Looking northwest at SE 11th/SE Milwaukie Ave. I’ve added a black box to where the body came to rest. (Photo sent in by a reader)
Just after 10:00 am this morning someone riding an electric scooter died following a collision with an Amtrak train. According to photos from witnesses at the scene shared with BikePortland, it happened at the sidewalk crossing of the rail tracks where they intersect with SE 11th/SE Milwaukie Avenue.
The deceased person’s body came to rest on the sidewalk located just north of the northernmost track, just beyond the Ford Building parking lot. According to photos that show the e-scooter and other investigative markings, it appears the collision might have originated at the eastern end of the crossing. Also clear in the photos is that the person was riding a Lime e-scooter that’s part of the City of Portland’s shared electric scooter system.
Police haven’t released any further details.
This is the second fatal collision at these tracks this year. Back in June, a man riding a bicycle was attempting to cross SE 8th in the main roadway prior to being struck and killed by a MAX light rail train.
Since August of this year there have been four fatal crashes involving e-scooter riders. On August 17th a man died from his injuries after being involved in a collision with a tractor-trailer operator near NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd and NE Holladay St. One day later, a man hit a pothole near SE 52nd and SE Mitchell while riding an e-scooter and later died from his injuries. And on October 22nd, a woman riding a Lime e-scooter collided with another vehicle operator at N Vancouver and N Weidler and died in the hospital one week later.
This is the 36th fatal crash on Portland streets so far this year.
Current conditions on NE Broadway just east of Broadway Bridge. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
I’ve just confirmed some very good news: The City of Portland has the green light to move forward with the design of the Broadway Main Street project.
Back in July I shared that the Trump Administration had reneged on a $38 million grant that had already been awarded to the Portland Bureau of Transportation. The grant would have allowed them to transform the currently car-choked section of NE Broadway between NE 7th and the Willamette River into a family-friendly main street. The project is a lynchpin to the city’s Reconnecting Albina planning effort and is seen as an extension to the recently completed Broadway Pave & Paint project.
Unfortunately, the grant was taken back by the Trump Administration with the passage of House Resolution 1 (the “Big Beautiful Bill”), which rescinded all unobligated balances from the Neighborhood Access and Equity grant program.
But last month at a meeting of the I-5 Rose Quarter project, a presentation from the Oregon Department of Transportation included a slide stating that PBOT had received funding for the “initial phase of the ‘Broadway Main Street’ project.” I reached out to PBOT to learn more.
On Tuesday I received a clarification from PBOT Spokesperson Dylan Rivera that Oregon’s congressional delegation was able to wrestle away $5 million from the grant for project design.
Project map and a conceptual rendering of possible streetscape design.
Rivera confirmed that, while construction of the project has been officially cancelled, the $5 million is enough for PBOT to complete the project design and development. “This project remains a high priority for PBOT and the city. Having a completed design can make the project more competitive for future funding opportunities,” he said.
PBOT will launch a public engagement process early next year to help finalize the project design.
The vision for this project, as described by a PBOT staffer at a meeting in 2023 is that, once complete, someone could, “take a pleasant walk with their young child from NE 7th to Waterfront Park.” Project elements had previously included: a raised bikeway protected from auto users by a planted median; multiple improved pedestrian crossings; a redesign of the Broadway Bridgehead at N Larrabee; improved access to Rose Quarter Transit Center, and more.
Stay tuned for updates and opportunities to weigh in.
82nd Avenue near SE Flavel. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Two days ahead of what insiders expected to be a consequential meeting of TriMet advisory committee, the agency says they’ll delay a decision about bus lanes on 82nd Avenue.
As I reported last month, TriMet shocked many in our region by publishing a staff recommendation on the 82nd Avenue Transit Project that called for only partial business access and transit (BAT) lanes along the project corridor — which spans 10 miles from the Multnomah County border with Clackamas County at SE Clatsop to Northeast Lombard Street. The recommendation is a necessary step for the project to reach a key 60% design completion milestone. In a memo dated October 14th, staff said the project should move forward with three miles of BAT lanes (the “Some BAT” option) instead of seven miles of BAT lanes (the “more BAT” option). Staff have since walked back that recommendation saying it was merely a “starting point in the conversation.” (One board member said the publication of the memo was a leak.)
