BikePortland

Anti-ICE activists return to Bike Happy Hour with a mic, not a megaphone

Holly Brown (bandanna), M, and Dina in front of the crowd last night. Sorry, I forgot to get good photos of them!

Last night at Bike Happy Hour we were joined by three people who’ve been on the front lines of fighting against ICE and protecting immigrants and migrants from deportation.

For activists Holly Brown, M, and Dina, it was their second time joining us at the Rainbow Road Plaza. And unlike the first time, they didn’t use megaphones to yell at Mayor Keith Wilson and Happy Hour attendees who were eager to hear from him. Instead, they used my microphone. We talked about what happened at the Mayor Wilson event, how bikes can help fight the Trump Administration’s aggressive and unlawful use of federal forces in Portland, and we learned more about the work and motivations of this trio of activists.

My first order of business was to ask if anyone had questions or feelings to share about what happened at the Mayor Wilson interview. I know some folks on hand wanted to just move on (I could see the grimaces and head shaking!), but I felt like it was important to close the loop on that episode.

Aaron Kuehn stepped up to the mic to say the way protestors acted at the interview event, “Prevented there being a productive, almost once in a lifetime opportunity to have that kind of accessibility to an elected leader.” “Almost everybody I’ve heard from and who’s talked about this said they felt really bad, that that was a miscalculation in terms of tactics, and that we felt like we lost an opportunity.”

Dina, an organizer and church group volunteer who protests at the ICE facility almost nightly and who’s been attacked by an ICE officer, replied to Kuehn. “I hear you when you say it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that is a really big shame on the Mayor,” Dina said. “You are his electorate, if he’s not giving you opportunities to speak to him I think that means that guy shouldn’t be in that job position, because that is the entirety of the job. When you are an elected representative, if you’re not talking to your constituents, there’s a problem there.”

Dina explained that the reason they showed up and shouted at the Mayor was, “Because we cannot get these people to sit down with us. The only time they try to talk to us is when we are going and making them look bad somewhere. That’s the only time any of them will give us the time of day.”

“I’m not trying to sit here and belittle your points,” Dina continued. “But I’m saying that the frustrations you’re experiencing… it’s not because of us and what we did. It’s because the Mayor is choosing to make all of those choices. To not talk to his people who elected him.”

Another Bike Happy Hour regular named Fred who was at the Mayor Wilson event, spoke next: “The sad part about this is that we agree with what you’re saying; but at the same time, we also are people that ride our bikes regularly in town and would be really nice to have had a chance to talk to the Mayor. Now he doesn’t want to come back to talk to us because we can’t control the meeting to keep that from happening again.”

“I bike all the time and bike issues are very important to me,” Brown (who was one of the most vocal protestors at the Mayor event) responded. “I definitely understand. I am sorry that that did not turn out the way that it was planned.” Brown explained that the reason they showed up was because they were monitoring the Mayor’s schedule and there are very few events where they could have access to him. “Our focus was solely on the Mayor,” Brown said. “We did not come with any animosity towards people here.”

Brown wanted to emphasize that the situation at ICE and what Trump and his cronies are doing, “Is extremely serious.” “They’re deporting entire families and people are having serious side effects because of all the chemicals in the South Waterfront area. So the fact that he hasn’t talked to us about it is honestly very disturbing.”

M, an activist with family in Los Angeles who fears deportation every day, said, “At any point, the Mayor could spoken up, he could have addressed us and then continued his conversation with you guys. But that is not what he decided to do… What he did, it was cowardly.”

To shift the conversation to how bicycle riders can help fight ICE and Trump’s troops, I recounted how Portlanders created a “bike swarm” to aid protestors during the Occupy and George Floyd protests and read a passage from the excellent book, In the City of Bikes (Harper, 2013). The book traces the history of cycling in Amsterdam and author Pete Jordan documents how Holland established a Cyclists Regiment of nearly 3,000 cyclists during World War II as Nazi Germany marched toward Amsterdam. “Their motto: ‘Swift and Nimble — Composed and Dignified.’ These troops drilled and conducted maneuvers on their bikes,” Jordan wrote.

“Bikes are actually a perfect tool to fight fascism,” M shared. They described the “Barrio Walks” program they volunteer with through Portland Contra De Los Deportaciones (Portland Against Deportations). “We get into the communities that are being affected. We hand out, ‘know your rights’ information. We give them resources,” M shared. “You could also do that on a bike. You could get together with some bike buds, pick a neighborhood, and go and do that exact same thing. It’s important right now because a lot of folks are too scared to leave their house.”

M also suggested that cyclists could organize mutual aid food distribution and do community patrols. “If you’ve noticed increased ICE activity in certain neighborhoods, get on your bikes and patrol the neighborhood, get whistles, look out for ICE, and call the PIRC [Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition] hotline.”

“There are no wrong answers when it comes to advocacy. There’s a lot of different things that you can do,” Dina added.

The overall message from all three was to just do something, anything, to push back against Trump and anti-protestor narratives from elected officials and the media — both of whom Dina believes are lying to us.

“They’re not telling you how bad it is and how dangerous this moment in history is right now,” Dina said. “And I don’t want to fearmonger, I believe we can come out of this; but only if we unite as a whole city, only if everyone comes out and everyone says we treat each other as humans.”

The discussion ended on an impassioned plea from M, which you can listen to and/or read below:

“We’re city of roses, let us be the thorns that protect the roses that are our beautiful immigrant and migrant community. Let us be the the thorn in the side of this fascist administration that thinks it’s okay to come and kidnap, brutalize and send our neighbors, friends and family off to death camps. That thinks it’s okay to sick the National Guard on civilians.

Pease take all that love and all that rage in your heart and fight this fight, because it’s not just one fight. This is all of our struggle.

This is personal to me, because this is my family on the line. I come from a line of people that gave up everything to be here, and I have to worry about missing a call from a family member and thinking, ‘Oh, my God, was that the call? Did it finally happen?’

Our community is only as safe as we make it. So, if one group of people is being subjected to this violence and being brutalized and sent to these camps, it can happen to any of us, and that’s why we need a united front now. Talk to your friends, talk to your neighbors. Make a plan. Do something, do anything, because we’re gonna need all the help we conduct we can get. We need all hands on deck for this.”

