Guest Article: Why Portland needs a safe passing distance ordinance

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


Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Guest Article: Erik Tonkin on why he joined the FPC

Erik Tonkin(Photos © J. Maus) [Publisher’s note: This article was written by Sellwood Cycle Repair co-owner, community advocate, and beloved off-road racer, Erik Tonkin. Erik writes about an issue that’s close to his heart, mountain bike access in Forest Park. He’s been riding his mountain-bike and ‘cross bike in the park for 16 years. For … Read more


Portland and the rise of the “American-style” cycle track

“Sam (Adams) has directed (City Traffic Engineer) Rob Burchfield to indentify opportunities for a “high visibility” cycle track to be rolled out in Sam’s first 100 days as mayor.” — Sam Adams’ chief of staff Tom Miller, in an email to Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder There’s no denying that 2009 is shaping up to be … Read more


Guest Article: Two rights don’t make a right

Jessica Roberts(Photo © J. Maus) This article was written by Jessica Roberts. Jessica is the former metro area advocate for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and she is now a planner with Alta Planning and Design, one of the nation’s premier bike and pedestrian planning firms. Jessica previously wrote about how to get letters published in … Read more


Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

House passes bailout bill; bike commuter tax benefit becomes law

Blumenauer at the unveiling of his Gas Price Relief Act, one of manypieces of legislation that included a bike commuter tax break over the years.(Photo: J. Maus) What a long, strange trip it’s been for Congressman Earl Blumenauer and his Bike Commuter Act. The House Democrat is a former City Commissioner of Transportation in Portland … Read more


Editorial: U.S. automakers get their bailout

A massive lobbying effort spearheaded by General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler has resulted in passage of a $25 billion package of low-cost loans to help them re-tool for the “next generation of fuel-efficient motor vehicles”. Automakers originally wanted $50 billion (twice what they got last go-round), and even then the plan was supported by both … Read more