What even is a “Portland cyclist”? It’s a term that gets thrown around a lot and it describes something that has become a major cultural stereotype. But if you look more closely, it’s easy to see that the people who ride bikes in Portland are a very diverse group. These images were all taken at the same location (N Williams at Hancock) within minutes of each other.
Just a tiny slice of the folks riding bikes on Portland streets every day!
Portland City Councilor Mitch Green wants to make it easier for vendors to open up shop on city sidewalks. An ordinance sponsored by Green that will be heard at a meeting of the Arts and Economy Committee tomorrow, would promote free enterprise by removing regulatory barriers he says make small-scale vending on sidewalks infeasible.
Call it hot dog urbanism.
Green believes fewer restrictions on things like hot dog carts would spur more vibrant streets and public spaces that not only generate more revenue for the city and opportunity for up-and-coming entrepreneurs (many of whom can’t afford a food cart), but would also lead to higher quality public spaces. After all, it’s a tried and true tenet of good urbanism that giving people reasons to linger longer makes cities and spaces more interesting.
Among documents Green has filed on city council’s website is a list of frequently asked questions from the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, and Green appeared in a selfie with a massive hot dog at an event in Pioneer Courthouse Square on Sunday. While he’s having fun injecting hot dogs into civic discourse, Green is serious about this legislative effort. He wants to amend Chapter 17.26 (Sidewalk Vendors) of Portland City Code.
The current code has three provisions Green’s ordinance is looking to remove: it requires someone to get written consent from adjacent property owners as part of their permit application; it has proximity restrictions that prevent someone from receiving a vendor permit if they are within 100 feet of another permit holder on the same block; and it only allows permits within areas zoned commercial.
Here’s how Green is selling his proposal:
Economic Opportunity for Under-Served Communities: Sidewalk vending often serves as an entry point for immigrants, refugees, low-income residents, and other underrepresented entrepreneurs. Eliminating the adjacent-owner consent requirement reduces a gatekeeping mechanism that has, in some cases, excluded these groups from participating.
Cultural Vibrancy: Street vending brings cultural diversity to the public realm, allowing communities to share food, crafts, and services reflective of Portland’s ethnic and cultural richness. Removing the consent barrier helps preserve and grow this cultural expression.
Accessibility and Age Diversity: Sidewalk vending creates opportunities for youth entrepreneurship, seniors seeking supplemental income, and individuals with disabilities who may not be able to operate traditional storefronts.
Green’s not alone in thinking more vendors on Portland sidewalks would be a good thing. Early last year the Portland Bureau of Transportation launched a pilot project to allow food trucks to operate from parking spots and serve folks directly on the sidewalk. The idea behind that project was also to spur activation of city streets and help revitalize downtown.
The move could also spark more bike-based businesses which are the perfect size for selling on street corners.
Ryan Hashagen, owner Old Town-based Icicle Tricycles, supports the ordinance. A former sidewalk vendor himself, Hashagen calls sidewalk vending, “the most approachable and lowest barrier form of entrepreneurship” and believes it enlivens and activates spaces by bringing more eyes to the street.
“Icicle Tricycles started 25 years ago vending ice cream and flowers on the sidewalks and streets of the Pacific Northwest,” he shared with BikePortland this morning. “These initial vending businesses employed people, brought activation to otherwise dormant streets, and led us to ultimately purchase a 30,000 square foot warehouse in the Central City where we manufacture carts and tricycles for businesses and organizations around the world — all from vending ice cream and flowers on city sidewalks!”
I’ve heard grumbling from urbanists and transportation advocates for years about how dead many of our public spaces are compared to other cities. While our food cart scene is unrivaled, they are confined to private property and lack the accessibility, transparency and spontaneity that smaller vendors provide.
