BikePortland

At City Hall rally, Portlanders say bikes are still the future

Last Friday afternoon, Portland bike advocacy nonprofit BikeLoud PDX held their first big rally in more than three years. The message? Although a recent report shows bike use is down in the city, bikes are still the future in Portland. And advocates will keep spreading the word until people at City Hall listen.

Friday was unseasonably sweltering, with temperatures getting up to 90 degrees in some parts of the city. But after months of seemingly-endless winter, it’s clear that people are raring to get outside. I saw lots of other people riding bikes on my way down to the Salmon Street Springs to meet the group, and as I pulled up to the meeting spot, I saw several dozen people already there. This number grew to about 100 for the ride to City Hall.

Before we left for City Hall, BikeLoud board members Nic Cota and Kiel Johnson spoke to the crowd.

“We’re here to hold the city accountable… It feels like a statement to ride a bike in Portland. It shouldn’t feel that way.”
– Nic Cota, BikeLoud PDX

“We’re here to hold the city accountable and get people from all walks of life biking in this city,” Cota said, as leader of the rally the day after he was named BikeLoud chair. “It feels like a statement to ride a bike in Portland. It shouldn’t feel that way.”

Johnson, BikeLoud’s former chair, was initially hesitant about the idea of holding this kind of event. But once he was there, his mood shifted.

“We’re gonna keep on being loud until everybody in Portland has access to protected bike lanes like Better Naito,” Johnson said to the group, gesturing to Portland’s marquee protected bikeway behind him.

When we headed off to City Hall, the group of people on bikes filled up SW Jefferson Street. A few people in cars honked approvingly and were met with cheers in return. Once we arrived at City Hall, a few other speakers got up in front of the group to share why they wanted to come to the rally.

First, Serenity Ebert, BikeLoud’s Vice Chair, took the megaphone. Ebert rides a recumbent tricycle to accommodate her disability, and she said she wants everyone to be able to get around the city safely.

“You have a friend in City Hall. My boss is listening to you.”
– Shannon Carney, Commissioner Mingus Mapps senior policy advisory

“Biking has given me a lot of freedom to do whatever I want,” Ebert said. “I would like everyone here to be able to ride a bike if they want to.”

We then heard from Shannon Carney, Commissioner Mingus Mapps’ liaison to the Portland Bureau of Transportation. Carney said she’s a longtime cyclist who currently commutes by bike to City Hall the majority of the time, and she said she and Mapps both support the work BikeLoud is doing.

“There are so many challenges that our city faces that transportation can help solve,” Carney said. “You have a friend in City Hall. My boss is listening to you.”

Some people weren’t happy about Carney’s invite: one person booed when she took the stage, calling Mapps out for his recent controversial attempt to divert money away from a Black-led organization.

Depending on how and if Portland officials move into action on this issue, it’ seem’s possible splits could emerge among activists who want to take different approaches to how they deal with institutional power. But ultimately, many are simply trying to use the relationships they do have in City Hall in order to get their ideas implemented.

Overall, organizers deemed the rally a success. The event garnered TV news coverage, which inevitably led to some trolling commentary from people with no involvement in the situation, but also added more legitimacy and publicity to the gathering.

As I biked away from the last event I’d cover as a BikePortland reporter, I felt hopeful. There were tons of people riding their bikes around the city who hadn’t come to the rally, and while their support would’ve been appreciated, it was also kind of cool to me that these people were out there doing their own thing, regardless of what bike count reports say. The Portland bike scene takes all types: the rally organizers, the Pedalpalooza fanatics, the prolific BikePortland commenters and the people who’ve never heard of this website before. It’s bittersweet to leave BikePortland right as I feel a spark in the air, but I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Brett Jarolimek’s bike stolen from art studio in St. Johns

A very meaningful bicycle has been stolen and its owner is pleading for help to get it back.

