Job: TomCat Bikes hiring mechanics – TomCat Bikes

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title

TomCat Bikes hiring mechanics

Company / Organization

TomCat Bikes

Job Description

TomCat bikes is a small and vibrant bicycle repair shop in the Brooklyn Neighborhood in SE Portland. We service almost any bike that can fit through the door. We are seeking seasoned mechanics who can work on yesterday’s electroforged Schwinn, today’s e-bikes, and everything in between.

Skill sets:
– An understanding that bicycle repair and service is the primary business model
– Efficient and fast repair of all bicycles, brand and channel agnostic
– Accurate estimates of service work; thorough documentation of work-in-progress in customer file; explaining work performed during handoff
– E-bike diagnostics and repair
– Knowledgeable with major hydraulic disc brake systems
– Efficient wheelbuilding
– In depth knowledge of vintage and modern drivetrain compatibility
– Sales of refurbished bikes
– New bike, frame up build experience
– Familiar with Lightspeed POS, Ikeono, and Square Appointments
– You know these acronyms: QBP, JBI, TCB, WTF, FLAME, FAB

Bonus:
– social media experience
– website optimizing
– secondary marketplace posting
– ebay sales
– Certifications: Bosch, S-TEC, Micromobility Connect, UBI, etc.

Ideal temperaments:
– Open and welcoming to everyone of all ages, genders, orientations, origins, and incomes
– Problem solving
– Communicative on the phone, email, text, in person at shop
– Respectful of boundaries
– Works well with others
– Interested in learning new technologies while honing already established skills
– Not afraid to seek a second opinion
– Positive customer outcomes
– Can articulate upgrades or modernization and make it make sense to clients
– Independent, productive work ethic while the Cat is away
– Confident of skills without being arrogant
– Less Oscar the Grouch, more Big Bird

Benefits:
– Flexible (no-really!) schedule.Saturdays mandatory
– Relaxed and welcoming work environment
– Non corporate vibe
– W2 wages and associated benefits
– Parts and accessories discounts from primary suppliers
– Hourly wages: $20-22, depending on experience start
– Tips are split among mechanics (a surprising bump in pay!)
– Modern electric workstands
– Tools maintained and replaced when worn out

We are hiring experienced mechanics for part time or full time work and peak season hours. Total hours based on seasonal volume.
Know your stuff
Be awesome
Send relevant work history with verifiable references to: tom@tomcatbikes.com
Please, no phone calls, no texts, no DM slidin.
Share widely, email directly.
Thanks!

How to Apply

We are hiring experienced mechanics for part time or full time work and peak season hours. Total hours based on seasonal volume.
Know your stuff
Be awesome
Send relevant work history with verifiable references to: tom@tomcatbikes.com
Please, no phone calls, no texts, no DM slidin.
Share widely, email directly.
Thanks!

Sunday Parkways returns to North Portland this summer

Sunday Parkways on North Willamette Blvd in 2014. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

North Willamette Boulevard will be one of the stars of the show when Sunday Parkways hits this summer. The Portland Bureau of Transportation announced the 2026 Sunday Parkways season this morning and shared that the beloved open streets event will return to the North Portland Peninsula for the first time since 2019.

2026 is the 19th year of Sunday Parkways, a carfree fair that stretches for miles across the city and highlights parks and Portland’s largest public space — our streets.

We’re just two months from the first event of the season. Below are the dates and routes:

May 17th in Southwest Portland

June 28th in East Portland

August 2nd in North Portland

September 13th in Downtown Portland

Also in their announcement today, PBOT shared a series of City Bike Fairs that will kick off with the Hazelwood Bike Fair at Menlo Park Elementary on April 24th. The Centennial neighborhood will host a bike fair at Parklane Elementary School on May 29th and two more fairs coming to North and Northwest Portland will be announced soon. These bike fairs are billed as, “free, all-ages community events where adults and children can learn to ride a bike, get fitted with a new helmet, practice the rules of the road, and get minor repairs on their bikes.

For more route and event details, check the Sunday Parkways website.

Advocates demand action from PBOT on concrete planter removals

Note the large concrete planters in top image (from April 2025). Bottom image taken this morning by Claire Vlach.

Simmering tensions over the removal of concrete planters on a popular neighborhood greenway in Southeast Portland have reached a low boil. After months of discussions between cycling advocates and transportation bureau staff, the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) is demanding the planters be re-installed or replaced with something that provides the same benefits.

In September of last year, I reported that some Portlanders who bike on Southeast Salmon Street were dismayed when the City of Portland removed barriers placed on the street in 2021 during the Covid-era “Slow Streets” initiative. Officials from the Portland Bureau of Transportation said the yellow-painted planters were a maintenance liability due to being repeatedly hit and moved by car drivers, and that a 2024 directive from the City Traffic Engineer encouraged them to remove temporary infrastructure in favor of more permanent solutions. PBOT said another reason for their removal was a slew of planned safety updates (speed bumps, new crossings, parking restrictions at corners, and so on) on Salmon and other greenways.