Green sees his ordinance as a way to provide a quick shot-in-the-arm for Portland’s reputation as a leader in public space innovation. In comments today at Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meeting, he acknowledged that making it easier to sell hot dogs and churros on the sidewalk isn’t the most important thing to spend his time on in this moment. “We’ve got a lot of urgent work to do. But one of those is to do vibes cultivation. We need to continue to cultivate good vibes for the city,” Green said. And while he wasn’t referring to this ordinance when he said that, based on the initial reactions to this I’ve seen online, he’s definitely onto something.
— What kind of vibes are you feeling about this? You can sign up to testify or share written comments on this proposal here.
Hi friends. Welcome to the week. Below are the most notable stories either I came across myself or folks shared with me over the past seven days…
Sober argument for transit: Transit expert Jarrett Walker pens one of his most powerful pieces yet on how urban/rural politics and car-centric thinking impacts our approach to adequately funding public transit. (Bloomberg)
My kind of research: A working paper from researchers from Italy and Switzerland about how the presence of the Tour de France (a “place-based intervention”) impacts voting patterns and economics. (SocArXiv Papers)
GREEN Streets Act: Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley teamed up with Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and others to propose active transportation legislation that includes a fix-it first provision, GHG targets, public transit support, and more. (Senator Markey’s Office)
Stockholm’s approach to downtown revitalization: “We want people to really think about whether it’s worth it to own a car, or whether it makes more economic sense to rely on the public transport network.” (Politico)
Golf carts FTW: I’m not necessarily anti-car, I’m anti-big, unsafe, loud, toxic, society-killing vehicles — which is why I am truly fascinated at how many golf cars are used in this town in Georgia. (Jalopnik)
E-cargo bikes are here to stay: I know this is preaching to the choir, but I just love seeing non-bike outlets screaming from the rooftop that folks should stop buying cars and consider an e-bike instead. (The Verge)
Trump Admin taking us backwards: Among all the other challenges facing transportation departments these days we have a president who is directing his cronies to take away grants that fund bike/walk/transit and wants to refocus the funding on car-centric projects. (Streetsblog USA)
Carfree highway costs politician: A city supervisor in San Francisco who was ousted by voters for his role in making a coastal highway carfree says it was all worth it. (NY Times)
The e-moto problem: I’m happy to see national industry nonprofit People for Bikes lay out the reason we have to stop calling e-motos, “e-bikes.” (People for Bikes)
Thanks to everyone who sent in links this week. The Monday Roundup is a community effort, so please feel free to send us any great stories you come across.
Another transportation-related policy change, made unilaterally by the city’s administrative wing, has rankled city council members.
According to the Willamette Week,
Members of council, led by Councilor Eric Zimmerman, said Wilson’s unilateral directive to extend the hours of paid parking from 7 to 10 pm in pockets of the city this summer—a move that has frustrated many Portlanders—is an overreach of Wilson’s administration.
“We could revert back to the paid parking hours as they were on the last fiscal year if we want to get serious,” Zimmerman pitched to his colleagues, “and take back our control as the legislative body at this city.”
An “overreach of Wilson’s administration”? Hmm, why does that sound familiar? Oh yeah, it’s just like how an office overseen by Mayor Wilson unilaterally decided to remove traffic diverters on two neighborhood greenways in Northwest Portland. In my coverage of that issue back in August, we learned that most members of city council hadn’t even heard about the plan. In fact, City Councilor Mitch Green was so peeved by this lack of consultation that he’s shared an intention to change city code so it won’t happen again.
Green pulled out a statute in Portland City Code that states, “City Council is the road authority for all public streets.” Then he told a city advisory committee that, “The city administrator is allowed to execute our vote. It’s inappropriate for the city administrator to pull back on investments they’ve made without at least notifying city council and asking for permission. That needs to change and that will change.”
On the paid parking issue, it looks like city councilors are split on the merits of the policy, but united in concern over how it was implemented.
On a related note, I can’t help but notice the hypocrisy here from Councilor Zimmerman. He’s concerned about administrative overreach when it impacts a policy he dislikes (paid car parking), but he didn’t speak up when it impacted a policy he likes (removing the diverters).
