At a city council meeting Wednesday, Portland Bureau of Transportation Commissioner Mingus Mapps shared very bad news for backers of Frog Ferry, a project that would bring ferry transit to the Willamette River.
In response to Frog Ferry advocates who spoke at the beginning of the meeting, Mapps told them he has seriously cooled on the project. Several ferry backers, including Frog Ferry President Susan Bladholm, came to council to urge them to add the project into the the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), a federally-required list managed by Metro that puts projects in line for federal funding consideration.
Below is Mapps response in full (edited slightly for clarity):
Mapps. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
“I support this project, I share your vision. I respect you. And because I respect you, I’m also going to speak some truth right now. And this is going to be difficult.
I think everyone on this council when people all throughout this region can understand and embrace the vision of bringing a ferry to the city. I will also tell you that the headwinds for this project are strong. If you’ve paid attention to some of the conversations we’ve had in this chamber over the last several weeks, you’ve seen me come to my colleagues and talk about the grim economic facts. That PBOT’s budget is fundamentally unstable and flawed. I’m busy trying to figure out how to cut $32 million for PBOT’s budget. That’s about a third of our discretionary dollars, which is a challenge. Which also means that expanding and creating a new mode of transportation, even one which I think would be a great benefit to our community, is awfully difficult.
Now I’m sure some folks will say, ‘But Commissioner Mapps, listen, we’re not asking for dollars from PBOT.’ But in terms of how this fits together, If I put the ferry on the Regional Transportation Plan [RTP], it means I don’t put some other infrastructure projects into that slot, that I kind of have to get done, which the feds might reasonably provide us some help [with].
I also want to talk about some of the other challenges that we face here. I think this project would be great if our partners across the river in Vancouver were enthusiastic, but our elected leaders in Vancouver have told me in no uncertain terms that they do not plan to build a Frog Ferry terminal in Vancouver. And I will also tell you, our partners over at TriMet have also expressed concerns to me about how this project would interact with their transportation system. Now I see some heads shaking; but you know, I’ve talked to them [TriMet] and they tell me that, you know, one of the your requests to them if we move forward with this project, I think they’ve been asked to withdraw some bus lines in certain neighborhoods that we’re talking about… and I’m not a TriMet expert, but I will tell you what I will tell you the kind of reception that I received when I talked to our regional partners about trying to move this forward.
Now, we are not making a vote today. And I know this conversation will continue over the next couple of weeks; but because I respect you and I want to honor your activism, I also just feel obliged to actually be straight with you about what our current field position is. And of course you can reach out to my office you can reach out to my colleagues on council, you can reach out to our partners in Vancouver and our friends over at TriMet. I recognize that it is upsetting to many and this is disappointing. But in my professional evaluation, that is where we’re at today.”
It’s so beautiful outside right now, and a bike is a great way to enjoy it. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Welcome to the weekend eve eve.
Check out our ride and event picks below. And thanks for riding your bike!
Friday, October 6th
Zoobomb All Wheels Welcome – 7:00 pm up on The Hill (SW Knights & Fairview) Take the MAX up to Washington Park (or ride, you stud) and meet some nice people before “bombing” down together in the grand tradition of the world famous Zoobombers. Bring a mini-bike if you dare. More info here.
Saturday, October 7th
Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day – 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at Gateway Green (NE) Grab the bikes and the little ones and roll over to Gateway Green for some fun on the pump track, jumps, trails, and more. It’ll be a big festival of off-road goodness. More info here.
Parkrose Pedal – 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at Parkrose Middle School (NE) This annual, family-friendly ride brings the Parkrose neighborhood together to spread the joy, empowerment, and community building potential of bicycling. More info here.
E-bikes at El Tigre Festival – 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Cook Park (Tigard – Washington County) As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, the City of Tigard has made bicycles a big part of this year’s El Tigre Fest. Expect great, kid-friendly bike activities and an e-bike demo area where you can try out a cool new ride. More info here.
Winter Gear Clinic – 12:45 pm at Evelyn Schiffler Park (Beaverton – Washington County) The fine folks of Ride Westside are hosting a clinic to get you up to speed on how to keep riding in the cold and wet. Jackets, pants, lights — they’ll have experts on hand to calm your concerns and boost your confidence. More info here.
Sunday, October 8th
Meet PBC Portland Tour – 9:30 am at Wilshire Park (NE) Join Portland Bicycling Club leader Ann Morrow for a relaxed ride around Portland. This is Portland’s oldest bike club, and it might be your people. You’ll never know, until you show. More info here.
