The beginning of a new month is a good time to check the BikePortland Advocacy Calendar. Make sure to bookmark it and check back because I am always finding new events to list. If you forgot, I use this calendar for all the wonky government and advocacy meetings that you don’t see listed on the Shift Calendar (or anywhere else!).
Now let’s get you caught up on the most notable stories I came across in the past seven days. Thanks to everyone who suggested links this week.
Moral panic: About a dozen of you sent me this unfortunate article that fails to provide a clear distinction between illegal and dangerous e-motos and e-bikes while using a tragic crash to pull readers in. It’s just the latest article that carelessly blurs the line between e-motos and e-bikes and will likely result in bad laws and policies that hurt kids, scare parents, and tilt scales even further toward a car-based society. (NY Times Magazine 🔒)
E-bike/e-moto regulation: On a similar note to the item above, this piece offers a good summary of where e-bike and e-moto regulations are across the U.S. (Daily Kos)
More housing = better cycling: Turns out that ideas like inclusionary zoning actually work when they are funded like they should be. Portland’s program is finally bearing fruit after a boosted budget enticed developers to build bigger. (Sightline)
Concern trolling: Republicans in the U.S. Senate claim advanced safety features in cars should not be mandated and they cite affordability as the reason. Wonder if it has anything to do with the automobile lobby? (Wall St. Journal 🔒)
Group ride guide: Looking for comprehensive information about how to lead and participate in a quality group bike ride? Look no further that this Seattleite’s blog. (Jeremy Cole Blog)
Bike bus cover story: A local independent weekly takes a deep dive into the work of Sam “Coach” Balto and ponders the staying-power of the bike bus movement he helped spark. (Willamette Week)
How we ride: New research on bicycle trips goes beyond the work commute and takes into account how bicycle riders react to everyday journeys like running errands with multiple destinations. (Tech Xplore)
Bike for your brain: A study showed that, “even just 12 weeks of cycling can sharpen your brain, improve your focus, and enhance how well you manage distractions and control impulses.” (The Manual)
Keep riding: A wonderful opinion piece from an older woman who shares what it’s like when people assume she can’t do things (like ride with no hands) and why doing them makes her feel so good. (Boston Globe 🔒)
Keep riding, part two: As it gets colder here in Portland, remember that there’s no reason to stop riding just because it’s winter. This article from a place where snow is common offers good advice and inspiration. (Vermont Biz)
Portland Police say someone was hit by a car driver and killed while walking in the Richmond Neighborhood this morning.
According to the police statement, it happened around 5:30 am at the intersection of SE Cesar Chavez and SE Harrison. Here’s more from the statement: “When they arrived, they found a crash involving a vehicle and a pedestrian. Portland Fire & Rescue confirmed that the pedestrian died at the scene. The involved driver remained at the scene.”
SE Harrison is just one block north of a popular neighborhood greenway bike route on SE Lincoln. Calle Cesar Chavez is a high-volume arterial with a 30 mph speed limit, four general travel lanes and a notorious history of fatal crashes. Back in January, another car user hit and killed Tuyet Nguyen as she walked near Cesar Chavez and SE Cora — a location with a very similar profile as this morning’s fatal. One week after Nguyen’s death, a driver was given a citation for failing to stop for a pedestrian a mile north of SE Harrison near Laurelhurst Park. In 2023, a driver struck and killed Jeanie Diaz as she waited at a bus stop at Cesar Chavez and SE Belmont. And in 2021, Austin Boyd was killed by a driver as he walked near Chavez and SE Clinton.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation has said they are working on a project that would update Cesar Chavez with a safer lane configuration between Powell and Holgate. At a Richmond Neighborhood Association meeting following the tragic death of Jeanie Diaz, PBOT Traffic Engineer Wendy Cawley told attendees PBOT would consider striping Cesar Chavez with fewer lanes for driving. While a PBOT spokesperson told BikePortland back in February that a project page was imminent, I don’t see that page published yet and I’m not aware of any updates.
Police haven’t released details of this morning’s fatal crash. I’ll share more once I learn more. This is the 37th fatal traffic crash in Portland so far this year, and the 14th that involved a pedestrian.
UPDATE, 11:28 at 2:05 pm: Police have identified the victim as 87-year-old Grey Wolfe of Portland.
The burgers at Migration from Pápa’s Frita are sooo good. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Just a quick note about tomorrow: Yes, I will be hosting Bike Happy Hour. And everyone is welcome to join us for a special friendsgiving. My mom and stepdad will join us too!
