Taking a cue from Shift’s highly successful “Get Lit” program*, Portland Police will soon be distributing free bike lights to visibility-challenged cyclists. In addition, volunteers from Shift and traffic safety specialists from The City of Portland Office of Transportation have worked with the police on a bike safety brochure they will hand out along with … Read more
I’ve just posted some interesting charts from the City of Portland Office of Transportation on my new “Bike Safety” page if you’re into that sort of thing. Here are the titles of the charts: “Combined Traffic over Four Main Portland Bicycle Bridges Juxtaposed with Bicycle Crashes” “Portland Bicycle Use, Crashes, & Bikeways” “Average Daily Bicycle … Read more
In light of several recent fatal car/bike incidents I thought this little news story was eerily coincidental. Perhaps technology can play a role in making our streets safer. Toyota Computer Makes You Watch the Road TOKYO (AP) – Japanese automaker Toyota has developed a safety technology that it says will keep the driver’s eyes on … Read more
There’s a great “Mr. Portland” comic strip by Joe Spooner in the Living section of today’s Oregonian. Here’s the text: “Bicyclists listening to music while they ride! Herumph! Why, I’ve had to put my latte AND my cell phone down SEVERAL times to avoid inattentive bicyclists! What are they doing in those narrow lanes anyway?!“ … Read more
Snapped a few photos of the new bicycle boulevard pavement markings I mentioned a few days ago. These are the first of “700 or so” that the city will install in the next few weeks. These markings will guide cyclists onto low-traffic through streets and will be yet another sign to motorists that they aren’t … Read more
Today’s Willamette Week features a poignant cover story by Angela Valdez. Angela, who writes for the WW, was struck by a motorist on NE 15th and Prescott several weeks ago and suffered a broken back and other serious injuries. Their is also some good bike safety food for thought in their Letters to the Editor … Read more
First we told you about the new “sharrows” coming soon to select Portland streets…now I’ve just got word from the city that “700 or so” additional pavement markings will be installed on bicycle boulevards starting next week. Bicycle boulevards are designated, low-traffic bike routes without bike lanes, such as SE Ankeny, SE Salmon, NE Tillamook … Read more
As I reported a few weeks ago, sharrows are coming soon to Portland streets. If you’d like to know more about them, head over to Sam Adams’ blog where someone from his staff just posted a good explanation and several links to more information. I’m excited about sharrows and I believe they will make our … Read more
The City of Portland Office of Transportation has just announced a series of Bike Safety Leadership Workshops coming directly to your neighborhood. The Workshops will include: a presentation about bicycle safety (including bike crash map information) a bicycle ride to locations emblematic of issues related to bicycle safety in the district a re-group for a … Read more
I recently posted about the City of Portland’s work on an exciting mapping project that combines our bike routes with an interactive, web-based map. I have also heard from many of you about your close calls with motorists. The next step will be to integrate the close-call data with an interactive map. This map would … Read more
A few days ago I received an email from a trucker named Jim. He has been making local deliveries in his 34,000 pound truck around N and NE Portland for 13 years. He brought up some constructive points about the bike safety issue and I think his comments are worth sharing. “I sense a feeling … Read more
[update: I have been notified of several incorrect facts in my account and have made appropriate changes.—Jonathan] A few months ago, the bike lane in front of the Benson Hotel on SW Broadway was the scene of an ugly incident involving a delivery truck, a cyclist, and several cops, summoned by the Benson valet via … Read more