BikePortland

20 Oregon legislators sign letter calling for pause on CRC project

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

“We believe that there are important unresolved questions that demand further scrutiny before the commitment of additional public dollars to this project.”

20 Oregon legislators — 8 Republicans, 12 Democrats — have issued a letter of concern over the Columbia River Crossing highway expansion project. The letter, dated March 28th, comes on the heels of a public hearing for House Joint Memorial 22, a bill that would have urged the federal government to fund the controversial CRC project.

Here’s the opening of the letter (download PDF here):

[BikePortland is down in Salem today for the Oregon Active Transportation Summit. We’ll be reporting from Salem today and tomorrow.]

Still in beta.

Daniella and Elliot Crowder, owners of the Bike Newport bike shop, unveiled their plans for a new iPhone app today. The new ‘Cycling the Oregon Coast’ app is currently in beta form and is set to be released soon (Android platform will come later). The announcement of the new app came at a meeting of the Oregon Bicycle Tourism Partnership held in Salem this morning.

According to Elliot Crowder, he was inspired to create an app after taking a bike tour on the Oregon Coast recently. Like the thousands of other people who ride the famous Oregon Coast Bike Route each year, Crowder relied on the popular Cycling the Pacific Coast guidebook. Trouble is, the book is out of date.

[Publisher’s note: Welcome to Bike Law 101, a new column written for BikePortland by Kurt Jansen. Kurt is the Executive Director of the Animated Traffic Law Center. ATLC is a Eugene, Oregon based non-profit that helps organizations with their traffic law education efforts (the City of Portland hired them to create the “Every Corner is a Crosswalk” animation). Each month, Kurt will tackle a tricky bike law with hopes of adding some clarity to a our vehicle code.]

Entering an intersection on a solid yellow light is illegal in Oregon unless you cannot stop in time safely.

It’s a familiar enough scene. You’re on your bike approaching an intersection and the light is green. But, it’s been green for a while now; any second it will go to yellow (or perhaps it already has). Signal engineers call this the “dilemma zone.” Do you blast into the intersection or do you restrain yourself, slow down and wait?

PBOT has announced the first open house for their N. Williams Ave Traffic Safety Operations Project. Learn more about the project in our story from January and get details on the open house below…

Come take a look at potential N Williams transportation improvements – to the bike lane, auto lanes, bus stops and crosswalks – on Saturday, April 16th, from 1:30 – 4:00 pm. The City wants to know which changes will and won’t work for you.

A drop-in Open House meeting, with:

– Real live traffic engineers
– Big colorful maps and drawings
– Snacks
– Childcare and playground
– Handouts and feedback forms to take for others who can’t attend

The City of Portland wants to make N Williams a safer and more comfortable place to bike, drive, ride transit and walk. With the advice of a Stakeholder Advisory Committee formed for this project, City staff have prepared some alternative designs for your consideration. Come take a look and tell us what you think.

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N Williams Traffic Operations and Safety Project Open House

Saturday, April 16th, from 1:30 – 4:00 pm

Immaculate Heart Church, 2910 N Williams Ave

Come by #4 TriMet bus; bike via Williams/Vancouver; or drive and park in the church lot off of NE Stanton.

In case you missed Bike Snob’s latest paean to Portland

“Obviously the most coveted employer in Portland is Chris King Precision Components, which is why they’re widely referred to as the “G*ogle of the Willamette.”
— Bikesnobnyc

I don’t usually put something on the Front Page that I’ve already shared via Twitter and that I know many of you have likely already read yourselves; but Bike Snob’s latest post is something no one should miss. Bike Snob is no stranger to Portland, but this time he’s taken it to a new level. He’s moved here, albeit only “virtually”…

I’ve transported my consciousness to the soggy utopia that is Portland. I’ve done this by transcending the material plane and by realizing that physical existence is merely a state of mind–or by completely deluding myself, depending on how you look at it. It was surprisingly easy, too. First, I created an artificial Portland habitat in my home by purchasing a humidifier which I fill with Stumptown coffee instead of water. Then, I set all my clocks back by three and a half hours. (Portland is an additional half hour behind the rest of the western United States.) Finally, I completed my microenvironment by making Bikeportland my homepage and pretending it was the local news.