Migration Brewing and their food partner Pápa’s Frita will be serving up a special meal that comes with a burger, side, and a drink for $20. We’ll all order and try to eat together around 5:30. If you have anything to share for centerpieces, that’d be nice. I’ll bring some candles and lap blankets to keep us cozy.
That’s tomorrow, Wednesday, November 26th from 3-6:00 pm (eat at 5:30) at Migration Brewing on N Williams Avenue. Enter from the alleyway between N Failing and Shaver. I look forward to seeing you!
A Rad Power bike on N Williams Avenue in September. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Seattle-based e-bike company Rad Power Bikes is the subject of a serious warning issued Monday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Rad Power has issued their own statement that “strongly disagrees” with the government statement. Rad Power is one of the largest e-bike brands in North America with thousands of customers in the Portland region. Note this is a warning and not a recall. The CPSC says they tried to perform a recall, but Rad Power has “refused to agree to an acceptable recall.”
In a press release, the CPSC said people who own certain models of Rad Power batteries should, “immediately” stop using them, “because the batteries pose a risk of serious injury and death.” The specific battery model numbers are; RP-1304 and HL-RP-S1304.
Here’s more from the CPSC:
“The hazardous batteries can unexpectedly ignite and explode, posing a fire hazard to consumers, especially when the battery or the harness has been exposed to water and debris. CPSC is aware of 31 reports of fire, including 12 reports of property damage totaling approximately $734,500. Some of these incidents occurred when the battery was not charging, the product was not in use, and the product was in storage.
The batteries were sold with the following Rad Power Bikes e-bike models and as replacement batteries: RadWagon 4, RadCity HS 4, RadRover High Step 5, RadCity Step Thru 3, RadRover Step Thru 1, RadRunner 2, RadRunner 1, RadRunner Plus, and RadExpand 5. The battery model number (HL-RP-S1304 or RP-1304) is printed on a label on the back or rear of the battery. The batteries were sold on RadPowerBikes.com and at Best Buy stores and independent bike shops nationwide for about $550 (replacement batteries) or between $1,500 and $2,000 (when sold with e-bikes).”
(Images: CPSC warning notice)
The CPSC says if you have one of these batteries you should remove it from the bike and dispose of the battery in accordance with local hazardous waste procedures. The CPSC says Rad Power has refused to agree to acceptable recall mitigations and that “given its financial situation, Rad Power Bikes… is unable to offer replacement batteries or refunds to all consumers.” Just two weeks ago, news reports detailed that Rad Power could be forced to shut down in January if they were unable to secure new funding and ownership. Read the full CPSC recall notice here.
In response to the warning, Rad Power says they stand behind their batteries and, “strongly disagrees with the CPSC’s characterization of certain Rad batteries as defective or unsafe.” “Reputable, independent third-party labs tested Rad’s batteries, both as part of our typical product testing and again during the CPSC investigation,” the statement continues, “and confirmed compliance with the highest industry standards. Our understanding is that the CPSC does not dispute the conclusions of these tests. It is also our understanding that the battery itself was not independently examined per industry-accepted test standards.”
Rad Power claims that the CPSC has taken battery issues out of context. “The incident rate associated with the batteries in the CPSC’s notice is a fraction of one percent,” Rad Power says. The company goes on to explain that e-bike batteries post inherent risks when not stored or used properly. Read Rad Power’s full statement, here.
Risks of e-bike battery explosions and fires have simmering in the bike industry for years — but nearly all publicized cases have happened to lower-priced batteries from unregulated manufacturers. Even so, I know of at least one local e-bike shop that has very meticulous battery storage methods, including a fireproof metal locker placed outside their retail building.
Asked for battery safety advice, The eBike Store shared the tips below:
Look for UL approval.
Only charge battery when it’s at room temp.
Don’t charge unattended.
Don’t leave battery plugged into charger indefinitely.
Try to keep between 20-80% charge when possible.
Don’t drop it.
Don’t use an aftermarket or unapproved charger.
After a crash or drop, let the battery sit for seven days in a non-flammable area.
Portland’s grassroots response to the challenging problem of leaves in bike lanes continues to evolve. At a virtual meeting hosted by a local bike advocacy group tomorrow, folks will come together to brainstorm new ways to scale up the effort.