After I turned off the mics, Holly, M, and Dina stuck around to talk with Bike Happy Hour attendees. Holly passed out a flyer about how to identify and report ICE agents and folks signed up to be on email lists. I know some folks disagree with how I handled this because I received criticism before, during, and after the event. But to me, it felt like a very productive evening and I’m glad we got to give these relationships another chance.

In the words of one attendee, “It was a surprisingly civil conversation at a seemingly uncivilized time.”

Thanks to everyone who showed up and took part.

Research: E-bike rebates help people, planet, and profits

New research on electric bike rebates — released the same week the City of Portland announced a soft launch of their program — is good news for fans of using government subsidies to make e-bikes cheaper.

A study from University of British Columbia found substantial environmental, economic, and quality of life benefits in people who received rebates from the BC Electric Bike Rebate Program launched in 2023. Beyond the serendipitous timing of this research, it has another strong Portland connection: One of the study’s researchers, UBC Associate Professor Dr. Alex Bigazzi, is a graduate of Portland State University whose work on cycling and air quality made several headlines here on BikePortland.

In Travel, Environmental, and Equity Impacts of Income-Conditioned E-Bike Rebates in British Columbia by Polina Polikakhina, Amir Hassanpour, Kyla Yu, Meghan Winters, and Bigazzi (2025, with funding by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) & Mobilizing Justice) surveyed over 1,000 BC program participants for over one year. By nearly every metric, the ability to add an e-bike to their lives had significant positive benefits to their personal well-being and the world around them. The study found that:

Emissions from travel dropped 17 per cent per year overall, equivalent to 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide

Travel costs fell 12 per cent

Post-purchase automobile use fell by 20% while e-bike use increased by a factor of 16

Physical activity during travel rose 13 per cent

Rebates cut e-bike purchase costs by 43 per cent, with the greatest benefits going to lower-income households

$6.5 million in rebates generated $8.7 million in new retailer revenue.

The BC program offers rebates of $350 to $1,400 depending on personal income qualifications. The study tracked many statistics about participants including: purchase decisions, use of purchased e-bikes, and short-term (three months) and long-term (12 months) travel behavior changes post-purchase.

Among the findings is that folks who used the rebates purchased bikes with an average price of $3,200 (paying an average of $1,900 after the rebate). “E-bike price was inversely related to rebate value, showing that the rebates were primarily used to decrease cost rather than to acquire more expensive e-bikes,” the study summary reads.

Using demographic data, researchers found that reductions in automobile use were greater for those with higher household income and those living in suburban areas that are relatively dense but with poorer access to destinations by walking, cycling, or public transit. Increases in e-bike use were also greater for those with lower household income and those living in hillier areas.

Along with demographic data, the study provides recommendations for how to make them work even better.

Given behaviors of rebate recipients, researchers say geographic prioritization is worth considering, because places with things like hillier terrain and limited public transit options will have greater rebate impacts. This seems to be fodder for a special rebate dispensation to folks who live in the southwest/west hills.

It has always bugged me that politicians seem to have no problem supporting e-car rebates, but balk at doing the same for e-bikes. I know it can’t fight the power of motonormativity, but this study found e-bike rebates are cost-competitive with car rebates for GHG mitigation. But wait, there’s more: “[E-bike rebates] also generate a range of other important benefits through automobile mode substitution and increased physical activity.” So yeah, e-bike rebates actually have more bang-for-our-buck than e-car rebates. The study should also serve as a reminder to never limit framing e-bike rebate benefits as solely a climate change fighting tool. “Considering mobility and physical activity co-benefits will be increasingly important if declining automobile emission rates diminish the effectiveness of e-bike rebates for GHG reduction,” researchers write.

“E-bikes bring benefits to users in cost, mobility and physical activity,” said study co-investigator Dr. Meghan Winters of Simon Fraser University. “But the impacts of this rebate program are also more broad, with societal benefits of reduced emissions, replacement of car trips, and generated revenue.”

And to top it all off, rebate users cited “fun and enjoyment” as one of the top reasons they were eager to hop on an e-bike.

— View an article on the study by UBC which has links to the study summary and full report.

Rider’s close call underscores persistent threat of reckless drivers

The aftermath. View is westbound on SE Gideon bike path. Note the bike route marking in the lower center (Photos: Reader Andy F.)

On Tuesday morning around 8:00 am, commuting calm was shattered on one of Portland’s busiest bicycling corridors when a driver careened off the road, flew across the bikeway, and slammed into a metal fence, leaving a trail of broken debris in their wake. It happened on Southeast Milwaukie where it crosses the rail tracks at SE 12th.

I heard about it from several people and my first response was: Here we go again. There has been a disturbing drumbeat of drivers failing to control their vehicles and driving them into spaces that are expected to be carfree.

In the past month or so I’ve reported on several serious incidents. In early August, a man drove onto the sidewalk and killed someone on NE Martin Luther King Jr. and then hopped another median before coming to rest after a head-on collision with another driver. Later that month a suspected car thief sped across the (carfree) Tilikum Crossing Bridge. On September 17th, a driver intentionally drove through the Holman Pocket Park, only to be stopped by concrete bollards. Then on Sunday I posted photos of a driver who crashed into a planter area on the sidewalk of SW 1st and Main.

These are just a few recent examples of what feels like an out of control epidemic of dangerous and reckless driving on Portland streets. It’s a violent byproduct of a system where cars and their drivers have too much freedom to destroy and disrupt. If there’s a war on our streets, this is the closest thing to it.

“It’s infuriating that cars are increasingly careening into places they don’t belong,” said BikePortland reader Andy F., who was nearly hit by that driver who crashed into the sidewalk-level bike lane on SE Gideon Tuesday morning.

I asked Andy to share his experience. His account below and photos from the scene are chilling:

“A driver traveling northbound on Milwaukie Ave at high speed lost control near the Clinton/Gideon rail tracks intersection. He struck and knocked down a metal traffic light pole, then careened onto the curb, through fencing, and onto the MAX tracks.

