Instagram post from Adult in Custody, a nonprofit advocacy group.
The person who was killed in a collision with an Amtrak train operator last Friday has been identified as 58-year-old Wayne Houff.
According to friends and coworkers, Houff was a paralegal who dedicated his life to helping people navigate the criminal justice system. He served over 20 years in prison and a friend and colleague of his who contacted BikePortland said he rode a scooter because his incarceration made him ineligible for a driver’s license.
The nonprofit Adults in Custody posted a memorial to Houff on Instagram. “He never let the system define him,” it says. “Instead, he studied it—mastered it. Wayne became the go-to for incarcerated people trying to navigate a system designed to break them. He didn’t just read case law—he rewrote futures.”
Here’s more from AIC:
“I vowed to learn everything I could about the Just Us system—not just for me, but for everyone who didn’t have a voice.” That vow never faded. Even after release, Wayne kept showing up—for those still inside, for those newly free, for anyone who needed guidance, compassion, or just someone who understood.
He was a man of many talents. A journeyman builder. A visual artist whose work hung in galleries. A volunteer at Blanchet House. A fisherman. A friend. Wayne could talk law one minute and crack a joke the next. He made people feel seen. Safe. Heard.”
Houff was engaged to be married and I’ve heard that his fiancé will attend Sunday’s World Day of Remembrance event. More on that event, here.
The new floating bus platform between SW Hall and Harrison with a lane made out of reinforced concrete and safe access for riders is next-level. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Turns out that when given a clean slate and a proper budget to update a major central city corridor, the City of Portland is actually quite good at what they do. From everything I’ve heard so far, the new protected bike lane on SW 4th Avenue is a big success. Folks love it. And trust me, if it wasn’t working, I’d hear about it.
While my coverage focused mostly on what it means for the bike network, the SW 4th project is also a huge win for transit. Yesterday, TriMet highlighted (see video below) how buses are now faster and more reliable due to the new “Rose Lane” (remember those!?).
The main thing this new lane does is give bus operators more room to zoom. They no longer have as many car users getting in their way and the operations are smoother due to high tech signal upgrades. But there are three other things TriMet and the Portland Bureau of Transportation did that are worth highlighting: they built a cool new bus platform, they made the bus lane out of concrete, and they made buses safer to access.
The new bus stop on SW 4th between Hall and Harrison (used by Line 12 and Live 44) is now in the middle of the roadway — between the new protected bike lane and other lanes. The location of the platform allows bus operators to stay in the center of the roadway to service the stop, without conflicting with car or bike users. This is both safer and more efficient.
And given that buses weigh 7-10 times as much as an average car and do much more damage to the pavement as a result, the new lane was constructed with reinforced concrete. You’ll see small pads of this concrete at busy bus stops citywide, but PBOT and TriMet went whole hog with it on SW 4th. This means the bus lane is a smart investment because it will last much longer than standard pavement.
The other element of this project that’s great for transit (and walkers and bikers too) are all the new safety features: new crossings with signal upgrades, a bunch of concrete median islands that calm traffic and shorten crossing distances, and street lighting upgrades.
This is such an exciting project. It’s the most complete and well-executed example of quality bike and bus infrastructure in the city. For years I’ve been begging PBOT to build something like this so we have something tangible and local to point to and say, “See, this is what we are talking about. This is what we need more of.” Once we build a network of streets similar to this, city goals that currently feel out of reach will begin to feel inevitable.
PBOT is very close to opening the entire project all the way to Burnside. Stay tuned and keep that feedback rolling in to temper my enthusiasm with reality.
I could pull out my People’s Poncho I reviewed back in 2018 for Sunday’s Rain Cape Ride.
Here are my picks for the weekend. Have fun out there!
Saturday, November 15th
Dig Day at Rocky Point Trails Area – 8:45 am at Rocky Point Main Parking Lot (Scappoose) Joint NW Trail Alliance to give your favorite trails a bit of love while moving dirt with fellow MTB riders. Wear work clothes and be ready to have more fun than you expected. More info here.
Willamette River Loop – 10:00 am at Milwaukie Bay Park (SE) A fun fall ride for all. Ride 8-15 miles from Milwaukie to Portland via a loop along the river. More info here.
Waterways Real and Metaphoric – 10:30 am at Delicious Donuts (SE) We live in a water wonderland! This ride will embrace public works and public art that illustrate our local love affair with rivers, creeks, fountains and all things water. Expect special expert guests and a chill pace. More info here.
Sunday, November 16th
Sunday Social – 10:00 am at Lents Park (SE) Join an experienced ride leader from Portland Bicycling Club for an intermediate-level ride (13-15 mph) of about 15-20 miles through the metro area. More info here.
World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims – 11:00 am at Luuwit View Park (NE) This globally observed, UN-sanctioned event will hold space for road traffic victims and their families. Expect notable speakers. More info here.
Rain Cape Ride – 11:00 am at Clever Cycles (SE) Learn all about the latest and greatest rain gear, then enjoy a fun and social ride to get lunch with wonderful folks. Watch my video about riding in the rain before you go! More info here.
— Did I miss your event? Please let me know by filling out our contact form, or just email me at maus.jonathan@gmail.com.