Portland artist Matt Hall posted to his Instagram page on Sunday that someone broke into his studio in St. Johns and stole a bicycle that once belonged to Brett Jarolimek. Jarolimek was just 31 years old when he was riding on North Interstate Avenue and was killed in a collision with a truck driver on October 22nd, 2007. He was very well-known and loved in our community as a friend, a bike racer, and an employee at Bike Gallery. Jarolimek’s death, came less than two weeks after another young bicycle rider was killed in a right-hook collision just a few miles away. It was a watershed moment in Portland bike history that led to an emergency meeting in city hall, the right-turn ban at Interstate and Greeley and the implementation of bike boxes citywide.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Matt Hall (@matthallartpdx)

Jarolimek was a dedicated bike racer who participated in a cyclocross race just weeks before his death. Matt Hall raced alongside Jarolimek and has kept his friend’s old bike on a shelf in his studio as a memorial. The bike is a red frame with the name “Cardinal” on the down tube and seat tube (it was hand made by former Portland framebuilder and close friend of Hall and Jarolimek, Matt Cardinal). “Jarolimez” is written in white letters across the top tube.

“The most precious object was stolen,” Hall wrote on Instagram. “My dear departed friend, Brett’s bike. I am utterly heartbroken. Please, please, please keep your eyes out for around town. I don’t care about possessions but this is an irreplaceable totem, and I’m crushed that it’s gone.”

Portland has a strong community that has recovered thousands of bikes over the years. Please keep your eyes open for this one.

Or perhaps word will spread to the thieves that this bike has tremendous sentimental value. That’s what happened in February 2008 when a thief stole Jarolimek’s ghost bike. In that case, the bike was returned with a letter written by the thief: “I sincerely apologize for what I have done- I did not realize what it was until after the fact.”

Monday Roundup: A free truck, riding through grief, signals, and more

Welcome to the week. Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers have come across in the past seven days…

E-bike incentives: The Washington legislature has passed a law that will devote $7 million to e-bike rebates and to promote e-bike lending libraries. (Bicycle Retailer & Industry News)

Reversing course: Very interesting debate playing out in this city near Los Angeles whose city council voted to remove dedicated bus and bike lanes to appease people concerned about auto traffic congestion. (Fox LA)

Secretary Pete on a pod: Don’t miss a solid interview about transportation policy and traffic safety with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. (Vox)

Cycling and grief: An 84-year old woman plans to ride 1,000 miles across Scotland to help cope with the “unbearable” grief of outliving her three children. (BBC)

Sending a signal: You will be more grateful for Portland’s very bike-friendly traffic signals after reading this op-ed about how signals in Los Angeles are (still) tilted toward drivers. (LA Times)

Sleeping with the enemy: Washington’s nonprofit Cascade Bicycle Club has entered into a financial partnership with Honda where the automaker helps sponsors their programs and gives the bike advocacy group a free truck. (Bicycle Retailer & Industry News)

Auto industry doesn’t care about you or the planet: The fact that a moderately priced, popular, small electric car will be discontinued while massive ones proliferate is just the latest evidence that the auto industry is out of control and needs more regulation. (CNBC)

Race to zero: The stats around who dies and who lives around the most dangerous streets show a troubling and unacceptable connection to America’s legacy of systemic racism. (NY Times Opinion)

Buttons are best: Touchscreens on car displays are a huge safety risk so it’s great to see automakers responding to criticisms and returning to more buttons and dials. (Slate)

Thanks to everyone who shared links this week.

Saying goodbye to BikePortland

Me reporting from the Pedalpalooza kickoff last June.

Way back in November 2021, I was sitting in the waiting room before a doctor appointment scrolling through Twitter when I saw a job listing posted by BikePortland. I remember immediately becoming very nervous that someone would apply for the job before I would be able to do it, so I started drafting an email to Jonathan on my phone right then and there. A few weeks later, elated, I began my journey writing for this site. Now, as I prepare to move onto a new opportunity, I want to reflect on my time at BikePortland and thank everyone who has so graciously read and engaged with my work.