But advocates are unsatisfied and say that PBOT’s plans for the greenways don’t come anywhere close to providing the same benefits that the concrete planters once did. Now they’ve upped their concern with a three-page letter endorsed by the BAC.

SE Salmon and 20th. Bottom image: Claire Vlach

“The planters improved conditions for bicycling in ways unforeseen by city staff and their removal has resulted in worse conditions,” states the March 13th letter, signed by BAC Chair Jim Middaugh and Vice-chair Joe Perez (and written by BAC member Gianna Bortoli). “The City of Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) is writing to express disappointment and concern regarding the removal of the concrete planters that established the city’s Slow Streets program.”

The letter lists five specific benefits that have “disappeared” along with the planters:

  • Improved intersection visibility and comfort
  • Increased left turn calming and reduced dangerous passing
  • Indication that “these streets are for biking” and priority is given to people biking and walking
  • Improving wayfinding by creating a visible gateway to the greenways
  • Signaling to people on bikes that PBOT cares about bicycling and safety

Perez, the BAC vice chair, feels PBOT erred in calling for the removal of the concrete barrels. He believes the engineering directive requires project managers to keep temporary materials in place until updated designs are installed. Perez and others worry that PBOT removed dozens of concrete planters and left nothing of substance in their place.

PBOT says they’ve tried to have removals followed immediately by other planned upgrades, but timing hasn’t always aligned. PBOT also claims that their analysis shows the concrete planters have not lowered driver speeds or the volume of car traffic on greenways. But some advocates claim even if that is true, the planters’ myriad other benefits are lost.

During a discussion about the removals at the February BAC meeting, Perez said (via meeting minutes), “I hope you know, removing planters discourages people from riding bikes. Removal of these planters has discouraged me from biking on Salmon.”

Claire Vlach (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Claire Vlach, a widely-respected advocate affiliated with several transportation nonprofits and who’s also volunteered on several PBOT committees over the years, says the agency’s decision to remove the planters is a red flag. “PBOT’s failure to recognize that people liked the planters and that they provided important safety benefits — both real and perceived — is problematic,” Vlach wrote in an email to BikePortland today. “And shows a lack of understanding of the impacts of their infrastructure on street users.”

Vlach says an easy solution would be to simply bolt the planters to the street, which would make them no longer trigger removal as per the 2024 engineering directive on temporary materials. In fact, Vlach claims she got that idea directly from PBOT Operations and Maintenance Group Director Jody Yates. “The planters would need to be emptied, bolted down, and then refilled, but would no longer be able to be moved out of place by people driving their vehicles into them,” Vlach explained.

Dozens of these planters have been removed citywide (not just on SE Salmon), leaving many folks to wonder why PBOT would downgrade these important bike streets and not replace them with something just as robust and popular. Advocates like Vlach and Perez plan to keep the pressure on PBOT.

“We advise PBOT to do everything within its authority to provide inexpensive, effective treatments that make people feel safer and more comfortable when riding on these bikeways,” the committee’s letter reads. “The yellow planters accomplished that and any replacements need to offer those same feelings.”

(I’ve reached out to PBOT for comment but have not yet heard back.)

Jobs of the Week: Community Cycling Center, eBike Store, Go By Bike

Bit of a spring hiring boom going on.

Need a job? Want a better job? Just looking for a change? You are in the right place. Don’t miss these recent job announcements. (Remember, you can always stay abreast of jobs as soon as they get listed by signing up for our Job Listings email.)

For a complete list of available jobs, click here.

Be the first to know about new job opportunities by signing up for our daily Job Listings email or by following @BikePortland on Bluesky

These are paid listings. And they work! BikePortland has helped hundreds of people find great jobs and great staff members. If you’d like to post a job on the Portland region’s most popular bike and transportation news platform, you can purchase a listing online for just $100. Learn more at our Job Listings page.

Job: Retail Mechanic Associate – Seasonal – Community Cycling Center

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title

Retail Mechanic Associate – Seasonal

Company / Organization

Community Cycling Center

Job Description

Organizational Overview

For over 30 years, we have been a nonprofit organization on a mission to broaden access to bicycling and its benefits. Our vision is to continue building a vibrant community where people of all backgrounds use bicycles to stay healthy and connected. We believe that all Portlanders should have the opportunity to experience the joy, freedom and health benefits of bicycling. In addition to delivering dynamic programs that center underserved communities, we also operate a retail and full service bike shop, including a membership DIY workspace.

The Community Cycling Center is an equal opportunity employer and strongly values diversity, equity and inclusion. Individuals with diverse backgrounds, abilities and experiences are encouraged to apply.
Job Summary

The Associate Bike Mechanic supports shop operations by handling sales, parts processing, and customer-facing needs that require bike knowledge. This role increases shop capacity during busy periods and helps maintain smooth workflow, strong customer experience, and operational consistency.