(Background photo of 122nd Avenue near Glisan by Jonathan Maus/BikePortland. Dunphy photo by City of Portland)
On October 29th, the unthinkable happened: three people were killed in three separate crashes in East Portland, all within just one mile of each other. The tragic night struck a nerve for District One City Councilor Jamie Dunphy, who shared a video on social media that expressed both sadness and indignation.
I talked to Dunphy on the phone today about those deaths, what he thinks will prevent them, and how they might influence his approach to transportation safety in the future. The following interview has been edited slightly for clarity.
Jonathan Maus/BikePortland:
How did you feel when you heard about those three fatalities?
Councilor Dunphy:
I was in the middle of a city council hearing and I opened up The Oregonian to find out about it. I was not independently told about any of this from the police or the transportation bureau, and it just literally stopped me in my tracks. I mean, we just finished talking about vision zero, and the for the city to be completely silent on the fact that within a two-and-a-half hour period, three neighbors were killed in a 20-block square radius. It was shocking.
There was no nobody in the city seeming to be paying attention to that. Nobody seemed to flag that, or maybe to have pointed it out to the councilors in charge. And it felt like such an aberration from what we would be expecting, that I was just shocked and heartbroken, and I felt compelled to say something.
It’s unbelievable that we’re at this point. I’ve walked those streets. I know the infrastructure there is piss-poor, and the visibility is terrible, and the way people drive on our streets is a complete disregard for human life. It is a failure of government. It is a failure of environmental design. It is a failure of individual behavior. It’s all of those things.
I wanted to just draw attention to the fact that there are consequences happening in our community.
To the mayor’s credit, and specifically to the director of PBOT director’s credit, they got some infrastructure out there. Well, not infrastructure. They got some signage. They got some light pole cameras. They got some some temporary lighting solutions within a few hours. They started putting things out to try and draw public attention to the fact that we’re approaching the dark season and daylight savings time, and the rain makes visibility worse for everybody, and that vision zero isn’t just about people crossing the street downtown or in, you know, inner Hawthorne area or some of the cooler parts of town — people are dying on the streets of East Portland, and it’s a failure by everyone.
Jonathan/BikePortland:
What is the infrastructure like on those streets in your district?
Councilor Dunphy:
These main thoroughfares — Holgate, Halsey, Glisan, Powell, Burnside, Foster, all of them — these are treated and built as four or five-lane highways. It is my firm belief that the federal infrastructure of I-84 is a failed piece of infrastructure. It has no on-ramps or off-ramps from 84 west for the entire length of the District One. And so people don’t have a way — and there are not enough family-wage jobs in District One — so everybody’s in their car and they’re trying to get downtown or out of the district, and they’re driving like crazy, and they’re trying to avoid traffic, and they drive insane.
And there’s wildly insufficient sidewalks. Even if we have the sidewalks at all, they are outdated in many ways. They are unsafe. They are affected by disuse and damage and tree branches and tree roots.
The few safety infrastructure upgrades that we do have, like what has happened to the traffic calming at outer Division Street, is leading to even worse behavior. People are literally flipping their cars when they’re trying to turn off of Division and hitting one of those concrete barrier things. That section of Glisan [where one of the people was killed] recently got some dedicated bike lanes. And you know, they’re not safe bike lanes. There’s not sufficient lighting there to actually make those bike lanes safe. There’s not sufficient lighting to make those crosswalks safe and walkable. And when you pair that with the lack of human infrastructure, the lack of public transportation and the failure of the city to address the homelessness crisis — especially around 122nd and Glisan — we have folks who are putting themselves into dangerous positions and drivers who are making those positions even worse. And it’s obvious the outcome there is going to be a collision, and the pedestrians and the bike riders will always lose that.
The infrastructure in East Portland is not designed for the people who are living there. It is designed to get people and freight through it, and it shows. And it’s crazy. It’s 100 years of disinvestment materializing, right?
Jonathan/BikePortland:
I hear what you’re saying. You’re listing all the reasons why I think a lot of people feel like the issue, especially in East Portland, is overwhelming. It’s hard to know where to start. That being said, what happened that night is unprecedented. Has it changed you? Has it changed the way you want to advocate for transportation safety on city council?
Councilor Dunphy:
I wouldn’t say it has changed me. It has made it clear to me how much more acute and urgent the problem is, and how it is intertwined with all of the other things that we are working on. I was one of the key co-sponsors of the vision zero work at the city, but that was sort of high-level, and clearly was, you know, fancy words without a lot of follow through. And I hate that. I hate performative nonsense and it’s clear that the city’s work on vision zero hasn’t been serious. It hasn’t been effective.
It also drove home for me that, as we are talking about homelessness, we have to talk about transportation infrastructure. As we are talking about economic development, we have to talk about transportation infrastructure. We will never meet our climate goals if we don’t talk about getting good jobs in East Portland because everybody’s trapped in their single car and having to drive that district. We will never reduce the deaths on the streets of folks who are sleeping outside, if they are also getting hit by cars, if we are putting human lives in the same physical built space as vehicles, if people are sleeping in tents on streets and don’t have a place to be safe and they don’t have sufficient sidewalks, of course, that is going to lead to direct conflict with vehicles.
No, I didn’t change, it just drives home for me that infrastructure and the built environment are core to almost all the rest of our goals that we are trying to accomplish.
