By Alyssa Koomas, MPH, a lifelong cyclist and parent of two young PPS students.
I help lead the bike bus for our neighborhood school and it is pure joy. It’s energizing to see kids on their bikes, empowered to take over the street, ringing their bells and bouncing to music as they roll into school. And yet it took me years to let my own kids ride independently, because what every parent fears happened to us.
Three years ago, our preschooler was run over by someone driving an SUV while biking with my husband on a neighborhood greenway. The driver tried to pass, my son wobbled, clipped the side of the car, and was pulled underneath before the vehicle could stop. He was rushed to the hospital where he stayed for five awful days. His pelvis and ankle were fractured, his legs badly scarred, but he survived and slowly healed. That felt like the greatest gift of our lives.
For a long time afterward I carried crushing guilt and fear. How could we have let this happen? Through my insurance representative I heard that the driver was “outraged” we let a child ride on the street. Part of me felt the same. Weren’t we supposed to protect him? We wanted our kids to learn to bike because we know it builds confidence and independence, but that day on the greenway had the exact opposite effect. Why did we think it was safe?
The truth came only after listening to other families who had lost children to traffic violence. The problem isn’t that we “allowed” our son to ride. The problem is that our streets are still designed with cars first and everyone else second. Walking or biking should not mean gambling with our lives. Children, walkers, and riders of every age deserve to take up space on our streets and to be protected while doing so.
Portland has the foundation for this. Our network of neighborhood greenways is supposed to give priority to people walking, biking, and rolling — often linking schools, libraries, and parks. On paper they sound perfect for families. In reality they feel like any other side street, filled with cut-through drivers using them to save a minute or two. The lack of stop signs even encourages drivers to choose them. My husband assumed a greenway would be safer for our kids. It wasn’t. I can’t really call what happened to my son an “accident,” because it’s actually just what you’d expect when you only have the perception of safety.
“When 50 kids ride together, families feel brave enough to join. Yet on the days without a bike bus those same families disappear, because greenways alone don’t feel safe enough.”
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Actual protection requires infrastructure that prevents cut-through driving altogether. Diverters and modal filters are cheap, proven tools that reduce traffic to only local residents. If neighborhood greenways are to live up to their promise, they must be places where fewer than 500 cars a day are allowed. These streets cannot be marketed as safe while they remain a convenient bypass for drivers. Bike buses show us the power of safety in numbers. When 50 kids ride together, families feel brave enough to join. Yet on the days without a bike bus those same families disappear, because greenways alone don’t feel safe enough.
Today, after years of effort, my son is a confident rider. But I still insist he stays to my right during the bike bus. I dream of the day when I no longer need to anxiously hover, because the greenways truly belong to those they are meant to serve. A day when he can ride off with the pack, joyful and carefree, the way every child deserves.
Memory of the Bike Summer Kickoff Ride on June 1, 2025. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Happy Friday everyone. Here are my picks for the best things to do for bike lovers this weekend…
Saturday, September 6th
Harvest Cyclocross Race/Het Meer – All day at Vancouver Lake (Vancouver, WA) It’s the big kickoff to the local cyclocross season! First in the Harvest series and a classic course with an epic beach run/ride that will give you lots to brag about to the uninitiated. More info here.
Tualatin Valley Highway Cleanup – 8:00 am at Home Depot in Hillsboro (West Side) Meet Metro Council President candidate Juan Carlos González for his annual cleanup of this community corridor we’re all trying to make safer and better for folks who don’t drive! More info here.
Homebrewers Ride – 3:00 pm at Woodstock Park (SE) A chance to connect with other brewers and beer lovers while sampling some excellent local brews and doing a 7-8 mile bike ride. More info here.
Art & Lit for Palestine – 4:00 pm at Laurelhurst Park (SE) Zines, flyers, stickers and other “lit” are an essential part of community-building and revolution-making. Join the Revolutionary Bicycle Club for a ride that will inspire your creativity and show you local resources on how to make your own propaganda. More info here.
Roseway Parkway Plaza Grand Opening Ride – Wilshire Park at 4:00 pm (NE) Join an experienced neighborhood greenway route leader for a ride to the massive new, painted parkeway in the Roseway neighborhood at NE 72nd and Mason. More info here.