Bike Town Hall – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Portland Mercado (SE) Three Oregon state lawmakers are hosting this rolling town hall: Reps Khanh Pham and Thuy Tran, and Senator Michael Dembrow. Imagine, politicians caring this much about transportation, the environment — and community engagement! Swoon!! More info here.
Slut Pedal – 1:30 pm at Irving Park (NE) “This ride is centered around BIPOC and Queer SW, but ALL local dancers, s*x work*rs, and performers or coaches are welcome for this fun, community oriented bike ride and party event.” Free Biketown and TriMet passes available on first-come/first-served basis! More info here.
— Don’t see an event? Please tell us about what’s going on in your neighborhood by filling out our contact form!
Council District 4 candidate Chad Lykins on Friday, September 29th. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
The new crop of city council candidates is looking really good from a transportation reform perspective. Keeping in mind that our current City Council is one of the weakest ever when it comes to understanding the vital role safe streets and transportation planning can have on the success of our city, the slate of about 20 or so candidates for 2024 is downright exciting.
A quick scan of the names reveals several that have been involved with bike activism and/or related policymaking. And we’ve already had four candidates show up and give speeches at BikePortland events! One candidate I’ve yet to meet, school teacher Tiffany Koyama Lane, told Willamette Week on Monday that having safe streets for people who walk and bike is a “basic right.”
But District 4 candidate Chad Lykins is on a whole other level.
“I will enact city policies that prevent special interests from rolling back improvements to transportation safety and carbon reduction.”
– Chad Lykins transportation policy platform
Lykins at the Broadway ride last Friday.
Most candidates don’t have platforms published on their websites yet, much less anything about transportation. But Lykins, founder of a small business that teaches young people how to play chess, has a detailed one. And he’s so confident about it, he messaged me last week to say: “We’re trying to build the strongest transportation platform of any city candidate. Can you have a look and tell me how we can improve it?” Then Lykins showed up to our Broadway bike ride on Friday and shared a bit about it in a short stump speech.
So I figured I’d take Lykins up on his offer. But instead of messaging him back, I thought it would be fun to post his platform here and have all of you weigh in on what he’s got so far.
Below is Lykins’ transportation platform (links are his):
I will enact city policies that prevent special interests from rolling back improvements to transportation safety and carbon reduction. Specifically, I will propose legislation that prohibits the removal of infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit before (1) the completion of comparable alternatives and (2) validation that these alternatives function as well or better than the infrastructure being removed.
The underlying cause of PBOT’s budget crisis is dependence on fossil fuel consumption. PBOT is funded through gas taxes and downtown parking fees. Gas taxes are declining due to increased fuel efficiency, while downtown parking revenue is decreasing for a number of reasons.
Modest increases in hourly parking fees in highly congested areas can help reduce curbside crowding and increase revenue.
Entertainment districts provide another opportunity. These areas experience crowded curbs in the evenings, making it difficult to access nearby businesses. The city can help small businesses and generate substantial revenue by expanding time-limited parking in these designated areas from 7:00pm to 12:00am.
Portland must have a long-term plan for the way it funds transportation. As revenues derived from fossil fuel consumption dry up, PBOT will likely return to prior proposals for either a transportation utility fee or utility rate increases. I will make sure that any changes to our collective tax obligations do not place an undue burden on low-income residents or any other specific group.
What do you think? What would you change and what should it include if it really wants to be the “strongest”? If you were running for council, what key positions and policies would you be sure to include in your official platform?
Let the competition for the best transportation policy platform begin!
Riders met in Sacajawea Park before a ride Saturday. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Some of Portland’s brightest biking minds came together under perfect sunny skies Saturday. Their mission was two-fold: get to know one another better after years of Zoom meetings, and learn what it feels like to ride in the Cully neighborhood.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) plays an important role in how bike projects are envisioned and implemented. PBOT and other transportation agencies throughout the region bring plans to the committee monthly for input, and the group has become an important sounding board for debates and discussions about how to make bicycling better in Portland. The committee’s PBOT liaison, City Bike Coordinator Roger Geller, has led these rides for many years with a goal of fostering stronger relationships among members and getting real-life, first-hand experience with our bike network.
Saturday’s ride was about nine miles (see map at right). It rolled by several key locations where bike projects have been implemented recently or are planned in the near future with stops along the way for short conversations.
City Bike Coordinator Roger Geller.Verde’s Indi Namkoong.
The group met at Sacajawea Park (NE 76th and Alberta) where they heard brief remarks from Indi Namkoong who works on transportation policy (funding, mostly) for Cully-based nonprofit Verde. Namkoong shared that, despite recent progress, just about 30% of Cully streets have sidewalks. She also said as street improvements come to the area, displacement is a big concern. “Poor people also deserve nice things,” she said, as she explained Verde’s efforts to keep people in the neighborhood.