The Willamette Week story makes it clear that even City Administrator Mike Jordan isn’t sure who has ultimate authority over transportation decisions. Seems like this is an issue we need to rectify immediately. Either that, or maybe the mayor and other administrative office staff should do a bit more outreach to their colleagues before moving forward with major policy changes.
There’s a cool new, bike-themed market and cafe on Southeast Division Street called Maglia Rosa. I caught wind of it thanks to Ben over at Ottolock, who featured it in a recent episode of his “Quick Stop” video series.
It’s always nice to hear about a bike-themed establishment in Portland and this one look to be a winner. It’s on SE 30th in the spot that used to be Indian eatery Bollywood Theater. The owner is Troy MacLarty, who in addition to having a sterling Portland foodie track record, also happens to be a big fan of professional cycling. According to social media posts, MacLarty watched the Tour de France while in Italy in 2024.
While not quite as well-known as the Tour’s yellow jersey, the maglia rosa is the name of the pink jersey worn by the leader of the Giro d’Italia, professional cycling’s second most important stage race. As you might expect, MacLarty’s new spot has a tasteful amount of professional cycling memorabilia adorning the interior — including photographs from the Giro and a framed, official maglia rosa jersey (signed by Mathieu van der Poel!). And judging by a large photograph on the wall, it looks like MacLarty is a huge fan of Tadej Pogačar, the dominant Slovenian professional road racer who won the Giro in 2024.
Beyond the welcoming bike vibes, there’s bike parking right out front, and the lunch offerings look fantastic. This is definitely a spot to check out soon. To get there from the north, hop on the SE Harrison/Lincoln neighborhood greenway and go south on SE 30th. From the south, take the SE Clinton neighborhood and go north on 30th.
— Maglia Rosa website or follow them on Instagram.
Despite reservations that the Trump Administration and its stranglehold on our federal government would prevent regional transportation leaders from having a fruitful lobbying trip to Washington D.C. this year; it turns out the trip was a big success.
You might recall back in January as Donald Trump settled into the White House, Metro Federal Affairs Advisor cautioned members of the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) that given the broad support for Trump among the Republican party, “there are going to be limited opportunities for transportation conversations in DC this year.” “I think we need to recognize that we are a sanctuary state and a blue state that is led by a female, queer governor,” Emery continued. “There are many different reasons in which I think there could be directives for folks in DC to not be meeting with us.”
Several JPACT members disagreed, including Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, who felt it was still important to go and expressed opposition to the idea of staying home. (Wilson didn’t end up attending the trip, but Councilor Angelita Morillo — a vice-chair of council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee — represented Portland in his place.)
At a JPACT meeting yesterday, just days after a delegation of 35 people representing 11 different agencies returned home from the nation’s capital, Emery struck a different chord: “It was just a great time to be on the hill. The timing was perfect.”
In a presentation that summarized the trip, Emery said the group — which included representatives from TriMet, Metro, Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Washington County, City of Portland, City of Vancouver, City of Gresham, City of Cornelius, Port of Portland, Washington State Department of Transportation, and the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program — had many important conversations. They met with a majority of Oregon’s congressional delegation, key staff from Senate and House transportation committees, and staff from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Among the topics of discussion were: the importance of diversifying transportation funding sources, the nexus between transit and housing, the need to enact policies that “proactively promote transportation safety and complete streets,” a desire to speed up project delivery to minimize cost increases while not compromising environmental protections, and funding for specific local and regional projects. The topics that seem to have gotten the most attention were safety and funding for public transit.
“The delegation was clear they support public transit funding and oppose the House’s proposal to gut the [Federal Transit Administration’s] CIG [Capital Investment Grant] program,” Emery relayed. “They also talked about safety as a non-negotiable component of any transportation planning or projects — especially in areas where kids and families and elderly adults are frequenting.”
