🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏
Proper “take the lane” form.(Photos © J. Maus) Many of you already know that you have the legal right to “take the lane” when necessary. What’s less understood is what this actually means, both in practice on the road and in the law. “Take the lane” is a common phrase, almost a rallying cry in … Read more
One block of SW Ankeny will be carfree for four months starting in June.(Photo © J. Maus) The Oregonian reported yesterday that the Portland Bureau of Transportation has worked with business owners to negotiate a permit that will make SW Ankeny Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues carfree from June 21st to October 21st. This … Read more
“100 years ago architects were fascinated by cars and how cars would transform cities… Now, architects are quite naturally looking at bicycles.” Steven Fleming is an architectural historian, lecturer, theorist, and urban planning philosopher with a thing for bicycles. The well-traveled academic (he calls Newcastle, Australia home) is currently researching a book on what he … Read more
Preliminary concept drawing of Tracey Sparling Memorial Pedal Garden.(Drawing by David Boekelheide and Evan Holt/PNCA)
Heading to the ‘Couve? Remember your helmet.(Photos © J. Maus) Back in 2008, Vancouver (WA) passed an all-ages, mandatory helmet law. While enforcement has been nearly nonexistent since then, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) says that’s about to change. Hoping to increase compliance with the law, VPD spokesperson Kim Kapp tells us new police patrols, … Read more
Len Rubin has a dream to mass produce these trailers in Portland, and he’s asking the community to help him make it happen.(Photo: Tamara Rubin) Remember Len Rubin? He’s the Sellwood resident whose one-of-a-kind, custom folding bike was stolen and then recovered a few weeks later. Now Rubin is asking the community to help him … Read more
The Dekum Building could become Portland’s first major public bike parking facility.(Photo: Naito Properties) The Dekum Building on SW 3rd and Washington in downtown Portland was built in 1892. It’s the oldest office building in the city and the former home of famed global ad agency Wieden + Kennedy. Now, building owner and manager Naito … Read more
I’ve gotten a few readers photos lately that are worth sharing. The first comes from reader Jeff Bernards, who noticed a peculiar traffic safety display at SE 76th and Stark the other day…
Sing, play guitar, speak Spanish: PBOT employee Timo Forsberg goes the extra mile.(Photo © J. Maus) The Transportation Options Division within the City of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation has published it’s biking and walking maps in Spanish for years (and they recently added five new languages to the mix). It’s one thing to print resources … Read more
New storefront for Western Bike Worksat NW Lovejoy and 17th.(Photos © J. Maus) Even in a down economy, Portland’s bike business boom shows no signs of letting up, especially when it comes to bike shops. Throughout the city — from Northwest to East Portland — shops large and small are expanding or opening their doors … Read more
[Publisher’s note: As anyone who follows me on Twitter or who has read the comments and stories on this site closely over the years knows, I have a thing for language. In my opinion, the words we use have a very powerful role in shaping the narrative around transportation issues. I see examples of this … Read more
Oregon State Parks’ Scenic Bikeway Program wasn’t considered in the rankings.(Photo © J. Maus) New ‘Bicycle Friendly State’ rankings by the League of American Bicyclists put Oregon in 8th place, a loss of three places since last year and the first time since the rankings began in 2008 that Oregon has not made the top … Read more