BikeLoud PDX is organizing the meeting and it comes after years of testing ways of empowering local cyclists to pick up leaves, gravel, and other debris themselves. While the City of Portland has improved their response to the annual slippery mess in recent years by purchasing smaller sweepers and investing in the staff to operate them, there are simply too many leaves for city workers to clean up. And the annual Leaf Day Pickup program has made the problem even more acute as hundreds of property owners intentionally blow and rake leaves into bike lanes in advance of pickup by city crews (despite education efforts by the transportation bureau).
To combat the problem, Portlanders have begun sweeping lanes themselves — and the technology and ingenuity have advanced considerably in the past few years. In 2018 BikePortland shared one local man’s invention that attached several swiveling brooms onto a bike trailer. It was a valiant prototype, but something with more sweeping power was needed.
Then in 2022 I highlighted an invention from Californian Pierre Lermant. He’d just completed a working prototype of his Bike Lane Sweeper product and he reached out to BikePortland to see if any local groups wanted to test one out. BikeLoud answered the call.
Fast forward three years and BikeLoud has worked closely with Lermant (and his partner Cedric Everleigh) to help push the design of the Bike Lane Sweeper forward. BikeLoud also loans out the sweeper and maintains an active online communication platform where volunteers coordinate locations and other details. Other local sweeping technology has evolved as well.
One year ago I introduced you to Michael Reiss, a BikeLoud volunteer who embraced the challenge and has been working on various sweeper prototypes of his own ever since. Reiss maintains a website for BikeLoud’s sweeping program that includes specifications of all the sweeping contraptions he’s built, a how-to guide for using the Bike Lane Sweeper, and a map where he marks off routes that have been swept.
With years of testing and use under their belts, BikeLoud and their amazing volunteers are confident the sweepers work. They also know there’s demand for them all over the city. All that’s missing are more volunteers and a sustainable budget to keep the wheels turning.
Tomorrow (Tuesday, November 25th), BikeLoud is hosting their first meeting, “to discuss a sweeper budget and ideas for increasing sweeping efficiency.” The goal is to inspire more folks to create sweeping devices of their own and/or to buy more bike lane sweepers.
This is an exciting niche in the bike advocacy world that’s really poised for growth. If you’re intrigued, attend tomorrow’s Sweeper Zoom, join BikeLoud’s Slack channel and/or stay tuned to BikePortland for updates.
He’s done it again. First he convinced global pop icon Justin Timberlake to ride in the Alameda Elementary School Bike Bus, then it was singer-songwriter Benson Boone. And now Portlander Sam “Coach” Balto is enjoying another mainstream culture collab with Netflix and their hit show Stranger Things.
It’s all part of Netflix’s big promotional push in advance of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things which debuts November 26th. Balto was sworn to secrecy about the exciting collab, but I was able to talk with him about it over the weekend.
Stranger Things and the bike bus are a natural fit, Balto said, because of how the show taps into the 1980s era when more kids rode bikes freely through neighborhoods:
“All of their adventures start and happen on bikes. And so bikes are a big part of the show. There’s this sense of adventure and independence and opportunity and autonomous children just being able to go and meet up with their friends.”
“Something has happened between the 80s and now, and the bike bus movement is really working on reconnecting those foundational, really core moments that are created with bikes and with your friends. And so it was just really amazing that the Stranger Things Netflix group saw that connection as well and really wanted to bring the bike bus in to promote the final season of Stranger Things…. they’re going all-in on the bike adventure.”
Watch the video above or on our YouTube channel to learn all about the collab, how the bike bus movement has “captured the cultural zeitgeist” and more.
Things will be slow around here this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. I’ve got family in town and I probably won’t be working full days again until next Monday.
I hope you can join us Wednesday for a special Friendsgiving Bike Happy Hour at Migration Brewing on North Williams Avenue. We’ll eat together around 5:30 and the folks at Migration are offering a $20 meal (burger, drink and a side) deal for us. Sweet plantains for desert!
Below are the most notable stories I came across in the past seven days. Thanks to everyone who suggested links this week.