Sunday, September 7th
Sunset/Moonrise Ride – 6:00 pm at Normandale Park (NE) Local artist, author and historian Shawn Granton of the Urban Adventure League leads one of his highly anticipated rides to a mystery location where you’ll ponder life with friends as you watch the sun go down and the full moon come up. Bring snacks! More info here.
Floregon – 6:00 pm at Florida Room (N) Florida transplants and lovers unite! This ride is, “a social ride celebrating Florida kids in Portland with endless summer vibes. A playful homage to dancers, culture… and, naturally, titties.” 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.
In a video that showed him riding MAX light rail and promised, “better transit that actually works for people” and “safe streets where everyone can get where they need to go,” Metro Councilor Juan Carlos González just announced his campaign for Metro President.
González, a first-generation American born in Forest Grove, has served on Portland’s regional elected government since 2018 and represents northern and western Washington County. He’s distinguished himself on council for his interest in transportation issues and currently presides as chair of Metro’s influential Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT). Prior to being one of seven Metro members, he was a director at Centro Cultural, a nonprofit that advocates for Latino families.
In 2021 I reported that González was the lone “no” vote on an amendment that would fund freeway expansion megaprojects. “To me these highway expansions represent an old way of doing business,” Gonzalez said at the meeting. “I question these projects, given the information that we have now regarding our need to act or climate future and prioritize communities that have been deprived of infrastructure investments.”
In 2022, González spoke about the importance of bus service on TriMet line 57, calling it the “backbone for tens of thousands of people who live alongside it,” on Tualatin Valley Highway. That highway is a major focus for González. He’s made its safety and transit issues a major part of his work. In fact, he hosts an annual clean-up along TV-Highway that happens this Saturday if you’d like to meet him.
This announcement by González has created a major buzz among the region’s transportation reform advocates, who see his ascension as a key piece to more progressive leadership on major issues like fighting freeway expansions and securing the financial support to build out the region’s bicycling, walking, and transit networks. González was around for Metro’s last major push for a transportation funding measure that failed in 2020 and sources say the pieces are coming together for another attempt.
In his campaign launch video (below), González shows several scenes of public transit and bicycle paths. At one point he stands in the middle of North Broadway outside Moda Center. Any elected official willing to sacrifice their body in that location is worth a look.
The election for Metro Council President is May 2026. No other candidates have announced a bid to run for the seat.
CORRECTION, 5:17 pm: An earlier version of this post mentioned current Metro President Lynn Peterson as a possible challenger; but Peterson will not run again. She has already endorsed González in the race.
Downtown Sunday Parkways in 2019. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
I’ve got a feeling this upcoming Sunday Parkways Downtown on September 14th is going to be a very cool moment in the history of cycling in Portland. We are already going through a renaissance of sorts in terms of getting our cycling groove back, and this event just seems perfectly timed to capture all the momentum.
To make it even better, the City of Portland is organizing seven bike bus rides from neighborhoods that will descend on the downtown route en masse. It’s a fantastic idea and shows how the Portland Bureau of Transportation has really been showing up for cycling lately. There’s just one thing: They need volunteers to lead these bike buses! If that might be you, keep reading…
PBOT just around an email saying they need more folks to sign up for bike buses, which will start at 12:00 noon and 1:00 pm that Sunday — and then back home again at 3:30 and 4:45 pm.
Here’s more from PBOT:
As a Bike Bus volunteer, you can take on one of three roles: leader, middle support, or caboose. You’ll help keep the group together, ensure everyone has a safe and fun ride, and make the journey part of the celebration. All ages are welcome to join, so your expertise will help make the ride smooth and enjoyable for everyone.
In this shot from our livestream video (watch it below), you can see Mayor Wilson and his staffer on the left and protestors to the right holding signs. More photos below.
Last night at Bike Happy Hour I expected to sit down in Rainbow Road Plaza and interview Mayor Keith Wilson. We did sit down, along with a huge crowd eager to hear an unfiltered, unedited conversation with their mayor; but the interview didn’t happen. Several local groups heard about the event and decided to use it as a platform to express their grievances with the mayor. They also didn’t think an event about cycling and transportation politics should happen while their issues are not being adequately addressed. When the situation got heated as folks waiting for the interview confronted protestors, Mayor Wilson decided to leave and we never got an opportunity to talk.
