Get pumped for some Heron Lakes racing! (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Welcome to the weekend.
Hopefully you’ve got your wet weather situation figured out and you’re staying (relatively) dry and cozy out there. If you need some extra support and inspiration, consider riding with a group. Our weekly event guide is a great place to find your people — and find that support and confidence you need to keep riding through all the seasons.
Check out our ride and event picks below. And thanks for riding your bike!
Friday, October 13th
Bike Broadway Day – 8:00 to 11:00 am on SW Broadway at Harvey Milk Join advocates from BikeLoud PDX for this gathering in appreciation of protected bike lanes. They’ll have free coffee and donuts, as well as free pedicab rides. You can even test out the bike lane sweeper! More info here.
Bike One Millionth Brompton Ride – 4:30 pm at Clever Cycles (SE) The iconic folding bike from London was invented nearly 50 years ago and the millionth one to roll off the factory floor is in Portland this weekend on a world tour celebration. Geek out with fellow folder aficionados at this ride and event. More info here.
Friday Night Ride – 7:00 pm at Ladd Circle Park (SE) The weekly FNR is a great place to find your people. And this week’s ride will connect with the monthly Midnight Mystery Ride! More info here.
Saturday, October 14th
Bicycle Repair Class – 2:00 pm at Green Lents Tool Library (SE) A local bicycle builder will share her tips and tricks on how to fix and maintain your bike at this free workshop. RSVP required. More info here.
Alice Awards – 5:00 pm at Oregon Zoo (SW) Dress up for a night at the zoo where The Street Trust will honor advocates and leaders at their annual fundraiser. More info here.
Sunday, October 15th
Cyclocross Crusade #1 – All Day at Heron Lakes PIR (N) It’s the first race of the 30th anniversary season of our beloved ‘cross series and the fun kicks off at the local Heron Lakes course at PIR just north of downtown Kenton. More info here.
Monthly Overlook Ride – 9:30 am at Stacks Coffeehouse (N) Join Overlook Neighborhood Association transportation chair Nic Cota for a tour of this wonderful north Portland neighborhood. See the fall leaves popping off while chatting with fellow Overlook residents. More info here.
Bike Train to See the Trains – 9:45 am at Holladay Park (NE) Did you hear TriMet is unveiling a brand new MAX train (the “Type 6”)? This ride is for transit lovers who want a sneak peek of the new trains. Ride will head down to SE Park Avenue MAX station in Milwaukie where TriMet is hosting an event. 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!
Bike lane outside the Heathman Hotel on SW Broadway and Salmon. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Heathman GM Laura Maldonado.
The historic Heathman Hotel in downtown Portland is in the midst of a comeback. After suffering major losses through the pandemic, it was purchased by a new owner in April and its restaurant just re-opened in June.
Among the changes at the Heathman is a new general manager and she wants to set the record straight: She and her team love the Broadway bike lane. Not only that, they want the hotel to be a welcome spot for bike lovers — be they tourists or locals.
Why should you care about a hotel? Because the Heathman is located on Southwest Broadway, where the City of Portland installed a protected bike lane in 2022 that has been the source of controversy ever since. In fact, less than two months after the new bike lane went in, the former general manager of the Heathman went to the local media with concerns about the bike lane and said she planned to install security cameras to monitor what she felt were inherently hazardous conditions.
But that was then, and this is now.
View of the bike lane and valet zone from a booth in the Heathman Tavern.
Amidst the Broadway bike lane scandal a few weeks ago, I received an email from someone at the Heathman saying their new general manager, Laura Maldonado, wanted to meet. Turns out, Maldonado was aware of the Heathman’s previously icy relationship with cycling and wanted to set the record straight.
I met Maldonado at their tavern Tuesday afternoon. We sat in a booth overlooking the valets and the Broadway bike lane.
“I don’t want to be misrepresented,” Maldonado said, behind a clear excitement for her role in bringing back the Hotel and the streetscape around it. “It’s a beautiful amenity for our guests and our associates, and it’s right in front of our hotel.”
To be clear, Maldonado and I both agreed that the current design of the bike lane leaves a lot to be desired. The Portland Bureau of Transportation did itself no favors when they built a bikeway on the most high-profile street in Portland on-the-cheap. The lack of quality materials and design has only fueled hoteliers’ ire and certainly contributes to poor behaviors by some people who use it.
On that note, Maldonado is hopeful that a forthcoming loading zone platform promised by PBOT will improve not just how people behave around the bike lane, but the general aesthetics of the street as well.