Best of the worst: Portland earned the top ranking of all U.S. cities with its 35th place in a global report on bike-friendly cities. We placed 11th worldwide when this list first came out in 2011. (Copenhagenize)
Clarity about a crisis: It’s infuriating that we have such a clear grasp of how many people are being killed by drivers on dangerous roads, and the response from the system feels like a huge shrug. We all need to be more aggressive in how we talk and organize around this public safety crisis. (Washington Post)
Free transit works (in Iowa City): “Since the fare-free program began, people in Iowa City have driven 1.8 million fewer miles and emissions have fallen by 24,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, the same as taking 5,200 vehicles off the roads.” (NY Times)
Wout’s vision: I like that Belgian cycling superstar Wout Van Aert spent time in the U.S. and is now encouraging us to build a stronger business around professional cycling. Unfortunately, American’s won’t care about road cycling until we can cycle safely on our roads. If bike brands invested as much into advocacy as they did into R&D, there would be more people buying their expensive parts. (Velo/Outside)
Case in point: If you think the above item is out of line, see this story about an avid roadie who’s decided to stop riding because he’s so spooked. (I know it’s from the U.K., but they have a similarly dysfunctional driving culture). (Bike Radar)
Native trails: Indigenous people are turning their land into economic assets by developing trails — including many ambitious bike path projects across the country — into tourism hotspots. (BBC)
Induced evaporation: I love this deep dive into a bridge in London closed to cars due to structural problems. After it became used only by bicycle riders, predicted traffic chaos never happened and about 9,000 auto trips simply vanished forever. (Nick Maini on Substack)
High cost of bike share: The steep cost of using New York City’s Citibike has some advocates pushing for public subsidies of the wildly successful transportation mode. (Streetsblog NYC)
When I experienced the bike path through the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for the first time in 2013, I was awe-struck. I called it (along with the Hovenring bike bridge in nearby Eindhoven) one of the two “wonders of the bicycle world” and it remains one of the coolest pieces of bike infrastructure I’ve ever seen.
I would have never expected to have something similar here in my own city; but with the opening of the Portland Art Museum’s (PAM) new Rothko Pavilion Thursday, the unexpected has become reality. Portland has added an amazing piece of civic architecture-slash-transportation infrastructure to the Central City that belongs right up there with Pioneer Square, the Aerial Tram, and the Tilikum Bridge. Officially named the Pat and Trudy Ritz Passageway, the tunnel pierces a new glass pavilion that connects two museum buildings and allows walkers and rollers to move freely between SW Park and SW 10th avenues. The design also allows passersby to peer into museum galleries, while visitors inside can watch tunnel traffic as they walk across the skybridge between the two buildings.
The tunnel is a triumph and stands as a powerful demonstration of Portland’s commitment to walking and biking. But what’s most remarkable (and mostly forgotten) is that it almost never happened and was not part of the initial plans.
When PAM first shared designs of the Rothko Pavilion expansion in 2016, there was no tunnel through it. As word spread, local residents and biking and walking advocates voiced concerns about how the pavilion would cut off access across the former plaza. In early 2017, I began to report on those concerns and opposition to PAM’s plans grew. Museum leaders incorrectly assumed that Portlanders would happily trade public plaza access for a major upgrade to this important institution. They were wrong. Local residents, advocates, and even City of Portland planning commissioners, attached great value to the permeability of that plaza and PAM’s attempt to change the public easement through the property that had existed since 1968 was met with stiff resistance. Once plans to close access to the plaza became widely known, the city’s bicycle and pedestrian advisory committees came out in opposition against it and pushback at its first city council hearing was so stiff, a decision on the design was delayed.
In response, PAM came up with a new plan in November of 2017 they hoped would quell resistance. PAM Director Brian Ferriso even attended a PBOT Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting to ask for support from cycling advocates. Unfortunately for PAM, the proposal didn’t go far enough because it still closed off the plaza and would only allow people to walk bikes through an enclosed pavilion structure.
Ferriso tried to convince BAC members that the tradeoff would be worth it: Yes, folks would have to walk through the museum to get across the block, he explained; but in exchange they’d get a major investment into the museum. But biking and walking advocates weren’t having it. Former BAC member Chris Achterman told Ferriso, “If this is a door, that’s not going to work. I hope that as you approach this project you see it as Portland’s version of the Rijksmuseum.”
Nearly one year after that BAC meeting, PAM and Ferriso finally relented, the tunnel proposal emerged, the advocates were satisfied, and Portland got its version of the Rijksmuseum tunnel.
I got chills Thursday as the gentle downhill grade pushed me and my bike into the glass gallery. Nodding and smiling at others who seemed similarly smitten with this novel passageway, I recalled the effort it took and the people who spoke up to make it a reality.