Regardless, the decision sparked a large outcry from many Portlanders, some of whom showed up to a recent project Community Advisory Committee meeting to make concerns known. Tomorrow is a meeting of the project’s Policy and Budget Committee, where many folks assumed the BAT lane decision would be debated — and possibly made final.
But in a blog post published Monday, TriMet wrote, “No decision will be made during the November 7 meeting. Rather, it’s an opportunity for committee members and the community to hear the latest information from our staff and to ask questions as options continue to be explored.”
TriMet added that a final decision about the BAT lanes, “is expected early in the new year.”
Given the high stakes of this decision, TriMet’s attempt to cool things down won’t stop folks from testifying at tomorrow morning’s meeting. Not only is the Line 72 bus the busiest in the entire state, but it’s impossible for 82nd Avenue to reach its potential unless bus users have faster, more reliable service.
And then there’s the looming issue of the Bike Bill lawsuit hanging over the Portland Bureau of Transportation — the agency that has final say over how the street is used.
That lawsuit was organized by BikeLoud PDX on behalf of 15 individual plaintiffs. While it’s currently in legal limbo due to procedural questions surrounding the Portland City Council, a settlement agreement already signed by the city attorney, PBOT, and BikeLoud’s lawyers mandates full BAT lanes on 82nd Ave (with the expectation they can be shared by bicycle riders). According to the settlement, if PBOT fails to build continuous BAT lanes, they would be in violation of the settlement and the case could go to trial.
Add to that the threat of lawsuits from business owners on 82nd who oppose the BAT lanes and it becomes clear that the seven members of the Policy and Budget committee — TriMet GM Sam Desue Jr., Clackamas County Commissioner Diana Helm, Metro Councilors Christine Lewis and Duncan Hwang, ODOT Policy & Development Manager Chris Ford, Community Advisory Committee Interim Chair Franklin Ouchida, and PBOT Director Millicent Williams — have a lot of perspectives to consider.
— The 82nd Avenue Project Policy and Budget Committee meets Friday (11/7) at 9:00 am. The meeting is at TriMet’s Public Safety Office (1020 NE 1st Ave) and viewable online. More info here.
I’m excited to share that this coming Wednesday (11/12), The War on Cars Podcast hosts and Life After Cars authors Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear will join us at Bike Happy Hour.
This dynamic duo is on a national media tour talking up their excellent new book that diagnoses, dissects, and debates how car-dominated places have negatively influenced our lives — and what we’d gain by living life without (or a lot fewer of) them. With a new political era sweeping across our country, it’s the perfect time to talk about ideas that once felt radical, but now feel inevitable.
Suffice it to say; Sarah, Doug and I are kindred spirits who’ve chosen different paths and tools in the fight against motordom, carbrain, motonormativity — or whatever word you want to describe America’s seductively destructive relationship to cars and driving. And what they’ve done with their podcast since its launch in 2018 is nothing short of extraordinary. With a massive following and guests that include actors, entertainers, experts and politicians from around the world, the podcast has transcended the transportation field and has helped shift the Overton Window around the idea of carfree and low-car cities.
Sarah and Doug have a masterful grasp of the evidence to back up their (very well-reasoned, despite the provocative names of their podcast and book!) arguments for helping people see that cars and driving really isn’t all it’s been cracked up to be. In fact, as you can learn in Life After Cars, the entire idea that Americans have a “love affair with the automobile” is nothing more than propaganda to peddle products and cajole capitalists. In one of my favorite passages in the book, I learned that even Superman once considered drivers and their cars worthy of a fight!
You can hang out with Sarah and Doug this Wednesday at Bike Happy Hour. We’ll get there at 3:00 and then sit down for a short chat and have some audience Q & A at 5:30. We’ll be in the back patio of Migration Brewing on North Williams Avenue. Remember you can enter from the alley between N Shaver and N Failing.
On Monday, the City of Portland announced a new focus on cleaning sidewalks citywide. Utilizing contractors and a budget of about $2 million, the plan is to focus on sidewalks along major business corridors and commercial centers.
Among the new tools that will employed to do this cleanup work are pedal-powered cargo trikes. These trikes have already proven themselves as perfect vehicles for navigating tight spaces and still having room to cart sizable loads of garbage and debris back to a central location. Last year I profiled a downtown nonprofit that used the same style of trikes in their programs to great success.
In a statement about the new program, the City of Portland said the trikes will be accompanied by a truck and will, “visit Portland’s busiest locations on a regular basis to clean up trash and biohazards from the sidewalks that people rely on to go to school and work, go shopping, keep appointments, and enjoy their neighborhoods.”