Despite design quibbles and a slight reduction in valet parking zone spaces, Maldonado cannot fathom why any hotel owner would want to get rid of the bike lane. Looking out onto the street as a mix of bike riders and drivers rolled by, she said, “I can’t put two and two together about why some people think it has to be one or the other — it can be both.”
Maldonado wants to make the Heathman a very bike-friendly hotel, a place that doesn’t just have a few bikes for guests to use; but where guests can have fun experiences on them. She asked me to help create a biking guide for their website and wants to create maps with fun and safe local routes. (Since the Heathman is so historic (it opened in 1927), I encouraged Maldonado to display one of our vintage bike maps somewhere in the lobby.)
The Heathman has much more than business to gain by making sure downtown streets are safe. Maldonado was eager to introduce me to their Head Chef Andrew Shedden. “He loves the bike lane!” she promised before he walked over in his apron.
“They can’t take that away,” Shedden said, nodding to the bike lane. “I use it every day to get to work.” Shedden rides from Jantzen Beach into downtown and understands the value of having a protected lane.
Shedden is also a big fan and customer of the nearby Farmer’s Market at the South Park Blocks. The Heathman has an event where Shedden walks to the market with hotel guests for a culinary tour. Hearing that, I invited Shedden to the weekly Farmer’s Market Ride. He’s looking forward to meeting more people in the local bike scene.
On that note, I have a feeling last night’s meeting was the start of a nice connection between the Heathman Hotel and Portland’s bike community. Maldonado told me she doesn’t want her establishment to be filled with only tourists and that having locals spend time in their iconic library room, tavern, and restaurant, is a key part of their future success. She even said the Heathman’s doors are wide open a BikePortland gathering of some sort in the future.
Stay tuned! And next time you ride by the Heathman, give the valets a ring of your bell and a nod.
— In related news, get ready to spend your morning at Bike Broadway Day on Friday. BikeLoud PDX will have free coffee and donuts to rally support and remind Portlanders that protected bike lanes are a public safety measure. Event details here.
— This story is by Jacob Loeb. It was first published by Montavilla News on October 10th.
Over the last two years, staff at Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) developed a plan to cultivate two new commercial centers for residents living south of SE Foster Road in the Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood. Out of that work and years of gathering community input, BPS drafted the Lower SE Rising (LSER) Area Plan to create community cores similar to what other Portland neighborhoods inherited. Through proposed zoning changes and transportation investments, the plan’s authors intend to incentivize future development that will create new walkable corridors lined with small businesses and multifamily housing.
Many of Portland’s neighborhoods feature commercial corridors with stores and restaurants clustered around main streets. As with Montavilla’s SE Stark Street and NE Glisan Street, most commercial districts centered on transportation hubs created by historic streetcar lines or major roads. Often, businesses coalesced in these spaces over 100 years ago. However, not all communities in the city had that historic commercial core before the automobile age shifted resources miles away from where people lived. City planners are now working to reduce reliance on personal vehicle travel and strengthen locale retail access within neighborhoods, creating environments where residents can walk or take transit to desirable destinations. In older areas, that takes less effort because a legacy organization of buildings already supports that effort. However, in some communities with predominantly post-war development, community intervention is needed to create the desired change.
The draft Lower SE Rising (LSER) Area Plan proposes turning SE 52nd and SE 72nd Avenues into mixed-use corridors with more housing options and commercial hubs at primary intersections in the Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood. The new commercial district on SE 72nd Avenue and Flavel Street extends towards SE 82nd Avenue, creating a more significant business district that links to a major arterial road. If the City Council approves the plan, zoning changes will be the first step towards instigating uses along the corridor. However, those changes only allow new commercial services and do not force property owners to make any changes unless completely redeveloping a site. Further enhancements are needed to draw people into these centers, spurring property transformation. As in the past formation of community hubs, transportation can attract people to a business district.
The plan’s authors propose street improvements, making it safer and more accessible for pedestrians to navigate and cross the busier roadways like SE 52nd, SE 72nd, and SE Woodstock. Additionally, the plan includes neighborhood greenway projects connecting the bicycle and pedestrian networks through this area. However, enhanced bus transit in this district offers a high likelihood for increased housing density and business growth while strengthening other centers. “One thing we’re finding is that the existing transit network didn’t really serve centers. For example, you cannot take a bus from the Woodstock neighborhood center to the Lents Town Center,” explained Bill Cunningham, a City Planner with BPS. Realigning bus routes and creating more frequent service between centers can provide the linkage needed for these fledgling business districts to take root. The LSER plan will integrate with future transit line adjustments underway as part of TriMet’s Forward Together plan to cultivate the desired change.