Sensing that transit it particularly vulnerable in this political moment, Emery emphasized that the delegation discussed with lawmakers, “the need to reposition transit as a public good, and how transportation and transit are economic drivers for communities.” On that note, there was a fruitful discussion about the connection of transit and “sports-oriented development” in light of several projects in the Portland area that combine major new investments (Expo Center, the Moda Center, and a future Major League Baseball stadium).
Emery said the lobbying was well-timed given that Congress is finalizing their 2026 budget and committees are starting to draft text for the next surface transportation reauthorization bill.
— Browse a packet created for the trip that lays out the JPACT Federal Policy Agenda.
Remember the Rose Lane Project? What started as a grassroots call for bus-only lanes in 2017, then launched as an official City of Portland project in 2019, and was adopted by City Council in 2020 — the project was supposed to result in a network of dedicated bus (and sometimes bike) lanes criss-crossing the city.
Of the 70 total identified projects where the Portland Bureau of Transportation and TriMet team up to make bus service faster and more efficient, only about half have been built in the past seven years. And it’s been a full two years since we’ve heard even a peep about them. By my count there have only been four significant Rose Lane projects implemented in the past three years: SW Alder, NE Couch, SW Capitol Hwy, and E Burnside. A combination of the Covid ridership decline, changes in political leadership at City Hall, and a triage budgeting environment have likely put the Rose Lanes on the shelf to gather dust.
“The Rose Lane Project was a big deal before Covid hit and we are deeply concerned that it has been deprioritized.”
— Jamey Evenstar, chief of staff to Councilor Avalos
But City Councilor Candace Avalos is poised to put the plan back into action. At Wednesday’s City Council meeting on Vision Zero, Avalos shared a comment that raised quite a few eyebrows in transit lover circles: “I just wanted to flag for my colleagues that my office is looking into proposing a resolution on affirming our commitment to the Rose Lanes,” Avalos said. “That will contribute to our Vision Zero goals. So that’s some legislation we’re working on and we’ll bring that to a future committee.”
Curious what Avalos has cooking, I emailed her Chief of Staff Jamey Evenstar. Evenstar (formerly Jamey Duhamel) was chief of staff to former PBOT Commissioner Chloe Eudaly and was the point person for the Rose Lane project when it launched in 2019. The idea was to make transit, “fast, frequent, and full,” and it was framed as an urgent priority to fight climate change and to help Black and other Portlanders of color who are disproportionately impacted by our car-centric transportation system. In late 2019, a national movement was coalescing around mobility justice and Evenstar said the primary goal of the project was, “to allow people of color to reduce their commute time.”
A lot has changed in the past six years, but the political will for faster, more frequent buses remains.
In response to my inquiry about Councilor Avalos’ recent comment, Evenstar said, “The Rose Lane Project was a big deal before Covid hit and we are deeply concerned that it has been deprioritized and changed over the last 5 years.” Evenstar also acknowledged they are only in the early stages of the effort. Here’s more from her response:
“All I can share at this point is that we are interested in learning where the administration is in terms of implementation of the original plan and then working with our community partners to identify what needs to happen moving forward. Maybe all that is needed is a resolution to recommit to the plan as it was originally created since it was done with a lot of intentional root cause analysis, or maybe the community is looking for something updated and different in these new times.”
Avalos’ office is in the early stages of this effort. Once something more concrete emerges, she’s like to have very strong support for better bus service among her council colleagues. And if you’re a transit advocate, now might be a very good time to dust off your organizing hat.
One day after President Donald Trump infamously blurted out that living in Portland is, “like living in hell,” we got yet another sign living here is anything but.
Calling it “downtown’s strongest year since the pandemic,” Downtown Clean & Safe reports that there have been six straight months of foot traffic increases. “From bustling Saturday crowds to record-breaking events, 2025 shows what happens when Portland’s cultural energy meets sustained community investment,” reads their latest report on the state of walking in the 213-block Clean & Safe district.