When I first saw “Free Palestine” groups show up with their table, signs and flags, I didn’t make much of it. I know several of the folks involved (they used to be active in cycling activism) and I respect them. I figured they were smart to get visibility for their issue with the mayor. A few of them placed Palestinian flags and a sign that read, “No Sister City with Genocide” (in reference to the City of Portland’s Sister City relationship with Ashkelon, Israel, a city just 12 miles north of Gaza) right behind the chairs where the mayor and I would sit for the interview. At this point, the mayor had not yet arrived.
Upon realizing the flags and sign would be in the livestream shot, Mayor Wilson’s Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Zajonc approached me to say he would call off the interview unless they were moved out of the video frame. Zajonc made it clear I would have to ask the protestors to move the flags. So I did. After a brief chat, they agreed to move the flags and sign off to the side.
Before Mayor Wilson arrived, I held an open mic as is tradition at Bike Happy Hour. All types of folks stood up to talk — including several of the protestors (see below). They used that opportunity to tell the crowd what they believe and why they were there.
Protestors spoke to the crowd during open mic. They would later shut down the interview. (Photos: Sarah Risser)
By the time Mayor Wilson sat down and we began the interview, a few other groups showed up. One of them is focused on protesting the ICE facility in South Waterfront, the location of nightly battles with federal agents. One of them had a megaphone and several others were yelling at the mayor. They said he hasn’t been responsive to their concerns and they wanted answers. Free Palestine protestors also began to yell at the mayor and the crowd. They shouted things like, “Bike lanes aren’t as important as genocide!” and they said anyone wanting to hear the interview and who didn’t do more to support their issues were white supremacists.
As the minutes wore on, several folks from the Bike Happy Hour crowd got up and confronted the protestors. I saw some shoving and heard glass breaking. One of the protestors contacted me after the event saying they were treated aggressively and that folks grabbed their signs and intentionally damaged their megaphone.
As all this happened, I acknowledged the protestors and gave them time to make their points and to be heard. At one point I tried to just start the interview over the yelling, but it was clear after a few seconds that wouldn’t work. Mayor Wilson was whispering to me that we could find another venue some other time. At one point he said he’d answer the protestors’ questions if they asked during the audience Q & A. That didn’t go over too well, because they wanted answers right then and there.
Ultimately, I think the mayor felt the situation would cool off quicker if he left, so he did.
That’s how I remember it happening. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
I was really disappointed. I’ve worked very hard for many years to get to a place where a mayor would grant me a live interview in a public street that was full of interested and engaged Portlanders. Mayor Wilson knew he’d face hard questions from me and from our audience, but he still showed up. I was eager to flesh out several issues with him in the agora. To have that moment taken away was a bummer. But as the night unfolded, I felt like what happened was just as valuable — if not more so — than a conversation with Mayor Wilson.
Having a conversation with of the protestors who shut down the interview and who I know previously from bike activism circles.
Like I said, I know at least one of the protestors well. He used to be a regular at Bike Happy Hour (we’d even hug sometimes when he arrived!) and was highly involved in bike activism. But as the war on Palestinians became a genocide, he has dedicated himself to fighting for their liberation and humanity. After things cooled off a bit, I spoke with him at length. He explained his frustrations with me and my choices (he thinks I should cover the Palestinian struggle more and use my platform to fight for justice for all people). We talked about how we might work together in the future and what it would look like for more cycling and transportation advocates to learn more about how to fight for human rights and justice for Palestinians — and how Palestinian activists might learn from cycling advocates. From my point of view, it was a mutually respectful and productive conversation.
And as I looked around, he and I weren’t the only ones talking. I saw several folks from the Bike Happy Hour crowd talking with protestors. Groups of people approached me to share their feelings about what happened, and we processed it all, together, in real time, face-to-face. Some of the Free Palestine folks stayed for well over an hour, just talking in the street.
Lots of good conversations happened after the mayor left.
This is what Bike Happy Hour was built for. This is what community is all about! True community-building is not about who you let participate, it’s how they feel when they show up. I don’t believe in picking and choosing who can be a part of our community based on whether or not I agree with them, or if I like spending time with them, or even if they just rub me the wrong way. I feel like if you show up and are open to it, you deserve respect. I have always kept my events and my platform open to as many folks as possible — whether I agree with them or not, and regardless of how they feel about me or BikePortland.
I believe in a big tent and have worked very hard to build one, because we will never have a successful revolution without a lot of people working together! People will make snide remarks about this event from all sides. But to me, this is an example of what makes Portland special. A public, carfree plaza where people with different views can meet and talk to each other, and expose themselves to different perspectives with an open mind and mutual respect.