The Lower SE Rising (LSER) Area Plan is a response to community desires. It offers a chance to create a walkable and community-focused neighborhood similar to what Montavilla residents enjoy. The 172-page draft plan is available for public review. People can also use the Map App to leave written testimony and review what other people have contributed.
Planning Commission members voiced positive comments about the plan at their meeting yesterday, and will now deliberate for several weeks, as they take a closer look at the plan through November before forwarding their recommendations to the Portland City Council. The community will have other opportunities to provide comments during the City Council’s review sometime in spring 2024. If approved, substantial growth for the new could take decades of slow transformation. However, that slow change should help prevent sudden displacement while creating opportunities for micro businesses to sprout up in formerly residential buildings.
Current and future conditions on NE 148th and Sacramento in front of Margaret Scott Elementary School (lower left).
Like the parents of a child unable to safely use a dangerous toy, the Portland Bureau of Transportation is taking away two of the four general purpose lanes on Northeast 148th Avenue from car drivers. It’s a move any parent can relate to: Behave badly, get privileges taken away.
The street redesign currently under construction will update the striping on a half-mile section of NE 148th — from NE 146th Dr to Halsey. Despite the presence of Margaret Scott Elementary School at the intersection of 148th and Sacramento, PBOT traffic data shows that 86-93% of all drivers are going above the posted 35 mph speed limit. That’s over 5,500 cars per day speeding in front of a neighborhood school.
To make matters worse, the nearest marked crosswalk is a 10-minute walk away from the school.
This lack of safe infrastructure for walking and biking, combined with the selfishness and wanton disregard for other peoples’ safety displayed by so many drivers, gives PBOT all the justification they need for re-allocating road space (without even getting into the fact that our city’s adopted plans call for prioritizing walkers and bikers above car users).
In addition to reducing the number of general purpose lanes from four to two, the project (with funds from the Fixing Our Streets local gas tax) will build a new sidewalk on school grounds, update the bike lanes, and add a striped, median-protected crosswalk.
Existing conditions outside Margaret Scott Elementary School. View is looking southweste from NE 148th toward NE Sacramento.PBOT photo of new bike lane installation this week.Graphic: PBOT
Currently this stretch of 148th has standard-width (5-6 feet wide) buffered bike lanes. The new plans will create a much wider buffer zone. The bike lanes will remain paint-only, but the added separation and reduced driving space should lead to much less stressful conditions (and can be hardened in the future).
And because NE Sacramento (which is adjacent to the elementary school where the new sidewalk and crossing will be installed) is a future neighborhood greenway, PBOT will construct a two-way bike lane on the east side of 148th in order to facilitate crossing the off-set intersection. That short section of bike lane on 148th will include plastic curbs and flex-posts for separation.
PBOT says the decrease in driving space will also decrease speeding and the new lane configuration will match the existing, two-lane cross-section north of the project’s boundary on 148th.
On the project website, PBOT says a person walking in east Portland is 2.3 times more likely to be hit by a driver than a person walking in inner Portland. “East Portland’s wide streets have historically prioritized motor vehicle speed above everything else, including safety,” the site states.
This project is currently under construction. This week, PBOT crews had already begun striping the bike lane. Learn more at the project website.
— Note: The original design would have created a median-protected crossing on the south side of the Sacramento intersection, which would have connected it directly to the new sidewalk and school. I asked PBOT to explain why they changed the crossing location to the north side of the intersection. Here’s the response from Public Information Office Dylan Rivera:
“At first, we did plan to build an improved crossing of 148th on the south side of Sacramento, where the school campus is located, which would have required installing a median island in the left turn lane on 148th at Sacramento.
This is a school served heavily by school buses for transportation. Reynolds School District Transportation and Margaret School Elementary School management strongly preferred maintaining the left turn lane at Sacramento to facilitate school bus time reliability. We evaluated other options, like re-routing the buses, but ultimately decided to put the crossing on the north side of the intersection. Due to funding limitations, this project is installing an enhanced crossing with islands, lighting, and ramps on one side of Sacramento, but not both sides. The catchment boundary area of Margaret Scott Elementary school currently does not serve students from the east side of NE 148th.”
If you missed the recent Bike Town Hall ride, you’re in luck! In this episode, I share a few interviews I took while pedaling around southeast Portland, and snips of the remarks made by the various folks who spoke along the way.
Now that you’ve read the printed recap and browsed the photo gallery, grab some headphones and listen to the audio version. You’ll hear from: PBOT staff working on cool projects, a Portland Fire Captain on the valuable role of Portland Street Response, Oregon House Rep (and future Senator?) Khanh Pham, an east Portland advocate who speaks in his native Navajo, and more.