The district, which runs roughly from SW Harrison to the Broadway Bridge and from Naito Parkway to SW 11th, saw a growth in the number of people walking for the six months between March and August of this year. That’s an accomplishment that never happened last year. According to their annual counts, there were 21.45 million total pedestrians in the district between January and August of 2025 — an increase of 5.6% over the same period last year.
Clean & Safe is a nonprofit “enhanced service district” and offshoot of the Portland Metro Chamber that’s funded by annual fees from downtown business and property owners. They use Placer.ai data to monitor downtown foot traffic 24-hours a day across the entire 213-block area. That data found that the three intersections below has the highest volume of foot traffic in the month of June:
Clean & Safe says “cultural and retail anchors” are the reason for the positive foot traffic numbers. They also point to high-profile events and programming that’s drawing more people downtown. Even Old Town is showing signs of growth. Foot traffic at NW Couch and 5th for the month of June were up 39% over last year.
Relative to pre-COVID numbers, the Clean & Safe district is at about 70% of visitor volumes. One ominous cloud that looms over this report is employee visits to downtown, which remain at just 50% of 2019 levels — well below the national average of around 73%. “The gap in office worker return remains a critical challenge, keeping weekday activity below that of peer cities,” reads the report.
To keep the momentum going, the City of Portland has recently nabbed a tourism grant to invest in a pedestrian signage and wayfinding pilot project.
These numbers mirror transit ridership in the Portland region. The latest numbers summarized by Metro show that in July there were 6.5 million transit rides in the region — over 4% more than last year at this time and about 70% of the ridership we had before Covid.
Happy Friday everyone! Here are my picks for the weekend…
Parking Day with Strong Towns – 9:00 am at Worker’s Tap (SE)
Organizers of this event, “will be occupying the parking spots between 11th and 12th on SE Ankeny to play games, relax and unwind, build 3D wooden art structures, and engage our neighbors in a reimagination of our vacant spaces.” More info here.
Bike Town Hall – 10:00 am at Lents Park (SE)
Join Senator Khanh Pham (SD 23) and Representatives Willy Chotzen (HD 46) and Thuy Tran (HD 45) for their annual town hall by bike. Ride around Southeast Portland learning about various organizations and issues. More info here.
I-205 Path Clean-up – 10:00 am at Flipside Bar and Carts (SE)
Volunteer with SOLVE to pick up trash on our beloved path near the Woodstock neighborhood. Cargo bikes encouraged to help haul! More info here.
Farm Ride – 9:00 am at Bella’s Organic Farm on Sauvie Island (NW)
Hosted by a new cycling (and more) club called Triathacore, this ride will be around the 12-mile Sauvie Island Loop and will stop back at the farm at the end. More info here.
Parking Lot Crit – 3:00 pm at SE 22nd and Lafayette (SE)
Fixed-gear fans will assemble and race in this unsanctioned, grassroots event that will include a prize raffle. More info here.
Valley Girl Ride to Movie – 2:30 at Hampton Opera Center (SE)
If you’re a fan of the ’80s, you’ll have fun on this ride which will roll over to OMSI to watch class “Valley Girl” movie on the big screen. 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.
Portland City Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane succeeded on many fronts last night: she made good on a campaign promise, she strengthened the city’s commitment to road safety, and she earned unanimous praise and support from all of her colleagues in passing her Vision Zero resolution.
Wednesday’s council meeting came after Koyama Lane hosted a rally and walk from Salmon Street Springs to City Hall where she was joined by advocates and other councilors — many of them wearing traffic safety orange.
Back in November, before Koyama Lane took her seat on the dais, she was moved to tears during a speech at a World Day of Remembrance event. “This shouldn’t be normalized,” she said. “This isn’t a topic that we’re just supposed to talk about when we’re running for office and it’s cool to go to Bike Happy Hour… we will keep fighting.” And keep fighting she did. Koyama Lane took what was merely a budget note in June and turned it into an official resolution that makes key administrative changes.