Detail of map showing future connection of Alberta greenway around the park (green). (Map: PBOT)
The ride also welcome several folks who represented Cully’s own bike/walk advocacy group, Andando en Bicicletas y Caminando (ABC, which translates to “riding your bike and walking around”). They were joined by a translator from PBOT and were eager to know when key projects would be built — especially a new signal and crossing of NE Columbia at Cully and Alderwood (northwest of Cully Park). Geller said a project to build a new signal and two-way bike crossing is funded and PBOT is in the process of acquiring right-of-way.
Sacajawea Park was a good place to start because it gave folks a chance to talk about a big problem with the Alberta St. neighborhood greenway (the eastern extension of the Going St greenway). Currently the park creates a gap in the route because there’s no paved path through it. A locked gate at the end of a gravel block on the west side could be opened, but folks at the ride said a woman who lives there doesn’t want bike riders on the street. The only other option is through a nearby school; but if the school gate is closed, riders have go several blocks south to Prescott to reconnect to Alberta. Portland Parks and PBOT need to figure something out here.
Right now the hope is that PBOT wins a big federal grant focused on nearby 82nd Avenue they’ve recently applied for. That grant would fund a continuation of the greenway through new streets being built as part of a future private development. That will be helpful, but would still require a detour around the park. It seems like PBOT and Parks should work together and simply pave a more direct path through the park.
On the 72nd Ave Parkway.Crossing at 72nd/Fremont/Sandy.Crossing at 72nd/Fremont/Sandy.Note the young person sensing the nearby driver on a greenway.Shared street on NE Sacramento.Just an average sunny Saturday on a Portland greenway!
Leaving the park, the group rode south on the NE 72nd Ave parkway — a narrow residential street adjacent to a wide linear park known as the Roseway Parkway. This is a key link in the federally-funded 70s Bikeway project. An original plan was for a paved path through the middle of that park, but it was scrapped due to alleged budget problems and neighborhood opposition. Now the Cully Connector between Lombard and Sandy will include crossing improvements at the south end and a mix of two-way bike lanes and paths on the west side of the Parkway. Design is still being finalized and PBOT says construction will start next year.
Crossing NE Killingsworth.These unprotected lanes on Killingsworth suck and not many people use them.BAC member (and east Portland rep) Carole Hasenberg loooves her new e-bike. “I feel like Pee-Wee Herman on it,” she said.Bike lane on NE Killingsworth.NE Cully Blvd just south of Lombard. That’s the Hacienda CDC building. Cycle track on NE Cully Blvd.Cycle track on NE Cully Blvd.North of Prescott the bike lane loses its protective curb and becomes less safe.Lots of streets look like this in Cully.
As he stood inches from fast-moving drivers on Killingsworth, PBOT’s Geller said it’ll likely take another push to extend the new bike lanes further west to the existing greenway on 37th. But even without protected lanes west of 53rd on Killingsworth, the new ones will make a safer connection to NE Holman neighborhood greenway which connects at 55th.
After Killingsworth, we made a u-turn and headed to Cully Blvd to sample the elevated cycle track. This neighborhood workhorse was Portland’s first Euro-style cycle track when it was built in 2011. It’s in pretty good shape. We just need a lot more people to ride on it. On that note, I can now highly recommend a stop into La Oaxaqueña (4736 NE Cully Blvd), a small (but mighty!) Mexican grocery store with fresh tamales, pico de gallo, and lots of other wonderful things for the hungry biker.
After snacks were secured, we biked over to Wellington Park where conversations ensued.
Keep your eyes peeled for the next BAC bike ride. They’re a good chance to meet plugged-in people and learn about key bike projects citywide.
View of the future path on SW College from SW Broadway. (Drawings: Lever Architecture)
A new building in the works on the Portland State University campus near I-405 will give us one of our first looks of the fabled Green Loop, a future “micromobility path” through the central city. The Green Loop, envisioned as a “linear park around the river,” became ensconced in city policy as part of the Central City 2035 Plan in 2017.
When Lever Architecture builds the new Portland State University School of Art + Design on what is now a surface parking lot adjacent to the Park Blocks at the southern-most end of the campus, the four-story building will create one block of the Green Loop. Plans that will be in front of Portland Design Commission for a hearing tomorrow (10/5) show that the development will connect SW College St (at the norther end of the building) between Broadway and Park with an “art porch” that will spill out onto the future Green Loop.
According to hearing documents filed with the Design Commission, “The proposal also includes development of the vacated portion of SW College Street into a linear park to accommodate the future green loop.”