Listen in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts. Browse past episodes of the BikePortland Podcast here.
Lois Leveen at a protest outside Portland City Hall on August 7th, 2023. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Portlander Lois Leveen has published an opinion piece in The Oregonian that calls on local officials to get serious about what she feels is the root cause of our traffic safety crisis: drivers of motor vehicles.
“I love living in Portland. But I’m fed up with having my safety threatened every time I leave my home,” Leveen writes in an op-ed published Sunday.
Leveen is an author and health humanities expert who’s no stranger to elevating her voice for safe streets advocacy. You might recall her participation in the counter protest to Commissioner Mingus Mapps’ press conference back in August. At that event, in the plaza outside City Hall, Leveen repeatedly shouted down Mapps and other speakers.
Her opinion piece attempts to make the case that the real danger on our roads is not just drivers of cars, but the cars themselves. “Pedestrians and bicyclists are often perceived as those most vulnerable to death or injury at the hands of motorists, leading people to believe they are safest in a motor vehicle. Yet 32 of this year’s 49 deaths have been motor vehicle drivers or passengers,” Leveen writes.
As a remedy to what she refers to as, “vehicular violence,” Leveen says transportation leaders and elected officials should work together to ban right turns on red, create a citywide 20 mph speed limit, prohibit car parking at intersections to improve visibility, and use more automated enforcement cameras.
“If Portland is able to reconfigure streets to increase restaurants’ revenue with on-street dining spaces, surely we can reconfigure them to ensure public safety,” Leveen writes in the final sentence. Read the full opinion piece on The Oregonian’s website.
A memorial for Sarah Pliner, erected on a traffic pole on the southeast corner of SE 26th and Powell Blvd. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
One year ago this week, 50-year-old Portland chef Sarah Pliner was killed at the intersection of Southeast Powell Blvd and 26th.
Pliner was straddling her bike in the corner, likely several feet into the street on a mountable truck apron, when she realized the driver of a semi-truck pulling a 53-foot trailer was turning right.
The truck’s trailer veered onto the truck apron faster than Pliner could escape back to the sidewalk, and she was run over. It happened just before noon and there were several Cleveland High School students who saw it.
One of those students was a 15 year-old named Owl Brooke.
Five pages of the poem. Full text is below.
You might recall we shared Brooke’s testimony at a meeting of transportation officials held at Cleveland High two weeks after Pliner’s death. Brooke had also written a poem to Sarah that helped express her shock and grief about what they’d seen on October 4th.
One year later, the impact of Pliner’s death continues to linger in the minds of many — especially Brooke, who returned to the corner last week to post another poem. Brooke put the pages of the poem inside plastic covers along with a note that reads: “To whom it may concern, I wrote this poem for Sarah Pliner, who died on Powell St last year. You are welcome to read my poem. It’s sad, but I hope you like it.”
I’ve posted the full text of the poem below:
Apples, a poem for Sarah.
Hi, Sarah.
You died today. Well, not TODAY, but, today one year ago Although sometimes it only feels like seconds have passed by, since the day I watched you die, since, the day I Heard the sirens scream for you Because of you I notice them everywhere now. It’s so wild how a simple sound, can cause so much chaos in my brain I can’t complain, though, really At least I’m alive. At least I got to wake up today and take double the apples to school Double the apples Like I did on the day that you died, Leaning onto those apples like they were a safety line, the Only thing between me And insanity The only thing keeping my friends Alive. I’m realizing now that this will not be the perfect poem I wish I could encapsulate the mess my life has been since the day I saw you die But That’s way too hard, and I’m way too tired So it would seem It’s fine The first poem wasn’t perfect either Or the second. Neither was the first letter, or the second Thousands and thousands of minutes that I’ve spent Writing and writing to a woman who is Dead. You You, who I’m writing to right now Grief really is strange, isn’t it Sarah?