This is a hybrid retail and operations role with some mechanical responsibilities. It is not a primary production mechanic position. This role requires comfort talking about bikes, components, and repairs, strong organizational skills, and the ability to move between the sales floor and back-of-house operations.
Key Responsibilities

Sales and customer support

Explain service options, repair needs, and next steps clearly
Support service intake and checkout using the POS system
Assist customers with bike, parts, and accessory selection
Communicate assessments and repairs clearly to customers of all experience levels
Offer DIY repair guidance to members
Promote the shop’s mission and values in all customer and community interactions
Parts processing and shop operations
Receive, sort, label, and stock new and used parts
Maintain organized parts storage and retail displays
Support inventory accuracy and flag discrepancies or shortages
Help keep shared shop spaces clean, safe, and functional

Mechanical and shop support

Perform basic assessments, safety checks, and on-demand tune-ups
Perform safety and quality checks on refurbished bikes
Refurbish donated bikes for resale under established standards
Stage bikes, parts, and tools to support mechanic
Identify issues requiring advanced mechanical attention and escalate appropriately
Track time and update work orders in the POS system

Team and mission support

Work collaboratively with mechanics, retail staff, and volunteers
Support a shop culture grounded in safety, respect, and inclusion
Represent CCC’s mission and values in all interactions

Qualifications

Comfort working in a customer-facing retail environment
2+ years of bike mechanic experience, professional or volunteer
Working knowledge of bicycles and components across decades and varieties.
Working Knowledge common repair needs
Ability to communicate clearly with coworkers, customers, students, and families
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to stay grounded during high-volume or high-stress periods
Familiarity with common tools and shop safety practices
Commitment to equity, social justice, and inclusive community spaces
Basic computer skills; ability to learn POS systems
Criminal background check required

Physical and schedule requirements

Ability to lift and maneuver bikes and parts up to 50 lbs
Ability to stand and perform physical tasks for extended periods
Availability to work Saturdays and Sundays
Seasonal shop hours between 11am and 7pm

PREFERRED but not required:

Valid Driver’s License
Bilingual in english and spanish
Basic computer skills; POS experience such as Lightspeed preferred

Application Deadline: March 20th, 2026

Job Title: Retail Mechanic Associate – Seasonal
Department: Bike Shop
Location: Portland, OR
Status: Temporary, Non-exempt – 20-30 hr/week
Union/Non-Union: Union Eligible
Employment start date: April, 2026;
Employment end date: 6 month contract,
Salary range: $22.82/hour to $26.08/hour, depending on experience

Open until filled

How to Apply

Please complete the application below:
https://airtable.com/appEcoXwVSA0BngAv/shrzqLEHxDHkxc9s4

Kotek announces co-chairs and mission of new transportation workgroup

Sign inside ODOT headquarters in Salem. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Governor Tina Kotek released new details about the working group I reported on earlier this week whose goal will be to hash out a vision that could inform work on a major funding package in the 2027 legislative session.

It will be named the Rebuilding Our Transportation Vision Workgroup and it will be co-chaired by transportation leader Grace Crunican and former lawmaker Bruce Hanna

Crunican has deep experience in the transportation space and most recently served as GM of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) from 2011 to 2019. She was also the Oregon Department of Transportation director from 1996 to 2001 and led the City of Seattle’s transportation department from 2002 to 2009.

Hanna is a former Republican lawmaker who represented southern Oregon (Roseburg area) for five terms in the House. He was co-speaker of the Oregon House in the 2011-2012 session. Hanna has had a long career in the beverage industry as president of a regional Coca-Cola distributor.

In a press release today, Kotek’s office didn’t name the members of the new workgroup. A spokesperson told BikePortland today that information will be released in the coming days. They did, however, share more details on what the workgroup will do:

  1. Analyze spending needs and trends over the next 10 years for maintenance and operations across all modes of travel (driving, walking, biking, public transit, etc.) and determine how these trends align with existing or proposed key performance measures.
  2. Review the current and projected financial condition of major transportation funds including the Highway Trust Fund, which currently provides equal funding to state and local transportation systems, and the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund, which helps to fund public transit across Oregon. 
  3. Provide a framework for a transportation package that can pass in the 2027 legislative session that supports public safety, economic development, prioritizes affordability for Oregonians and rebuilds our transportation future.   

We can expect this workgroup to have public meetings which will begin in April and happen once a month (roughly) through November. Stay tuned for the workgroup member roster and more information about public engagement opportunities.

Opinion: IBR team hasn’t ‘right-sized’ the project, they’ve just hidden full commitment

“This isn’t a smaller project. It’s the same bloated mega-project, just sliced into pieces so the full commitment is harder to see.”

