Interview with Commissioner Fish about Forest Park decisions

City Council candidate Nick Fish-2.jpg

Nick Fish
(Photo © J. Maus)

The City Commissioner in charge of Parks, Nick Fish, announced a set of “actions” earlier today about off-road cycling in Forest Park. I spoke to him on the phone from his office in City Hall about that announcement…

You told Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) today that Forest Park isn’t ready for new bike trails. Why not?

“I don’t think the park is ready to have an expansion in bike trails right now for two reasons. Number one is that we don’t have all the data that we need to make thoughtful decisions; data about who uses our parks, the health of our park, and so on. This was a significant problem I discovered through this process. The second part is that anything I propose for the future is going to be subject to a Type II or Type III land use review, so if we don’t have the science ironed out than nothing gets through land use review. Nothing would be more cynical for me than to announce a breakthrough today that I know will be stalled in litigation tomorrow.”

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Event: MJCC Loves Bicycling (10/07/10)

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Event Name: MJCC Loves Bicycling
Event Start Date: 7 October 2010
Start Time: 7:00:00 PM
Web Site: http://www.oregonjcc.org
Event Description: Join us for a fun evening and learn more about bicycling in Portland from Alta Planning and Design CEO and author of Joyride, Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet Mia Birk, bicycle law expert attorney Mark Ginsburg and Portland Transportation Options’ Linda Ginenthal.

Hear how Portland became the nations #1 bicycle community, biking laws and safe routes.

Win one of our raffle prizes and purchase a signed copy of Mia’s new book.

When: 7:00 PM on Thursday, October 7

Where: MJCC – 6651 SW Capitol Hwy. (map)

Call 503-244-0111 to register or just meet us there. $5.00 per family.

City releases Forest Park cycling actions: No new bike access

PUMP's Forest Park mountain bike tour

Riding in Forest Park.
(Photo © J. Maus)

As we hinted at yesterday, City Commissioner Nick Fish and Portland Parks and Recreation Director Zari Santner have released their much-anticipated set of actions they’ll take to address off-road cycling in Forest Park.

The decision includes no new or improved access to existing singletrack trails and no commitment to build new ones.

In their announcement today, Commissioner Fish and Director Santner wrote, “Further restoration and maintenance work is needed in the park before recreational use can be expanded.” With that being said, they have committed to move forward with the following within the next year:

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Washington County Visitor’s Association wants your feedback on new bike map

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Cover of new map.

In an effort to showcase some of the best bike rides in the region, the Washington County Visitor’s Association (WCVA) is working on an update of their bike map; and they want your feedback and suggestions to make it even better.

The map covers Washington County and is intended for both visitors and locals. Allison George with the WCVA says the map is scheduled to be released later this fall. The format and coding of the new map will be consistent with those used on Metro’s Bike There! map. From what I’ve seen of the draft PDFs, the map is very impressive. There are several featured rides — including the “Historic Helvetia Loop” and the “Fern Hill Loop” — that include a description of the route, GPS coordinates, an elevation profile and so on. And, since this is a WCVA publication, there’s a complete listing of nearby wineries.

Here’s a detail shot from the draft version of the map:

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Newswire: PBOT Pedestrian Advisory Committee seeks new members

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This just in from PBOT:

September 30, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pedestrian Advisory Committee seeks new members

The Portland Bureau of Transportation announced that it is seeking new members for the Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PAC). The PAC advises the City of Portland – particularly the Bureau of Transportation – on matters that encourage and enhance walking as a means of transportation, recreation, wellness and environmental enhancement. The PAC is a 9- to 13-person committee that represents a cross-section of Portlanders, including walking and mobility advocates, neighborhood activists, environmental design professionals and citizens-at-large.

The PAC meets the third Tuesday evening each month. Members are appointed to a 4-year term. PAC member activities include, but are not limited to, reviewing and making recommendations on:

  • planning documents affecting pedestrians
  • pedestrian projects
  • projects with pedestrian facilities
  • funding priorities for pedestrian-related projects
  • activities of other jurisdictions that affect pedestrians in Portland
  • maintaining and periodically updating the Portland Pedestrian Design Guide and Pedestrian Master Plan

Qualified individuals must:

  • be a resident of or own a business in the City of Portland
  • have an interest in promoting the use of walking for transportation and recreation
  • commit to attend monthly meetings and participate in the work of the committee

The application is due by Monday, November 15. Please visit this link for the application.