Clear and clean sidewalks are important not just for walkers, but in many parts of the city they are a refuge for bicycle riders as well — especially in locations where the adjacent street has no safe space for cycling. (Note: bicycle riding on sidewalks is allowed in Portland, except for a small part of downtown, as described in City Code Chapter 16.70.320.)
Below is a list of streets the city will keep clean as part of this initiative:
Hope you’re doing OK with all the rain and wind. If you’ve been needing new rain gear, this is a big weekend because the annual Showers Pass Warehouse Sale is on Saturday.
Below is more info on that and the rest of my picks for the weekend. Have fun out there!
Saturday, November 8th
Showers Pass Warehouse Sale – 9:00 am at Showers Pass HQ (SE) An excellent opportunity to score great deals on gear that will keep you dry and comfy. This is a legendary sale where they offer deals you will not get any other time/place. In addition to SP gear they’ll have stuff from TREW, Black Stone Stitchworks, and Vvolt E-bikes. More info here.
I-205 Path Cleanup – 10:00 am at Home Depot (NE) Join the nonprofit SOLVE to pick up trash and debris from the I-205 path near Airport Way. Yes it sucks that we have to do this, but we have to do this. Cargo bikes encouraged! More info here.
North Portland Mutual Aid Ride – 1:00 pm at Wonderwood Springs in St. Johns (N) Riders will roll to a supermarket to buy food and then make a tour of 8-9 mini food pantries and fridges outside homes in North Portland. A perfect way to help folks in need. More info here.
Sunday, November 9th
Overlook Ride – 9:30 am at Stacks Coffeehouse (N) Get to know the beautiful Overlook neighborhood with a knowledgeable ride leader (hi Nic!) who will also help you plug into neighborhood activism if you’re so inclined. More info here.
Sunday Social Ride – 10:00 am at Gateway Transit Center (NE) Roll with members of the Portland Bicycling Club on a metro area excursion. Expect a 13-15 mph pace with most folks on drop bar road bikes. More info here.
Cycle Sundays – 10:00 am at Memento Mori Cafe (NW) Roll out with the fun-loving Cycle Homies for this “moderate-fast” paced ride of about 15-20 miles. More info here.
OBRA Cyclocross Championships – All day in Independence, Oregon If you love bike racing — either on the inside or outside of the tape — you’ve got to be excited about this event. The crew from Sellwood Cycles have organized a brand new venue at a cool main street park in downtown Independence, Oregon. This is an amazing excuse to venture south to discover a classic small town that has become a bike-friendly oasis and will open their arms to this event. More info here.
— Did I miss your event? Please let me know by filling out our contact form, or just email me at maus.jonathan@gmail.com.
Abdulrahman “Abe” Alkhamees in the BikePortland Shed with Issue One of The Paperclip. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Abdulrahman Alkhamees’ love of the Pacific Northwest was sparked while watching a documentary on the eruption of Mount St. Helens when he was just 10 years old. Living in his birthplace of Kuwait at the time, Alkhamees and his father would watch documentaries every Friday morning.
When he awoke to St. Helens on the screen, Alkhamees (who goes by “Abe”) recalled, “You mean to tell me there’s a place with volcanoes, rivers, deserts, and trees as old as time? I was blown away. To me, the Pacific Northwest was as close as you can get to a mystical world with this amazing terrain, and I was really enamored by it.”
I invited Alkhamees into the BikePortland Shed on Tuesday to learn more about his latest creative project, a magazine called The Paperclip.
Alkhamees held onto that love and curiosity of the Pacific Northwest and decided to attend Portland State University. And like many people who move here, the gravity of cycling soon began to pull on him. He bought a bike the first week he moved here and now he’s carved a niche as a photographer of his rides and the stories of people he pedals with.
Four years ago he wanted to combine his love of cycling with his love of his home and create a magazine about cycling in the Middle East. That remains a dream, but this past summer he decided to pivot and put together a collection of stories about cycling submitted from riders from all over the globe. The Paperclip is a square-bound publication that looks and feels more like a small coffee table book than a typical magazine. It’s beautifully laid-out and has a nice balance of text and imagery.