This guest opinion was written by urban economist and City Observatory publisher, Joe Cortright (in photo above).

The Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBR) has finally released the cost estimates it’s been promising for more than two years — and the numbers confirm what we’ve been saying since January: this project has more than doubled in cost, from $6 billion to as much as $15.2 billion. 

The spin merchants who work for the IBR have packaged the increase as much smaller, claiming that they’re going to just build the “core elements” of the project.  That’s led some in the media — including, unfortunately, BikePortland — to report the project is being “right-sized.”

That’s simply not true:  IBR is stretching out the project (through the 2040s), but has actually said nothing about giving up on the whole boondoggle, including widening five miles of freeway and building seven intersections.  And the way they’ve designed the project, once you start, we’ll have no option to say “no” later on.

This is the oldest trick in the megaproject playbook — the Robert Moses strategy: get a shovel in the ground, then dare anyone to stop you.

Moving ahead with this so-called “Phase I” will mean that the IBR becomes the region’s top priority for transportation spending for the next two decades and will have first call on every available dollar.  Just as the Iran War shows how tragic and costly car dependence is, the region will squander its scarce capital building one last monument to the highway lobby, exactly as the climate crisis hits with full force.  

But the real story isn’t just the price tag. It’s the timeline. Portland and Vancouver are being asked to sign up for two full decades of construction, debt, and disruption — with no exit ramp.

Map showing “core set of projects” as shown at IBR Executive Steering Committee meeting Tuesday.

The “Phase I” fiction

No one should be fooled by IBR’s talk of a scaled-back “Phase I” costing $7.5 billion (see above). This isn’t a smaller project. It’s the same bloated mega-project, just sliced into pieces so the full commitment is harder to see. The 115’ vertical clearance of the bridge, by design, forces them to raise up the freeway and the interchanges.

Once you build a new high-level bridge, you are locked in — physically and financially — to rebuilding every approach, every interchange, every elevated freeway on both sides of the river. ODOT and WSDOT designed it that way deliberately.  This is the oldest trick in the megaproject playbook — the Robert Moses strategy: get a shovel in the ground, then dare anyone to stop you. Once construction starts, the politics of a half-built bridge make it nearly impossible to say no to the next funding request, no matter how large.

A project that grows, never shrinks

And notice that the IBR’s cost estimate is now vastly higher than what they assured us in 2022 was the “highest” possible cost, something they said had less than a 10 percent chance of happening.  And this project is no anomaly: the other highway megaprojects in the region (the I-205 Abernethy Bridge and the I-5 Rose Quarter project) have tripled and quadrupled in price (respectively) to more than $800 million and more than $2 billion.  Does anyone believe that once ground is broken the cost won’t continue to rise? 

And already the new estimate of the “core” portions of the project leaves things out. There’s no money in the budget for the $488 million cost of removing the two existing bridges. There will be more surprises. There always are.

You can’t trust these people

What makes anyone think that you can believe these cost estimates? Keep in mind, IBR has delayed releasing these numbers for more than two years, and deliberately waited to release them until after both the Oregon and Washington Legislatures had adjourned — even though the stated reason for these estimates was to have new numbers in time for the 2026 sessions. Greg Johnson, the former project director, instructed staff to keep the draft and final estimates secret.

Moreover, it’s pretty clear we can’t trust the IBR team. The project’s own consultants — who have collected $273 million over five years to design “basically the same project” as the failed Columbia River Crossing that came before it — now put the cost at $13.5 to $15.2 billion, up from $6 billion just three years ago. IBR wants to blame inflation, but its own estimates attribute only about $1 billion of that $9 billion increase to higher prices. The rest is scope, complexity, and the compounding costs of delay. The fastest-growing line item in the IBR budget isn’t steel or concrete — it’s staff and consultants, whose costs have grown 400% and are projected to reach $1.2 billion over the 20-year construction period.   Already more than 20 years in the making, the IBR promises to be a “forever” project for these consultants.

Twenty years of financial exposure

The IBR plans to break ground in 2028 with less than a third of the project’s total funding identified. The gap isn’t $2.5 billion — it’s $10 billion or more. That’s a decade-plus of lobbying, appropriations battles, and cost overruns still ahead, stretching well into the 2040s. Notice that Washington Governor Bob Ferguson exclaimed “We’re going to build the damn bridge,” but said nothing about how it would be paid for. That’s because it’s not his problem; but it will be a problem for future taxpayers and future governors.  

One thing is certain: tolls of $3 or more per trip will begin hitting I-5 commuters as early as 2027 — not after the new bridge opens, but years before. Those tolls will drive traffic off I-5 and onto I-205, gridlocking an already strained crossing, while the region waits years for the new bridge to open.  And tolls will depress traffic levels on the I-5 bridges — already lower than they were twenty years ago — permanently below 100,000 vehicles per day, meaning that we’ll have spent billions for added highway capacity that will be half-used.