    Send completed applications to:
    April Bertelsen
    1120 SW Fifth Avenue, Room 800
    Portland, OR 97204
    503-823-6177 fax: 503-823-7609
    april.bertelsen@portlandoregon.gov

More information here: www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=34964

October City of Portland Bike Advisory Committee meeting agenda

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The monthly City of Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting agenda has been posted:

Bicycling and Equity — Alison Hill Graves, Executive Director of the Community Cycling Center, will discuss their recent project resulting in the “Understanding Barriers to Bicycling Interim Report” (June 2010). Alison, a member of the Steering Committee that helped develop Portland’s Bicycle Plan for 2030 will discuss barriers to bicycling in diverse and low-income communities and how we can begin to break down those barriers.

Meet the new BTA Executive Director — Rob Sadowsky has been the Director of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance since early this summer. Rob will present his observations of the state of bicycle transportation in Portland and Oregon, his experience with bicycle transportation in other localities and discuss his vision for how we continue to advance. Rob will also like to hear from committee members about their ideas and visions for advancement.

N/NE Quadrant / I-5 Broadway-Weidler Study — Mauricio Leclerc (Bureau of Transportation) and Steve Iwata (Bureau of Planning and Sustainability) will discuss the planning process and scope for the N/NE Quadrant / I-5 Broadway-Weidler Plans as well as the history of recommended improvements for this area. (http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?c=53265) This project is a collaborative effort of the City and ODOT to integrate land use and urban design for the update of the Central City Plan with freeway planning in the I-5 corridor in the vicinity of the Broadway- Weidler interchange. ODOT has long identified the need to make improvements to the I-5 Corridor near the Rose Quarter. ODOT’s previous freeway design recommendations for this area to address capacity, operational and safety issues have not received sufficient funding or public consensus to advance potential freeway improvements. Mauricio and Steve will discuss how this combined project will address land use, urban design and transportation issues.

Meeting details:
City Hall (1221 SW 4th Avenue) Lovejoy Room
6 p.m. on Tuesday October 12, 2010

teal/blue Novara X-R 90-91

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Year: 90-91
Brand: Novara
Model: X-R
Color:teal/blue
Size:med
Stolen in Portland, OR 97209
Stolen:2010-09-30
Stolen From: outside the PNCA art Studio
Bike was locked on the north side of NW Johnson, between Nw 12th and 13th.
Neighborhood: Pearl District
Owner: Colin Nettles
OwnerEmail: colinnettles@gmail.com
Description: Old Novara x-r with road tires (black with blue stripes), mountain rack, new cassette, road bars, low end brifters, Bike has been in my family for 20 years, and I just want my baby back.
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Black Kona

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Brand: Kona
Color:Black
Size:large
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2010-09-25
Stolen From: 722 East Burnside Street East, Portland, OR 97214
I left my large black Kona cabled to the bike racks just outside the back door of the Bossanova (on 800 East) after performing at the Bossanova – I’m an acrobat in the Wanderlust Circus. I left the venue after the show load-out at 2:00 am. The next morning I remembered I’d left my bike chained up. At 9:00 am I returned and found my bike lock there, cut.
Neighborhood: Near Bossanova Ballroom, just east of Burnside bridge
Owner: Scott Maxwell
OwnerEmail: scottfromportland@gmail.com
Reward: $40
Description: Large black Kona with a white sticker on the handlebars with “Kazum” and a silhouette of an acrobatic pyramid of people. It also has front and rear lights attached that are a Planet Bike brand Superflash Blaze light set – I still have the box for the lights.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: T10006450
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

Kitzhaber to talk transportation at fundraiser in Portland tonight

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Sorry for the late notice…

Former Oregon Governor and current candidate for the office John Kitzhaber will be in Portland tonight at what’s being billed as a transportation-focused fundraiser. The event will be held at the World Trade Center in downtown Portland and hosts include architectural and transportation engineering firm David Evans and Associates, Clackamas County Chair Lynn Peterson, real estate developer John Russell, and others.

Suggested contribution is $150. Here’s the event flyer with more information:

Noted economist says “flawed” metric leads to highway spending, sprawl

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CRC Rally-128

Economist Joe Cortright.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Joe Cortright, an economist with Impresa Inc. and the senior policy advisor for urban planning think tank CEO for Cities, says engineers and planners have dumped billions of dollars into sprawl-inducing roads and highways in part based on a “deeply flawed metric” that’s been an industry standard for 25 years.

Released today, Cortright’s report, Driven Apart: How Sprawl Is Lengthening Our Commutes and Why Misleading Mobility Measures Are Making Things Worse, takes aim at the Urban Mobility Report (UMR) a metric created by the Texas Transportation Institute 25 years ago. Cortright says the UMR is a flawed tool because it only looks at travel times and does not take into account trip distances.

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