The stories in The Paperclip range from a window into the Gaza Sunbirds (a paracycling team that escaped the war and competes in cycling events worldwide) and a first-person account from a guy who trained hard all summer only to be passed on a climb by someone in their 70s — to a story from a woman who shares how riding gravel roads helped her overcome the passing of her parents. While cycling runs through each one, it’s not always the main character. “Cycling is the glue,” he explained. “It’s not necessarily the main story.”
And while Alkhamees personally loves long rides into the “mystical terrain” of our region, he seeks stories that center riders’ lives over extreme physical accomplishments.
“Some of these some of these stories don’t really get a lot of light because they’re not epic,” Alkhamees explained. “I didn’t include any stories about somebody riding a thousand miles in 48 hours or whatever. That has its place, but for me I wanted the stories to be human-forward. I wanted the humanity, the failures, the struggles, the fun parts — all the other stuff that kind of fall in between the cracks — to show up.”
For this first issue, all contributors agreed to donate their work. Alkhamees’ plan is to donate half the proceeds from sales to the Gaza Sunbirds and the other half will pay authors and photographers who make it into the next issue.
Asked what he hopes people take away from the magazine, Alkhamees said, “Connectivity. That everybody has a shared struggle in some sense. But also, that struggle is what makes us, us.”
— Watch a short video of Alkhamees below. Issue one of The Paperclip is available now as a $25 pre-order at ThePaperclip.cc. The order window is open until November 14th. Wholesale pricing is also available for bike shops and other businesses. Follow The Paperclip on Instagram.
The author Megan Ramey (left in blue helmet) talking with Oregon State Rep. Jeff Helfrich (white shirt). (Photos courtesy Megan Ramey)
This should not be illegal.
Written by Megan Ramey, who manages the Safe Routes to School program for Hood River County School District.
Last Wednesday I hosted an e-bike ride with policymakers and elected officials from the Hood River region with one clear goal: to find an Oregon legislator willing to champion a bill that will eliminate Oregon’s age restriction for Class 1 e-bikes (the type that don’t have a throttle and require riders to pedal) in the 2026 short session.
As a mom of a 16-year-old who’s been “illegally” riding a Class 1 e-bike for four years, I can attest to their transformative power. My daughter (in photo, right) has never been stopped by the police. She has, however, gained independence, mobility, and confidence — and shows no interest in getting a driver’s license. She’s part of a growing movement of 10-15 year olds hopping on e-bikes — the second largest age group, just behind baby boomers. Why? They’re too young to drive, but they crave freedom.
E-bikes sell themselves to kids. They’re fun, fast enough to be empowering, and are a sustainable alternative to car rides. The more t(w)eens who ride, the more empathetic, alert, and bike-aware they’ll be as future drivers.
Unfortunately, my 2022 Dawn of the Throttle Kids article has proven prophetic. Because Class 2 throttle bikes and e-motos are cheaper, that’s what parents buy. Many are modified beyond legal limits, blurring the lines between bike and motorbike. In Hood River, some youth zip along sidewalks on these throttled machines, alarming pedestrians and drivers alike. The backlash led our local police to announce in August that they would begin citing under-16 riders for violation of ORS 814.512 — a statute that actually applies to e-scooters, not e-bikes.
This call for enforcement (and its response) highlights a real problem: Oregon law treats a Class 1 e-bike — a traditional bike with a modest boost — like a car. Because under-16s are barred from riding them, schools can’t even legally provide education to the age group most eager to learn.
The ride with policymakers I led last week was designed to change that. Joining me were State Representative Jeff Helfrich and electeds and staff from City of Hood River, County of Hood River, Mid-Columbia Economic Development District, Hood River Parks & Recreation, CAT Transit, Cycle Oregon, The Environmental Center, Oregon Micromobility Network, Port of Hood River, Thomas Coon Newton & Frost law firm, Sol Rides E-bike Tours, and local mothers of e-bike riding teens.
Group shot from the ride.
We rode up steep State Street to Hood River Middle School — ground zero for the youth e-bike issue — then down to the hazardous 13th and May intersection, which is a top Safe Routes to School priority connecting two schools. We discussed infrastructure gaps, jurisdictional barriers, and the opportunity for an ODOT transfer to allow protected bike lanes through The Heights.
After Rep. Helfrich (one of only two Republicans who supported HB 3626, which would’ve lowered the age limit) departed, our group continued across the Historic Columbia River Highway to the Twin Tunnels Trail — what I call “the best under-10-mile bike ride in America.”