I heard a loud noise (the driver first knocking down a metal traffic light pole). I thankfully was able to quickly move out of the way prior to the driver careening onto the curb, through the fencing next to the rail, and onto the tracks themselves. I escaped a direct hit by at most seven feet. It’s remarkable no other bikers/pedestrians were struck. I saw/heard no attempt to brake before he mounted the pedestrian path. I have no estimate for speed, but it was clearly high velocity given the damage and airbag deployment. If he had hit someone he would have seriously injured, or more likely killed them.

Because the driver now was on the tracks with a MAX train heading Eastward (other bikers were able to flag the train to stop thankfully) — and after ensuring area was safe — I was able to speak to the driver to get his permission to help and open door (very tinted windows made it difficult to visually determine safety) and pull him from the car. A young man, very confused and understandably disoriented. The steering wheel and side-curtain airbags all deployed. It’s easy to assume he was intoxicated, however it’s also totally possible he had a medical event (seizure, cardiac episode, etc.). Irrespective of those circumstances, he clearly was driving way too fast. Fire and EMS took a very long time to arrive. 911 repeatedly dropped my calls, and response times felt very slow, which was frustrating.

A huge shout out to the staff and workforce at Urban Alchemy who (were working working nearby and) were some of the first to the scene bringing Narcan and first aid kits. It was heartening to see the direct caring actions of people biking-by and local businesses — helping make sure the driver was safe and stable, flagging down the MAX train and communicating with EMS, etc.”

In addition to telling us what happened, Andy also wanted to share a personal message about how the incident has impacted him.

“I used to exclusively commute to work by bike years ago. But as I’ve moved further away from the city core and other life circumstances, I had largely stopped. I’ve been ashamed about that for a good while, missing the energy and liberation of biking and connecting with outdoors and Portland again. My choice to “fall out” of bike commuting has not only been a huge physical and mental health loss for me, but totally at odds with my values — wanting to minimize the negative impact my life has on the environment and local communities.

A few months ago I finally bit-the-bullet and bought an e-bike (a total game changer!) and have been so proud to finally be biking again. It’s been transformative just like it was years ago. It changed my work days and my general outlook substantially. And with the e-bike, going from Southwest Portland to outer Southeast is totally doable!

After Tuesday’s incident, I hope I don’t lose my bike-commuting inertia. I hope it doesn’t deter others from choosing more healthy ways of getting around. With that being said though, I don’t know if I can unconditionally recommend biking to/from work right now, especially more vulnerable or less experienced riders… Not with all the increasing road-rage and reckless driving. It’s great for those of us who feel confident on bikes, but it’s not accessible or safe for many people. That’s the unmeasurable tragedy to all this.

It’s infuriating that cars are increasingly careening into places they don’t belong. But it’s even more obnoxious the lethargic responses and sense of resignation from our elected officials. It’s not a moonshot to build infrastructure that can literally save and protect lives. How can we possibly encourage more people to ride bikes, or walk or jog, or do much of anything when they can so clearly see the car shrapnel and tire marks all over these paths? And after hearing and seeing all these near misses?

I’m grateful I wasn’t hit, and even more grateful I didn’t have to watch someone else killed. It was that close.

Please for the love of God, chill the f*** out in your cars and demand more from your elected officials. Maintaining the status quo is not good enough.”

Historically, policymakers have responded to incidents like this as if they are unpreventable one-offs with no systemic solution beyond the slow march toward hardening the system for bicycle users. But it’s clear we don’t have enough physically protected infrastructure. What we need is nothing short of a usable network of bike lanes that is either completely off-street or separated from drivers with tall, immovable concrete curbs — combined with street designs and system of enforcement and legal consequences that make it clear what type of behavior is expected from car users. We will only move the needle for cycling in Portland when our city, county and state jurisdictions provide that level of protection and we see more local leaders directly address the urgency of this crisis.

Removal of concrete safety planters on SE Salmon raises eyebrows, concerns

PBOT maintenance worker removing a concrete planter on SE Salmon and 30th on September 19th. (Photo: Eric P.)

When maintenance crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation hopped into forklifts and moved the large concrete planters at four intersections along the Southeast Salmon neighborhood greenway earlier this month, I heard about it right away.

Since they were installed four years ago as part of PBOT’s pandemic response to warn drivers they were entering a shared-street environment, these planters acted as 24/7 enforcement against unsafe driving, forcing people in cars to slow down and make safer turns. Not technically diverters, they had the impact of making Salmon much less attractive to car users and therefore a much more pleasant place to bike.

Riders I’ve heard from are frustrated about this on several levels. For some folks, the presence of these planters is the main reason they chose to ride on Salmon. For others, they feel PBOT didn’t warn neighbors or bike advocates about the removal. And given our recent history with diverters, removing important road safety features without proper communication is a very sensitive subject.

There’s some precedent for removing these planters where drivers tend to hit them too often, but this didn’t appear to be the case on Salmon.

One person I heard from shared a letter from PBOT Capital Program Manager Keith Baich that was mailed to residents along the corridor on August 15th. “PBOT will install pedestrian and bike crossing elements to your SE Salmon Street Greenway at intersections with SE 11th Avenue, SE 12th Avenue, and SE 30th Avenue,” read the letter. “This is a scheduled improvement project to support the pedestrian and bicycle networks in SE Portland.”

But there was no mention in the letter that the concrete planters would be removed.

Another person who contacted BikePortland after noticing the removal wrote, “[The planters] really made you feel safer because being at the apex of the hill limited your sight lines looking north. You could tuck in behind the diverter to look down the hill.” Many folks wanted to know exactly what was going on and whether or not the planters would be replaced.

I reached out to PBOT to learn more. Public Information Office Dylan Rivera confirmed with me on Monday that the removals come ahead of a planned construction project that will include “big safety improvements” on Salmon. Here’s more from Rivera:

“The intersections will have more permanent materials that give them a cleaner, more attractive look that will contribute to a feeling of more comfort and safety for people walking, biking or using a mobility device in the area… In their place, we have a contractor preparing to install crosswalks, cross bike markings, parking setbacks, concrete separators, and speed bumps (different treatments at each intersection, depending on engineering analysis).”