All this being said, I hope we can find a way to address multiple issues at the same time while not minimizing or detracting from good work being done by others in our community. While these seemingly intractable crises loom (many of them with shared root causes), I believe it’s possible — and vital — for us to work together in a way that supports each other and that makes our entire community stronger. When that happens, imagine the progress we can make.
Thanks for showing up last night. See you next week.
UPDATE, 2:15 pm: Mayor Wilson’s office has shared this statement about his decision to leave:
Mayor Wilson had to leave last night’s Bike Happy Hour event before fully participating, due to protests that made it unproductive and unsafe to continue. We take safety seriously, and the decision was made out of an abundance of caution so the mayor’s presence did not escalate a tense situation.
Mayor Wilson is disappointed not to have shared the evening with community members who came to discuss cycling and street safety. The mayor supports the right to free speech and peaceful protest, and he also believes in the importance of respectful exchange. He had hoped to answer questions, listen, and speak candidly about Portland’s future.
Mayor Wilson remains committed to creating safer streets, expanding access to biking and walking, and engaging directly with Portlanders on issues that matter to them. He looks forward to future opportunities to do so.
The latest from Salem about the transportation funding bill is that there’s yet another delay. Tuesday afternoon reports confirmed that Democrats have opted to delay a vote in the Senate (initially scheduled for this morning) two weeks so one of their members can recover from a medical issue and cast their vote in the capital building.
The move is just the latest twist in a long road of surprises that have defined Democrats’ efforts to fund Oregon’s transportation system. It also underscores how Democrats need every single vote from their party in order to achieve the three-fifths majority required to pass a tax hike (and how Republicans are so determined to see them fail).
Right before this delay was confirmed in the media yesterday, I talked with an advocate who’s done with all the surprises. 1000 Friends of Oregon Transportation Policy Manager Cassie Wilson has worked for over a year as a leader with the Move Oregon Forward coalition in hopes of passing a transportation bill that goes beyond freeway expansion megaprojects and continues the march toward better transit, bicycling, and walking conditions statewide.
Cassie Wilson in August 2022. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Wilson is frustrated about how far the bill has been whittled down by Democrats — to the point where she and her fellow advocates can only show tepid support — while Republicans rejoice and use the bill to rile up their base right before the 2026 elections. “A lot of Democrats were put in a position to have to vote for a version of the bill that none of us wanted to see,” Wilson shared with me in an interview yesterday. And it’s one thing for the bill to be so compromised many members of the Move Oregon Coalition came out as neutral on it, but another thing for Democrats to not make much of a fuss about the last-second amendments that made the bill even weaker on things the coalition has prioritized since Day One.
“I was pretty disappointed watching the House floor yesterday to not see many legislators talk about the investments that are still needed, or even mentioning the transit funding sunset. This isn’t the answer, and it just it makes a bad situation feel worse, because it feels like they’re glossing over it,” Wilson shared.
“We have no guarantees that we’ll have a supermajority again, or a Democratic governor. There’s no guarantees of anything.”
– Cassie Wilson, 1000 Friends of Oregon
The transit funding sunset was the main bargaining chip Republicans used to give Democrats the quorum they needed to pass a bill during the special session that began on Friday. Instead of a doubling of the payroll tax (from 0.1% to 0.2%) to pay for transit into perpetuity, Democrats agreed to sunset the tax at the end of 2027. When transit faces another fiscal cliff at that time, Wilson worries Democrats might not have any power to preserve its funding.
“We have no guarantees that we’ll have a supermajority again, or a Democratic governor. There’s no guarantees of anything,” Wilson continued.
And now, with a highly compromised bill that’s essentially a stop-gap measure to keep ODOT and city and county road agencies afloat, Wilson worries that if it gets referred to voters, its supporters won’t exactly be eager to defend it. “You have to leave the bill intact enough with good stuff to give up a reason to defend it,” she explained.
As Wilson endures what feels like a never-ending legislative session, she’s clinging to one major positive that has come from all of this. The last year or so of organizing has helped Wilson and the Move Oregon Forward coalition, “Built a cohort of legislators who really care about and understand this issue,” she said. It’s a coalition she’s eager to put to work in future legislative sessions. “This is the biggest movement of people advocating around transportation in a very long time, or maybe ever, in terms of statewide organized efforts. We have over 50 organizations in the coalition with statewide representation and that’s not going away. We have a lot to build on.”
