15 miles of Portland streets willget calmer, safer, and more enjoyable for bikes in the coming months.(Photo © J. Maus) At a subcommittee meeting before the monthly Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting in City Hall last night, the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Traffic Safety Program Manager Mark Lear and Traffic Safety Specialist Greg Raisman outlined details … Read more
Looks like Multnomah County is set to redesign the “streetscape” on Scholls Ferry Road. What does this mean to you? Well, according to their press release (below), they want feedback on the design plan which will “identify ways to improve bicycle and pedestrian travel through the corridor.” If you ride on Scholls Ferry, check out … Read more
Dave Aldersebaes accepts his “Off-the-Back” award from OBRA Exec. Director Kenji Sugahara.(Photo: Tom Hartkop) Members and leaders of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) had a lot to be happy about in 2008. Year-end stats from OBRA officials show that there were 3900 licensed riders at the end of the year — a 13% increase … Read more
“Over the few blocks that I rode, I saw it used in a number of ways, including actual cycling.” While I was in New York City for a few hours on Wednesday on my way from New Haven to Baltimore, I took the Brompton for a rainy ride down the new 9th Avenue cycletrack. The … Read more
A sharrow in action on NW 9th in Portland.(Photos © J. Maus) The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation and TriMet are discussing the idea of installing shared lane markings (a.k.a. sharrows) on the entire length of the new downtown transit mall. Sharrows are a type of pavement marking that are placed on streets with … Read more
The Springwater Trail is muchmore than just a park.(Photos © J. Maus) Last month we shared the news that the City of Gresham had decided to close the Springwater Corridor Trail at night. They said they were doing it “for everyone’s safety” and to bring the trail in line with their other park facilities. Opposition … Read more
This pothole was chalked up on the Pothole Ride last year.(Photo: Heather Andews) The Portland Bureau of Transportation just issued their latest press release about the big winter storm. This time, the focus is on potholes. PBOT is urging residents to report potholes* because the “heavy snowfall caused treacherous conditions for motorists…” (Hey wait, don’t … Read more
PBOT traffic safety expert Greg Raisman.(Photos © J. Maus) In 2008, there were no fatal bike crashes in the City of Portland. After a tumultuous 2007, when we had six fatal bike crashes (two of them very high-profile), this was welcome news by many in the community. To gain more perspective on this statistic, I … Read more
The Community Task Force for the Sellwood Bridge project is set to meet on Monday (1/5) and the agenda will include a discussion and “possible recommendation” of a locally preferred alternative. Here’s more from a press release sent out today by Multnomah County (they own and manage the bridge): The task force will also hear … Read more
Christopher Heaps The article below was written by Christopher Heaps. Heaps is a Sellwood resident who rides his bike daily to his job as a lawyer with Stoel Rives in downtown Portland. You might remember Heaps as the lawyer who garnered a headline or two for successfully carrying out the “citizen-initiated citation” process. We wrote … Read more
Looking south SW 6th Avenue at SW Yamhill Street.(Photo: PortlandMall.org) As part of their Portland Mall Light Rail project, TriMet has announced several “major changes” for bike traffic on 5th and 6th Avenues. According to TriMet Planner/Bike Programs staffer Colin Maher, effective January 12th, bikes (and cars) must obey the following traffic laws:
The University of Portland has just acquired the property outlined in yellow. Supporters of a transportation trail along the river see this as a major step forward.(Image courtesy U of P)