Graphic: The Street Trust

Stymied by Covid in 2020, the Oregon Active Transportation Summit is back and looks to be stronger than ever.[Read more…]

There’s been a lot of talk in Portland in recent years about the need for transportation reform advocates to take a more intersectional, coalition-oriented approach when pushing for big changes.

The NYC 25×25 campaign launched Monday by New York City-based nonprofit Transportation Alternatives looks to have set the standard by which all such efforts will be judged. It’s one of the most bold, exciting, and inclusive advocacy efforts we’ve ever seen.[Read more…]

Jess Thompson at an event in April 2019.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Oregon Walks Executive Director Jess Thompson announced Wednesday morning she’s leaving to take a job as leader of a nonprofit in Hawaii. The move will further hasten the organization’s shift away from traditional walking advocacy and toward anti-racism work that centers racial and social justice.

Thompson was hired in October 2018 to lead Oregon Walks, a group founded in 1991 that was formerly known as the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition.

“It is a bittersweet transition,” Thompson said in her announcement, “because I have learned so much from each of you as we have engaged in the work to center walking as climate, health, transportation, and social justice solution.”[Read more…]

Walkers for racial justice on the Burnside Bridge on June 1st.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

In the latest sign of evolution in the transportation advocacy world, Portland-based nonprofit Oregon Walks has named Don’t Shoot PDX as a winner of one of their ‘2020 Oregon Walkstar’ awards.

Don’t Shoot PDX formed in 2014 in response to the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The group has been on the frontlines of Portland’s protests against racial justice. In June they filed a lawsuit against the City of Portland over the use of tear gas against people protesting in the street*. [Read more…]

Detweiler at the 2018 Alice Awards gala.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

After three years at the helm of The Street Trust, Executive Director Jillian Detweiler plans to leave the organization. “It is the right time for me to step down,” she said in a statement released Friday.

The Street Trust, which was known as the Bicycle Transportation Alliance before a name and mission change in 2016, is a Portland-based nonprofit that aims to improve bicycling, walking, and transit.

Instead of searching for a new leader, The Street Trust has named three current staffers to new “co-director” positions. Current Advocacy Director Richa Poudyal, Development Director Tia Sherry, and Director of Finance and Operations Greg Sutliff will “embrace a new leadership model.” The staffers will maintain their current responsibilities and split ED duties.[Read more…]

An oasis for many riders in our community.
(Photos: Eric Thornburg/No Lens Cap)

Bike Farm in northeast Portland is based on a simple tenet: be open to everyone regardless of what they look like, what they believe, or how how much money they have. That’s why it’s been such a difficult blow to the organization and the people they serve to have been closed for over a month due to coronavirus concerns.

If you’re lucky enough to have a repair stand and tools at home (and the skills to use them), or if you can confidently stride into your local bike shop and get the service you need, you might not understand the value of a place like Bike Farm. This nonprofit, volunteer-run cooperative is a welcoming place full of used parts, tools anyone can use, and people eager to help you use them. They demystify bike repair and create self-reliant riders who are the backbone of our resilient transportation system.

Leaders of Bike Farm made the decision to close on March 13th, 10 days before Governor Kate Brown issued the “Stay Home” order. The plan was to re-open two weeks later, but ongoing virus fears have kept their doors locked. With no source of income during these warmer spring days when they usually get swamped with volunteers and customers, the outlook for them to keep up with rent and other operational expenses gets more ominous with each passing week.[Read more…]