— You can listen and watch our full conversation in the players above, on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Diverters on NE Everett at 20th. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Advocates with local nonprofit BikeLoud PDX say city traffic engineers repeatedly shared concerns about removing traffic diverters in northwest Portland with other city officials, but a decision to remove them still moved forward.
The organization released documents today received through a public records (see below) request that show exchanges between transportation bureau staff and Public Environment Management Office (PEMO) staff. “These communications show the hidden process city leaders used to try to remove these diverters against the guidance of PBOT’s lead traffic engineer,” BikeLoud asserts. Below is more from a statement about the records just released by BikeLoud:
“A series of internal memos from the city traffic engineering and operations teams put it plainly.
Jan. 13: “We cannot remove these planters — they are addressing bike crashes that were occurring at this location.”
Jan. 29: “I have revisited this location with the Traffic Engineer and this diverter cannot be removed for safety reason.”
June 18: “The diverters are in place for good reason.”
These messages complicate the claims in City Manager Michael Jordan’s Aug. 11th letter on the subject. His letter said that PBOT “ultimately recommended” removing the diverters. But the only public record of this decision is from June 25th, which says, “It has been determined that the diverters will be removed. ETA TBD.” Decided by who? And how did they come to that conclusion?”
In a statement about these revelations, BikeLoud Chair Eva Frazier and Vice-Chair Kiel Johnson said,
“We understand the rationale of PEMO [Public Environment Management Office, the city office that spearheaded the removal plans] to work quickly to take care of community concerns and allow small adjustments to happen. But as people who rely on a safe bicycle network, it is frustrating to feel once again let down by our city’s leadership… After reviewing the City’s communications, we are concerned about our current leadership’s ability to execute council-approved policy with transparency and integrity.”
This new information from BikeLoud is important because PEMO made it seem like PBOT was supportive of the diverter removal plan.
It’s been nearly three weeks since Mayor Keith Wilson announced a pause in the City Administrator’s plan to remove two sets of diverters in Northwest Portland that create one-way traffic for drivers. When the plan was first exposed on August 1st, the community quickly rallied in support of the traffic calming devices due to their importance in creating safer neighborhood greenways and the fact that they were both installed as recommendations of a multi-year planning process.
The Portland Police Bureau and City Administrator’s office say NW 20th (at Everett) and NW Johnson (at 15th) must be returned to two-way auto traffic so that police officers can more effectively fight crime. But despite Central Precinct Commander Brian Hughes and City Administrator Mike Jordan issuingmemos to lay out their arguments, Mayor Wilson has apparently stopped them from moving forward with the plans.
The City of Portland’s bicycle and pedestrian advisory committees have both issued statements opposing the diverter removal plan. The Pedestrian Advisory Committee letter stated, “We are troubled by the lack of transparency and engagement apparent in the process to arrive at a proposal removing this infrastructure,” and requested any movement of diverters be brought to their committee beforehand. And the Bicycle Advisory Committee penned a city council resolution stating their opposition to removing the diverters and said any plan to do so must go through a transparent, data-driven process.
At an August 20th meeting of the PEMO “Problem Solvers” network, PEMO Director Anne Hill attempted to dismiss concerns about the diverters. When several concerned Portlanders showed up to talk about the issue, she said the meeting was not the correct venue to discuss it. “If folks want to have a big discussion about bikes and how we patrol… You can have that meeting. That’s not what this meeting is.”
Hill went on to say, “I understand there’s a lot of misinformation. I understand that diverters became the name of what that was… it wasn’t diverters.”
I asked Director Hill via chat in that meeting to clarify why she didn’t think the meeting was the correct venue to express concerns about the diverters (since those meetings are where the diverters were initially discussed) and if she could expand on the “misinformation” allegation; but neither she nor anyone on her staff have bothered to reply.
A few of the 70 matches made by the Bike Buddy program so far. (Photos: BikeLoud PDX)
What has long been a dream of cycling advocates has become reality: Portland now has a fully-fledged “bike buddy” program where new riders link up with veteran mentors. It’s run by nonprofit BikeLoud PDX and they hosted an official launch of the program with a bike ride on Saturday. I wasn’t able to be there, but Bike Buddy Program Manager Nikki Margarita Enriquez (in photo, below) was kind enough fill me on what went down.
