Oregonian columnist Margie Boule will be hosting a webcast on bike safety at 1:00 tomorrow (6/21). Join in and ask questions at the Margie Boule Show. And just FYI, Boule wrote about bikes in her column last Sunday.
The Oregon Department of Transportation released their 2005 crash statistics today and the numbers don’t look good for cyclists. In 2005 there were 802 total crashes involving bikes, including 11 fatalities and 779 injuries. That’s 100 more crashes and 100 more injuries than in 2004.
In response to the tragic death of local cyclist Eric Kautzky, State Representative Jerry Krummel (seen at right) plans to push for “Eric’ Law” in the 2007 legislative session. According to Krummel: “I plan to push legislation at the state level to encourage other counties to offer these memorial signs. We are also looking at … Read more
Tigard school teacher Eric Kautzky was killed in June of 2005 by a teenager who fell asleep at the wheel (more on Kautzky here). Evan Manvel of the BTA just forwarded me this news release from Salem from the office of State Representative Jerry Krummel (R-Wilsonville). It’s an announcement of a special ceremony this Sunday … Read more
[Hardly “better” access.] Noticed an article in the Oregonian yesterday about the upcoming 75th anniversary of the St. Johns Bridge in North Portland. Given the controversial recent history of this bridge, one paragraph jumped out at me: “In 2005, the Oregon Department of Transportation spent nearly $43 million to complete a major overhaul of the … Read more
Susan Otcenas has a keen eye for erratic drivers. She’s logged thousands of miles on her bike, riding between her business in Hillsboro and to meetings in and around Portland. Last Sunday night, while driving, she watched in horror as the car in front of her struck a cyclist riding in a bike lane on … Read more
[Bike lanes coming soon!] As part of their Interstate 5/Delta Park widening project, ODOT allocated $1 million for “community enhancement projects.” Savvy activists Shamus Lynsky and Shayna Rehberg, working closely with Roger Geller and the Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee, applied for some of this funding and I’ve just gotten the word from ODOT that their … Read more
[Do you share the path?] The warm sun has brought throngs of people out to our popular multi-use paths. Riverfront paths like the Eastbank Esplanade and bridges are especially crowded. Thanks to great weather and publicity – like this article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer extolling the virtues of our waterfront – increased numbers of tourists … Read more
GMAC Insurance just released results of their 2006 National Drivers Test. They polled 5,288 people and gave them a 20 question test about basic rules of the road. They also asked them about their driving behavior. The results of the test were pretty sad. 1 in 11 Americans – about 18 million people – failed. … Read more
On Monday afternoon, while at the Coast enjoying some time away, I received a voicemail from Anita at KATU TV. She said two cyclists had been hit out on Highway 47 and she wondered if I could post details about the crash in hopes of finding out their identity. They’ve since been identified as Darrel … Read more
Cyclist Mike Reuter was the first person to utilize a little-known legal procedure known as the Citizen Initiation of Violation Proceedings. This legal process allows crash victims to take the law into their own hands. It was first brought to light by Portland lawyer Ray Thomas and I posted about it back in January. Back … Read more
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) has scored a huge win for kids in Oregon and Southwest Washington by securing 323 new bicycles for use in their Bicycle Safety Education programs. The highly discounted bikes were acquired from Giant Bicycles through a deal brokered by local bike retailer Bike N’ Hike. Bike N’ Hike, who was … Read more