I wonder if Mr. Maus will find this poem I wonder if he’ll take two photos Real fancy And place them in an article, right next to a paragraph about me Like he did last year. And I wonder if, like last year, The article will mention those people I got up to talk to About you In front of news cameras at a meeting about safety A meeting to fix some of that deadly street’s problems, Problems that none of those people cared about until they resulted in someone’s death Resulted in your death. It’s so STUPID Sarah But anyway, there I was, in front of those people People working for companies whose acronyms sounded like they belonged above amongst my condiments, Right next to the PB and J I, spoke to them, Told them what I’d seen, Told them to please do something The article talked about that, Talked about how the room went silent when I spoke, Talked about how my voice rang through the crowd And then, there it was, My poem Scribbled onto two pages of notebook paper, And, down at the bottom, “Love you, Owl” No last name, but It was easy to match me up, with The kid who had gone up to speak You don’t meet many people named owl Sarah, I don’t know about you, But I don’t meet kids named Owl Unless I look into a mirror,
Sarah, I
Don’t know how to end this poem I could write to you for hours And I do Sometimes But, not today Otherwize, I fear my hand might Collapse Sarah, I still don’t know your favorite color I don’t know what songs made you smile, I, Don’t know if you danced in the rain or What kind of books made you laugh Or cry, I, Don’t know what kind of animals you liked, I, Don’t know if you like poetry like me, Or maybe you’reNothing like me. And that’s fine too, Sarah, I don’t know you And I never will And that’s so sad. I wish I did I wish you knew me But I do know that I can wear your favorite color today, Even if I don’t know it Kind of because the color black absorbs every color, so, sinse I’m wearing that One of them has to be right And I do know another thing I love you Even if I do not know you, will not know you, Even if I will even if you will never know me, Never know that my favorite color is pink, That I love all kinds of sweets and poetry, That I hate scary movies and I love D&D That October is my least favorite month, and I hate Tuesdays, because of you, and And Sarah you don’t know that, You’ll never know that, But despite everything,
It’s still true.
Hi, Sarah. You died today And I miss you, and I hope that you’re doing okay, and I wrote you another poem. It’s awfully long, but, I hope that you like it.
Love owl
Brooke’s words underscore the deep impact traffic deaths have on our community. The location and context surrounding Pliner’s death in particular, have led to changes and conversations that continue to reverberate. Stay tuned for a separate post about how she died, why it matters, and what has changed since.
Last week’s crowd on the patio. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
What’s up this week at Bike Happy Hour? I’m glad you asked.
So far we’ve got two special guests confirmed who will help us have a conversation about the exciting Urban Trails Network concept we shared last week. Two of the four creators of that plan, Mark Raggett and Nick Hodge, will join us. Mark is a 20-year veteran of the City of Portland Bureau of Planning & Sustainability who currently works at GBD Architects. He and Nick, along with two other co-workers, developed this concept as a side project and they’re glad to have finally set it free into the community.
Around 5:15 or so I’ll hop on the mic for a little chat with Mark and Nick and we’ll have a Q & A.
And our invitation to local political candidates is also open. So if you’re running for Portland City Council or mayor, I’ll be happy to give you some time on the mic — even if you’ve already stopped by!
And the mic will be open to anyone who has something to share (within reason, I reserve the right to cut people off). So, if you’re working on something cool and need help, or if you have an idea for a BikePortland story, or just something cool you think everyone should know about, step up and grab the mic.
Please let me know if you have something special to share at Happy Hour or if you have an idea about a fun theme! This is a community space that’s open to everyone.
Note that the weather is likely to be rainy and not great for the patio, so we’ll be at our alternate location across the street at Ankeny Tap & Table. We might be on the main floor instead of upstairs because it’s ADA accessible and has better air flow.
See you on 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 (includes non-alcoholic and coffee from Crema) BikeHappyHour.com – “See you Wednesday!”
The full group at Arleta Triangle Square. Scroll down for full gallery. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Can a story about how east Portlanders are working together to solve our city’s most daunting challenges be told in one afternoon on a bike ride?
That was the challenge organizers of the 14th annual Bike Town Hall accepted on Sunday, when they led about 70 people on a short route through the Mt. Scott and Lents neighborhoods that stopped for conversations and presentations on street corners, plazas, and nonprofit headquarters. And while they only scratched the surface of the impressive government and community-led efforts underway in this part of our city, everyone came away with a much better awareness of issues we face — and more importantly — who’s doing what to address them, and how to get involved.
The Bike Town Hall was first held in 2009. When Senator Michael Dembrow (then a House representative), and former Senator Jackie Dingfelder announced the inaugural event, they billed it as a “new kind of town hall” that would showcase their interest in bicycling and provide a perfect way to connect with community projects and constituents.
15 years later (they skipped 2020 due to Covid), the event is stronger than ever.
Left to right: Rep Khanh Pham, Rep Thuy Tran, and Sen Michael Dembrow.The start at Portland Mercado.
Dembrow has hosted all 14 town halls, but the Portland Democrat bid the event a “bittersweet” goodbye Sunday, since he’ll retire at the end of his current term. “Certainly, we could have gotten into cars to go from project to project,” he shared as he recalled the inspiration for the event in remarks before Sunday’s ride, “But that was not going to happen. We could have maybe walked; but that would have taken all day. And so biking just made the most sense.”