At the finish, we heard from two mothers whose stories say it all. Nicole Goode, a teacher at Hood River Valley High School, described how her son’s e-bike has given him independence since age 10, teaching him resilience and navigation skills that are already shaping his adulthood. Jess McGimsey, a mother from Mosier, spoke about her 13-year-old who saved up for an e-bike only to learn he couldn’t legally ride it. “I fully support Class 1 e-bikes for all ages,” she said. “They build confidence and relieve parents from constant chauffeuring.”
That same morning, I presented on best practices in e-bike education at the National Safe Routes to School Summit. The day left me with two truths: 1) We don’t have a youth e-bike problem — we have a youth e-moto problem. And 2) Class 1 e-bikes offer one of the greatest opportunities for a generation of t(w)eens to escape screens and anxiety through free-range mobility that fosters independence and joy.
We have a great example to follow. Marin County has been the national leader in Safe Routes to School and their new law allows all ages on Class 1 e-bikes, while restricting class 2 and 3 e-bikes to 16 years old (watch their PSA below).
It’s overdue for Oregon to honor its proud bike heritage — one that fosters resiliency, health, and mobility choice — and extend it to our youth, who arguably need it now more than ever.
— Megan Ramey is the Safe Routes to School Manager for Hood River County School District and the founder of Bikabout, which now hosts an E-bike Guide for Teens and Families.
In his acceptance speech last night, Mamdani said he would give power to people like this worker who has, “palms calloused from delivery bike handlebars.” (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
A popular cyclist and socialist who has pledged to make transit fast and free is now mayor-elect of America’s largest and most influential city. He has ushered in a new era of American politics, and he could usher in a new era of urban transportation policy that influences streets nationwide.
Zohram Mamdani’s huge win last night is also a massive victory for people who care about urbanism and healthy cities. He’s an unabashed lover of buses and bikes who isn’t afraid of taking bold positions on transportation policy and was the first mayoral candidate to receive over one million votes since 1969. Mamdani embraced cycling on the campaign trail. In one of his many viral videos, a woman yelled “Communist!” as he unlocked a Citibike from a rack during an event and he calmly snapped back, “It’s pronounced ‘cyclist’!”. And on election day Mamdani released a video where he hops in the bucket of a cargo bike for a lift to the polls.
He’s by far the most talented politician since Obama — and the fact that he came from outside the Democratic establishment (and even made a lot of mainstream Dems so nervous they didn’t endorse him), makes his accomplishment that much more impressive.
(Photo: Madison Swart/Mamdani campaign – Screenshot from Mamdani for NYC website)
His entire platform could be boiled down to making New York City more affordable. And one of the three main pillars of that platform was to make buses “fast and free.” The discussion around free transit has split the advocacy community for years. Many people support it, but some experts and advocates say it could only happen if service was cut — and would be a pyrrhic victory. But none of those discussions was based in a reality where an extremely popular mayor was elected with a mandate to restructure the tax code in a way that jettisons scarcity framing and creates the funding needed to make good on “fast and free.”
Cars are to transportation what billionaires are to American society: We’ve been convinced by the media that the negative externalities they create are normal; there’s way more of them than we need; and the forces that maintain their dominance make life worse for the rest of us. Mamdani understands that and he’s in a historic position to shift that dynamic.
I remember in the 2010s when New York City transformed its car-choked streets into carfree plazas, express bus lanes, and protected bike lanes under the leadership of former DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. The projects she pushed forward inspired cities across the country to see streets differently. If Mamdani finds the right DOT commissioner (some folks are dreaming of a JSK comeback), New York City could continue this exciting urban evolution.
I’ve always liked to say that it takes more than winning an election to make change. You must also be connected to community, because the people are where the power lies. Mamdani — and his million supporters — understand that.
Mamdani’s ride into City Hall has sparked joy and hope among transportation reformers far beyond the five boroughs. Welcome to the new era of American politics. It’s going to be a wild ride.
As someone who wants to live in a world where more people choose to walk and bike, I hate having to document so many tragic events that discourage people from making those choices. But reminding people of the human toll of cars, driving and unsafe road designs is often a necessary evil. And too often it takes fatal crashes to make policymakers and elected officials finally stand up and do something.