About 60 people showed up at a coffee shop in Ladd’s Addition to ride together and celebrate the volunteers who make the program possible. Margarita Enriquez says there was a mix of Bike Buddy mentors and mentees, BikeLoud PDX members and board members, representatives from partner organizations, a few fans of the program, and even the chief of staff from City Councilor Mitch Green’s office (Maria Sipin).
After a group photo and remarks from BikeLoud Board Chair Eva Frazier and Margarita Enriquez — who told me she expressed gratitude and shared basic ride details — they rolled out. For about a dozen of the attendees, this was their first-ever group ride. “The energy was high,” Margarita Enriquez recalls. “And the ride went really smoothly.”
Program manager Nikki Margarita Enriquez.Photos from the ride. (Photos: Eva Frazier)
The group rolled through southeast accompanied by bike-mounted bubble-making machines and upbeat music from mobile speakers. BikeLoud was prepared with plenty of ride support to help navigate traffic with the large group so Bike Buddy mentors could focus on mentees’ questions and technical issues. The first stop was a cart pod in the central eastside for tacos and agua fresca at La Cuchara.
There was also a fun prize raffle with products donated from the many awesome local bike shops, organizations, and other partners Margarita Enriquez has connected to the Bike Buddy program. By all accounts, the event was a huge success.
It’s a fitting launch for the Bike Buddy program, which already made about 70 matches — quickly closing in on their goal of 100 matches per year for the first three years. BikeLoud was able to hire Margarita Enriquez (their first paid staffer) thanks to a grant they earned from the Portland Clean Energy Benefits Fund (PCEF).
“There’s genuine excitement about this program,” Margarita Enriquez says. “My focus for the appreciation ride was just that, to thank the folks who make this program work. However, it had a somewhat greater unintended effect in getting the word out and showing people what the program is all about and how beneficial it is for our community.”
The program has been a valuable resource for a range of people. Margarita Enriquez, a League Certified Instructor (LCI) herself, says the mentors include: people learning to bike for the first time as adults; individuals using the mini-grant program (a $600 award linked to partner bike shops) to purchase a bike, riders reaching their goal of becoming car-free, and people figuring out how to commute in their neighborhoods. Margarita Enriquez learns everything she can about the mentee in order to match them with just the right mentor. She then attends the first meet-up to make sure the program is meeting the needs of participants.
A good mentor has experience cycling in the city, is capable with basic bike repairs, is patient, safety-focused, and most of all excited to be a part of the program. “We’re always looking for more mentors to help us make better matches,” Margarita Enriquez says.
If you’re interested in becoming a mentor or mentee, or know someone who could benefit from the guidance of an experienced local cyclist, please reach out to bikebuddy@bikeloudpdx.org or visit our Bike Buddy page for more information or to sign up.
“Come on drivers, get your shit together!” That was the text I shared on social media along with a photo of yet another mangled car on Portland’s streets. “The system is deeply flawed/broken/not working,” came a reply from my friend Sarah Risser with Families for Safe Streets PDX. “We should direct our anger at the flawed transportation system.”
Sarah then shared a video about “Safety Science” narrated by advocate and author Jessie Singer where she lays out an argument for why blaming individuals for crashes is a flawed approach to making roads safer.
That’s the exchange that led to the latest episode of the BikePortland Podcast where I sat down with Sarah in The Shed to hash out our difference of opinion on this issue. The conversation ended up in some interesting places and by the end of it I hope you’ll have an even more expansive view of the challenge of Vision Zero and other topics related to road safety. Sarah cares deeply about this topic and is a dedicated safety advocate because she lost her 18-year-old son in a car crash in 2019 (something we talked more about in a previous episode of the pod).
The exchange below gives you a taste of what to expect in this episode:
Jonathan: There’s a portion of extremism going on that throws everything out of whack… We have this extremism because of other systemic factors that are broken down. So now you have this whole block of drivers that will go on Instagram and film themselves burning out and doing dangerous things, like the guy who is doing donuts in a city park. Right? Like two blocks from my house! There’s this level of extremism and that’s what I feel like I’m responding to a lot. Someone has to put on the record that the people are not just going to allow that type of extreme behavior happen, and sit back in our chair and go, ‘Gosh, it’s, it’s not going to be fixed until the system’s better.’ I just can’t live like that. I feel like we need to at least have on the record: ‘We’re pissed and we don’t accept this! You’ve got to be better!’