Rivera also confirmed that planters have been removed from four intersections: SE 11th, 12th, 20th and 30th. Dylan said the move comes as part of a March 2024 City Traffic Engineer Directive that requires PBOT to replace temporary materials (like these planters, which were ironically considered to be more permanent than the a-frame barricades they replaced) when they require too much maintenance.

Funding for the project comes from the city’s local gas tax-funded Fixing Our Streets program and PBOT expects to begin construction in mid-October.

“We believe the new, permanent materials will be a significant improvement,” Rivera shared.

That all sounds good, but given that the planters are likely to be off the street for at least a month, I’m not sure PBOT fully respects the massive safety impact that comes from stripping a street of its protective barrier while people on bicycles still use it. Would they turn off a traffic signal for a month prior to an electrical upgrade? Or remove lane striping on an arterial before re-striping?

On a thread in the BikeLoud Slack last week, one person posted a photo of planter-less SE Salmon and 30th and wrote, “I almost got hit today by a car turning into me where there used to be a diverter.”

I hope in the future PBOT can find a way to manage a project like this without such a long window of reduced safety before a significant improvement.

Democrats pass anemic transportation bill as Republicans grandstand to bitter end

It’s not the transportation bill any Oregon Democrats wanted, but it’s the only one they could manage to pass. Yesterday in the Senate Chamber the House Bill 3991 finally flopped over the finish line with a vote of 18-11. There were no surprises with votes and everything went pretty much as planned by Democratic leaders, a sentence I haven’t been able to write about this legislative process since it began back in May.

HB 3991 will raise about $4.3 billion over the next 10 years from a mix of increases on gas and payroll taxes along with higher fees for car ownership. The total revenue is just 35% of the what Democrats tried for when the bill was initially released (as HB 2025). At the outset of the session, Democratic party leaders hoped to use their control of all three branches of government to boost funding for basic maintenance and operations as well as bolstering buses and transit, making ODOT’s orphan highways safer, building safer routes to school, making electric bikes more affordable, paving off-street paths, and so on.

But there turned out to be a massive sinkhole between Democrats’ policy aspirations and political acumen. Party leaders seem to misread both Republicans and members of their own party. Senate President Rob Wagner and House Speaker Julie Fahey burned crucial time working with Republicans to make the bill bipartisan. They also assumed every Democrat would vote for it, even though some from more purple districts got cold feet when they saw the price tag.

Speaking at an event on Friday, Senator and Joint Committee on Transportation member Khanh Pham blamed the failure of the more robust initial bill on a variety of factors. “I think big picture,” Senator Pham shared in remarks at a park in downtown Troutdale, “[the failure had] to do with Republican opposition to transit, as well as some of my Democratic colleagues — who agreed that transportation was important, but maybe didn’t quite feeling the same urgency, particularly around safety and public transit.”

Despite what they’ve told their base, Republican lawmakers like newly named Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, were given a seat at the table in early negotiations. But because their ideas were not politically viable — among them were DOGE-like proposals to eliminate the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Climate Office, bicycle and pedestrian program, and to repeal the 1971 Bicycle Bill that ensures a minimum of highway investments include adjacent bicycling and walking facilities — almost none of them were included in the final legislation.

Instead of making their arguments stronger, or building coalitions and making compromises with fellow lawmakers, Republicans chose to do their politics on social media and in grandstanding floor and committee speeches. They ginned up opposition to the bill by using scare tactics and misinformation, which poisoned the well of public debate. Starr and other Republicans, including outgoing Senator Daniel Bonham (who’s barred from returning to the capital for taking part in a walkout in 2023), tried to make their points in desperate diatribes on the Senate Floor right up until the last minute.

So acute was Republicans’ disdain for Democrats and so focused were their tactics on getting a political win, that not one of them would even consider voting for the highly-compromised bill — even with the knowledge that two Democratic Senators had to come to the capitol building to ensure its passage despite major unresolved medical issues.

And despite HB 3991 being nothing more than a stop-gap measure to preserve ODOT jobs, prevent major upheaval in the delivery of basic transportation services statewide; and despite the fact that Democratic party leaders already caved to Republicans on several fronts just to get them to show up for the special session — Starr and Bonham clung to their tired, easily disproven narratives that the bill was an assault on all Oregonians and they gleefully promised to refer it to voters.

In her opening remarks about the bill in Senate Chambers yesterday, Senator Pham cleansed our timelines by sharing sober facts about the bill. While saying, “Nobody likes to raise taxes,” Pham explained that the typical Oregon family who drives 12,000 miles a year will pay an extra two dollars every month to ensure ODOT crews can fix potholes, paint fog lines, and keep roads plowed in winter. When it comes to the payroll tax that funds public transit, a family that makes $60,000 per year will pay an additional five dollars a month to maintain service for thousands of riders in cities and rural towns — many of whom have no other way to travel to things like medical appointments.

About Republican proposals to simply move money around and slash programs to fill the budget hole, Pham dismissed them as, “Nothing short of magical thinking.” “Any good faith review of ODOT’s actual budget would recognize that ODOT’s investments in DEI, safe routes to school and climate policy are orders of magnitude smaller than the massive budget holes we face to merely preserve our existing road systems,” she said.

And in the saltiest language I’ve heard from the very mild-mannered Pham about her legislative counterparts, she added, “Oregon’s policymakers need to be clear-eyed about the challenges ahead, not self-administering our own version of DOGE and weakening our ability to invest in the vital social services, education and infrastructure on which our communities depend.”

While Republicans gear up to gather signatures required to repeal the tax and fee increases, Democrats and supportive advocacy organizations are already talking about the next legislative session. Even if no major transportation policy proposals arise in the 2026 short session, we’re guaranteed the topic will be back on the table in 2027 when Democrats will have to fight to save transit funding from a Republican-built fiscal cliff. That’s because one of the compromises Republicans won by using the leverage of quorum was to sunset the payroll tax increase that pays for transit after two years.

Hopefully by then Democrats have learned the lessons of this past session.

