Chris Smith at his campaign announcement this morning.Watch video below(Photo: © Jonathan Maus) This morning in front Skidmore Fountain, as MAX trains rumbled by, a small group of supporters and onlookers heard transportation and neighborhood activist Chris Smith make the first speech of his campaign for Portland City Council. I’ve seen and heard Smith at … Read more
Chris Smith at the Bicycle Master Plan Ride in July(Photo: Jonathan Maus) After much speculation, noted citizen activist and blogger Chris Smith has officially declared his run for a spot on Portland’s City Council. He plans to make the news public at an event on Wednesday (9/26) morning at Skidmore Fountain (see below for event … Read more
BTA Interim Director Scott Bricker(Photo: Jonathan Maus) Scott Bricker, the Interim Executive Director of the Portland-based Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA), is set to testify before a Congressional committee during a trip to Washington DC next week. On Monday, Bricker will join Deb Hubsmith of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, and the Chairman of … Read more
House SpeakerNancy Pelosi(Photo: Wikipedia) As you might have heard, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, was in Portland last week for a forum on global warming put together by Congressman Earl Blumenauer. A bunch of energy wonks in a room full of politicos might not seem like a big deal to … Read more
DeFazio and Oberstar seemed more like running-mates than Congressional colleagues.(Photos: Jonathan Maus) Last night’s ride report was cut short and I didn’t get a chance to share more thoughts and photos of Congressman Oberstar and Representative DeFazio from last night. The two members of Congress joined Cycle Oregon for a grueling climb yesterday and then … Read more
League of American Bicyclists Director Andy Clarke.(Photo: Jonathan Maus) Andy Clarke, the Director of the League of American Bicyclists has issued a two-page letter in response to statements made by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters on a television show last night. In the letter (full text below), Clarke calls on Peters to stand by … Read more
[Updated 8/16, 12:55pm] U.S. Transportation Sec.Mary Peters on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer(Photo: PBS) In an interview on last night’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (on PBS), U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters said she doesn’t think “bike paths” are an appropriate use of our nation’s transportation infrastructure budget. In the wake of the bridge collapse … Read more
[See below for YouTube version of McHenry’s statement.] Poster that accompanied a statement on the House floor by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) who said bicycles were a, “19th century solution to a 21st century problem.”
Karl Rohde(Photo) The changes keep coming at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA). According to the BTA’s Interim Executive Director Scott Bricker they’re set to hire former Lake Oswego City Councilor Karl Rohde to the newly created position of Interim Governmental/Public Affairs Director. Rohde will become the BTA’s main lobbyist in Salem, taking over the role … Read more
A bill that would have allowed bicyclists to yield at stop signs passed the Oregon House in 2003.(File photo) Continuing the discussion of whether or not Oregon should seek an Idaho-style, roll-and-go stop sign law for bicycles, I recently looked back at our previous flirtation with the idea. Back in the 2003 legislative session, Senator … Read more
I was surprised last week when Senator Floyd Prozanski introduced a vehicular homicide bill (SB 1058) with just a week left in the session. Knowing how long it takes to push a bill through the system, it was obvious the bill had no chance of passing. So what was the point? I wondered the same … Read more
Rep. Jerry Krummel(Photo: Krummel) State Representative Jerry Krummel (R-Wilsonville) is blaming House Democrats for killing HB 3020, a bill that would have directed the Department of Transportation to erect and maintain roadside memorial signs for pedestrians or bicyclists killed in motor vehicle collisions (upon application by a family member). Less than an hour after a … Read more