“Last weekend I was riding down NE Skidmore in broad sunlight, they walked out into the street as I passed and punched me…”-Gabriel Amadeus, in a comment on the Portland Mercury blog In the last few days I’ve heard of two more attacks on cyclists. Both of them happened in Northeast Portland. One near the … Read more
[Screenshot from KOIN story.Go here to find video.] BTA Director Evan Manvel reports that their Senate Bill 299 (PDF here) got some airtime on Portland’s CBS affiliate KOIN-TV yesterday. I watched the video clip and they do a solid job covering the issue. I’d recommend watching it. They have some interesting on-the-street interviews, some words … Read more
[John Canda, head of the Mayor’s Office on Youth Crime Prevention] On Wednesday I met with John Canda to hear his perspectives on how bikes might play a larger role in community policing. John is the Mayor’s youth crime prevention czar. Prior to that, he led the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, one of six coalitions … Read more
Several readers have written in complaining about gravel still left in many bike lanes throughout the city. It was initially spread to help with the ice and slick roads from our recent storm. One reader says,
[Click here for full story.Click here for the director’s cut interview.] Last night on the 11 o’clock news, KATU-TV (Portland’s ABC affiliate) ran a story titled, “Have cyclists become a target?” The KATU story aired as a direct result of the many comments received in response to the post about a pair of cyclists who … Read more
Since I realize some folks don’t always follow all the comments on every post, I thought I’d feature this one just left by Megan, who I assume to be a close friend of Ashley Gorman and Heather Moles, the cyclists who were attacked on their bikes near Legacy Hospital on January 10th. It reveals some … Read more
The recent incident involving a group of teens that attacked two cyclists in North Portland has sparked dialogue about the safety, race, and vulnerability of cyclists. In the over 70 comments listed so far, I was amazed at how many other people reported being attacked while on their bikes, and how the majority of them … Read more
This disturbing account of a car-bike collision on Swan Island was reported by the victim yesterday in the Portland Bike Forums: [Location of the crash.]Click for Google Map. “On January 2nd, I was riding home from work at 5:15p.m. and was was struck by a Jeep Wrangler pulling out from a stop sign. The driver … Read more
Last month, during my sneak peek at the new OHSU Tram, I met an avid bike commuter named Ellen Peck. Turns out that in addition to volunteering with the OHSU Bike Commuters Group, she is also an R.N. and the clinicial research coordinator for OHSU’s Trauma Department.
Check out this story I just read from KATU-TV: Photo from KATU broadcast. “Two cyclists said they were attacked by three teenagers near a north Portland bus stop on Wednesday. The women, Ashley Gorman and her co-worker Heather Moles, were riding their bikes home from work when the attack occurred near Legacy Emanuel Hospital.
Many cyclists in and around Portland are aware of the survival imperative of being visible while riding at night. But there are two guys I’ve come across recently who take it to a whole new level. [Tomas and his lights.]Photo: Tomas A few days ago I discovered the blog of local cyclist Tomas Quinones. I’ve … Read more
I don’t have the complete breakdown of traffic crash and fatality stats for 2006 yet, but from what I’ve gleaned so far the numbers show an encouraging downward trend. Here are some factoids to think about: There were zero bike fatalities in 2006. That’s down from four in 2005. There were 28 total traffic fatalities … Read more