The networking that makes the network: Report and video from annual Policymakers Ride

The regional network of paths and bikeways is directly related to the regional network of humans who dream, plan, and build them. That’s the idea behind the Policymakers Ride — an annual event that brings elected officials, agency staffers and advocates together for a full day of riding, learning; and most importantly, talking.

The first one was held in 2005 when former Oregonian columnist and Cycle Oregon co-founder Jonathan Nicholas led a group of folks on a ride that explored the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway. I’d only been doing BikePortland for a few months when I tagged along on that ride! I loved riding with mayors, bureau leaders, and people whose names I’d only seen on websites.

Fast forward 20 years and this ride (sometimes called the Voyage of the Visionaries) remains an important date on the calendar — and Nicholas is still riding on it (see him in photo below). He was one of about 120 people who met at Level Beer on NE 148th Friday morning for the ride — a 19-mile loop (see route below) that would take us east along Marine Drive to the Sandy River, then through Troutdale and back via Wood Village, Fairview, and the Wilkes neighborhood.

Lead organizer of the ride is Steph Noll, executive director of nonprofit Oregon Trails Coalition. At the start, as participants gobbled up breakfast snacks, coffee, and ride fuel, Noll set the table for the day: “For some folks, this may be your very first Policymakers Ride, but others of you here today may have memories of formative rides from years ago that really made an impression, that really inspired you, where a new collaboration first sprouted, where you maybe made a connection that is still important today in your work or just to your personal sense of community, and that is a big part of what today’s ride is about.”

“The purpose is to build relationships,” Noll continued when I caught up with her afterward. “All while experiencing some great off-street trail infrastructure and multi-use paths; but also the challenging gaps in the network so that we can collaborate on fixing those gaps.”

Jonathan Nicholas (left) and Mike Houck on the Ch’ak Ch’ak Trail.

While the route is planned long ahead of time, organizers don’t sugarcoat it. Right off the bat, as we rode a narrow bike lane next to car drivers on NE Airport Way and navigated an industrial park full of big trucks turning into big driveways, I’m sure some riders questioned their decision to attend.

Along with sharing the good, bad, and ugly of the regional bikeway network, the ride includes pre-planned stops where folks talk about projects and policies relevant to the stop location.

After riding along NE Marine Drive and experiencing its Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde personality of loud, dirty, white-knuckle, on-street bike lanes next to bucolic carfree paths along a perfectly calm Columbia River, we made our way into Chinook Landing Park (a gem of a spot just off Marine Drive at NE 223rd).

After welcoming us to his district, Metro Councilor Ashton Simpson told us about the work his agency is doing to cure Marine drive of its ills. “Metro is working with the City of Portland to close a gap on this trail between I-205 and NE 122nd, and once that project is completed, we will have just three gaps to close before there is a safe, comfortable, off-street passage the entire length of Marine Drive.”

As we pressed eastward I got to ride the (relatively new) Ch’ak Ch’ak Trail for the first time. Opened just last year, this three-mile paved path connects Chinook Landing Park and the Marine Drive Path to existing paved paths along the Columbia River and Sandy River Delta area — an expanse of biking and walking trails managed by the Port of Portland.

A highlight of the day came as we headed south along the Sandy toward downtown Troutdale. Our group was the first to ride a yet-to-be-open new path that will connect an existing path under I-84 to the Historic Columbia River Hwy. Named after a local journalist and historian, the Sharon Nesbit Heritage Park and Sandy Riverfront Trail are still under construction.

Gathered around a new stone overlook high above the Sandy River, we heard from Kristen Stallman, a former ODOT staffer who worked on the Historic Columbia River Highway and now works in the Federal Highway Administration’s Federal Lands Access Program. Stallman shared how she worked with Metro to create a vision of connected paths in the area and how it felt to see it all come together: “We all said we’d work together to make the vision a reality. And I’m floored. So I encourage you to think: what’s the next vision for the next 20 years,” she said.

The new elevated bike path isn’t quite completed yet, so we walked our bikes through the construction site. But the parts we did ride were enough to impress upon everyone that something special is brewing in Troutdale. Then I met City of Troutdale Economic Development Coordinator Marlee Boxler, whose comments really drove it all home.

Ch’ak Ch’ak Trail just before Harlow Rd.

“This is really exciting,” Boxler shared as we stood in the beautiful Mayor Square Park just off Troutdale’s main street. “Because the Ch’ak Ch’ak Trail is a brand new connection, and the Sharon Nesbit Heritage Park is about to open and it will be another connection in the 40-Mile Loop — along with the Sandy River Delta and Lewis and Clark State Park, and the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail.”

When I asked Boxler to paint a picture of the future, she said, “Troutdale is going to be a destination for cyclists.” “We’re going to see people coming from all over the world to cycle the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail,” she continued. “So we’re thinking into the future about what those amenities can look like. Can we have hotels that support cyclists when they come here? Can they start their journey right here in Troutdale and go out and enjoy the amazing scenery of the Gorge and also connect back in to Portland? Could someone land at the airport and ride a bike all the way here to Troutdale and then continue on the rest of the way? How can we make those pieces happen so that we’re known as a destination for cycling?”

On that high note it was time for lunch. The group was treated to a wonderful food cart buffet at The Highlands which overlooks the town and the river valley. As I looked at the crowd of bikes parked out front and the dozens of cyclists chatting inside, it was like looking into a crystal ball.

But after lunch, my dreamy bubble was popped by the roar of car engines and the sound of my heart racing as I pedaled along Halsey Street west of Troutdale near McMenamin’s Edgefield. Once again, we experienced the jarring highs and lows of an incomplete network — where one minute you’re on a path overlooking a river, and the next minute you’re shoulder-to-shoulder with a big rig.

It’s a good thing we were in a large group on Halsey, and despite hearing from a driver who yelled angrily and revved his engine because had to stop to let us all cross (something that happened several times throughout the day), everyone got to our next stop safely.

In front of Wood Village City Hall we heard from Multnomah County Commissioner Vince Jones-Dixon. “The thing that drew me to public office, has been community safety and economic empowerment,” he shared. “And one of the main connectors is being able to travel safely throughout communities… and we’re really looking at bike safety and roads and advocating for more investments here in East Multnomah County.”