As I stopped to prep for another ride through, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson walked by. He wasn’t aware of the tunnel’s history, but he knew it was cool. “I’m so glad we have it,” he said as he walked through it with the excited urgency you’d expect from a mayor who’d just cut the ribbon on something that will help his efforts to revitalize downtown. “It’s extraordinary. This is what you talk about as far as urban living — where you bring the active transportation into the actual cityscape. It’s what makes a community a community. You look to to your right and you’re actually in a museum while you’re going down a city street. It’s brilliant.”
By “city street” Wilson was referring to SW Madison, which was closed off at SW Park in 1968 to build the museum. That closure came with a condition that the museum would maintain a public easement through the plaza. It was that easement PAM officials initially wanted to change, and that the new tunnel keeps constant.
In addition to the new passageway, there’s a new bike parking area on the SW Park side that has four stainless steel staple racks. When I noticed a very proud and well-dressed woman taking photos in front of a plaque nearby that read, “Barbara Bours Brady Bike Bay,” I figured she was likely the donor. Sure enough, it was Brady. Turns out Brady is an avid cyclist who’s logged over 130,000 miles as a member of the Portland Bicycling Club since the 1980s.
“I’ve cycled for many, many years and I wanted people to have a place to park their bikes so they didn’t have to drive their cars in downtown Portland, including myself!” Brady, a long time museum donor and resident of downtown, told me Thurdsay. “I have to get some dressy black pants so I can bike up here and if I get a little grease on them it won’t matter!” she added.
Judging by the crowded racks on Thursday, she won’t be the only one. The new pavilion — and the tunnel that runs through it — appear to be an instant hit.
— Go check out this fantastic addition to the museum and bike and/or walk through a tunnel a few times. Access to the museum is free through Sunday, November 23rd. See PAM’s website for more info.
PBOT is looking to replace plastic with concrete on NW/SW Broadway.
Despite an uncertain budget and a new form of government that has had growing pains, the Portland Bureau of Transportation is still managing to pump out exciting projects that will dramatically improve how we get around.
Christmas came early for bus and bike riders with the new lanes on Southwest 4th Avenue, which — if weather holds — could be completed all the way to Burnside before the end of the year. But that’s just the tip of the handlebar. At Tuesday night’s Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting, PBOT Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller shared an update on several other projects that come with significant bicycle infrastructure elements.
Below are several project updates from our cycling Santas at PBOT:
NW/SW Broadway Streetscape Project
“We went from potentially removing these bike lanes a number of years ago, and now we’re going to make them more permanent.” That’s how Geller described PBOT’s new project to further harden and improve the existing bike lanes on Northwest and Southwest Broadway. This vital biking corridor between the Broadway Bridge and Portland State University was threatened with a major downgrade in 2023, but we saved it and now it’s slated to get even better.
The plan is to further harden the existing design by replacing many of the ugly, flimsy, plastic delineator wands with concrete curbs, medians, and planters. Geller said they’ve got about $550,000 to do the work. Construction is expected to begin next summer. Check the project website for more info.
N Willamette Active Transportation Corridor Project
Great news on this one: PBOT has confirmed construction has begun (actually demolition, but you know what I mean)! “This is going to be a fantastic project,” Geller said Tuesday night. This $6 million, federally-funded project will transform North Willamette Blvd from the busy, car-centric hellscape it has become, into a biking and bus riding paradise. Protected bike lanes will be built from N Rosa Parks Way all the way up to N Richmond in St. Johns. Because PBOT is using federal funds, they must get all the money out the door and have construction complete by September 2026. Let’s f’ing goo!!
The only bad news here is that the work zones around the demo and construction might make traveling on Willamette challenging in the months to come. “It’ll be ugly for a little while,” Geller warned. See the official project page for more info updates.
Southwest Terwilliger Connections
PBOT is tagging onto a sewer project to do some street updates that include a safer and better bike path and sidewalk on SW Terwilliger between Sam Jackson Park Rd and SW Sheridan. Geller said design is underway for this project and it’s expected to be built in spring 2027.
There’s also interest to extend the bike and pedestrian connection about 0.2 miles west on Sam Jackson up to the Marquam Nature Park trailhead, but funding for that portion of the project remains uncertain.
When I last reported on this project back in May, the new sidewalk and bike path was only slated to be built along Duniway Park. But PBOT has secured an additional $470,000 in Fixing Our Streets funding to extend a protected bike lane on Terwilliger (toward downtown) all the way to Sheridan. In the outbound direction, Geller said they’ll build a wider, buffered bike lane at first and will plan to come back later and add concrete for more protection.
