Note: I'm currently on a family trip and not working normal hours. Email and message responses will be delayed and story and posting volumes here and on our social media accounts will not be at their usual levels until I return to Portland September 4th. Thanks for your patience and understanding. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor
October 2007 will always be remembered as a tragic time for our community. Fatal collisions took the lives of Brett Jarolimek and Tracey Sparling, and Bob Verrinder was critically injured from a collision with a car on Marine Drive.
The articles below chronicle those crashes and the resulting aftermath.
Doug Ollerenshaw as Pac-Manat last year’s Halloween race.View slideshow below(Photo © Jonathan Maus) Traditionally, the Halloween edition of the Cross Crusade is two days of fun and partying. Last year’s race, full of costumes and silliness, was one of my favorite events of the year. But this year, in light of recent events, things might … Read more
As detailed yesterday by the Oregonian (and later discussed on this site), the driver of the AGG Enterprises garbage truck that killed Brett Jarolimek last week had a slew of speeding infractions on his record. Now, I’ve learned that speeding was the least of his problems. According to my research and to sources who have … Read more
*[Updated 10/24, 2:34pm] (Photo © Jonathan Maus) A service to pay tribute to the life of Brett Jarolimek has been scheduled for Monday (10/29). The event is open to the public and will be held at 6:30 pm in the commons area of Pacific Northwest College of Art (1241 NW Johnson), where Jarolimek graduated in … Read more
Why were the truck drivers not given a citation for failure to yield to a bicycle in a bike lane?
*[Updated 10/24, 5:11pm] (Photo: Bob Mionske) Today’s edition of the Oregonian has more coverage of the collision that claimed the life of Brett Jarolimek. One of their stories, Truck driver has checkered record, reports that the driver of the garbage truck has had, “…a string of run-ins with police, including 25 convictions for speeding, driving … Read more
[*Updated: 8:45pm] (Photo © Jonathan Maus) City Commissioner of Transportation Sam Adams is convening an “emergency meeting” to discuss what the city can do to prevent bicycle fatalities in light of, “a recent string of tragedies”. An email invitation sent from his office says, “The conversation will focus on potential policy measures that could be … Read more
Late Monday night, a ghost bike was placed at the scene of yesterday’s fatal collision… (Photo © Jonathan Maus) Read remembrances of Brett Jarolimek.
*[Updated: 10/24, 12:39pm] The victim of today’s fatal collision in North Portland was Brett Jarolimek. Brett was an employee of the Bike Gallery and his death has hit many in our tight-knit community very hard. Brett Jarolimek racing at Alpenrose a few weeks ago.(Photo © Jonathan Maus) “Artist, craftsman, son, brother, cyclist, friend… I miss … Read more
[Updated: 3:58pm with photos from the scene.] Photo taken from the scene at 2:17pm. More photos below (Photo © Jonathan Maus) A bicyclist died in a collision with a garbage truck sometime around 12:30 today at the northwest corner of N. Interstate and Greeley in North Portland. I’m on the scene right now and just … Read more
*[Updated: 10/19, 8:16am, 9:14am, 10:41pm ] The Portland Police Bureau’s Major Crash Team responded to a serious injury collision involving a bicyclist at around 5:00pm tonight out on NE Marine Drive near the Portland Airport. View of motorist, driving west on Marine Drive.View Google Street View
(Photo © Jonathan Maus) Salem newspaper, the Statesman Journal has details about the memorial service planned for Tracey Sparling. “Her family will hold the event Thursday afternoon at the First Church of the Nazarene. Invited guests will speak about Tracey and a short reception will be held afterward, family members said.” The paper also has … Read more
With all the discussion going on about how to make bike travel safer on crowded downtown streets, I thought we should take a closer look at some of the options on the table. The first one has to do with signage and how legislation, enforcement, and engineering deal with non-motorized vehicle travel lanes (previously known … Read more
Comment of the Week: Gratitude for N/NE Broadway project