One of those investments will be a complete transformation of the aforementioned Halsey Blvd. Sarah Selden, the community development director for the City of Fairview said their Main Streets on Halsey plan will turn that sketchy stretch of road into, “A community main street with clusters of commercial development and new housing connected by improved sidewalks, bike paths and crosswalks that feel safe and comfortable for everyone.” “Imagine in the future,” Selden continued. “Instead of biking along a narrow shoulder next to encroaching blackberries, you’re on a beautiful raised pathway at sidewalk level, traveling with other families up and down the Halsey Main Street.”

I can’t wait to return to a Policymakers Ride in a few years and see that vision realized!

After we left Wood Village City Hall, we were now in the westbound portion of our loop heading back to our starting point at Level Beer. We took a circuitous route through neighborhood streets between Halsey and Glisan and even went through a Target parking lot at one point. Just as I was about as lost as I was all day, we ended up rolling right into Salish Ponds Wetlands Park. It’s been years since I explored that place and I was really happy to be there. It was a welcome change from city streets as we pedaled dirt trails shrouded in sun-dappled trees and peered out onto the pond.

After a brief ride on the Gresham-Fairview Trail, we crossed Halsey and Sandy without incident thanks to a Gresham police officer who saw our group and escorted us for a few miles until we reached the safety of a carfree path. And it’s a good thing he did, because just before we rolled into a path along the Columbia Slough, another driver got mad at being delayed by our group. As our peloton strung out along NE 185th, a young woman in a sports car revved her engine and swerved out of her lane to pass us all. And guess who she found at the front of the line? That nice Gresham police officer. I didn’t stick around to see what happened next, but I’m sure the driver learned a memorable lesson.

At the end of a very nice bit of paved path along the Big Four Corners Natural Area, we were treated to cookies which paired well with information about how the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services worked to restore the area.

From there it was a quick jaunt along industrial-zoned roads mixed with old farmlands back to Level Beer where we were greeted into the parking lot by Multnomah County Transportation Planner MaryJo Andersen wearing an orange cone on her head.

As I watched everyone roll in with easy-going smiles and a familiarity that wasn’t there when we started first thing in the morning, I was reminded of a conversation I had with Oregon House Representative Willy Chotzen earlier in the day. When I asked him about the ride, he said:

“It’s kind of the best of all things Portland. And at the same time, I think in this moment right there’s a lot of dark stuff happening politically. The thing I’m telling everyone is community, community, community. That’s how we get through it. That’s how we survive it. That’s how we build back better. And this is just community in action right now, and quite literally in motion, which is pretty awesome to see.”

And before we ordered a beer and grabbed those final few business cards to follow-up with, event organizer Steph Noll left us with one parting thought: “We have the folks here, today, and in our networks, to really move the ball forward and make the future we want.”

— Full photo gallery here.

This week at Bike Happy Hour: Join us for a teach-in with anti-ICE advocates

This week at Bike Happy Hour, we’ll sit down with activists working on the front lines of the fight to keep immigrants safe. Everyone is welcome at what should be a night of listening, learning, and productive conversations.

After anti-ICE activists shouted down my interview with Mayor Keith Wilson earlier this month, I reached out to them. As I alluded to in my recap of that night, I was disappointed we didn’t get a chance to have a conversation with the mayor and wish the night would have ended differently; but I understand the frustration of the activists who showed up and believe we’re stronger when we hear each other, build a bigger tent, and keep the conversation going. And they agreed.

Folks who do advocacy with Revoke the ICE Permit PDX, a project of Portland Contra las Deportaciones, want to connect and collaborate with road safety and transportation activists. At Bike Happy Hour on Wednesday night (10/1), they’ll join us for a teach-in. Our goal is to learn from each other, find out how our issues intersect, and how bicycling and transportation activists can leverage our tools and knowledge for the cause of keeping immigrants and streets safe from a rise from federal military aggression in our city — and vice versa.

Whether it’s transportation justice during the old Critical Mass days, protests against Big Oil, the fight for economic justice during Occupy Portland, or the fight for racial justice during the George Floyd protests, — our city has a long and proud legacy of bicycle riders who step up in moments of need. The fight to keep vulnerable people safe against the illegal incursion of federal forces in Portland should be no different.

Leaving the confines of transportation advocacy and injecting myself into the immigration rights issue with activists who I’ve never worked with and have mixed feelings about is a bit scary and uncomfortable. But we are in times where discomfort is required and I didn’t create BikePortland and Bike Happy Hour for it to be an oasis from reality.

I hope you’ll join us from 3:00 to 6:00 this Wednesday in the Rainbow Road Plaza (with raincoats on maybe!) on SE Ankeny for this event. It’s a regular Bike Happy Hour, but starting at 5:30 we’ll open the mics for conversations around ICE and immigrant safety. There will be opportunities for you to speak as well, so come ready to share your voice.

Let’s keep an open mind about how we can learn from each other, and who knows, maybe all the advocacy we do will be stronger as a result!

If you have any questions or comments about this, leave a comment below or reach to me directly at maus.jonathan@gmail.com. Thanks for your attention and support.

Ride with BikeLoud during Week Without Driving

BikeLoud leaders Shawne Martinez (left), Vivek Jeevan, and Bike Buddy Manager Nikki Margarita Enriquez at Portland Sunday Parkways.

A guest article by BikeLoud PDX Board Member Cathy Tuttle.

Today is the first day of Week Without Driving and BikeLoud wants to help you take part.

A few years ago I led a BikeLoud Policy Ride to social service organizations in downtown Portland. I vividly remember the director of StoneSoupPDX, an organization that provides culinary training and community meals, saying that of the 80+ participants who had taken their culinary training program, only two had cars. People who do low-paying service jobs in places like restaurants often struggle to own and maintain a car.

It’s not surprising. Car ownership is simply too expensive for many of us. The American Automobile Association’s estimate for car loans, insurance, gas and maintenance (but not parking) pegs the 2024 average cost of owning a car at $12,297 a year or $1,025 a month. And a new study from Pew Research found that 1 in 10 American adults don’t drive.