View of SW College (lower left) from South Park Blocks.View of SW College St looking south.(Drawings and plans: Lever Architecture)
One section of the staff report and recommendation to the Design Commission addresses how the development will “strengthen gateway locations” — a reference to its proximity to the South Park Blocks:
“The Green Loop within the vacated portion of SW College Street is envisioned as a pedestrian street with park like elements and is positioned to be a gateway to the park blocks. The proposal addresses this new gateway location:
A 15′ wide multi-modal path is located at the center of the street.
An adjacent 6′ wide path and separated 9′ wide path are dedicated to pedestrians.
6′ furnishing zone on the north side of the street contains large street trees, plantings, wood benches, and concrete unit paving.
A 4′ wide planting strip at the south side of the street acts as a buffer and a green edge between the Green Loop and the school’s “Art Porch”
A central curb cut at the Broadway intersection (as requested by PBOT) provides a connection to the protected bike lane on Broadway and flexibility for future intersection improvements.
Studio and Classroom spaces are located along the Green Loop
While several blocks of the future Green Loop have been established (the Cart Blocks on Burnside, Bear Blocks on NE 7th, the Ritz Carlton block, Broadway Corridor, S Moody in South Waterfront), these drawings by Lever Architecture reveal one of the most detailed visuals we’ve seen yet for what the future carfree path might look like. It’s also interesting to see how the existence of the Green Loop in city plans influences private development and architectural plans.
“People may think of the Green Loop as an infrastructure program, but it’s much more than that. It’s a new way to experience the Central City without a car. It’s about bringing people together around a safe, inclusive, attractive, dedicated pathway for walking, biking, rolling and strolling all around the Central City.”
Friends of Green Loop Executive Director Keith Jones has seen the plans for the PSU School of Art + Design. “We’re really excited PSU is embracing The Green Loop and this is an important piece to help link the South Park Blocks down to the riverfront,” Jones said via email to BikePortland Tuesday. “While I can’t say this is a representation of what the Green Loop will look like, it’s a contribution towards what it could be!”
Jones says the next phase of the Green Loop project is working with the City of Portland to create a master plan with design standards and then delving into the nitty-gritty of how loop infrastructure will jibe with a myriad of operations and maintenance issues that are likely to come with a new type of carfree infrastructure.
“That master plan will tell us ultimately what The Green Loop could look like,” Jones said.
“Portland, I want to think the best of you, but this is extremely unserious behavior.”
– CityNerd
Ray Delahanty is not your average Portland pundit — especially when it comes to transportation takes. A Portland State University graduate and long-time Portland resident, he quit the transportation planning field during Covid and started making videos on YouTube. (Read this great profile of him published last month.)
Today he’s a full-time YouTuber and his channel (“that embraces all things cities and transportation, approaching things with a profound love for urban environments and an analytical bent”) has over 203,000 subscribers. A video he posted six days ago about downtown Portland has over 113,000 views and over 800 conments. Suffice it to say Ray has a ton of very loyal fans and his views on transportation travel very far.
So when his Portland video mentioned the Broadway bike lane scandal, a lot of people heard about it. (Note: When Ray was a planning consultant, he was part of the team hired by the Portland Bureau of Transportation to develop the Central City in Motion plan that the Broadway bike lane came out of, so he has considerable insights to share.)
Here’s what Ray said about Broadway in his video (it starts 9:27 mark):
“For years, my commute took me down SW Broadway, and the new protected bike lane that we did last year was something I was really excited to see — not only because I spent years white-knuckling it in the door-zone bike lane that used to be there, but it is a project that came out of Central City in Motion — a City of Portland effort that I’m extremely proud to have worked on.
Was it super busy? No. But keep in mind Portland State University at the south end of Broadway is a big driver of bike traffic and classes weren’t in yet, so it’s all good. Well… unless… breaking news… like two days after I left Portland, the PBOT director emailed staff and directed them to rip out the bike lane. The story is still evolving as I’m filming this, but pretty much everything we know about this is because PBOT staff aren’t on board and just leaked the whole thing to Jonathan at BikePortland… if it wasn’t for outlets like BikePortland, you wouldn’t even know half the stuff was going on in our cities. Jonathan has written BikePortland for like 18 years and still as important as ever so consider supporting it if you have the wherewithal…
Anyway; Portland, I want to think the best of you, but this is extremely unserious behavior. I worked on this project. It took years of planning and outreach, millions of dollars of staffing consultant time just to get Central City in Motion adopted… It took a whole bunch of analysis, countless meetings and outreach to get agreement on how we were going to fit that protected southbound facility on SW Broadway. And I know there were a lot of business owners who didn’t like it. But when City Council adopted the plan, it was basically saying ‘We think trying to meet mode share targets and climate-related goals is more important than pretty minor inconveniences for a few businesses.’
