(Photo © Jonathan Maus) The city of Vancouver, Washington is considering adoption of a new ordinance that would require the use of helmets by anyone under the age of 18. The new ordinance is set to go before the Vancouver City Council on Monday, January 14 at 6:00 p.m. Vancouver is currently one of just … Read more
Christopher Heaps The article below was written by Christopher Heaps. Heaps is a lawyer with Stoel Rives who has volunteered to carry out the “citizen-initiated citation” process (as outlined in ORS 153.058) to retroactively cite Lisa Wheeler (the woman who hit Siobhan Doyle at N. Interstate and Greeley back in October) for “failure to yield”. … Read more
Lawyer Christopher Heaps.(Photos © Jonathan Maus) Christopher Heaps, the Portland attorney who’s leading an effort to bring a motor vehicle driver to justice for failing to yield to a bicycle in a bike lane, plans to file the formal citation at the Multnomah County Courthouse tomorrow. Heaps has completed an Oregon Uniform Citation and Complaint … Read more
[Updated: 11/3, 10:05pm] As reported by Emily Gardner of the BTA on Friday, SK Northwest has filed an appeal with the Oregon Court of Appeals. It seems SK Northwest, who wants to develop a riverfront parcel for their personal watercraft business, can’t accept a recent Land Use Board of Appeals opinion that the city’s demand … Read more
A couple crosses at NW 9th and Lovejoy.(Photo © Jonathan Maus) Local lawyer Ray Thomas, a tireless defender of bicyclist’s rights who most recently spoke at the We are All Traffic press conference, has released a new book to help educate that other group of vulnerable roadway users: pedestrians. Oregon Pedestrian Rights is billed as … Read more
The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA), which has “exclusive jurisdiction to review all governmental land use decisions”, has issued an opinion on the SK Northwest case. Their decision (dated November 8th) to “remand” the case means it will now be sent back to the City of Portland for further review. (You can view … Read more
Lawyer Bob Mionske Portland-based lawyer Bob Mionske, a former Olympian who writes a monthly legal column for VeloNews Magazine, has added yet another voice of concern over what he sees as a bias against bicyclists at the Portland Police Bureau. In his most recent VeloNews column, A fatal bias?, Mionske goes in-depth on four cases … Read more
[NOTE: Please scroll to end of story for an important note.] “We made the best we could out of this situation.”–Multnomah County DA Jim Hayden The two women involved in the fatal hit-and-run that killed Jerry Hinatsu earlier this year will receive a fine, probation and two-months in jail. After Hinatsu collided with their vehicle, … Read more
Why were the truck drivers not given a citation for failure to yield to a bicycle in a bike lane?
“…when the intention to harm one individual inadvertently causes a second person to be hurt instead.”-from Wikipedia’s definition of “transferred intent” A KGW report and a police spokesperson have said that one of the cyclists injured in last Friday’s road rage incident was completely unrelated to the initial altercation between driver Johnny Eschweiler and cyclist … Read more
There has been some confusion about whether or not passengers on TriMet MAX trains are required to move for bicycles in the designated bike hook area. Now, in a comment exchange from a post back in April TriMet has clarified that passengers are not required to move in order to make room for bicycles. Here’s … Read more
After it seemed like the final nail had been put in the coffin on SK Northwest’s development proposal, they have announced yet another appeal. A quick look back at my coverage shows that this would be their fifth appeal since June 2006.