The Week Without Driving challenges people who have the option to drive to learn firsthand about the barriers and challenges that nondrivers face, and work with nondrivers to create more accessible communities for all.

A big shout-out to Portland City Council members Mitch Green (D4), Sameer Kanal (D2), Tiffany Koyama Lane (D3) and Angelita Morillo (D3) who’ve already signed up to participate in some of the Week Without Driving. We’re expecting more city and business leaders to follow. Everyone can participate!

A Week Without Driving isn’t a disability simulation or a test of how easily you can find alternatives. We know that it is far easier to give up your keys if you can afford to live in a walkable area well served by transit, or can outsource your driving and other transport and delivery needs to other people.

America Walks, the organization that sponsors the national campaign says, “Having to drive during the challenge does not signify failure. Sometimes the best reflection comes when someone participating in the challenge has to drive. The point is to consider how someone without that option would have coped, and what choices they might have made.”

BikeLoud is leading a ride every day from September 29th to October 5th during the Week Without Driving: from a bike ride to the airport, to shopping by bike, to a ride that is focused on the Cost of Car Ownership, all led by Board members or former Board members. Our rides are listed on the Shift2Bikes calendar:

Monday, September 29 Get groceries locally at Maglia Rosa & Sheridan, Joe Perez
Tuesday, September 30 Ride to Vancouver, Martin Chasehill
Wednesday, October 1 Lunchtime at the Farmers Market, Eva Frazier
Thursday, October 2 Buy books locally at Powells, Joe Perez
Friday, October 3 PDX Airport Ride, Kiel Johnson
Saturday, October 4 Forest Park Bike & Hike, Peyton Blackwell
Sunday, October 5 Cost of Car Ownership Ride, Shawne Martinez

Many BikePortland readers already get around without a car. That’s great! You can help your friends and neighbors join the movement by becoming a BikeLoud Bike Buddy or simply by being a great example of how liberating it can be to live your life carfree.

— WeekWithoutDriving.org

Monday Roundup: Big Auto propaganda, who doesn’t drive, Reggie Miller, and more

Hi friends. Welcome to the week. I hope everyone is doing okay amid talk of federal troops and the latest onslaught of unhinged behavior from Trump and his cronies. Meanwhile, we have a city to run and work to do. Let’s get right to it by making sure we’re up to date with the most notable stories and other content from around the web in the past week.

Who doesn’t drive? Making the rare exception of sharing an older story (November 2024) because it’s important and this is the first day of Week Without Driving. Bookmark this one: 1 in 10 Americans are nondrivers, and people who live in cities, have lower incomes, and/or who are Black are even more likely to be in that group. (Pew Research Center)

More no car news: “Between 2017 and 2023, Seattle added 35,000 households, but just 3,300 cars, new Census data has revealed — in news that is music to urbanist ears.” (The Urbanist)

DIY path lighting: A cyclist in Minnesota was frustrated about lack of lighting on his local bike path, so he bought lights, grabbed a ladder, and hung some up himself. (Minn Post)

Journalistic malpractice: Not only is “defensive walking” a completely off-base and tone-deaf framing for a story about road safety, but there’s no mention that the advocate source of the entire piece (National Safety Council) heads a nonprofit with major funding from several auto companies. Do better NPR!!! (NPR)

‘Israel’ a toxic term in cycling: A billionaire who sponsors a World Tour cycling team acknowledges that his “Israel Premier Tech” team should drop “Israel” from its name next season due to intense pressure from fans, protestors, and other sponsors. (BBC)

Politics in the peloton: American pro cyclist Chloe Dygert weighed into the Charlie Kirk assassination with a sticker on her bike at World Championships that read, “I stand for the truth. I stand with Charlie Kirk.” (Cycling Weekly)

My two favorite things, together: I’ve loved following former basketball star Reggie Miller’s journey into bike racing (my brother has even raced with him down in So Cal), so it’s cool to see him get his due with a full major profile piece. (LA Times)

To EV or not EV: Interesting fight brewing in the auto industry as the largest lobby group for automakers asks Trump to ease emissions standards and rules they say force them to make (allegedly more expensive) EVs, while Tesla begs Trump to keep the rules in place. (Reuters and Reuters)

Thanks to everyone who sent in links this week. The Monday Roundup is a community effort, so please feel free to send us any great stories you come across.

Mayor Wilson: Trump would see people riding bikes if he came to Portland today

On a picture perfect early fall day in Portland, Goveror Kotek convened with Mayor Keith Wilson and a coterie of local elected officials for a press conference in Waterfront Park. The gathering was a response to President Donald Trump’s threats to unleash the full force of the American military on Portland. It’s needed, the unhinged wannabe dictator said, to put down what he believes is a “war-ravaged” city where roving gangs of Soros-funded left-wing radicals run amok.

Over the din of chattering tourists disembarking from a Willamette River cruise ship and water rushing through nearby Salmon Street Springs, Governor Tina Kotek said, “Portland is doing just fine.” The press conference was held a half-mile from a bustling Saturday Market in the shade of the historic Rose Building.

Kotek said she spoke on the phone with Trump for about 10 minutes this morning, telling him the situation at the ICE building in South Waterfront is under control and there’s no need for federal forces in Portland. “Our city is a far cry from the war-ravaged community that he has posted about on social media, ” Kotek added. “And I conveyed that directly to him.”

“If President Trump came to Portland today,” Mayor Keith Wilson said. “What he would find is people riding their bikes, playing sports, enjoying the sunshine, and buying groceries or produce from a farmers market.”

As speakers addressed the media, there was a constant stream of people walking, rolling, and bicycling on the path behind them. It was a perfect illustration of the wide gap in reality between Trump’s version of Portland and the real thing.

Despite this calm, there’s concern that Trump’s provocations will see renewed, large-scale protests at the ICE facility in the coming days and weeks. When Portland Police Chief Bob Day was asked by a reporter to speak about what his officers have learned since the 2020 protests, Day said he’s, “Really proud the way the Portland Police Bureau demonstrates its ability to be a learning organization.” Day said they’ve enacted many recommendations from critiques from both inside and outside the agency — including having “dialogue officers” that wear different uniforms and are trained to communicate directly with protest organizers. “We are in support of peace for Portland… Officers will be held accountable that do not adhere to our directives or our policies, or state law.”

