with a safer lane configuration between Powell and Holgate. At a Richmond Neighborhood Association meeting following the tragic death of Jeanie Diaz, PBOT Traffic Engineer Wendy Cawley told attendees PBOT would consider striping Cesar Chavez with fewer lanes for driving. While a PBOT spokesperson told BikePortland back in February that a project page was imminent, I don’t see that page published yet and I’m not aware of any updates.
Police haven’t released details of this morning’s fatal crash. I’ll share more once I learn more. This is the 37th fatal traffic crash in Portland so far this year, and the 14th that involved a pedestrian.
UPDATE, 11:28 at 2:05 pm: Police have identified the victim as 87-year-old Grey Wolfe of Portland.
The burgers at Migration from Pápa’s Frita are sooo good. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Just a quick note about tomorrow: Yes, I will be hosting Bike Happy Hour. And everyone is welcome to join us for a special friendsgiving. My mom and stepdad will join us too!
Migration Brewing and their food partner Pápa’s Frita will be serving up a special meal that comes with a burger, side, and a drink for $20. We’ll all order and try to eat together around 5:30. If you have anything to share for centerpieces, that’d be nice. I’ll bring some candles and lap blankets to keep us cozy.
That’s tomorrow, Wednesday, November 26th from 3-6:00 pm (eat at 5:30) at Migration Brewing on N Williams Avenue. Enter from the alleyway between N Failing and Shaver. I look forward to seeing you!
A Rad Power bike on N Williams Avenue in September. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Seattle-based e-bike company Rad Power Bikes is the subject of a serious warning issued Monday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Rad Power has issued their own statement that “strongly disagrees” with the government statement. Rad Power is one of the largest e-bike brands in North America with thousands of customers in the Portland region. Note this is a warning and not a recall. The CPSC says they tried to perform a recall, but Rad Power has “refused to agree to an acceptable recall.”
In a press release, the CPSC said people who own certain models of Rad Power batteries should, “immediately” stop using them, “because the batteries pose a risk of serious injury and death.” The specific battery model numbers are; RP-1304 and HL-RP-S1304.
Here’s more from the CPSC:
“The hazardous batteries can unexpectedly ignite and explode, posing a fire hazard to consumers, especially when the battery or the harness has been exposed to water and debris. CPSC is aware of 31 reports of fire, including 12 reports of property damage totaling approximately $734,500. Some of these incidents occurred when the battery was not charging, the product was not in use, and the product was in storage.
The batteries were sold with the following Rad Power Bikes e-bike models and as replacement batteries: RadWagon 4, RadCity HS 4, RadRover High Step 5, RadCity Step Thru 3, RadRover Step Thru 1, RadRunner 2, RadRunner 1, RadRunner Plus, and RadExpand 5. The battery model number (HL-RP-S1304 or RP-1304) is printed on a label on the back or rear of the battery. The batteries were sold on RadPowerBikes.com and at Best Buy stores and independent bike shops nationwide for about $550 (replacement batteries) or between $1,500 and $2,000 (when sold with e-bikes).”
(Images: CPSC warning notice)
The CPSC says if you have one of these batteries you should remove it from the bike and dispose of the battery in accordance with local hazardous waste procedures. The CPSC says Rad Power has refused to agree to acceptable recall mitigations and that “given its financial situation, Rad Power Bikes… is unable to offer replacement batteries or refunds to all consumers.” Just two weeks ago, news reports detailed that Rad Power could be forced to shut down in January if they were unable to secure new funding and ownership. Read the full CPSC recall notice here.
In response to the warning, Rad Power says they stand behind their batteries and, “strongly disagrees with the CPSC’s characterization of certain Rad batteries as defective or unsafe.” “Reputable, independent third-party labs tested Rad’s batteries, both as part of our typical product testing and again during the CPSC investigation,” the statement continues, “and confirmed compliance with the highest industry standards. Our understanding is that the CPSC does not dispute the conclusions of these tests. It is also our understanding that the battery itself was not independently examined per industry-accepted test standards.”
Rad Power claims that the CPSC has taken battery issues out of context. “The incident rate associated with the batteries in the CPSC’s notice is a fraction of one percent,” Rad Power says. The company goes on to explain that e-bike batteries post inherent risks when not stored or used properly. Read Rad Power’s full statement, here.