The hotels on SW Broadway have to put their valet on the far side of the protected bike lane. Well, you know what, when I stayed in Portland on this trip, I’d stayed in a hotel on SW Broadway and I had to take an Uber there from the airport because airport MAX line is under renovation. And guess what? It didn’t even register to me that I had to cross a bike lane with my suitcase. It literally made no difference and it has no impact on my likelihood of staying at that hotel again. What might impact the likelihood of staying in a hotel is whether the hotel owners are jerks or not.
And it’s really pretty insane, planners who are usually pretty progressive-minded people by nature are out here doing years of extensive community outreach to every impacted community. They’re doing land acknowledgments and stuff. But if a rich business owner wants to take out a bike lane, they can just like take a city council member out to a nice lunch or something? I can’t even imagine how demoralizing this is for staff and I know a lot of PBOT staff and I feel for them. All I can say is try to remember why you got into planning and engineering in the first place.”
In related news, I’ve received a trove of emails (1,121 pages long!) from a public records request related to the Broadway bike lane scandal. I’ve gone through it and have learned a lot more about why and how the entire fiasco might have unfolded. I’m working to confirm more details and am considering my next move. Stay tuned.
There are very few people in Portland who’ve had as large an impact on our bicycle scene as Ayleen Crotty. She moved here in 2000 from central Illinois as a scrappy, artistic kid, fresh-out-of-college. Ayleen quickly found her people — and most of them were on bikes.
Ayleen caught the cycling bug after launching Critical Mass in her college town, and found fertile ground for growing bike culture when she landed in Portland. She, like many other young, creative Portlanders in the early 2000s, were drawn to the Critical Mass ride. Ayleen and a crop of bike-minded folks, used that weekly gathering to network and build the bedrock of the bike culture we all enjoy nearly a quarter-century later.
Many of you know Ayleen as the force behind Filmed By Bike, a festival that draws filmmakers from all over the world and has shown over 1,200 films since it started in a small theater on Northeast Alberta Street 21 years ago. But before that, she was at the table for the creation of major pieces of our scene that still exist today — like Breakfast on the Bridges, Midnight Mystery Ride, Shift, Pedalpalooza, and more.
Now that Ayleen has decided to sell Filmed By Bike and move on to other creative ventures, we both sensed it was time to sit down and have a chat.
Ayleen in The Shed, October 2nd, 2023.
Ayleen at Filmed By Bike on May 19th, 2023.
In this episode, you’ll hear what Portland was like long before “Portlandia” and the many changes of the past two decades. Ayleen and I talk about early bike culture, why Portland was so ripe to blossom into a leading bike city, her impetus for launching Filmed By Bike, how she’s used bike movies to make our scene more racially inclusive, and much more.
And if you’re as sad about Ayleen taking her prodigious creative and community-building energy away from our bike scene as I am, circle October 26th on your calendar right now. That’s the night she’ll put on one last big show. At 6:30 at Cinema 21 on October 26th, Ayleen will share her Greatest Hits. It’ll be one final blowout, and we’ve got to send her off with a massive and appreciative crowd!
I think you’ll love our conversation. Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts. (View the full transcript below.)
For nearly 30 years, we have been a nonprofit organization on a mission to broaden access to bicycling and its benefits. Our vision is to continue building a vibrant community where people of all backgrounds use bicycles to stay healthy and connected. We believe that all Portlanders—regardless of income or background—should have the opportunity to experience the joy, freedom and health benefits of bicycling. This is the motivation behind everything we do.
This position operates out of our warehouse work space in NE Portland. Here at the CCC we value and support one another through the work we do and are committed to working collaboratively to meet our goals. We acknowledge and value diversity and its many intersections. We are proud that people of color, women, neuro-divergent, gender non-conforming and LGBTQIA+ folks choose to work at our organization. We encourage more people from varied and diverse backgrounds to join our lively, talented team.
GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY
The Processing and Production Manager is responsible for the smooth and organized intake of donated goods into the organization for production, resale, reuse, or recycle. They supervise mechanics who prepare bikes and goods for sale in our shop or delivery through our programs department; and supervise used inventory processors who sort donated goods. Working collaboratively with the Shop Leadership Team, they will cultivate the delivery of consistent quality, help meet sales goals and support staff working in their department. Experience in a high-volume shop environment, clear communication skills, and proven effectiveness in supporting staff are crucial to the success of this position.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Management of Donated Goods (35%)
• Manage the process and procedure of intake, sorting and processing of donations in the shop
• Adapt procedures as needs and demands of the organization fluctuate through the year
• Continually develop and refine intake and processing procedure to help reduce costs while supplying the shop with quality goods
Management of Production Process (35%)
• Work with the Bicycle Production Coordinator to supervise production mechanics, volunteers, and interns working on new and used bikes for sale or programs.