Whether or not federal troops make their presence felt here in larger numbers in coming days, we’ve already had ICE agents scooping up Portlanders in deportation raids.

The group Portland Contra las Deportaciones (Portland against deportations, or PDXCD) is planning a mass protest at the ICE facility on SW Macadam tomorrow (Sunday) at 4:00 pm. “We will not stand down, we will not be quiet. Trump and his racist goons have no place in Portland! Come protest with us and show that Portland demands an end to ice and federal terror!,” reads the event description.

At today’s press conference, Governor Kotek urged folks to “not take the bait,” echoing the sentiment shared by Mayor Wilson at a press conference yesterday. “Property damage or violence of any kind will get us nowhere and will not be tolerated,” Kotek added. “If you want to stand in opposition to the Trump administration, I would ask that you lean into supporting your community, helping people, making things better here.”

The tone from leaders was resolute, firm, and calm. There was no righteous indignation or fire and brimstone. Kotek, Wilson, and others told important truths about Portland that need to be heard right now. Flanked by local and state police leaders, they succeeded in showing a united front that isn’t looking to pick a fight, but seem capable of having it if/when one starts.

Please make plans to join us this week at Bike Happy Hour. Immigrant rights activists from PDXCD and Revoke ICE Permit PDX will join us for a community discussion in the plaza. We’ll discuss their campaign, learn what to do if you see ICE agents in your neighborhood, and how bicycle riders and safe streets activists can use the tools we have to make the community stronger in the face of rising federal aggression.

Policymakers Ride Photo Gallery

To create a world-class regional bicycle network, you need to get everyone on the same page to push for projects, plans, and the funding to make it all happen. That’s difficult to do in conference rooms and Zoom meetings. But put folks on bicycles on a beautiful day and magic things materialize. That’s the idea behind the Policymakers Ride, a tradition in our area that technically began in 2005, but really found its footing in 2006.

This year’s edition of the ride was a survey of east Multnomah County. We rode 20 miles from Level Beer at NE 148th and Marine Drive, along the Sandy River to Troutdale, and then back via the Columbia Slough and a spate of sidewalks and bikeways back to our starting point.

I’ll have a more thorough recap and a video on Monday; but for now, have a look at the photos to get a sense of what we experienced. It was definitely a mixed bag: from terribly narrow bike lanes and white-knuckle sections of Marine Drive, to blissful paths next to natural areas. Highlights for me were pedaling for the first time on the (relatively) new Cha’k Cha’k Trail along the Columbia River — and being among the first cyclists to roll on the not-yet-open new bike path and park along the Sandy River in Troutdale.

Here are the rest of my photos:

Video: Driver speeds across carfree Tilikum Crossing bridge

Is there any place in Portland drivers won’t go? Seems like every week there’s another example of a person taking their car in a place cars aren’t allowed. Parks, paths, peoples’ living rooms — and now the Tilikum Crossing. We spent $130 million to make this one of the coolest carfree bridges in the country, and it’s been a big success for bus and rail ridership, in addition to being a lifeline for bicycling and walking. So when I heard about this incident of a man speeding across it, I was shocked; but unfortunately, not surprised.

It happened around 8:40 am on Friday, August 29th. The first reports I received were from people participating in Breakfast on the Bridges, a monthly event where folks hand out free coffee and donuts on downtown bridges to anyone who rolls by. My friend Shawne Martinez (who you can see biking with his young daughter as the driver flies past in the video below) was first to post about it on the Bike Loud Slack channel. “Did anyone catch that car driver going 80 mph over the Tilikum Crossing at Breakfast on the Bridges this morning?” he wrote. “My daughter and I had just crossed the carfree street at the light seconds before.”

Sometimes drivers get confused and make mistakes. That happens. This doesn’t look like that type of situation. It’s very obvious that cars aren’t allowed on this bridge, and judging by the way he was driving, it looks like he did this on purpose.

TriMet shared a statement with BikePortland after they released the video footage (which I obtained through a public records request):

“This was a dangerous and illegal act that could have had tragic consequences.

TriMet has about 9,000 cameras across our transit system. Using video from our cameras, we were able to identify the vehicle by make, model and license plate of the vehicle involved in this case. The Transit Police Division conducted an investigation, but unfortunately, the driver has not been cited. We understand there was a discrepancy with the title, and the vehicle may have been stolen. As a result, the driver could not be positively identified.

Anyone who breaks the law on TriMet property, including Tilikum Crossing, is subject to prosecution and may be held liable. We are committed to working with law enforcement to keep our transit system secure, so we can continue to provide safe, reliable and welcoming public transportation for all.”

Thousands of people use the Tilikum on transit and on the paths every day. We are very fortunate nothing tragic happened here. If you know someone who drives, please check in with them, ask them how they’re doing and make sure they get the help they need.

Watch the video below:

Anti-ICE activists return to Bike Happy Hour with a mic, not a megaphone

Research: E-bike rebates help people, planet, and profits

Rider’s close call underscores persistent threat of reckless drivers

Removal of concrete safety planters on SE Salmon raises eyebrows, concerns

Democrats pass anemic transportation bill as Republicans grandstand to bitter end

The networking that makes the network: Report and video from annual Policymakers Ride

This week at Bike Happy Hour: Join us for a teach-in with anti-ICE advocates

Ride with BikeLoud during Week Without Driving

Monday Roundup: Big Auto propaganda, who doesn’t drive, Reggie Miller, and more

Mayor Wilson: Trump would see people riding bikes if he came to Portland today

Policymakers Ride Photo Gallery

Video: Driver speeds across carfree Tilikum Crossing bridge

Latest Headlines

Anti-ICE activists return to Bike Happy Hour with a mic, not a megaphone

Research: E-bike rebates help people, planet, and profits

Rider’s close call underscores persistent threat of reckless drivers

Removal of concrete safety planters on SE Salmon raises eyebrows, concerns

From the Archives

Protestor blocks bus and bike lanes on Division with his car