Risks of e-bike battery explosions and fires have simmering in the bike industry for years — but nearly all publicized cases have happened to lower-priced batteries from unregulated manufacturers. Even so, I know of at least one local e-bike shop that has very meticulous battery storage methods, including a fireproof metal locker placed outside their retail building.
Asked for battery safety advice, The eBike Store shared the tips below:
Look for UL approval.
Only charge battery when it’s at room temp.
Don’t charge unattended.
Don’t leave battery plugged into charger indefinitely.
Try to keep between 20-80% charge when possible.
Don’t drop it.
Don’t use an aftermarket or unapproved charger.
After a crash or drop, let the battery sit for seven days in a non-flammable area.
Portland’s grassroots response to the challenging problem of leaves in bike lanes continues to evolve. At a virtual meeting hosted by a local bike advocacy group tomorrow, folks will come together to brainstorm new ways to scale up the effort.
BikeLoud PDX is organizing the meeting and it comes after years of testing ways of empowering local cyclists to pick up leaves, gravel, and other debris themselves. While the City of Portland has improved their response to the annual slippery mess in recent years by purchasing smaller sweepers and investing in the staff to operate them, there are simply too many leaves for city workers to clean up. And the annual Leaf Day Pickup program has made the problem even more acute as hundreds of property owners intentionally blow and rake leaves into bike lanes in advance of pickup by city crews (despite education efforts by the transportation bureau).
To combat the problem, Portlanders have begun sweeping lanes themselves — and the technology and ingenuity have advanced considerably in the past few years. In 2018 BikePortland shared one local man’s invention that attached several swiveling brooms onto a bike trailer. It was a valiant prototype, but something with more sweeping power was needed.
Then in 2022 I highlighted an invention from Californian Pierre Lermant. He’d just completed a working prototype of his Bike Lane Sweeper product and he reached out to BikePortland to see if any local groups wanted to test one out. BikeLoud answered the call.
Fast forward three years and BikeLoud has worked closely with Lermant (and his partner Cedric Everleigh) to help push the design of the Bike Lane Sweeper forward. BikeLoud also loans out the sweeper and maintains an active online communication platform where volunteers coordinate locations and other details. Other local sweeping technology has evolved as well.
One year ago I introduced you to Michael Reiss, a BikeLoud volunteer who embraced the challenge and has been working on various sweeper prototypes of his own ever since. Reiss maintains a website for BikeLoud’s sweeping program that includes specifications of all the sweeping contraptions he’s built, a how-to guide for using the Bike Lane Sweeper, and a map where he marks off routes that have been swept.
With years of testing and use under their belts, BikeLoud and their amazing volunteers are confident the sweepers work. They also know there’s demand for them all over the city. All that’s missing are more volunteers and a sustainable budget to keep the wheels turning.
Tomorrow (Tuesday, November 25th), BikeLoud is hosting their first meeting, “to discuss a sweeper budget and ideas for increasing sweeping efficiency.” The goal is to inspire more folks to create sweeping devices of their own and/or to buy more bike lane sweepers.
This is an exciting niche in the bike advocacy world that’s really poised for growth. If you’re intrigued, attend tomorrow’s Sweeper Zoom, join BikeLoud’s Slack channel and/or stay tuned to BikePortland for updates.
He’s done it again. First he convinced global pop icon Justin Timberlake to ride in the Alameda Elementary School Bike Bus, then it was singer-songwriter Benson Boone. And now Portlander Sam “Coach” Balto is enjoying another mainstream culture collab with Netflix and their hit show Stranger Things.
It’s all part of Netflix’s big promotional push in advance of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things which debuts November 26th. Balto was sworn to secrecy about the exciting collab, but I was able to talk with him about it over the weekend.
Stranger Things and the bike bus are a natural fit, Balto said, because of how the show taps into the 1980s era when more kids rode bikes freely through neighborhoods:
“All of their adventures start and happen on bikes. And so bikes are a big part of the show. There’s this sense of adventure and independence and opportunity and autonomous children just being able to go and meet up with their friends.”
“Something has happened between the 80s and now, and the bike bus movement is really working on reconnecting those foundational, really core moments that are created with bikes and with your friends. And so it was just really amazing that the Stranger Things Netflix group saw that connection as well and really wanted to bring the bike bus in to promote the final season of Stranger Things…. they’re going all-in on the bike adventure.”
Watch the video above or on our YouTube channel to learn all about the collab, how the bike bus movement has “captured the cultural zeitgeist” and more.