I had lofty goals for what I would include in this “goodbye post.” I wanted it to be robust and meaningful and serve as some kind of representation of my experience at BikePortland over the last year and a half. But this is proving to be much more difficult than I thought it would be. BikePortland is a living blog — no story is ever the definitive post on any given subject, and there’s always room for a follow-up. The idea of writing some kind of capstone piece that can stand on its own is too daunting, and not really in the nature of this site anyway.

Here’s what I will say: I have changed so much on a personal and professional level since the fateful day in fall 2021. I looked back in my sent folder at that first email I sent Jonathan, where I wrote that “I’m always happy to stretch out of my comfort zone and try new things.” I don’t think I anticipated all the new things I’d try!

I’ve met amazing, brilliant people and fallen deeply in love with Portland by spending so much time biking its streets. I’ve been able to travel near (Multnomah Falls) and far (Europe), documenting these journeys for the site. And I am so impressed by the passion and dedication from BikePortland readers and commenters. We don’t always agree, but I have never experienced a more knowledgable group of people. And I am very grateful for the warm embrace I received when I first started out, even though thinking back now I’m embarrassed about how little I knew at the beginning.

I’m not leaving Portland or the journalism industry — starting next week, you’ll be able to read my work at the Portland Mercury. I’m very excited for this new opportunity, which wouldn’t have been possible without all the freedom I had here at BikePortland to cover such a range of topics and get to know this city so well.

So thank you again, all of you wonderful readers. Please continue to support BikePortland — it’s abundantly clear that this website is an invaluable archive of information that may be lost to the wind if Jonathan wasn’t so good at tracking everything happening in this city. It has been a true honor to get to be a part of it.

And it’s not quite over. My final assignment is to cover today’s big bike rally. Hope to see you out there!

City releases locations of three new ‘advisory shoulder’ projects to be built this year

In their ongoing effort to squeeze as much utility, capacity, and safety out of every square foot of right-of-way, the Portland Bureau of Transportation has released the locations of three sections of streets where we’ll soon see more “advisory lanes.”

How they (are supposed to) work. (Source: PBOT)

You might recall that after years of sitting dormant, advisory bike and shoulder lane projects — that aim to provide more safety for bike riders and walkers on streets where the city feels there’s not enough room for dedicated bike lanes or sidewalks — sprang to life last year. In 2022, the Portland Bureau of Transportation completed three advisory lane projects.

This year they’ll do three more, hitting two spots in southwest and one in outer southeast.

To refresh your memory, advisory bike/shoulder lane projects consist of removing a centerline (if on exists) and striping dashed (“advisory”) lane markings along the edge of the road. The way they’re meant to be used is that when a bicycle rider or walker is present, the lanes are treated like standard bike lanes or an on-street sidewalk. When a driver approaches someone in an advisory lane, the driver is supposed to move into the center of the road to pass. If two drivers are approaching each other at the same time, and no advisory lane user is present, drivers can legally drive in the advisory lane in order to squeeze by each other. Keep in mind, this treatment is typically used only on streets with very little auto traffic.

Below are the three locations that will be built this year. Note how each one connects to an important destination where PBOT wants to encourage people to walk and bike to:

SE Ellis Street between SE 84th and SE 92nd streets

As you can see in the concept drawing above, PBOT also plans to also add new buffered bike lanes to SE 92nd between Ellis and Harold. This, combined with the advisory shoulders to the west of 92nd, will create a connection to a community center and an entrance to the I-205 path. Ellis is also a key connector for people accessing shops and other destinations along SE 82nd and Foster Road.

SW Talbot Road from SW Fairmount Boulevard to SW Gaston Avenue

This is a small but important section of Talbot because it’s on the very popular Fairmount cycling route. Fairmount is a famous loop around Council Crest that has been a training ground (and walking loop) for Portlanders for a long time. This stretch of Talbot connects the loop and has always been a balancing act between drivers and bike riders.