For years now, as deaths piled up and frustration grew, staff and leadership at the Portland Bureau of Transportation pushed the idea that in order to end fatal crashes, Vision Zero must transcend transportation and the commitment to safe roads must be integrated into the work of other bureaus. But talk only goes so far. Councilor Koyama Lane has now put that idea into action by moving PBOT’s top Vision Zero staffer, Dana Dickman, into the deputy city administrator’s (DCA’s) office. As we saw with the diverter removal plan debacle, when the administrative wing of city government makes decisions about road safety, bad things can happen. With Dickman ensconced at the DCA, that shouldn’t happen in the future.
“Political violence is sometimes, but not always, reacted to appropriately when there’s a person outside of a system conducting it. It’s almost never reacted to appropriately when it’s people in suits that do it at a dais like this one — but it should be assessed as such. We bear responsibility when we, through our actions or our inactions, let people die.”
– Sameer Kanal, Portland city councilor
Koyama Lane’s resolution also stands up a new task force that will include staff from multiple bureaus and develop a new action plan. A document shared with city councilors ahead of last night’s meeting includes examples of possible, “cross-bureau Initiatives for increasing traffic safety” from six city bureaus: Environmental Services, Planning and Sustainability, Fire and Rescue, Police, Fleet and Facilities, and Parks and Recreation. Further evidence of this cross-bureau collaboration came from the fact that all four of the city’s DCAs — the leaders of the City Operations, Community & Economic Development, Public Safety, and Public Works service areas — attended last night’s meeting.
Two amendments to the main resolution passed last night. One, from Councilor Candace Avalos, had to do with the make-up of that new task force; the other, from Councilor Eric Zimmerman, concerned the issue of how homeless Portlanders are overrepresented in fatality statistics.
Avalos wanted to make sure the new task force does not leave out community members. PBOT’s plan to make the task force an internal one — without nonprofit representatives or outside experts — has caused some heartburn among advocates in the past few weeks. Avalos’ amendment, which was accepted with unanimous consent, will make sure PBOT seeks, “meaningful community engagement in the development of its analysis and action plan.” PBOT Vision Zero Policy Manager Dana Dickman reinforced that intention during testimony last night. She said advocates and subject-matter experts will be brought in to working groups and will have other opportunities to influence the work of the task force.
Councilor Zimmerman said he feels it’s, “incredibly concerning” that of all the people killed while walking on Portland streets, about half are people who live on them. He passed an amendment that calls on the new task force to, “specifically examine the over-representation of traffic fatalities involving people experiencing homelessness, conduct an analysis of the underlying causes and recommend targeted strategies to reduce and prevent these deaths.”
In addition to the two amendments, there were a few other notable comments and exchanges from the councilors.
Councilor Dan Ryan spoke up to support automated camera enforcement and more policing. “[Vision Zero] Actions have been largely focused on road and traffic design and attempts to reduce car reliance… We need proactive and visible enforcement of traffic laws, and we need to address the unsafe activities occurring in our roadways,” he said. Ryan also tried to connect what he says were “added restrictions on police enforcement activities, specifically profiling and limiting traffic stops” in 2021 with a spike in fatalities. “It was not clear how these are related to Vision Zero’s original mission,” he said. Ryan wanted to know how why a city committed to Vision Zero would reduce traffic enforcement.
When PBOT Director Millicent Williams said police should answer, PPB Assistant Chief Amanda McMillan approached the microphone. Asst. Chief McMillan supported Ryan’s contention that there was a correlation between less policing and more traffic deaths and said that the PPB, “Did pull back resources back to the precincts in the wake of everything that was coming out of 2020 and 2021 [a reference to the George Floyd protests] and at that time the number of traffic fatalities rose.” “We’ve [since] reconstituted our traffic unit and we have those resources redeployed and we’ve seen a reduction now in traffic fatalities,” McMillan continued. “Maybe there’s a correlation there.”