Geller added that PBOT will also invest $350,000 on a project to connect Terwilliger to the new protected bike lane on SW 4th. When I shared a video on the SW 4th project, many folks complained that connecting to where it starts at SW Caruthers was not easy or safe. For more on this project, check out my story from 2024 and stay tuned.
SW 6th Avenue
Back in January I reported that a repaving project for SW 6th over I-405 to SW Jackson would come with new striping that finally improves this route for bicycling. Unfortunately PBOT crews restriped the newly paved road without those changes. PBOT has acknowledged the mistake and is working on a design that will extend the bike lane on SW 6th through this area. Geller said we can expect this to be complete, “early next spring.”
Jade and Montavilla Multimodal Improvements Project
Geller said this project is substantially complete. PBOT has build new protected bike lanes on SE Washington Street from 74th to 92nd (just before I-205 path). Those bike lanes connect to new bike lanes on SE Thorburn that go up to E Burnside. For more on the Jade/Montavilla project, see project website. Geller said the new bike lanes on Washington will eventually be extended all the way east to the Portland city limits as part of the forthcoming SE Stark & Washington Safety Project.
SW Bertha Blvd
Geller said PBOT has finished design of a project that they hope will include protected bike lanes on SW Bertha between Barbur and Vermont. Right now they’ve got $200,000 in the bank and it sounds like they’re looking for more to make the protected bike lanes a reality. Construction is expected to begin spring 2026. Learn more on the project page.
NE Halsey Safety and Access to Transit
PBOT is currently building this project which includes a two-way protected bike lane on the south side of NE Halsey between 80th and 92nd. It’s expected to be in construction through July 2026. This will connect to another project that will reconstruct the NE Halsey and 92nd intersection and build two-way buffered bike lanes between NE Jonesmore and 92nd. Just south of I-84, PBOT is also building a mini-roundabout on Halsey where the overpass meets NE 81st and 80th. Learn more at the project website.
NE 148th From Halsey to Powell
PBOT recently earned a $7.1 million grant from Metro to build new crossings, bike lanes and improve transit access on NE 148th between Halsey and Powell. Geller said the bike lanes are expected to be a mix of buffered and protected designs. Final design is to be determined, so check the project website and stay tuned for opportunities to weigh in.
It’s so exciting to see all these projects in motion. Later in Tuesday’s meeting, Bicycle Advisory Committee Chair Jim Middaugh said PBOT’s work on these projects is yet another sign of Portland’s comeback:
“I think all of us know bikes really are going to be part of the solution — from climate perspective, economic recovery perspective, from an equity perspective. Bikes were what one of the major things that made Portland cool and really competitive at one point, and I think they’re going to be a key part of doing that again.”
Me too!
Stay tuned for updates and more coverage of all these projects.
I’m excited to announce that BikePortland will once again host BikeCraft. After a five-year hiatus for the event, the 16th edition of this bike-inspired holiday gift faire will happen at Migration Brewing on N Williams Avenue from 2:00 to 8:00 pm.
Before I go any further, please indulge my need to reminisce…
Me and a friend (hi Michael!) welcoming folks to the first BikeCraft in December 2005. That little baby in my sling has graduated college and lives on her own now.
It wasn’t long after I launched BikePortland in early 2005 that I realized our city was full of makers and artisans whose creations were inspired by bikes and the people who ride them. I was so inspired by the people I was meeting in the community and the websites I was finding (this was long before social media existing, so you would actually scour the Internet for things you liked and then create “blog rolls” of your favorites) that I wondered: What if we put all this amazing creative bicycling energy under one roof, for one night? Imagine what it would say about Portland’s bike culture if we could have our own holiday market!
So I found a large coffee shop in a central location willing to host us for free, and put out the call. I didn’t charge vendors and it was free to get in and I no idea if anyone would show up. And despite it being a very cold and icy night, hundreds came through the door. I recall being so happy to see all the bike people in one room. All kinds of cool products and crafts emerged that night — people sold things I’d never even seen before, some folks made new things just for the event, and others sold out of everything they brought. We had a poetry reading, a freakbike weapons demonstration by Dingo the Clown, and I talked so much for so long, my voice was hoarse by the end of the night.
I’m convinced there was no other city on the globe in 2005 that could have hosted such an event.
