The heat dome that enveloped the Pacific Northwest last June was catastrophic and traumatic for people across the region. Temperatures skyrocketed to unprecedented heights: on June 28, 2021, Portland heat reached an average of 116 degrees. This surpassed not only local records, but also shot past the historic high in Dallas, Texas. At the time, … Read more
Rabbitt Fox, a person who inspired many people in many different ways, is no longer with us. As word has spread throughout the community this week, people are mourning and sharing memories online, in group texts and in sad conversations. You might have known of Rabbitt, even if you didn’t actually know Rabbitt. That was … Read more
Portlanders love yard signs and neighborhood greenways and a new initiative from the Bureau of Transportation wants to take full of advantage of it. About 25,000 people who live on our 110-mile network of neighborhood greenways citywide received a postcard in the mail this week that exclaims: “You Live on a Neighborhood Greenway!” The postcard … Read more
The honeymoon for free use of Portland’s public right-of-way will soon be over. The bureau of transportation just announced a new fee structure for their Healthy Business permits that have been awarded to over 1,000 businesses since May 2020. Starting September 1st, businesses will have to pay $150 for an application, then pay $500 for … Read more
Good urban planning means the average person traveling around a city doesn’t need to know anything about what went into designing it – they can just get around intuitively. Peter Koonce, who manages the traffic signals and street lighting division at the Portland Bureau of Transportation, is keenly aware of this. Koonce and his team … Read more
“The increased popularity means greater demand on already subpar active transportation infrastructure that fails to meet our climate or safety requirements and goals.” – Electric Bikes For All coalition A broad coalition of business owners and nonprofit organizations who are pushing for more electric bicycle use in Oregon are sounding an alarm about the lack … Read more
“I don’t want to sound like ‘Johnny-one-note’ with our cycling agenda, but burning calories instead of fossil fuel is something that will make a difference right now.” -Earl Blumenauer Thanks to inflation and the war in Ukraine, gas prices have hit record highs, and in the car-dependent United States, a lot of people across the … Read more
Congratulations. If you’re reading this you made it through our first serious heat wave of the season. Heat is a serious issue and is becoming an even bigger deal as the planet warms up due to climate change. How serious? 72 people died in Multnomah County during the “heat dome” that happened one year ago … Read more
Can you believe it’s already week four of Pedalpalooza Bike Summer. How are you holding up? To help guide you through the fun options, every Monday we choose one ride from each day that looks interesting and worthy of your attention. As always, check out our Weekend Event Guide and Calendar for more of our … Read more
It almost felt like old times on Sunday: The live music, the freebies and food from vendors in the parks, smiling families where everyone is on a bike. Sunday Parkways made a big comeback yesterday after a two-year hiatus and thousands of Portlanders showed us once again that when given a safe place to ride … Read more
“Lesser Evil candidate knows they don’t have to be good, they just have to be slightly less evil than Greater Evil candidate.” Welcome to the Comment of the Week, where we highlight good comments in order to inspire more of them. You can help us choose our next one by replying with “comment of the … Read more
Our city hamstrings itself by putting city commissioners — who possibly have no management experience, background or interest in a bureau — in charge of running them. Portland took another step toward good governance with the recent Charter Commission vote to advance their reforms to the November ballot. This City Council appointed, 20-member group of … Read more