Jonathan/BikePortland:
What you said earlier tells me that, in some ways, you’re happy with what the mayor, city administrator, Portland Police Bureau, and PBOT did as an immediate response. Is there anything else ongoing in terms of something more substantial? For instance, when Sarah Pliner was was killed over on Southeast Powell, there was a listening session at the school. There were commitments from ODOT to do something about it. Is there anything like that in terms of follow-up from those folks that you mentioned in your Instagram video? Is anyone in your office reaching out to them? Or was the message board sign PBOT put up (with “Traffic Death Here – Use Caution”) enough of a response?
Councilor Dunphy:
No, that cannot be the response, putting up a sign and saying, ‘Traffic death, slow down,’ or whatever it said. That can’t be the response we need. I’ve asked specifically for the traffic engineers and the PBOT infrastructure folks to come up with a plan for improving some of the deficiencies on that stretch. Specifically, I want better lighting. I want to see what we can do in terms of actual division between where the vehicles go and where bikes and pedestrians go, some sort of physical median.
And I think to some extent, some of this is also bad behavior by drivers that we’re not seeing enforcement on. Every single day I see people running red lights or doing enormous amounts of speeding. I think we can demonstrate to the public that we have a social contract we need to be following, and we have actual laws that we need to be following, and that there are consequences for not following those laws. We need to be intentional about it also being the built environment.
I’m not interested in having a community listening session and envisioning what neighbors want to see — neighbors have told us what they want to see. They want to have their kids walk home from school safely. We know that. We know what these solutions are. And we see that infrastructure spending benefiting other parts of the city. We don’t see it benefiting East Portland.
[Dunphy then explained how he recently received a district-by-district breakdown of Parks and PBOT investment. He cited an example of a promise to spend $6 million on street sweeping, but worried that in places without sidewalks, PBOT won’t sweep because there’s no curb. “That doesn’t mean you don’t come sweep my neighborhood,” he said. “My neighbors still deserve beautification. So I want to see where that where those dollars are being spent and my team is actively looking at the report and asking for some follow-up on it.”]
Jonathan/BikePortland:
You mentioned the built environment and you’ve laid out the problem. It often comes down to the incongruity of fast moving vehicles being operated near where people live, work and play. And there’s an obvious way to prevent that, which is to make it impossible to travel at such high speeds. But that often comes down to a political question: Are you willing to support a project that creates more friction for drivers, makes driving more difficult, slower, and less convenient as a trade-off to making roads safer? Would you support a design solution that included things like narrowing the street, or chicanes? The design solutions are there. They’re obvious. They’re in use all over the world. But would you support them?
Councilor Dunphy:
I think absolutely. Especially in the obvious high crash corridors and areas where we know those conflicts are happening. I mean, it’s obvious: We can demonstrate it. It’s Sandy, right? It’s Glisan. It’s Burnside, Powell, it’s Division. We know where those are. The way the traffic calming has gone on outer Division doesn’t seem like it has reduced the levels of pedestrian and bicycle conflict, compared to the level of undertaking it took to change the built environment. I’m absolutely open to that; but it also has to come with more reasons to keep people from getting into their car, and it has to come with something I’m specifically working on: how do we attract better jobs so people don’t have to get into their cars in the first place? I’m supportive of additional mass transit and for trying to make it less convenient to drive and more convenient to take a bus. We’re seeing the opposite from TriMet, we’re seeing some service pullback. We’re not seeing service levels in East Portland of transit ridership at the same level that we see in other parts of the city. It’s one of those things where they say, ‘Well, nobody’s doing it, so we have to cut back.’ And when you cut back, nobody’s going to use it. But yeah, I think the built environment needs to change.
Jonathan/BikePortland:
The problems that you mentioned — getting people more housing, improving transit — those could take a long time to do. Meanwhile, three people were killed in one night. So, I would just ask you again: If there was something put on the table that said, ‘This is a crisis of public safety, and we’re going to do some things with this street that are going to dramatically slow it down. You might not be able to turn left here. You might not be able to make a u-turn there.’ Would you be willing to face your constituents and try to help them understand why that’s necessary, even if it doesn’t come with a fix to their housing or transit needs?
Councilor Dunphy:
I wouldn’t be supportive right now of what the city previously did with Division. That was sort of a broad brush when trying to address something that I think was done in a ham-handed way. We have clear data about where these pinch points are and these are the places where people are colliding — so yes, absolutely, make those areas safer through the built environment and that specifically means making it less convenient to drive. Not on every major thoroughfare, because I think that ultimately that is going to just make it that much harder to live in East Portland right now. But I think if we did it in a way that was specific and targeted and data-informed, absolutely.
Jonathan/BikePortland:
I’ve been saying for many years that, while they’re spending a lot of money, PBOT is not doing projects in East Portland that will actually move the needle for safety. Some projects might start off strong, but are too compromised by politics and pushback once they hit the ground. So then the activists are not happy and the drivers are mad because they feel like there’s money being spent on stuff they don’t care about. So everybody’s pissed.
Councilor Dunphy:
There is a school of thought that is prominent in city hall — especially under the old form of government and those who have followed us over from it — that if everybody is angry, then you’re probably doing good politics and I think that’s absolutely bullshit.