You might recall that SW Talbot was on a list of candidate projects identified as part of the SW In Motion plan and we did a story in April 2021 about how advisory shoulders could unlock the potential of southwest.

SW 40th Avenue between SW Huber and SW Wilbard streets

This is just one block, but it will create a better connection between Jackson Middle School and a pedestrian walkway over I-5 that feeds directly into the Barbur Transit Center.

Advisory lanes have been used for decades in Europe to great success (they are also called edge lane roads if you’d like to Google), but they are still relatively rare in the U.S. That’s one reason why PBOT is currently collaborating with the Federal Highway Administration to share analysis of the projects.

What do you think about these locations? Are you familiar with them and do you think the new design will be helpful? Learn more at PBOT’s website.

More bike lane, less car parking, and dedicated bus lane coming to SW Jefferson

The Portland Bureau of Transportation announced Thursday they will break ground on a project to improve bus and bike access on Southwest Jefferson street in the Goose Hollow area. The project is part of PBOT’s Central City in Motion plan and was first expected to begin last year.

In a statement yesterday, the city said the project will “relieve a major pinch point in the transit system” and “improve transit speed and reliability for five TriMet bus lines (6, 45, 55, 58, 68) by adding a new bus-and-turn (BAT) lane on the south side of SW Jefferson Street between SW 16th and 18th avenues. A new protected bike lane will also be added as part of the project to improve safety for people bicycling.” In addition to changes to the bus and bike lanes, PBOT will build a new concrete bus island on the southeast corner of Jefferson and 17th.

“This is an investment in making transit faster and more reliable for people who live and work in Goose Hollow,” and “will benefit people riding the bus, driving, biking, and businesses overall,” said PBOT Interim Director Tara Wasiak. Other benefits of the project laid out by Wasiak include fewer backups for drivers looking to get onto Highway 26 and a safer bike lane. “All modes of travel will have improved access to businesses in the area,” she said.

With this project, PBOT will not only get to tick another CCIM project off their list, they’ll also be able to fix what Mayor Ted Wheeler felt was a big mistake when they restriped this same section of road in 2018. At a city council meeting in July of that year, Wheeler (and his late colleague Commissioner Nick Fish) piped up to make several pointed complaints about the current configuration. Fish said PBOT “over-engineered” the street and Wheeler added that the new striping had, “made the biking situation worse.” “I’m not convinced we made it better. We made it worse and I’m curious what problem it was we were trying to solve here,” Wheeler said.

Fish and Wheeler had reasonable point. The current configuration between 16th and 18th goes from bike lane, to (sharrowed) mixing zone, and then to a center-running green bike lane in the span of just two blocks. The new plan will make the cycling experience much more consistent with a continuous, curbside bike lane protected from other lanes with plastic delineator wands. And instead of a bike box at 18th, the new design will maintain the bike lane at the curb and push back the stop line for drivers who want to turn right onto 18th. Drivers will also have a more legible environment to operate in, and should find using Jefferson to go west and get onto Highway 26 to be easier and less congested.

What’s really good to see in this project is what appears to be a dramatic reduction in on-street car parking. PBOT will remove two blocks of parallel parking spaces (about 20 by my count) on the north side of Jefferson to make room for the bike lane. And on the south side of the street, it looks like the total number of available car parking spaces will be reduced from 23 spaces to 11.

Construction is anticipated to begin May 8th, and should last about two months. This is just the first phase of PBOT’s CCIM project on SW Jefferson. They plan to make changes to bus and bike lanes from 16th east to Naito Parkway in future phases.

Jobs of the Week: Bike Clark County, Cycle Oregon, Joe Bike, Stages Cycling, Clever Cycles

Need a new job? Want a better job?

We’ve got five excellent opportunities for you to consider. Learn more about each one via the links below…

For a complete list of available jobs, click here.

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

These are paid listings. And they work! We’ve helped hundreds of people find great jobs and great staff members. If you’d like to post a job on the Portland region’s most popular bike and transportation news platform, you can purchase a listing online for just $75. Learn more at our Job Listings page.