The real question

Oregon and Washington are being asked to commit — right now, today — to a project that won’t be finished until the 2040s, at a cost that has already doubled and shows no signs of stabilizing, The state transportation departments sponsoring this project have repeatedly failed to estimate its costs accurately, kept those estimates secret from the very legislatures funding it, and have yet to produce a credible financing plan.

At a moment when gas prices are surging, state transportation budgets can’t keep up with basic maintenance, and climate commitments demand we reduce car dependence — not subsidize its expansion — committing two decades and $15 billion to this project deserves far more scrutiny than it’s getting.

The IBR hasn’t been right-sized. It’s just found a way to make the full commitment harder to see.

Weekend Event Guide: Kidical Mass, Thorns bike bus, cherry blossoms and more

Blooming trees and blooming humans. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Friday, March 20th

Thorns FC Kickoff Ride – 4:30 pm at Laurelhurst Park (SE)
It’s Thorns season and bike lovers have united behind their favorite team for a bike bus to the first match. Rock your Thorns gear and flags and join a two-wheeled flotilla to the game! More info here.

Saturday, March 21st

Inner SE Community Care Ride – 10:00 am at Abernethy Elementary School (SE)
Load your bike with nonperishable food items and gather with other caring people and deliver food to free fridges and pantries throughout southeast. This ride has become a regular occurrence and there’s a nice community around it. More info here.

Kidical Mass Spring Equinox Ride – 1:00 pm at Alberta Park (NE)
I did this ride last year and it was wonderful! Join other fun-loving families and riders of all ages on this group ride that to welcome spring in a very Portland way. More info here.

Notable Neon Ride – 5:30 at Jim Dandy Drive-In (NE)
Let warm glowing neon signs of East Portland be your muse as you pedal through the spring evening taking note of our city’s intriguing urban architecture. More info here.


Sunday, March 22st

Michael Myers Memorial Time Trial – 9:00 am at Vancouver Lake Park (WA)
Dust off your aero bars and challenge yourself against the clock at this individual time trial on smooth, open roads. Nothing like a time trial to wake your legs up for the season, right? More info here.

Springwater – Reed College Loop – 9:30 am at Sellwood Park (SE)
Let ride leader Marci Ray show you the wonders of the Springwater and southeast Portland on this intermediate level (13-15 mph average) group ride. More info here.

Ride to Cherry Blossoms – 4:00 pm at Colonel Summers Park (SE)
NakedHearts PDX is leading this ride to Waterfront Park that will soak up the splendor of the annual cherry blossom bloom. More info here.

— Did I miss your event? Shout it out in the comments blow, let me know by filling out our contact form, or just email me at maus.jonathan@gmail.com.

Job: Mechanic – The eBike Store, Inc

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title

Mechanic

Company / Organization

The eBike Store, Inc

Job Description

JOB TITLE: Electric Bike Mechanic and Service Writer
COMPANY: The eBike Store
LOCATION: North Portland
PAY RATE: $24 per hour — based on experience
POSITION: Full-time
START DATE: Immediately

JOB DESCRIPTION
Seeking an experienced and professional e-bike mechanic to build, repair, and overhaul e-bikes. The right candidate will have years of experience working on modern bikes. More important than extensive experience with electrical systems is an enthusiasm and aptitude to learn from our knowledgeable team. Friendly and solution-focused customer service is essential.

ABOUT US
• We are Portland’s first all-electric bike shop, founded in 2008.
• We operate with a high level of professionalism and expertise. Check our reviews!
• We are selective about the products we carry and only sell equipment we can service and maintain long term. We’re committed to keeping our customers riding for the long haul.
• We work on *electric bicycles*; not e-motos, e-dirtbikes, e-scooters, and other non-bicycle products.
• Our technician and sales team is highly experienced. We offer competitive pay and expect a high standard of conduct and performance.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Need to be punctual, reliable & flexible
• Assemble new e-bikes out of the box, torque fasteners to spec.
• Perform mechanical repairs big and small – everything from fixing flats to rebuilding wheels.
• Perform electrical diagnostics per manufacturer guidelines and best practices.
• Tap into shop knowledge when tackling advanced electrical repairs.
• Provide friendly, knowledgeable guidance to customers on service options and upgrades aligned with their riding needs.
• Listen to customers’ concerns and goals to identify and recommend appropriate solutions.
• Communicate effectively — type up workorders in a way they can be carried out by other staff members.
• Complete service workorders in order of urgency.
• Balance busy summer workload – multitask between on-the-spot repairs, service check-ins, shuffling bikes around, overhauls, phones, emails, etc.
• Safely operate shop equipment: power tools, hand tools, saws, grinders, motorized lifts, air chucks, torque wrenches, parts washer, spoke machine, etc.
• Follow through on tasks from start to finish – greet a customer, assess their bike for service, track down or order parts, assign timing of service, complete work, contact customer, pass bike off and close workorder.
• Keep your bench and communal areas clean and organized.
• Work efficiently without compromising bike SAFETY.