• Work with Bicycle Production Coordinator and Programs managers to lead quality control efforts to ensure high quality used bikes
• Work with Inventory Coordinator and Membership Coordinator to meet store needs for retail used parts sales and inventory management
• Work with other departments to meet production needs of programs supporting the community. Ex: Earn a Bike and STEM
• Work with shop leadership team to maintain adequate inventory levels of new and used parts to support production needs
• Continually develop and refine the production process to help reduce cost while providing excellent quality bicycles
• Lead by example and work alongside staff to reach production and sales goals
Management of Staff & Shop Operations (20%)
• Partner with Shop Leadership Team to hire, train, and evaluate staff based on the quality and effectiveness of their work
• Partner with Shop Leadership Team to develop and ensure adherence to policies and procedures governing shop practices
• Other duties as assigned
• Manage staff timesheets and schedules
•
Strategic Planning and Process Evaluation (10%)
• Leverage quality control process to identify growth areas for mechanics and used part processors to provide support and training as needed to improve outcomes
• Work with the Shop Leadership Team to evaluate opportunities, trends and feedback towards financial growth for the shop and professional development for their team
• Contribute to the Shop’s annual budget process
REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
• 2+ Experience supervising, training and supporting staff Strong interpersonal communication skills • Strong organizational skills including the ability to manage multiple assignments simultaneously
• Ability to meet project deadlines and account for detailed objectives
• Experience and success in creating inclusive work environments where people from diverse backgrounds feel safe and welcome
• Ability to lift, bend, squat, climb and more—this is a physically demanding job but reasonable accommodations can be made
• Experience with online sales
• Experience and familiarity with a wide range of bicycle technology, new and old
PREFERRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
• 5+ years of professional bike mechanic experience
• Experience with workflow improvement methods
• Experience in a high-volume shop
• Customer service experience
• Experience with Lightspeed POS, Excel, Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe
• Proficiency in Spanish
• Proficiency with eBay sales
REPORTS TO: Bike Shop Director
UNION/NON UNION: Non Union
HOURS: Full Time (40 hours)
COMPENSATION: Salalried $50K, Exempt
TERM: Permanent
SCHEDULE: 5-day week, workdays may vary, hours may fluctuate, may work nights occasionally
BENEFITS: Health, dental and vision, 401k, 144 hrs of PTO at FT + 69 hrs of sick time
How to Apply
HOW TO APPLY: Send your resume, cover letter, and (3) references to Jobs@CommunityCyclingCenter.org with subject line "Processing and Production Manager". No phone calls, please.
For nearly 30 years, we have been a nonprofit organization on a mission to broaden access to bicycling and its benefits. Our vision is to continue building a vibrant community where people of all backgrounds use bicycles to stay healthy and connected. We believe that all Portlanders—regardless of income or background—should have the opportunity to experience the joy, freedom and health benefits of bicycling. This is the motivation behind everything we do.
The Shop Department of the Community Cycling Center consists of a DIY Workspace and retail storefront, regular salvage sales, and occasional pop-ups and events. This department is a revenue stream to provide funding for community programs.
This position splits time operating out of our warehouse workspace and the retail storefront at our membership based workspace in NE Portland. Here at the CCC we value and support one another through the work we do and are committed to working collaboratively to meet our goals. We acknowledge and value diversity and its many intersections. We are proud that people of color, women, neuro-divergent, gender non-conforming and LGBTQIA+ folks choose to work at our organization. We encourage more people from varied and diverse backgrounds to join our lively, talented team.
GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY
The Instructor Mechanic is responsible for working production shifts which include the refurbishment of used bicycles and teardown of donated bikes for recycling and to harvest used parts. Instructor Mechanics will also work shifts in the Alberta street DIY Bicycle Workshop. Those shifts will involve monitoring the appropriate use of tools, checking out the correct specialty tools for a variety of projects, enforcing safety and cleanliness guidelines, and answering questions and providing guidance to people using the workspace. Based on qualifications, Instructor Mechanics may be selected to lead classes or provide one on one instruction to customers. Seasonally, shop staff will need to provide retail support at pop-ups and events. Staff in all positions at the shop will also be responsible for providing support to the Programs department as needed. This may include working mechanic shifts at one of our free
service events or locations, providing ride support at events, or assisting at a learn to ride event.