Job: Bicycle Mechanic – Clever Cycles

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

*Sorry. This job has been filled.

Pham files major amendment as politics around Interstate Bridge funding bill intensifies

Rep. Susan McLain, Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, looks toward Rep. Khanh Pham (purple jacket) during a meeting on April 13th. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The debate in Salem around a bill that seeks $1 billion for Oregon’s portion of the Interstate Bridge Replacement project was always going to be spicy. But with a major new amendment filed on Tuesday by one of the bill’s sharpest critics and activists primed to show up at its first public hearing later today, things are likely to get even spicier.

As we reported last week, House Rep Khanh Pham feels House Bill 2098 (specifically the -2 or “dash 2” amendments) is bloated. Instead of just a narrow focus on how to raise funds for the $1 billion investment in the IBR, Pham and her supporters feel the bill seeks to remove fiscal safeguards, doesn’t go far enough to protect construction workers, mandates full funding of the I-5 Rose Quarter project, and more.

Now Pham has released a significant set of amendments. Pham’s -3 amendment includes several key changes that would dramatically reshape HB 2098. The amendment was finalized and released on Tuesday, but for some reason, it was not posted to the Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) website until a few moments ago. Pham said her office had made several requests to leadership of the JCT to get the amendment posted and that she was “disappointed” it took so long.

Here’s what Pham’s amendment seeks to do.

It codifies a project labor agreement (PLA) she hopes will allow stronger labor standards for contracts awarded through the project. Where the -2 version (and the -4 which was also just released) of the bill was vague and general around labor agreements, Pham’s amendment says directly that, “ensuring labor peace and adequate protections for workers on the Interstate 5 bridge replacement project is in the public interest and that the state must consider the impacts and benefits that result from the project in procurement decisions.” Pham wants the megaproject to be designated a “community benefit project” which would trigger existing law around worker health and apprenticeship programs. (The debate around labor and contracting is something to watch as things move forward. Pham and her supporters want a strong PLA, but many large construction companies don’t.)

Pham also wants to add language that would make the cost cap of $6.3 billion more enforceable. To do that, she wants the project to be done in phases. “To ensure this limit is met, construction may not begin on the northernmost three interchanges and the southernmost two interchanges until the State Treasurers from both Washington and Oregon each make written findings that the bridge and transit components of the Interstate 5 bridge replacement project are substantially complete and the full project is likely to be completed within the $6.3 billion limit,” states the amendment.

The total amount of funding from the General Fund would also come way down if lawmakers adopt Pham’s amendment. Instead of making the $1 billion in revenue from the sale of general obligation bonds, Pham wants to slash that amount to just $250 million. The balance, $750 million, would come from bonds issued against the Highway Fund. This move puts Pham in line with Governor Tina Kotek who has already expressed opposition to spending so much general fund dollars on a transportation project.

Several fiscal guardrails that were in the bill that funded the precursor to this project (the Columbia River Crossing) in 2013 would also be added into the bill with Pham’s amendment. Things like approval of the project from the U.S. Coast Guard, a financing plan approved by the State Treasurer and an investment grade analysis before borrowing could begin — all of which are missing from the current bill — are in the -3.

Pham’s amendment would also make HB 2098 a “clean bill” by removing language about extraneous things like the I-5 Rose Quarter, fees for different types of vehicles and other topics not directly germane to replacing the Interstate Bridge.

Pham is not alone in wanting major changes to HB 2098. At least eight other lawmakers planned to share their concerns in testimony at the JCT meeting tonight. But the leadership of the committee says that won’t be allowed.

Reached for comment a few minutes ago, Pham said, “This is the largest infrastructure project in the state’s history. We need to have a robust dialogue — amongst both the public and legislators. I’m disappointed that a few hours before the hearing, we were told that the 8 legislators who registered to testify, including those legislators whose districts border and are directly impacted by the I-5 Bridge, will not be allowed to testify.”