Jonathan/BikePortland:
As an elected official, you have to be comfortable with who you’ve made mad, because not everybody’s anger should be valued the same. And I know that’s tricky, but it’s up to you as an elected to understand who you should not want angry, versus who it’s okay to make angry.
Councilor Dunphy:
This job is hard, but it’s supposed to be hard. And these decisions are supposed to be controversial, because if they were easy, they would have been made before it got to my desk. And so it requires a level of bravery that, candidly, I don’t think most of the people have had who’ve been elected to city council in the past. I don’t care if it makes people angry if I’m saving lives. My top priority should be that everybody gets home safe tonight.
My [13-year-old] daughter walks to middle school in Parkrose and does not have an option of walking on sidewalks the entire way. And while it’s getting better in places, I just want to know that when she’s walking home from her classes after five o’clock when it’s dark, that she’s not going to die. And I think that’s a basic thing and I am willing to take on a certain level of pushback in the name of saving lives.
Jonathan/BikePortland:
Is there anything else you want folks to know regarding your feelings about all this?
Councilor Dunphy:
I want people to slow the fuck down. Just stop driving so damn fast. I got a little bit of pushback from folks saying, ‘You know, this is not an individual problem. This is a collective, social problem.’ And I agree. And it is also an individual problem. It is a responsibility for us all to fix it; but also, people need to take responsibility. To take responsibility in their vehicles and drive differently.
Jonathan/BikePortland:
Do you plan to attend the World Day of Remembrance event coming up on Sunday?
Councilor Dunphy:
Yes, I’ll be there. I’m speaking too.
— For more on World Day of Remembrance, which coming up this Sunday (11/16) from 11:00 to 12 noon at Luuwit View Park at NE 127th and Fremont, visit the event website.
Doug and Sarah at Bike Happy Hour last night. (Photo by Jana)
What a thrill it was last night at Bike Happy Hour to share my conversation with Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon in front of a live audience! Y’all really brought great energy and made the night so memorable for all three of us. I didn’t film the event, or take good photos, so thankfully BHH regular Jana snapped a pic for the lead (and episode cover). Thanks Jana!
The conversation went great and I think you’ll enjoy it. Sarah earned several rousing ovations and Doug was his usually sharp and brilliant self. These two are carrying so much weight on their shoulders as high-ranking generals in the War on Cars, and they do it with what I think is just the right balance of activism and pragmatism. They’re what I like to think of as reasonable radicals.
Highly recommend listening to the full episode (and stay tuned to BP social channels for some video clips of our chat in the Shed prior to Bike Happy Hour), and below are a few excerpts:
Doug on tyranny:
“We should talk about the title. We moved from [the podcast title] The War on Cars to Life After Cars… it’s still provocative, but it’s more of an invitation to imagine something different. It’s not as combative, but the word tyranny. I was really happy that we got that into the subtitle because right now we know something about living under a form of tyranny. And part of that, right, is that you’re never not thinking about the tyrant. You wake up in the morning, you think, what did he say?
You’re never not thinking about it. And what do we all want? We want leaders who we don’t really have to think about that much, who we trust are doing a good job. And so that is how it is with cars. You are never — if you are car dependent or live in a place with forced car dependency — you’re never not thinking about how your life centers around the car.”
War on Cars “superfan” Becky Hawkings made Doug and Sarah a special gift.PBOT Signals and Streetlight Division Manager Peter Koonce (left) and Hood River County Safe Routes to School Manager Megan Ramey.East Portland advocate and former City Council candidate Timur Ender and Parking Reform Network Executive Director Tony Jordan.Merch was selling fast! Sampling a neighborhood greenway en route to the event.(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Sarah on how we can win more battles:
“You have to organize. And now more than ever I am grateful for being in this movement because, as fascism advances upon us and tries to shut down every source of joy and good that there is, we are already organized here. Everybody in this room knows people they can trust, knows people who understand the way that politics work. And I think we just need to double-down on organizing, frankly. And to hear people get up here and say, ‘Come meet me to talk about this street. Come meet me to talk about this event,’ that to me is exactly what we should be doing and we just have to keep doing it.
And we have to keep the pressure on our elected officials and let them know that the people who ride bikes and transit and the children in our communities are every bit as much their constituents as the people who drive cars — and the cars themselves are not constituents!”
Sarah on Zohran Mamdani:
“My favorite thing about the Mamdani campaign is the way that it has elevated bus riders and the bus itself.
And I know that the bus is super important here in Portland, right? Yeah! Let’s hear it for the bus! Okay, who are the most stigmatized transportation users in this country? It’s not people on bikes. It is people who ride the bus. They are widely stigmatized and they’re perceived as they should get the leftovers.
And here is this fantastic, brilliant, charismatic man getting up there and putting buses first, right at the core of his campaign the entire way. And to me, that is so emblematic. The people who ride the bus deserve the same dignity and respect that everybody else deserves, and we can give that to ’em.
We have the wealth, we have the knowledge we can give people dignified transportation, and buses are a fantastic way to do it. And let’s do it! That is what I hope for. I hope that the rest of the country looks around and says, ‘Oh my God, here’s the wealthiest city in this country… and if we can get buses running fast and free and, and with the respect that people will be getting when they get on the bus and realize, ‘Wow, my government thinks that I deserve to have a bus that gets me to work on time.’
