Thoughts on Portland’s bike movement; past, present, and future

“The fact is, Portland has largely built its bicycling infrastructure on non-controversial, inexpensive projects that squeeze bike facilities into current right-of-ways without inconveniencing drivers.”–Scott Cohen, PSU adjunct professor and member of the Multnomah County Bike/Ped Citizen’s Advisory Committee The other day I came across an interesting post on Scott Cohen’s Transportation History blog, and it … Read more


Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Pedalpalooza preview: The Stumptown Joustdown

The man behind the eventaboard “Juggernaut”.File photo:6/24/06 With Pedalpalooza just around the corner (June 7-23), I thought I’d feature some of the interesting events already on the calendar. The first one is the inaugural Stumptown Joustdown. Jousting is nothing new on the Portland scene, but what makes this one different is that it’s open to … Read more


TriMet’s bike policy differs from actual enforcement

File photo: 1/27/06 In the past two weeks, I’ve received three separate stories from readers about TriMet fare inspectors and security personnel pulling cyclists off trains for various reasons. At issue is how security personnel are enforcing TriMet’s official policy governing bicycles on MAX trains. I realize that security personnel are contracted by a third-party, … Read more


Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Rails-to-Trails rallies Portland for new funding campaign

Laura Cohen of the Rails toTrails Conservancy inCity Hall last week.File photo: 4/12/07 The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) stopped in Portland recently to meet with advocates and policy-makers to rally support for an ambitious congressional funding campaign. As I reported a few weeks ago, the RTC hopes to secure $2 billion in the next Federal Transportation … Read more