The back-and-forth between Pham’s office and JCT Co-Chair House Rep. Susan McLain underscores an ongoing unease between the two lawmakers that is readily apparent at many meetings. On several occasions this session I’ve noticed Rep. McLain interject whenever Rep. Pham asks a particularly detailed or potentially uncomfortable question of ODOT staff and leadership. Often McLain will answer the question herself, in what feels like covering for ODOT leadership. It’s no mystery that these two lawmakers are vying for power and influence over transportation policy and that their positions are very far apart.

During a transportation lobby day on April 13th, Rep. Pham stood for a photo, arm-in-arm with fists thrust into the air, with 17-year-old climate activist Adah Crandall. Then a few hours later, Crandall confronted McLain in the hallway after a meeting and urged her to do more to fight climate change.

McLain is a Democrat, but she is to the right of Pham when it comes to transportation policy. This fight over HB 2098 has defined that contrast more than any other issue.

Meanwhile, No More Freeways has been working to organize support for a “right sized” bridge. So far there are 128 people who’ve shared written testimony in advance of tonight’s hearing — 6 of them are neutral, 29 support the bill, and 91 oppose it.

Panelists at transportation summit hash out funding woes

“We just need to reimagine what different looks like and what we can do differently.”
-Nafisa Fai, Washington County Commissioner

Transportation agency leaders in Oregon are in a bind. On one hand, it’s necessary to take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But agency leaders know that every step they take in this direction will mean less money for our state’s transportation systems down the line.

As state leaders vote to do things like phase out gas-powered cars by 2035 and advocates encourage people to ditch their cars entirely and take up modes of active transportation instead, the pot of money keeping our transportation system alive is drying up. And it’s happening quicker than they thought it would.

This was the topic of one of the final panel discussions in the Oregon Active Transportation Summit, which wrapped up Wednesday. The conversation was moderated by Hau Hagedorn, associate director of Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center, and consisted of four people who spend a lot of time thinking about the future of transportation funding: Oregon Department of Transportation Chief Economist Daniel Porter, Portland Bureau of Transportation Intergovernmental Resources & Policy Affairs Manager Shoshana Cohen, Washington County Commissioner Nafisa Fai, and Forth Mobility Executive Director Jeff Allen.

The problem

(Slides depicting the statewide gas tax crisis. Source: Hau Hagedorn)

To begin the panel, Hagedorn provided an overview of the problem. Right now, a significant amount of ODOT’s funding comes from its State Highway Fund, which raises money by taxes on gas and diesel fuel, heavy trucks operators and from driver and vehicle registration fees. About 40% of this money is doled out to local governments — so as revenue from the gas tax dries up, cities and counties will face a funding deficit.

Meanwhile, PBOT’s budget is also heavily reliant on the gas tax, as well as parking meter revenue. And when people stopped commuting downtown for work during the pandemic, the agency realized just how much this parking revenue was keeping them afloat — and how quickly it could all be gone. This is a problem, because car parking revenue means more people driving, which is not in step with PBOT’s stated goals to get people out of cars and onto other, climate-friendly modes of transportation.

“The more successful Portland and other areas are at meeting [climate] goals, the less revenue they’ll get to fund the system,” Hagedorn said.

Hagedorn laid out five major reasons why Oregon’s transportation system is in a funding crisis:

Aging infrastructure across the system

Growing needs and community expectations to improve safety, equity, climate, resilience outcomes

Gas tax revenue is declining

With inflation everything costs more

Even recent windfalls have not filled the gaps

Porter said that it’s becoming more clear to legislators how urgent the situation is.

“We have visual evidence to show in front of the legislative committee that this is the future, this is what it is. We’re going to have to change something,” he said.

But could this urgency lead to much-needed reorganization and changes within our statewide transportation system?

Opportunities for change

The panelists. (L to R: Porter, Fai, Allen, Cohen, Hagedorn)

So, what are we going to do about this? One thing leaders know: it’s going to be tough to convince people to pay more taxes and fees.