“We’re able to cover so much ground and learn so much in just two or three hours — getting up-close and personal to what people are doing, to confront challenges and to make this a better place,” he added.
Stops on the route featured speakers on the issues of community safety, public space, transportation, housing, economic development, climate change, and alternatives to policing.
Dembrow was one of three legislators who led Sunday’s ride. The others were House representatives Thuy Tran (District 45), and Khanh Pham (District 46).
Rep. Tran didn’t feel comfortable riding a bike, so she hopped inside a pedicab operated by Kiel Johnson of Go By Bike. “I hope to open this event up to folks who, because of health reasons or fear of fast traffic may not want to participate with us,” she said.
And Rep. Pham, who’s running to replace Dembrow in the Senate and will very likely win the seat, called the Bike Town Hall her favorite constituent event of the year.
“But just as important as the programs that we’re going to highlight [on the ride], it’s also the journey itself,” Pham told the crowd, at the Mercado. “We’re going to be able to see the state of our roads, the experience of bicyclists and pedestrians as they try to traverse this neighborhood… As a mom who tries to get her kid to school safely every single day, I know what it’s like for parents who are trying to provide that safe experience for their kids, but are have to dodge 40 mile per hour traffic and really dangerous streets.”
And with that, PSU Senior Fellow at the Center for Public Service Jeff Hammarlund grabbed the mic and reminded the crowd of the power of community by encouraging everyone to join him in the singing of “Step by Step” by Pete Seeger:
“Step by step, the longest march / Can be won, can be won / Many stones can form an arch / Singly none, singly none / And by union what we will / Can be accomplished still / Drops of water turn a mill / Singly none, singly none”
It was a fitting tune, as the ride’s itinerary included stops to learn about programs and projects that exemplify how individual Portlanders have stepped up and done big things, together.
The first stop was nearby Arleta Triangle Square, a former wide slip-lane and derelict traffic island overgrown with blackberry bushes that was transformed into a carfree community space last year. An effort that started with neighbors coming together in 2005, has resulted in a public plaza that has reduced vehicle-based gun violence and now hosts markets, dances, and live music.
City Council Candidate Steph Routh (left).Gathering at Arleta Triangle Square.Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood leader Matchu Williams. Housing developer Eli Spevak (green shirt). Senator Dembrow (yellow helmet) and Oregon PTA Legislative Director Otto Schell.
The group then rolled over to the corner of SE Woodstock and 77th where a Portland Bureau of Transportation planner shared details on the 70s Neighborhood Greenway project — a $5 million dollar investment (split by a state grant and City of Portland development charges) that will be partially complete by the end of December. And in about two years when it’s all done we’ll have a safer, lower-stress cycling connection from the Springwater to Cully Park in northeast.
From a public plaza that addresses gun violence and a transportation project that will encourage less car use, the ride continued with a stop to highlight affordable housing issues and homelessness at Path Home on SE 92nd. Path Home is a shelter that serves families that have experienced trauma and are unable to find stable housing. With over half of their clients under 18, this shelter served 66 families in 2022 and offers a comprehensive suite of services far beyond just a place to sleep.
A few blocks away on SE Foster and 91st, the group learned the value of local businesses and economic development. Leaders from the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), Rose Community Development, and East Portland Action Plan (EPAP) shared an update on their work. All three of these nonprofits say they will align on an effort to create a new tax increment financing (TIF) district in east Portland that will invest directly in their communities.
PBOT staffer Steve Szighety.APANO’s Allie Yee.Nick Sauvie with Rose CDC.JR Lilly from EPAP.
“We’ve seen the impact of what resources can do for a community,” said APANO Co-Executive Director Allie Yee, as she explained how working with business owners has built trust. “We’re seeing how this investment in community is building not just stabilization, but resilience and ownership of the broader community. And so we are really excited to see what the potential impact of larger TIF funding can be.”
JR Lilly, a member of the Navajo Nation who works on economic development for EPAP, pointed out how east Portland is one of the main employee bases for jobs in the Columbia Corridor — an industrial zone in northeast (between Lombard and the Columbia River). “It takes an average of 45 minutes to get to work, so there’s a big need for transportation infrastructure,” he said.
The group then rolled onto the I-205 path and across the freeway to Lent Elementary School to learn about how schools are battling climate change. Kat Davis, who works on climate justice for Portland Public Schools, explained her efforts to create “green school yards.”
“There’s a sea of asphalt back there,” Davis told the group, who had assembled in the street outside the school. “I think that that made sense at one point in time… and now we’re realizing that it’s actually not a great solution for our urban heat island effect.” Davis has received funding through the Portland Clean Energy Fund to plant trees and depave parts of PPS playgrounds.