Working under the direction of the Shop Leadership Team, they will cultivate the delivery of consistent quality of production bikes and used parts, and help meet sales goals and support staff working in their department. Experience in a high-volume shop environment, clear communication skills, and proven effectiveness in supporting staff are crucial to the success of this position.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Production Shifts
• Assess and repair bicycles for retail sale and for use in our programs
• Perform teardowns to harvest parts and recyclable material from donated bikes Workshop
• Monitor member’s use of the shared workspace (proper tool use, follow safety guidelines, cleanup workspace after use, etc.)
• Be prepared and able to answer any mechanical or bike related questions customers may have, guide them to a resource, or be able to help them research the answer
• Observe tool and equipment use and instruct proper use of tools and equipment
• Be able to confidently help customers complete projects from beginning to end if they buy one-on-one time with a mechanic
• Instruct organized classes on a variety of bike related topics including but not limited to brake adjustments, shift adjustments, bike care and maintenance, flat repair, tubeless setup and maintenance, wheel build and truing, etc.
• Make sure members are following all safety guidelines for working in the space Sales and Service
• Assist customers with the purchase of used bikes, and new and used parts and accessories during salvage sales, pop-ups and events, and from the retail store at the workshop
• Perform a la carte, on the spot repairs on bikes during salvage sales, at pop-ups and events
Programs
• Provide mechanical support to programs for ongoing projects and programs events as needed throughout the year
General
• Participate with all staff in the ordering process to ensure we have adequate workspace supplies and inventory to support the department’s operation
• Participate in regular tool audits
• Moving & lifting bicycles up to 50 lbs. is a regular part of this job but reasonable accommodation can be made
Other Responsibilities (10%)
• Help advance the mission of the Community Cycling Center across all departments
• Contribute to a standard work environment – answer phones, maintain a safe, clean & organized workspace
• Work as directed by senior staff to contribute to the training and support of less-experienced mechanics, including youth interns and apprentices
• Other duties as assigned
REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
• Customer service experience
• Familiarity and working knowledge of a large variety of new and used bicycle related components
• 3+ years of professional bike mechanic experience
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• Strong organizational skills including the ability to manage multiple assignments simultaneously
• Ability to meet project deadlines and account for detailed objectives
• Experience and success in creating inclusive work environments where people from diverse backgrounds feel safe and welcome
• Must be available to work at least 2 night shifts (2pm-10:30pm) per week in the Workshop at the Alberta location
• Must be available to work weekends
• Ability to lift, bend, squat, climb and more—this is a physically demanding job but reasonable accommodations can be made
PREFERRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
• 5+ years of professional bike mechanic experience
• Attention to detail and a methodical approach to accomplishing tasks
• Experience with workflow improvement methods
• Experience in a high-volume shop
• Valid driver’s license
• Experience with Lightspeed POS, Excel, Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe
• Proficiency in Spanish
REPORTS TO: Shop Director and Processing and Production Manager
UNION/NON UNION: Union – ILWU Local 5
HOURS: Full Time (40 hours)
COMPENSATION: $21
TERM: Permanent
SCHEDULE: 5 day week, workdays may vary, hours may fluctuate, will work nights
BENEFITS: Health, dental and vision, 401k, 144 hrs of PTO at FT + 69 hrs of sick time
How to Apply
HOW TO APPLY: Send your resume, cover letter, and (3) references to
Jobs@CommunityCyclingCenter.org with the subject line “Instructor Mechanic.” No phone calls, please.
Bike bus advocate Sam Balto (L) and City Council Candidate Robin Ye.
Regulars Estelle (L), Tiffany (C), and Pamela (R) checking out the sticker swap table.
Last week’s crowd.
After some of you got soaked in a rain storm last Wednesday, it looks like we’ll be back out on the Gorges Beer Co patio for Bike Happy Hour this week. I’m excited to see everyone as we welcome a few special guests and try out a new open mic segment.
First off, our friends from Freeya have stepped up as sponsors. Yay! They’ll be on hand to tell you all about their fantastic app. Never heard of Freeya? It’s a very cool app where you list and find free stuff. Think of it like a much better version of free piles, buy-nothing groups, or Craigslist. It’s a simpler, less-hassle-y way to keep stuff out of landfills, while finding great treasures and helping other people. And it just so happens that the folks behind it love bikes, ride bikes, and understand that bikes and free pile scores go hand-in-hand. (In 2022 they even put on a cool Pedalpalooza ride.)
“It’s fun! It’s not Facebook! It’s not creepy. Freeya works hard to get out of the way of your free stuff treasure hunting,” they say.