“There’s fatigue around any new revenue sources,” Cohen said during the panel. “But something’s going to have to change if we want to continue to deliver the transportation system we think Portland deserves.”

Allen, who advocates for transportation electrification at Forth Mobility, talked about how the rising popularity of electric cars contributes to the problem of dwindling gas tax funds. Allen said that over the past few years, he thinks the conversation about transportation funding has morphed into “how are we going to squeeze money out of these latte-drinking EV drivers who aren’t paying their fair share.”

“Some of it is punitive. Some of it is ignorance. But some of it is this is a real legitimate problem — people who drive electric cars do still need to be paying their fair share,” Allen said. “The challenge is how do we do this in a way that doesn’t impair electrification… the opportunity is to create a whole new system of paying for transportation that doesn’t just raise money, but is actually a better system.”

Transportation advocates and officials are anticipating the 2025 legislative session as their chance to push a major transportation funding bill — like House Bill 2017, but better.

Oregon’s House Bill 2017 was a big step for finding new transportation funding sources. The bill included a 0.5% vehicle dealer privilege tax on new car sales (including electric cars) to fund rebates for electric cars and the ConnectOregon program, as well as a 0.1% employee payroll tax to improve public transportation service across the state. But HB 2017 also obligated hundreds of millions of dollars to freeway megaprojects like the I-5 Rose Quarter. We can also thank HB 2017 for the $15 tax on new bike sales, a controversial program that now pulls in about a million dollars annually for bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

It’s not yet clear what this potential 2025 bill would look like, but some people have daydreams about funding the transportation system with road use fees or a carbon tax. And others are asking for a restructuring of what the state currently spends money on.

“I actually believe there is a lot of money for transportation and we are spending it on the wrong the wrong thing,” Fai said. “We just need to reimagine what different looks like and what we can do differently.”

City will seize sewer project opportunity to remake key corners and crossings in northwest

The Portland Bureau of Transportation is hitching their wagon to a sewer line replacement project that will allow them to make significant changes to 10 intersections in northwest Portland.

Location of the intersections. (Source: PBOT)

Because they need to match a Bureau of Environmental Services project schedule, PBOT is working on a relatively short timeline to dream up and finalize designs for the projects. All 10 intersections are along NW 21st and 23rd streets — both of which are major commercial corridors with dozens of popular destinations. The BES projects entails partial reconstruction of five side streets: Flanders, Glisan, Hoyt, Irving and Johnson. Both Flanders and Johnson are major neighborhood greenways that have recently received major upgrades.

According to the NW Intersection Enhancement project website, PBOT will use the BES project to implement goals already laid out in the NW In Motion plan adopted in 2020. “The benefits of aligning the intersection enhancement work with the BES project include significantly lower costs for enhancements and the opportunity to combine construction timelines to reduce impacts on neighbors and businesses.”

So, what exactly can we expect to change at these 10 intersections? PBOT has contracted with Toole Design to create a “look book” (PDF) that lays out existing conditions and shares photos and drawings of possible changes that could be made.

Some of the potential treatments in PBOT’s “look book.”

Potential treatments include: curb extensions, high-visibility crosswalks, pedestrian lighting, community placemaking, paving treatments, vegetation, and transit stop upgrades.

Among the more interesting possibilities PBOT is considering is what they call a, “continuous street crossing.” This design would extend the sidewalk on the main street through the intersection and treat the side street more like a driveway, “with pedestrians staying at sidewalk level and cars traveling up and over the sidewalk to access the side street. This design provides a clear design cue that cars are ‘guests’ in this space and pedestrians have priority over motor vehicles.” Put another way, the design puts sidewalk users on a pedestal and makes drivers feel like a lower priority, instead of the other way around we are used to in this country. This type of treatment is common in cities like Copenhagen where the idea that “cars are guests” in some contexts is simply part of the culture.