Sarah: I think that maybe where you and I disagree is you’re directing that at the driver. They’re just doing what the system is letting them do.
Jonathan: But are they? A driver is making a conscious choice to use their car in a way that’s dangerous.
Sarah: It’s kind of like putting me in a room with chocolate and saying you may not have any of that chocolate… we’re just giving drivers this opportunity and we’re reinforcing it over and again.
Jonathan: But at what point would you say we’re not giving drivers that? I mean, like this guy that jumps a couple curbs with his truck and goes into Peninsula Park and starts doing donuts in a city park in broad daylight. That’s a street that’s had a road diet. It’s got 20 mile an hour speed limit, it’s got a concrete separated bike lane, and he literally jumped into a grassy park.
Sarah: Well, those interventions you mentioned are really good, but there are other ones too, right? Like, why do we have cars that can go as fast as they can go? And this is something that families for Safe Streets is really starting to work on, is the intelligent speed assist (ISA). I think that this is another issue that nobody is really talking about: Why do we have vehicles that are so big, that are so dangerous, that can go so fast? Why do we tolerate this? And why do we focus on systems to mitigate around that? And that has always been very frustrating to me.
Listen in the players above, directly on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. I’ve embedded a transcript below:
UPDATE, 9/3 at 10:30 am: This interview will be livestreamed to YouTube. You can tune in starting at 5:30 here.
In case you haven’t heard, Mayor Keith Wilson will join us at Bike Happy Hour tomorrow (Wednesday, 9/3). Wilson credits his speech at Bike Happy Hour in February 2024 with launching his successful bid for mayor. Now he’s coming back to where it started because he wants our community to know he cares about street safety and cycling.
Or does he? Does Mayor Wilson really have what it takes to make real progress for cycling in Portland? Or is he still campaigning and looking for a friendly audience? Will he actually make bold moves to push the needle forward? How does he answer the pro-car lobby when they come knocking on his door at City Hall? And why the heck did he sign off on removing those diverters in northwest Portland?
I hope to find clarity on all these points and much more during our conversation on Wednesday. Show up any time after 3:00 to meet and mingle prior to the interview. I’ll plan to leave time for audience Q & A, and you can also contact me directly or leave a comment here to share a question you’d like me to consider asking.
This is a great opportunity to bend the ear of Portland’s most powerful politician. I hope you’ll join us and I look forward to seeing you there. The interview will begin at 5:30, but you’re welcome to come any time after 3:00 as per usual.
It happened near this location in Washington Park.
The Portland Police Bureau just reported a fatal collision involving a bicycle rider that happened Sunday night in Washington Park.
Here’s the full PPB statement:
On Sunday, August 31, 2025, at approximately 6:30 p.m., officers assigned to the Portland Police Bureau’s Central Precinct responded to a bicycle crash in the area of Southwest Sacajawea Boulevard and Southwest Lewis and Clark Circle in Washington Park. When they arrived, officers located an adult male cyclist deceased.
PPB’s Major Crash Team (MCT) responded to the scene. The preliminary investigation indicates the cyclist, who was not wearing a helmet, was riding a BMX-style bike downhill with a group of other cyclists when he crashed trying to ride between two boulders.
No further information will be released at this time.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact PPB’s Traffic Division and reference case number 25-238736.
This description would seem to imply that the person who died was taking part in a group ride. I’m not aware of any such ride that was going on yesterday that would have placed a group like this in Washington Park at that time. Hearing that it was a “BMX-style” bike (which I take it to mean it was small) and given the location, this might have been a group doing a sort of “Zoobomb” — which is a well-known tradition (which has fizzled out quite a bit since its heyday 15 years or so ago) where people ride minibikes up to the top of the park (the zoo) and then “bomb” down. The location at Lewis and Clark Circle is a common stopping point on some Zoobomb routes.
I don’t have any details beyond what the police have shared. So if you know more and want the community to hear about it, please reach out to me.
UPDATE, 5:32 pm: The man who died was 46 year old Brian Hesse. He was an active member of the PDX Bike Life community on Facebook. This His daughter posted this remembrance of him on that page along with the photo:
Just wanted to say how much my dad enjoyed every moment with you all. Everytime i would talk to him he’d either be out with yall or talking about the next ride.
You all gave him the best years of his life, and right now that’s the only thing im finding comfort in.