This week at Happy Hour, anyone who downloads Freeya and creates an account gets a free hat or tote bag, and a one-month of their premium membership at no cost. Folks who set up a Freeya account will also be entered into a raffle to get a 1-year Freeya Pro membership (which gets you stronger search, more time to pickup items, and more) and cool bike prizes.
Here’s that website again to learn more — Freeya.com. Or better yet, follow them on Instagram.
But wait, there’s more…
Linda Ginenthal at Sunday Parkways in 2009.
Happy Hour regulars know I like to encourage special guests to join us. And this week, I’m thrilled to welcome an old friend from PBOT: none other than Linda Ginenthal! Linda is a PBOT retiree who now lives in Victoria, Canada and will swing into Happy Hour during her visit to Portland. Some of you might remember her as Sunday Parkways program manager back in the day. Linda was behind a lot of cool stuff at PBOT and she spearheaded the Sunday Parkways program before the idea of “open streets” were even a thing around here. Linda is awesome, was a true believer in carfree cities who pushed the city in a positive direction, and someone I greatly respected in the early years of BikePortland. I hope you get a chance to meet her.
You might also meet a city council candidate. So far we’ve had three candidates give stump speeches (thanks Timur, Daniel and Robin) and I’d love to keep that going. If you are one of the 19 council candidates, you are welcome to grab our mic and share your vision for Portland with our crowd. We’d love to hear from you!
Speaking of mics, I’ll try an open mic segment where anyone can step up and share a story or comment or question about whatever is on their mind. Please keep them short, and you can’t complain or rant about anything. We want to hear your cycling-inspired spoken word poetry, an insight into how we can make our city better with bikes, your BikePortland story pitch, your dream project, your bike-related talent, and so on.
And since we’re working with Freeya this week, I’ll ask everyone who comes on the mic: “What the craziest thing you’ve picked up on your bike?”
That’s it for now, follow us on Instagram for updates and additions to the program.
See you Wednesday!
Bike Happy Hour – Every Wednesday All Year Long 3:00 to 6:00 pm Gorges Beer Co / Ankeny Tap – SE Ankeny & 27th (On the “Rainbow Road plaza!) $2 off drinks (full menu, includes non-alcoholic and coffee from Crema) BikeHappyHour.com – “See you Wednesday!”
About 50 or so wonderful folks met up on North Broadway and Wheeler. We did some quick speeches and rabble-rousing, then we rode into downtown to reflect on how important this protected bike lane is. It felt so good to ride as a community and know that we are stronger together after the past two weeks It was especially sweet to ride in front of the Benson hotel and wave and ring our bells at the valets who watched us roll by.
Special thanks to BikeLoud PDX for helping organize and spread the word about the ride. If you missed this, BikeLoud is doing a BikeBROADWAY Day event on Friday, October 13th.
Check out a short video and full photo gallery below…
Here are the stories you should know about, from sources you can trust…
School pick-up lines are a policy failure: A school in Austin, Texas has taken its staff of traffic duty because drivers have become so aggressive while waiting to pick-up their students. (KXAN)
Bikes are good for business, actually: It was refreshing and inspiring to read about how business groups in major cities nationwide are embracing more bike and pedestrian-friendly urban design; yet it was bittersweet knowing that our own Portland Metro Chamber has typically been more of a car advocacy group. (Bloomberg)
Covid’s impact on cycling: A new report from a Big Data analytics firm shows strong growth in cycling nationwide since 2019, but the numbers show a notable decline in Portland. (Streetsblog USA)
UK wrong way: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak thinks car drivers in his country have had it so rough he wants to dismantle what he views as anti-car efforts like low-traffic streets, lower speed limits, and bus priority lanes. (Guardian)
E-bike threat: An opinion piece from New York City that paints a scary picture about heavy electric bikes endangering pedestrians. (NY Post Opinion)
Transit provider bails out bike-share: Houston’s transit provider, METRO, will spend $10 million to launch its own bike share system in order to prevent a degradation in service. (NPR Houston)
Large truck threat: As the data begins to line up more and more, it should be harder for the automotive industry to deny that their predilection for huge, aggressive truck and SUV designs is killing more Americans and needs to face smarter regulation. (Associated Press)
E-cargo bikes at auto dealership: Toyota says it’s no gimmick as they plan to sell an electric cargo bike model at hundreds of stores in France. (Forbes)
More green-ways: Colombia introduced the world to open streets and inspired our Sunday Parkways — now they’re leading the way with “green corridors.” (BBC)
Don’t drive, please. We’ll pay you!: Cities are so desperate to reduce driving that a program being piloted by LA’s version of TriMet will pay people up to $600 to not drive their cars. (LA Times)
