Please nominate comments by replying with “comment of the week” or “COTW” so I can easily search for them. Thank you.
This week’s most notable comment has stood the test of time.
When Shawn Granton mentioned a BikePortland comment during our interview last week, I was amazed that he remembered something written 17 years ago. Yes, Shawn never forgot that time in 2008 when something as innocuous as a post about his annual Palm Tree Ride elicited a critical comment.
Back then, Portlander Jim Labbe (an urban conservationist who’s worked with Bird Alliance of Oregon (formerly Portland Audubon) wasn’t thrilled to see palm trees portrayed in such a positive light because, “They distort our sense of place in the Pacific Northwest, are a surrender to climate change, and are really shotty at reducing stormwater run-off!”
When Jim tapped back into the comment section over the weekend, he sang a different tune. Below is our latest Comment of the Week:
When Shawn’s now classic Palm Tree ride first started, I may have been among the poo-pooers, although not because of any association with the great State California, the source of many a great Portland transplant. My particular gripe was that palms are a poor substitute to most botanical trees in terms managing urban stormwater run-off and certainly less beneficial than historic/indigenous/endemic tree species in supporting the region’s historic/indigenous/endemic biodiversity. So while I think cities would be served by better adapting themselves to their regional environments, they are also international multi-cultural hubs and Shawn has made a strong case that Portland’s palms should be part of that unique Portland esthetic and deserve a little (more) love.
I picked this comment because I love how Jim’s original comment in 2008 stayed with Shawn all these years — and that the two had another exchange 17 years later to resolve the friction. I also appreciate how Jim owned up to his previous comment and shared not just how he changed, but why. This back-and-forth says so much about Portland, our bike scene, and about the BikePortland comment section. Thanks Shawn and Jim!
Remember to reply with “comment of the week” or “COTW” to nominate a comment.