REQUIREMENTS:
• Min. 3 years of bike shop experience
• Ability to explain concepts to newer bikers in an approachable manner
• Extensive experience with modern bike components – hydraulic brakes, 10-, 11-, 12-speed drivetrains, electronic shifting, internal routing, dropper posts, tubeless tires, etc.
• Consistent availability May-September
• Weekend availability
• Ability to lift 50 lbs.
• Passion for bikes!

ABOVE & BEYOND EXPERIENCE:
• Ascend Retail Services experience
• Microsoft proficiency
• Experience working on or riding e-MTBs, e-cargo bikes, or e-commuter bikes
• Experience with Bosch and Specialized motor systems
• Experience working on hub-motor e-bikes
• Formal training (UBI, Bosch, etc.)

PERKS:
• Work on state-of-the-art products in an emerging industry
• Grow your skills working at one of the longest running e-bike shops in the country
• Work at a place people love!
• Periodic formal trainings
• Winter schedule flexibility
• Powered work stands
• Very competitive pay and high employee retention
• Vacation and PTO
• Health / dental plan available after 90 days

How to Apply

If you’re passionate about cycling and eager to deliver top-notch service, we’d love to hear from you. Submit your resume and a brief overview of why you’re the perfect fit for this role. Please email your resume to info@ebikestore.com

Job: Loaner Bike Program Coordinator – Go By Bike

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title

Loaner Bike Program Coordinator

Company / Organization

Go By Bike

Job Description

Overview:

Join Go By Bike and help make Portland the best city in North America to ride a bike. Over the past 15 years, Go By Bike has operated the largest bicycle valet in North America, having parked over one million bicycles. We believe that allowing people to ride bikes makes the world a better place. Our mission is to develop new strategies to make bicycling more convenient and accessible. We are a small and nimble team that runs a bicycle valet, repair shop, pedicab shuttle service, and a small fleet of loaner bikes for Oregon Health and Science University. We are looking for someone to take our loaner bike program to the next level.

Responsibilities:

Our partner, OHSU, is seeking a new project coordinator to administer the Bike Loaner Program for the next 5 years. OHSU was awarded a grant from the Portland Clean Energy Fund to add 50 e-bikes to the bike loaner program, over the next 5 years, and to enhance bike education and outreach to OHSU students and employees. With this grant, the Bike Loaner Project Coordinator will independently manage the expansion of the loaner bike program, act as an onsite point of contact for participants, track program metrics, and complete reporting requirements for the grant award.

Hours: Monday-Friday typically 7:30am-4pm, Flexible hours including nights and weekends.
Work location: This position works onsite at OHSU in both outdoor and indoor environments.
Pay Rate: $28-$30/hour
Yearly schedule: One week of paid winter vacation between Christmas and New Year, paid holiday leave, and one PTO accrual per month at the time of hire. Two weeks paid summer vacation after the first year.

A successful candidate will be an energetic, responsible, and dependable self-starter, with a passion for attention to detail, project management and community engagement.
If you are passionate about making the world a better place by making it possible for more people to ride bikes, we want you. We are looking for a reliable project coordinator to make this expanded bike loaner program a success.

Project Coordination:

Work with OHSU and Go By Bike teams to administer the project, work within the projected budget and timelines, and maintain documents and invoices to meet reporting requirements.
Track metrics from program monitoring, compiling and analyzing data to support metrics, and reporting findings to project team and grant administrator.
Suggest next steps for the program, as determined by metric findings. Write status reports and maintain master files, documenting progress throughout the course of the project.
Solicit feedback on the program from participants and community through surveys, targeted communications, and other engagement tools.
Suggest, promote and sustain process improvement initiatives throughout the life of the program. Look for opportunities to learn new techniques and methods that will improve efficiency and quality.
Meet all grant compliance requirements including meticulously tracking funds spent, completing quarterly grant reporting, and tracking key metrics on program participants.
Collaborate with OHSU’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) team including attending recurring program meetings to assist with furthering the overall TDM strategies and programs including carpool, bike, walk and transit programs.
Communicate any lost, stolen or damaged property to OHSU management in a timely manner.
Help procure and add new bikes to the fleet in compliance with the scheduled timeline.
Source and manage branded gear and giveaway items for all TDM programs.
Ensures the program operations are optimized by maintaining bikes on active loan and decreasing time between loan periods.