After that first magical night in 2005, I organized it the next five years and it grew a lot. We moved into bigger venues and it became a huge thing. The quality and variety of items was astounding. I’m talking really cool bags, hats, racks, artwork, jewelry, saddle covers, fenders, mud flaps, fashion, terrariums (!), sculptures, clocks, and so much more — and it was all either made out of bike parts or inspired by cycling. In 2011 I sold the event to some local guys who wanted to do even cooler things with it (including an e-commerce element that I had always dreamed about but never pulled off). Those new owners did it for five years. The event took a year off (2016) and then my friends Elly Blue and Joe Biel of Microcosm Publishing took it over in 2017 and ran the event for three years until its last run in 2019.
This year will be the 16th edition of BikeCraft and we’re bringing it back to the grassroots with a small list of vendors and a small venue to test the waters. If it goes well, we will consider changes next year.
Finally, I want to give credit to my friend Max for the BikeCraft rebirth. She’s the one who urged me to do it and convinced me over weeks of conversations at Bike Happy Hour — and has done all the organizing. Max (aka “Lady Max”) is the maker behind Flat Tire Creations and she’s gathered a group of vendors that should make for a really fun night of shopping and socializing.
So mark your calendars for December 17th and stay tuned for the full list of vendors and more details in the coming days and weeks.
NE 7th Avenue right now, after workers blew leaves into the bike lane. (Photo sent in by a reader)
Welcome to being-pissed-off-about-leaves-in-bike-lanes season. Last night I sympathized with my former colleague (now Portland Mercury reporter) Taylor Griggs after learning she took a nasty spill on leaves while using the bike lane on Northeast 7th Avenue (see below). At the same time, I happened to be watching Portland’s bicycle coordinator share an update on bike lane maintenance.
Portland Bureau of Transportation Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller shared a brief presentation on this very popular topic at the monthly meeting of the Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) last night. He gave an update on the $10 million bike lane sweeping initiative PBOT has been working on. As I reported back in February, PBOT won a grant from the Portland Clean Energy Benefits Fund (PCEF) that gives them $2 million per year for five years to keep bike lanes clean.
That funding is being used to purchase two big-ticket items: a new bike lane cleaning team and tools to do the work. Specifically, those tools include: a new fleet of battery-powered, bike lane-sized sweepers and leaf blowers for those hard to reach places.
I have written a lot about the perils of poorly maintained (and leaf-filled) bike lanes. That didn’t stop me from wiping out in one just now, falling on my face and scraping up my knee pretty badly. This is a truly hazardous situation, @pbotinfo.bsky.social. When are you going to do something?
Slides shown at BAC meeting last night. Middle photo is one of the new electric bike lane sweepers (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Last night Geller said PBOT has hired seven of the eight new staffers. And so far, two of the new e-sweepers — designed specifically to fit inside protected bike lanes — are already here. I’ve seen both of them parked in PBOT’s Stanton Yard, a maintenance vehicle facility on the corner of N Graham and N Mississippi. The cute little sweepers are dwarfed by a massive diesel generator (which I hope isn’t their final solution for charging these babies). According to a slide shown at the BAC meeting last night, in addition to those two e-sweepers, PBOT has purchased two Ford Lighting pickups for all the hand sweeping and more detailed clean-up work a mechanical sweeper can’t do (aka “bunching support”).
So far, the PCEF-funded team has been working on areas with heavy leaf canopy. A map of future sweeping routes is still in the works. A public-facing map and a leaf pick-up request dashboard is also being worked on, but not yet ready for launch. Another slide shown last night included a map of the latest spots that have been swept (see above)
None of these updates are likely to make many Portlanders feel better about the current state of bike lanes — and the vast volume of leaves that have overtaken many of them. “Appreciate your patience, the leaf drop was early this year,” the slide reads.
So for now, take extra caution through the leaves, don’t turn sharply in corners, and hope for the best. If there’s a particularly bad spot, you should report it to 311 so city crews get it on their list.
There’s more to transportation than freeways. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
A group led by Oregon Republicans wants to claw back new revenue for transportation recently passed by the legislature. Operating under the banner of No Tax Oregon, volunteers have already collected over half the 75,000 or so signatures they need to put key elements of House Bill 3991 on the ballot. The pitch is easy: Sign here if you don’t want to pay more taxes.
While signing is easy, operating the Oregon Department of Transportation without the additional $430 million the bill is expected to raise each year, might not be. ODOT says the $4.3 billion the bill raises over 10 years is everything and nothing. It’s everything they have to keep the agency afloat, but it’s nothing more than a stop-gap measure to stave off massive layoffs and do the minimum amount of road maintenance necessary to keep roads clear and people alive.