Year: 2009
Brand: Kona
Model: DewDrop
Color:Black
Size:54 cm
Serial: F902K2024
Stolen in Portland, OR 97239
Stolen:2011-03-28
Stolen From: At the bottom of the Tram terminal outside OHSU CHH building at 3303 SW Bond Ave.
Neighborhood: Southwest
Owner: Lindsay Hilken
OwnerEmail: lindsayanne2010@gmail.com
Description: Commuter type bike 24speed with disk brakes, 700x37C tires, black commuter fenders with small flaps, a Transit seat post rack, and small Cat eye front light. It also has a silver water bottle holder on the down tube.
Police record with: OHSU Campus Security/Portland PD
Police reference#: 2011-000209
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

blue Trek mountain/commuter 80’s-ish

Year: 80’s-ish
Brand: Trek
Model: mountain/commuter
Color:blue
Size:16″
Stolen in Portland, OR 97211
Stolen:2011-03-28
Stolen From: Potato Champion parking lot se 12th and Hawthorne
Neighborhood: Buckman
Owner: Miranda Harnish
OwnerEmail: milmilly@hotmail.com
Reward: 250
Description: spray painted blue with purple and green accents near the crank and a dragonfly on the seat tube. silver rack, fenders, and components
Police record with: portland pd
Police reference#: T
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

On eve of Summit, a look back at Oregon’s bike bill

As many of you head to Salem for the Oregon Active Transportation Summit (it begins tomorrow!), I thought it’d be fun to take a step back in our history.

40 years ago, on June 19th 1971, dozens of Portlanders got on their bikes and rode to Salem for the signing of HB 1700, the Bicycle Bill. Passed by Southern Oregon lawmaker Don Stathos (who passed away in 2005), the bill was the first in the nation to mandate that highway funds get spent on bikeways.

Local citizen activist Ted Buehler recently came across an old news clipping from the time of the bill’s passage. The article below appeared in the December 1971 issue of Boom in Bikeways, the “Newsletter of the Bikeways explosion” published by the Bicycle Institute of America.

Many of you might have already heard of “Service Industry Nights” at local pubs and eateries. Here in Portland, many local establishments have one night a week where they offer special deals for folks who work in the service industry.

Tonight*, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is teaming up with a local bike company for something similar but geared toward people who work in the bike industry: Bike Industry Night.

Our friends at Shift have set the date and time for the 2011 World Naked Bike Ride. If you want to bike in the buff, mark June 18th at ~~8:00~~ 10:00 pm down on your calendar (Facebook event listing). New this year, someone has decided to offer a competing ride for those who don’t care for biking naked. Yes, now you can choose from the World Naked Bike Ride or the First Annual World Clothed Bike Ride.

Distracted driving is arguably the most important traffic safety issue facing America today. Amazingly, while we have many advocates and other smart people working to address the issue, the auto industry seems to be promoting it by turning cars into rolling computers.

A few things came across my desk this morning that show how these two trends — getting tough on distracted driving on one hand, while promoting it on the other — continue to be at odds with each other.

SB 424, the ‘Crosswalk Safety Bill’ that’s intended to improve the safety of people attempting to cross the street, will get a public hearing and possible vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow (3/29) at 8:30 AM.

We shared some background on this bill last month. In short, it “Clarifies that pedestrian is crossing roadway when any part or extension of pedestrian’s body moves onto roadway with intent to proceed.”

Below are some bullet points being shared by local walking advocates:

20 Oregon legislators sign letter calling for pause on CRC project

New ‘Cycling the Oregon Coast’ mobile app in the works

Bike Law 101: Guidance for the ‘Dilemma Zone’

Open House set for N. Williams bikeway/traffic improvements

In case you missed Bike Snob’s latest paean to Portland

Black Kona DewDrop 2009

blue Trek mountain/commuter 80’s-ish

On eve of Summit, a look back at Oregon’s bike bill

BTA gets behind first “Bicycle Industry Night” at local pub

Save the dates: World Naked — or Clothed — Bike Rides

From the Archives: Opinion: Diverging trends for distracted driving (2011)

Salem Watch: ‘Crosswalk Safety Bill’ up for hearing, possible vote

Latest Headlines

Councilor Olivia Clark launches push for new transportation revenue

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A big, BikeCraft update: Full vendor list and other fun details

From the Archives

Portland’s invisible machine: Behind the scenes at the World Naked Bike Ride