Would more bike cops and fewer riot cops lead to peaceful protests?

The face of a front-line officer at yesterday’s protest.(Photo © J. Maus) Our story about cops on bikes at the Occupy Portland protests yesterday has sparked a dialogue (that’s happening citywide, not just on BikePortland) about the size and style of force the City of Portland is bringing to these events. In a comment on … Read more


Editorial: Amid historic cuts, thoughts on “fundamental restructuring” of PBOT

Severe cuts will force us to make bold decisions on how we prioritize funding.(Photos © J. Maus) The Portland Bureau of Transportation made an historic announcement on Monday. In order to balance their budget, the agency needs to make $16 million in ongoing cuts. Not one-time cuts to patch a lean year, but ongoing and … Read more


Opinion: Parallels for bike advocacy and lessons from the ‘Occupy’ protests

Sign from Occupy Portland march on October 6th.(Photos © J. Maus) Taking part in both Occupy Portland marches and watching support for the protestors grow both here and across the country, has been extremely inspiring for me. It has also got me thinking (of course) about the national bike movement. Are there lessons to learn? … Read more


Friday Opinion: The Dutch and us

Just another day in the Netherlands.(Screen grab) The Dutch Cycling Embassy launched this week. Their mission? “To facilitate cycling worldwide as the most modern, efficient and sustainable means of transportation by sharing our expertise and technology as the world’s number one cycling country.” They’ve also released Cycling for Everyone, a 7-plus minute video that gives … Read more


Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

‘Vehicle’s only!’ stencil: Sign of a power shift on our roads?

Stencil seen in Mt. Tabor neighborhood.(Photo: Adam R.) Reader Adam R. sent me an interesting photo a few days ago. It’s a DIY stencil that’s apparently one of many painted on streets throughout Southeast Portland. It reads, “Vehicle’s Only!” and it’s written in all caps. Grammatical slip-ups aside (bikes are vehicles too and of course … Read more