Lawmakers pass bill to require diversity in ODOT advisory committees
Posted on April 27th, 2021 at 4:18 pm.
Not everything in the bike lane is a “bi”-cycle.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Special coverage of the 2007 Legislative Session
You can also read about the BTA’s legislative efforts on their website.
Push for bike/walk spending increase in Oregon “Bike Bill” headed for compromise
Posted on April 13th, 2021 at 2:31 pm.
Screen grab from Bike Bill 50th Birthday Party.
Disability rights activist pushes bill for more diversity on ODOT committees
Posted on March 22nd, 2021 at 11:34 am.
People who ride these have a very different perspective.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
State lawmakers hear powerful opposition amid lots of support at ‘Safe Routes for All’ bill hearing
Posted on March 4th, 2021 at 11:35 am.
Lawmakers and advocates in the virtual meeting.
Senate Bill 395, also known as the Safe Routes for All bill, got its first hearing at the Oregon Legislature this morning where members of the Joint Transportation Committee heard much more support for the bill than opposition to it.
But what the opposition lacked in the collective power of their voices, they made up for in the power of the organizations they spoke up for.
Proposed by The Street Trust with sponsorship from Eugene-area Senator Floyd Prozanski (who was not in attendance today), SB 395 seeks to increase the minimum expenditure on bicycling and walking infrastructure from the State Highway Fund from 1% to 5% and make a few other key tweaks to what’s known as the Oregon Bike Bill, a groundbreaking piece of legislation passed in 1971.
[Read more…]
Oregon advocates launch ‘Safe Routes for All’ campaign to boost Bike Bill spending
Posted on March 2nd, 2021 at 9:07 am.
(Graphic: The Street Trust)
Senator behind push for Bike Bill spending boost offers dose of reality
Posted on February 11th, 2021 at 3:16 pm.
Riders on the I-205 path, built with State Highway Fund dollars.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Eugene-area Senator Floyd Prozanski will play a big role in whether or not a major effort to boost bicycle spending in Oregon will get the green light. [Read more…]
Backed by business and advocacy coalition, Blumenauer introduces ‘E-BIKE Act’
Posted on February 10th, 2021 at 9:52 am.
Customers eye Gazelle models at The E-Bike Store in north Portland.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Blumenauer’s bike-related bills move forward in $1.5 trillion House transportation bill
Posted on July 3rd, 2020 at 11:12 am.
The bill would change U.S. law so that transit agencies can more easily fund bikeshare systems.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
When we interviewed U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election he said, “If four years from now the places that can make the most advantage of transportation investments don’t get that help, that’s going to be not just a missed opportunity in terms of safety and economic benefits of transportation — it’s going to be a lost political opportunity as well.”
Yesterday, just four months before that four-year deadline, Rep. Blumenauer and his colleagues in the House of Representatives (led by fellow Oregon congressman Peter DeFazio) seized that political opportunity and successfully passed H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act.
The bill invests $1.5 trillion in infrastructure projects and programs including $500 billion for transportation-related needs. The League of American Bicyclists has heaped praise on the legislation, saying, “This bill is transformative – it’s the first bill to approach real reform in almost 30 years… and will move the country forward in building a safer, cleaner, more equitable transportation system that better meets the needs of everyone.”
Among the highlights are several of Blumenauer’s top priorities that he’s been pushing for years including a stronger tax benefit for people who ride a bicycle to work, a policy tweak that would allow transit agencies to invest in bikeshare systems, and funding for Vision Zero plans. Blumenauer introduced a total of nine bills that were included in the Moving Forward Act and five of them are related to transportation:
[Read more…]
Big weekend push helps Oregon’s ‘Idaho Stop’ bill pass final committee
Posted on June 24th, 2019 at 2:45 pm.
“Hey, did you hear we might not have to stop at these anymore?”.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)
Oregon’s attempt to decriminalize rolling stops for bicycle riders took a giant leap forward today when it was voted out of the House Rules Committee 5 to 2.
At Senate Bill 998‘s first House hearing on Thursday, committee members voiced several concerns with the idea of allow bicycle riders to treat stop signs and flashing red signals as yields. One member noticed there were only three pieces of testimony in the official record. So on Friday we put out a call to get more people to email the committee.
By today’s meeting there were 183 emails filed on the State legislative website — the vast majority of which were in strong support of the bill.[Read more…]
Bill that could make rural roads safer on its way to Governor’s desk
Posted on June 18th, 2019 at 5:18 pm.
Two people died on Sunday and a 4-year old was injured in this crash on McKay Road in the Willamette Valley.
A bill that has received unanimous support from the Oregon House and Senate will give counties throughout Oregon a new tool to improve safety on rural roads.
House Bill 3213 creates a pilot program that will allow five counties to designate a dangerous stretch of road as a “safety corridor”. The legislation is meant to stem the tide of serious and fatal crashes that plague rural roads throughout the state. During committee hearings for the bill, lawmakers heard that many of Oregon’s once quiet farming roads now see increased levels of driving due to population growth and people who want to avoid congested interstates.
Some of these rural, county-owned roads also happen to be popular for bicycle riding.
[Read more…]