82nd Avenue is an example of that. When the ribbon is eventually cut on its new bus lanes and other exciting updates, I will always recall that our community paid with two lives. If not for the untimely deaths of Anthony Tolliver and Stephen Looser within two weeks of each other at the same intersection back in 2021, 82nd Avenue would likely still be under State of Oregon ownership and we would not be talking about its dramatic transformation from a unsafe orphan highway to a family-friendly main street.
But while news cycles are short and we can scroll away from uncomfortable stories, a memorial sign placed at the location of a tragedy is another way to etch the consequences of unsafe roads into our minds.
On Sunday I joined a pair of advocates whose mission is to make sure people don’t forget that the road to a better 82nd Avenue is littered with deaths and serious injuries.
Sarah Risser (black shirt). Note the “HZ” tattoo, which is in memory to her 18-year-old son Henry Zietlow, who was killed in a car crash.
Sarah Risser (above) can never forget. Six years ago she was in the passenger seat of a car being driven by her 18-year-old son Henry. A man driving the opposite direction swerved into their lane and Henry was killed in the head-on crash. Today, Risser is member of the Portland chapter of the national nonprofit Families for Safe Streets, an organization for survivors of traffic crashes.
I’ve coveredRisser’smemorial sign projects in the past. It’s something she feels called to do as a way to help our community — and other survivors like her — remember those we’ve lost to unsafe roads.
Risser’s latest project is to install memorial signs along 82nd Avenue for every person killed and seriously injured in a traffic crash since 2016. She picked that year because that’s when the City of Portland committed to “Vision Zero” — an initiative aimed at ending fatal crashes for good.
I met Risser and a volunteer, Ted Buehler, at Cartlandia (a food cart pod on the Springwater Corridor path at 82nd) to document the installation of 20 memorial signs — one for each person killed on 82nd Avenue in the past decade.
“I have been thinking about doing a project like this on one of Portland’s high crash corridors,” Risser shared as she gathered signs, zipties, and a step-ladder while carrying a list of names and locations. “I ended up choosing 82nd for two reasons: One, it seemed like the crashes were a little bit closer together, so it might be more impactful as people drive down to see them. And then there’s a lot of advocacy on 82nd right now and I wanted to support that.”
TriMet, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) and Metro are working on several projects as they take over management of the street from the Oregon Department of Transportation — a move long awaited by community advocates because of how local agencies are better-equipped to make the street safer and more accessible for people who aren’t inside cars.
Risser and Buehler’s first stop was 82nd and SE Crystal Springs Blvd — where a 30-year-old woman named Morgan Helms was killed trying to cross in 2023.
As he unboxed over 200 fake roses and readied branches of fresh laurel he just cut from down the street, I asked Buehler why he wanted to spend his Sunday climbing traffic poles next to traffic on 82nd. “I’m here because I think that it’s important to memorialize that people have been killed… If we put up memorials like this with messages on them and flowers, then people will see that somebody was killed here and they will think, ‘Oh, maybe I shouldn’t try to beat that next yellow light. Maybe I shouldn’t go quite so fast in the rain. Maybe I should go a little more slow and not try to, you know, fly around corners making right turns and things like that.'”
“Why roses?” I asked Buehler.
“They’re pretty,” he replied. “And this is the 82nd Avenue of the Roses,” he continued, invoking the street’s official name (Portland is known as the “Rose City”). Buehler added that he’s disappointed official plans for the 82nd Avenue project don’t include rose bush plantings.
As Risser and Buehler helped each other install the first sign, drivers and their cars roared by just inches away. I was struck at the juxtaposition of their project and the imminent danger they were in by taking it on. At one point Buehler cautioned Risser about stepping off the curb.
As I watched Risser arrange laurel branches and roses under one of the signs, I could see her son’s initials, “HZ,” tattooed on her wrist (his last name was Zietlow). I wanted to ask if she would have wanted someone to erect a memorial sign for her son, but I didn’t.
After the sign, laurel branches, roses, and white shoes were all hung at SE Crystal Springs Blvd, we made our way to the next intersection: SE Flavel. “This is the most dangerous of the intersections that we’re going to be going to today,” Risser shared as we assembled in the parking lot of a mini-mart. “There were three fatalities here since 2016— two pedestrians and a cyclist. And in addition to that, there were a number of high injury crashes here as well.” Then Risser let out a long sigh before adding, “Yeah… there’s been a lot of injury and death at this spot.”