I mean, I just can’t even tell you how I think that is a seismic change in this country.”
Doug on Mamdani:
“What’s the worst that’ll happen if Mamdani says, ‘Let’s make all the buses free and fast’? Okay, he tried, maybe he can’t get all of them free, but he gets 10 routes, two in every borough. free. And he gets 20 more lines that are sped up with dedicated infrastructure. That is a win.
My entire philosophy of advocacy is the city says, ‘Hey, we’re gonna do 10 miles of protected bike lanes next year. Your job as an advocate is to say, ‘No. F you! I want a hundred miles of bike lanes!’ Then they come back and they say, ‘You know what? We can squeak out 20.’ And you say, ‘We did it. We won.’
And I think that that’s what you need in Democratic politics again is people shooting for big ideas and saying it simply. When’s the last time a Democratic politician had a platform people could chant back to the candidate? So to me, who cares what the wonky part of free buses, he’s shooting for something big and we should encourage more of that.”
Doug on how Portland can lead:
“I love Portland’s bike culture. New York City doesn’t really have like a bike culture in the way that Portland and a few other cities do. And so for example, like the Naked Bicycle Ride and the fact that that existed and then ICE is here and the National Guard is gonna come and like the Naked Bike Ride happens in a flash [everyone laughed at the unintended pun!]… that was a great thing to see. It’s one of those things that’s like maybe easy for outsiders to make fun of — but then, like, it was effective.
That being said, one of the things I talked about the last time I was here 11 years ago was that I felt like too much of Portland’s bicycling was based on culture. And not on infrastructure. And I think it’s good that the infrastructure has really advanced in the last year and that you have folks here who are working on it… So I think it’s, preserve the awesome bike culture that you have because it’s special and different; but also don’t forget that a lot of people don’t want to go to the Naked Bike Ride or bikeapalooza, they just want to go to work.”
— Listen to the full episode in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.
Outgoing ODOT Director Kris Strickler at a listening session in Portland in June 2024. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Oregon Department of Transportation Director Kris Strickler has flipped on his turn signal and will take the next offramp. The leader of the agency since 2019, Strickler announced Wednesday he’ll exit for good on January 2nd, 2026.
Texts about Strickler’s decision flew between phones of transportation advocates and insiders last night, many of whom see him as just the latest high-profile leader to jump from a sinking ship. As I reported last month, agency leaders have been fleeing faster than drivers can fill up a new freeway lane. Strickler leaves ODOT as it tries to heal from scars of a brutal legislative session, years of funding uncertainties, project delays, cost overruns, and an embarrassing accountability audit released back in May.
When Strickler assumed the director role in 2019, things looked rosy by comparison. ODOT had money in the bank and a clear roadmap on how to spend it thanks to the the $5.3 billion transportation package passed in 2017. The same week Strickler was named ODOT’s new leader, the agency launched an ambitious effort to reduce congestion by expanding freeways in the Portland region. Initially called the Office of Urban Mobility & Mega Projects and later changed to the Urban Mobility Office (UMO), the new Portland-based office was created to ensure ODOT could deliver what they knew would be three very controversial projects: a new tolling system and two freeway expansions on I-5; one at the Rose Quarter and one between Portland and Vancouver.
In the six years since, the UMO has been defunded and shuttered, tolling was torpedoed by Governor Tina Kotek, the Rose Quarter is in such dire straits that Strickler’s bosses at the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) removed a “stop funding the project” vote from the agenda of their meeting today, and the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBR) is on life support after its leader jumped ship last month and an OTC member recently logged the first ever “no” vote against it.
Even so, you’ve got to have some sympathy for Strickler. Just months after he was hired, Covid threw our state into turmoil and then ODOT faced disastrous impacts from major wildfires. After leading the agency through those disasters, more of them hit: Kotek’s capitulation on tolling destroyed the revenue stream Strickler was counting on to build megaprojects and the Trump Administration caused “confusion and delay” at the agency including a rescission of $382 million Strickler was counting on to build the I-5 Rose Quarter project.
Strickler’s life preserver was Oregon lawmakers, who promised to pass major funding for ODOT in the 2025 legislation session. In the run-up to that session, Strickler worked overtime to convince lawmakers (and the public) that ODOT deserved — and could be trusted with — a massive funding package. But even that failed. The bill Kotek ultimately signed just last week barely keeps the lights on at the agency. Despite massive increases in projects costs and inflation (and a false narrative from Republicans that it’s massive) the total funding is over one billion dollars less than what was passed in 2017.
And it must sting that the paltry revenue lawmakers were able to raise for Strickler’s agency is still somewhat in limbo as hundreds of signature gatherers fan out across the state as I type this, eager to refer the increased taxes and fees to the ballot and use the issue to boost Republican chances ahead of next year’s gubernatorial election.
Before he came to ODOT, Strickler spent nine years working on the Columbia River Crossing project, the precursor to the IBR that shares not only many of its design elements, but also its unfortunate distinction as a project that spent hundreds of millions on consultants and planning without one shovel pressed into the dirt. That’s 15 years focused on one project that still might never be built.
Maybe Strickler just got tired of not winning.