Seeming pleased with the supportive testimony of the assistant chief, Councilor Ryan concluded the exchange by saying, “Since that [additional traffic policing] went in, you see a correlation when they’re going down. So I hope that becomes more and more of the dialogue.”
What Councilor Ryan nor Asst. Chief McMillan mentioned was that the PPB chose to pull back traffic enforcement as a political stunt to pressure council to increase police funding. Councilor Angelita Morillo worked as a staffer in city hall for the former commissioner-in-charge of PBOT when all that went down, and she was not going to let Ryan’s comments stand without a response.
“Part of the reason that Traffic Division was partially removed was because we found that they were disproportionately stopping Black Portlanders… So we need to put that into context as to why some of those decisions were made,” Morillo said. “This idea that our officers were not able to pull people over who are committing traffic offenses is not true, and it actually ended up being a political issue. BikePortland ended up interviewing an officer, who said, and I quote, ‘We needed to create a stir to get some change, to get the city council to fund us back up. And I mean, that’s the honest truth. I know that could make things more dangerous, but at the same time, we needed some change.’ So they were publicly talking about the fact that they had less traffic officers and that they weren’t going to enforce traffic violations in order to politically motivate the council to get more funding, and that is a dark history of Vision Zero that we need to address.”
When it comes to which of the 12 councilors spoke most strongly about Vision Zero, I’d give that honor to Councilor Sameer Kanal. He shared that in conversations with road safety advocates during his campaign, he learned there was a feeling that while “Vision Zero has been a nice commitment that people support, the feeling was broadly that nobody in power was willing to say at the time it was a numerical goal.” What Kanal is referring to hear is the reticence among some elected officials and policymakers to stand behind the “zero” part of the conversation.
“I think it’s important for as many of us — and some have already done so — to say zero is a numerical goal. It is a literal target for me,” Kanal said. He also mentioned a hot button issue of the day: political violence:
“Political violence is sometimes, but not always, reacted to appropriately when there’s a person outside of a system conducting it. It’s almost never reacted to appropriately when it’s people in suits that do it at a dais like this one — but it should be assessed as such. We bear responsibility when we, through our actions or our inactions, let people die.”
What actual steps is Kanal prepared to take to move the needle on Vision Zero? “Street design is the primary method that will achieve this,” he said, “and I intend to pursue implementing this over time with budget allocations through modal filtering, through support for transit — especially rail — and for converting select streets to car free completely and permanently.
We need to work to make the last traffic death we had, truly the last traffic death in Portland.”
For a taste of the public testimony, watch the powerful remarks of Portland dad and bike bus leader Rob Galanakis.
— View the resolution and supporting documents on city council’s website.
Is nowhere safe?
Our driving culture has devolved to such a low point in Portland that it often feels like there’s nowhere you can go without worrying about a car user having some sort of negative impact on your day — or your life.
Drivers are slamming into homes, driving on bike paths and in public parks, and even flying over embankments into our rivers.
On Sunday, a park in Northeast Portland that’s usually a place of community and calm for neighbors had its serenity pierced by a reckless driver. Someone plowed into the pocket park at NE 13th on the NE Holman neighborhood greenway. And to make it worse, the driver rammed over bollards that were fashioned to look like LEGO figures and installed shortly after the creation of the park in 2012.
I heard a bit more from a reader yesterday (in response to a post about it on social media). “This was quite a bad scene,” they shared. “It looked like they hit another vehicle and were running from that incident when this happened. After they hit the bollards they sat there and floored the gas trying to drive away for 5 more minutes until neighbors convinced them to shut off the car.”
If not for the two LEGO bollards in the middle of the path that runs through the park (see photos above), this driver would have likely created more havoc in the neighborhood. Thsoe bollards deserve a medal for their heroism!