Republicans don’t believe that. They think ODOT can manage its 8,000 miles of roads and 3,000 bridges with existing revenues if the agency cuts everything that’s not a “core function.” The problem is, reasonable people disagree what a “core function” is. For example, Democrats believe transit and safe routes to school are a core function of ODOT. Republicans do not.
During this past session, Republicans put forward a bill that would have made radical shifts in state transportation policy. The Republican’s proposal would have required ODOT to completely ignore transportation’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions (despite transportation being the top contributor to them) and its impacts on Oregonians who’ve been historically left out of transportation conversations and harmed the most by the product of them. Their bill would have zeroed-out state funding for bicycle infrastructure, rail maintenance and construction, the Safe Routes to School program, transit service and expansion, and more. The bill even went so far as to repeal Oregon’s vaunted “Bicycle Bill” that was signed in 1971 and is known as the country’s first-ever complete streets law because of how it mandates a minimum investment in bicycling and walking facilities.
The radical Republican proposal would have rolled back the clock at ODOT to the 1960s and turned it into an even more outdated, freeway-first agency. It’s almost impossible to work across the aisle on such a politically toxic and tone deaf proposal — one that ultimately failed to make it out of committee because it was considered a non-starter by Democrats and everyone else who lives in the real world and understands transportation policy.
Even if you agree ODOT should focus solely on maintenance of existing roads and projects that benefit only car drivers, it’s unthinkable that revenue would stay frozen while inflation and project costs have risen dramatically since 2017, which was the last time Oregon updated its transportation law. Many of the Republicans leading the anti-ODOT, anti-tax crusade live and work in agriculture-based districts, where costs of basics like labor, fertilizer and land have risen about 40% since 2017. Do they really think transportation costs are magically immune to similar increases?
Based on Republicans’ actions during the session and their push to repeal HB 3991, it’s clear their stance on transportation policy isn’t about policy at all. It’s about politics and power. Democrats have it, Republicans want it.
Republican Senator Bruce Starr and House Representative Ed Diehl are spearheading the effort to repeal the funding elements of HB 3991. They claim Democrats “rammed through” the transportation bill without working across the aisle and they believe Oregonians should not have to pay for transportation services. Starr, Diehl, and other leading Republicans see the transportation legislation — and the process it took to pass it — as an illustration of everything that’s wrong with how Democrats govern; but it also says a lot about them.
Beyond not wanting to pay their fair share to use roads and bridges, a central allegation of “No Tax” petition backers is that Democrats didn’t collaborate with Republicans during the session. But similar to their policy and funding proposals, the claim doesn’t hold up. Democrats likely spent too much time currying favor with Republicans. Public hearings and legislative committee debates didn’t even begin until five weeks left in the session.
Why the hold up? Because Democrat party leaders were in (not so) secret meetings with Republicans trying to hash out a bipartisan package. And Sen. Starr, who now shamelessly laments the lack of bipartisanship on social media and media interviews, was one of the people in the room. Not only was Starr involved in early policy negotiations, but he was named by Democratic party leadersas point person on an important ODOT accountability initiative.
Republicans want Oregonians to believe that Governor Kotek and the Democrats are acting like dictators. They’ve even adopted a “No Queens” battle cry. But beyond the aforementioned facts about how Republicans were intimately involved in early negotiations, the clearest example of Republican party influence is HB 3991 itself. Far from the behemoth it’s being made out to be, the bill is an anemic, heavily-compromised, bare-bones package of tax and fee increases that will cost the average Oregonian about $144 more per year than they pay today. HB 3991 also raises just 35% of the revenue Democrats initially sought.
The bill is so small in fact, that Democrats lost significant support from the large coalition of progressive transportation advocacy groups they typically count on. In the end, because Democratic party leaders mistakenly assumed Republicans would negotiate in good faith, the only Oregonians who love the transportation bill are the ones whose jobs it saved. On the flip side, Republicans have launched a massive, misleading PR campaign to excite their base in advance of next year’s general election — a campaign that blames complicated problems on a progressive government bogeyman they would rather destroy than debate.
If early returns are any indication, No Tax Oregon will likely succeed in their signature-gathering effort and ODOT’s future will be on the ballot next November. If we don’t see more Democrats and other progressive leaders stand up, shape the narrative in their favor, and expose bad-faith Republicans, Oregon’s transportation future will be a dead end.