Maybe Strickler’s exit and the horrible condition of ODOT he leaves behind will finally shake things up. Maybe the OTC and Oregon lawmakers will wake up and take our state’s approach to transportation in a very different direction — one that stops chasing freeway expansion megaprojects as a solution to climate change (which is what Strickler believed them to be) and one that ends the bottomless pit of taxpayer dollars going to consulting firms who benefit from making projects as expensive, expansive, and extensive as possible.
Oregon needs to build more, not bill more.
Now Governor Kotek has an opportunity to heal her wounded transportation legacy by picking an ODOT director that is humble enough to change the status quo and courageous enough to create a new one.
It happened near this location. View is facing north toward Sellwood Bridge.
A person riding a bicycle has died following a collision with a driver on Highway 43 south of the Sellwoood Bridge. It happened sometime around 5:30 pm in the 9900 block of S Riverside Drive (Hwy 43), which is in an unincorporated section of Multnomah County between the borders of Portland and Lake Oswego.
Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office was able to make contact with the driver. No further details have been released. I will update this post as I learn more.
This stretch of road is a typical four-lane highway with no center median and no bike lane. The shoulder width is relatively narrow and the speed limit is 45 mph. It’s listed as a “difficult connection” on the City of Portland’s official bike map. It’s not heavily used by bike riders, but it’s reasonable someone would use this route to get between Sellwood and Lake Oswego (it’s visible on route heatmaps from Strava and RideWithGPS), or to access the trails at River View Natural Area. Most people would opt for the bike-friendly road through River View Cemetery, but access to that route has been unreliable and I’ve gotten reports recently that the gate is being closed at dusk, which would have been before this crash.
L: Red dot marks approximate location of fatal collision. R: City bike map with dotted red line marking “difficult connection”.
While it’s too early to speculate about the victim’s route or intentions, after I posted about this crash early this morning, several folks shared their thoughts. One person told me they live in Sellwood and attend Lewis & Clark Law School, which is very close to where this crash happened:
“This stretch of road is popular for bikes riding along the waterfront getting back on the bridge (especially for mountain bikers who ride the River View trails), heading east to Sellwood and for folks riding to Lake Oswego or into the Southwest Hills. Southbound has little to no shoulder for the majority of stretch and people very frequently speed far above the speed limit. I am rattled by this as a Sellwood resident and a frequent user of this road on my bike rides.”
Other folks say the crash has unnerved them. “I biked on this road once. Never again. It’s scary. Needs a bike lane at minimum,” one reader shared. “I’ve noticed the cemetery gates up top are getting closed even to bikes and pedestrians around 4:30, so more folks may be looking for work-arounds. This is scary to hear,” said another.
There have been attemptsover the years to convert the old trolley line adjacent to this highway into a more modern rail line or a paved bike path, but strong resistance from riverfront homeowners, cost, and legal complications related to historical easements have stymied those efforts.
If you have any information about this crash. Please contact me.
UPDATE, 8:24 pm: Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office has issued a statement:
Based on the preliminary investigation, the bicyclist was traveling south, lost control of his bike after potentially hitting a rock on the shoulder of the roadway, fell, and was then struck by an SUV traveling south.
Initial first responders found a bicycle helmet on scene, which they believe the 68-year-old victim was wearing at the time of the crash.
The driver, a 32-year-old man, remained on scene.
At this time, no arrests have been made and no citations issued. Once the investigation is complete, it will be submitted to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office (MCDA) for review.
MCDA will make a charging decision based on the available evidence and upon conducting a legal analysis.
The bicyclist is identified as Rutilo Moreno Jorge.
How bad have things gotten for the I-5 Rose Quarter project? So bad that the Oregon Department of Transportation has finally called the question: Is it time to mothball the project and transfer the funding to other priorities?
That’s one of three options on the table according to documents uploaded in advance of this Thursday’s meeting of the Oregon Transportation Commission — the five member body appointed by the governor to oversee ODOT. It’s also the latest in a string of very bad news for the beleaguered megaproject.
The project aims to widen about one mile of I-5 between I-84 and I-405. It would also add a lid for future development and make major investments in surface streets in the area of the Moda Center. I was originally estimated to cost $450 million, but that price has ballooned to over $2 billion with the start of construction nowhere in sight.
Slides from I-5 Rose Quarter project presentation.
But it was a brutal summer for this project. The Trump Administration took back $382 million of a $450 million grant previously awarded to the project (when it axed the equity-related program that funded it) and the Oregon Legislature failed to pass dedicated funding for it in the heavily-compromised, anemic transportation package.
Eight years into planning the project and ODOT says it currently has just $487 million in the bank — about 25% of its total currently estimated price tag. And the cost of the project is likely to go way up, since it’s still only at the 30% design stage and isn’t slated to make it to 60% (a key milestone necessary for more precise budget estimates) until the second quarter of 2026.
One reason for the slow progress is pesky nonprofits who’ve joined forces to file multiple lawsuits against the project. Among their concerns are that the plans run afoul of already-adopted city and regional planning documents.
Amid all this bad news, key leaders of the project have recently resigned, including the former project director and leader of ODOT’s (now closed) Urban Mobility Office which included the I-5 Rose Quarter as its top regional priority.