Customer Service and Communication:

Act as the day-to-day point of contact for the program participants, providing technical and administrative support.
Coordinate bike check-out and check-in, and provide excellent in-person and virtual customer service.
Work closely with the bike programming team to provide updates on the program, problem-solve issues as they arise and communicate key metrics.
Work with local organizations and other PCEF recipients to plan and implement educational workshops. Coordinate instructors for various workshops, recruiting a diverse pool of knowledgeable experts.
Collaborate with the communication team to increase program awareness, recruit participants, and share program successes including in person and virtual events.
Work with OHSU communication team to create and maintain relevant program messaging including print and digital materials.
Complete participant offboarding duties, including ensuring the participant has met all program requirements, administering the loan completion paperwork, and advising the participant on support for purchasing their own bike.
Attend in person and virtual outreach events to promote OHSU’s TDM programs and provide customer support.

Bike Knowledge:

Maintain a working bike fleet by performing regular maintenance, safety checks, ordering necessary supplies, and maintaining the fleet in rotation.
Consult on necessary purchases to expand the bike fleet and outfit the bikes with all necessary gear.
Inspect every returned bike before safely storing it, communicating with mechanic staff on major repairs.
Prepare bikes for retirement from the program via used bike market sales, surplus, or parting out of the bikes.

Complete all other additional duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

1-3 years of experience in either program coordination, community outreach, or education.
Previous customer service experience required.
Basic bike maintenance desired, or the willingness to learn
Demonstration of excellent communication, analytical and organizational skills.
Ability to build and maintain relationships with the OHSU and Portland bike communities.
Intermediate ability to perform a full range of project development and management skills.
Ability to analyze business processes and make recommendations for improvement.
Intermediate to excellent skills to collect, analyze and visualize data using tools such as Excel, Google Sheets, Smartsheet, Sharepoint, etc.
Experience working with Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Slack, etc.
Experience with or willingness to learn bicycle safety education fundamentals.
Availability to work special shifts if needed (late nights and/or weekends).
Proof of eligibility to work legally in the U.S. (must provide valid documentation if hired).
The ability to provide accurate information to customers and co-workers and respond professionally to customer problems or complaints.
The ability to follow written and verbal instructions and calmly adapt to changes, delays, and unexpected events while working.
Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, and use hands to handle equipment and perform bike maintenance. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds, as well as load and transport bikes/equipment. The ability to work outside and ride a bicycle with a trailer.

Benefits: Eligible employees will participate in the various benefits plans, including health insurance reimbursement and 5% retirement contribution.

How to Apply

Send a resume with 1-3 paragraph cover letter on why you would be a good fit for this position.

Freeway expansions value-engineered out of Interstate Bridge Replacement project, for now

At a press conference in Vancouver today, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson announced that the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program will finally live up to its name.

Instead of five miles of freeway expansions and seven new interchanges, the project will be phased to include just the bridge replacements and an extension of MAX light rail across the Columbia River. Also making the cut in this “core set of projects” is the shared-use paths that will give bicycle riders and walkers new connections across the river.

Yes, project officials have finally relented and have decided to right-size the project in the way dozens of environmental and social justice organizations in the Just Crossing Alliance have been encouraging them to do for years now.

Advocates for a smaller IBR project outside the capitol in April 2023. (State Senator Khanh Pham in middle to left of sign. Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Ferguson also revealed a $7.65 billion cost estimate for this smaller project and said he’ll personally ensure construction begins by 2028. That’s still not a guarantee because the project has just $5.5 billion committed to the project so far. According to new cost estimate documentation shared today, that amount is enough for them to begin the major elements of the core set of projects.

“The first thing I want to say is we’re going to build this bridge,” Ferguson said at the outset of today’s press conference. “That’s going to happen. There’s just far too much at stake for any other option” Ferguson, flanked at the podium by project leaders, elected officials, and construction workers in helmets and hi-viz vests sought to tamp down skepticism of the project after a bombshell report by the Oregon Journalism Project back earlier this year that the full project would cost $12 billion to $17 billion.

New doc outlining “core set of projects” shared today that confirms inclusion of “enhanced shared-use path for people who walk bike and roll.”

That cost estimate, which project officials dismissed as being just a draft when that report came out in January, was confirmed by project officials today. The new, official estimate for the full, five-mile corridor is now $14.4 billion.

The full project is still on the table, but Ferguson made it clear that it’s being pushed back for now. “We will continue to work toward the larger corridor down the road, in phases, as funding becomes available,” he said.

TriMet General Manager Sam Desue was also at the press conference. In his comments he touted light rail’s first extension into Washington as opening up, “one seat ride from Evergreen into downtown Vancouver to downtown Portland, the Moda center, shopping, health care and so much more.”

Current conditions going southbound from Vancouver.

Toward the end of the press conference, someone in the media asked Governor Ferguson why the project had to include light rail at all, especially since many people in Clark County don’t want it. “That train has left the station,” Ferguson replied, without skipping a beat. “I want to be clear,” he continued. “I’m not interested looking backwards. We’re building this damn bridge. That’s happening, okay?!”