I first heard about this from a reader who sent me a photo of the damaged bollard, and then sent me a link from the Woodlawn Nextdoor feed. When I read the post from a woman who saw the aftermath of the incident, my heart sank. Her words are troubling on so many levels (be sure to read to the end):
“In the Woodlawn neighborhood where my neighbor’s little kids play frequently and we generally think we are safe from cars. This van took out not only the first one but apparently was out of control and speeding fast enough to land/take out another one from the next pair as well, meaning it went over/toppling the first blockade and into the middle! JFC. Be careful out there. Teach your kids to listen for high speed cars, look toward it and safely distance themselves to stay clear. There have been too many of these lately.”
This is where we are. A mom telling other parents to teach kids to listen for reckless drivers even while playing in a park.
I’ve confirmed with a witness that the driver was arrested and taken into custody by the Portland Police Bureau.
Given that infrastructure and enforcement will only get us so far, we must do more to break the cycle of dysfunctional culture that breeds this type of driving behavior.
Bicycles and the people who ride them have a long history of joining social justice movements in Portland. During the Occupy Portland protests in 2011, an ad hoc group known as “Bike Swarm” played a key role in protecting protestor encampments from police officers. A version of Bike Swarm returned in 2020 and supported the Black Lives Matter protests that erupted after the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
The latest example will happen later today when anti-ICE groups and Vision Zero advocates come together at City Hall.
This unification of activists happens when Portlanders face threats that present themselves on the street — an environment where bicycles are often more adaptable, powerful, and effective than feet or cars. The current threat too many Portlanders face is federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrolling streets. Earlier this week, City Councilor Sameer Kanal reported that two North Portland residents were “kidnapped” by ICE.
Councilor Kanal also appeared at Bike Happy Hour last week to share an update on his work to strengthen Portland’s sanctuary city status and to encourage bike advocates to stay connected to Council’s Community and Public Safety Committee meetings (which he co-chairs).
Later today, folks will have a chance to show support for immigrants and/or safe streets when advocates for both issues will converge at Salmon Street Springs for festivities ahead of City Hall rallies and a City Council meeting where a Vision Zero resolution is on the table.
Activists with Revolutionary Bicycle Club (RBC), whom some of you might recall meeting at Bike Happy Hour back in May, or more recently when they protested my interview with Mayor Wilson, are leading a ride to the Vision Zero parade in coordination with Revoke the ICE Permit PDX, a group calling for the City of Portland to revoke the permit that allows ICE to operate out of a building on South Macadam Avenue.
Organizers with RBC are appealing to safe streets advocates when they write in the description of today’s ride: “This is the moment to understand that our struggles are inextricably intertwined! From ICE kidnappings to car-culture domination, our streets have been made unsafe because we have allowed that to happen.”
RBC’s presence could make for an interesting contrast with the bike parade and popsicle handout being organized by City Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane as part of her push to raise awareness for Portland’s Vision Zero commitment. RBC is asking folks to wear red and black to show solidarity with immigrants. Councilor Koyama Lane is asking folks to wear (traffic cone) orange.
No matter what color you wear, what type of activism you prefer, or what group(s) you support, I hope you consider showing up to Salmon Street Springs at 4:50 for the gathering and/or making your way to City Hall for the rallies and 6:00 pm council meeting.
It’s time to show up and unite to keep our streets safe!
— Please note: I can’t make it to Bike Happy Hour or these events today (my son has a cross country meet and my knee has had a recent setback). Folks will still meet in the Rainbow Road plaza from 3:00 to 6:00 pm, but I encourage everyone to attend the Vision Zero parade and council meeting if you’re able!
CORRECTION, 9/18 at 7:40 am: The initial version of this story said one of the two people who were taken by ICE agents was waiting outside a school with their teenage child. That was not accurate. According to Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, both men were pulled over while driving. I regret the error and any confusion it may have caused.