It was a sunny day and SE 82nd and Flavel was bustling with people. Folks biked on the sidewalk, people walked in every direction, and the bus stop always had someone waiting. A few folks saw what Risser and Buehler were up to and offered their condolences. Even though Flavel is tiny compared to some of the other big streets that cross 82nd, I could see how all this foot and bike traffic could lead to a high number of crashes.
When they were done, Buehler felt we should join hands and take a moment of silence for the victims. So we stood in silence in a small circle right there in the parking lot. With eyes closed, we remembered: Pamela Siedel, Lydia Johnson, and Theodore Jones.
When we moved north to the next spot at SE Henderson Court, we ran into a few folks on bikes at the (absolutely wonderful!) new bike crossing at SE Knapp. Buehler invited them to join us. The pair were on a bike ride, but a few minutes later, one of them was holding an armful of laurel and was passing it up a ladder to Buehler as he worked on yet another sign installation.
“We need to remember,” Risser shared with me before I made my way home. “These are really dangerous streets, and people are dying, and have died consistently over time.”
“My hope is that if the families live in the area, or if they come down 82nd, that they’ll appreciate that their person is being remembered and honored. I think these memorials are really important.”
Last week the Portland Bureau of Transportation opened the SW 4th Avenue Improvement Project. It’s the most substantial investment they’ve made in the bike network in many years and it’s the most ambitious project yet to come out of the 2018 Central City in Motion Plan.
When we first began talking about that plan in 2013, I said it was a “golden opportunity” that we could not afford to pass up. Of course, back then we had a downtown bicycling mode share of 11% (according to a survey from the Portland Metro Chamber). It feels like everything has changed in the past 10 years, but our need for a high-quality, north-south bikeway and better bus service on SW 4th remained. From what I’ve seen, experienced, and read (from all your messages), this new bikeway has lived up to the hype.
In this video, you will see the entire facility from SW Caruthers to SW Taylor. What really stands out to me — beyond the smooth new pavement and generous width that allowed me and a friend to ride and talk side-by-side with plenty of room! — are the signals. They’re all optimized for bike users on a level that’s very rare to see in the United States. In a few spots, a detector embedded in the pavement mid-block senses your presence and turns on a flashing yellow warning light.
PBOT just raised the bar for what we can expect from bikeways in Portland. I’d love to know what you think about it so far!
Below are the most notable stories I came across in the past seven days. Thanks to everyone who suggested links this week!
Clarence Eckerson gets his due: One of the O.G. cycling and urbanism documenters, Clarence Eckerson of Streetfilms, is at the twilight of an amazing career and this article is a great look at his vital and influential work of the past two decades. (Hellgate NYC – Give them your email to read the whole thing!)
He’s back: In a disgusting and unacceptable “F-you!” to our legal system, Oscar Burrell — the man who was arrested for dangerous driving last month — is back out on the streets recording his antics for social media. There’s another warrant out for his arrest and we can only hope they don’t let him off so easy this time. (The Oregonian)
Ode to ‘winter bikes’: I feel like Portland is still full of folks who love and respect their “winter bikes,” so I figured some of you might appreciate this piece that bids them a loving farewell. (Cycling News)
Hiding plates: Florida isn’t messing around. Lawmakers there are proposing a new approach that would make obscuring plates — something that entitled and freeloading drivers are doing in greater and greater numbers these days — a crime. (WKMG)
Terry and tariffs: Legendary women’s cycling apparel maker Terry is one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over their use of tariffs, which they say have made it even harder to make a profit. (AP)
Disreguarded: The Associated Press did a special report on the dangers faced by crossing guards, who are increasingly being hit by car drivers who are too selfish and distracted to care about anyone but themselves. (AP)
I’m jealous: Utah’s department of transportation has gone way beyond Oregon’s “scenic bikeway” approach and has published a statewide map of bike paths that are akin to a freeway network for cycling — and it’s already received a $45 million down payment. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Bike culture in Johannesburg: A riding club for young women who are new to cycling is just one sign that cycling in Jo’burg has gone beyond being the domain of the elite or a last resort of the poor. (Guardian)
Cycle to work, works: The UK’s “Cycle to Work scheme” gives employees a tax-free option of buying a bike, and it boosts about $750 million into the economy each year. (Bike Radar)
Have cars, ‘won’?: Yes, in many respects. But as you’ll see in this piece, the publication of a book like, ‘Life After Cars’ and others on shelves today, shows that the fight isn’t over. (Grist)