For their part, the OTC has expressed grave concerns about the project. The last time ODOT came to the OTC asking for permission to move forward, commissioners reluctantly offered support for some preliminary work. “Everyone in this room needs to understand that beyond that, there is no money,” said OTC Chair Julie Brown at that meeting. “We are not saying that we are going to move forward with a complete Rose Quarter.”
And that was before the Oregon Legislature failed to put any money into the I-5 Rose Quarter piggy bank.
At this point, ODOT has already begun the dreaded work of cost cutting and value-engineering to try and create a more palatable project — an exercise that could further weaken the project’s political viability and curb appeal.
That’s the context of what is likely to be a very tense discussion at the OTC meeting on Thursday where ODOT staff plans to present three options for consideration: 1) a full package that would begin construction without the funding to complete it; 2) a partial package that would spend $167.5 million to build partial elements of a reduced scope project; and 3) the “stop spending” option.
If the OTC chooses that third option, the $167.5 million could be reallocated to the I-205 Abernethy Project (another freeway widening south of Portland that has been beset by cost overruns), or it could be transferred to any other project in the state. If the OTC directed ODOT to “stop spending” they would use $67.5 million (the portion of the federal grant they had already obligated to the project before Trump rescinded it) to work on design and some preliminary construction projects.
ODOT is well aware of the pitfalls that come with option three. In a slide (above) that shares “pros” and “cons” they state that community partners, “will be disappointed” and that the move would be seen, “as ODOT walking back its commitments.” This underscores years of relationship-building between ODOT staff and construction companies — many of whom are owned and/or led by Black Portlanders as part of an intentional effort to create wealth that was stolen when the initial construction of I-5 decimated the Lower Albina neighborhood. Project staff also say ODOT would lose trust
Lack of trust in ODOT as an agency will affect bidding on future RQ work packages and could affect bidding on IBR and other regional projects. • Significant rework would be required to restart the project in the future.
Beyond that, the project documents state: “Progress on the remainder of the Rose Quarter would await future funding opportunities, and the cost of the project would grow with each year.”
(Photo of Tarlow: Screenshot from TriMet committee video.)
On Friday at the Policy and Budget Committee meeting for 82nd Avenue Transit Project, the CEO of a business that has two outlets in the project area testified in opposition to building better bus lanes. But as I listened to this influential person make their case, it just didn’t ring true. I figured since TriMet is very concerned about business owner opposition, it’s worth taking a closer look at one of their arguments.
Washman Car Wash CEO David Tarlow made it clear in his testimony that Washman does not support Business Access and Transit – or “BAT” – lanes on 82nd Avenue. But the proposal he described in his testimony isn’t even what’s actually being proposed. Below are some false claims and other misunderstandings and/or misrepresentations Tarlow made in his testimony, followed by my thoughts.
“The proposal is that two entire lanes of 82nd — both northbound and southbound — will be closed to motor vehicles and the bus lanes will take their place.”
That is incorrect. The proposal would convert the curbside lane in each direction from a general travel lane to a BAT lane. BAT lanes explicitly allow car users inside of them. TriMet puts “business access” in the name to clarify that.
“… Creating serious additional congestion, taking away 50% of 82nd Avenue’s capacity just to speed up transit times by just a few minutes, but causing the same, or worse, corresponding delays for motor vehicle traffic.”
This is also a misrepresentation of the facts. TriMet’s numbers show that the “More BAT” option (that would build continuous bus lanes on seven miles of 82nd Ave from Clatsop to Lombard) would speed up buses by 11 to 14 minutes. In project documents, TriMet says even without an BAT lanes, buses would be 8-10 minutes faster than current conditions due to new signals, better buses, and so on. The “More BAT” option would add an additional 3-4 minute time saves for bus users. Taken together, that’s a transit trip that would be 8-14 minutes faster — compared to an estimated 3-4 minute delay for car users.
As for capacity, given how much more efficient buses are compared to cars, giving more space to more buses would actually increase the capacity of 82nd Avenue.
“82nd Avenue is a highway corridor that drivers use to get from Southeast Portland to Northeast Portland, and it should not be turned into a local street.”
Since Tarlow clearly only started following this project once he felt threatened by new bus lanes, he must not realize that 82nd Avenue is no longer a highway and that it was already turned into a local street three years ago. If that issue was a concern of his, he should have advocated before the owners of 82nd was officially transferred from the State of Oregon to the City of Portland.
“This proposal would add serious impediments to vehicles trying to get to 82nd Avenue business destinations.”
The proposal would actually remove all through car traffic from two lanes — which to me sounds like removing a serious number of “impediments” (other cars) to drivers trying to get to businesses.
“[The bus lanes]… would lead to frustrated drivers, empty bus only lanes, and more traffic diversion into local streets, resulting in those neighborhood streets becoming less safe for those residents that walk, ride their bikes and kids playing.”
Tarlow is right that the bus lanes would often be empty, giving car drivers even better access to businesses than they have today. And if diversion into neighborhoods became a problem, the answer would be the installation of modal filters and other traffic calming tools to keep drivers from cutting through. Also keep in mind, when drivers cut through neighborhoods it doesn’t have to make streets unsafe. The streets become unsafe when those drivers choose to drive dangerously.
