Six Portland Police officers from the Traffic Division recently underwent a comprehensive, 40-hour pedestrian and bicycle crash investigation course offered by the Institute of Police and Technology Management (IPTM) in Jacksonville Florida. According to IPTM literature, the course addressed the special dynamics involved in pedestrian and bicycle traffic crashes. From reaction times to victim injury … Read more
Right now the Chief of Police and Mayor Tom Potter are working to find a new Commander of the Traffic Division to replace the retiring Bill Sinnott. Bill was an ally to the bike community and we need to make sure his successor is just as open and willing to work with us. This position … Read more
What the heck is going on? Seems like every time I log on there are more stolen bikes to publish. There are 107 listed so far and I’m averaging about one a day for the past 2 months…and that’s only what gets listed here! There are surely many other bikes stolen throughout the city every … Read more
[L to R: Sinnott, Jeff Bernards and Dat Nguyen] After more than 25 years with the Portland Police Bureau, Traffic Division Commander Bill Sinnott will move on to a new career. Sinnott was a tremendous ally of the bike community. He was open and sincere about working with us to find solutions and ease the … Read more
[*Update: Here’s a link to the story and video from the KATU TV news coverage] Just got back from this morning’s Traffic Enforcement Action that was held at the intersection of NE Knott and 7th. These actions are a joint effort between the City of Portland Office of Transportation and the Portland Police Bureau. The … Read more
The Portland Police are planning another traffic enforcement action next Wednesday (the 22nd) at the intersection of NE Knott and 7th from 7:30 to 10:30AM. They call this an “Intersection Safety Enforcement Action” and they’ll be looking for motorists, cyclists, or pedestrians who fail to come to a complete stop. Here’s what happened the last … Read more
[Check to see if your bike is listed] A few days ago, a BikePortland.org reader noticed his stolen bike listed on Craigslist. Eager for revenge on the suspected thief he contacted the seller. Turns out the seller was a nice guy who had unknowingly bought the bike through the Police on eBay. Turns out that … Read more
The Portland Police staged an unannounced stop sign enforcement action this morning in inner southeast Portland. Unlike previous “enforcement actions” that were highly publicized beforehand and with signage in the road, this morning’s operation was more covert and unexpected. Check out the reaction to it on the Shift email list and a bit more, including … Read more
The LDTMA (Lloyd District Transportation Management Association) recently held an open forum to discuss bike issues in the Lloyd District area. They invited several NE Precinct police officers and traffic division commander Bill Sinnott. During the Q&A session, someone asked to see a list of the most common bicycle infractions and the cost for each … Read more
The Southeast Precinct of the Portland Police Bureau have started a bike theft awareness campaign. Officers have been standing on the Hawthorne Bridge in the early morning and passing out forms for cyclists to fill out and return to them. According to one cyclist, who was stopped last Tuesday at 6:30 AM, the form asks … Read more
After Wednesday’s traffic enforcement action, there was some confusion about ticket amounts and whether or not a trackstand (when a cyclist stops, but keeps their feet in the pedals) qualified as a “complete stop” in the eyes of the fuzz. Traffic division Commander Bill Sinnott wants to clear up the confusion…
In response to complaints of cyclists running stop signs, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) ran a traffic enforcement action at SE 26th and Clinton streets this morning. An enforcement action is sort of like a sting, except the cops put out cones and flags announcing it in all directions. They also publicized the location way … Read more