Fire Cpt. Chris Starling.Gathering at Lents Park.
After the stop at Lent Elementary, the group rolled back over the Steele Street overcrossing of I-205 to the final stop at Lents Park where they heard about Portland Street Response, whose leader described what they do as, “Providing that critical linkage between the 911 call and behavioral health, social service, and mental health systems of care.”
Portland Fire & Rescue Captain Chris Starling was also on hand. He said the Lents fire station is one of the busiest in the city and the presence and help they receive from PSR is very important. “We can’t keep using the same [tool] for the same problem, because then we’re not getting the right results,” he said, when asked about how PF&R works with PSR. “We have to bring other players to the table, we have to look at different ideas on how to deliver the service that is needed.”
And then Cpt. Starling made an analogy he felt the crowd could relate to. “If your tire got a flat, you don’t call AAA. Everybody was calling us for everything that was broken. And we’re not always the answer.”
So, did the organizers succeed in their mission to tell a big story in just a few hours on a bike ride? Yes.
Of course the full story of Sunday’s event includes many more connections and conversations among friends old and new that this reporter isn’t privy to. “I think there’s just something about being together and the open air that I find really refreshing and energizing,” Rep. Pham shared with me while she pedaled her Rad Power e-cargo bike with her third-grade daughter seated in the rear. “On a bike, you stop and chat. And those are the kinds of community bonds that we’re going to need. That’s how we’re going to build resilience in the face of what are going to be really challenging times in the future.”
That may be true. But after being on Sunday’s ride and realizing all people working to make Portland a better place, the future seems a lot less gloomy.
More photos from the ride below:
City council candidates Robin Ye (left) and Steph Routh.State Rep Thuy Tran (hat) and Kiel Johnson pedaling the pedicab.Senator Dembrow (foreground) and Rep. Khanh Pham and Maya in the background.Crossing SE Foster Road.Rolling over the SE Steele St overpass of I-205.PBOT’s Greg Raisman leading the ride on the I-205 path.
BikePortland comments at their best were on display last week in response to our post about the “Urban Trails Network” idea put together as a labor of love by a team of designers frustrated over our city’s drop in cycling.
The outpouring of reader responses became a snapshot of the issues facing Portland cyclists, and included some informed sub-threads (I really liked the tree canopy discussion).
But it was Cyclekrieg’s series of four comments which grabbed my attention. Cyclekrieg does “traffic engineering” in Minnesota, and is a self-professed “Strong Towns” guy. He had some advice for active transportation advocates which I think we all need to hear. Basically, to successfully advocate for safer streets it helps to know something about the personality of, and constraints facing, the people who sign off on them.
All four of Cyclekrieg’s comments are worth reading, I’ll get you started with the first which was in response to another commenter:
I do traffic engineering and it’s not as simple an answer as you think to why roads are wider, like highways.
First, are the typical sections that cities have adopted. These often call out wider lane widths. Lane widths are #1 factor in why a road feels like you can go faster. As I harp on a lot here in BikePortland, typical sections are the key to changing how roads are built. (Which, side note here, is why the above plan is so interesting and feasible. It changes the sidewalk portion of the typical section.)
Second, funding often comes with requirements of certain set of standards. If you are getting funding that is from state, that means state DOT standards will have to be met. Same for federal funding. Those standards almost always include wider lanes.
Third, is political pressure from drivers. Nothing is angrier than a group of drivers that might have to go a wee bit slower. This is why enforcement often takes a backseat also.
I get it’s easier to believe spineless engineers are just hiding behind some book and not caring about the downstream effects. But we find ourselves shackled by politics, pre-built standards, funding, etc. A lot of this can be changed, but often isn’t because the advocate groups that could push these changes often don’t understand what needs to be changed. Other times they want massive revolutionary changes versus a steady stream of incremental changes, and they can’t convince others (voters, users, etc.) to go big, so nothing gets altered.
CycleKrieg’s comments (and the tree canopy discussion) got me thinking about PBOT’s Streets 2035 work. You might remember that Streets 2035 is a guide for resolving infrastructure constraints and competing needs in the right-of-way. It has an important graphic detailing the canopy, ROW width, stormwater treatment and sidewalk standards of different areas across Portland.
Thank you CycleKrieg and and everyone who contributed to this outstanding thread. You can read CycleKrieg’s comment in context here.
