The valet in 2012. It’s co-funded by OHSU and the private bike shop that operates nearby.
(Photos: J.Maus/BikePortland)

One of Portland’s most unusual experiments in privately funded bike promotion keeps growing and growing.

[Read more…]

Inside the Lloyd Cycle Station, where you can catch a game on the tube while you chill after a ride.
(Photos: M.Andersen/BikePortland unless noted)

Generally speaking, Portland does bike parking better than any city in North America. And one of the continent’s biggest bike parking projects is about to open in the middle of it.

The Lloyd Cycle Station, which opens to the public next month in the basement of the Lloyd 700 Building at 700 NE Multnomah Street, will offer half of the record-breaking 1,200 indoor bike parking spaces constructed as part of Hassalo on Eighth in the Lloyd District. But unlike most residential bike parking projects, this facility will also be open to people who work or shop in the area.

The 24-hour facility will offer service from on-site mechanics, paid lockers, showers, a bike-repair stand, extra-large cargo bike parking, a bike wash and free “commute consultations.”

[Read more…]

The suburbanite’s familiar search.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

BikePortland’s bike parking coverage is sponsored by Huntco Site Furnishings.

Suburban parking lots often fail horribly at bike parking — not because it’s expensive but simply because developers weren’t thinking about it.

But as hundreds of Portland retailers can testify, decent bike parking is a big part of making a business district bike-friendly. It’s a key part of making it feel natural and normal to go out for an errand, a beer, a meeting, a movie or a daycare dropoff on a bicycle.

With low-car lifestyles getting more common in Washington County over the last few years, some people in the area are looking to upgrade the bike parking. That’s why the Westside Transportation Alliance is working on a project right now to select the best locations for new bike racks.

[Read more…]

Bikes parked outside Planet Granite on NW 14th and Pettygrove.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

I have a thing for bike parking.
[Read more…]

With room for 42 bikes right up front, PNCA is doing it right.
(Photos J. Maus/BikePortland)

When the Pacific Northwest College of Art moved, they made sure one crucial piece of their old campus came with them: the bike parking.
[Read more…]

Not going to cut it.
(Photo: Todd Boulanger)

Last week we shared the unfortunate story of new bike parking at the U.S. Bancorp Tower. It’s unfortunate because — despite a brand new, million dollar plaza renovation — whoever installed the bike racks got it completely wrong (we’re still waiting to hear back from the architecture firm that led the project).

That story had us checking the City of Portland code to see if the new Bancorp Tower racks were in compliance (they appear to violate at least one Administrative Rule). On a similar note, a few weeks back we heard from reader and former City of Vancouver (WA) transportation planner Todd Boulanger. Boulanger cc’d us on an email to Sarah Figliozzi, a bicycle program specialist at PBOT.

His emailed contained that photo above and this message: [Read more…]

Park A Bike’s Christopher Luyet explains
the features of his “bike dock”.
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Bike thieves have upped their game and rack manufacturers see a business opportunity.

Not content with using mere bolt-cutters to snip your cable lock or a mini car-jack to pry open your u-lock, thieves are now using power saws. Yes, power saws that can easily zing through the rounded pipes used in over 6,000 of those official blue “staple” Bureau of Transportation bike racks and countless street signs that people lock to when there’s no staple nearby.

Just this morning we learned about the latest power-saw-bike-theft victim via reddit.[Read more…]

Sawed then stolen.
(Photos: BikeIndex.org)

Portland thieves will stop at nothing to take your beloved bike.

In the wee hours of this morning, someone sawed clean through a standard-issue City of Portland staple rack and stole a Trek Lexa road bike.

The theft happened in front of Star Bar at SE 7th and Morrison and was first reported via its listing on BikeIndex.org. Bryan Hance from Bike Index said the listing came in at 6:00 am so he suspects the theft occurred overnight. (We’re still trying to get in contact with the bike’s owner.)
[Read more…]

Bibiana McHugh of TriMet gave a
special sneak preview of the tool today.
(Photo: Michael Andersen)

This guest post is by Michael Andersen of Portland Afoot, PDX’s 10-minute newsmagazine and wiki for transit commuters.

Already known internationally for its top-notch website and pioneering use of open data, Portland’s transit agency is about to take another leap toward making low-car life easy and intuitive.

With the launch of its new Regional Trip Planner – that’s the link to the latest version, which will go live on TriMet’s website tomorrow – TriMet will be the first American transit agency whose website uses open-source software to plan trips the way low-car humans do: by figuring out the best combination of bike, train, bus, foot and even, eventually (gasp) automobile.

[Read more…]