Ferguson’s enthusiasm is music to the ears of IBR project backers. But he’s only been on the job for 14 months and he’s also smart enough to understand that this project has been anything but easy since it first began in 2007. “We’re gonna have good days and we’re gonna have bad days ahead,” he cautioned folks at today’s presser (which included Portland Metro Chamber President Andrew Hoan, Oregon Trucking Association President Jana Jarvis, and many others). “That’s the fact. But I just want to be really, really clear that I’m super committed to this.”

Oregon State Senator Khanh Pham, who was a supporter of the “Right Size Right Now” campaign, told BikePortland today she’s encouraged that Governors Kotek and Ferguson have taken the project in a new direction. “I hope today’s decision marks a turning point in the IBR project in which the agencies acknowledge the financial realities of our state budgets and the imperative to curb excessive megaproject spending to preserve funding for core functions of our transportation system,” Pham shared in an email. “It’s imperative that policymakers in both states continue to push back against an oversized, bloated project and demand that ODOT propose and deliver a right-sized bridge with a right-sized budget that doesn’t bankrupt our state.” 


New working group appointed by Governor Kotek will address road funding needs

An arterial street in East Portland. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has put together a working group that will try and find a path out of our state’s transportation funding quagmire. The roster of the group hasn’t been made public, but Kotek’s Transportation Advisor Kelly Brooks told members of the Oregon Transportation Commission at their meeting last week that the first meeting will happen in April and they’ll publish a report with funding recommendations before the end of this year.

Since an attempt by lawmakers to pass a major transportation funding package failed spectacularly in 2025, it’s been common knowledge in Salem that they’d try again in 2027. What’s considered a band-aid funding bill was passed at the recent short session, but it’s only a temporary measure.

Speaking at the OTC meeting Thursday, Brooks said the working group’s goal will be to frame the 2027 conversation. The working group will include both Democrats and Republicans, as well as transportation experts, advocates, and everyday users of the system. Former Oregon Governor Kate Brown did something similar prior to the previous major transportation package that passed in 2017. The Governor’s Transportation Vision Panel produced a reported titled One Oregon that came out in May 2016. It was used to inform a series of public meetings about funding prior to the 2017 session.

Cover of One Oregon report. (State of Oregon 2016)

Kotek’s transportation working group project is being led by Susan Peithman, a 10-year ODOT veteran who began in the agency’s Active Transportation group. Prior to ODOT, Peithman spent two years at the Transportation Research and Education Center at Portland State University and was the statewide policy advocate for The Street Trust for over three years. Peithman’s other role at ODOT is director of the Climate Office.

Brooks didn’t reveal many details on Thursday, but did hint that Kotek is seeking to be innovative. “We are in a new place now, given what’s happening on the ballot and elsewhere, where we have to take a new approach to solutions,” she said. “What are what problems do we want to solve? How are we going to solve them? And how are we going to do it together?”

When it comes to the assignment the working group will be given, Brooks said they must address Oregon’s “structural revenue issue.” “We have a set of needs; so the first thing they need to do is grapple with, ‘What do our adopted plans say we’re supposed to be doing, and what are we actually doing? And how does our revenue match up with that?'”

ODOT and lawmakers had an opportunity to change their approach in the short session when the state faced a $288 million budget hole and sought to reallocate or “rebalance” $117 million into highway operations and maintenance. Despite many adopted plans calling for greenhouse gas emissions and more funding for bicycling and walking statewide, lawmakers raided $25 million in grant funding sources that would have gone toward projects that make it safer for kids to bike and walk to school, give people the ability to bike and walk on carfree paths, and they chose to reduce money available for passenger rail maintenance.

This political choice to maintain funding for highway expansion megaprojects like the I-5 Rose Quarter or I-205 widening projects while reducing funding for Safe Routes to School, passenger rail, and the Community Paths program was made crystal clear at Thursday’s meeting by Oregon Transportation Commissioner Phil Chang.

OTC Member Phil Chang

“I heard a little bit about the the legislative horse-wrangling around this [funding] rebalance,” Chang revealed in a moment of candor. “I think that projects like I-5 Rose Quarter and Center Street Bridge [a $470 million project in Salem] had specific legislative champions who, you know, didn’t convince all of their colleagues, but convinced enough of their colleagues, that those projects stayed untouched by this rebalance.”

Chang seemed displeased by how the funding reallocations went down. “I want to make it really clear for people that services delayed are services denied,” he said. “We are not going to be able to do multimodal projects in this biennium [ODOT’s two-year budget cycle] that would make pedestrians, cyclists, and particularly kids trying to get to school safer.”

Whether this new working group comes out strong in favor of more robust spending on non-freeway, non-driving infrastructure, remains to be seen. Brooks said the scope of the effort will look at funding needs beyond ODOT and that the report will address, “local system needs and transit as well.”

Stay tuned for an official announcement of the working group and its members sometime this week.