Here are the best stories from the past seven days you should know about, from sources you can trust…
Oh, Wisconsin: Lawmakers in Wisconsin are so afraid of seeing people ride bikes naked they want to pass a law that would make it illegal. I wonder if they realize how this protesting thing works: I guarantee if this law passes, Madison will have the largest naked bike ride in the world the following year. (Men’s Journal)
Goodbye Cross-Check: One of the most ubiquitous bikes in Portland, the Surly Cross-Check, has been discontinued by its manufacturer after a quarter-century run as a stalwart, beloved, do-anything rig. (Velo News)
Noise pollution is a thing: I live right next to a freeway on-ramp and have become radicalized to the idea that people should be punished for loud engine revving. A neighborhood in Manhattan has installed a device that issues sound citations. (Guardian)
You get what you spend for: An analysis of spending by California’s DOT found that less than 20% of its investments were aligned with their own climate and transportation goals. Would love to see someone do a similar analysis for Oregon. (NRDC)
Shrink roads, build housing: Last week we shared the Urban Trails Network concept that would use existing road space to create active transportation infrastructure. And now this: There are efforts afoot to reclaim roads to build housing. (Fast Company)
Want a huge truck or SUV? Pay for it!: Be still my beating heart… The Colorado legislature is considering a bill that would charge people an extra fee for cars and trucks over a certain weight. It’s one of the first efforts to address car bloat or “autobesity” and I hope Oregon lawmakers take note. (Colorado Public Radio)
Singapore isn’t messing around: On a related note to the above item, it now costs at least $76,000 for a 10-year “certificate of entitlement” — a requirement if you want to drive a car in Singapore (although I fear that in the U.S. if we did that some rich folks would pay for it and then drive like even bigger assholes as they flash their certificate around like a badge). (CNN)
DOT whistleblower: Now this is how you work the inside game. An ex-advocate worked their way up into Caltrans (California’s DOT) and spoke truth about their freeway expansion plans, only to get demoted for speaking against the party line. (Politico)
Affordable housing and bike parking: A former member of Portland’s Bicycle Advisory Committee says the city’s overly-prescriptive bike parking rules for housing developers reduce overall unit production and push up rent prices. (Forbes)
Biking down? Of course it is: If you are a regular bike rider in any major American city, the bad biking stats of late will come as no surprise. And the response should be to improve infrastructure, not give up on cycling. (Jalopnik)
15-minute cities: Creating more neighborhoods where people can live, work, play and shop in close proximity is essential for the survival of the human species on planet earth — so people who think it’s a conspiracy theory should not be taken seriously. But I digress. This is a good summary of the 15-minute city concept and the absurd pushback it tends to receive. (NPR)
Cycling and downtown revitalization: Good to see that bicycling advocates are a big part of the conversation around how best to revitalize an important street in downtown San Francisco. Take note Commissioner Mapps! (ABC SF)
At long last, Portland appears to have broken through its automated enforcement camera logjam.
On Thursday, just as we teased out back in March, the Portland Bureau of Transportation announced that 11 new cameras are currently in operation since we last checked in on this issue and that eight more will be issuing citations by the end of this year. And that’s not all: at least 12 more cameras will come online in 2024.
“With more traffic enforcement, we can send a strong signal that the reckless driving we’ve all seen in recent years is unacceptable in Portland,” said the city commissioner in charge of PBOT, Mingus Mapps, in a statement.
PBOT is installing two types of cameras: one that snaps photos and sends citations to folks driving well over the speed limit (typically the threshold is 11 mph over), and another used at intersections that enforces both speed and traffic signal compliance.
Updated camera location map.
Despite the widespread public and political support for cameras as a safety tool, Portland’s implementation of them has lagged. As of our story back in March, PBOT had only installed nine cameras at five locations since 2016. Officials have blamed everything from contractor and supplier issues, to design problems, vandalism, and electrical challenges for the delay.
Commissioner Mapps has been a very strong supporter of cameras and promised to double the number of cameras in an interview with BikePortland earlier this year. It looks like he’ll meet that goal. “In total, the city will soon operate 40 safety cameras throughout Portland,” PBOT said in a statement yesterday.
PBOT has also released an updated map (above) that shows the locations of all current and future cameras. See the list of new and upcoming locations below:
“The cameras do have limits and your question raises the importance of continued enforcement with trained staff,” Rivera said (note that Portland can now use non-police staff to review citations and is currently staffing up to do that). “There’s really not much that cameras can do to address multiple violations.”
Rivera added that these cameras are just one tool the city uses to slow people down and reduce dangerous driving behaviors. ” We are also partnering with Portland Police, educating people about the impact of speed, and changing street designs to reduce vehicle speeds,” he said.
And what about those folks who try to hide from cameras? Rivera says they’ll use PBOT’s parking enforcement officers to catch those folks.
Learn more about PBOT’s enforcement camera program on their website.