Here’s more on the idea from PBOT:

“It slows down traffic making turns and encourages waiting for pedestrians to clear before turning. This design also provides much better accessibility for people with disabilities, since it keeps the sidewalk level and does not require curb ramps. PBOT is currently developing standard designs for side street crossings to ensure they work for various types of vehicles and hopes to begin deploying them where feasible and affordable as part of streetscape projects in the future. Because this treatment can be costly, requiring full reconstruction of a leg of an intersection and changes to stormwater management, the most common application would likely be in conjunction with major capital projects that already include a great deal of civil improvements such as ADA curb ramp construction.”

It would be very exciting to see one of these in Portland, and NW 23rd or 21st feels like the ideal place to try it.

Funding for this project will come from parking meter revenue.

PBOT plans to do more public outreach in May and June and designs need to be finalized by the end of July. Construction is planned for 2025. Learn more on the official project page.

Weekend Event Guide: Bike rally, freebox frolic, Lower Southeast Rising tour

Welcome to the weekend! Spring has finally sprung and it’s the perfect time to ride your bike. Here’s our hand-picked selection of the best events to check out this weekend. (But be sure to wear sunscreen — we Portlanders aren’t used to all this UV exposure.)

This week’s guide is sponsored by the Cannon Beach Fat Tire Festival, coming May 12-14 on the Oregon Coast. Sign up and enjoy a multi-day pleasure cruise of pedaling and exploring the beautiful environs of Cannon Beach by bike!

Friday, April 28th

Breakfast on the Bridges – 7 am to 9 am at various locations
Start your day off right with treats and coffee from the BonB crew! They’ll set up shop on the Steel, Flanders, Tilikum and Blumenauer bridges to meet you on your morning commute. More info here.

Bikes are the Future Rally – 5 pm at Salmon Street Springs (SW)
Do you want to see more biking in Portland? So do the folks at BikeLoud PDX — so they’re organizing a rally to show it. Meet at the Salmon Street Springs at 5 or City Hall at 5:30 to demonstrate your passion for making it safer and more accessible to bike in this city. More info here.

Saturday, April 29th

Fanno Creek Trail Ride – 9 am at Upper Sellwood Park (SE)
Join the Portland Bicycling Club on 44ish mile tour of the Fanno Creek Trail, which links SW Portland to Tigard. It will be a beautiful Saturday to check out this beautiful bike path and get some mileage in. More info here.

PSU Farmers Market Ride – 10:00 am at various locations (SE)
Get on your bike and meet up with friends to see what’s for sale at the PSU Farmers Market. This weekly ride is led by Hami Ramani and is always a great way to meet new people or catch up with folks you haven’t seen in a while — with the opportunity for some shopping. More info here.

Freebox Frolic Ride – 12 pm at Brooklyn Park (SE)
Need to clear out the clutter? Gather some of the stuff you don’t want anymore and join a bike ride tour of the many free boxes in southeast Portland so you can distribute that stuff back into the world. More info here.

Sunday, April 30th

Meet Portland Bicycling Club Ride – 9:30 am on the north side of Laurelhurst Park (by the bathrooms)
The Portland Bicycling Club is hosting a no drop ride for people looking to get back in the saddle after a long winter. “If you just haven’t been on your bike lately due to injury, pandemics or binge watching the Gilmore Girls, these rides are for you,” PBC says. This ride will consist of a mostly flat 20 mile route with a coffee break and time for meeting new people. More info here.

BikeLoud PDX SE Chapter Ride – 11 am at Mt. Scott Park (SE)
Join BikeLoud’s SE chapter on a tour of the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Lower Southeast Rising plan, which will bring new bike routes to outer SE Portland. You’ll have plenty of time to talk policy and meet new friends. The ride will end at the Portland Mercado on 72nd and Foster — one of the city’s most beloved foodie spots — so be sure to check it out. More info here.

Note: Our event calendar is on hiatus as we rebuild it into something better. If you are promoting a ride, please get in touch with our Sales Manager Jonathan Maus to find out if a promotional campaign is right for you. If not, we will do what we can to spread the word!