“The congestion caused by taking away 50% of the lane capacity will not only result in increased congestion, as previously mentioned, but will also result in 82nd Avenue becoming a more dangerous corridor to drive on.”
The fewer cars we have on 82nd Avenue, the safer it will be. The more buses we have on 82nd Avenue the safer it will be. Of the 20 people killed while using 82nd Avenue in the past decade, not one of them was hit by a bus operator, while car drivers were involved in all of them.
“I-205, is already at capacity, so those vehicles that normally travel on 82nd will no longer use that route. They will utilize neighborhood streets, take their shopping, etc, to other locations in the city to avoid the congestion, and as mentioned previously, cause businesses to eventually close their doors and move to more viable locations.”
I shouldn’t have to point out the folly of that argument, but it also makes the point that cars are extremely inefficient and a business corridor designed around them lacks the resiliency and capacity necessary to compete for business in 2025.
I realize why someone who’s a CEO of a car wash feels threatened by this project, but if Tarlow is going to take the extraordinary step of becoming an outspoken critic of it, the least he can do is come up with a factual, good-faith argument against it.
For a different view of this story, watch it on YouTube.
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Below are the most notable stories I came across in the past seven days. Thanks to everyone who suggested links this week!
Daylighting data: I love two things about this story: First, it underscores the positive impact of removing parking from corners (aka “daylighting”) and it is an inspiring example of a city council holding a DOT to account. Can you imagine Portland City Council staff launching an investigation of a PBOT decision? (Streetsblog NYC)
Road rage turns ugly: A driver and bicycle rider were detained by police in Marin, California after some sort of altercation caused the driver to get out of their car and stab the bicycle rider with a knife several times. (CBS News)
Cycling award controversy: A UK nonprofit who intentionally excluded trans riders from the winners of its, “100 Women in Cycling Award” now faces backlash. (Bike Radar)
Anti vehicular cycling video: Popular YouTuber Not Just Bikes has released a 90-minute takedown of the late “vehicular cycling” advocate John Forester, whom he credits with single-handedly making cycling dangerous in America. (Not Just Bikes)
Wrong turns on red: A city in Missouri has banned right turns on red in school zones following a collision that killed a nine-year old who was riding to school. The policy allows schools to opt out of the law if they so choose. (KSHB)
Cost of cars: Because of rising prices on cars and service/repairs, the cost of owning a car is up 40.59% since January 2020 and nearly one in five buyers has a monthly payment over $1,000. (NPR)
Homework: Get ready for ‘War on Cars’ Week in Portland by reading this short interview with Life After Cars authors and then make sure to see them live at Bike Happy Hour on Wednesday and/or Powell’s on Thursday. (OPB)
It’s official, car bloat kills: What further evidence do elected officials need to make policy that further regulates the purchase of supersized vehicles than an op-ed from the BMJ saying unequivocally that larger cars are a public safety hazard? (British Medical Journal)
LifeCycle Adventures — Local Operator / Area Manager (Oregon)
Location: Portland, OR (greater metro)
Engagement: Independent contractor
Travel Area: Willamette Valley, Mt. Hood, Columbia River Gorge
Overview
LifeCycle Adventures is seeking a Local Operator to deliver our private, self-guided cycling tours in Oregon. This role is ideal for a small local business or an experienced independent contractor based in the Portland area.
What You’ll Do
• Tour Delivery & Guest Care – Meet guests, transport riders/bikes/luggage, provide route briefings, and on-call support.
• Operations & Logistics – Coordinate schedules, lodging handoffs, luggage moves, rider shuttles, and incident response.
• Quality & Safety – Maintain high service standards, ensure adherence to SOPs, complete reports, and uphold safety protocols.
• Local Expertise – Share Oregon’s culture, history, and geography; provide vetted dining/activity suggestions.
We provide training, guidebooks, GPS app, routes, and operating procedures. Day-to-day, you’ll work autonomously and exercise independent judgment in the field.
Seasonality & Workload
• Part-time, variable, based on sold trips.
• Primarily June–September; tour lengths range 3–10 days.
• Requires flexibility for in-season, on-call coverage and multi-day commitments.
What You’ll Bring (Qualifications)
• Exceptional hosting and client-service presence; calm, solutions-oriented communicator.
• Operationally minded, highly organized, detail-focused, and reliable with time management.
• Prior bike guiding or adjacent outdoor guiding/operations experience.
• Strong local knowledge of Oregon riding areas, roads, and conditions.
• Cycling oriented mindset and competent bike mechanic (field fixes & quick triage).
• Clean driving record and driver’s license; able to lift bikes and luggage.
• Current First Aid/CPR (or willingness to obtain promptly).
• Operate from home or small office with stable connectivity.
Nice-to-Haves
• Vehicle/van suitable for guest and bike transport.
Compensation
• Competitive, industry-aligned contractor rates, commensurate with experience and responsibilities.
• Rates vary by assignment type (e.g., transfer days, guiding, on-call coverage, multi-day blocks).
Growth Path (possibility)
• Operations Manager, North America: oversee seasonal staffing, SOPs, service levels, and cost performance across multiple regions.
• New Destination Development: collaborate on route design, vendor curation, and launch operations.
How to Apply
Please email your resume to Gregory Craig at Greg@lifecycleadventures.com
